The Stone Gnomes (Adam's Secrets Version)

Summary

Grimm, Grimmer, Grimmest: Episode Summary – "The Stone Gnomes (Adam's Secrets Version)"

Release Date: May 29, 2025
Host/Author: Pinna (Adam Gidwitz)
Description: In this captivating episode of Grimm, Grimmer, Grimmest, bestselling author Adam Gidwitz immerses listeners in the eerie retelling of "The Stone Gnomes," a classic Grimm fairy tale. Accompanied by a group of inquisitive kids, Adam navigates through dark prophecies, enchanted stone gnomes, and a battle to save a kingdom. This summary delves into the key points, engaging discussions, insightful comments, and the heartwarming conclusions drawn by both the host and young participants.

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1. Introduction and Setting the Scene (00:01 – 04:24)

The episode opens with Adam Gidwitz and his young co-hosts, Petra and Sean von Schervert, engaging in light-hearted banter about Carnegie Hall and classical music resources for kids. Petra introduces a website dedicated to fostering a love for classical music among children, highlighting its interactive features like quizzes and guided instrument discovery games.

Notable Quote:

• Petra (00:30): "You can take quizzes and figure out like, is it an animal sound or an instrument sound."

As the conversation transitions, Petra announces the upcoming season of Grimm, Grimmer, Grimmest and hints at re-airing popular episodes. She also mentions a live storytelling session scheduled for June 14th at the Brooklyn Public Library, encouraging listeners to vote for their favorite episodes.

2. Retelling "The Stone Gnomes" (04:24 – 29:53)

Adam seamlessly transitions into the heart of the episode: the retelling of "The Stone Gnomes." The story revolves around a boastful king whose pride leads him to disregard a grim prophecy foretelling his son’s demise at the hands of a stag when the prince turns sixteen.

Plot Highlights:

• The Prophecy: A fortune teller warns the king that his son will be killed by a stag at sixteen (05:01 – 06:01).
• Reluctant Hunting: Despite the prophecy, the king forces the prince into relentless hunting, believing it will make him invincible (07:02 – 07:50).
• Transformation of the Stag: On the prince's sixteenth birthday, a majestic stag transforms into a menacing knight, fulfilling part of the prophecy (08:53 – 09:35).
• Introduction of Petra and the Stone Gnomes: Captured by the knight, the prince meets Petra, a stoic girl who communicates with enchanted stone gnomes, hinting at her true identity as queen of a hidden realm (09:44 – 22:35).

Notable Quotes:

• Prince (07:15): "I don't like it, but I have to do what my father says because he's the king."
• Petra (12:35): "But soon he realized it was no use. Petra refused to speak to him."

Throughout the narration, the kids contribute their interpretations and humorous remarks, enriching the storytelling experience. For instance, Sean likens the prince's predicament to characters from "Sleeping Beauty" and "Flying Trunk," while Petra encourages interactive participation by asking listeners to guess plot developments (05:53 – 11:55).

Interactive Segments:

• Sean (06:06): "I feel like the dying at 16 gave me sort of a Sleeping Beauty vibe."
• Petra (17:05): "What would you say if somebody showed you a bunch of rocks and said, do you want to meet my friends?"

3. Climax and Resolution (22:35 – 29:53)

The story builds to a dramatic confrontation between the king and the knight, leading to an epic battle disrupted by Petra and her army of stone gnomes. The prince advocates for peace, but the persistent belligerence of both leaders almost sparks full-scale war.

Key Moments:

• Battlefield Intervention: Petra arrives on a stone chariot, turning the tide by empowering her stone gnome allies to subdue the human armies without bloodshed (26:08 – 27:04).
• Resolution of Prophecies: The prince proposes marriage to Petra, who declines, revealing her duty as queen of the stone gnomes. The story concludes with the prince ascending to kingship and Petra ruling her own realm, fulfilling the fortune teller’s prophecies (27:57 – 29:53).

Notable Quotes:

• Prince (24:39): "You don’t need to fight. We can solve this another way."
• Petra (29:37): "I am already queen of a far greater kingdom. You can rule this one."

The kids engage dynamically during these moments, reenacting parts of the battle and expressing their thoughts on the characters' motivations and outcomes.

4. Host Reflections and Behind-the-Scenes Insights (29:53 – 33:04)

Following the story, Adam shares personal reflections on creating "The Stone Gnomes." He admits uncertainty about its direct Grimm fairy tale inspiration, humorously noting that he may have blended elements from various sources, including "Tales about Toads" and his favorite picture book, "Sir Gawain and the Loathly Lady."

Production Notes:

• Adam discusses the challenges and advantages of recording during the pandemic, highlighting differences between virtual and in-person sessions.
• He praises Petra’s performance, particularly her deadpan delivery and the charming voices of the stone gnomes.
• Adam also touches on the dynamic between live interaction and the quality of recordings, expressing a preference for capturing genuine laughter and camaraderie in person, despite occasional audio mishaps (33:04 – 38:26).

