Elements of the fairy tale appeared in the train thanks to Vladimir Propp's book "The Historical Roots of the Magic Tale". In his work, the folklorist analyzes the mythology of primitive peoples and their ritual practices. According to Propp's version, the initiation ritual was the source for the fairy tale and explained many of its motives: ritual participants underwent tests, were transported to another world through specific actions and returned from it already in a "new form". In the text, Propp cites frequently encountered structural elements of the fairy tale: the mysterious forest, the big house, the magical gifts, and more. He also parses the fairy tale characters such as the serpent, one of the complex and mysterious figures. From the book, we can learn that the first versions of the serpent were related to the motif of the absorption of the hero. There is a deep connection here with the ritual. A participant of initiation needs to pass through the belly of a monster (it could be a hut or some construction) to acquire magical abilities. At this stage, the figure of the serpent brings a benefit - knowledge of the language of beasts or shamanic knowledge. Later, when the ritual dies out and the semantic connection with it is lost, the motive of absorption also changes; it transforms into snake fighting. With the development of farming and cattle breeding, the form of heroism and tools for fighting the serpent changes in fairy tales, and in urban culture, when a man loses the close connection with animals, the serpent becomes a dragon, combining several animal figures. The early serpent-devourer has no description of its appearance; it is "a creature terrible but fundamentally good," writes Propp, its appearance developed later than its function. Other animals also performed this role: fish, birds, even a mammoth.
The mammoth performs all the serpent's functions: he rules the waters or the subterranean depths, he is the guardian between the world of the living and the dead, and his appearance is also not always accurate: he is both a mammoth bull and a water bull, and at the same time he possesses the traits of a bear or deer, sometimes a salmon. In the Mansi tale, which is hidden in the train, you can find a mammoth bull; he is not the main character, but he is still connected with the water. According to the story, he is threatened by boys who can throw arrows at him. It is clear that the tale is quite late: in it, the mammoth bull no longer possesses the ancient power, his figure no longer arouses awe and reverence. As Propp writes in his book, "All of this shows that the ritual has been forgotten and that its components are used for artistic creation. They can be seen as spoiling and distortion, but these cases show a creative reworking of the motif - the dying out of the old and the birth of the new". In the game world of "Yakutsk Train", we observe the bones of the ancient animal and the dreams of scientists about the resurrection of mammoths, which also sometimes sound like a modern fairy tale.