Читать книгу The Element Encyclopedia of Magical Creatures: The Ultimate A–Z of Fantastic Beings from Myth and Magic - John Matthews - Страница 276

The brownie (pronounced ‘broony’) is one of the small folk who generally act as house spirits. The brownie is a friendly being, about 3 ft tall, with brown shaggy hair and brown clothes who comes out at night to attend to the unfinished tasks of the housewife and servants. Brownies become associated with households in a very responsible way, attending to the daily running of the place, seeing to the animals, tending the land and giving good advice. In any household, the brownie will attach itself to one particular person and be their confidante. In return for all these duties, the brownie expects a small reward which must not be omitted unless you wish to offend him. A bowl of cream, a glass of milk or a bannock of oats or cake will ensure that your relationship with the brownie is secure. Brownies do not much like being addressed directly, so it is best just to leave your offering where it can be found and enjoyed. If you have cares and worries, then you mention these as you perform some ordinary task in such a way that the brownie can overhear you.

There was a brownie who worked in the house of Maxwell, Laird of Dalswinton. He was particularly close to the old laird’s daughter. He had helped her arrange her marriage and oversaw everything about her welfare. So when she was seized with the pangs of childbirth, it was the brownie who helped that night, which was just as well as the river Nith was in spate and the midwife lived over the opposite bank. Taking his mistress’s fur coat and the best horse from the stable, he rode through the raging waters to the midwife who, in the murk of the night, merely thought that the servant was particularly small. As they rode, she cried, ‘Don’t go by the old pool in case we meet the brownie there.’ ‘Have no fear, good wife,’ cried the brownie in response, ‘You’ve met all the brownies you’re likely to meet.’ The midwife arrived in time to ease the brownie’s mistress. So glad was the old laird that he wanted to reward the brownie with the eternal salvation of baptism. Hiding in the stable with a stoup of holy water, the laird poured it over the brownie as he was about to unsaddle a horse. As soon as the holy water touched him, the brownie disappeared forever.

The sure way to get rid of a brownie is to offer him clothing, as we learn in J.K. Rowling’s Harry Potter books where Dobby the House Elf escapes his servile employment in the home of the unpleasant Lucius Malfoy when Harry Potter slips a sock into the book which Dobby then takes from his master. If you offend a brownie, you may find that you have suddenly got a boggart in the house, for that is what they become if you are not careful. Brownies do not like any kind of meanness, lying or sneaking. There are many stories which tell of how brownies punish servants who are going behind their employer’s back or otherwise misbehaving and not taking the maintenance of the household seriously. The helpfulness of brownies is most admirably seen in the tale on the previous page.