Editing Mermaid (section)

=== Omen, prophecy and wisdom ===

The appearance/sighting alone betides an impending storm.<ref name=keightley1850/> Norwegians do not wish to see the havfrue, as she heralds storm or bad weather (Norway).<ref>{{harvp|Faye|1833|p=59}}: "bebude Storm og Uveir"; {{harvp|Bassett|1892|p=172}}: ""</ref><ref name="thorpe2-p027-norw"/> The appearance of the ''sjörå'' forebodes a storm or poor catch in Swedish tradition, much as the appearance of the [[skogsrå]] (wood-nymph) presages poor catch for the hunter.<ref name=keightley1850/><ref name="thorpe2-p076-swedish"/> According to the superstitions of Swedish fishermen, if one saw a ''sjörå'' who was harbinger of tempest and bad catch, one should not tell his comrades but strike flint against steel to light a spark.<ref name="thorpe2-p076-swedish"/>

In other cases the Scandinavian mermaid is considered to be prophetic.<ref name=keightley1850/>

The tale type "[[The Mermaid's Message]]" ({{langx|no|[[:no:Havfruas spådom|Havfruas spådom]]}}, ML 4060) is recognized as a {{interlanguage link|Migratory Legend|no|Vandresagn}}, i.e., a group of tales found in Scandinavia with parallels found elsewhere, according to the scheme devised by [[Reidar Thoralf Christiansen]].<ref name="kvideland&sehmsdorf"/> This may not necessarily involve the mermaid's spaeing, and in the following example of this ML type tale, she merely imparts wisdom: A fisherman who performs favors and earns the privilege to pose three questions to a mermaid. He inquires about the most suitable material for a [[Flail (tool)|flail]], to which she answers calf's hide, of course, and tells him he should have asked about how to brew water (into beer), which would have benefited him more greatly.<ref>Chapter 52: Spirit of the Sea / 52.4 "Mermaid and the Fisherman" in: {{harvp|Kvideland|Sehmsdorf|1988|pp=261–262}} ''apud'' [[:no:Olav Rekdal|Rekdal, Olav]] (1933) "Havfrua og fiskaren", ''[https://books.google.com/books?id=_w1RAQAAMAAJ&q=Havfrua Eventyr og segner]'' p. 110. Collected in 1923 from Guri Finnset in Eikisdalen, Romsdalen (Norway).</ref>