Why, that the very same tale should be told of Finn-ma-Coul, which is related of Sigurd Fafnisbane.
"What thief was that, Shorsha ?" "Thief! 'Tis true, he took the treasure of Fafnir.

Sigurd was the hero of the North, Murtagh, even as Finn is the great hero of Ireland.

He, too, according to one account, was an exposed child, and came floating in a casket to a wild shore, where he was suckled by a hind, and afterwards found and fostered by Mimir, a fairy blacksmith; he, too, sucked wisdom from a burn.

According to the Edda, he burnt his finger whilst feeling of the heart of Fafnir, which he was roasting, and putting it into his mouth in order to suck out the pain, became imbued with all the wisdom of the world, the knowledge of the language of birds, and what not.

I have heard you tell the tale of Finn a dozen times in the blessed days of old, but its identity with the tale of Sigurd never occurred to me till now.
It is true, when I knew you of old I had never read the tale of Sigurd, and have since almost dismissed matters of Ireland from my mind; but as soon as you told me again about Finn's burning his finger, the coincidence struck me.