Trulls, the Troll

Inga-Lill Ottosson
Trollet Trulls

Now you’re about to meet a Troll called Trulls the. You may already have met him one rainy day when you were in the woods. Have you ever seen a high mountain that is covered with soft moss? If there is a big stone in front of it, then you have come to the right place. It may be here that little Trulls lives. Because if you look behind the stone, you can see a large hole, which leads straight into the mountain, Troll Mountain.

It is not only Trulls who lives here, also his large troll family is living here. Trulls differs a bit from his siblings. He’s a real little scamp, and he makes mischief every day. His siblings do not do those kinds of things. They do just what the troll mother and troll father tell them to do, while Trulls often does the contrary. He does so not to disobey, but he forgets what he is allowed and not allowed to do. Because Trulls is so charming, he is always forgiven.

One thing was absolutely forbidden. It was to go outside of Troll Mountain.

— You should beware of humans and be careful with the sun. This, the troll mother nagged them about every day.

Trulls had been outside Troll Mountain and had seen some human children, and he thought they seemed to be kind. He wanted to make friends with them. Imagine being with them and playing, that would be fun, he thought.

Today was one of those dull days when none of the siblings wanted to play with him. Mom and Dad were busy and had no time for him. Trulls walked about impatiently, and He was in an awful mood. He went to the gate and looked out. Oh, how it was raining! Well, he did not have to worry about the sun, at least. Trulls decided to make a little excursion, but just a little. Silently he crept out of Troll Mountain and farther into the forest. After a while, he thought he heard voices. Quick as a weasel he hid behind a bush. When he looked up, he saw two children who were cycling. It was the children that he had seen another time. Now they saw him as well.

— Look! Such a cute troll said the girl.

— What is your name? The boy said.

Trulls was so scared that he couldn’t get a sound out of his mouth. His heart was pounding heavily. Finally, he said:

— Trulls.

– Are you afraid? You don’t have to be. We are kind. My name is Britta, and this is my brother Leo, said the girl.

— Do you want to go with us on the bike? Leo wondered.

Would Trulls dare? He was a bit afraid, but in the end, he decided that he would dare.

— Okay then, but just a little bit, said Trulls, and he jumped up on Leo’s luggage rack.

They carried off at a furious pace. Oh, how it tickles my stomach, Trulls thought, but what great fun it is. After a while, Trulls discovered that the sun was looking out from behind the clouds.

— Help, the sun! It must not shine on me because I might burst, Trulls said.

— You don’t have to be afraid; we are in front of our house now. We will go down to our basement. There it is very dark, said Britta.

What a room! There were a lot of toys, and Trulls was overwhelmed. He completely forgot about the time.

Britta walked back in the house to fetch something to eat. Trulls had never tasted anything tastier. He ate two rolls and drank a large glass of raspberry juice. Suddenly, he came to think of his mom.

— I should probably go home now, he said.

— The sun is shining still, said Britta.

— What should I do? Little Trulls began to weep uncontrollably. I want to go home to Mom, Dad, and all my siblings.

Trulls was just heartbroken. Britta and Leo felt sorry for the troll, but they did not know how they could help him. Britta suddenly got an idea. She came to think about her old doll’s carriage.

– Is there room enough for you? She said.

Leo and Britta helped the troll up in the cart.

– Now you must lie perfectly still. I’ll put a blanket over you. Then we will drive you home to Troll Mountain, and the sun will not shine on you, said Britta.

Trulls attempted to lie perfectly still, but it was not easy because it was a very confined space. Suddenly the wagon stopped. Trulls peeked out carefully. He saw that he was home at Troll Mountain. Quickly he jumped out. He hugged Britta and Leo and thanked for a fun day. Then he rushed into Troll Mountain and ran straight to his mom.

— So good that I found you. We’re just about to eat, said the troll mom.

Trulls told them all about his adventures, but they did not believe him. The siblings laughed and said it was a good story. The father said that it was not anything to joke about, but the mother hugged her little Trulls and said it was good that he had such a wonderful imagination. However, Trulls tried to convince them that it was true, but nobody believed him.

Well, it was perhaps not so surprising