KOSHCHEI THE DEATHLESS 289 
tection of treasure and intimidation of thieves is one 
of his regular mythical functions... Now when we con- 
sider the close resemblance between this function of 
the ass in Hindu mythology and the part which he 
plays in the Kelto-Teutonic legend, does it not seem 
altogether probable that this prominent idea in the 
grotesque and homely story—the idea of robbers 
frightened by a donkey’s voice — had its origin in an 
Old Aryan mythical conception? If this be the case, 
—even without considering the other members of the 
quartet, albeit they have all figured very conspicu- 
ously in divers Aryan myths,—we are bound to ac- 
count for the wide diffusion of the story by supposing 
that it is a very old tradition, and has not been passed 
about in recent times from one Aryan people to 
another. 
If our view were restricted to this story alone, how- 
ever, perhaps we could not make out a very strong 
case for it as illustrating an early community of Aryan 
tradition. It is no doubt possible, for example, that 
the story may have been originally pieced together 
out of mythical materials by some Teutonic story-teller, 
and may have been transmitted into Britain by Uncle 
Toby’s armies in Flanders, or in any other of a thou- 
sand ways; for the social intercourse between Kelts 
and Teutons has always been very close. Indeed, I 
am inclined to think that with this particular story 
such was the case. In both versions the members of 
the quartet are the very same animals, and the sequence 
of events is so closely parallel as to raise a very strong 
presumption that one was directly based upon the 
other. 
1 See Gubernatis, “ Zodlogical Mythology,” I. 370-379. 
2U 
