The Hobbit - Chapter 08 - Flies and Spiders

[davem]

Originally Posted by Esty

And yet, they are called “Good People”, so Tolkien distinguishes them from the ambiguous folk narrative creatures.

Just a quick note: Fairies are traditionally called 'Good', not because they necessarily are , but so as not to risk offending them. They are always listening & its dangerous to get on the wrong side of them. Country folk, on speaking about fairies would often say 'There's no harm in them' & if anyone praised someone's child for being particularly beautiful or clever, the parent would quickly respond by pointing out some fault in the child, such as that they were lazy, or had a squint or some such thing, in case the fairies were listening & decided to steal them away.