grumain

grumain MYTHOLOGY — Elven creatures. Grumain are said to be small elven creatures who use magic to move about at night to do mischief. They can only move in moon and starlight and are believed to use discarded eggshells for boats, floating (via magic) on wind and water using moon and starlight as propulsion. They mostly only perform harmless pranks that irritate, but they do pose a serious threat in that they can ruin crops, spoil food storage, and damage property. Their greatest risk, however, is to babies and infants, in particular newborns: legend suggests grumain so love newborns and babies, they will steal them while the parents sleep. Having no idea how to properly care for a child, or simply growing bored with them after a time, the grumain allow the children to starve. As protection against the creatures, → folken boil all eggshells in milk and cinnamon, which is believed to break the magic that allows the grumain to use the shells to float on moon and starlight.