Aside from the last tale cited, the obvious inference to be drawn from a comparison of these Indian versions with the French, especially in view of the fact that contact between the tribes concerned and the French has been continous for a long time, is that we have direct borrowing either from the actual French or French Canadian versions given, or from similar forms of the tale. The Mewan incident (13) is puzzling, for the California tribes have practically no European elements in their tales.

VI. THE WHITE CAT.

The tale of "The White Cat" has several points in common with that of "Little Poucet." The principal action consists of experiences of the hero at the house of an ogre, where he is helped by the wife or daughter of the ogre. The introduction and the conclusion, however, are so different from the "Little Poucet" as to make it a thoroughly independent tale. For a discussion of its world-wide distribution see Bolte und Polívka, ii, 516.

GENERAL TYPE.

A. Bankrupt gambler. The hero gambles with the devil (or a man who is an ogre in disguise) and finally loses his own body. He is to go to the ogre's house and deliver himself up.

B. Help from old woman. An old woman directs him on his way and advises him.

lake.

C. Swan-maidens. The hero sees birds bathing in a They are really tranformed women. He steals the clothes of one and thus gains power over her. She agrees to marry him and helps him magically to the house of her father who he finds is the ogre.— C1. Pursuit of bird. The hero in pursuing a beautiful bird comes to the house of an ogre.

D. Ogre's daughter advises hero.

E. Fee-fi-fo-fum. The ogre enters and smells fresh meat and discovers the hero.

F. Attempts to kill hero. The ogre tries in various ways to kill the hero, who escapes by following the directions of the girl.

G. Hero's tasks performed by ogre's daughter. The ogre gives the boy impossible tasks (cleaning of "Augean" stable, cutting down forest, building magic bridge, catching magic horse, sorting grain, etc.), which are accomplished through the magic of the ogre's daughter.

H. Transformation of heroine to animal. At the girl's request the hero transforms her to a white cat.

I. Resuscitation. Following directions, the hero assembles the bones of the slain cat and resuscitates the girl.-11. Missing member. One bone, however, is missing, and this makes a defect in the revived girl.

J. Choice of wives ("Three caskets incident"). The ogre gives the hero choice of his three daughters as wives. They look just alike.-J1. Missing member betrays. By observing the missing member he chooses the right girl.

K. Magic flight. The hero and heroine flee.-K1. Speaking objects. They leave behind them objects that talk and thus make the ogre believe they are still present.-K2. Magic boots. They steal the ogre's seven-league boots and escape.-K3. Obstacle

flight. They throw behind them magic objects which become barriers in the way of the pursuer.-K4. Magic bridge. They make a magic bridge over which they escape.-K5. Transformation flight. They transform themselves in order to escape detection.

L. Forgotten fiancée. The hero leaves the heroine to make a visit home. She warns him against kissing anyone at home. His mother kisses him and he magically forgets his fiancée.

M. Waking from magic forgetfulness. The hero is finally brought to remember his financée by kissing her.-M1. Speech with magic birds. The heroine succeeds, by arousing gossip, in attracting the attention of the hero to her magic birds, who tell the story of the adventure with the ogre. The hero recognizes his fiancée and marries her.

LONGER VERSIONS.

1. French: Cosquin, No. 32.

A. Bankrupt gambler. A young man has lost all his money

at gambling, and when the devil supplies him with more, he loses that. The boy cannot pay, and in consequence the devil makes him agree to meet him in a year and a day at the Black Forest. The boy wanders about, and after a wearisome journey, comes to the Black Forest.

B. Help from fée. Here he meets a fée, who shows him a fountain in which three feathers, a green, a yellow, and a white, are bathing.

C. Swan-maidens. He is to try to catch the green feather, to take her clothes from her, and give her a kiss. He accomplishes this, and the green feather-now a girl-tells him that her father is the devil.

D. Ogre's daughter advises hero. When he comes to the house he is to do the exact opposite of the thing the devil asks.

F. Attempt to kill hero. By following the girl's instructions, the boy escapes death, and to the devil's chagrin is still alive the next morning.

G. Hero's tasks performed by ogre's daughter. The devil now tells him that he must cut down the whole forest, chop it into cordwood, and take it to the king's palace. The young man goes forth, and in half a day succeeds in cutting down a very little. Green Feather comes to him at noon, bringing his lunch, and with a movement of her wand she accomplishes the whole task. The next day, he is commanded to build a handsome castle with a beautiful arrow in the front of it.

