This story tells of helpful gnomes in old Cologne who secretly completed the work of lazy townsfolk like bakers, carpenters, and butchers overnight while they slept. This convenient arrangement ended when a tailor's overly curious wife scattered peas on the floor to make the gnomes trip so she could finally see them. Her plan worked, but seeing the humans frightened the gnomes away forever, forcing the people of Cologne to do their own work from then on.

This story tells of helpful gnomes in old Cologne who secretly completed the work of lazy townsfolk like bakers, carpenters, and butchers overnight while they slept. This convenient arrangement ended when a tailor's overly curious wife scattered peas...

The Gnomes | Fairy Tales