Danny And The Gnomes

    “What are you boys doing?” Mister Deets asks his two assistants.

    Tom and Bob are startled by the sudden appearance of the head groundskeeper of the Abbott estate.  They had stopped their riding lawn mowers near the Abbott estates private garden and shut them off. “We’re doing what he’s doing,” Tom says. He points with his chin to the young man sitting on a bench staring over the garden. He scratches the scar on his cheek.

    “You’re being paid to take care of the estate grounds and that’s what you should be worrying about right now, not what Danny is doing.”

    “But he isn’t doing anything,” says his brother Bob.

    “He does his chores differently than we do which is more than I can say about you two.”

    “He’s dumb. Why do they keep the dummy here anyway? “Tom asks. “I mean look at him! He just sits there looking like a Mexican piñata.”

    “He does look pretty dumb wearing that sombrero,” Bob says with a smirk.

    “If you want to take it up with him, I saw Mr. Abbott in the garden a while ago.” He notices the brothers sudden apprehension at the mention of the owners name but neither one moves to return to work. Deets breathes his frustration loud enough to make them a little nervous. “Look, Mr. Abbott hired Danny as his personal gardener after Danny’s father died in an unfortunate accident while in his service. I know Danny is exceptionally slow, but he does as he is asked without question. Besides, Mrs. Abbott likes Danny as if he was her own. “He smiles to himself. “Ever since he’s had the job, it’s been the best little garden I’ve ever seen.” He clears his throat. “Now you guys have wasted enough time! Get back to work right now before I decide to call this your break time!”

    Tom starts his mower again and moves away but not before casting Danny another look.

    Deets parks his mower by the garden and zips his coveralls all the way up. He enters the trail calling for Danny and Mr. Abbott. Farther down the trail, something startles him.


    Danny sits on his bench with his knees up to his chest. The stylish poncho he wears keeps him warm and the sombrero keeps the sun off his body. Around him are little garden statues of gnomes, frogs and birds. If he sits perfectly still, he can be one of the ornaments. They like that. He smiles and looks around the spectacular garden. The weeds are pulled between all the tomatoes and the beans are cultivated. They have large vegetables on them, almost ready to pick and eat. Mrs. Abbott will be pleased. He loves to hear her laughter. Her eyes light up when she laughs and it makes him feel warm all over when she does.

    “Hi Tom,” he says to the presence he feels standing behind him without turning around. Tom takes a step back, wonders how he knew that it was him before moving to stand beside him. “Don’t you think it’s a beautiful day outside?”

    “Sure,” Tom says, “I would even like it better if I got to sit around all day and get paid for it. How’d you know I was here?”

    “The gnomes told me.”

    “Gnomes?” Tom says, the disbelief rolling off his tongue.

    “They tell me everything.”

    “They do” He reaches out and removes Danny’s sombrero. “Do they tell you to play dress up?”

    “It pleases them. If I please them, they please me.”

    Tom puts the sombrero on and looks around the garden but all he can see is just the little statues and some very nice tomatoes. “This garden is really nice. I guess you do really work. We never see you do anything but sit here. What’s your secret?”

    “I can’t tell you,” His shy smile is almost infectious. He turns his head to the gnome statue to his right, dressed in blue with a red hat. “I can?” Danny asks. “He says I can tell you. They do it. The gnomes grow my garden.”

    “The gnomes grow your garden?” he asks, his voice is mocking. “This gnome right here? Is he the leader? Is he your friend?” Danny’s smile broadens. Tom throws the sombrero in the wind like a Frisbee and turns to kick the gnome. He yells out in pain. “Ouch! My toes hurt!” He lifts his foot. There is a bloody mess where his steel toed boot and four toes should be! He freaks out. “What just happened? It bit me!  I’m gonna kill you you little weasel!”

    There is a sharp gasp and they both look out to the garden to see Mrs. Abbott stand up wearing a sombrero of her own. She looks at Tom; her expression can’t be more shocked. “What are you doing?“

    Tom backs up at the sight of her and almost trips over another gnome; this one is dressed in red with a blue hat. Everywhere he looks there is a gnome looking at him. He yelps again and runs the opposite way into the garden. He trips and falls from view. He screams again and then goes silent.


    When Tom doesn't show up for dinner, Bob wonders where his brother is. He would never miss a meal made by the Abbott's five star cook. It’s not unusual for Deets and Abbott to be absent but not Tom. Bob feels awkward enough being around Mrs. Abbott because she is very pretty for her age, but Danny makes his skin crawl. The guy scares him. He can always know when you are near him. He'll call your name out of the blue yonder.

    He notices Danny occasionally glancing at him. "Have you seen Tom?" he asks him.

    Danny smiles and looks down at his plate. He glances at Mrs. Abbott and smiles. She returns his smile, giggles and continues eating. Bob concludes that there is something going on between those two. He finishes his dinner in silence. He returns to his room to find no trace of his brother. He wanders the house, then the grounds and still nothing.

    He stops by the garden and looks it over. He sees nothing but plants and those stupid garden gnome statues. They are of various colors: red, blue, green, yellow and most of them are wearing little sombreros. There is one in white wearing a cowboy hat. A couple of them wear the traditional pointed elf hat. There is one wearing farmer overalls and another in a Yankees shirt wearing a blue Yankees baseball hat. On closer inspection, this one resembles Tom. The gnome even has the same scar on his cheek. Tom got that scar during a storm when they were boys. A tree branch flew through the glass window he was sitting in while watching a severe storm.

    "This is sick!" he says in disgust. "I've gotta find out what’s going on here." He looks by the trees at the scarecrow dressed in a poncho and sombrero.

    After dark, he sits perfectly still in the trees dressed as the scarecrow with his knees up to his chin and arms locked around his knees. First Danny walks into the garden courtyard. Suddenly the torches are all on fire. How did he light them all at once that fast? He next dances around the courtyard spinning slowly in half circles one direction and then the other. Once he completes his circle of the courtyard, Mrs. Abbott arrives from the other direction, carefully looking at the statues. She then takes Danny's hand and falls into step with his dance.

    Bob isn't close enough. He begins to inch his way forward into the light sliding on his bottom. Once in the light, he can't believe his eyes! Dancing with Danny and Mrs. Abbott are the garden gnomes. All of them! And they're speaking Spanish! As they dance in the center of the courtyard, all of the vegetables grow right before his eyes, even the new corn stalks and tomatoes. He drops his arms and legs and stares in amazement. The Gnomes really are making the garden grow!

    More gnomes come out of hiding and join the dance. Among them is a gnome in coveralls and one in a very fancy business suit, Mr. Deets and Mr. Abbott. And nearby is the familiar gnome resembling Tom. He can't believe it! He needs to get away from here!

    Suddenly the dance stops and they all look at him with the same bewildered face. Tom the gnome points up at him. "Bob!" He stands and starts to back away. But before he can step from the light, he is surrounded by the gnomes at the entryway. He didn't realize that there were so many of them. How many of them were like him who wound up in the wrong place at the wrong time?

    They push him back to the center of the courtyard up to the four gnomes the color of the rainbow. Bob looks at Danny. He wags his finger at him and turns back to Mrs. Abbott. She smiles and gets caught back up in their dance.

    The red gnome looks up at Bob and smiles. His teeth are razor sharp. He is terrified, frozen in place. They all advance on him and his scream is drowned out by the sound of their chomping. When they finally back away, Bob the gnome takes them all in with his now wide eyes and then joins in the dance.


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