- Genre
- Mythological legend
- Source status
- folkloric
- Motifs
- three strangers, lifted cap, summer heat, winter cold, wind’s protection
The story
A man was walking past a cross when he saw three men sitting beneath it. One was red, another white, and the third had no striking colour but very thick lips. Frightened, the traveller lifted his cap to the cross and hurried on.
Looking back, he saw all three following him. They caught up and asked which of them he had saluted. Most afraid of the thick-lipped stranger, he said he had meant the greeting for him.
The red man declared that he was the sun and would burn the traveller in summer. The thick-lipped man reassured him: he was the wind and would blow cool air to protect him from the heat.
The white man said he was winter and would freeze him. Again the wind promised help: it would bring warmth that would melt the snow.
The wind told the traveller he had been fortunate in choosing whom to honour. The three went away, and the man continued his journey in good spirits.
Reading the story
Sun, winter and wind appear in human form. The original gesture is directed to the cross; the traveller only chooses among the strangers when they question him and he is afraid.
Told by Anelė Murauskienė, aged 80, in Paserbentis; recorded by D. Pozingis in 1938. LTR 1808(2).
Source and retelling
Lietuvių tautosaka, IV (1967), Nr. 606, p. 582: „Saulė, vėjas ir žiema“; PDF p. 581. An original retelling of the recorded traditional narrative cited here. The sequence of events and ending are retained in modern language.