Little Brownie

Little Brownie lived in a big house called Hilton Hall.

"Wait, who is Brownie?" you might ask.

Brownie is what they call house spirits in England. They most likely resemble tiny, funny little men and can be quite charming, but they are terribly capricious. If they feel like it, they’ll do all the housework for you, but if not, they’ll just cause mischief.

It’s said that there was once a Brownie in Cornwall who could grind more grain in one night than the owner could in an entire week. But this Brownie would only take on the work if he was left a large bowl of fresh cream overnight.

And there was another Brownie—quite famous, named Robin Goodfellow—who was a reckless mischief-maker and a great lover of pranks. For example, he loved to sneak up on some respectable lady at the table and quietly spill all the ale she was about to drink. Or he would do even worse: unlock the stable and set all the horses free.

But the Brownie from Hilton Hall wasn’t as reckless a prankster as this Robin Goodfellow, though he wasn’t as virtuous as the Cornish Brownie either. Everything depended on his mood.

When he was in a bad mood, as soon as everyone in the house fell asleep, he would be right there, wasting no time: he’d sprinkle pepper into the sugar bowls, salt into the beer, throw ashes into the hearth fire that had been left burning all night, and even spill the clean water prepared for the morning.

But if he was in a good mood—fortunately, that happened more often—then while the maids slept, he would sweep all the rooms for them, clean the hearth, light a bright fire, and tidy up the kitchen: scrubbing pots, polishing plates, washing and scraping until everything in the kitchen sparkled and shone.

Brownie was most willing to do this when the maids left him a bowl of cream or a slice of bread with honey overnight.

And so it happened one day that the maids stayed up late, telling each other scary stories. And when the two youngest of them—the cook’s assistant and the maid—finally went to bed, as they climbed the stairs with a candle, they suddenly heard a faint noise in the kitchen.

"What if it’s Brownie?" the girls thought.

Now, you should know that no one had ever seen Brownie—they don’t much like showing themselves to people—and the girls were dying to catch a glimpse of him. So they quietly descended the stairs, crept up to the kitchen door, and, gathering their courage, opened it slightly.

And there he was! In the kitchen was little Brownie. And what do you think this little imp was doing? He was sitting astride the hook of a long chain screwed into the ceiling, the kind used to hang pots over the hearth, and swinging back and forth like on a swing.

He swung and sang:

"Oh woe is me, woe!

The acorn has not yet fallen to the ground,

That will rise to the sky as an oak,

That will go to make a shaky cradle,

That will rock a child,

Who will then grow into a man,

Who will set me free.

Oh woe is me, woe!"

The maidens were kind-hearted girls. And while they were undressing to go to bed, they managed to talk it over and agreed that it was a shame and a disgrace to keep poor Brownie in the house against his will. After all, he was such a sweetheart! And even if he sometimes played pranks, he helped much more often. And so they decided to set him free.

The next day, they asked everyone they met how to set little Brownie free. But no one knew. Finally, they asked the old poultry keeper.

"Oh, good Lord!" exclaimed the poultry keeper. "It’s nothing simpler!"

And she told them what to do and how to do it.

There was a fair in a nearby town at that time, and the girls asked for permission to go. Each took a portion of the money they had saved for their weddings, and with this money they bought the finest green Lincolnshire cloth at the fair.

The next day, they cut and sewed and made a very cute green cloak with a hood for Brownie. And when evening came, they placed it in the kitchen near the hearth, hid themselves, and peeked through a crack.

Soon Brownie appeared, frowning and sulking. It was clear he was in a bad mood.

But as soon as he noticed the green cloak with the hood near the hearth—oh my, what happened next! He smiled, grinned, picked up the cloak to examine it closely, then put it on and looked at himself in the polished copper frying pan. And then he began to dance and jump around the kitchen, singing:

"My cloak, my hood,

No more am I your house spirit!"

And so, singing and dancing, he disappeared from the kitchen, and no one ever saw him again.

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Little Brownie

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