This episode is part of my Folklore Friday series where I am sharing a folklore story every Friday in 2024.
A Tale from Grímsey Island
I’m sharing about a man and a polar bear in Grímsey, which is the northernmost inhabited island in Iceland. It is the only part of Iceland that is the Arctic circle. I’ve not been there yet, but I have heard it is beautiful. This story takes place many years during a harsh winter.
On this day, no one on the island could keep a fire lit. It seems that they were in short supply of resources for it, which was major problem since it was so cold. The intense cold froze the water in the sound between mainland Iceland and the island, which made it impossible for a ship to get to the island to provide more fire.
Heading Out into the Harsh Winter in Search of Fire
One solution was to walk on foot to mainland Iceland to get fire but doing that is a long journey that required resilience and endurance. They decided to pick three of their strongest men to make the journey. Early one morning the men set off on their way. Most of the journey was uneventful until they are halfway across the sound. There, they encounter a big gap in the sound. They are not sure how long and wide it is but it looks like it would be difficult to jump across.
Two of the men jump and barely make it. The last guy does not feel confident he can make the jump so he just stands there. The other two who made the jump suggest that he go back to the island because they need to keep going. Not wanting to give up so easily, the guy walks along the big crack looking for a place that might be easier for him to jump across.
Encountering a Polar Bear
As the time passes, it gets darker and colder. Also, a storm rolls in as well. That storm brings southerly winds that blow warmer air, which starts to melt the ice. He gets caught on a big piece of ice that broke off in the sound between the mainland island and Grímsey. That piece of ice just drifts off in the water. Eventually, the storm stops and the piece of ice he is floating on crashes into a large ice sheet.
At this point, he is really hungry, tired and he has no idea how he will get back home. To make matters worse, he encounters a polar bear. For those that do not know, Polar Bear are normally vicious hunters and will not hesitate to kill a person or another animal if they are hungry.
Rightfully so, he is scared. The polar bear has cubs and she looks up at him as he stands there stopped in his tracks. She gives him the once over and starts to circle around him.
How the Polar Bear Saved the Man's Life
When it seems that he is getting stronger after a couple of days, the bear is walking along with him the bear puts her head down and gestures for him to get on her back. When he does, she shakes violently, which makes him fall off immediately.
He has no idea why she did that but just left it alone. For the next few days, she continues to gesture for him to get on her back and shakes so hard that he falls off. At night, she keeps him warm and provides nutrition At one point, he is on her back and she shakes but he is able to hold on. That is when the bear jumps into the water with him on her back and starts swimming to Grímsey.
When they arrive to the island, the man wants to show his gratitude so he gives her milk from his best cows and slaughters some of his best sheep for her to take back to share with her cubs.
She is grateful for that and she heads back to her cubs with food. Everyone in the town is shocked that he had befriended a polar bear. Right after the bear left, they see a ship in the distance and the two guys from earlier in the story were on that ship. They were bringing supplies for fire back to the island.
Random Fact of the Episode
According to a webpage about Grímsey, about 100 people live there but it is home to about 1 million sea birds.
Icelandic Word of the Episode
Ísbjörn – Ice bear is the literal translation but it is the word for polar bear in Icelandic.
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