Notable Quotes:

• Adam (32:29): "But Petra played with her stone gnomes every day. And sometimes the prince's kids would come and visit her and they'd play with the stone gnomes, too."
• Sean (31:32): "So my question is, she's still alive after a thousand years, right?"

The segment concludes with Adam inviting listeners to engage through votes for their favorite episodes and announcing the upcoming live show, fostering a sense of community and anticipation.

5. Conclusion and Future Plans (38:26 – End)

In the closing moments, Adam summarizes the success of "The Stone Gnomes" as a favorite among listeners and teases the forthcoming Season Five, emphasizing the transition back to in-person recordings to enhance the authentic storytelling atmosphere.

Notable Quotes:

• Adam (39:42): "I love this episode. You all voted for it as one of your favorite episodes so far."
• Petra (30:20): "And so the prince ruled his kingdom for a hundred years and married a very nice woman, and they had lots of kids. And Petra ruled her kingdom for a thousand years, and she never married anyone way, way, way."

Adam wraps up by giving special thanks to the children who participated, acknowledging their invaluable contributions to the rich and immersive storytelling experience.

6. Key Takeaways and Insights

• Empowerment through Storytelling: The episode underscores the power of storytelling to convey complex themes like destiny, leadership, and resistance against tyranny.
• Collaborative Creativity: Interaction with the kids adds layers of humor, spontaneity, and fresh perspectives, enriching the narrative.
• Balancing Tradition and Innovation: Adam adeptly blends classic Grimm fairy tale elements with unique twists, making ancient stories accessible and engaging for modern audiences.
• Adaptability in Production: The reflections on virtual versus live recordings highlight the importance of flexibility and the desire to maintain authentic interactions despite external challenges.

7. Recommendations

Listeners new to Grimm, Grimmer, Grimmest will find "The Stone Gnomes" a compelling entry point, combining traditional fairy tale motifs with interactive and contemporary elements. Fans of dark fantasy, mythology, and creative storytelling will especially appreciate the depth and originality of this episode.

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For more enchanting episodes and to join the live storytelling session, visit pinna.fm and use code GRIMM for a discount after a 7-day free trial!

Transcript

[Sean von Schervert]

Pinna.

[Adam Gidwitz]

I just learned about something really cool.

[Petra]

Maybe you've heard of Carnegie Hall. It's the famous concert hall in New York City where all of the best orchestras, singers, soloists come and perform. There's an old joke.

[Adam Gidwitz]

How do you get to Carnegie Hall?

[Petra]

Practice, practice, practice.

[Adam Gidwitz]

Though my favorite version of the joke.

[Petra]

Is how to get to Carnegie Hall, The Q Train.

[Adam Gidwitz]

And nobody likes that version, but I like it anyway.

[Petra]

I've just discovered that Carnegie hall has.

[Adam Gidwitz]

A kids website where you can learn.

[Petra]

All about classical music and world music. You can take quizzes and figure out like, is it an animal sound or an instrument sound? They have an awesome epic game where you can find all these instruments as guided by Benjamin Britten's Young Person's Guide to the Orchestra, which is one of my favorite pieces of music in the world. It's a really an amazing website, not.

[Adam Gidwitz]

Just with the resources, but to teach.

[Petra]

Love of the beauty of classical music.

[Adam Gidwitz]

I really recommend it.

[Petra]

So now there's a new way to.

[Adam Gidwitz]

Get to Carnegie Hall.

[Petra]

Start the musical journey early and go to kids.carnegiehall.org to check out fun, child friendly games and quizzes. Or you can take the Q train.

[Adam Gidwitz]

But try the website.

[Petra]

To celebrate the new season of Grim Grimmer Grimmest, which is coming out on.

[Adam Gidwitz]

June 12th, we're gonna start reposting some of the episodes that you all have listened to the most.

[Petra]

Now, many of these episodes I actually.

[Adam Gidwitz]

Haven'T heard in years, so I'm gonna listen to them too.

[Petra]

And at the end of each episode, I'm gonna share with you some things.

[Adam Gidwitz]

That occurred to me while I was listening. Stuff I'd forgotten or never even realized or memories I had from making that episode. Also, we're doing a live show in Brooklyn on June 14th at 11am at the Brooklyn Public Library on the steps.

[Petra]

And I'm going to retell whichever episode you all vote for as your favorite. Check the show notes for details on how to vote.

[Adam Gidwitz]

Okay, so let's find out if this.

[Petra]

One is your favorite.

[Adam Gidwitz]

If it is, don't forget to vote.

