Feb 12, 2023
Least weasel/vessla in its white winter coat. Värmland, Sweden (February 12, 2023).
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Least weasel/vessla in its white winter coat. Värmland, Sweden (February 12, 2023).
The weasel in Scandinavian folklore
Weasels were not to be killed or harmed. If you hurt a weasel in any way, your farm would lose all of its luck and fortune. And, according to some people, hundreds of the dead weasel's friends would appear and blow "vessleblåst" on you (or your cattle) . Vessleblåst was a disease that caused pain and swelling.
The bite of the weasel was thought to be lethal. Some even believed that the weasel had venomous saliva.
Weasels could also crawl into the ears of your livestock, causing all kinds of [health] issues.
Given its dangerousness, people avoided mentioning the weasel by its proper name. Instead, they used noa names such as "den lilla sköna" ('the little beauty'), "jungfrun" ('the maiden', 'the virgin').
Most people didn't make any distinction between the stoat and the common weasel; both are referred to as "vessla."
Sources:
Eva Wigström, Djurlifvet i folkets tro och sägner
Ebbe Schön, Folktrons ABC
No nuggets today litle man
Weasel/vessla. Here in Värmland, some of the weasels molt their fur during winter, mirroring the behaviour of those further north, while others retain their brown pelage throughout the year, akin to those in southern regions of the country. Värmland, Sweden (February 25, 2018).
Weasel/vessla in its winter coat. Värmland, Sweden (February 12, 2023).
Least weasel/småvessla (or simply Weasel/vessla). He/she lived under our tool shed back in 2018. Some weasels in Värmland changes colour to pure white in the winter, while others, like this one, stays brown and white. Värmland, Sweden (February 25, 2018).
Pues, la verdad es otra prueba de dibujo. 🥰 Me gusta escribir, actualmente llevo un par de libros terminados 📗 y me gusta dibujar a los personajes. ❤️ Me ayuda mucho en el proceso. ⭐️
More pictures of the weasel we have living under our tool shed.