[8][11] Comparable to Anglo-Scottish brownie, the creature is said to be oftentimes helpful to humans,[8][11] performing arduous tasks such as transporting great blocks of stone,[8][14] or clipping meadow grass with stupendous speed.
[8] For his talent in the grass-cutting skill, he has earned the nickname yn foldyr gastey or "the nimble mower",[8] and is sung in a Manx ballad by that very title.
[15] A bit of leftover food was all he asked for reward, according to a ballad: "His was the wizard hand that toil'd / At midnight's witching hour / That gather'd the sheep from the coming storm", and all he required were "scattered sheafs" and "cream-bowl" left on the meal table.
[16] In one instance, he accepted the offer to draw water in exchange for a "cake" (griddlecake[17]), but could not accomplish the task because he was given a leaky sieve instead of a pail.
He was transformed into a grotesque satyr-like appearance as punishment, after falling in love with a human girl from Glen Aldyn and skipping attendance of the royal high festivities of the harvest (Rehollys vooar yn ouyr, lit.
The hairy Phynnodderee then ceased his mowing and "went after him stubbing up the roots so fast that it was with difficulty the farmer escaped having his legs cut off by the angry sprite".
[19] In the tale, the hairy phynnodderee subsequently departed in a "melancholy wail", declaring that his voice could thenceforth be heard in the whistling winds of the mountains, mourning the loss of his Fairy Bower.
[12] The motif of the disdain for the gift of clothing also occurs in other tales where the fenodyree helps the farmer, and pronounces a similar phrase, "Though this place is thine, the great Glen of Rushen is not", and disappears somewhere.
[36] Joseph Train, and later John Rhys among others have pointed out that the fenodyree is akin to Lob Lie-By-The-Fire in English folklore, also known as "Lubber Fiend" from Milton.