The third son descends to the underworld and meets a talking horse who calls him Ivan and takes him to a copper palace owned by a beautiful woman, a sister of the Norka.

She gives him a sword and the Water of Strength, and tells him to cut off her brother's head with a single stroke.

Folklorist Andrew Lang translated and published the tale in The Red Fairy Book.

A version published by folklorist Karel Jaromír Erben was translated as Norka, the Beast.

[6] William Ralston Shedden-Ralston noted that this plot (the third/youngest prince descends into an underworld and rescues three maidens) "form[ed] the theme of numerous skazkas".

[7][8] Soon after he developed his classification of folktales, Finnish folklorist Antti Aarne published, in 1912, a study on the collections of the Brothers Grimm, Austrian consul Johann Georg von Hahn, Danish folklorist Svend Grundtvig, Swiss scholar Laura Gonzenbach and Alexander Afanasyev.

[10] Professor Jack Haney confirmed the classification of the tale as AT 301, "The Three Stolen Princesses".

[14] Both William Ralston Shedden-Ralston and scholar Jack Haney pointed out that the name "Norka" must refer to the European otter, Mustela lutreola.