Romanian House dweller Mythology

Little One of Reussen

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Tradition / Region: Romanian Mythology
Alternate Names: The Little One; The Bought Little One; The Farmer’s Familiar
Category: House dweller, Gnome

The Myth

In the village of Reussen there once lived a farmer who had acquired a being known as the Little One. He had obtained it for money, and from that time onward wealth flowed to him in such abundance that he scarcely knew what to do with it.

Every year he built new stables, barns, and sheds, only to tear them down again and rebuild them, simply to spend the money that continued to pour in.

Yet despite his riches, he found no peace. At last, wishing to be rid of the being, he bored a hole into a heavy floor beam with a large drill. Into this hole he forced the Little One and sealed it tightly, hoping to imprison it there forever.

But the Little One would not be confined. It burst the prison apart and destroyed everything the farmer possessed. His buildings were ruined, his property laid waste, and all his wealth vanished.

In the end, when the farmer went into the forest and leaned his rifle against a ladder, the Little One seized the weapon. It fired the gun and shot the man who had tried to betray it.

Thus the farmer lost both his fortune and his life to the very being that had once made him rich.

Gallery

Sources

sagen.at contributors. (n.d.). Der „Kleine“ in Reußen. In sagen.at, from https://www.sagen.at/texte/sagen/rumaenien/siebenbuergen/reussen.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

Little One of Alzen

by

Tradition / Region: Romanian Mythology
Alternate Names: The Little One; The Hidden Boy; House Little One
Category: House dweller, Gnome

The Myth

In the village of Alzen there once lived a farmer named Stefan Guipets. In his house, people said, there lived a small unseen being known only as the Little One.

Whenever the family sat down to eat, they always threw the first bite beneath the table for him. In return, the household prospered. In the pantry stood a sack of grain that was never empty, no matter how much was taken from it. Yet no one was allowed to touch this sack carelessly, for it belonged to the Little One.

On the chimney of the house the farmer had written a warning:

“Whoever wants to keep something secret
must not tell any woman.”

And so the Little One remained in the house, unseen, fed, and quietly guarding the farmer’s fortune.

Gallery

Sources

sagen.at contributors. (n.d.). Der „Kleine“ in Alzen. In sagen.at, from https://www.sagen.at/texte/sagen/rumaenien/siebenbuergen/alzen.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