For them the echo is malik , and the work of the scrattles .sx If there is no echo at a likely place , the scrattle has " cut it off " from the hollow where he lives .sx The recognised business of scrattles is to guard subterranean treasure , but they must on no account be confused with treasure-guarding spooks or ghosts .sx They like to have dealings with human beings , were it only in order to play pranks upon them .sx The rat is frequently indistinguishable from the Vrag ( devil) .sx At one time the belief in Lesnike ( sing .sx lesnik ) or tree spirits was very strong in some Slovene districts .sx As late as 1300 A.D. a certain Vid of Trstenik near Maribor rendered divine honours to a tree " to the shameful dispraise of his Maker .sx " ( Pirchegger , Geschichte d. Steiermark , 196 .sx ) Similar reports have been collected at Kobarid ( Caporetto ) and Sent Daniel ( S. Daniello ) near Tolmino .sx The lesnik lives in ( or on ) his tree , and will not allow it to be cut down .sx The Slovene writer Trdina mentions a tree spirit called Gugljaj , obviously connected with the v. gugati , to swing ; the idea being that the spirit entertains himself with rocking himself on the branches of his tree .sx ( See No .sx 115 .sx ) Some folk actually have a rat in their service , who brings them money or helps them to increase gold .sx But in return the employer has to make a contract , written in blood , with the rat , and pledge him his shadow .sx This contract must be laid on the window-sill , and in it the man must also state what he desires the rat to do for him .sx They say that Malik remains young for ever in a human shadow ; without it he would grow old , and even die .sx For this very reason the man who has pledged his shadow soon begins to waste away , and is like to die before his time .sx In the soul Malik takes no interest whatever .sx Therefore it is by no means the same thing whether you make your contract with Malik or with the Evil One ( Hudoba) .sx The kind of rati who like to frequent human habitations correspond to the German Heinzelmannchen .sx In the Pohorje they call them Enci .sx " The Enc is a bright spirit which manifests only at night .sx .. " Fairies are to-day spoken of as Vile only in the districts near the Croatian frontier , i.e. in Bela Krajna ( White Carniola ) , but the Slovenes of Styria and Beyond-the-Mura are likewise familiar with this term .sx In Old Carantania , however , it has become obsolete and its place is taken by the terms Zalik zena , or zal zene , both being corruptions of the South German term die Saligen ( the Blessed) .sx In the Ziller Tal they call the fairies by the name of Bele or Castitljive Zene ( White , or Venerable , Ladies) .sx In the Gorjance Hills near Novo Mesto there is a cave of the Cestitk ( Venerable Ones ) , and in the forest-covered miniature mountain range of Jelovice near Bled there is , not far from Kamna Gorica , a Castiljiva jama ( Venerable Cave ) , which is distinctly mentioned as the dwelling-place of the Rojenice .sx We meet with various names for the fairies .sx They are called Rojenice , Sojenice , Divje deklice ( wild maidens ) , Bozje dekle ( God's handmaidens) .sx The term Zavdane deklice ( Enchanted maidens ) reflects the popular belief that these beings are the spirits of maidens under a spell .sx The Ajdovska deklica and Rimska deklica belong more or less to the demoniac order of beings .sx The Carinthian Billeweiss are also fairies , and not to be confused with the German Bilweis ( whose name , by the way , is probably the corruption of some Slav word) .sx Bilweis is an evil warlock who steals the fruits of the field , like the Slovene Vedomec ; whereas the name of the Billeweiss is probably a .sx combination of vila and the German Weiss ( = white) .sx All nature is the proper home of these fairies , but we must not forget that the White Ladies , including their queen ( No .sx 193 ) , who is a being of a superior order , were originally water fairies .sx Wonderful is the picture of the Woman of more than human stature , with her body white as snow , sitting by moonlight on a rock beside the mountain spring , and the water drawn from the spring at that moment was not water , but sweet wine !sx Hostnik ( Forest Man ) , Vilenjak ( male fairy ) , or Divji moz ( Wild Man ) is the same as the Latin homo silvaticus , l'om selvagn of the Ladines .sx The Wild Men shepherd the wild animals of the forest ( No .sx 151 ) , and originally they have nothing to do with the Wild Huntsman , who is , as we said before , really a German interloper , and the Slovene Hostnik must not be confused with him .sx The Povodni moz ( Water Man ) is known to the Slovenes also by the German name of Taterman , in Carinthia they call a spring taterman , and as Gestrin , which is a corruption of the German Wassermann .sx There is also a water sprite called Muk , which inhabits ponds and tarns , and Slovene mothers warn their children not to go near such waters , lest Muk should draw them in ( No .sx 158) .sx Among other Slavs the Sea King and his wife ( No .sx 145 , VI ) are of greater importance than the Water Man ; Dr. Kelemina gives several stories about him .sx The Slovenes between the Mura and Drava know something about Polkonji ( from pol = half , and konj = horse ) , i.e. half-horses ( centaurs ) , but there are few references to them in Slovene folk tales .sx VI .sx Demons .sx According to Dr. Kelemina , the designation of demons is applicable to beings who represent natural phenomena and the untamed forces of nature .sx They differ from the fairies .sx in as much as they lack every vestige of a soul and display only rude physical force .sx That does not mean , however , that they are , as a matter of course , hostile to mankind .sx We must classify demons according to the element which they represent and through which they manifest .sx There are demons of earth and of the water ; there are the winds and storms .sx They appear in human as well as in animal shape .sx Dragons and reptiles are special representatives of devastating torrents and hurricanes .sx An important