Penda Berries

In the country now known as Suomi, there is rumored to be a berry which grows in the area known as Lapland. This berry grows in the early spring while the snow is still on the ground. While the plant is green, and the flowers that bloom are a brilliant blue, the berries themselves are small and white when ripe. The berries themselves are considered inedible when picked from the plant, but according to myth they can be processed into an amazing healing wine that would compare to the renowned ambrosia of the gods. These berries are known as penda berries and while the myths are popular, no one has seen anything they believe to be these berries in at least a hundred years. An attempt was made to cultivate them, but it was unsuccessful.
  The myth around these berries is as follows.
  Once, many years ago, when the land was frozen all year, a menninkäinen was traveling from her home to a nearby village when she was attacked by a mink sent by a hiisi whose offer of marriage she had rejected. She took refuge in the roots of a tree, but not before he cut her arm. As she lay there wounded and afraid, for the mink didn't leave even after a full day and night had passed, she heard singing. Calling out for help from the voice, a man arrived. He chased the mink away and helped her to her village where she could get healing. He left before she could thank him.
  Years later, the menninkäinen was once again traveling through the forest when she saw a small cabin. It appeared to be deserted but she was curious so she approached and looked in the window where she spotted the same man who had saved her lying in a pile of furs with a woman and a babe. There was no fire and there was frost on the widows. She let herself in and found the man and woman near death. She stayed by their side, starting a fire and trying to share what warmth she had, but to no avail. The woman died first. The man roused to consciousness and saw the menninkäinen. Please, he begged, please keep our baby safe. And with that he faded and passed.
  The menninkäinen didn't know what to do. She had never tended to a babe before, but when she pulled it free from its parents, and saw the blue eyes looking up at her, she knew she would do as the man had asked. She took the babe back to her home and raised it. Over time the child learned to speak and she began to teach it the ways of the woods. They laughed and played in the snowy forest. It learned to hunt, and forage and cook. It learned to make clothing and run silently upon the path. And with time the child grew into a fine young woman. The menninkäinen felt a deep and profound love that was new to her. She cherished this little foundling.
  Not too many years later, as the two were playing hide and seek in the forest, the menninkäinen found herself once again attacked by a minion of the hiisi who wanted her for his own. This time it was not a mink, but instead a bear. The bear was going to carry her to his master, but the human girl leapt at it with her hunting spear. She managed to drive off the bear but at great cost. She lay dying. As the menninkäinen sat with her dying human, she shed her first tear. It fell onto the snow beneath the tree, the same tree where the human's parent had saved her, and a plant grew and bloomed. It produced beautiful white berries filled with sorrow, love, and magic.
  The menninkäinen plucked the berries and created a wine from their fruit. She gave the wine to the human and she recovered completely. The two lived happily together until the end of their days.