ALPHABET A #5214

(March, 1993) Little Alphabet A is the first member of my new Alphabet Series. He is “signing in” by showing us the lettter A in American Sign Language. A very traditional Gnome he is dressed in a blue coat and pointed red hat, and hold an acorn. He deserves an A+ for knowing that his coin is from Australia. “Alphabet” derives from the Greek alpha and beta, the first two letters of the Greek alphabet. So I’ve begun my newest series with Gnomes A and B, and they will eventually be joined by 24 additional friends. There should be something for everyone, from A to Z. The Alphabet Gnomes hope you find them letter-perfect!

ALPHABET B #5216

(March, 1993) Alphabet B is beholden to all of the collectors who, over the years, supplied me with the bountiful array of items I’ve placed on her statue. Sitting on a block, she holdsa butter bean and has a coin from Brazil. She has a bun in her hair, with a button below and a bow with a bell beneath her throat. Her basket of bells will make beautiful music. She is bemused by Shakespeare’s most famous quotation, “To be or not to be.” because she is always B! Our word “alphabet derives from the first two letters of the Greek alphabet, alpha and beta, so I have chosen the first two letters in the English language to introduce my new Alphabet Series. Should you leave Alphabet B behind? Beta not!

ALPHABET C #5217

(April, 1993) Little C is wearing an urchin cap for he is beside the C. He has two crayons for coloring his clamshells and conchs. His coin is from Canada, a country that, like the United States, stretches from sea to shining sea. I gave the third member of my Alphabet Series a pair of spectacles so that he can C better, see!

ALPHABET D #5220

(April, 1993) Alphabet D is a delightful Woodspirit daughter’ who is devoted to her dolls. You can always depend on seeing one in her arms wherever she goes. If you ask her to determine which doll is definitely her favorite, she’ll debate and delberate for days before deciding. Her coin is from Denmark and b designed with a hole in the center. Alphabet D also lore dessert and can’t wait for Alphabet E to deliver his delicious treats. Does little D deserve some ice cream? Yes, in-deed!

ALPHABET E #5222

(May, 1993) Alphabet E is a small Eskimo Woodspirit dressed in his warm parka and mittens. Like the other alphabet pieces, his letter is on his lucky English coin which shows Queen Elizabeth. Little E is holding an Eskimo Pie and in the summertime he is very popular with all of the other Gnomes and Woodspirits. Chip and Candy love the chocolate coating but Scoop, Peaches and Babe enjoy the ice cream inside the most. On E’s Eskimo Pie I wrote the symbol for pi, the sixteenth letter of the Greek alphabet which is used in mathematics to represent the ratio of a circle to its diameter, and extends to an infinite number of decimal places. Like E’s eagerness to eat Eskimo Pies, it is never-ending.

ALPHABET F #5224

(May, 1993) Alphabet F is a fun-loving and feisty fan at a friendly game of football for the Alphabet Woodspirits. He has a French franc for fries and a frankfurter. He’s fired up because he thinks his team just scored a touchdown, but the fullback fumbled and now they’ll be forced to finish with a field goal. Frankly, little F is sometimes fooled because he frequently forgets his field glasses. But wait–there’s a flag on the field it must be foul play!

ALPHABET G #5227

(May, 1993) Goodness gracious, this must be little Alphabet G. Known to some of his Woodspirit friends as George, he is pretending to be a caddy for a group of golfers. Sitting quietly to the side, he’s watching a golf ball sail down the fairway. Little G is always a gentleman and even if your golf ball goes into a gooseberry bush he’ll say, “Good shot!” His coin is a game token, but some grown-ups believe that golf is more than a game. One golfer just groaned, “I’ve lost another ball, by George!” Gee whiz, every good caddy knows to keep an extra golf ball on hand.

ALPHABET H #5229

(June, 1993) HAVE YOU HEARD ALPHABET H? He’s hollering “HELLO!” It doesn’t help to tell him to hold it down because he thinks you can hear better when he hollers. Honestly, he’s noisier than two hungry hounds in a henhouse. When he’s hoarse he uses the little horn next to him. His coin is from Hong Kong and I have a hunch they can hear him there, also. Hark is the only Woodspirit who thinks that Alphabet H is handy to have around the house. Hollers “HAPPY TO HELP!”

