Zlydzens

trickster · Belarus · Slavic

Zlydzens (Belarusian zlydni, Ukrainian zlydni) are small, hunchbacked, hazardous stove spirits living under the masonry oven. They wear big boots and earflap hats, resemble cat-dog hybrids. In groups they wreck utensils, spill milk, create chaos; drawn to greedy households. Cowardly alone. The Ukrainian phrase 'zhyty v zlydnyakh' (live in zlydni) means 'to live in poverty.'

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