ACROSS THE STREAM. METAMORPHOSES OF

Abstract: The article discusses the functioning of the plot of a fixed tale type ATU 1579 (Carrying a Wolf, a Goat, and a Cabbage across the Stream) as a riddle and a narrative and its forms which have surrounded the plot and originate in traditional folklore genres. Folklore, reconstructed and placed in new contexts, emerges in new genres. In the present computer era, the plot has not only emerged in narrative and riddle genre, but has emerged in an entirely new context – it has been widely applied in the form of an interactive computer game. The differ-ent forms, contexts, functions and goals of the type plot may be regarded as aspects of the dynamic folklore process. Key words: computer games, dynamic folklore process, Internet folklore, minor genres of folklore, narratives, riddles, the second life of folklore Researchers studying folkloric material often face conflicts with the traditional categorisation. If a genre of folkore is difficult to define, and genre boundaries appear elusive the problem lies in the scholars ’ genre-oriented approach rather than units that elude defining (Ben-Amos 1982: 11). The archive-centred struc