After completing my 3 year course in Druidry in the fall of 2010 I headed to England last spring for my Graduation adventure. I find myself this spring missing deeply the weekends away exploring my spiritual self. I also miss greatly the wonderful storytelling that is so much a part of the Bardic (1st) year. Here is one of the stories I wrote during my Bardic year, which I have repeated many of times around campfires and such. Much love to the Gnomic Muse of this story.
Gnomes are very Clever!
For centuries upon centuries Gnomes had lived side by side with the creatures of the forest in cozy little dens insulated with moss, wearing clothing woven from spider silk and milkweed. However the one thing guaranteed in life is change.
Change came to the Gnomes the day the impeccable Moose came traipsing through the woods with Grammy Brown’s clothes line tangled through his antlers. On that clothes line were items soon to be of Gnomish legend….Socks! To the Gnomes socks were a truly marvelous contraption…good for clothing, bags, bedding, even insulation for their houses.
Shortly there after many young Gnomes began the fortuitous career of Sock collecting. Sneaking into homes and capturing a sock here and there was easy enough. Particularly as Human society began to encroach further and further into the wooded areas of the world. As more Gnomes went into the sock business Badgers were employed to excavate sock warehouses…This went on for time unmeasured until their was a true surplus of socks, and a shortage of other goods such as food.
However, not all Gnomes were captivated by the lure of sock collecting. There was one Gnome amongst them Marcus Aralias who spent his time meandering through the forest with his animal companions dreaming up wild inventions. One day as Marcus was traveling through the woods with his pet Raccoon Tubby trying to dream up away to solve the sock/food problem when he came across a marvelous sight….there in front of him, was a magnificent contraption made of metal. It was huge, with 4 rubber wheels and a shiny symbol on the front. But even more impressive was the swirling colors and words written on it. Having grown up in and out of human homes Gnomes were quite fluent in the Human language…Love, and peace were painted on the magnificent contraption. And love is what Marcus Aralias felt when seeing it. His clever Gnomish brain began spinning and a plan was quickly laid out. With a few weeks of diligent work and the help of Tubby and the Crow brothers Max and Marvin his machine was ready to go.
Marcus Aralias spoke to the Gnomish elders about his plan and with a unified tip of their pointed hats they sent him on his way. Max and Marvin the crow brothers were soon busy flying about the forest informing the Gnomish residents that at dawn they were to meet at the great Stump with their excess socks.
As the Sun rose on the Great Stump, Gnomes from all over the forest arrived with their abundance of socks. Shock, marvel and disbelief soon crossed their round faces for there in front of them stood Marcus Aralias and his Sock Mobile. Painted along side the words of love and peace were pictures of socks. The once human “Hippy Van” had been converted into a gnomish sock wagon. As Marcus shared his plan with his fellow Gnomes they began loading the Sock Mobile.
When the Sock Mobile was fully loaded Marcus hopped up onto the drivers seat, which had been adapted to accommodate his small size. Tubby his raccoon friend scuffled onto the floor at his feet to take up her job as commander of the gas and brake. Marvin and Max were in charge of navigation, with Max flying ahead to warn of upcoming obstacles and Marvin sitting on the wheel to direct Marcus’ steering. What a jovial sight they were as they traveled through the overgrown woodland pass, listening to the human voices singing on the radio.
The sun was setting as they reached their destination. A ramshackle cottage, put together with recycled materials and love…Grammy Brown’s house. As the Sock Mobile slowed to a stop Grammy Brown stepped out her door, and didn’t seem at all surprised at the sight that greeted her. She invited Marcus, Tubby and the Crow Brothers to join her in a cup of coffee and some peanut butter crackers as they sat down to talk business.
By the end of the snack, a deal had been struck. Marcus would trade the socks to Grammy Brown for vegetables from her garden, wild mushrooms and worms for fishing. Grammy Brown would take the socks from Marcus and resell them to the human folk who were missing a match to their socks.