The Path of the Gnomes

Introduction

The king of the gnomes got up. It was not yet dawn, but he could not sleep.
And yes, he was really excited! On the other hand, everyone would have been thrilled
in a day like that! The old king would never have admitted it, of course,
but that was a very important day and he felt so proud and happy, but also a little agitated.

“Well, it does not happen every day like that” thought the old gnome to himself
“And anyway – thought the king of the gnomes again – I felt it would end like this!”

And yes, because the king of the gnomes felt things and he always knew how it would end.

The gnome queen was still asleep.

“I’ll start getting ready,” said the king of the gnomes and meanwhile continued to think …

It had happened some time before …

So, one must know that the king of the gnomes lived with his family and his friends in a valley. They had lived there for a long time, for centuries, it seems, and even gave the name to the valley: “ Valletta degli Gnomi “.

The gnomes were very happy with this thing.
After all, the valley had been their home for a long time and it was also right that it had taken their name. And that name had remained until now.

The current king of the gnomes reigned over Valletta and carried on the tradition of his family.

The king of the gnomes not only had to govern and direct the lives of his subjects. He also had to take care of Valletta. And there were so many things to do!
And cultivate the land, and take care of the plants, and sow the vegetables, and wet the earth, and take care of the animals, and grow the flowers and accompany the tourists.

And yes because the king of the gnomes was so good at doing all these things that he had become very famous: they had named him “ Gnome of the Year ” and had even come to give him an interview!
Valletta had become the destination for many trips: gnomes, elves and goblins spent their holidays and weekends there.

All this pleased CikCik – this was the name of the king of the gnomes –
but he was growing old and should have named his successor.
He was sorry, a little bit, of abandoning his role as king, but the gnomes had
precise laws and had to follow them. One day, very important people came to visit Valletta. They were the king of the Elves in person with his family.

The queen of the gnomes got excited and started cooking and preparing tasty lunches and CikCik accompanied her new guests to Valletta showing them everything he cared about with great care.

Anyway, you know how these things go.
At the end of the holidays, the son of the king of the gnomes and the daughter of the king of the elves had
decided to get married.

“Weird people,” said CikCik to his son. “They wake up at sunset, go to sleep at dawn, and go to the lake in the fall!”

To tell the truth, the son of the king of the gnomes did not seem so strange things then.

“See dear – meanwhile he was telling the king of the elves to his daughter – the gnomes are not quite like us. They wake up at dawn, go to sleep at sunset and go to the beach in winter! “. Even the daughter of the king of the elves thought that, after all, things were not so strange.

And so the son of the king of the gnomes and the daughter of the king of the elves decided that they would get married at sunset on a beautiful spring day.

The elves woke up a little earlier, the gnomes went to sleep a little later, they had a big party and everyone was happy.

Actually, the queen of the gnomes and the king of the elves also wept a little, secretly, but they were tears of joy.
CikCik smiled. And yes, he had understood it right away! When he saw the elf king coming with his family, he heard something would happen. And he felt things!

There was still a long time before the ceremony.
If only his wife had woken up! He could have let off steam! The queen of the gnomes, in fact, was very patient and always listened to her husband, a little grumpy. Now, however, he was still asleep and poor CikCik, all excited, did not know what to do.

“Okay, patience – he thought to himself – soon it will be dawn, everyone will wake up and so I can talk to someone”. Dawn, however, was far away. CikCik still had some time to think and so he thought …

So, after the wedding party between the son of the king of the gnomes and the daughter of the king of the elves had happened many things.

First of all, the marriage had aroused a lot of curiosity. Never gnomes and elves had married; that is, a gnome married a gnome and an elf married an elf, but it had never happened that a gnome married an elf and an elf married a gnome!

This had attracted the interest of many people – human, I mean – experts in magic and fairy tales, the families had been interviewed and a whole series of articles had appeared on the most famous magazine of the sector “La Provincia Favolosa”.

What happened next was even bigger and more beautiful.

The king of the gnomes and the king of the elves became grandparents: a beautiful grandchild was born !

