Once, just outside of the sparkling woods in the land beyond the mist, lived an old gnome named Ohn. Ohn would get up every morning, eat a simple breakfast of cheese and fruits, and go out the round door to work in the garden.

Ohn took great pride in his garden. All the Faeries for miles around would come to share his fruits and vegetables,and he grew so very many different things that he always had something new to show them. Ohn did not mind sharing his garden with the other faeries. They never took anything without asking, and they brought many marvels things to share with him as well. Some would bring him special plant food to help his plants grow. Some would bring him medicine to sooth his aches and pains, or help feed his birds, or make him tools. In this way, the Faeries helped Ohn to continue to grow his magical food.

Ohn's house was full of magical and beautiful things, and he lived quite well. Whenever there was a Faerie in need of kindness, Ohn was happy to help them. When they were able, they would often bring him a gift in thanks.

Of all the wonderful things in Ohn's house there was one that he treasured most. It was a stone of brilliant green, given to him by the Lady of the forest. She had called on him one cold night in winter, waking him from sleep. “Please noble gardener,” she had said. “All of the food is gone, and the animals of the forest are hungry. Feed my animals, and I will reward you greatly.” Ohn had opened his stores, and given all that he could spare to the wild creatures of the forest. In return the Lady had given him two gifts: the green stone, and a single silver arrow.

Ohn was grateful for the beautiful gifts, and had been enchanted by the stone form the start. One night he had taken it out in the garden under the light of the full moon, when the stone had begun to glow. Fascinated, Ohn walked this way and that, watching the stone grow brighter and dimmer, until finally he stumbled into a tomato plant. The stock had snapped, and saddened by the loss Ohn reached out and tried to straighten his precious plant, when suddenly the stock mended itself in his hand.The little tomatoes, still green a moment ago, fell plump and ripe right into his hand. From that moment on the stone was Ohn's most prized possession, and the secret to his great success.

One day, as the first breath of spring was melting the snow, Ohn woke to make his breakfast. He wanted to fry some tomatoes to go with his cheese, and opened the cupboard to find that it was looking a little bare. Most of his plants would not grow in the winter so he always stored things to eat, but this winter had been long and cold and his stores were running out. He was out of tomatoes, so he started to think where he could find something good to go with his cheese when he remembered the path through the old shadowy grove out behind his garden. He thought he could find some mushrooms there.

Few Faerie ever ventured into the grove. It was always full of mist, and they would say that you could wander into another world and get lost. But Ohn was not afraid of the mist, so he put his breakfast in a basket and went out back to the shadowy grove. Ohn followed the old path through the mist, cutting every mushroom that was big enough to eat. He was not paying attention to where he was going, and suddenly ran smack into a wheel of a cart. He looked up to see that he was no longer in the grove. The sun was shining down on vast fields filled with grain. The grassy yard where Ohn now stood was scattered with very large, and very rusty tools.

Ohn spun around and look behind him. The grove was gone, and in its place stood a forest of tall, straight trees. He could just make out a path from which he had come nestled among the ferns. He was about to walk back down it when suddenly he heard a drawling voice.

“What do we have here?” it said.

Ohn looked up to see a tall man in a straw hat and and dirty clothes. Staring down at him. “I am Ohn,” he said indignantly, “Gnome of the sparkling wood, and professional gardener!”

The man creature spat rather rudely on the ground, “Gardner? Ha! While you are tending your little garden, I am planting my vast fields, to fill my pocket full of gold.” He gestured grandly to his grain.

“My garden is not small!” Ohn shot back.

“Oh yeah!” said the man. “If you’re so good at it, why are you out here grubbing for mushrooms.” He wrenched the basket out of Ohn's hands and turned it over on the top of a barrel, then suddenly stopped and stared in wonder, for on top of the pile of mushrooms were two blueberries the size of pigeon eggs.

The man picked one up and took a big bite. “Delicious!” he exclaimed. “How ever did you get them to grow so big?

Ohn crossed his arms. “That's my secret!”

The farmer narrowed his eyes. “You may have giant blueberries, but you can never grow as much as I can, and I can tell that you must be short on food. If you tell me your secret I can help you.”

“No!” Ohn said “I will not give you that that!” Then, snatching up his breakfast, he turned and ran down the path.

A few weeks later Ohn woke to find that all of the plants in his beautiful garden were dead. Every leaf and stem lay withered on the ground, and not even the green stone would revive them. Ohn took the stone and ran to the path in the grove. When he got to the other side of the mist he called out to the farmer. “My plants are gone! The ground has gone bad!”