H. Transformation of heroine to animal. Green Feather tells the boy that she is going to change herself into a white cat, and that he is to kill her, boil her skin, and keep her bones in exactly the position they belong. Inside the body he will find an arrow. He obeys to the letter, and the castle magically arises with the arrow in the front of it.

11.

Resuscitation with missing member. The girl comes to life, but lacks a little finger, for he has misplaced the bone of this finger.

J. Choice of wives. The devil acknowledges that the hero is stronger than he, and brings forth his three daughters, Green Feather, Yellow Feather, and Black Feather, who lock exactly alike. If he can choose the one who changes herself into a white cat, he may have her for his wife.

J1. Missing member betrays. Because of the missing little finger, he is able to make the right choice.

K. Flight. That night, the boy and the girl flee. The boy has been ugly, but when the girl kisses him, he becomes beautiful.

L. Forgotten financée. She warns him not to kiss anyone when he reaches home, but he forgets the injunction and kisses his old grandmother. Immediately he becomes ugly again. [Cf. New Mexican Spanish: Espinosa, JAFL, xxiv, 402.]

(M). Disenchantment. The girl, however, forgives him, and, by kissing him causes him to regain his good looks.

2. French Canadian: Barbeau, JAFL, xxx, 36.

A. Bankrupt gambler. Regular.

B. Help from old woman.

C.

Swan-maidens. Regular.

Regular.

D. Ogre's daughter advises hero. Regular.

F.

Attempts to kill hero. By following the advice of the ogre's daughter the hero escapes safely.

G. Hero's tasks performed by ogre's daughter. The tasks are to dip water out of a large lake and to build a bridge a thousand leagues long.

K1. Magic flight leaving speaking objects. The hero and the heroine are playing cards and leave a magic object that talks and makes her father think they are still playing cards. They escape from the house.-K3. Obstacle flight. As the ogre approaches them they throw back objects that become barriers in his way.-K5. Transformation flight. The hero and heroine turn themselves into ducks in order to escape detection from the ogre's wife who has given chase.

L. Forgotten fiancée. The hero returns home, but is warned by his fiancée not to let anyone kiss him. While he is asleep his godmother kisses him and he forgets all about his adventures.

M1. Waking from forgetfulness with magic birds. The hero is to be married and the heroine comes to the wedding. She has some magic birds and when she is told to have them perform, they tell the story of the hero and the heroine. This brings back his memory and they are married and live happily.

3.

Menominee: Skinner, JAFL, xxvi, 64.

(F). Attempts to kill hero. The story begins with this incident, which belongs in this story, but the details are those that occur in the native Indian tales. [Cf. Lowie, "The Test Theme in American Mythology," JAFL, xxi, 101.]

Fortunatus. The hero comes into procession of self-supplying table cloth and a dance-compelling fiddle, by means of which he gets out of prison and then departs with the jailor's money. pp. 364, above and 415, below.]

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[See

A. Bankrupt gambler. He then gambles with a man and wins the man's services for a year, but he is not satisfied with his good fortune, and when he continues gambling, he finally forfeits his own services to the man for the following year. He asks permission to go and tell his wife before beginning work. When he is ready to enter the man's service, the latter has disappeared, and the hero follows in the direction he has gone.

B. Help from old woman. He comes to a great lake where he finds an old woman, who takes him across in her canoe and, as she leaves him, she tells him of Red Cap's four daughters, who come there to swim; three of them are dark, and one is white; they will come in the shape of doves, and he is to hide in the sand so as not to frighten them away.

C. Swan-maidens. The hero follows her instructions and steals the white dove's clothes. The other sisters put on their clothes and fly away, leaving White Dove naked. The hero now comes forward and offers her the clothes if she will take him to Red Cap. She dresses and becomes a dove, and the hero makes himself small enough to be carried on her back.

D. Ogre's daughter advises hero. She tells him that her father will ask him to clean up the house, but that she will help him when she brings his meals.

G. Hero's tasks performed by ogre's daughter. Red Cap gives the hero a shovel, and orders him to clean a barn that has not been cleaned for fifteen years. The hero goes to work, but by noon he has accomplished very little. White Dove brings him his dinner and sits beside him. She offers to louse him, and when he puts his head on her lap he soon falls asleep, only to waken and find the barn clean. This, she tells him, is in payment for his returning the clothes. The next day exactly the same thing happens