Greet the Farm Gnomes
When you visit the folks who’ve just moved into a small farm by the name of Brattkleiva, consider yourself lucky if you can hear tiny voices coming from the storehouse, because this means you are among the favored few who’ve gotten wind of the Krekling family. The Kreklings, you see, are Brattkleiva’s farm gnomes. Most small farms have a family of farm gnomes living on them. In fact, the very thought of running a farm without them is virtually unthinkable. Who else is there to sing evening songs for the cows, to make the milk extra sweet? And who else is there to spread pixie dust on the vegetable garden to make the radishes extra crunchy? For that matter, who will tease the cat? And who’s going to comfort the courtyard tree when she loses her leaves in the autumn? The gnomes will, of course, and at Brattkleiva some new folks have just moved in. And whose responsibility are they? Why, the Krekling family’s, of course.

Farm gnomes (gnomus domesticus) are a subspecies of polar gnomes (gnomus polaris). They are widespread throughout most of Scandinavia. They live in large families of up to four generations and thrive best in the warm shelter of the storehouse. They are between 15 and 20 cm tall and can live to be 180 years old. (The oldest known gnome was great-grandfather Jensenius Tyrifot, who lived to the ripe old age of 228.) Farm gnomes are timid creatures, famous for their readiness to help. But their pronounced sense of justice can also breed a devil-may-care attitude when they feel they’ve been treated unfairly. Their favorite dish is Christmas porridge with syrup, cinnamon and a lump of butter – and, of course, fresh, crunchy radishes.