FAIrIes Around the World Countries and cultures around the world have their own version of fairies and different names for these creatures These fairies also may vary in looks and purpose They often live in particular places or have distinct powers For example the Irish wee folk are fairies who live around ancient burial grounds The Irish also have leprechauns According to myths leprechauns are shoemakers Their specialty is making footwear for royal fairies The Russian leshiye can turn itself into a tree French fairies or fée can do the same thing Fée can also travel in the wind or in fog Many countries have a version of a house fairy or elf The Scottish brownie lives in homes and helps with the chores In Spain this fairy is called a duende In Germany the house fairy is a hausmänner and in Cambodia they have the àràk A changeling is a fairy baby In stories fairies take human babies and exchange them for changelings To protect a baby from fairies parents put ash tree buds in the cradle 6
AncIent FAIrIes The word fairy was not used until the early Middle Ages However the ancient Greeks were among the first to mention creatures with fairylike qualities In Greek myths these spirits could be gods or goddesses For example Pan is a god of nature He is half human and half goat According to Greek stories Pan’s mother was a nymph Nymphs are minor goddesses They are nature spirits who have different names depending on where they live Water nymphs are naiads and nereids Naiads are freshwater nymphs who live in rivers lakes and streams Nereids live in the sea Unlike naiads nereids are kind They protect sailors at sea According to Greek myths the sea god Nereus had 50 nereid daughters They rode on the backs of hippocamps dolphins and other sea creatures Other nymphs live on the land Oreads live in meadows and mountains Dryads live in trees and they protect them from humans FAst FAct the trojan War In greek mythology nymphs are often the mothers of heroes thetis a nereid is the mother of Achilles a hero of Dryads can leave their tree homes to dance in the forest 7
the eleMents According to the ancient Greeks four elements make up everything on Earth fire earth air and water They also believed that a spirit inhabited or lived in all natural things These spirits also controlled all aspects of nature from making plants grow to causing earthquakes In the 1500s the philosopher and doctor Paracelsus divided the spirits according to the elements Gnomes and pygmies are earth spirits They take care of caves mines and forests Nymphs are water beings They are responsible Fire spirits live in red hot flames 8 for lakes rivers and other bodies of water Air spirits are sylphs a group of tiny winged creatures Finally vulcans and salamanders were associated with fire Like many supernatural beings these nature spirits can be kind or cruel to humans They may warn of a storm or save people from drowning However they may also lure people to their deaths FAst FAct Fire fairies can be dangerous but also provide light and energy
pIxIes Small green fairies are pixies They have pretty wings and wear bells As they dance across the land their bells make a tinkling sound Pixies are most common in places such as Devon and Cornwall in England These tiny creatures also live in Sweden where they are called pyske According to stories pixies live under rocks or mounds of earth Pixies are mischievous and fun-loving fairies They like to trick humans especially travelers Pixies confuse unlucky travelers so they lose their way To avoid being pixie-led or lost local people advise travelers to wear their coats inside out Pixies also like to lead children away to dance with them However they do not do any major harm Pixies also love horses especially the wild horses that live on Dartmoor This area of Devon is rugged and open The tiny fairies steal horses at night and go for wild rides Pixies are tiny enough to use a mushroom as a chair 9