[Petra]

Hi, my name is Adam Gidwitz. I'm an author. I'm also a storyteller. I like telling all kinds of stories, but I especially like telling grim fairy tales. You may think you know Grimm fairy tales and you may think that they are sweet and boring, but listen, those tales you heard were the cute, happy little kid bedtime versions of the Grimm tales. The original Grimm fairy tales aren't like that at all. They're weird and sometimes gross and often scary. In other words, they're grim. And I'm about to host a virtual storytelling session and tell one of the original grim, grim tales to a bunch of kids. Do you want to join me? Do you want to hear a grim fairy tale? I don't know if you said yes or no, because I can't hear you. So let me help you decide on a scale of Grim, Grimmer, and Grimmest. The story I'm going to tell today is grim. There is some fighting near the end, but it's not bloody or gruesome so much as weird. If I get to a part of the story and you start to feel scared or uncomfortable, this is what you could do. You could turn down the volume and count to five. Then turn the volume back up. If it still seems like a part you don't want to hear, turn it down and count to five again. You know how much weird and gross and scary you're ready for? You know what you need? Okay, I'm about to join the session. There are kids inside waiting to hear a grim fairy tale. So are you coming in Grim, Grimmer, Grimace.

[Adam Gidwitz]

All right, let's tell a story, shall we?

[Petra]

This is one of the weirdest stories that I am going to tell you.

[Sean von Schervert]

Sean von Schervert.

[Petra]

It is actually not by Franz Ksava von Schoenwurth, also known as Sherbert von.

[Adam Gidwitz]

Sherbert or whatever you call him.

[Petra]

This is by the Brothers Grimm, but.

[Adam Gidwitz]

It is super weird.

[Petra]

And it is called the Stone Gnomes. Once upon a time, there was a king who was kind of a jerk.

[Knight]

Have you seen my army?

[Petra]

He loved to brag about how tough he was and how big his army was and how he'd never been beaten in any kind of fight in his whole life. Now, this king had a baby boy. The king wanted his baby boy to grow up to be strong and tough like him. So he called a fortune teller to the palace, a fortune teller who specialized in reading the constellations. And the king asked the fortune teller how big and tough this baby prince would grow up to be. The fortune teller gazed up at the stars and said, oh, no. A horrible fate awaits the prince. When he reaches the age of 16. A stag will take his life. Okay, question. What does that mean? What is a stag, and what does it mean to take his life?

[Sean von Schervert]

A stag is a deer with, like, really big horns.

[Petra]

Yes.

[Sean von Schervert]

And to take his life means to murder him.

[Adam Gidwitz]

Exactly. Right.

[Sean von Schervert]

I feel like the dying at 16 gave me sort of a Sleeping Beauty vibe.

[Petra]

Ooh, I get that. I get that. Well, Usually in fairy tales, when there's some dark prophecy, like if a girl pricks her finger with a spinning wheel, she'll fall asleep forever. The king would banish all the spinning wheels. So you'd expect the king to banish all stags or never let the prince go hunting or something like that. But this king was kind of a jerk.

[Sean von Schervert]

Uh huh. Yeah. And it was like, my son's not gonna get killed by a stag. I'll show you who's gonna get killed by a stag. And I'm gonna let my son go out every single day. And he'll come back with a dead stag head in his arms to hang over the mantle on the fireplace.

[Petra]

Are you reading over my shoulder? That's exactly what's about to happen. Oh. You see, the king decided that the best way to make sure the prince was tough was to make the prince go hunting for stags all the time.

[Knight]

Oh no, no stag will take your life.

[Petra]

The king would boast, Let them try.

[Knight]

You'll kill any stag you see, my son. You'll kill him dead.

[Petra]

The prince would often sigh softly to himself.

[Prince]

I don't like it, but I have to do what my father says because he's the king. And also he never listens to me.

[Petra]

Well, on the morning of the prince's 16th birthday, the king took him out hunting for stags, which, let's be honest, was really, really dumb.

[Sean von Schervert]

This kind of gives me like the flying trunk vibes because he's like, the father is like, don't embarrass me and don't ruin my reputation.

[Petra]

Right.

[Sean von Schervert]

So he's doing this for his benefit.

[Petra]

Soon they saw an amazing and beautiful stag with enormous antlers. The king cried, go get it, champ.

[Sean von Schervert]

Oh my gosh.

[Petra]

And very reluctantly, the prince said, yes, father. So the prince began to chase the stag. The king tried to keep up, but the stag was fast and the prince was too. The prince's heart pounded with exertion, but also with fear, for he knew the prophecy. He was afraid of it, but he was more afraid of his tough guy father, the king. The prince chased the great stag through the forest, this way and that. Soon the king completely lost sight of them. Over fallen trees and through thick brambles, the stag led the prince until they came to the edge of a cliff. The stag turned and faced the prince. The prince panted, sweating, staring at the beautiful stag. And he wondered, is the stag going.

[Prince]

To kill me now?

[Petra]

But just then, the stag transformed his back Hooves became feet, his front hooves became hands. He stood up, so he towered over the prince. And his enormous antlers became a huge and terrible twenty pointed sword.

[Sean von Schervert]

Things can be weirder than Fran, shop or wench. Definitely. This definitely tops French Kazap von Chinn.

[Petra]

Vasch Stories for weirdness. Oh, guys, the weirdness hasn't even begun.

[Prince]

What.

[Petra]

Now? Instead of a stag stood a giant knight in black armor. And he said to the prince, I.

[Knight]

Have been hunting you your whole life and now I've got you.

[Petra]

And he grabbed the prince and carried him away.

