In folk-tales, these tiny, mischievous creatures are blamed for nipping the cheeks, chafing the hands, and bringing chilblains to the knees on cold, windy days. Nippers do indeed nip the cheeks and hands, as these inch-high sprites feed on Human blood. Normally, at the first strike of their vicious teeth, their victims brush them away, but a person sleeping or caught in the snow probably won’t notice the nip. If not deterred, they lay their crystalline eggs into the blood. As the new Nippers grow, they freeze the blood, turning the afflicted appendage black and dead before the young tear through it to escape. Many a young Kislevite has failed to heed his mother’s advice and has lost a hand, ear, or nose because he left them exposed to the cold too long.[1a]