My SIL Gave Me a Garden Gnome for My Birthday – Days Later, a Lady Claimed It Was Stolen from Her Garden

My sister-in-law Emily’s birthday gift, an ugly garden gnome, seemed harmless enough. But three days later, a furious stranger showed up at my door, accusing me of stealing and demanding the return of her beloved “Rupert.” What did Emily do?!

I never thought I’d be posting here about a garden gnome that changed my life, but here we are.

It all started on my birthday. I’d been dreading the party for weeks, knowing my sister-in-law, Emily, would find some way to make it about her.

But even worse was that she acted like an idiot who had no idea she was doing anything wrong.

Woman with a silly expression | Source: Pexels

Woman with a silly expression | Source: Pexels

This year, I was determined to have a drama-free celebration. I spent the whole day decorating the backyard, hanging fairy lights, and arranging flowers.

My husband, David, was manning the grill.

As guests started arriving, I was constantly glancing at the gate, waiting for Emily’s grand entrance. She didn’t disappoint.

Two women at a decorated yard | Source: Pexels

Two women at a decorated yard | Source: Pexels

Two hours late, she sashayed into the backyard like she owned the place, wearing six-inch heels that sank into the grass with every step.

But it wasn’t her fashionably late arrival that made me frown. It was what she was carrying: the gaudiest, most enormous garden gnome I’d ever seen.

“Happy birthday, Sarah!” Emily trilled, air-kissing my cheeks. “I hope you like your gift. It’s absolutely perfect for your… quaint little garden.”

Woman leaning againts a white fence | Source: Pexels

Woman leaning againts a white fence | Source: Pexels

I stood there, speechless, as she thrust the monstrosity into my arms.

The gnome was at least two feet tall, painted in eye-searing colors, with a crack running down its side. It looked like something that had escaped from a tacky lawn ornament factory.

Did she think I was an old woman?

“Oh, wow,” I managed to stammer. “That’s… quite something, Emily. Thank you.”

A woman with a serious expression | Source: Pexels

A woman with a serious expression | Source: Pexels

Emily beamed, clearly pleased with herself. “I knew you’d love it. Now, where shall we put it? I think it would look fabulous over there by the rose bushes.”

I glanced at the spot she indicated and tried to imagine this eyesore among my carefully tended flowers. No way was that happening.

“Actually,” I said, “I think I’d like to put it in the front yard. That way, everyone can see it when they drive by.”

Home front | Source: Pexels

Home front | Source: Pexels

Emily’s smile tightened. “Oh, but,” she insisted, “I THINK IT WOULD LOOK BETTER IN THE BACKYARD. Don’t you agree, David?”

My husband held up his hands. “It’s Sarah’s gift. Isn’t it? She can put it wherever she likes.”

Emily’s nostrils flared, but she quickly composed herself. “Well, of course. It’s your decision. I just thought it would tie the whole backyard together so nicely.”

Home backyard | Source: Pexels

Home backyard | Source: Pexels

“Thank you for the suggestion,” I said, “but I’ve made up my mind.”

As Emily stalked off to the refreshment table, I caught David’s eye. He gave me a subtle thumbs-up, and I felt a small surge of pride.

For once, I hadn’t let Emily’s passive-aggressive tactics get the better of me. Yes, I tended to get angry and make a scene at her crazy actions.

Two women at a backyard party | Source: Pexels

Two women at a backyard party | Source: Pexels

The rest of the party passed happily, but I couldn’t help noticing Emily’s occasional glances at the gnome. Is it going to explode or something?

By twilight, the last guest finally left, and I breathed a sigh of relief. For once, Emily hadn’t managed to make everything about her, and we were able to host a normal party.

The next morning, I lugged the gnome out to the front yard. Despite its garish appearance, I had to admit it had a certain charm.

A garden gnome | Source: Pexels

A garden gnome | Source: Pexels

I positioned it near the mailbox and went back inside.

For the next few days, I actually grew fond of the gnome. I even found myself smiling at it as I collected the mail or watered the front flowerbeds.

