David the Gnome, or The World of David the Gnome, is a Spanish animated series based on the book The Secret Book of Gnomes by Dutch author Wil Huygen, with illustrations by Rien Poortvliet. It ran from 1985 to 1986 with a total of 26 episodes.

Here is the first episode of David the Gnome, followed by a link to a full playlist of it on YouTube. I'll also use this page to document the other shows in the David the Gnome chronology, as there are many more thereafter! However, I do think that this original series is the best one, even just on the basis of its visual style. Please give it a look!

Of Note:

• David the Gnome presents gnomes as 15cm or 6 inches tall, and weigh 250-300g, or 8-11 ounces -- "about as tall as an ice cream cone." Very small indeed! And they're described as "little people with full-sized hearts."
• That said, they are 7x stronger than a human being.
• Gnomes have a lifespan of 400 years. At the end of their life, they transition into great trees. This means that the forest must be made up of their ancestors!
• Gnomes are classified by their habitat -- most of them are forest gnomes, but there are also fussy garden gnomes, farm, the rare and busy house gnomes, dune, the asocial "Siberian" gnomes, as well as the "gypsy" gnomes. This didn't age particularly well.
• They're mostly vegetarian, and eat things like mushrooms, honey, and vegetable stew. However, they will also accept gifts and aid from their fellow creatures, such as sky lark eggs that couldn't be cared for. They never take or steal from their neighbours.
• They know humans very well. David disapproves of our technology, pollution, and damage to nature.
• They live in pairs, in caves or holes under trees, sometimes with animal companions. It seems these are kept in the same fashion as human pets.
• They rub their noses to show affection to each other.
• They have kids only once, and they always have twins.
• Their enemies are the trolls, who hunt gnomes. They are malevolent and clumsy creatures.
• They are the only creatures in the world who can understand what animals are saying. "Animals are their neighbours, and their neighbourhood is the world."
• Gnomes wouldn't hurt a fly, and always try to help their friends when they're in trouble. David preaches love and respect for the creatures of Earth and the planet at large.
• Like animals they have highly sensitive senses of smell, and David describes gnomes as having "noses like a radar."