The Gnome

In a quaint village surrounded by ancient forests and rolling meadows, there lived three sisters whose characters were as different as the seasons themselves. The eldest, named Margaret, was beautiful but vain, always concerned with her appearance and status. The middle sister, Catherine, was clever but selfish, using her intelligence primarily for her own advantage. The youngest, Rose, was neither the most beautiful nor the most clever, but she possessed a kind heart and generous spirit that made her beloved by all who knew her.

The three sisters lived with their widowed mother in a modest cottage at the edge of the village. Their mother worked hard as a seamstress to support her daughters, but times were often difficult, and the family had to be careful with their meager resources.

One crisp autumn morning, the mother called her daughters together. “My dear girls,” she said, “winter is approaching, and we need to gather firewood for the cold months ahead. The forest is full of fallen branches and dry wood. I ask each of you to go into the woods and bring back as much firewood as you can carry.”

Margaret, the eldest, was the first to respond. “Mother, you know how delicate my hands are,” she complained, examining her perfectly manicured fingernails. “Gathering firewood will ruin them, and I have that harvest dance next week where everyone will see me. Surely one of my sisters can gather enough for all of us.”

Catherine, the middle sister, was equally reluctant. “I have been reading an important book about mathematics,” she said dismissively. “My time is too valuable to spend on such mundane tasks. Besides, I’m sure Rose doesn’t mind doing a little extra work.”

Rose, however, smiled cheerfully. “Of course, Mother. I’ll gather enough firewood for our whole family. It will be a pleasant walk in the forest, and the fresh air will do me good.”

So while her sisters remained at home—Margaret admiring herself in the mirror and Catherine buried in her books—Rose set out into the forest with a large basket and a willing heart.

The forest was beautiful in its autumn splendor, with leaves of gold and crimson carpeting the ground and a crisp breeze carrying the scent of pine and earth. Rose worked diligently, gathering fallen branches and pieces of dry wood, humming softly to herself as she worked.

As she bent to pick up a particularly good piece of oak, Rose heard a small voice calling for help. Looking around, she spotted what appeared to be a tiny old man with a long white beard caught beneath a fallen log. The little man was no taller than Rose’s hand, and he was struggling desperately to free himself.

“Oh, you poor little fellow!” Rose exclaimed, immediately setting down her basket and kneeling beside the trapped figure. “Let me help you!”

With gentle care, Rose lifted the heavy log and freed the tiny man, who brushed off his miniature green clothes and adjusted his pointed red cap.

“Thank you, kind maiden,” the little man said in a voice like tinkling bells. “I am a gnome of this forest, and I have been trapped under that log since the storm three days ago. You have saved my life with your kindness.”

Rose smiled warmly. “I’m so glad I could help. Are you hurt? Can I do anything else for you?”

The gnome looked up at Rose with eyes that twinkled like stars. “You have already done more than enough, but your kindness shall not go unrewarded. Because you helped me without thought of gain, I will grant you three wishes. Choose carefully, for such magic is not given lightly.”

Rose was amazed but not greedy. She thought carefully about what would truly matter. “First,” she said, “I wish for my mother to never again worry about having enough food or fuel for our home.”

The gnome nodded approvingly. “A selfless wish. It is granted. What is your second wish?”

“I wish for my sisters to find true happiness,” Rose continued, “the kind that comes from within and makes them want to be better people.”

“Another generous wish,” the gnome observed with a smile. “And your third?”

Rose hesitated, then said quietly, “I wish for the wisdom to always know the right thing to do and the courage to do it, even when it’s difficult.”

The gnome clapped his tiny hands together with delight. “These are the wisest wishes I have ever heard! They show that your heart is as beautiful as your actions. All three wishes are granted, but the magic will unfold gradually, as the best magic always does.”

With that, the gnome touched Rose’s basket with his tiny hand, and immediately it filled with the finest firewood she had ever seen—pieces that would burn long and warm throughout the winter. Then he vanished among the trees like morning mist.

Rose returned home with her magical firewood, but she said nothing to her family about her encounter with the gnome. That evening, however, the magic began to work in subtle ways.

