''The Troll'' by

Julia Donaldson Julia Donaldson (born Julia Catherine Shields; born ) is an English writer and playwright, and the 2011–2013 Children's Laureate. She is best known for her popular rhyming stories for children, especially those illustrated by Axel Scheffler, ...

with illustrations by

David Roberts David or Dave Roberts may refer to: Arts and literature * David Roberts (painter) (1796–1864), Scottish painter * David Roberts (art collector), Scottish contemporary art collector * David Roberts (novelist), English editor and mystery writer ...

is a children's story about a

troll A troll is a being in Nordic folklore, including Norse mythology. In Old Norse sources, beings described as trolls dwell in isolated areas of rocks, mountains, or caves, live together in small family units, and are rarely helpful to human bei ...

and some pirates.

Plot

The troll in this story is based on the troll from the ''

Three Billy Goats Gruff "Three Billy Goats Gruff" ( no, De tre bukkene Bruse) is a Norwegian fairy tale collected by Peter Christen Asbjørnsen and Jørgen Moe in their '' Norske Folkeeventyr'', first published between 1841 and 1844. It has an Aarne-Thompson type of 1 ...

fairy tale A fairy tale (alternative names include fairytale, fairy story, magic tale, or wonder tale) is a short story that belongs to the folklore genre. Such stories typically feature magic (paranormal), magic, incantation, enchantments, and mythical ...

. However, in this story, no goats ever cross the troll's bridge and he is forced to survive on fish that he catches from the river. He does encounter, in turn, a spider, a mouse and a rabbit, each of which convinces the troll not to eat them by telling him that he should try a bridge further down the river that is more suitable for capturing goats as he is "sick of fish". Meanwhile, the pirate captain Hank Chief and his crew (Peg Polkadot, Ben Buckle, and Percy Patch) are searching for the treasure that is marked on their map, but are unable to locate the correct island. The pirates also display very poor culinary skills. Eventually, the troll reaches the sea and realises that he has been tricked by the other animals; he sees what he thinks are goat tracks in the sand and sets about laying a trap for the goat in a spot not too far from the location on the pirate's

treasure map A treasure map is a map that marks the location of buried treasure, a lost mine, a valuable secret or a hidden locale. More common in fiction than in reality, "pirate treasure maps" are often depicted in works of fiction as hand drawn and contain ...

. He duly discovers an old chest when digging a large hole to ensnare his prey and throws away the "round shiny objects" he finds therein. He decides to lie in wait in the chest for the goat and falls asleep. Predictably, the pirates then arrive and make off with their "treasure"; upon opening the chest the pirates decide to make the troll walk the plank, until Peg discovers the troll's frying pan and cookbook. On discovering the troll's culinary talents, they agree to spare the troll and make him their cook. The troll is delighted and proceeds to tell the pirates that he will make them his favourite goat stew only to be advised, to his horror, that all the pirates desire is fish.

References

British picture books Children's fiction books 2009 children's books Macmillan Publishers books British children's books {{child-picture-book-stub