Was Melko chickened by the Elves?
 

yeah, it's quite weird that he, being the most powerful of all the ainur, could get shaken by the might of the children of eru...
or was he just too idle to stand up and face fingolfin?

Melkor became evil, and with evil come fear, greed, and envy. In his 'fallen' state, Melkor feared greatly to be overcome by the Fair Folk or the might of the Valar. He was very insecure. [img]smilies/rolleyes.gif[/img]

He wasn't idle. After his fall, Morgoth lost most of the powers that he had enjoyed as a Vala, and retained only a few. That was how Tulkas and Oromë could have bested him. He lost his ability to assume a fair form, among others, and due to his ability for seducing his way into people's minds, that was a great loss.