The questions keep coming in. Ellen asked me to tell about the Puca.
The Puca was an Irish fairy. Some folklore that I've read said he took the form of a horse. But my dad always said "it was the form of a donkey he took". The Puca could be benign or malevolent depending on how he perceived he was being treated. He was very sensitive and took offense easily, so you had to be very careful not to upset him. You had to remember to leave food for him or he would get his revenge. Some of antics were mischievous others pure evil. My father's version was that he liked to play tricks on people. He would spill the milk or leave the barn door open and in our house, he was the one who left the lights on or left the door unlocked at night. He was a great scapegoat when things went wrong. If something was out of place " The Puca must have done it!" It was a good way to gently admonish me, by saying "The Puca must have done it". It saved face but reminded me that I messed up.
Maybe those of you who have small children can use the Puca to correct your little ones. Or maybe not. They might abuse it: Blaming everything on the Puca.
The Puca could be helpful at times too. He might wash the dishes for you or sweep the floor. In Ireland he could see to it that your cow gave lots of milk. So it paid to be nice to the Puca.
Here's a web site with some history of how the fairies came to Ireland.