Tradition / Region: Luxembourg Mythology
Alternate Names: Beggen Wichtelcher, Gnomes of Gnome Hill
Category: Gnome
The Myth
Near Beggen there is a hill that still bears the name op de Wîchtelcher, the Gnome Hill. It was said that little gnomes once lived there in underground dwellings and tunnels that branched in all directions and even reached as far as the Alzette River. People claimed to have seen them drawing water from the river before suddenly vanishing back into the earth, and the so-called gnome holes are still pointed out.
One day a farmer from Beggen, from the Krellenhaus, was plowing his field when he heard voices beneath the plow calling, “Bake me a loaf! Me too! Me too!” Laughing, the farmer answered, “Me too!” and went on his way.
When he returned the next day, he found a small loaf of bread lying on the plow. He took it home, and he and his family ate from it day after day, yet it never diminished no matter how often they cut from it. From then on, everything prospered for the farmer, and he became a wealthy man. A note on the bread warned him not to reveal where it had come from.
One day, however, a visitor came to the house. As was customary, the farmer offered him bread. When the guest hesitated, the farmer laughed and said, “Go ahead and eat it — it’s gnome bread!” At that moment, the loaf began to shrink and soon disappeared.
Others told the story differently. According to them, a neighbor once remarked that although the family sold all their grain, they always had bread. The farmer’s wife then revealed the secret of the loaf that never diminished. But as soon as she told it, the bread became ordinary and was soon gone.
Gallery
Sources
sagen.at contributors. (n.d.). Die Wichtelcher zu Beggen. In sagen.at, from https://www.sagen.at/texte/sagen/luxemburg/Wichtlein_Beggen.html
Interpretive Lenses
Religious Readings
- Christian Ascetic Deep Dive
Philosophical Readings
- Nietzschean Deep Dive
Psychological Readings
- Jungian Deep Dive
Esoteric Deep Dive
- Hermetic Deep Dive
Political / Social Readings
- Marxist Deep Dive