As the boy dug up the soil (a challenging task considering it was winter), an old gnome awoke from its slumber. There was a hole at the base of the tree that had inches of snow that was protecting it from the winter wind, but it was now exposed. It shivered, cold and grumpy. Whoever was doing this was going to get a piece of its mind.

Potato-like head peeking out of the hole, it saw the source of the sudden chill in its tree burrow. There was another human there too, but she wasn't actually doing anything. So that made the boy its primary target.

It did not hesitate to jump out at the boy, hoping to sink its sharp teeth into him before he did anything about it.