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they heard voices in nearby bushes and became slightly afraid. The voices reminded them of "foreign-sounding babble." Finally, they saw the man a fourth time before they were summoned to school by the whistle. Their teacher, Miss Newcomb, noticed how excited they were and, in spite of their warnings that she would never believe them, immediately separated them and made each of the seven boys write down his experience in his own words. The essays were then gathered into a book called The Little Blue Man on Studham Common, which notes Winder, makes fascinating reading and no doubt "will occupy an honored place in the archives of the Studham Village Primary School." Investigation disclosed a number of local sightings — among them two landings in the vicinity of the spot — within a few months of the January sighting. Naturally, the investigators were most interested in hearing the boys themselves give details on the appearance of the creature. Winder reports: They estimate the little man at 3 ft. tall (by comparison with themselves) with an additional 2 ft. accounted for by a hat or helmet best described as a tall brimless bowler, i.e., with a rounded top. The blue color turned out to be a dim greyish-blue glow tending to obscure outline and detail. They could, however, discern a line which was either a fringe of hair or the lower edge of the hat, two round eyes, a small seemingly flat triangle in place of a nose, and a one-piece vestment extending down to a broad black belt carrying a black box at the front about six inches square. The arms appeared short and were held straight down close to the side at all times. The legs and feet were indistinct. the pursuers. The Reverend Robert Kirk makes no bones about it: the elves did at one time occupy the land. Today it is still a common belief in the north of Scotland that the sith or fairy people existed once, a belief that survives in their title "Good Neighbors," although they could also be hostile to man: While the Sith had no inborn antagonism towards human beings, and were occasionally known to do good turns to their favourites, they were very quick to take offence, capricious in their behavior and delighted in playing tricks on their mortal neighbors. These cantrips had to be patiently endured, as resistance or hostility might lead to dreadful reprisals — the kidnapping of children or even adults. An attitude of passive friendliness on the human side was therefore assumed to be eminently desirable. They ca’ them... Daoine Sith, which signifies, as I understand, men of peace: meaning thereby to make their gudewill. And we may e'en as well ca' them that too, Mr. Osbaldistone, for there's nae gude in speaking ill o' the laird within his ain bounds. A Gaelic scholar, Campbell, minister of Tiree, published a story called "Na Amhuisgean — The Dwarfs of Pigmies," in which he remarks: The existence of pigmies in some unknown region bordering upon, if not forming part of, the "kingdom of coldness" is of interest as indicating some of the connection between smallness of person and cold climate, and so leading to the speculations as to the first dispersion of the human race and connection of tribes that are now far removed from each As for the "puff of smoke," it apparently was a whirling cloud of yellowish-blue mist shot toward The Magic Casement Sir Walter Scott refers to this when Bailie Nicol Jarvie, in Rob Roy, tells his companion, as they pass a fairy-hill near Aberfoyle: