The origin of this race is traced to Scotland. Brownies currently residing in the United States and Canada most likely arrived with Scottish immigrants. Among their names from other human cultures are: Nis from Denmark, Domonvoi from Russia (where they cry like Banshees when death is appraching a member of their chosen family, and to warn of fires), Yumboes from North Africa, Choa Phum Phi from China and Hobs from the English. They are still common to the Scottish Highlands and on the Hebrides Islands, but are rarely heard of elsewhere.
Brownies are domestic faeries, offering aid to mortals who are churning butter or grinding meal. For their service, they expect rewards of milk and bread. (Brownies who are displeased with their gifts often turn into the nasty Boggarts who harass the inhabitants of their domicile.) As with other faeries, should a human mistakenly offer them clothes in return for their labors, brownies will cease their efforts and disappear forever. In addition to their labors in the home, some brownies also guarded the corn yard during winter. Because of their industrious and beneficial nature, the Girl Scouts have adopted the name Brownies for their youngest members.
Resulting from their generous nature, a hatred of misers and cheats is characteristic among the race. Brownies will not tolerate lying and utterly detest pretentiousness.
They are nocturnal, although most are able to appear in the sunlight should they wish. However, there are a few non-Scottish House brownies who will perish if exposed to sunlight. Legends holds that it is for this reason that the brownies' familar, the rooster, crows in the morning, warning his friends that it is time for bed. (Some Scots even held that brownies could take the form of roosters.)
Small and usually male, brownies tend towards the hairy side and have slightly pointed ears, long fingers and dress in blue, green or the most typical brown. Their size makes them extremely cautious of cats and the humans they assist must not harbor the beasts within their homes. Most are keenly intelligent, except the Dobie who is a dull witt. He wishes to help, but always flubs the job because of his lack of intelligence.
So, I believe that my house is infested with a brownie, go to "Brownie Sighting" to see my first sighting with fae....
This excerpt is from WikiPedia:
A brownie/brounie or urisk (Lowland Scots) or brùnaidh, ùruisg, or gruagach (Scottish Gaelic) is a legendary kind of creature popular in folklore around Scotland and England (especially the north, though more commonly hobs have this role). It is the Scottish and Northern English counterpart of the Scandinavian tomte, the Slavic domovoi or the German Heinzelmännchen.
“Not above forty or fifty years ago, every family had a brownie, or evil spirit, so called, which served them, to which they gave a sacrifice for his service; as when they churned their milk, they took a part thereof, and sprinkled every corner of the house with it, for Brownie’s use; likewise, when they brewed, they had a stone which they called ‘Brownie’s stane’, wherein there was a little hole into which they poured some wort for a sacrifice to Brownie. They also had some stacks of corn, which they called Brownie’s Stacks, which, though they were not bound with straw ropes, or in any way fenced as other stacks used to be, yet the greatest storm of wind was not able to blow away straw off them.”
What do you guys think?