| There are many Faeries who are helpful to men in legends and myth. They include the familiar brownies, but also elves, hobs and boggarts and clauricauns. The helpful Faeries often adopt a household and help with the chores if the family is hardworking, but may taunt them and cause trouble for them if the family is lazy. Typical services include milking, shoe making, harvesting, sewing, shearing and cleaning although there are accounts of brownies who became very upset and would leave or cause trouble if the house, particularly the hearth, was not swept clean. An interesting paradox is that though they would help out in the housework, a Faerie would immediately leave if repaid in any way (other than perhaps a bowl of milk or cream left out at night). Many kind folk, thankful of the help from the brownie and pitying his poor dress would procure new clothes for him. The usual result of such actions is for the sprite to thankfully accept the much needed gift and then to disappear never to be seen by the family again. The last the poor farmer will ever hear of the Faeries is some phrase of delight as he leaves: "Pisky fine, and pisky gay, Pisky now will fly away" Many brownies called hobs or hobmen, could cure sickness, particularly whooping cough. |
