THE SCENE: Sigmundur and Thorir, two adolescent orphans, were granted the right to stay on Ulfur’s farm with one condition: that they not go into the woods north of the farm. So of course that’s exactly what they decide to do.
THE TEXT: So they went off north and Sigmundur carried a wood axe along with him; they went into the forest and came to a pretty clearing. They had not been there for long when they heard a loud crack from the woods, and suddenly they say an incredibly huge and savage-looking bear. It was a great bear, wolf-grey in color. The boys turned and ran back along the deer path by which they had come. The path was narrow, and Thorir was running in front with Sigmundur at his heels. The bear started chasing after them, and as the path became narrower, they fumbled through the branches as they ran. Then Sigmundur turned quickly on the path between some trees and waited there for the beast to come up to him. With two hands, he struck the beast right between the ears; the axe sank into its brains and the creature keeled over and died instantly without any death throes.
Sigmundur said, “Let’s see if we can’t get this bear lifted up.” They set to work and managed to lift the bear up, propping it against a tree so that it could not fall over. They positioned sticks in its jaws, so that the beast seemed to gape open at the mouth. Having accomplished this, they went home.
When they got back to the farm, their foster father, Ulfur, was standing in the home meadow, having just come back from an outing to search for them. He scowled and asked where they had gone. Sigmundur answered, “It’s bad news, foster father. We went against your advice and a bear chased after us.”
Ulfur went inside, took out a spear, and then marched off to the forest with Sigmundur and Thorir. When Ulfur saw the bear, he charged at it, ran it through with his spear, and the bear fell to the ground. Then he realized that the beast was already dead and laughed out, “You’re having your fun with me!” Then they went home, and Ulfur had a great deal more respect for Sigmundur after this episode.
– The Faroe-Island (Færeyinga) Saga, 13th Century AD
