User:Prof.HelmutMetzenbaum/sandbox

'Kolboldbaum'

Kolboldbaum is a character from the classic medieval German folktale "Der Gnom, das Kind und die Nuss".'''

The folktale tells the story of the Goblin Kolboldbaum who lived in the forest of Höllbachgspreng and would steal gold and jewels from wealthy travelers walking through the forests of Bavaria. One day the child of a local Baron decided to trick Kolboldbaum by leaving an ornate chest on a tree stump in the middle of the forest. Seeing the child place the chest on the stump Kolboldbaum snatched it and took it back to his home hidden within the roots of a 500 year old Oak tree. The Goblin was furious as the chest would not open without a key. The next day the young boy returned to the forest with the key to the chest hung around his neck, Kolboldbaum approached him and asked for the key to which the boy responded "Only if you retrieve me a cup of water from the dew of an Edelweiss from the top of the highest mountain in the valley". The Goblin accepted this challenge however was furious for it was not in his nature to help people and he had to retrieve the water using a goblet made of pewter which burned his hands to touch.

The Goblin's journey took three days and three nights to complete until he happened upon the flower which he needed to collect the dew from. The Goblin cried for he could no longer carry the goblet and therefore could not collect the water. However the Goblin was helped by a young Milkmaid who gathered the water from the dew of the flower and helped the Goblin soothe the burns on his hands with a mixture of herbs and honey. Kolboldbaum thanked the young girl with a gold coin he kept hidden behind his ear which was an unusual occurrence for a Goblin as they a known to horde their treasures. The Goblin then returned to the tree stump after three days and nights and gave the the goblet to the young boy. The boy laughed as he drank the water from the goblet and tossed the key he had promised in Kolboldbaum's face, the Goblin then returned to his hovel to open the chest. Upon opening it the Goblin was furious to learn that the ornate chest did not contain gold or jewels but instead it contained nothing but grain and barley. Koldboldbaum vowed revenge against the baron's son as he wandered the forest.

The Goblin decided to kneel by the tree stump and bury his testicles within the earth. He sat for three says and three nights and from the soil sprouted Erdnüsse. The milk maid that had helped Kolboldbaum heal his hands ventured into the forest to thank the Goblin for giving her the gold coin from behind his ear. The little girl however did not find the Goblin but the sweet delicious Erdnüsse plant, she helped herself to the nuts from the plant and managed subside a hunger she had from her long journey to the forest. The Baron's son then returned to the forest to mock Kolboldbaum about the chest of grain but instead discovered the girl eating the Erdnüsse. The boy being brash and unruly pushed the girl over and stole her gold coin from her grasp. Laughing at her he too began to indulge in the Erdnüsse whilst the girl ran further into the forest. Crying the girl managed to find Kolboldbaum's hovel and the Goblin accompanied her back to the stump in order to confront the Baron's son. Kolboldbaum pointed at the young boy and laughed, for the boy thought he could trick a Goblin and believed he could escape his wrath. The boy did not realize that the sweet nuts he was devouring grew from the Goblin's own loins and held a terrible curse for anyone who dared insult a Goblin. The boy then began to choke as the Golbins curse took hold and the Erdnüsse began to poison him, Kolboldbaum and the girl then watched as the boy's lifeless body fell against the tree stump. Koldboldbaum then told the girl these important words "Das Kind, das dem Gnom hilft, soll nicht an der Erdnuss sterben, sondern das Kind, das den Gnom ärgert, wird auf der Erdnuss sterben." Which loosely translates to "The child who helps a Goblin may not die upon the nut, but the child who angers the Goblin will die upon the nut."

This simple cautionary tale plays a big part in German folklore as well as explaining the German translation for Peanuts which is Erdnüsse which itself loosely translates to "Nut of the earth" thus linking it back to the tale. '''