The Journey of Perry the Peanut Gnome

In the world of the small, between puffs of individual pollen and aphids on plant stems, exists gnomes. Peanut gnomes, to be exact.

They emerge from their seeds when they are fully grown. With all of their strength, the little creatures break through the flimsy, water-soaked shell. Then, their tunneling journey begins. 

These peculiar beings have small eyes and wide pupils, perfect for seeing in the darkness. Their nose is so large that it takes up a quarter of the gnome’s face, a wonderfully rounded snout for picking up tiny scent trails in the soil. With hands and feet wide like shovels, they dig downward into the loose soil until they find tunnels created by other gnomes.

The networks formed by gnomes twist, turn, ascend, and descend into pleasant valleys where the gnomes may rest. Through complete darkness, they follow the scent trails left by others until they reach the city beneath. There, they join the community, form friendships, and chisel away at rocks until the end of their days.

But Perry, the peanut gnome with a tiny, upturned nose, took a different route. New to the world and filled with curiosity, he followed his ill-fated schnoz up, up, and up, away from the tunnels and networks below. He dug until the dirt gave way to sunlight. 

“Ah,” Perry cried out in pain and shielded his eyes. His pupils burned until he squinted so tight that he could barely see a thing. Above the hole he created in the ground, the bright terrain appeared abundant with vegetation and loaded with welcoming smells. For a creature destined to only know the smell of soil, the pleasant perfumes of budding flowers were alluring.

I must smell more.

Perry’s paddle-like feet sifted through the grains of dirt and sand with ease. Above ground, the soil felt pleasant beneath his sensitive feet. With his eyes shielded and focused on the ground immediately before him, Perry shuffled head-first into a thick, strong stem.

“Ugh!” He fell backward onto his rump and grumbled to himself, “Can’t see a thing.”

Maybe I should go back underground, he thought to himself as he turned to his side. 

“Hey, buddy,” a voice rang from beyond his limited vision. From what he could tell, it came from the canopy of leaves above him. “You okay?”

“I can’t see. It’s too bright,” Perry groaned as he pulled himself to his feet. Awkwardly, he found his way back to the stem and held on to it.

“Too brigh’, you say?” The gravely yet high-pitched voice yelled, “Jus’ a sec.’ I have an idea.” 

Beneath the harsh sun, Perry closed his eyes and tried to gain his bearings. The ground was beneath his feet, the sun above him, the beautiful smells around him, but there were no other gnomes.

Was I the only one who made it?

The breeze beneath the leaves was pleasant, and the scent of sweet nectar tickled his nose. His stomach growled.

Vvvvvvvvv, the sound of wings beat rapidly against the wind. It grew louder, and Perry tried to peek over his shoulder, but all that caught his eye was the glare of the sun.

Whatever that is, it’s big.

He held tight to the stem and tried to make himself flush with it. 

“Ain’t been above ground much, have ya?” The gravely, high-pitched voice was right over his shoulder now. Its presence was like an overbearing electric hum in the air that crawled up Perry’s back. “No worries. My brother, he uh, he had a friend like you once. A nuh-nuh-nuhnom. Well, whatever he called it. Couldn’ see withou’ these.” 

Perry fought to maintain his balance against the strength of the stranger as it secured an object to Perry’s head.

“Alrigh’, have a looksy. Tell me what chya think.” The good samaritan stepped away.

Perry found his eyes covered by a generous coat of darkness. This wasn’t the deep dark he was used to, but instead, one that was tinted by deep green. His eyes no longer hurt when he opened them. He could see out of two small holes.

“Well?” 

“This is great!” Perry adjusted the roughly cut edges around his ears as he turned around to thank his new friend. Finally, he caught sight of the helpful being. 

The stranger had two large, awkwardly placed, black eyes. He had a deep green, triangular face. Two long arms waited patiently before him. This was the largest creature Perry had ever seen. It was also the only other creature Perry had ever seen.

Around them was an endless sea of dirt speckled by a lush jungle of overflowing dark green foliage. Occasionally, massive, smooth, hard surfaces emerged with beautiful purples, reds, yellows, and oranges, obstructing the path and view.

VvVVvvv, resonated from above. Perry put a hand against his chest as the vibrations rumbled through him.

“What is that?” Perry cowered towards his massive friend. 

“That?” The leaf-hopper looked up toward the source, many stories above. “Oh, that’s jus’ a honey bee. They are nuhnom friendly. Won’ try ta eat chya or nothin’. Say you don’t look like the pollen nuhnoms. Where ya from?” 

Perry glanced towards the obvious hole not far from them.

Would anything in there eat me? 

“Didn’ hear me? Huh? I said where—”

“There!” Perry pointed to the hole in the dirt.

“Oh! The groun’ nuhnoms, righ’, righ’. No need a yell.” It was then his friend pivoted. “You can call me Finn, groun’ boy. Wha’s your name?”