ALPHABET I #5231

(June, 1993) This one little Indian has an ivy leaf by his foot but fortunately it’s not the kind that will make him itch. What does irritate Alphabet I is misplacing his spectacles. What an inconvenience! But little I is pointing to his head with his index finger to indicate that he has an idea. He will keep his”I-glasses” in his pocket, and then he can find them in an instant. How ingenious! If you are interested he’ll invite you to look at his four coins: one from India showing three lions, a tiny Indian head nickel and penny, and a real Indian head penny dated 1900. For this Woodspirit, the I’s have it!

ALPHABET J #5234

(July, 1993) Jelly beans are usually an Easter treat, but Alphabet J enjoys them from July to June. Now he’s in a jam! How many jelly beans did he eat? Just enough. He’s not joking when he says he can’t jump out of his jar. His coin is from Japan and he’ll give you a jelly bean if you’ll jimmy him out of his jam. What a job! Then jot him a note: Start jogging tomorrow.

ALPHABET K #5235

(August, 1993) Alphabet K keeps his skeleton key nearby at all times. He kindly helps the other Gnomes and Woodspirits open any locked doors. They think he is OK! His coin is from Kenya and he gets a kick out of kidding his friends: “I can open any door I want to Ken ya?”

ALPHABET L #5236

(August, 1993) Little Alphabet L is a lively leprechaun. Listen carefully and you may hear him humming an Irish lullabye. Look closely and you may spot his lucky coin. If you latch on to his coattails before he can leap into a pile of leaves, he’ll have to lead you to his pot of gold. Wouldn’t that be lovely? But he seems to be laughing out loud- it’s likely he thinks you’ll lose!

ALPHABET M #5237

(September, 1993) Alphabet M is a mighty good mom. As the song says, M is for the million things she gives us. She’s hold ing a mop since moms always clean up the messes we make. I’d give her the moon if I could, but had to settle for a coin from Mozambique, a country many miles away. Most moms are so marvelous that every day should be Mother’s Day!

ALPHABET N #5238

(September, 1993) Alphabet N’s noggin is noddin’ and soon he’ll be nappin’. Nothing is nicer than nabbing a nap at noon. Neither noise nor nagging can keep little N awake once he’s started to nod off. His coin is from the Netherlands but soon he’ll be “n” Never-Land.

ALPHABET O #5240

(October, 1993) October is Alphabet O’s favorite month, for everywhere he looks he sees his favorite color, orange. He’s saying “Oh Boy!” because he has a little orange for his snack. If only he were old enough to open it by himself! He has an odd coin with an “” in its center that says “OK Vendor” and his foot rests on an oak acorn. When you see the back of little O’s overalls you’ll understand his special way of saying good-bye: “CheeriO!”

ALPHABET P #5241

(November, 1993) Ponder no more – this is Alphabet P, posing in his Halloween costume. It’s a pretty tight fit – is it possible he polished off too much pumpkin pie? You should probably pour him some pink Pepto-Bismol. His large leaf hat protects him as he pokes around the pumpkin patch, picking out the best costume. His coin is from Paraguay and is the prize for the fastest talker at the Halloween party. Pucker up and start prac-ticing: “Peter Piper picked a peck of pickled peppers.”

ALPHABET Q #5242

(December, 1993) As you can quickly see, Alphabet Q is Queen. She is the tallest of the Alphabet Woodspirits, and with a quiet dignity she rules over all quibbles and quorums. She is dressed in the quaint 16th century style of Queen Elizabeth I, and her Canadian coin pictures Queen Elizabeth II. Her royal headpiece may look somewhat queer – it’s a quizzical combination of a crown and a pointed Gnome hat. Is it good to be Queen? Quite!

