Kittelsen’s sleeping Farmer Weatherbeard has feathers pulled from his head by the apprentice’s father
The printed caption identifies the sleeping magician as Farmer Weatherbeard, Brækstad’s name for the character called Farmer Weathersky by Dasent. The father takes three feathers from his head while rescuing his son. This is a later artistic representation of that encounter; its feathered appearance does not make the magician a bird throughout the tale.
Overview
A father seeking a teacher who can make his son greater than every master meets Farmer Weathersky on the ice. His sledge and black horse rise into the air with the boy aboard, leaving the father no address beyond a claim to be at home in every direction. Three women who command beasts, fish and birds help the father locate his son. An eagle carries him to Weathersky's house, where he retrieves the boy in hare form. Feathers become ravens that drive away the pursuing crows; wood chips become a forest and a stone becomes a mountain; churchyard earth restores Jack's human form.
The apprentice later takes successive horse shapes to earn money, but keeping his headstall would leave him in Weathersky's power. After one sale, the master retains it and treats the animal cruelly until a compassionate girl loosens the restraint. The resulting chase passes through fish and pike, dove and hawk. A princess shelters the apprentice as a ring; Weathersky becomes a cock searching the ashes and is killed by the apprentice in fox form.
Origins & earliest records
Farmer Weathersky is the English designation in Dasent's translation of an Asbjørnsen and Moe Norwegian tale, in a collection first issued in 1859. The selected electronic witness carries a second-edition notice. Its apprenticeship and transformation contest are literary attestations of this version; neither its English name nor publication date establishes an ancient native deity.
Records & interpretation
Flight in a horse-drawn sledge and the explicit pike, hawk and cock transformations supply the magician's distinctive powers. The headstall governs the apprentice's captivity, whereas his final defeat depends on a reversed predator relationship. These narrative rules are primary textual evidence. They do not verify supernatural animal populations or an actual trade in transformed people.
In the literature
“bit off the cock’s head”
Tale XLI, Farmer Weathersky; Final ring-in-ashes contest · George Webbe Dasent
Jack, transformed into a fox, defeats his master’s cock form.
Selected bibliography
Documented works and useful reading. This is not a list of every appearance.
- 01
Farmer Weathersky (Popular Tales from the Norse)
Inspected named tale XLI. Electronic witness includes a notice to the second edition; its exact print date is unresolved.
- 02
Popular Tales from the Norse — Farmer Weathersky
Dasent historical English translation of Asbjørnsen and Moe; hosted PG8933 includes a Second Edition notice, but its exact selected print edition date and printed pages are unresolved. 1859 is the first English collection context only. Exact observed chapter anchors and episode locators used.
Family & connections
A source-supported family tree or inspiration record has not yet been compiled for this profile. Related reading below indicates a connection in subject matter, not a proven lineage or creative influence.
Located primary passages
Specific passages supporting details in this entry, grouped by their published witness.
Popular Tales from the Norse — Farmer Weathersky
Dasent historical English translation of Asbjørnsen and Moe; hosted PG8933 includes a Second Edition notice, but its exact selected print edition date and printed pages are unresolved. 1859 is the first English collection context only. Exact observed chapter anchors and episode locators used.
- Weathersky takes Jack away in a flying sledge. The father eventually follows an eagle’s instructions, takes feathers from the sleeping master and rescues a hare from the stable; Christian earth later restores it to Jack.
Tale XLI, Farmer Weathersky; Apprenticeship and father’s discovery of the captive hare
- During the eagle’s escape, the taken feathers become ravens that drive away pursuing crows, wood chips become a forest and a stone becomes a mountain. Weathersky injures his leg breaking through the mountain.
Tale XLI, Farmer Weathersky; Pursuit and transformed obstacles
- Jack profits from horse sales while keeping his headstall, but his father finally forgets it. A girl loosens the captive horse’s halter; Jack and Weathersky chase through fish/pike and dove/hawk forms. Hidden as a ring, Jack finally becomes a fox and kills Weathersky in cock form.
Tale XLI, Farmer Weathersky; Horse sales, successive forms and final defeat
Complete named tale read. Exact selected print date, page numbers and earliest attestations are not inferred.
References
Sources supporting this profile. Linked pages have their own scope and editorial standards.
- Primary textPopular Tales from the Norse — Farmer Weathersky (tale XLI)Research access: 2026-10-05
Image credits
Historical illustrationKittelsen’s sleeping Farmer Weatherbeard has feathers pulled from his head by the apprentice’s father
The printed caption identifies the sleeping magician as Farmer Weatherbeard, Brækstad’s name for the character called Farmer Weathersky by Dasent. The father takes three feathers from his head while rescuing his son. This is a later artistic representation of that encounter; its feathered appearance does not make the magician a bird throughout the tale.
