The story begins with the
incident of a bird maiden caught by a trick, and married. This is
distinctly Scandinavian. It is known in all lands, but the Norse made
the most of it. Then the two girls sit and choose the kind of stars
they will have. In the Eskimo (Rink, No. 8), two girls sitting on a
beach, talking in the same way, seeing eagles' and whales' bones by
them, declare that they would like to marry, the one an eagle, the
other a whale, and both get their wishes. In the Norse legends stars
are like human beings. Lox is pursued by a giant bird; Loki is chased
by Thiassi, the giant, in eagle plumage. Again, in the Edda a giant
eagle drags and trails Loki over woods and mountains, till he screams
for pity. The Wolverine's race with a stone giant also recalls this
race, the eagle being really one of the Jotuns, who were also all
mountains and rocks. The Wolverine wizard becomes a girl, merely to
make mischief. Loki took the form of a woman in Fensal, where he
schemed to kill Balder. This is certainly a strange coincidence; for as
in the Edda, Loki's becoming a woman led to all the subsequent tragedy
and to his own doom, so in the Indian tale the very same thing caused
the Wolverine to be chased to the high waterfall, where, owing to his
own tricks, he perished, just as Loki came to grief in Franangursfors,
the bright and glistening cataract.
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