How the gnomes disappeared from the Campine

How the gnomes disappeared from the Campine is a saga from Brabant.
The story
The thousands of gnomes lived in a mountain (tumulus) in the Campine and stole livestock and goods in the area. Out of fear for the gnomes, the people of the Campine, the Peel and the Meierij did not intervene. When their cattle was grazing near the gnomes mountain, the people would not even collect their cattle. One day a brave young man went to the mountain to reclaim his cows. He remained at the mountain and as the clock stroke one o'clock, one of his cows stood near the gate. The gate opened and the boy gripped the cow by the tail and was thus taken into the hall of the gnomes. The gnomes attacked him, but the young man asked for mercy and to have his cows back, for otherwise he would die of poverty. The gnomes took pity on him and let him go. When he returned at home he found fifteen cows in the stable and on the table a bag filled with coins. The young man celebrated that night with joy, and the news was soon spread to his neighbors. The farmers of the Campine all went to the mountain to beg to have their cows returned. The next night the gnomes left the mountain to settle on the other side of the Rhine.

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