Today's thought...Legends are funny things.

My husband and I were out to dinner the other night, at Logan's. I was talking to our server and I asked him if he knew there was a Gnome inside every peanut. He says no, so I show him. But in the process of showing him I realize, I don't know about the legend behind the gnome inside the peanut.

So, I come home, and I Google it. Alas I find, there is no such legend anywhere on the internet. So I go back to the source of the original person that showed me. They tell me to ask another person and I do. Turns out, as far as anyone is aware, there is no legend anywhere. So I, being the creative brain that I am, created one. And here we have:

The Legend of the Gnome Inside the Peanut (Copyright 12/13/14)

One day, a long time ago there lived a village of gnomes, thriving peacefully. Now gnomes, who can live up to four hundred years, have two known enemies. Trolls, and humans. One could live below ground with the gnomes, one above. Well one day, while in a battle with the humans, this particular bunch of gnomes, wound up fighting once more, when they went underground, with the trolls. Turns out, the humans, had made a deal with the trolls, to wipe out this village of gnomes, being as gnomes are notorious for being impish.

Stuck, and not willing to give up their lives, they traveled as far as possible, winding up in a peanut grove. Knowing that both the trolls and the humans were bearing down on them, they did the only thing they could think of, and hid inside the peanuts that were growing there. Their hope, was if they hid inside the peanuts, they would be able to avoid devastation. But, they couldn't just jump inside of a plant or seed. As guardians of the ground, they did the right thing, and asked for permission. The peanuts of course, agreeing to hide the gnomes; as they knew that though they were impish above the ground, below the ground, they took care of the roots, flowers, plants and soil.

They created a special bond, that spanned generations as well as tribes, allowing the gnomes to hide within the peanuts when the need arose, no questions asked. What they didn't realize, was that when the gnomes jumped inside of the peanuts, it created a small spot in the top of the nut, that would, if inspected, reveal their hiding spot, leaving the part in the top, only visible to humans that were careful enough to discover it. And so, every time you open a peanut and find a gnome, remember that even though they are not there any longer, on one fateful day, possibly long ago...possibly not, a gnome hid, inside that peanut, for the safety and protection during a battle, leaving it's legacy behind.

ADDENDUM: It has recently come to my attention that there is a STORY about a gnome in peanut, an old fairy-tale. I'm currently researching this to make sure that I am not stepping on toes with my creative legend.