A of Waukee, Iowa asks:

Q. What happens to the Hidden Folk when land is developed and the trees there are slaughtered and the land is either built on or paved over?

A. Hidden Folk are one with their native place. They do not migrate or leave their beloved homes when the bulldozers and earthmovers come. They seek always to restore balance, to reweave the web of creation, to right what has been destroyed. They feel deeply and fiercely for the land they inhabit and protect. At times they are able to adapt to changes and work with humans so all may live in harmony with an altered landscape. They greatly favor plans which include children!

At other times when no attention has been given to the nature of the land, to water patterns, the slant of sunlight, air flow, sun and shade, the energy exchange between air and soil, the needs of children, the hidden folk pull back to the margins of their land in anger and outrage! If needed, they cause mischief to attract attention! They single out those who speak eloquently for the land, defending the perfection of nature, knowing that paving concrete over acres of land is a distortion, a gross violation of the web of life. Air cannot flow, water cannot find its rightful place, life is smothered beneath the mass of killing concrete.

If you see a blade of grass break through the paving, a seedling, a sapling, cracks appear in the concrete, you will see the hidden folk at work to reclaim their home even if it takes a hundred years. They never give up! They endure and triumph. They are the guardians of life on this earth! They are timeless.