When she lived in a house in Ireland, she woke up one day
and her house was sparkling clean
she told an elderly female neighbor about it
and the neighbor replied
you have the luck of the Irish
a brownie spirit is living in your home
you’ll probably never see him, but
when you wake up, your home will always be cleaned
just leave him a bowl of fresh cream or porridge
near the hearth each night, nothing more
and never … never offend him or treat him
like a hired hand
if you do so, he’ll leave, and you’ll never
have his help again
he desires to be your equal and not like
paid help
the bowl of fresh cream and porridge
are all he will require, nothing more
one day she got a fleeting glimpse of him
brown and hairy dressed in rags
feeling bad for him having to wear rags
she bought him some new clothes
after she went to bed and the brownie
came out
he saw the fresh new clothes next to the hearth
and was offended
though she meant well, she’d broken
the rule her neighbor told her about
the next morning when she woke up
her house was in disarray
the brownie who no longer cleaned her house
had gone away.
Bob Boyd