If you think, you can outsmart the fae... you have already lost
Every now and then I see a post on tumblr going with weird tips on how to outsmart a fae like "give them a nickname, when they ask for your name" and the like and... the best tip on how to deal with the fae is simply: Don't. Don't deal with the fae!I
Some couple years ago, I found an old book in my grandmother's collection, that was basically an assortment of old German folk poems. I wish, I remembered the name, so I could look it up again and properly quote it. But I distinctly remember there being a kind of nursery rhyme like poem that basically described proper etiquette, when dealing with the fae folk. Kind of like a "If you don't want to get hexed, charmed or whisked away, follow these rules, when meeting a fae" guideline.
I don't remember all of the poem anymore, but the couple lines, I remember, highlight very well why it is a hella stupid idea to try and outsmart the fae folk.
It went something like this:
"Don't lie to them. Don't tell them the truth.
Don't meet their eyes. Don't look away.
Don't eat or drink what they offer.
Never turn down an offered gift.
Never give to them for free.
Don't have them be indepted to you.
If you payed attention, you may have noticed, that these rules effectively contradict each other constantly. And yet according to the intro of the poem, you are expeted to follow them all perfectly, if you want to survive an encounter with the fae. And just to finally bring home my point:
This poem had over 20 verses!
So yeah. Number one rule on how to savely deal with the fae: Don't.