[Prince]

Let go of me. My father will get you.

[Petra]

They soon arrived at the outskirts of the kingdom at the knight's crumbling manor. The tumbledown estate was surrounded by the dark entrances to old mines that had once produced stone for buildings and iron for weapons, but now lay barren. At this manor lived the knight's daughter, who was just about the prince's age.

[Knight]

You'll stay here with me and my.

[Petra]

Daughter, the knight told the prince.

[Knight]

For on the day of my daughter's birth, I went to see an old fortune teller. And he looked up at the the constellations and told me that you would save my daughter's life and that she would be a queen.

[Prince]

Wait, there was a prophecy about me too?

[Petra]

The prince tried to tell him, but the knight never listened to anybody. He went on.

[Knight]

So you must watch over my daughter and protect her. And one day soon, you will marry her and bring her back to your palace as your wife. Because then she will be a queen. And if you don't do everything I say, I will kill you.

[Petra]

And the Knight waved the 20 pointed sword in the prince's face.

[Sean von Schervert]

That's so terrible. You can't force marriage, right? So you did in medieval times.

[Adam Gidwitz]

Is it ever okay to force someone to marry somebody else?

[Sean von Schervert]

Uh, no. No. Okay, that'd be like forcing a bear to marry a zebra. The bear would just eat the zebra. And now let's go on.

[Petra]

Well, upon hearing the knight's pronouncement, the prince was terrified and sad and just generally miserable. And the knight's daughter, whose name was Petra, seemed to be just as unhappy about this arrangement as the prince was.

[Sean von Schervert]

Oh, finally, somebody has a name.

[Petra]

Yes, and what was her name?

[Sean von Schervert]

I forgot. Petra.

[Petra]

Petra.

[Sean von Schervert]

Petra. I will petrify. Petrify.

[Petra]

Oh yeah, petrify. And what does petrify mean?

[Sean von Schervert]

Be paralyzed, turned into stone.

[Petra]

Wait, say it again.

[Sean von Schervert]

To be turned into stone.

[Petra]

So what do you think the word petra means?

[Sean von Schervert]

Maybe stone.

[Petra]

Yes.

[Sean von Schervert]

Oh, I get it. Stonify.

[Petra]

Petrify. That's so right. That's it. The knight insisted that the prince follow his daughter around all day in case her life needed saving. So the prince did. At first, the prince tried to make small talk with Petra.

[Prince]

So, pretty cloudy today, huh? Is it always cloudy here? Nice, I guess.

[Petra]

But soon he realized it was no use. Petra refused to speak to him. Instead, she sat a long way off and played with rocks that were lying around the manor's grounds near the entrances of the old mines. Rock stones.

[Sean von Schervert]

Rock stones. What 16 year old plays with rocks?

[Petra]

Petra?

[Sean von Schervert]

That's gonna be me when I'm 16.

[Adam Gidwitz]

That's because you're cool.

[Petra]

Some rocks were sparkly quartzes. Others were dull ore. All of the rocks seemed more interesting to Petra than the prince was. After dinner, on the first evening of the prince's captivity, the knight made another startling announcement. He told the prince that he would have to sit on the floor in Petra's room until sunrise.

[Knight]

I'll check on you every hour to make sure you're watching over her and you haven't fallen asleep.

[Petra]

And he waved the 20 pointed sword in the prince's face again. That night, the prince sat on the floor of Petra's room. It was an old, creaky room that looked like it might have been fancy many years ago, but now was just kind of creepy. And the creepiest thing in the room was a giant stone statue of a very ugly man. The man was so ugly, in fact, he barely looked like a man. What he really looked like was an enormous stone gnome.

[Sean von Schervert]

So creepy.

[Petra]

After the knight had locked the door of Petra's room and retreated to his chamber, Petra told the prince not to bother watching over her.

[Rocky]

Just go to sleep, she said. Rocky here will protect me. And he'll answer my father when he calls. Won't you, Rocky?

[Petra]

Petra turned toward the statue and looked at it expectantly. Suddenly, the statue started to nod. It began nodding very fast and then slowed down and went slower and slower and slower until about half an hour later, its head finally came to a stop.

[Prince]

And the prince thought, my life has gotten so weird.

[Petra]

But he did as Petra said. He lay down on the floor and tried to fall asleep all night. Each hour on the hour, the knight knocked on the door.

[Knight]

Are you watching over my daughter?

[Petra]

The knight would call and Rocky would say yes. And the yes would echo.

[Knight]

Yes.

[Petra]

Yes. Yes. Yes.

[Adam Gidwitz]

Do you guys want to do that?

[Petra]

It's kind of fun.

[Prince]

Yes.

[Rocky]

Yes.

[Sean von Schervert]

Yes.

[Adam Gidwitz]

Yes.

[Petra]

And the knight would go away, satisfied. Through all this, the prince lay awake on the floor, wondering what in the world was Going on. By morning, the knight was happy and said to the prince, I am impressed.

[Knight]

By how vigilant you were. You kept watch all night.