There was a great joy among the families and everyone flocked to the Cascina to see the little one. His name was Pucki , and it was just beautiful! He had blond hair like elves, and ricciolini like gnomes, brown eyes like elves, some pointy like gnomes, round ears like elves and a bit of belly like gnomes.
And he also had wings, like elves, only they were tiny, so small that they could hardly be seen. “Oh, it’s just a marvel! It looks like everything to us! “Said the elven relatives.” Oh how nice! How does it look like “the gnomes said.

The news spread quickly and elves, gnomes and goblins arrived in Valletta to attend the party in honor of Pucki. The news spread quickly too
among the human experts of magic and fairy tales, families had been interviewed, articles
and photos had appeared in the magazine “ La Provincia Favolosa “.

Valletta had become a destination for tourists who came from everywhere to see little Pucki and take pictures with him and his family. It was really good to see the gnomes and the elves and the elves together with the humans!

CikCik had a lot to do to take tourists around and show them Valletta and his wife kept cooking and making tasty lunches.
The elves gave their contribution by entertaining the children of human beings – those strange tall men! – and playing with them, and the elves sang and danced, thus rejoicing the atmosphere.

“All right, dear?” Asked the queen of the gnomes. Finally she woke up thinking CikCik who could now grumble a little ‘knowing that his wife, as always, he would listen with patience.
“Of course!” Replied CikCik, who would never admit he was excited. “On the contrary, look, I’m ready, dressed and combed for the ceremony. Soon, get up and get ready too. ”

The queen of the gnomes sighed. There was no need to remind him that the dawn had just dawned and that, being the ceremony at sunset, there was still time to get ready!

PUCKI BECOMES RE

At sunset, gnomes, elves and elves found themselves in the Three Trees, the place where the gnomes held all their ceremonies. The three trees had yellow flowers and even the leaves were yellow and, for this, anyone could see them and easily reach them.

Humans did not know there would be this ceremony. It was a very special moment in the life of the gnomes and they had preferred to be alone in their own little world.

The ceremony was short but intense.

First the king of the elves spoke and said that he was very pleased to have made friends with the gnomes and elves, which he thought was important to have many friends and wished little Pucki, his dad and CikCik so much happiness.
Then spoke the Prince of the Elves. He explained that his father, the king of the elves, would not be at the ceremony; a long journey, in fact, had driven him away from the kingdom and his family. Before leaving, however, he had instructed his son, the prince of the elves, to speak at the ceremony in his place, and to say that he would always be close to little Pucki, his mother and his father. Everyone was moved, and for a moment no one spoke, thinking of the king of the elves. Even CikCik was moved. After all, he was fine with the king of the elves. He was a little different from him, and he did things differently, but he was nice and always cheerful.

Finally CikCik spoke.
He began by saying that the time had come for him to retire, and that, therefore, he had to appoint the one who would take his place on the throne of Valletta.
He called his son, the prince of the gnomes and father of Pucki, and named him the Great King of Valletta; and he gave him a tuft of his white beard, because his task was to rule over Valletta and his people with wisdom and goodness.

A great applause welcomed the investiture of the new king, and everyone said that CikCik had done well to name his son, King Great of Valletta.

Then CikCik called his nephew, little Pucki, and named him Little King of Valletta; and he gave him a leaf and a flower of the Three Trees, because his task was to cure Valletta, nature and animals with love and goodness.

A great applause welcomed the investiture of the little king, and everyone said that CikCik had done well to name his nephew, King Piccolo of Valletta.

“Here, the ceremony is over,” said CikCik, returning home. “You made the right choice,” replied his wife, the queen of the gnomes.
Tomorrow CikCik would have accompanied Pucki around Valletta, to show him everything he had held so far with great care.
The queen of the gnomes, on the other hand, would have taught her son, the Great King, to rule with wisdom and goodness.