ALPHABET R #5243

(January, 1994) Alphabet R really loves reading. He is perched on two of his school books: Rithmetic and ‘Riting. On the pages of his book you can read “Rhyme” and “Reason.” While some folks have none of these, Alphabet R has plenty, and that usually makes him right. His coin is from Russia and he’s wearing a Cossack-style hat made from an acorn. When little R goes rushin’ by, you can reckon that he’s ready to reach for a new book to read.

ALPHABET S #5244

(January, 1994) Alphabet S is a very small Santa, standing in a sack. After stuffing the stockings and sledding home in his sleigh, he is ready for a snack and a snooze. He’ll need some super soap to soak the soot out of his suit. His coin is from Samoa, for children always ask Santa for “Samoa!” The coin pictures the pineapple, symbol of hospitality, for surely you want Santa to stop and see you.

ALPHABET T (MINNIE #5247; PAUL #5248)

(February, 1994) It’s T for two! Alphabet T and T are twins, named for the twin cities of Minneapolis and St. Paul. To tell the truth, they are the terrible twos when it comes to puns. Minnie has a cup of tea and a coin from the Republic of Trinidad and Tobago (two more twins). Paul has a golf tee and his coin with the big Ton it is from the MTA, Boston’s underground subway system. He can use this token to travel to Minnie’s. But will he ever return?

ALPHABET U #5249

(March, 1994) Little Alphabet U is usually the umpire for the Alphabet Woodspirits’ baseball games. His usual uniform is both a chest protector (worn under his jacket) and an umbrella. He hopes the rain will hold off, both for the game and for U 2! Unfortunately, sometimes the weather turns ugly and the game must be left unfinished. It’s an unpopular decision that causes some unhappy utterances, but he’s used to it. His coin is from Yugoslavia (you know I never said I could spell!).

ALPHABET V #5252

(April, 1994) Alphabet V is not vague when it comes to the two most valuable old sayings: “When you have your health, you have everything” and “Love makes the world go ’round.” So he stocks both vitamins and valentines for all of the Alphabet Woodspirits. If you don’t eat your vegetables, you’ll need some vitamins. But Alphabet V’s vote for restoring vim and vigor goes to being in love. His coin is from Venezuela, a country very far away. When you visit little V he’ll invite vou to sample the vat of Vitamin V that he has invented. The other Woodspirits think it’s vile, so the best advice is to vamoose!

ALPHABET W #5254

(April, 1994) As you will see, Alphabet W is a witch with a wart and a wand. But the wand is worn out, and when she wants to whip up a spell, it just won’t work. She wished for a Washington quarter. What went wrong? Why, it’s only a wee Washington. Whoops!

ALPHABET X #5255

(May, 1994) Alphabet X wasn’t feeling exactly like himself, so he went to the doctor. “I think something has happened to my heart,” he explained. He brought with him a coin from Presbyterian Hospital of Charlotte, whose symbol, when turned sideways, makes an X. (Excuse this interruption – experts tell us that Professor Henry Louis Smith of Davidson College took one of this country’s first X rays in 1896.) The doctor examined and explored and experimented, and then without knowing what to expect, ordered an X ray of little X’s heart. We’re not exaggerating – the results are excellent! X marks the spot, and you are here.

ALPHABET Y #5257

(June, 1994) Yes, yonder is Alphabet Y, wearing a sweater of yellow yarn. He has a coin from the YMCA, whose goal is a ..healihy body, mind and spirit for all ” and the Y logo is on his shock. He yearns for a more youthful shape, so he ate some yogurt and is practicing his yoga – yikes! The YMCA came to America from England in 1851, but you probably know that. Why join the Y? Alphabet Y started his fitness program yesterday, yet he feels younger already. Yea!

ALPHABET Z #5258

(June, 1994) That zany Alphabet Z! Ile dressed up as Zorro, in an outfit reminiscent of the movies of the 1930s. Last year lit ile A “signed in” the Alphabet Series by showing us the letter A in American Sign Language. Now little Z, the last member of the Series, is signing off with the first step in forming the letter Z, in which the index finger zips through the air in a zigzag pattern. His coin is from Zimbabwe, and he’s doffing his hat to us to say, “Good-bye – this is the end!”