[Petra]

The prince was about to tell him that he hadn't done anything. That the giant stone statue had watched over Petra, and that really he didn't seem to be necessary as Petra was quite well protected without him. And couldn't he just go home now? But before the prince spoke, he saw Petra's face. She subtly put her finger to her lips. Why would she do that?

[Sean von Schervert]

Because she has a secret he doesn't know about Rocky. A secret from her father.

[Petra]

So the prince said nothing. As they were finishing breakfast, the knight announced that he wanted to begin planning their wedding. But Petra wouldn't hear of it. She wasn't mean or rude. She was just very clear that she did not want to marry the prince.

[Rocky]

I'm sorry, but I refuse.

[Petra]

Her father shouted at her.

[Knight]

Don't be so stubborn and foolish. He explained to her, this is a prophecy. It has to happen.

[Petra]

And finally he begged her, you'd be.

[Knight]

The queen of this whole kingdom. You want to be queen, don't you?

[Rocky]

I'm already the queen of a far greater kingdom.

[Petra]

Petra replied. And she went outside to play with her rocks. The knight stormed off, grumbling. And the prince thought, my life has gotten so.

[Prince]

So weird.

[Petra]

What does she mean? She's already the queen of a far greater kingdom?

[Sean von Schervert]

I think she means like when she grows up, she'll be the queen and marry someone else.

[Petra]

Okay, interesting.

[Sean von Schervert]

Maybe like the stone gnome. Maybe it's like a prince and they will be a king and a queen.

[Petra]

Very interesting theory.

[Sean von Schervert]

Gnomes and rocks.

[Petra]

Maybe.

[Sean von Schervert]

Maybe the place she like is the queen of like a. A stone gnome kingdom.

[Petra]

Interesting. That afternoon, the prince went out to follow Petra around again among the abandoned mines and scrubby land. She still refused to speak to him. She just sat with her rocks. He watched her. She talked to them.

[Rocky]

Good afternoon, friends.

[Petra]

Finally the prince began to watch the rocks. Which is when he realized that the rocks seemed to be moving on their own. He came a little closer. He looked very hard. But the rocks now appeared to be as still as. Well, as still as stones. Petra moved away and the prince watched the rocks carefully. When Petra began talking to them, they appeared to start moving again without her touching them. The prince rubbed his eyes. He came a little closer. The rocks fell still again. Petra looked over her shoulder. She saw the prince watching her. He smiled. She moved away again. Okay, raise your hand if you have a guess as to what is happening. What is Going on, do you think?

[Sean von Schervert]

I think this is the kingdom she was talking about.

[Petra]

Huh? Interesting things went on like this for many weeks. The prince wished he could escape this wasteland of barren mines and this girl who talked to rocks. For the walls of the knight's manor were very high. And the knight sat all day in a watchtower over the gate, sharpening his terrible many pointed sword. There was no chance for escape.

[Sean von Schervert]

Dang.

[Petra]

Meanwhile, back at the palace, the king had figured that the fortune teller's prophecy had come true and a stag had taken his son's life. But then a royal hunter returned to the palace with some interesting news. Your highness, I have some interesting news. What is it? I followed the footsteps of the prince and the stag through the woods until.

[Rocky]

I came to the edge of a cliff. There, suddenly, another set of footprints appeared.

[Petra]

As if by magic.

[Sean von Schervert]

What?

[Petra]

I know. These new footprints led me all the way to a crumbling old manor on.

[Rocky]

The very edge of your kingdom, which.

[Petra]

Belongs to the Knight of the Many Pointed Sword. And inside, through locked gates, I saw your son.

[Knight]

Are you telling me that my son has been kidnapped by the Knight of the Many Pointed Sword?

[Petra]

Well, I don't know, your majesty, but it seems possible this means war. Do you want me to figure out.

[Rocky]

For sure before we start a war?

[Knight]

Don't, father. Raise an army. Prepare for battle.

[Petra]

Okay. While the king was raising an army to attack the knight's manor, the prince kept trying to befriend Petra. Because, let's be honest, he was super bored and he really needed a friend. But Petra never smiled at him, and she never let him get close to her when she was playing with her rocks. Until one day, Petra glanced over her shoulder at the prince, and he smiled. And she did not move away. She just stared. And then she gestured for him to come closer.

[Prince]

Me?

[Petra]

Petra nodded. The prince hurried over to her. She was surrounded by a dozen stones ranging from tiny pebbles to rocks as high as her knee. The prince sat beside her, and she kept silent for a long time. And he didn't know what to think. But at last she said, would you.

[Rocky]

Like to meet my friends?

[Adam Gidwitz]

Okay, here's my question for you.

[Petra]

What would you say if somebody showed you a bunch of rocks and said, do you want to meet my friends?

[Adam Gidwitz]

What would you say?

[Sean von Schervert]

Cool. Yes, I totally do. Yes, absolutely. I would say I've been here for weeks.

[Petra]

Yes, the prince wanted to say.

