Motif of the transformations in Kalmyk fairy tales of the plot type AT 567 “The magic bird-heart”

The article considers the motif of transformation in Kalmyk fairy tales of the plot type “The Magic Bird-Heart” (AT 567). Kalmyk fairy tales on this subject can be divided into two groups. The fairy tales of the first group end with the brothers acquiring magic items, the eldest of them becoming Khan. Fairy tales of the second group with a more complex structure, their plot-forming motif is the motif of transformation. The texts of the first group note transformation of two brothers (this transformation is unconscious, but predetermined by fate), who ate the head and wing of a wonderful bird. The transformation of the elder brother occurs at the level of his functions, when he rises to the very top of the social ladder and becomes the ruler - khan. The younger brother is transformed by acquiring beauty and new wonderful abilities. The analysis of the fairy tales of the second group showed that the motif of the hero’s transformation into them is “dynamic”, since it is “changing the situation”, “moving” (according to B.V. Tomashevsky). The hero takes the form of a “helpless, socially rejected being - a child (orphan)”, who is adopted by a childless poor old man and an old woman, turns into an animal and a bird. Transformation into animals (donkeys) as a punishment for the khan’s daughter with her maids, the hero spends using auxiliary means (apple, lotus, lily). The realization of the studied motif takes various forms, starting from an unconscious transformation with an unexpected result and ending with a conscious transformation with an expected result. The transformation takes place through auxiliary means of animal and vegetable origin. Shapeshifting as a character’s ability, and not only in the world of living people, is also noted in the considered tales.