ROUNDING IN THE REAM

The queen of the gnomes woke up early that morning to prepare many good things for the trip: mushroom sandwiches, cheese canapés, chocolate snacks, fruit juices. CikCik, Pucki and their friends would then find something to eat along the way, but the gnome queen thought it was better to have something ready to start the new adventure well. The queen of the gnomes, in fact, also did something else that morning. He told her husband to behave well, not to continue grumbling, as he usually did, and not to fight with anyone walking. It was true, “the queen continued,” that she had endured him patiently for many years now, but one could not expect everyone to do the same! After all, the Nono Proverb of the Gnomes also said: “When the sun rises in the sky, the moon goes to sleep”, which means that everyone has his task to do. It must be said that since he had become a grandfather, CikCik had improved. Pucki always knew how to treat the old grandfather and all the relatives and friends. After all, it’s always like that. Children, like Pucki, always know how to do things better than adults, but adults do not realize it – or do not want to admit it. Now, however, we return to our friends who were ready for departure. Thus, the group consisted of CikCik, Pucki, Céce, the son of the king of the elves, and Kem, the son of the king of the elves. CikCik was the leader and brought supplies, Céce wore the magic lamp, to make light in case of need, and Kem brought the notebook and pencil to take notes. After greeting everyone, the group left. They climbed into the wagon that was waiting for them outside on the Cascina square and on which CikCik had already loaded all the provisions and all that was needed for the long journey. The chariot was pulled by butterflies and CikCik took the lead, after advising Pucki and his friends to stay well attached, to avoid falling. To keep in touch with their relatives and friends, CikCik, Pucki, Céce and Kem would write messages that their upupa friends would then take to their destination. The agreement was that everyone would be in the Valletta Restaurant, where a big lunch would be offered to gnomes, elves, elves and humans to celebrate the king of the gnomes, his son and his nephew. Meanwhile, the queen of the gnomes and her son, who had become the Great King of Valletta, had sat on the veranda near the farmhouse. From there you can see all the Valletta of the gnomes and, while they contemplated the beautiful panorama, the queen of the gnomes taught her son how to govern with wisdom and goodness. Leaving the Cascina, CikCik, Pucki, Céce and Kem, they found the donkeys and stopped some time with them. CikCik introduced them to his nephew and friends and then explained what they needed. He also said that donkeys are very useful because they help carry heavy things. Pucki listened carefully, and took notes on the notebook, Kem passed his pencils and Céce made light with the magic lamp. Pucki also made a drawing of the donkeys, which were so sweet and tender, to better remember their meeting. Then everyone said goodbye and Pucki thanked the donkeys. A little farther away, there were the sheep. CikCik also introduced their nephew and his friends to them and then said that the sheep are very useful because they can make a lot of nice little dresses that keep warm during the winter. Pucki told his friends that he had seen so many times his grandmother, the queen of the gnomes, knitting in front of the fireplace, and also Céce and Kem said that their grandmothers had prepared for them some nice warm dresses for the winter. In the end everyone greeted each other and Pucki thanked the sheep. There were also wild boars to see, but they had recently arrived in the Valletta wood and CikCik still did not know them well. So CikCik, Pucki, Céce and Kem greeted the boars and promised that they would visit them soon. On the other side there were the bunnies. CikCik introduced everyone and then explained that rabbits are greedy for carrots. Pucki took notes carefully, because then he would have to feed the animals and certainly could not confuse the foods to give them!

Next to the rabbits were the geese and the hens and CikCik, Pucki, Céce and Kem also stopped by them. The geese, explained CikCik, warn when it rains and so all the animals know that we must run for cover; while the hens lay eggs, with which they prepare many delicious cakes. The snacks he had prepared the queen of the gnomes were almost finished, so CikCik asked the hens of the eggs and prepared for himself and for the little ones a very good omelette. After eating, Pucki thanked the geese and the hens for their hospitality and then the group set off again. Along the way, CikCik began to collect some chestnuts with which his wife, the queen of the gnomes, would have made a very good jam. He also collected acorns to take to the squirrels, and Pucki began to collect them too. By the time they got to the squirrels’ house it was time to rest. The squirrels were very happy with that visit and, after welcoming Pucki and his friends, offered their tail like a pillow on which the little ones would fall asleep. Pucki and his friends curled up on the tail of their new squirrel friends and fell asleep immediately. They were so tired! Pucki felt very responsible because he knew that the task his grandfather had entrusted him with was very important and this made him even more attentive and busy.

When CikCik woke up, he discovered that it had rained a lot. The air was a bit cold and CikCik decided to call his eagles friends. He explained to them that he had to take Pucki out to Valletta and the eagles offered to help them. So when Pucki woke up he thanked his friends squirrels and then left, flying off the backs of eagles. What an emotion! All tight, tight, with a big bow that held him tied so as not to fall, Pucki flew in the blue sky and saw everything from above. Pucki also thanked them and the eagles told him that they had been very happy to accompany him, his grandfather, gnome and their friends around Valletta.

