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Informant: “When me and my brother were younger, we sometimes went to a farm with our grandparents and dad. At night, we used to sit in the back of a pickup truck as adults drove, and when we were sitting there, we saw little kids following us. I told the adults that I saw little kids following us on the road, but they were running really fast. They were running at the speed of the truck. Only me and my brother saw them but none of the adults could see them. My grandparents and dad asked what the kids looked like so we described them as little kids with a red hat and backwards feet. The adults told me that they were elves. I tried reaching my hand out to grab the elves and the adults told me not to do that and I couldn’t reach my hand out to grab them because they were elves and they took children.”

Context:

The informant was born and raised in Nicaragua until they moved to the U.S. at 16 years old. When the informant was young, they rode on the bed of a pickup truck with their brother. One night, they saw elves following them and tried reaching out to grab them but failed. When they told their dad and grandpa, they were advised not to reach out for them because they could grab and steal them.

Analysis:

The story is unique in the sense that it’s not a common one told to children across an area. It is a personal experience, or a memorate. This reminds me of Lydia Hamessley’s “A Resisting Performance…” where she describes murder ballads being told in first-person perspective. I think folklore becomes more interesting when you’re hearing the stories directly from the source. It provides details that can get left out or aren’t shared when someone else is retelling the story.