“I can help you.” the man said. “You can grow here, but only if you share your secret.”

“I will.” Ohn promised.

Ohn got to work planting a new garden on the farmer's land. At the full moon he brought out his green stone and showed the farmer how to work it. The man looked at the stone with a strange gleam in his eyes, and Ohn quickly put it away.

For a time, it seemed to Ohn that he would be all right living on the farm. When the farmer began to treat him poorly, he did not think that he had anywhere else he could go. He ignored the man's angry words when he got in his path, and the cramped, leaky hut that he would not let Ohn expand.

Then one morning Ohn woke as usual, and went to make his breakfast. His cupboards had been filled the night before, but now not a scrap remained. Ohn ran to the secret little chest where he kept the green stone, only to find the lock broken and the stone gone. He ran outside and looked around in shock. Every fruit and vegetable had been stolen, every nut pillaged.

Ohn turned his fury on the farmer, who leaned against a fence post nearby, watching. “What happened to my garden? Where is all my food!”

“Your food?” the farmer drawled. “Everything that grows on my land is my own property little gnome. Just ask him.” The farmer gestured to another man who stood nearby with a sword, looking menacing.

“That was not our agreement!” Ohn shouted “And you took my green stone! That was never yours! It was given to me by the lady of the forest!”

“I don't know what you are talking about there.” the farmer replied. “But best of luck to you, though.” The farmer waved mockingly and walked away.

Ohn fled to the old path through the forest in hopes that the trees would hide his grief. He had nothing to give to his friends, no food to eat. In the safety of the trees he fell to his knees and wept, not knowing what to do. After a time Ohn was distracted by the soft sound of fluttering wings. He looked up and his eyes met the gaze of a tiny Faerie perched on nearby tree stump. She was as dark as the wet earth in his old garden. Her eyes were solid black, and she had a log mane of raven colored hair. A pair of tiny silver antlers sat atop her head, and dark purple lines swirled across her skin forming what almost looked to be letters. Her wings gleamed deep violet, and blue, and bronze.

Ohn looked on her in amazement. “Who are you?” he asked when he had caught his breath.

“I am Lythna, Faerie of the Shadows.” The Faerie said. “I have heard your cries. Long have I traveled this world, learning the grief life brings, and well do I know the aches and pains that haunt your heart. All those who anguish are within my care.”

“Can you help me?” Ohn asked.

“Yes. If you are willing to do what only you can.” Lythna replied.

Ohn nodded his head, then proceeded to tell Lythna the entire story.

“I can help you.” Lythna told him “You can have back all you once had and be forever free of the farmer. But only if you are willing to do one thing, which no one else can do for you.”

“What is that?” Ohn asked.

“You must recover the stone of the Lady. To do this you will have to return to the farm. But you do not have to speak to the farmer. He may not even know that you are there, but the stone will be very close to him. Have you the arrow that the lady gave you?”

“Yes.” Ohn replied, showing her the special case he hung across his shoulders. He always kept the arrow there as a reminder.

“Good. The arrow will point your way. It is possible the farmer may try to confront you. It is important that you do not engage him. Only take what you need and get to safety. I will distract him.”

“But what is to be done about him?” Ohn protested. “What if he does this to someone lse?”

“Do not worry about the farmer. Only what he has earned will come to him. You need not put yourself in the way of harm. Say naught to him and he cannot harm you, not while I am with you. That I promise.” she assured him.

“I believe you.” Ohn said “When do we start?”

“Tonight. Tonight, the moon is dark.”

That night Ohn met Lythna at the head of the forest path into the grove, and they traveled to its end together. The moon was dark and the stars were veiled. The rolling hills of the farm were obscured in shadow. In the light of a sputtering lantern, hung from a long metal pole, Ohn could see the younger man with the sword sitting on a barrel. His thoughts were clearly elsewhere.

“Wait here.” Lythna said firmly. “Once he is out of the way begin your work.” In the blink of an eye, Lythna transformed into a tall agile woman. The hood of a long dark cloak hid her face, and a jug covered in strange writing was in her hand.

Lythna slipped out of the shadows and approached the young man. She whispered something to him and offered him the jug. He drank deep, smiled up at her and then slid sideways of the barrel, fast asleep.

Ohn took the silver arrow form its case, and placed it flat on his palm. The arrow turned, pointing him in the direction he needed to go. Ohn followed its direction keeping to the shadows. He crept towards the enormous barn where the farmer kept his food. Slipping inside he placed the arrow on his palm again. It pointed off into the dark building. Ohn followed its point, but stumbled into a stack of boxes he could not see. He fell hard against them, and they came tumbling down around him, making an awful noise.

