The Bear Hunt

Once a girl went to the forest to pick mushrooms. There met him a bear that caught him and dragged him to his cave. He had to be here stay for three years and serve the bear. But when he became a child as a mother, every child was half human, half bear, driven by a monster him away. His son, dubbed the "Bear Man," thrived and grew wonderfully strong and powerful. When he had arrived at a suitable age, he began to ask the priest. This happened in the winter. One day, his master sent him to fetch wood from the forest. There the hero sought out the mighty Honga and hacked hard with the axe to split it; but when the ax was not fastened firmly enough in the stem, where did it fly? That's when the bear-man got angry, broke up wood into small pieces and put them in the sledge so that it became unusual load. Now he wanted to ride home, but the horse couldn't pulling a heavy load, it lurched and lurched, unable to move. Hired man nudged it a little to the side, then it bolted and threw its life away. What to do? The bear man had to carry the load one way or another home. When the priest saw it, he said, "You must either buy for me a new horse, or you pull all the loads yourself from here. But now you must go to the mill soon, for there is no more flour at home!" Said and done. The tire loaded the sled with sacks of grain and soon we were off runner to the mill, but this one was "bewitched" and lived there damn family When the bear-man entered the mill, he found the first one from the room only the son and several wives.

"Where's the elder?" he asked.

"In the inner room," answered the boy.

"Well call him here!" ordered the hero. But the wives did not obey. Then the bear-man grabbed the youngest devil boy by the legs and beat him for wives therefore until all lay dead. Kirken and moaning, the old devil rushed out of the inner room with his open eyes I attacked you. But this one ran slyly to the oven, took the oven hook and pushed it deep, deep into the fold of the world. Then he killed having fallen completely on his back -- and ground the grain himself. But the priest didn't could, as gladly as I would have liked, criticize his work.

After some time, the priest sent the bear man to Kurinmaa; there was supposed to be in a marsh, not far from the river Roja, a large gold chest, guarded by a three-headed dragon. The priest wanted this treasure willingly. Renki did as he was told.

In addition to the chest, he also took the dragon alive in his sack. The priest was had just eaten his excellent dinner when the bear-man came back and threw the coffin in the middle of the dining room, only to rumble. There he released the dragon, which in a rage pounced on the priest -- and ran off on his own.

In the wilderness, the hero was joined by two other brave men, called mountain climbers and bush eater. They decided to stay together and support themselves by hunting. Said and done. The first morning they went bear man and bush eater in search of prey; but of a mountaineer had to prepare breakfast for them at home. When they abundant prey returned, there was nothing left of the food and their companions lamented miserably; a terrible giant had come who had everything swallowed. The next morning, the bush eater stayed home -- just as bad with success. On the third morning, it was finally the bear man's turn. He sharpened his axe, chopped trees and lit a fire. When the soup was ready, he poured it into a dish and covered it with halos in a corner. Suddenly a giant came and demanded something to eat. "You will get that", -- said the bear-man, -- "now help me a few more pieces first while chopping." "With pleasure," answered the giant. Now struck the hero his ax to the great gallows and pushed the sledge into the crack. Giant wanted to help him and thrust both hands into the crack of the shed beside. Then said the bear-man: "pull both sides of the log apart from each other, I knock out the log and beat the other log. Do you have enough strength?" "Don't be afraid - it will work out well," said the giant. Then the bear-man knocked the nail away -- and the giant's hands were squeezed so tightly that he could not move. But his betrayer caught fire and burned everything from the prisoner hair from the head. The giant couldn't stand it, jumped and howled up and ran away with the log.

After that, the three comrades lived together peacefully for a long time and undisturbed in the wilderness. But one day came from Estonia there a mighty giant, called "The Bloodsucker," who settled in the six, very close to them and killed all the travelers and hunters. Usually, he bent two large moons against each other and tied them from the hands and feet of their victims to their tops; when he let go of the trees detached, the unfortunates became torn in two.

Bearman and mountain climbers also happened to be with this giant together. As if the devil himself threw mischief at the mountaineer and wanted to catch him, but he climbed in the blink of an eye to a tall pine tree and remained sitting on the top. The bear man, on the other hand grabbed both giant firs used as murder weapons and folded them across the middle. When the "bloodsucker" saw it, he went into a tailspin. His adversary hastened after, engaged him in battle incapacitated and hung him by the legs in a tall pine tree -- the wolves to eat. From here the bear-man went alone and did countless things feats.

Once he encountered a giant moose, which he followed to Germany until he reached it and beat it to death. Far away there he fell in love with a beautiful girl and wanted to take her as his wife. But the devil robbed the beauty and took her to the "cave of fate". It was advised by another the devil for the bear-man, who immediately decided to save his bride. But before he arrived at the den, the devil had built it there villages and shops and took human form. So it happened bearman betrayed. He asked the residents to count themselves strong in a chain down into the cave and after giving the signal to pull up again. But the devils in disguise saw, as soon as he had disappeared into the cave, across the rope. Thus, the hero remained forever on earth.