Puck

A peculiarly British earth spirit who is a decided, if distant, relation of Pan of classical mythology. He had various names - Gruagach, Urisk, Boggart, Dobie and Hob - all of which reflect his earthy quality. He does not appear widely in Arthurian tales, but appears as Oberon's impish servant in Shakespeare's A Midsummer Night's Dream.

Puck is described in a biography of him written in 1588 as the child of a young girl and a 'hee-fayrie'. He confines his mischief to the house, doing housework in exchange for cream and cake, and has the ability to change himself into any animal at will. One tale says that travellers, tempted to mount a strange horse on a wild moor, have often found themselves in the middle of a stream with nothing between their legs save a saddle!