One very dark night, when the goblins' light Was as long and as
white as a feather, A fairy spirit bade me stray Amongst the
gorse and heather. The pixies' glee enamoured me, They were as
merry as merry could be. They held in each hand a gold rope of
sand, To every blue-bell that grew in the dell They tied a
strand, Then the fairies and pixies and goblins and elves Danced
to the music of the bells By themselves, merry, merry little
selves. Percy Green included this song in his History of Nursery
Rhymes (published in London in 1899). Monique Palomares
translates the nursery rhymes to English and French for Mama
Lisa's World. Sometimes, in the process of her work, she'll
email me with interesting observations. I thought some of you
might be interested in this comment she sent me from when she
was translating One Very Dark Night, When the Goblins' Light…
into Spanish: Spanish has very few words for goblins, elves etc.
They have "elfo" for elf, "hada" for fairy and
"duendes"/"duendecillos" for "little people" - w