But on the third day after my birthday, everything changed.

I was just settling down with a cup of afternoon coffee when an aggressive knock startled me. Frowning, I went to answer the door.

A woman on a couch drinking coffee and using a laptop | Source: Pexels

A woman on a couch drinking coffee and using a laptop | Source: Pexels

A woman I’d never seen before stood on my porch, and she was red-faced and fuming.

“Can I help you?” I asked, confused.

The woman jabbed a finger at me. “YOU’RE A THIEF!” she shouted. “YOU STOLE THAT GNOME FROM MY YARD! IT’S MINE, IT EVEN HAS A CRACK ON IT! I CAN SHOW YOU A PHOTO TO PROVE IT!”

An older woman pointing her finger in accusation | Source: Midjourney

An older woman pointing her finger in accusation | Source: Midjourney

I WAS MORTIFIED. What had Emily done?!

“I… what? No, I didn’t steal anything! That gnome was a birthday gift from my sister-in-law.”

The woman’s eyes narrowed. “Oh sure! I want it back, now, or I’m calling the police!”

My face burned. “Please, there’s been some kind of misunderstanding. Let me call my sister-in-law. She can explain where she got it.”

A shocked woman | Source: Pexels

A shocked woman | Source: Pexels

With trembling, angry fingers, I dialed Emily’s number. “Emily? It’s Sarah. I need you to come over right away. Don’t ask why, just please hurry.”

Twenty maddening minutes later, Emily’s car pulled into the driveway. When she saw the woman, SHE IMMEDIATELY turned pale. The look on her face told me everything I needed to know.

“Emily,” I said, trying to restrain my anger, “this woman says the gnome you gave me was stolen from her yard. Care to explain?”

“I… I don’t know what you’re talking about,” Emily stuttered. “I bought that gnome fair and square.”

A woman with her arms crossed | Source: Pexels

A woman with her arms crossed | Source: Pexels

The woman snorted. “Oh really? Then you won’t mind showing us the receipt, or do you want me to call the police?”

Emily’s eyes widened. “Okay, fine!” she said, raising her hands in surrender. “I… I didn’t exactly buy it from a store.”

“Then where did you get it, Emily?” I said through tight lips. I was barely holding it together.

“Fine!” Emily threw her arms in the air. “That day, I was almost here when I remembered that I didn’t buy you anything. I saw the garden gnome in her yard. They had a tall fence, though. Then, some homeless man passed by, so I paid him $20 to get it for me…”

A house with a blue fence | Source: Pexels

A house with a blue fence | Source: Pexels

A heavy silence fell over my porch.

I closed my eyes. This was so like her!

“… and I drove off quickly when I saw her coming out of the house,” Emily continued sheepishly.

My sister-in-law was insane… and stupid.

I didn’t know what to say.

A woman with a curious expression | Source: Pexels

A woman with a curious expression | Source: Pexels

But suddenly, the woman who’d come looking for her gnome burst out laughing. “Well, I’ll be damned,” she chuckled. “I never thought anyone would try to steal Rupert!”

Her laughter broke the tension. I giggled a bit and asked, “Rupert?”

The woman nodded, still grinning. “That’s what I call him. He’s been in my family for years, and everyone says he’s ugly. I was heartbroken when he disappeared the other day.”

An old garden gnome | Source: Midjourney

An old garden gnome | Source: Midjourney

“I’m so sorry,” Emily said. “I never meant to cause any trouble. I just wanted to give Sarah a nice gift because she has a pretty garden.”

I turned to my sister-in-law with surprised eyes. Maybe this was a turning point for us.

“Oh, Emily,” I sighed.

The woman finally introduced herself as Miriam, and I invited her inside for an hour of tea, chatting, and laughing about my sister-in-law’s gnome stealing.

A woman drinking tea | Source: Pexels

A woman drinking tea | Source: Pexels

David arrived home and couldn’t believe what had happened. He also apologized to Miriam for the stolen gnome, and a few hours later, he loaded Rupert into her car.

