Púca

Fairy mythologist Thomas Keightley said "notions respecting it are very vague", and in a brief description gives an account collected by Croker from a boy living near Killarney that "old people used to say that the Pookas were very numerous ... long ago ... , were wicked-minded, black-looking, bad things ... that would come in the form of wild colts, with chains hanging about them", and that did much to harm unwary travellers.

This lore bears similarities to other Irish folk creatures, such as the daoine maithe (good people) or the slua sí (fairy host), said to target humans on the road or along their regular "passes".

[8] The protective power of the "sharp things", as they are always referred to by the pooka in the tales, may stem from the Irish belief that "cold iron" has the ability to ward off the supernatural.

A farmer's son named Padraig one day noticed the invisible presence of the púca brushing by, and called out to him, offering a coat.

From that time onward, the púca came secretly at night and performed all the work of milling the sacks of corn into flour.

Padraig fell asleep the first time, but later concealed himself in a chest to catch sight of them, and later made a present of a fine silk suit.

Later, at Padraig's wedding, the púca left a gift of a golden cup filled with drink that evidently ensured their happiness.

[9][a] Another example of the púca as a benevolent or protective entity comes in tales where the creature intervenes before a terrible accident or before the person is about to happen upon a malevolent fairy or spirit.

[citation needed] According to legend, the púca is a deft shapeshifter, capable of assuming a variety of terrifying or pleasing forms.

[10] As an animal, the púca will most commonly appear as a horse, cat, rabbit, raven, fox, wolf, goat, goblin, or dog.

[13] In some regions, the púca is spoken of with considerably more respect than fear; if treated with deference, it may actually be beneficial to those who encounter it.

The púca is a creature of the mountains and hills, and in those regions there are stories of it appearing on November Day and providing prophecies and warnings to those who consult it.

[14] Shakespeare's 1595 play A Midsummer Night's Dream features the character "Robin Goodfellow," who is also called "sweet Puck," a version of the púca.

[15] The title character in the 1944 stage play Harvey – later adapted into a 1950 film starring James Stewart – is an invisible six-foot, three-and-a-half-inch (1.92 m) tall anthropomorphic rabbit, who is referred to as a "pooka".