THE FULL STORY OF . . .
The Gnome
|
|
Nibble 1: Dr. Lukas and Lisbet Joansson are Happily Married Lisbet and Lukas Joansson have been happily married for 100 years. Their marriage is a typical gnome marriage – full of love, laughs and joy. They have two children, Leesa and Lasse , who have just recently turned 100 years old and have adult lives of their own now. From his very early adulthood, Lukas knew exactly what he wanted to do for his Usefullness. He followed in the hallowed footsteps of many gnomes, including his father, grandfather and great grandfather. Lukas became a physician.
Nibble 2: Have Telepathy & Magic. Will travel.
In the gnome world, doctors do not stay indoors in offices and they do not wait for their patients to come to them. Doctors go to their patients, who are almost always animals, sometimes other gnomes and, on rare occasion, a fairy, elf, pixie, troll or human. Gnomes have two natural abilities that serve them well as healers. The first is that all gnomes have telepathic abilities. Gnomes can receive and send signals over very far distances.
Nibble 2: Have Telepathy & Magic. Will travel.
In the gnome world, doctors do not stay indoors in offices and they do not wait for their patients to come to them. Doctors go to their patients, who are almost always animals, sometimes other gnomes and, on rare occasion, a fairy, elf, pixie, troll or human. Gnomes have two natural abilities that serve them well as healers. The first is that all gnomes have telepathic abilities. Gnomes can receive and send signals over very far distances.
|
The second natural ability that makes gnomes terrific doctors is that gnomes have a vast knowledge of magic. Unlike fairies who like to make quite a show of their magical skills and elves and pixies, who often use their skills for nothing more than jokes, tricks or their own personal whims, gnome magic only
|
Gnomes Have Telepathic Abilities
Gnomes can send and receive signals over long distances. Actually, all creatures can send and receive signals telepathically over varying distances, but gnomes are one of the few species who are aware enough, and of stable mind enough, to understand those signals sufficiently to turn them into useful information. Their telepathic skills are nothing more than very fine-tuned senses and extremely stable minds. |
works if it is used to help others. So, it is often those gnomes who enjoy using magic the most who become doctors and physicians.
Nibble 3: Gnome Doctors - Healers of the Animal World Haven’t you ever wondered how a deer with a broken leg can survive a winter? Have you ever wondered what happens to the animals that get caught in forest fires? Well, of course, tragedy does sometimes occur so that the circle of life continues, but many unfortunate creatures are helped and healed by the gnomes who travel to them and provide emergency and medical services. That’s one of the reasons gnomes are so beloved by all creatures of the natural world (except the stupid trolls, who are too dense to appreciate gnomes skills and usually too dumb to benefit from their helpfulness) – gnomes are just so darn helpful!
Nibble 4: Being a Doctor's Wife has its Pitfalls
As some human wives can tell you, being married to a physician certainly has its perks. Like in the human world, gnome physicians are highly esteemed and wonderfully bright. They are usually pillars of their community and gnown in many circles, far and wide. But, also like in the human world, it can be a bit lonely being a doctor’s wife – Lukas works long hours and often has to leave home at a moment’s notice, at odd times of day and night.
From the very beginning of their marriage, Lisbet handled the alone time by doing what many gnome women love to do – she baked, she cooked and she enjoyed preparing meals and treats and edible gifts. For many years, especially when the children were young, it was an enjoyable hobby that fed family and friends well.
Nibble 5: Deliciousness Everywhere - Oh No!
But as Lisbet became more and more proficient in the kitchen, she also became more prolific. Soon she was making so many wonderful concoctions that her family and her neighbors struggled to consume all the wonderful delights. Lisbet especially enjoyed making sweets – spice cake with berries and cream, nut butters with freshly baked breads and jams, teas of jasmine, mint and roses, fruit jubilees with honey butters and spiced gin, fermented raspberry sodas, ices of every flavor, muffins and cookies and scones.
As the years progressed, the Joansson home reached a tipping point of culinary abundance: Leesa and Lasse were becoming fat. Now, all gnomes are top heavy – they have large heads atop portly torsos which rest on strong, but short legs. Their feet are slightly pigeon-toed which gives them an edge on both speed and agility as they run through forests and fields, woods and grasses (they can run 35 miles per hour for several hours) and also makes them so darn adorable when they peer up at you.
Nibble 6: From Tipping Point to Disagreement
But for Leesa and Lasse (as well as a few neighbors who lived in close proximity to Lisbet’s delicious cooking), their top heaviness was becoming a problem – they kept popping their buttons on their shirts and their laces and belts would snap and pinch. Once, Lasse fell through a chair and got stuck and Leesa once peeked into a chipmunk den and couldn’t get her shoulders and belly out.
As these increasingly alarming (not to mention embarrassing) events occurred, they pushed Lisbet and Lukas into much deliberation and discussion, as well as a few disagreements. Lukas thought the most obvious thing to do would be for Lisbet to JUST STOP baking so much. However, for Lisbet, that was simply asking far too much. Baking was her respite. Concocting recipes was her joy. Cooking, it seemed, had become Lisbet’s Usefulness. As a result, dear Lisbet had to do quite a bit of singing to get Lukas’s attention about this.
Nibble 3: Gnome Doctors - Healers of the Animal World Haven’t you ever wondered how a deer with a broken leg can survive a winter? Have you ever wondered what happens to the animals that get caught in forest fires? Well, of course, tragedy does sometimes occur so that the circle of life continues, but many unfortunate creatures are helped and healed by the gnomes who travel to them and provide emergency and medical services. That’s one of the reasons gnomes are so beloved by all creatures of the natural world (except the stupid trolls, who are too dense to appreciate gnomes skills and usually too dumb to benefit from their helpfulness) – gnomes are just so darn helpful!
