The leshy is a forest spirit of western Russia and Romania, which dwells in abandoned shelters and lairs. Although its most common appearance is that of a human being with a beard and greenish complexion, with a single eye capable of hypnotizing anyone who looks at it, this fabulous being has the ability to change shape: it can become a cloud of dust, a whirlwind, a mouse, a wolf, or a large one-eyed goat (without eyebrows or eyelashes).
The leshy is a playful and drunken spirit that enjoys climbing trees and swinging on branches to disorient travelers who venture into the forest. Sometimes it hibernates alongside a bear inside a cave and then, in spring, tests its strength by wrestling with a peer. The leshy mates only with females of its own kind, and will never seek out human maidens as other goblins and forest spirits do.