In the Study that night when every one was settled for the "good-night hour", Ardath asked Grandfather, "Could we see the gnomes, if we are very, very good?"

"Yes, you could see the gnomes, especially if there was a real reason for wanting to see them." Grandfather said; then asked "Would you like to hear a story about gnomes, tonight?"

The children were delighted and sat wide-eyed ready to listen.

"Hundreds of years ago, in Medieval times, in the Black Forest in Germany, the country where your forefathers and my forefather came from to America, there were many little gnomes. You remember, I said gnomes are earth spirits. They guard the treasures of the earth, the gold, silver, copper, precious stones and rare minerals.

"They never allowed anyone to find the treasure unless their mind and heart were pure and good. That means they could not be selfish desiring to store up for themselves the treasure or wealth they may find.

"One day, a young man gnome came into the cave where the older, bearded gnomes, were .working, very excited and shouting, ‘He is riding through the forest on his horse. He is nearby and will soon be here. Hurry, hurry, the jewels must be ready.'

"Calmly, one of the older gnomes stopped his work of polishing diamonds and asked, ‘Who is coming this way? Why should we hurry?'

"‘The man for whom we are polishing jewels!' the young man gnome began putting precious jewels on little piles.

"‘How do you know this is the right man?' The older gnome wanted to be sure there was no mistake.

"‘He lost his way, was tired and discouraged so he kneeled down to pray as he made a cross on his forehead. Teach me obedience, Lord to Thy Will. Help my troubled heart to be as still as the cool depth of the forest, so I may hear Thy voice and accept guidance.'he prayed. Soon he fell asleep on a bed of evergreen boughs. As he slept, I whispered in his ear, telling him he was very near the cave where the precious jewels he sought, were hidden. When he awakened, the good man set out in the right direction, refreshed and encouraged.' The young gnome told the older gnome.

"The older gnome nodded his head, ‘He is the one for whom we have been working'."

Grandfather stopped telling his story to ask the children, "Why did the good man have new courage when he awakened?

"He was all rested." Arthur said.

"He listened to the silence." Ardath added.

"You are both right. He rested when he was tired, prayed and listened." Grandfather reminded the children and went on with his story.

"The older gnome gave a signal to the other gnomes who were working. They all left their work and came to listen to what the young man gnome had to say. They looked at one another, then nodded in unison, agreeing they would give their jewels to the good man who was nearby.

"All the gnomes sang happily and worked faster than ever at their jewel polishing. They arranged the jewels I a neat little circle of stacks so they could be easily handled when the good man came to their cave.

"The young man gnome, joyful that he had made the discovery of one who was worthy of their labor, ran out of the cave and soon came back more excited than he had been the time he brought his first news.

"‘He is leading his horse and is very near us.'

"Everything was ready for the good man leading his horse through the forest. All the gnomes went outside the cave to wait for him. While they waited one of the older gnomes got an idea.

"‘What if our good man - what is his name - doesn't stop here?' he asked two questions at one time.

"The young man gnome said, ‘The good man is called Sir Thinkrite. If he is thinking too loud and misses us, we will play a trick on him.'

"The gnomes were jolly little fellows, but sometimes they played rough tricks on people for a good purpose. They all laughed.

"The young man gnome explained more about Sir Thinkrite. ‘Right now he is thinking only that he must hurry and find the treasure he seeks. He must prove his worthiness to become a Baronet, one of the higher rank in his Order of Noblemen. The sooner he gets the precious jewels, the more honor he believes he will receive. This is not the best thought he could be thinking.'

"The gnomes discussed the good man's thoughts, They knew it was easy for a man traveling alone in the forest to be in a hurry, even if he were a good man.

"‘I'll tell you what we'll do', one of the older gnomes suggested, ‘Sir Thinkrite could miss our cave because he does no expect it to be so near to him, so we will stretch this vine under the leaves.' He tugged on a thick brown vine hanging from an overhead tree limb. All the other gnomes helped him by swinging on it until it fell to the ground.

"The gnomes laughed again and shouted as they hid the vine under the leaves. There is this about gnomes, they don't have feelings of the same kind as people have and do not know that it hurts when people stumble or fall, they had been planning to trip Sir Thinkrite and thought it was great fun. What they did know was that it was better to stumble the good man than for him to miss the cave, so they stretched the vine tight and covered it carefully with leaves. It was right on the path the good man was traveling.

"Sir Thinkrite came very near the cave. The gnomes watched hopefully. He was thinking he should walk faster if he would return to the castle of the Baron who sent him on his search, by midnight which was the limit of the time given him to succeed. He should have stopped more often to listen. As he hurried on, he stumbled over the vine. The gnomes howled in glee, not so much because the good man stumbled as because they knew their purpose was accomplished.

"Sir Thinkrite heard the noise, but did not know from whence it came. He listened. All the gnomes were still as they could be."

Grandfather paused. He wanted to be sure the children were still awake. They had been so quiet, listening to his story that he could not be sure. They were not sitting on their hassock. Grandfather knew it would be a long story, so he had told them they might sit on the more comfortable, big leather sofa.

Both children were very much awake, Ardath asked, "Did Sir Thinkrite hurt himself?" She was very sympathetic.

"No, he did not hurt himself because he only stumbled and did not fall. The jolt of the stumble made his heart beat faster, so he did not think of hurrying anymore." Grandfather assured the little girl. "He saw the cave then and realized his heart had not been open to guidance from his God, so he decided to rest awhile and listen.

"A coolness was coming from the cave and the trees about it provided shade. A peacefulness come to Sir Thinkrite as he paused to talk to his God and listen.

"The gnomes had no notion of human manners. They did not know that it was not polite to listen so they listened to Sir Thinkrite talk to his God, as the young man gnome had done."

"Why didn't he go in the cave and get the jewels so he could go home?" Arthur asked when Grandfather took a breath.

"He went in to the cave after he had talked to his God and listened. The gnomes wanted to help him so they pushed on his sandals. They even lifted him over the rough stones on the floor of the cave.

"It was dark in the cave, so the gnomes turned up the lights on their finger tips and flashed them on the jewels so they would sparkle and attract the attention of Sir Thinkrite. Sir Thinkrite saw them."

"What did he do, then, Arthur?" Grandfather stopped his story to ask the question.

"He put all the jewels in his bag and rode away." Arthur thought he ended the story.

"Sir Thinkrite did not hurry. First, he made another cross on his forehead. He always did this when his heart felt near to his God, or to help him feel near to his God. Then he thanked God for guiding him into the cave. He even thanked Him for causing him to stumble. The gnomes heard this and chuckled, slapping one another on the back. They knew they had helped Sir Thinkrite find the jewels by stretching the vine across his path, making him stumble and almost fall."

"Did Sir Thinkrite see the gnomes?" Ardath asked anxiously.

"No, he did not see them because he had no desire to see them. He knew God had many helpers and silent workers and was grateful for their help in time of need." grandfather solemnly told Ardath.

"Someday, I/m going to the Black Forest and get some jewels out of a cave." Arthur decided.

"Yes, Arthur, I believe you will, but right now, it seems wise for you to get some rest, so you can grow and learn to listen well."

Arthur slid off the big sofa and took Grandfather's hand, showing that he was ready for bed.

Ardath remembered, "Oh, Grandfather, did you know I'm going to sleep in the big bed, tonight?"

"I did not know it, but if you are, may you have big, bright dreams to fit it." Grandfather smiled and put his arms around Ardath's shoulder

"Thank you, Grandfather. I'll dream about precious jewels in a cave."

When prayers were finished, Grandfather said they would repeat, together, "I place myself in god's all abiding law of love and all is well."
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