Nibble 4: Being a Doctor's Wife has its Pitfalls
As some human wives can tell you, being married to a physician certainly has its perks. Like in the human world, gnome physicians are highly esteemed and wonderfully bright. They are usually pillars of their community and gnown in many circles, far and wide. But, also like in the human world, it can be a bit lonely being a doctor’s wife – Lukas works long hours and often has to leave home at a moment’s notice, at odd times of day and night.
From the very beginning of their marriage, Lisbet handled the alone time by doing what many gnome women love to do – she baked, she cooked and she enjoyed preparing meals and treats and edible gifts. For many years, especially when the children were young, it was an enjoyable hobby that fed family and friends well.
Nibble 5: Deliciousness Everywhere - Oh No!
But as Lisbet became more and more proficient in the kitchen, she also became more prolific. Soon she was making so many wonderful concoctions that her family and her neighbors struggled to consume all the wonderful delights. Lisbet especially enjoyed making sweets – spice cake with berries and cream, nut butters with freshly baked breads and jams, teas of jasmine, mint and roses, fruit jubilees with honey butters and spiced gin, fermented raspberry sodas, ices of every flavor, muffins and cookies and scones.
As the years progressed, the Joansson home reached a tipping point of culinary abundance: Leesa and Lasse were becoming fat. Now, all gnomes are top heavy – they have large heads atop portly torsos which rest on strong, but short legs. Their feet are slightly pigeon-toed which gives them an edge on both speed and agility as they run through forests and fields, woods and grasses (they can run 35 miles per hour for several hours) and also makes them so darn adorable when they peer up at you.
Nibble 6: From Tipping Point to Disagreement
But for Leesa and Lasse (as well as a few neighbors who lived in close proximity to Lisbet’s delicious cooking), their top heaviness was becoming a problem – they kept popping their buttons on their shirts and their laces and belts would snap and pinch. Once, Lasse fell through a chair and got stuck and Leesa once peeked into a chipmunk den and couldn’t get her shoulders and belly out.
As these increasingly alarming (not to mention embarrassing) events occurred, they pushed Lisbet and Lukas into much deliberation and discussion, as well as a few disagreements. Lukas thought the most obvious thing to do would be for Lisbet to JUST STOP baking so much. However, for Lisbet, that was simply asking far too much. Baking was her respite. Concocting recipes was her joy. Cooking, it seemed, had become Lisbet’s Usefulness. As a result, dear Lisbet had to do quite a bit of singing to get Lukas’s attention about this.
|
Nibble 7: Lullabies Just Don't Do It
However, even lullaby after lullaby (jaunty tunes had never been very effective on Lukas) did not seem to produce a solution. At one point, the Joansson home became so stressful that the extreme gnome custom of “15 and 1” was required. |
Conflict Resolution - Gnome Style
In the gnome culture, when there is a conflict between two gnomes, the grieved party brings the issue to attention by singing a self-made song, in a sweet and soothing lullaby (or a jaunty little tune if the moment so requires). The song describes the problem and the feelings involved and asks for the recipient’s care, love and attention to bring about a resolution. |
|
15 and 1
"15 and 1" is a method by which the air between two gnomes is cleared in a thoughtful and considerate way. The grieved party (after all songs of lullaby have been exhausted, of course) is given 15 minutes to speak uninterrupted, and with complete respect and attention from the listener. The speaker is to express every single concern, care and grievance they are currently feeling. The listener is required to give no response, no answer and no counter argument for one solid day. After the solid day has passed, the listener becomes the speaker and he or she is given 15 minutes to express his or her concerns, cares and grievances. This process goes back and forth for as long as it takes to iron out the problem. |
Finally, after both Lisbet and Lukas put all their heart and soul into understanding each other, supporting each other and endeavoring to find a solution to the problem at hand, they came up with a wonderful solution.
Nibble 8: Finally! A Solution. Lisbet and Lukas decided to open a soda fountain. Lisbet could cook and concoct to her heart’s content, while Leesa and Lasse could learn important lessons of Usefulness and employment (not to mention work off some of those pounds they had been collecting) and the entire Gnome Valley |
community (as well as its many visitors) could benefit from Lisbet's love of creating sumptuous delights. It was a perfect example of how, as with all creatures, a gnome’s Usefulness simply cannot be denied. It’s also a perfect example of how abundance must be shared or it eventually becomes a burden.
Nibble 9: A Community Gathering Place
It’s been 50 years since Lisbet and Lukas opened Gnome Valley Soda Fountain. They pride themselves on the fountain being an important gathering place for the gnome community.
These days, they focus mainly on non-baked treats, interesting concoctions of creams, sodas, teas and ices, as well as delightful nibbles and sweets. They also enjoy keeping their interior very similar to that of the neighboring human Doane’s Valley Soda Fountain, which came along well after the Gnome Valley Soda Fountain. Lisbet, you see, has a knack for edible treats. She does not have a knack for decorating. Thank goodness she has Doane’s to emulate.
Nibble 9: A Community Gathering Place
It’s been 50 years since Lisbet and Lukas opened Gnome Valley Soda Fountain. They pride themselves on the fountain being an important gathering place for the gnome community.
These days, they focus mainly on non-baked treats, interesting concoctions of creams, sodas, teas and ices, as well as delightful nibbles and sweets. They also enjoy keeping their interior very similar to that of the neighboring human Doane’s Valley Soda Fountain, which came along well after the Gnome Valley Soda Fountain. Lisbet, you see, has a knack for edible treats. She does not have a knack for decorating. Thank goodness she has Doane’s to emulate.