the thing is that the pixie is bigger then we thougth (about 2 feet, i believe), and he was looking fot the size like that little fairy who have a chrush on peter pan (twinkle?).
I forget how big sprites were in 2e, I thought there were some really small fairy types. Nut 2' tall pixies are indeed big little folk, just a step below gnomes and halflings.
Brownies, pixies, and sprites (and possibly nixies, too) are all from the same sylvan/"Faerie Folk" family. I think brownies might be petite enough to sub for pixies, if it really matters.