Rübezahl
pgmA very well known figure featuring prominently in many German, Polish, and Czech tales is the mountain spirit Rübezahl.
He is first attested by name in the 1500s, but it is reasonable to assume that he was known in orally traded tales for at least a hundred years prior to that.
What we know about him ties in rather well with what we just learned about the Leshy.
He can change his appearance at will, ranging from things such as a tree trunk or rock, to animals, a variety of human forms, and finally the form of a colossal giant.
He punishes what he perceives as disrespectful or immoral behaviour by sending terrible weather, or doling out embarrassing magical disfigurations, and rewards bravery and moral deeds, often with gold or precious stones.
The probably best-known tale of Rübezahl is the one about how he received his name:
He was yearning after a human princess, so he tricked her into entering his realm through the water of a fountain, and held her captive in his domain beneath the mountain, trying to convince her to be his bride.
She however refused his advances and became sad and lonely without her court ladies, so Rübezahl brought her a basket of turnips and a magic wand which allowed her to turn each turnip into a living being. She turned them into her friends and dogs, and happily lived with them inside the mountain until the turnips shrivelled and wilted, causing the creatures to age and eventually dry up back into the turnips they were.
Rübezahl, unable to produce more turnips for her, began to plant a field of turnips to keep his princess company, but the lady tricked him into letting down his guard by asking him to count all of the turnips in the field, which occupied him long enough for her to escape the mountain rage over which he rules.
Subsequently, he became known by the name of Rübezahl (“turnip counter”), a name which greatly insults him.
Those who would call this mocking name while wandering his mountains would frequently be punished in his anger.
The Guardian spirit of the Krkonoše Mountains, he is known to be capricious and moody, but is well loved by the locals and a popular symbol of the area.