“Finn,” he mumbled, committing the name to memory. Cautiously, he stepped forward in the direction of the leaf hopper. With such a limited scope of vision and no peripherals, his footing was unsure.

“No way! Your name’s Finn too?”

“No, no,” he grumbled. “I’m Perry. Perry, the peanut gnome.”

“Gnome!” Finn exclaimed and extended his two front arms. “That’s wha’ i’ is. I knew, I knew i’, you know? I’ was right there on the ‘ip of my ‘ongue. I’ had a ‘g’, but it was a tricky ‘g’. One of those hidden ‘g’s, the silen’ ‘g’s. Did you know there are silen’—”

That hole is starting to look rather inviting, Perry thought as he concentrated on each step.

Finn wandered away from the hole in the ground, past the bulbous, ripening vegetables and fruits, into the depths of the jungle. Perry followed along at his chatty friend’s side.

“And then my mom was born. Lemme ‘ell you, she was a strong woman,” Finn continued as they came to the massive zucchini leaf whose tip dared to touch the ground. “Left my father while she had an en’ire clutch on her abdomen. This was durin’ a ‘ime when you ‘don’—”

“Sorry to interrupt, Finn,” Perry spoke up as they began their ascension of the massive foliage into a forest of long, thin hairs. Perry danced around them, but Finn plowed through, unbothered. “Where are we?”

“Oh, we’re at Zucchini ‘epot!” He gestured to the multiple take-off points. “Mos’ passengers wai’ underneath the leaf, so if the farmer comes, they are hidd’n. Also, it’s jus’ cooler down there, ya’ know? Good food, too.”

As Finn spoke, Perry caught a glimpse of other bipedal beings. Two arms, two legs, small noses, and ears. They had bright yellow skin. Each of them wore clothes of their own design. Some had dresses; others had just shorts. One folded its massive ear and scratched the back of it.

“An’ pickups are below by the stem, leaf-hopper-cop’ers are towards the eas’ern lip.” Finn gestured off towards the left. “And the pollen gnomes take off on the pappus right at that high poin’.” 

Finn’s long hand gestured towards the highest spot on the leaf, the tip. Little bright yellow gnomes sat along the edge and patiently waited.

“What are they waiting for?” Perry watched on with excitement. He adjusted his leaf glasses to better block the incoming rays.

“Dan’elion seeds!” Finn exclaimed like this was common knowledge. “Those lil’ floa’ers are going to pu’ us leaf-hoppers outta’ business.” 

“Business? What are you?” It was then Perry took a step back and looked at Finn. He was huge! A wide, low body with massive, translucent wings and six spiny legs. 

“I’m a pilot.” Finn took the opportunity to nod towards the other leaf-hoppers. “‘Bou’ta take a group to the puddle by the shed. Wanna lif’?” 

“Oh, um… how quickly do I have to decide?” Perry took a small step back. His hands nervously fumbled over one another. “I really wanted to go say ‘hi’ to those gnomes.”

“You take as long as—” 

“Last call,” a bright green, tiny little bulb of a bug with six long legs and antennas that stretched the length of its abdomen shouted through a rolled-up bit of grass. “Puddle by the shed.” 

“Oh. That’s me!” Finn hurried off. His legs wiggled quickly and propelled him forward. “Now, you have to decide! Now!”

“Now?” Perry’s little heart jumped up into his chest. His eyes pulled towards the bright yellow gnomes as one pulled to its feet and waved its right hand enthusiastically to something off in the distance. “No, no. We’ll ugh, we’ll meet again?”

“Yeah, I’m here three times a week!” Finn waved one of his free arms to Perry as he scurried off to the little crowd of small creatures by the copter take-off area. “Puddle by the shed. That’s me, Cap’ain Finn.”

The familiar voice carried on into its safety protocols as Perry looked up towards the highest point of the zucchini leaf. A smile pulled at his dusty lips, and his stomach fluttered with the lightness of a thousand gnat wings.

“Grab the leg spines with both hands,” Finn carried on in the background as Perry slowly walked through the hairs of the leaf up towards the crest. The familiar voice faded away. 

“I’m heading out to the yard,” a small voice spoke quickly. “See if I can find some of those tasty yellow nasturtiums.” 

As Perry grew closer, the source of the voice became clearer. The gnome with a large shirt that brushed down towards its knees bounced excitedly on its toes as it looked out over the horizon like it tried to catch a glimpse beyond the sea of grass. 

“You making stuffed petals?” Another gnome asked. This one had a massive hat made of folded-up and pinned leaves. 

“My favorite!” The first gnome with the shirt patted its stomach. 

“What’s a stuffed petal?” Perry peeped up with curiosity as he emerged from the spiky little forest.