female storm demon is the Jaga Baba , also called Jezi baba , Jeza , or Jezinka .sx The Snake Maiden , Iza , is little more than a memory nowadays .sx In popular tradition her place has been taken by Sveta Nea ( St. Agnes ) , owing to the similarity of their names in Slovene pronunciation .sx Bosaruna , her name means " witch , " is also very little known .sx Vouvel , the giant of the Pohorje , and Baron Balon , who is akin to him , are demons who imprison the beneficent rain-clouds in their mountains ; the fairy tale , of course , speaks not of clouds , but of sheep and cattle .sx In eastern Styria a memory of Vouvel survives in a curiously distorted form .sx On January 25th ( Conversion of St. Paul ) , the boys run about the village , shouting :sx " Run , Paul , or the fog will get you .sx " The names of Vouvel and Baron Balon between them recall that of Balamirja , the blackamoor prince who seduces Vida the Fair away from her husband in the Serbo-Croatian version of the legend .sx Barbara of Ribnica ( in Inner Carniola ) likewise holds back the clouds and thus retards the growth of plants .sx There are several old-established rites whereby Barbara Perperuna is compelled to vouchsafe the much-needed rain .sx ( Vijenac , 1926 , 404 .sx ) Rabolj ( rabelj ) is the winter demon who fights with Vesnik , the hero of spring .sx The Rusa ( i.e. an animal of russet hue ) , which is led about in eastern Styria at the end of winter , probably stands for the departing winter season .sx Winds , whenever personified , should be classed with the storm demons .sx In olden times they were paid more respect than now .sx Valvasor mentions that in Carniola in his day they used to bless the caves whence strong winds are wont to issue .sx Stramorji is the name sometimes given to giants of the mountains .sx Precipitous crags , whose outline often suggests the crude likeness of a face , inspired people with the original idea of mountain giants .sx The piled-up strata are the work of these giants , their castles , and the outer courts of the gods .sx These purely mythological conceptions were blended later on with traditions of the aboriginal inhabitants of the country and vague traditions of the Greeks and Romans , traces of whose colonisation of the Slovene lands are still extant in the shape of massive walls and buildings .sx Hence the terms Rimska deklica ( Roman Maiden ) and Ajdovska deklica .sx According to Dr. Kelemina Aijdi should be derived from the German term hadisch .sx The Kajkavci who took over the name from the Slovenes without knowing its derivation , actually say Hajduki ( freebooters ) .sx These giants were not so far removed from human proportions .sx From being originally soulless tyrants , they gradually became men , distinguished by exceptional strength and an appetite to match .sx Martin Krpan is typical in this respect .sx Their relations with mankind became more friendly :sx Blagodej , of the Soa ( Isonzo ) Valley is actually a benefactor , and his name has that meaning .sx The story of the One-eyed Pesoglavec ( Doghead ) is , of course , a faded version of the story of Polyphemus , known to the Belokranjci ( inhabitants of White Carniola ) also as Bistrook ( Keen-eye) .sx The Romance goblin Orco ( Vuorek ) is known to the Slovenes and Croats on the Italian ethnological frontier by his original Latin ( romance ) name .sx He assumes various shapes , .sx for preference that of a small donkey , and annoys folk who have to travel by night by getting between their legs so as to compel them to bestride him .sx In this form he is called Podlegaj ( he-who-lies underneath) .sx Sometimes he leaps on the traveller's back for a change .sx ( I have an idea that on such occasions he is very difficult to get rid of .sx ) In some parts this type of goblin is simply called rat or Vrag , like any other troublesome elemental .sx But Podlegaj is more malicious than rat .sx He stands for those queer gusts and eddies of wind which arise suddenly in the open and seem to blow from nowhere in particular .sx Among the demoniac beings Dr. Kelemina includes Vida the Fair , a well-known character in Slovene myths and legends .sx Vida the Fair is known also to Serbo-Croatian popular tradition , which greatly facilitates the study of this figure .sx According to Serbo-Croatian mythology , the spouse of the ruler of the heavens was named Vida , which is short for Vidoslava , and the feminine equivalent of Sventovid .sx She is the sister of her spouse , just as the Slovene Deva is both spouse and sister of Kresnik .sx The Serbo-Croatian Vida likewise becomes unfaithful to her husband , whose name in later traditions is Ban Strahinja or Strahor .sx Vida goes so far as to help her abductor , who is a blackamoor or an Arab , just as in the Slovene tradition .sx One authority on Yugoslav folklore suggests that Vida typifies the inconstant moon with her journeys from sea to sea .sx This theory is borne out by the fact that the popular name of the herb artemisia ( wormwood ) is Vidino Pero ( Vida's herb ) , and Artemis was the goddess of the moon as well as of springs of water .sx Dr. Kelemina thinks we are warranted in regarding Vida the Fair as akin to the water nymphs who are known by the beautiful name of Boje deklice ( handmaidens of God ) and wash their linen in ponds and lochans by night .sx An important feature in legends of the Slovene Vida is that the sea comes into all of them :sx " Vida the Fair stood by the sea-shore , and on the beach she rinsed her linen .sx " The Serbo-Croatian Vida , too , is to be found beside the water .sx The legend of the fairy washerwomen is very widespread .sx The Slovenes also tell of the majestic White Lady who stands in the water and turns .sx it into wine .sx She is the Queen of the White Ladies ; and thus , says Dr. Kelemina , the spouse and sister of the Supreme Being is the original Water Fairy , known variously as Lepa Vida , Bozja deklica , Matica , Matoha .sx The name of Matoha or Matica , ( i.e. Great Mother ) is not inappropriate for the spouse of the Supreme Being and Mother of All Living Things .sx