| Fairies |
| In folklore, a fairy is a preternatural creature that lives on the Earth and may be either helpful or harmful to human beings. They resemble humans but are usually much smaller and possess powers of magic. They can become invisible at will and thus live unseen in the midst of human society. According to tradition, some fairies live in an organised community, called fairyland, which is free of sickness and the passage of time. Mortals occasionally discover fairyland by accident. |
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| Most lands have nature spirit folklores. The English talk of sea-spirits, fairies, elves, gnomes, pixies and goblins. Also, the Irish speak of their "little people", the Nordics of trolls and of their Nature Gods like Odin, while the Australian and American natives tell of their totem spirits. Some types of fairies are associated with particular places or occupations. Kelps and mermaids live in water; dwarfs and gnomes populate underground places and are great experts in mining and metal smiting. Other popular fairy workers include the leprechaun shoemaker and the many varieties of fairies who are the secret inhabitants and helpers of households: brownies and silkies in Great Britain, kobolds in Germany, the nissen and tomte in Scandinavia. |
| Some Arabic jinni are described as monstrous demons, while others perform good deed for humans. Different people ascribe different origins to their fairies. Many groups believe that fairies are the spirits of the dead. Often their origin is described as divine: they might be gods from earlier times who have lost their powers of fallen angels who have been trapped in the regions of earth. The word fairy is believed to have been derived from the Latin fatae, the three fates who are present at every human birth and decide its destiny. |
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