Featherless Old Owl

Overview

A falcon searching for his mother finds an owl whose feathers have fallen out with age. He mistakes her bare body for that of a young falcon whose feathers have not yet grown. Taking her home to his children, he asks whether she is female or male. She answers that she is female, and he shelters her beneath his body, expecting her to grow. The absence of new feathers is therefore the central deception: the same visible condition suggests youth to the falcon but old age to the narrator.

After two days of tending her, the falcon complains that he and his family have had little proper food and must go searching. Fog prompts the owl to recall earlier weather, a two-year war, and even the falcon’s father having his forelock cut and replaced. These memories expose her age. The falcon says he cannot expect children from her and drives her away. The ending resolves the mistaken identity through remembered events, rather than a bodily transformation or newly acquired plumage.

Origins & earliest records

Hans Stumme, Märchen der Schluḥ von Tázerwalt (Leipzig, 1895), tale 30, complete German pp. 192–193. Abdulla Ben Mhammed, dictating contributor; Leipzig recording context, Preface v–vi.

Records & interpretation

Complete German tale 30 and surrounding headings read in the retained original-edition OCR. Original Tashelhit and German translation are printed separately; no independent translation of the Tashelhit is claimed.

Selected bibliography

Documented works and useful reading. This is not a list of every appearance.

1. 01

   Märchen der Schluḥ von Tázerwalt

   Abdulla Ben Mhammed, dictating contributor; Hans Stumme, recorder and German translator · 1895

   Tale 30, complete German pp. 192–193; Preface v–vi identifies the contributor and recording context.

Family & connections

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References

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1. Primary collected narrative with German translationOriginal bilingual collection, tale 30Research access: 2026-10-05

Image credits

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