Читать книгу The Element Encyclopedia of Magical Creatures: The Ultimate A–Z of Fantastic Beings from Myth and Magic - John Matthews - Страница 262

Boggarts, who occur all over Britain, are mischievous brownies who misplace and upset things. They follow their chosen victims around and make life as difficult as possible – which is perhaps why on certain days, nothing seems to go right. They are very difficult to get rid of.

A Yorkshire farmer called George Gilbertson got on the wrong side of a boggart which attached itself to his household. The boggart spread mischief all over the house, snatching food from the children’s mouths, throwing porridge into cupboards – all invisibly. One day, one of the children discovered an elf-bore or knot-hole in the wood of a cupboard. He started to play with it, thrusting the point of a shoe-horn into the hole. Immediately, the shoe-horn popped out and struck him on the forehead. The boy had discovered the boggart’s hiding place. Daily the children played this game with their new friend, but the adults found the disorder and upset that the boggart caused about the place too much to bear, so they decided to move. As they were loading up a neighbour came along to ask why they were moving. ‘I’m forced to because of that damned boggart. It’s worried my good wife nearly to death and that’s why we’re flitting.’ From the depths of a churn upon the cart came an echoing voice, ‘And that’s why we’re flitting!’ It was the boggart. George started to unload the cart saying to his wife, ‘If I’d have known, we needn’t have gone to all this trouble. Still, better to be tormented in the old house as be tormented in a house we don’t know.’ And so they returned, waiting for the time when the boggart was tired of his tricks.