Brook Sprite

Folks hereabouts are given to speculating on any number of things. High school football scores. The price of hay. The day of the first freeze. Which child will be pulled under next by the brook sprite.

They make as if there's a particular type of child who is likely to be chosen. "The smaller the better," is a commonly held opinion. "The loud ones announce their presence," say some. "The quiet ones will go without a fuss," say others. All are facts and are true up until the day they're put to the test. Then, all bets are off.

They say the brook sprite, once he's zeroed in on a child, will swim alongside him, then veer away, luring the child into the deeper water. Then he'll wave and disappear under the water. If the child follows, he might see the sprite below in the murky depths, swimming eellike through the watervines, inches above the muddy bottom. The child will lose sight of the little devil the moment he feels a vine wrap around his ankle.

What they don't tell you because they don't know, is that the brook sprite is the last child drowned. They also don't know and don't tell you that the type of kid he's looking for is the one most like him. He then tricks the water gods and can move on.