A traveling merchant knocked on their door, seeking shelter for the night. Rose’s mother welcomed him warmly, and in gratitude, he left behind a purse of gold coins and promised to send regular orders for fine needlework that would provide steady income for the family.

Over the following weeks, more wonderful things began to happen. Margaret looked in her mirror one morning and, instead of admiring her own beauty, noticed how tired and worried her mother looked. For the first time, she felt ashamed of her vanity and selfishness.

“Mother,” Margaret said, approaching her with genuine concern, “you work so hard for us. Let me help with the sewing. I may not be as skilled as you, but I can learn.”

Catherine, meanwhile, found herself losing interest in her books when she saw Rose always helping others without complaint. The mathematical theories that had once fascinated her began to seem empty compared to the satisfaction she saw in her youngest sister’s acts of kindness.

“Rose,” Catherine said one day, “would you teach me how to be more helpful? I’ve spent so much time thinking only of myself that I don’t even know how to truly help others.”

As the weeks turned to months, the transformation in the family was remarkable. Margaret learned to value inner beauty over outward appearance and began using her natural grace to help organize community events and assist elderly neighbors. Catherine applied her intelligence to finding ways to improve life for everyone in the village, inventing more efficient tools for farming and household work.

But the most wonderful change was in how the sisters began to work together. Instead of competing or dismissing each other, they started to appreciate each other’s unique gifts and support one another’s growth.

One day, as winter was settling in earnest, Rose returned to the forest to thank the gnome for his gifts. She found him sitting beneath the same tree where she had rescued him, apparently expecting her visit.

“Dear gnome,” Rose said, “I wanted to thank you for your magic. My mother no longer worries about our basic needs, my sisters have found happiness in being kinder people, and I feel that I’m growing wiser and braver every day.”

The gnome smiled broadly. “The magic was not in my wishes, child. The magic was in your heart all along. Your kindness to me simply allowed that magic to spread to those around you. Your mother prospers because you showed her how to open her heart to others. Your sisters found happiness because your example taught them the joy of generosity. And your wisdom grows because you choose love over selfishness in every situation.”

“But surely your wishes helped,” Rose insisted.

“My wishes simply removed the obstacles that might have prevented your natural goodness from flourishing,” the gnome explained. “True magic comes from within. When someone possesses a truly kind heart, that kindness creates ripples that spread outward, changing everything they touch.”

As if to prove his point, the gnome gestured toward the path leading back to the village. There, Rose could see her sisters approaching, each carrying baskets to help gather firewood for a poor family whose father had been injured.

“You see?” the gnome said with a chuckle. “Your kindness has become contagious. This is the most powerful magic of all.”

From that day forward, the three sisters worked together as a team, each contributing her unique strengths for the benefit of their family and community. Margaret’s beauty became a force for bringing people together and making them feel welcome. Catherine’s intelligence was applied to solving problems that helped everyone. And Rose’s kindness continued to inspire others to be their best selves.

The family prospered not just materially, but in all the ways that truly matter—in love, in friendship, in community, and in the satisfaction that comes from making the world a better place.

Years later, when the sisters had grown old and their own children and grandchildren filled the village, people still told the story of Rose and the gnome. But they understood that the real lesson was not about magical wishes, but about the magic that exists within every person who chooses kindness over selfishness.

The gnome, for his part, continued to live in the forest, occasionally helping other travelers who showed genuine kindness and generosity. But he never forgot Rose, the girl whose pure heart had reminded him why magic exists in the world at all—not to grant selfish desires, but to reward and multiply the good that people choose to create.

And in the village, whenever children asked about the secret to happiness, the older folks would tell them about the three sisters and remind them that the most powerful magic spell is simply this: “Be kind to others, especially when they cannot repay you, and watch how that kindness comes back to bless your life in ways you never expected.”

The cottage where the three sisters lived became a gathering place for the community, where people came not just for help and advice, but to experience the warmth and generosity that had made their home a place where magic truly lived. And though visitors might not meet a gnome in the forest, they invariably left feeling that they had encountered something just as magical—the transformative power of human kindness.