As regards literal resemblance the following coincidences may
here be noted.
In a widely spread Norse tale a very small goblin sustains a long and
obstinate contest with an immense white bear.
The Norsemen invoked the Eagle Giant of the Winds, as Scott has shown
in his song of the Reimkennar. The same being is invoked in this
legend.
The whelp, as an omen of evil, is mentioned in the Edda. In this tale
he causes forgetfulness. A potion of oblivion is also mentioned in the
Norse poem in close connection with the omen of the dog.
If we accept the termination of this tale as given in the Micmac poem
it amounts to this: A certain woman causes the whelp to lick the hero's
hand. This causes forgetfulness. The hero marries her, and thereby
loses his first wife. In the Edda, Brynhild, who has morally the first
claim to Sigurd, says of Crymhild, "She presented to Sigurd the
pernicious drink, so that he no more remembers me." In the saga of
Thorstein, Viking's son the hero, is made by the witch Dis to utterly
forget his bride Hunoor.
The Kalmuk tale of How the Schimm-Khan was Slain contains striking
analogies to this of the Three Strong Men. [Footnote: _Sagas from He
Far East_, London, 1873.] In it the hero associates with three men,
who take turns to cook. Their food is devoured, as in this tale, every
day by a little old witch who is very strong.
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