Tradition: Swiss Mythology
Alternative Names: –
Category: Dwarf
The Myth
The dwarfs of Gadmen had a custom of sitting together on a large rock, where they could watch the farmers working in the surrounding countryside. The little mountain folk regularly came to the rock and quietly observed the people below.
One day, a few scoundrels decided to play a cruel trick on them. They built a fire directly on the rock and allowed it to burn until the stone became red-hot. They then swept away the coals and left the place looking completely harmless. The next morning, the unsuspecting dwarfs returned to their usual rock and sat down upon it, only to burn themselves terribly on the heated stone.
The dwarfs cried out in anger at the treachery, but the surviving account ends with their angry reaction and gives no further details of what became of them.
Sources
“Die Zwerge auf dem Felsstein.” SAGEN.at – Traditionelle Sagen aus Deutschland. Reproduced by SAGEN.at. https://www.sagen.at/texte/sagen/grimm/zwergeaufdemfelsstein.html