[Prince]

You mean you want me to meet a bunch of rocks? Aren't I meeting them right now? It's super fun. Let me tell you but he didn't say that. He said, yes, I would.

[Petra]

So Petra said, it's all right.

[Rocky]

You can come out.

[Petra]

The rocks began to move on their own again. The prince began to notice that the cracks and lines in the rocks looked kind of a lot like faces and arms and hands and feet. And he realized that the rocks were not rocks at all. They were gnomes. Or rather, maybe they were rocks. But they were also gnomes. Gnomes.

[Adam Gidwitz]

Stone gnomes.

[Petra]

Stone gnomes.

[Sean von Schervert]

Satisfying.

[Petra]

Petra introduced the gnomes to the prince one by one.

[Rocky]

This is Hank Henry, Granite. And this is Katrina Cole. May I introduce Maximilian Marble. And this, of course, is Otto Quartz.

[Sean von Schervert]

And Peter Piper picked a pebble that totally works.

[Petra]

As she introduced them, they bowed or curtsied shyly. From that day forth, Petra let the prince play with her and her gnome friends. And the days were much better. And Rocky watched over them at night. And the prince stopped dreaming of running away. But one night, the prince had a different dream. He dreamt of thunder. The thunder in his dream was so loud, it woke him up. And that's when he realized the thunder wasn't in his dream. It was outside. He ran to the window and gasped in surprise.

[Prince]

That isn't thunder. Those are the footsteps of an army. My father's army.

[Petra]

And Petra said, that's not good. Now you might think that the king had surprised the Knight of the Many Pointed Sword, but he had not. You see, the knight had gotten wind of the king's plan. And he had raised an army of his own. With a blare of trumpets and a beating of drums and the thunder of a thousand feet, the knight and the king led their armies out to a great field. They faced one another. The king, clad in white, looking especially tough and ready for war. The knight, wearing his black armor and wielding his Many Pointed Sword.

[Sean von Schervert]

The yin and yang shall now turn against each other.

[Petra]

I love that.

[Sean von Schervert]

Yes.

[Petra]

Yes. The two armies faced each other. Many soldiers would die. Soldiers no older than the prince and Petra.

[Sean von Schervert]

You're killing your own people.

[Petra]

This did not seem right to the prince. So he ran out into the middle of the field and shouted, stooop. Everyone stopped.

[Prince]

You don't need to fight. We can solve this another way.

[Petra]

The king scoffed.

[Knight]

Another way? Why would we solve it another way? War is fun. War is the best. I want to kill some bad guys.

[Sean von Schervert]

No, you're not gonna kill any bad guys. You are the bad guy. He's like, I will fight this war for peace. But you're fighting in a war. Yeah.

[Petra]

The knight in black scoffed. Too.

[Knight]

I'm going to defeat the king's army, kill the king, and then I will be king myself. And then when I die, my daughter will be queen, just like the fortune teller predicted. This war is meant to be. It is my destiny. Let's go kill some people.

[Petra]

The prince looked back and forth between the two mean, stupid, warlike men. He sighed and shook his head. What else could he do?

[Sean von Schervert]

Oh, it's mean. It's cruel. It is very, very, very grim.

[Petra]

The king yelled, charge. The king's army charged. The knight yelled, charge. The knight's army charged. Their soldiers ran at one another, ready to kill. And then there was a third voice yelling, charge.

[Sean von Schervert]

It was Petra.

[Petra]

It was Petra who rode forth onto the battlefield in a stone chariot pulled by two stone griffins and leading an enormous army of tyrannosaurus, tiny stone gnomes. And lumbering behind them was Rocky, the huge stone gnome who watched over Petra while she slept. And as the two human armies tried to fight each other, the stone gnomes attacked them. Not with swords or spears, but with their tiny stone fists and tiny stone feet. They punched and kicked the soldiers, and their punches and kicks really hurt. And the soldiers fell to the ground. The human armies tried to fight back, but they suddenly found that their weapons had turned from steel into stone and were too heavy to lift. And the tiny stone gnomes punched and kicked them. And the soldiers yelped in surprise and grabbed their knees and stomachs and butts. The gnomes really seemed to like kicking them in their butts.

[Sean von Schervert]

Ouch.

[Petra]

Okay, can half of you make the sound of stone gnomes attacking the soldiers? And the other half of you be the human soldiers who butts are being kicked. Okay, wait.

[Sean von Schervert]

I'll be the humans.

[Petra]

Okay, on the count of three, choose.

[Adam Gidwitz]

Who you want to be.

[Petra]

One, two, three, go. Rocky stormed forward. With one hand, he grabbed the knight in black armor and lifted him into the air. The knight tried to hack at Rocky with his many pointed sword, but it did no good. Rocky carried the knight over to the king, and he picked up the king with his other hand and lifted him into the air. The king tried to stab Rocky with his sword, but that didn't do any good either. Then the king tried to stab the knight, and the knight tried to stab the king, but Rocky held the two far apart, so they were swinging their weapons at the air like two toddlers being held away from each other by their mother.

[Sean von Schervert]

Then he gave them wedgies.

