The Maiden of the Pond in Finnish folklore is a nature spirit who governs the pond and gives pure water to healers in exchange for gold or silver. She also appears in poems as a romantic fantasy.
In Finnish folklore, forest spirits give the bear its teeth and claws. This poem appears in the Finnish epic Kalevala:
Sacred Otso grew and flourished,
Quickly grew with graceful movements,
Short of feet, with crooked ankles,
Wide of mouth and broad of forehead,
Short his nose, his fur-robe velvet;
But his claws were not well fashioned,
Neither were his teeth implanted.
Fair Mielikki, forest hostess,
Spake these words in meditation:
'Claws I should be pleased to give him,
And with teeth endow the wonder,
Would be not abuse the favor.'