Busy gnomes chip away
At the Winter’s hard ground,
So that bulbs may burst forth
And Spring’s beauty abound.
In the woods, damp and dark,
They must labour below
Crooked roots and cold stones,
Pushing stalks through the snow.
Undines melt snow until
Water can flow again,
Filling the leaves growing
Green with Spring rain.
Sylphs, they are dreaming
Of winds softly streaming
Through petals all yellow
And purple and blue
(Illustration from The Story of the Root Children by Sibylle Von Olfers)