When the lady drove away, I turned to Emily.

“You know,” I commented, “weirdly, this might be the best birthday gift you’ve ever given me.”

“Honestly?” Emily asked.

A blonde woman smiling | Source: Pexels

A blonde woman smiling | Source: Pexels

“Yes, it showed me that you wanted to do something nice,” I answered. “You go about life, acting in a rather selfish way. You make things about yourself and mess up often, but this time, you thought about me and what I liked, and tried to give me something I would like, too.”

“I really did!” she nodded eagerly. “The gnome was cute!”

“Yes, it was,” I acknowledged. “But maybe, next time, don’t steal from other people. You could’ve just come by without a gift.”

A gift with a bow | Source: Pexels

A gift with a bow | Source: Pexels

Emily nodded, biting her lip.

“This was also one of the first events where I didn’t explode on you,” I continued, shrugging. “You’ve made me so mad before, but I realize now that it’s just you. You don’t mean any harm. You’re just a little misguided sometimes.”

Emily’s eyes shined on me, surprised, as if this was the first time anyone had ever seen her, the real her. “Thank you, Sarah,” she swallowed. “No one ever understands me. Everyone always thinks I do things because I want attention.”

“It seems that way often.”

A smiling woman | Source: Pexels

A smiling woman | Source: Pexels

“I know,” she nodded. “I want to work on that.”

So, I clapped my hands. “Okay. Let’s start at the beginning. A clean slate from now on.”

Her eyes watered and she jumped into my arms. “Sister!”

My eyes almost watered, too.

“Alright, guys,” David interrupted us, smiling. “That was fun. Emily, do you want to stay for dinner?”

A smiling man on a front yard | Source: Pexels

A smiling man on a front yard | Source: Pexels

“Yes!” she said, letting me go.

As we walked back into the house, I knew our family had changed… for the better… all because of a gnome.

Cheers to Rupert! Oh, and Emily bought another one from a REAL store that was much cuter. I named him, Rupert Jr.

A garden gnome | Source: Midjourney

A garden gnome | Source: Midjourney

This work is inspired by real events and people, but it has been fictionalized for creative purposes. Names, characters, and details have been changed to protect privacy and enhance the narrative. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, or actual events is purely coincidental and not intended by the author.

The author and publisher make no claims to the accuracy of events or the portrayal of characters, and are not liable for any misinterpretation. This story is provided “as is,” and any opinions expressed are those of the characters and do not reflect the views of the author or publisher.

Elderly Woman Spots Her Late Mother’s Pendant at a Flea Market, Then Suddenly Hears, ‘I’ll Pay Twice the Asking Price’

An 80-year-old woman unexpectedly found her late mother’s treasured pendant in an antique store. She decided to buy it but was interrupted by a stranger offering to pay double its price. She burst into tears after recognizing who it was.

80-year-old Samantha was a regular shopper at the thrift store. She loved buying antique showpieces and furniture to adorn the little home she lived in alone.

One day, she went shopping, assuming it would be just an ordinary day at the flea market.

“I hope I find a nice shelf to go under Paul’s photo. The old one is broken,” she mumbled.

Paul was her late husband, who had died just a year after their wedding in 1963. Since then, Samantha refused to move on and chose to live with his memories, and his photo was one among her treasured items…

“Hello there, how can I help you, Mrs. Drake?” the vendor in the furniture store asked.

“Well, I want a nice shelf. Not a grand one, but something small with elegant cuts and durable wood.”

“Alright! Why don’t you sit down while I bring a few pieces?”

“Why would you want to buy my mom’s pendant?” Samantha asked the stranger who offered to pay double the price for it.
Samantha sat in the store, looking around. Moments later, the antique shop across the road opposite the furniture store drew her attention.

“I’ll be back in a bit. I’ll just go check out the store across for a candle stand,” she said.

“Alright, Mrs. Drake. I’ll be ready with the shelves by then.”

