Sandman

In nursery stories of western Europe, the man who puts children to sleep by sprinkling sand or dust in their eyes. An imaginary figure, he is nevertheless part of development of children's folklore by mothers everywhere.

In the Netherlands he is called Klaas Vaak. The German name is Das Sandmännchen ("The Sandman"), in Sweden he is known as John Blund, in France as Marchand de Sable ("Sand Merchant"), and in Scotland as Bodach nan Casan-clòimhe.

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