[Adam Gidwitz]

No.

[Petra]

Rocky walked to the deepest coal mine and he tossed the king and the knight into the they fell for a long, long time. The prince said to Petra, did Rocky.

[Prince]

Just kill our fathers?

[Rocky]

No, he just threw them into the land of the stone gnomes. But I don't think they'll ever find their way out. Maybe they can fight each other down there forever.

[Petra]

Oh, said the prince. And he shrugged. Okay. Both of the human armies surrendered to the gnomes. Then Petra climbed up on Rocky's shoulders and called everyone to her. All the human soldiers gathered round. None of them had died, obviously, because they'd just been punched and kicked in the butt with little stone feet and fists. Petra announced, there shall be no more war.

[Rocky]

Is that understood?

[Petra]

The human soldiers all understood. Yes. Then the prince called out, petra, you.

[Prince]

Are fierce and quiet and kind and wise. I would be honored if you would be my wife and queen of this kingdom.

[Petra]

And Petra replied, what do you think she's gonna say?

[Sean von Schervert]

No? Yes. Like I'm living with my rocks.

[Rocky]

Petra replied, I am already queen of a foe far greater kingdom. The land of the stone gnomes. You can rule this one. I will rule that one. And no, I don't really want to get married, but thank you.

[Sean von Schervert]

I knew it.

[Petra]

And the prince said, oh, okay, I get it.

[Sean von Schervert]

She will be queen.

[Petra]

She will.

[Sean von Schervert]

She is queen of the petal world.

[Petra]

That's not what it's called.

[Sean von Schervert]

That's what it's called now.

[Petra]

So the prince became king because his father was lost in the land of the stone gnomes. And Petra kept being queen over the land of the stone gnomes because she always had been. One day, a little while after all this happened, the prince called the old fortune teller to the palace.

[Adam Gidwitz]

You guys remember the fortune teller?

[Petra]

Yes. The prince said to the fortune teller, I don't understand.

[Prince]

None of your prophecies came true.

[Sean von Schervert]

Yes, they did.

[Petra]

Okay, let's review.

[Adam Gidwitz]

What were the prophecies?

[Sean von Schervert]

That Petra will one day become queen.

[Petra]

Okay.

[Sean von Schervert]

He'd save Petra's life.

[Adam Gidwitz]

Okay.

[Sean von Schervert]

And then he would be killed by a stag. Okay, I know.

[Rocky]

With the.

[Sean von Schervert]

When they said the stag will take his life because they were so vague about that maybe instead of killing him, the take his life would be. The stag would take his old life away and have him start a new life.

[Petra]

Very interesting. And the fortune teller said, what do you mean? First, I prophesied that the stag would take your life. It did take your life and turned it all topsy turvy, didn't it? So you get no refund for that. Second, I said Petra would be a queen. And she is a queen, isn't she queen of the stone gnomes. So I got that one right, too. Finally, I said you'd marry her. That one I got wrong. But you got to admit, for a fortune teller, two out of three ain't bad. Most of these fortune tellers out here are just making everything up. The prince had to agree that this was true. And so the prince ruled his kingdom for a hundred years and married a very nice woman, and they had lots of kids. And Petra ruled her kingdom for a thousand years, and she never married anyone way, way, way.

[Sean von Schervert]

So my question is, she's still alive after a thousand years, right?

[Petra]

Crazy, right?

[Sean von Schervert]

Wait, how does she survive a thousand years? Yeah, she must have had a strong immune system.

[Petra]

But Petra played with her stone gnomes every day. And sometimes the prince's kids would come and visit her and they'd play with the stone gnomes, too. And then later, the prince's grandkids came to play, and then his great grandkids and great, great grandkids and. Well, you get the picture. And they all lived happily ever after. The end.

[Adam Gidwitz]

What was up with Petra? I mean, she was able to talk to stone gnomes.

[Petra]

She lived to a thousand. Any theories?

[Sean von Schervert]

She was probably immortal. She wasn't. No. Rocky gave her immortality. She just didn't tell anybody.

[Petra]

Maybe.

[Sean von Schervert]

Oh, I know. She was a stone herself. Like her father was a deer himself, but he could turn into a human.

[Petra]

Oh, interesting.

[Sean von Schervert]

Or maybe he was a human that could turn into a deer, but who knows, right? Maybe she was a stone who could turn into a human.

[Petra]

Yes, maybe.

[Sean von Schervert]

Petch's mom was Medusa. We know that wouldn't work. Medusa had no kids.