“You never had a stuffed—whoa!” The standing pollen gnome jumped back at the sight of Perry. “What do you have on your face?”

“My face?” Perry reached his hand up and patted the leaf. “Oh, it helps me see. The sun is too bright for me.”

“Too bright? Why, this isn’t bright! This is beautiful.” The sitting gnome fell back onto the leaf, its massive ears laid out like tired wings. “Wowee,” it continued as it took in the sight of his headgear. “Why are your eyes so sensitive?”

Perry’s cheeks tingled as the spotlight fell on him and his different features. I hope not every conversation is like this. “No, nothing wrong, I just… I was grown underground.”

“Underground?” This made the one lying down sit back up. “I’ve heard of those gnomes before! The ground gnomes, um… the plant gnomes.”

“Your cousin met a fern gnome once, right?” the standing one asked with a thoughtful finger pointed towards his invisible thought that floated through the air. “Sells those water sacks to fairies, th-the nodes?” 

“Yeah! Yeah! Gypsum’s friend… um… Curly? Curly the Fern Gnome.” The seated one looked over its shoulder back to Perry. “Do you know any fern gnomes?”

“You’re the first gnomes I’ve met,” Perry admitted. “I’m a Peanut Gnome.”

“I’ve never met a Peanut Gnome before,” the standing one said and wiped its hand onto its shirt, then extended it. “I’m Atlas.”

Perry took a small step back and studied the extended hand awkwardly. Atlas’ hand was so small in comparison to his own. If Perry held up his hand to Atlas’ face it would probably cover half of his features. 

“Oh, right.” Atlas took Perry’s hand in his and walked him through a handshake, seemingly unbothered by the size difference and dirt that covered Perry’s hands. “It’s how you greet others politely.”

Perry tried the handshake on his own as if committing the action to memory. “Atlas.”

“And I’m Breezy.” The seated gnome with the massive hat pulled himself up on his feet. Perry excitedly extended his wide hand to Breezy who took Perry’s with both hands. They shared an enthusiastic shake. “Boy, your hands could be rudders.” Breezy kept a hold of Perry’s hands and turned them over while he examined them. 

“Rudders?” Perry’s firm brow furrowed with confusion. A tiny bit of dried dirt fell from it as his skin creased.

“Yeah, it helps you guide the wind when you’re floating,” Atlas explained and wiggled his massive ears. “We use our ears.” 

“Prepare for take-off!” the bulbous bug with the rolled-up megaphone shouted from the leaf-hopper-copter area. “Clear the area.”

“Brace yourself.” Breezy hurried over to the stiff hair that grew from the leaf.

“Brace yourself?” Perry followed along and walked back towards the forest. Atlas kept a thoughtful hand on Perry’s back until Perry had strong hair in his hands.

“When those leaf-hoppers take off, it’s like a burst of wind,” Atlas explained.

As if on cue, Finn’s wings began to hum. A split second later, a shock wave blasted through the hairs and struck the gnomes. Perry held tightly to his spike, though his feet threatened to lift off.

VVVVVvvvvv. The sound lingered for a moment. As it faded away, the wind died down.

“Enjoy your in-fligh’ entertainment. I am goin’ to sing you a song my mom used to sing for me,” Captain Finn announced just before he disappeared into the sky. 

“Wooh! That was a good one.” Breezy chuckled and adjusted his hat, which surprisingly stayed on. 

“Those leaf-hoppers are a bunch of chatterboxes.” Atlas chuckled and shook his head as he walked back towards the edge of the leaf. “Oh, heads up, Breezy. Here comes your ride!” 

Atlas and Breezy happily hopped up and down, waving their hands above their heads, not that they were visible behind those massive ears. A similar-looking gnome drifted closer, one handheld onto the stock of the gently floating seedling. The pilot’s left ear slouched down limply against its head, and its right ear stood stiffly upwards, allowing it to catch the breeze and steer onto the leaf. 

“Wind’s blowing strong to the east.” The gnome with patch pants stepped off of the long, wide bottom half of the seed, but he held onto the length of the stem. “Best of luck to you.” 

“See ya, Atlas!” Breezy hurried over, took a hold of the seed, and kicked off into the current. With well-coordinated shifts in his weight and turns to his ears, Breezy was gone.

“Bye!” Atlas called to his friend. 

“Woah.” Perry watched as Breezy floated away expertly.

Speechlessly, he kept Breezy in his limited view as long as he could. Perry even walked back into the forest just to hold Breezy in his gaze for a few moments longer. Now, he understood what had been called to him from the dirt. It wasn’t just the desire to eat the nectar, but to see it, to experience it. He wanted to find a plant rich in the sticky, sweet syrup. Perry wanted to fly.

“You’ve really never seen this before, have you?” Atlas asked and took a step closer to Perry.

“No.” Perry shook his head in complete awe of the view before him. 

“You want to give it a try?”