About the life of the Gnome Magicians in far-off fairyland (an Illustrated Story in Verse).
Diana Malivani
The Gnome
Magicians
Table of Contents
The Gnome Magicians
The Author
Other books by the Author
The Gnome Magicians
Gnomes live in far-off fairyland
In eternal summer weather,
Where the old oak keeps its secrets
And the stories go on forever.
There, the bird song never ends,
The mountain streamlet sings,
And falling stars streak the sky
To splash in welling springs.
There, brighter than diamonds sparkles the dew,
Shining through the midnight gloom,
And the forest music is everywhere.
Farewell to the mournful moon!
There, a raindrop is a crystal pendant
Hanging on a silver thread.
In its facets a rainbow shimmers:
Violet blue green red.
And here, the gnomes, who do not fear the dark,
Have worked with incredible skill
To burrow their home, an underground labyrinth,
Into the foot of a hill.
The twelve of them like to wear funny clothes:
Their usual dress includes
Brightly colored floppy hoods
And pointy-toed golden shoes.
They are master craftsmen, these forest magicians,
Wonderfully adept in the use of tools.
They sing as they cut diamonds, rubies,
Emeralds – glittering precious jewels.
In full swing in the labyrinth,
Hidden away from human eyes,
The work goes on to the sound of a flute
As the gnomes go on with their lives.
Over fields of flowers, a gray fog spills
Down from the gently rolling hills.
Here live the mysteries of the ages,
The secrets kept in the books of sages.
The gnome magicians know no care
Or fear or sadness. They play
Their songs and dance and drink
As their music flies far away.
When midnight strikes, the forest calms.
Only the gnome magicians dance on,
Treading by moonlight on dew-wet grass
Until the break of dawn.
They walk silently through falling leaves,
Through a thicket on a narrow path,
Faintly humming an ancient song
To sleeping trees and grass.
Then, sheltered from the full moon’s gaze,
Beneath the boughs of an ancient pine,
They bury their treasure, hiding it
Away from faint star shine.
Here, in the midst of the boundless forest,
In silence they read their magic spells,
Bidding farewell to the buried gems
Suffused with the spirit of the gnomes themselves.
Where the four winds all blow freely,
Bending blades of grass to the ground,
The gnome magicians’ merry songs
Continue to resound.
About the Author
