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
