Gnomes
and other Garden Art
Scandinavian people believed that gnomes guarded their homes against evil. If you were good, they were good to you; but if you were bad, they would play tricks on you. Although these gnomes mostly were benevolent, they could quickly turn nasty when not properly treated. Some of the tricks they enjoyed playing were giving you nightmares by sitting on your head while you were dreaming, tangling your hair as you slept, or making your milk turn sour. It is believed that if you left out a bowl of porridge on the door step at night they would be happy and not subject you to their antics.
