The Nome Trilogy by Terry Pratchett, (AKA The Bromeliad Trilogy) *Truckers*, *Diggers*, and *Wings*

> Nomes are small. On the whole, small creatures don’t live for a long
> time. But perhaps they do live fast.
> 
> Let me explain.
> 
> One of the shortest-lived creatures on the planet Earth is the adult
> common mayfly. It lasts for one day. The longest-living things are
> bristlecone pine trees, at 4,700 years and still counting.
> 
> This may seem tough on mayflies. But the important thing is not how
> long your life is, but how long it seems.
> 
> To a mayfly, a single hour may last as long as a century. Perhaps old
> mayflies sit around complaining about how life this minute isn’t a
> patch on the good old minutes of long ago, when the world was young
> and the sun seemed so much brighter and larvae showed you a bit of
> respect. Whereas the trees, which are not famous for their quick
> reactions, may just have time to notice the way the sky keeps
> flickering before the dry rot and woodworm set in.
> 
> It’s all a sort of relativity. The faster you live, the more time
> stretches out. To a nome, a year lasts as long as ten years does to a
> human.
> 
> Remember it. Don’t let it concern you. They don’t. They don’t even
> know.