[Adam Gidwitz]

I love that story. You know, I don't think I've listened to it since we made it. There were parts of it that I didn't remember at all. And I have an embarrassing admission to make, which is I can't figure out what story that's based on. I wrote down that it's based on a story called Tales about Toads or Three Friendly Animals. It's translated differently in different places, but those are like three very short stories about a little girl meeting a snake and really have nothing to do with the stone gnomes. So, honestly, if you recognize that story as being inspired by another grim fairy tale that you've heard, please put it in the reviews in Apple podcasts or write to me through my website, because I think it was one that I was inspired by Tales about toads and probably one other story that I can't remember. And then I kind of just Made it up. But it turns out it's really one of my favorite stories. So you can hear by listening to the intro that this is from season three because we recorded season three and season four during the pandemic when I couldn't actually be in person in the schools. So instead of hearing a door open when I'm supposed to be going into the classroom, you hear the log on sound of me joining a virtual meeting room. Obviously those are sound effects. We don't record me actually opening the door of the classroom and the kids aren't waiting inside. In reality, I'm usually sitting in the classroom and the kids come in and they sit down and get settled and then we start recording. But yeah, you can tell this is season three or season four pandemic recording because you hear that virtual sound. You can also hear the difference in how my voice and the kids voices sound. They sound way more electronic because they were recorded over the Internet as opposed to being recorded live. Not the narration, but when I'm actually interacting with the kids. Which brings me to something that's, I think, interesting to me anyway, which is that we had some pros and cons about recording live versus recording virtually. And for season five, which is about to come out, we had a debate like should we record virtually or in person? The positive about recording virtually is every kid gets their own audio channel. Which means if one kid says something really great, but it's kind of hard to hear cause other kids are talking, that's fine. I can turn down all the other kids in post production and then make that kid's great comment audible to you. So we got some really special comments in season three and four because we could isolate every kid's sound. Whereas when you're live in front of a group of kids, one kid might say something awesome. But if there's a truck going by outside or some kid is playing with his Velcro in front of the microphone, we can't hear that great comment. And that's it, it's gone. But there's a huge benefit to being live, which is that a everyone's voices sound way clearer and better. Like we're really in the room together, because we are. And also there's this, you know, like waves of laughter take over the kids and you can hear them all getting each other laug. And it creates this really warm experience in the room of like the real sound of what it feels like to tell a grim fairy tale. And so we ultimately decided for season five we wanted that real laughter, that experience in the room, even if it meant there were a few comments that we weren't going to be able to use because the sound quality wasn't good enough because some kid was playing with their Velcro. Hey kids, stop playing with your Velcro. Thank you. So, okay, back to the story, the Stone Gnomes. I love the image of the antlers turning into the 20 pointed sword. I'm pretty sure I made that up. But that night in the forest was inspired by one of my favorite picture books when I was a kid called Sir Gawain and the Loathly Lady. It's got gorgeous illustrations and also like the most gorgeous illustrations of the ugliest woman ever written about in picture books or in fairy tales, the Loathly Lady. I highly recommend you find this book at the library or a bookstore. You gotta get it. It's amazing. So the girl's name in the story is Petra. And Petra was a student of mine. And I told her and her classmates a lot of these grim fairy tales when I was first developing my first book, a tale Dark and Grimm. And when I was practicing telling these fairy tales to kids, Petra was one of my favorite kiddos. I have a lot favorite kiddos, but she was fantastic. And the fact that her name was Petra, which means stone, felt like it was so perfect for this story. Also, the actress that plays Petra in this episode is amazing. I love her deadpan delivery. And also the sounds of the gnomes. Oh my gosh, their little cute little voices. We should have done more of that. And then when one of the kids names one of the gnomes, Peter Piper picked a pebble. I mean, sometimes you kids are so smart and so quick and brilliant. Like when the kid says, I will.

[Petra]

Fight this war for peace.

[Adam Gidwitz]

Right? How ironic. What a great commentary. And honestly, it feels like our world leaders these days need to hear our kids comment on stuff like this. You know, we have one side saying, I fight for peace, and the other side, the knight with the antler saying, this war is my destiny. And that's pretty much the history of all world wars, all the wars we've ever fought in the world. Oh, and how about that fortune teller at the end? He was amazing. I love this episode. You all voted for it as one of your favorite episodes so far. If you'd like to keep voting to tell me what your favorite episodes are, and then I will hopefully perform your favorite episode on June 14th on the steps of the Brooklyn Public Library, Central Branch, 11:00am That's a Saturday, June 14th. All right. This is really fun. I'm enjoying listening to these old episodes and sharing my thoughts with you. Maybe I will see you on June 14 and on June 12. If you are a subscriber, you will be the first in the world to hear the new episodes from Season five of Grim Grimmer Grimaced.

[Petra]

Grim Grimmer Grimaced is a Pinna original production created, written and narrated by me, Adam Gidwitz, Author of A Tale Dark and Grimm co written by Ali Horne Produced and edited by Ilana Milner Casting by Paula Gammon Wilson Voice direction by Ilana Milner and Paula Gammon Wilson Sound design and mixing by Beat Street NYC Executive produced by Ann Richards Production support by Ashley Beecher and Thaddeus Dankwa Characters voiced by Arlondo Smith, Billy Bob Thompson, Carolina Doe, Colin Ryan, Erica Schroeder, Jason Udoff, Kailyn Clinton, Marion Toro, Michael Crouch, Rob Marrera, Samantha Cooper and Walker Vreeland. Special thanks to all the kids who joined us for our storytelling sessions. You guys are awesome.