The directory «Plots»
«Kolobok»
«Êîëîáîê»
«Kolobok» is the main character of an East Slavic national fairy tale with the same name, represented as a small yellow spherical being. The fairy tale is prevalent in Slavic regions in a number of variations. A similar fairy tale with a pancake rolling off has also been recorded in German and Nordic regions. The plot is albeit similar to the The Gingerbread Man in English tradition. The Aarne-Thompson index classifies them in a common type 2025. The Kolobok, (traditional Russian pie/ small bread), suddenly becomes animated and escapes from "babushka" and "dedushka"s (old wife and man) home. The fairy tale's plot describes Kolobok's repetitive meetings with various animals (rabbit, wolf, and bear) who intend to eat it, but Kolobok cunningly escapes. With each animal Kolobok sings a song in which he explains his escape deductively: "I got away from Grandmother, I got away from Grandfather, and I will certainly get away from you". The fox manages to catch and eat Kolobok through distracting him by praising his singing.
Ukraine, 2002, Kolobok
Ukraine, 2002.07.19, Kiev. Fox and Kolobok
USSR, 1982.08.02, Kolobok and animals
USSR, 1990.12.14, Kolobok