Editing Puck (folklore) (section)

==Characteristics==
[[File:Joseph Noel Paton - Puck and Fairies, from "A Midsummer Night's Dream" - Google Art Project.jpg|thumb|200px|[[Joseph Noel Paton]], Puck and [[fairy|Fairies]], detail from ''[[A Midsummer Night's Dream]]''.]]

According to ''[[Brewer's Dictionary of Phrase and Fable]]'' (1898):

{{Quote |
[Robin Goodfellow is a] "drudging fiend", and merry domestic fairy, famous for mischievous pranks and practical jokes. At night-time he will sometimes do little services for the family over which he presides. The [[Scottish people|Scots]] call this [[domestic spirit]] a [[Brownie (folklore)|brownie]]; the Germans, [[Kobold]] or [[Knecht Ruprecht]]. [[Scandinavia]]ns called it [[Nisse (folklore)|Nissë God-dreng]]. Puck, the [[jester]] of Fairy-court, is the same.
}}

Puck might do minor housework, quick fine needlework or butter-churning, which could be undone in a moment by his knavish tricks if displeased.<ref>{{cite journal|last=Wall|first=Wendy |url=https://www.academia.edu/3756906|title=Why Does Puck Sweep?: Fairylore, Merry Wives, and Social Struggle|date=Spring 2001|journal=Shakespeare Quarterly|volume=52|number=1|pages=67–106 |doi=10.1353/shq.2001.0021 |s2cid=191580811 |access-date=2019-07-16|doi-access=free}}</ref> A domestic spirit, he would assist housewives with their chores, in expectation of an offering of white bread and milk. If this were neglected he would steal that which he believed was owed.<ref name=Sparkes>[https://www.historic-uk.com/CultureUK/Robin-Goodfellow/ Sparkes, Abigail. "Robin Goodfellow", Historic UK]</ref>

Pucks are also known to be inherently solitary creatures. Shakespeare's characterization of "shrewd and knavish" Puck in ''[[A Midsummer Night's Dream]]'' may have revived flagging interest in Puck.<ref>Schleiner,  Winifried (1985). "Imaginative Sources for Shakespeare's Puck". ''Shakespeare Quarterly''. '''36'''(1): 65–68. {{doi|10.2307/2870083}}. {{JSTOR|2870083}}.</ref>