Lythna saw him fall, but Ohn signaled to her that he was alright, and began to dig himself out. Then they heard movement inside the farmers house.

Lythna snatched up the lantern pole and dashed out into the field. At the top of the nearest hill she stopped, planted the pole, and flung her cloak aside, to reveal a long, shimmering silver dress. Then she began to play a small silver flute. The sound was tantalizing, echoing like a welcoming whisper. In the next moment the framers front door slammed open, and he stared slack jawed at the silver-clad woman standing out in his field. For a moment he stood as if transfixed by the notes, then slowly began to make his way towards her. Just when the farmer got close enough to stagger into the circle of light, the lantern winked out. The farmer looked around in confusion for a moment, the music still whispering around him. Then the light flared to life again on another hill with Lythna sitting beneath it, playing her enchanting tune.

Meanwhile Ohn had exhumed himself from the fallen boxes and crept farther into the barn. He followed the directions of the silver arrow carefully, until finally he stood near the back of the barn. The arrow spun in his palm as if not certain where to go, then abruptly stood strait up.

“Of course!” Ohn whispered excitedly. Quickly he scrambled up the ladder and into the loft. He searched all around him, digging through the straw, but all he could find was hay. He placed the arrow on his palm again. This time it wobbled and pointed slightly down and to his left. Ohn quickly cleared the straw away to reveal a trap door with a padlock. He drew out a set of picks, and had the lock off in seconds. He threw the door open. The Arrow in his hand was glowing, as bright as the north star.

Beneath him Ohn could see dozens of baskets filled with food from his garden, and Perched atop one mound of food, was the stone of the Forest Lady. The stone shimmered in the light like green flame. Moving quickly, Ohn pulled a large sack and a piece of silk cloth out of his pack. He folded the stone into the silk and stowed it in his pack. Then he shook open his sack and filled it with enough food to last until he could grow again. He stowed the silver arrow in its case, slung the sack over his shoulder, and scrambled back down the ladder as fast as his legs would move.

Ohn was just leaving the barn when he saw the farmer lunge into the circle of light where Lythna still played her haunting flute. The man made a clumsy attempt to grab her. In the last instant there was a soft “poof!” and the silver dress floated to the ground. Lythna, now her small faerie self, laughed and zipped around the farmers head. The farmer yelled and flailed his arms about wildly but caught nothing, and Lythna darted back into the shadows.

Ohn made his way quickly towards the forest path but half way through the yard a twig snapped. The farmer turned. Seeing Ohn with his sack of goods he snatched up a rusty hoe and rushed forwards bellowing. Ohn ran for the path, his heart pounding in his chest, desperate for the safety of the trees. In the last moment he realized he was not going to make it, and turned to face his attacker. The Farmer towered above him, hoe raised to swing, when suddenly shock replaced anger on his contorted face. He froze, and a soft cracking sound filled the air. Dark, wrinkled bark spread across the farmers skin, and in an instant a gnarled old tree stood where the farmer had been.

Ohn stared up at the tree in disbelief. “But he was real!” Ohn stammered.

Lythna swooped down and landed next to Ohn. “He is real,” She said. “and so is the harm that he has done. But I don't think that the greedy farmer will need any more coins or magic stones. He will be rather busy vegetating.” She giggled and took Ohn by the hand. “The fear of what he has done will pass.” she said. “Not quickly and not tomorrow, but only once you have let your heart have enough time, and listened to it well.”

The two turned and headed down the forest path towards Ohn's home.

Some time has passed now since Ohn's adventure on the farm, and the garden of Ohn grows as hearty and beautiful as ever it did. Only now there is one guest at Ohn's garden for which he saves his very best: Lythna, Faerie of the Shadows. Lythna had revealed to Ohn that his garden had been poisoned by the farmer, and had helped Ohn cleanse the land so that he could begin growing again. She also helped him gather new seeds to plant and showed him how to sing to them to help them grow.

The Farmer's fields and crops are gone now, his lands mysteriously swallowed by the forest. His neighbors only mention him in whispers, and none of them dare to visit the land where his farm once stood.

Meanwhile, Lythna continues her work among Faerie and human peoples alike, helping to heal the deep wounds of the heart. You may see her sometime, and she may offer to help. If she does, remember that you must be willing to do what only you can. do. And remember also the garden of Ohn.