The eagles landed close to the horse enclosure. CikCik explained the difference between donkeys and horses and Pucki took notes with great care, then he also made a drawing so he could better remember all the things that his grandfather gnome had explained to him. They spent some time with the horses and then Pucki thanked them, everyone said goodbye and the group left. It was now evening, a magnificent evening with the golden moon shining high in the blue sky. Meanwhile, Pucki and his friends met the foxes and made friends. The foxes had offered to accompany them around the Valletta, taking advantage of the magnificent evening. CikCik, who was a gnome, wanted to go to sleep, but then he remembered what his wife, the queen of the gnomes had told him, before he left and so he told the foxes that he willingly accepted their passage. At dawn the foxes stopped, Pucki thanked them and told them that she had really enjoyed it. CikCik led the group in the mushroom clearing; breakfast was to be prepared and then we had to make some provisions to bring to the queen of the gnomes, who always prepared a good risotto with fresh mushrooms from the forest. “No, no, stop!” CikCik shouted. The little ones had approached some poisonous mushrooms, if they had eaten they would have been in danger! The little ones got scared and then CikCik explained that there are good mushrooms and mushrooms a little less good and that you have to be very careful. Pucki took many notes and also made drawings to better remember all the things that his grandfather gnome had explained to him. Then he greeted the mushrooms and thanked them too. There were also some beautiful flowers there, in the Valletta clearing and Pucki wrote their names on his notebook. Pucki and his friends would have liked to bring their mothers of dandelions and forest hyacinths, but CikCik explained that it was better to leave the flowers in the ground with their mothers and their fathers. Pucki also thanked the flowers of their beauty and then the group set off.

They met the dogs, with a soft and warm coat. Pucki and his friends were a bit ‘tired and so they stopped a while’ to rest near the dogs that made them company. Upon awakening Pucki thanked the dogs and then everyone said goodbye. CikCik accompanied the little ones by the bees to have a snack with their delicious honey. CikCik also said that we must be very careful because the bees have a sting and sting. Céce said that her sister, Pucki’s mother, had been bitten by a bee when she was small and added that everyone was really scared. Pucki took notes very carefully and CikCik had some honey to take home. Then Pucki thanked them bees and everyone greeted them. They had almost arrived at the Valletta Restaurant, where everyone was waiting for them to celebrate. It had really been a wonderful adventure!

BENVENUTI ALLA FESTA!

Il menù era scritto nel linguaggio degli gnomi, così la Direttrice del Ristorante della Valletta l’aveva tradotto nel linguaggio degli umani.

MEGNÚ 

SGNAPIN
sciccipin apapin
vudmascrums
grassin grin

SCARGNOFL
pinpäch
artuil
cisputin

FURVOLCK
cisis

AROUNDIS
parfus
grills vergnis
spanpins

SWITS
papufin papin pin

FRUTS

GLUGLU
funf
funf cin sciuf
thee

MENÚ

ANTIPASTI
cipolline all’agrodolce
funghetti di bosco
erbette ai profumi

PRIMI PIATTI
pasta al gratin
risotto ai sapori
raviolini di ricotta

SECONDI PIATTI
formaggi

CONTORNI
insalata mista
verdure grigliate
pane

DOLCE
torta alla panna e al cioccolato

FRUTTA

BEVANDE
acqua
birra
tè

Bisogna sapere che gli gnomi, gli elfi ed i folletti non mangiano né la carne degli animali né la carne del pesce.

Essi, infatti, vogliono molto bene agli animali e non farebbero mai loro del male. Mangiano tanto pane, che chiamano spanpins, e sono golosi di cioccolato (papin); inoltre, non bevono né vino né caffè, solo acqua e birra, che chiamano “acqua con la schiuma”, e tè.

All’inizio, gli umani erano rimasti un po’ stupiti davanti al menù, ma poi avevano apprezzato tutte le buone portate che il Ristorante aveva preparato e avevano partecipato alla festa cantando e ballando.