Once upon a time I had the most wonderful grandmother in the world. Her name was Elin, not Irene, but she could always be found in her bedroom. Far away from the world. She always knew what to say to help with my problems. She seemed very old, but she was beautiful. She used to tell me that she could shape-change and become an eagle, that was why she was far-sighted and had such a long nose. One day she came home from the doctor's office and uttered the most severe judgement against her doctor, "That man has no toes! I bet he cannot sing, either!" My mother tried to explain what she meant. She said goblins had no toes and could not sing, but she never read me any books on the subject. This was strange, because she read to me about everything else. I grew up and became caught up in what is called Real Life. . .I forgot about Goblins with no toes. Then I had children and through C.S. Lewis heard about the wonderful work of George MacDonald. One day as I was reading The Princess and the Goblin out loud I burst out laughing or crying; or maybe both. I remembered about Goblins with no toes. I also remembered that I had a Grandmother. Later I was accused of making her up to fit with the George MacDonald world. I think what really happened was that she liked his books so much that she became like what she had read so many times!!
Elissa Kroeger: Grandmother and The Goblins