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HOME-SPEITE. 509
same. 1 With this walking apparatus and this swiftness there is
associated now and then some animal s form and name : Heinze,
Heinzelmann, polterkater, katermann, boot-cat, squirrel; their
shuffling and bustling about the house is paralleled by the nightly
turbulence of obstreperous cats. 2
They like to live in the stable,
barn or cellar of the person whose society they have chosen,
sometimes even in a tree that stands near the house (Swed. bo-tra,
dwelling-tree). You must not break a bough off such a tree, or
the offended goblin will make his escape, and all the luck of the
house go with him ; moreover, he cannot abide any chopping in
the yard or spinning on a Thursday evening (Superst. Swed. no.
110). 3 In household occupations they shew themselves friendly
and furthersome, particularly in the kitchen and stable. The
dwarf-king Goldemar (pp. 453. 466) is said to have lived on in
timate terms with Neveling of Hardenberg at the Hardenstein,
and often shared his bed. He played charmingly on the harp,
and got rid of much money at dice ; he called Neveling brotherin-law,
and often admonished him, he spoke to everybody, and
made the clergy blush by discovering their secret sins. His
hands were lean like those of a frog, cold and soft to the grasp ;
he would allow himself to be felt, but never to be seen. After a
stay of three years he made off without injuring any
one. Other
accounts call him king Vollmar, and they say the room he lived
in is called Vollmar s kammer to this day : a place at table had
to be kept for him, and one in the stable for his horse ; meats,
oats and hay were consumed, but of horse or man you saw nothing
but the shadow. Once an inquisitive man having sprinkled ashes
and peas to make him fall and to get sight of his footprints, he
sprang upon him as he was lighting the fire, and chopped him up
into pieces, which he stuck on a spit and roasted, but the head
and legs he thought proper to boil. The dishes, when ready,
were carried to Vollmar s chamber, and one could hear them
being consumed with cries of joy.
After this, no more was heard
1 So a chemin de fees is spoken of in Mem. celt. 4, 240, and a trollaskeid
(curriculum gigantum) in Laxd. saga 66.
2 Witches and fays often assume the shape of a cat, and the cat is a creature
peculiarly open to suspicions of witchcraft.
3
Wilse, ubi supra, : entirely agrees tomtegubben skal have sin til hold unde
gamle trder ved stuehuset (boetrder), og derfor har man ej tordet falde disse gandske.
To this connexion of home- sprites with tree-worship we shall have to return
further on.