Shortly after Samantha entered the antique shop, she was startled by what she saw there.

“Oh my God! This can’t be it. Where did you get this?” she asked, her eyes gleaming with tears as she pointed to a classic red pendant on the mannequin.

“Hey, Mrs. Drake! Did you mean this one?” The seller brought down the beautiful chain with the pendant from the display.

“Yes, please…can I see it?”

“Sure, here you go… That’s $40, but I’ll give it to you for $5 less…” The vendor smiled.

Samantha flipped the pendant several times and could no longer hold back her tears.

“I found it…This belonged to my mother!” she exclaimed, tears endlessly streaming down her face. “From where did you get it?”

“I don’t know, but my dad told me that someone sold it to him several years ago… It had not gone on display because my dad kept it at home. After he died last year, I cleared the attic and found it there. So I put it up here for sale.”

Samantha could not believe her eyes. “I’m getting it!” she said, and just as she dug her bag for the money, she heard someone enter, followed by a loud voice:

“I’ll pay double its price…Please give it to me…I want it at any cost!”

Samantha was startled. She turned around, only to gasp in astonishment after seeing a woman who looked like her.

“Oh my God! I can’t believe this! Am I looking at myself in the mirror?” panted the other woman.

“Oh, dear! What’s happening? And how come you look exactly like me?” shrieked Samantha.

The two women stared at each other for quite some time, unable to fathom their uncanny resemblance.

“Wha—What’s your name? I’m Samantha…And you?”

“I’m Doris!”

“And why would you want to buy my mom’s pendant?”

“Your mom’s pendant?”

“Yes, this is my mom Dorothy’s pendant… We became very poor after my dad left my mom, so she sold everything we had to make ends meet, and this pendant was among the heirlooms she sold. She sold it to a man, but I don’t know how it reached here.”

“So that makes you my sister?!” Doris shrieked, hugging a confused Samantha, who could not understand what was happening.

“Sister??? What do you mean?” she exclaimed, pushing Doris back for an explanation.

“Let me show you,” replied Doris, who took out an old, torn photo of Dorothy wearing the pendant with a little girl on her lap.

“Jesus Christ! This is unbelievable! This is my mother, and this is me with her,” exclaimed Samantha.

“No, that’s not you…THAT’S ME! We’re twins!” replied Doris, stunning Samantha.

“What? How could that be? Oh my God…I never knew I had a sister!” cried Samantha.

As it turned out, Doris was indeed Samantha’s twin. Their parents, Dorothy and Michael, went through a rough patch in their marriage and divorced when Samantha and Doris were just a year old. They parted ways, each taking one child to raise independently.

Samantha was raised by Dorothy, while Doris was taken by her dad. They were separated right from childhood and never got a chance to see each other again.

“….And when my granny died 40 years ago, she revealed the secret when I asked her about the other half of this torn photo,” cried Doris.

“Dad had passed a year before her, so I could not confront him. He never left anything else of you that could help me track you. I lost my husband several years ago and have no children. I kept looking for you but in vain… I think it was God’s will for us to meet like this today, thanks to mom’s pendant!”

“I came here to buy a candle stand, and right now, I am baffled!” Samantha cried like a kid in Doris’s arms. “You can have the pendant! I had seen mom wear it, but you never got a chance to even be with her. It should belong to you now!”

Doris was touched and moved to tears. Samantha bought the pendant and placed it around Doris’s neck.

“You remind me of our mother! I’m glad to meet you. Let’s go home!” she said as an excited antique store owner saw the silhouette of Samantha and Doris exit his store, holding each other!

What can we learn from this story?

You may never know about the history an old piece of artifact might have. When Samantha saw the pendant in the antique store, she immediately recognized it as her late mother’s. She would soon learn that the pendant would reunite her with the twin sister she never knew.
Sometimes, children suffer fateful consequences from the decisions their parents make. After their divorce, Michael and Dorothy separated their twin daughters, each taking one. The sisters never knew about each other for several decades until they accidentally met at the antique store and recognized each other.

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