The Three Billy Goats Gruff

Retold by Judith Lawrenson

Once upon a time there were three Billy Goat brothers who lived in quite a beautiful green pasture.  Now you may ask, what the heck is a Billy Goat because most people really don’t know that.  This is a very old fairy tale so you don’t see that many actual Billy Goats roaming around any more unless you live on a farm. 

 Well, Billy Goats look just like this.  They have long white beards even when they are not very old, long curved horns, and short strong legs.  Some people say they have mean little eyes too, but I am not too sure of that, even though I actually did grow up on a farm.

Anyway, as with some people, the Three Billy Goats had eaten their fill of the grass in their beautiful green pasture and instead of laying down for an afternoon nap, they started to wander around looking for something else to eat.  Well, it was not long before they spotted a truly lovely lagoon with a quaint bridge spanning the shores.  Across the lagoon, as luck would have it, they spied some lush, dark green grass.  Wouldn’t you know it was their favorite kind?  Actually, it is the favorite kind of many animals because it is yummy and delicious and (OOPS!) it is on a golf course! 

If you have ever seen a golf course, you know what they saw: beautiful evenly trimmed thick grasses dotted with waterholes just made for a thirsty Billy Goat to drink out of, and lovely sandy areas just right for a nap.  Okay, so it was water hazards, sand traps and fairways-how could Billy Goats actually know that?  

 Well, in a Hollywood minute, they decided that was the place for them, and they started to check out the area.   Right away they spotted the fact that the reason the Golf Club Course was not that crowded with other Billy Goats was because there was a very big, ugly troll under the quaint little bridge.  They immediately came up with a plan because, you see, Big Billy Goat Bill, the oldest brother, was not only the biggest he had the longest beard and the smartest brain!

They decided to send the smallest Billy Goat, whose name was Angelo Goat by the way, to be first on the bridge.  He no sooner had stepped up than out popped the mean ugly troll.  Now if you think you do not see many Billy Goats around, you certainly don’t see many trolls these days.  It happened though that this particular troll, named Young Tom Troll even though he was not particularly young, was the guardian of the Golf Club Course and lived under the quaint little bridge.  Who knew?  

Continued on PART 2

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               March 03, 2010