Heinzelmännchen make their own race or probably represent a sort of household Kobold (elves/dwarves/gnomes/pixies)...
"There is a tale that relates to the Heinzelmannchen of Cologne: There was a tailor who had a very curious wife who was intrigued to learn more about the Heinzelmannchen and what they looked like.
One evening she covered the floor with peas so that the Heinzelmannchen would slip and fall.
She then hoped to leap out and capture some of them.
Night fell and sure enough the Heinzelmannchen came and they slid out on the peas but most mysteriously they got away and never came back.
From that time on the inhabitants of Cologne had to do all the work themselves.
There is still a fountain in Cologne in which there is an inscription that reads ‘Neugierig war des Schneiders Weib’ meaning ‘curious was the tailors wife..."
While the Heinzelmännchen share many traits with other "little people" and mystical creatures of folklore, they are not anything other than Heinzelmännchen.
More:
See the Kobold:
See the Brownie:
See the Trasgo:
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