Border brownies are most characteristic. They are small men, about three feet in height, very raggedly dressed in brown clothes, with brown faces and shaggy heads, who come out at night to do the work that has been left undone by the servants. They make themselves responsible for the farm or house in which they live: reap, mow, her the sheep, prevent the hens from laying away, run errands, and give good counsel at need. A brownie can become personally attached to one member of the family. From FairesWorld.com

OK - NOW I see why Dobbie looked like a funny, little man!!!