This story drew inspiration from several folk tales. It is mostly based on an early Russian folk tale in which a soldier outsmarts some devils by catching them in a sack. Other aspects are derived from two Slovak tales about catching a devil or a bear in a basket, and a Swiss story about a vine grower who takes Death as a prisoner.
Here, the storyteller asks his dog for a Greek translation of a phrase he's saying in many languages. In The Storyteller: Greek Myths (1991), Brian Henson would reprise his role as the storyteller's dog, this time with the concept being that the storyteller was a Greek in the labyrinth on Crete.
The Rule of Three - The Soldier helps three beggars and is rewarded each time. He also captures three geese the first time he uses the magic sack.