The Three Billy Goats Gruff

Once upon a time, there were three billy goats called Gruff: a little one, a middle-sized one, and a great big one. All winter long they had eaten dry hay, and now they were very hungry. Across the valley, on the other side of a rushing stream, there was a hillside covered with sweet green grass and wild flowers. "Let's go up the hill and eat until we're fat," they said. But to get there, they had to cross a wooden bridge.

And under that bridge lived a troll. He was lumpy and grumpy, with a nose as long as a carrot and hair like a mossy rock. He didn't like anyone crossing his bridge. Not ever. "This is MY bridge," he grumbled to himself. "Anyone who crosses it will have to answer to me!" And he sat there in the shadows, waiting, and listening.

First, the little billy goat Gruff set off across the bridge. Trip, trap, trip, trap! went his little hooves. "Who's that trip-trapping over my bridge?" roared the troll, popping up his head. "Oh, it's only me, the little billy goat Gruff," said the little goat in a tiny voice. "I'm going up the hill to eat the sweet grass." "Oh no you're not!" said the troll. "I'm going to gobble you up!"

"Oh please don't gobble me," said the little goat. "I'm much too little. Wait for my brother, the second billy goat Gruff. He's much bigger than me." The troll scratched his mossy head. "Bigger, you say? Hmm. Very well, off you go." And trip, trap, the little goat skipped over the bridge and up to the green grass on the hill.

Soon the middle-sized billy goat Gruff came onto the bridge. Trip, trap, trip, trap! "Who's that trip-trapping over my bridge?" roared the troll. "It's me, the second billy goat Gruff," said the goat, in a middle-sized voice. "Well, I'm going to gobble you up!" "Oh, I wouldn't do that," said the goat. "Wait for my big brother. He's much, much bigger than me." "Very well," said the greedy troll. "Off you go." And up the hill the second goat went.

Then came the great big billy goat Gruff. TRIP, TRAP! TRIP, TRAP! The bridge creaked and groaned under him. "WHO'S THAT TRAMPING OVER MY BRIDGE?" roared the troll. "IT IS I, THE BIG BILLY GOAT GRUFF!" said the goat, in a great big voice. "Well, I'm coming up to gobble you!" said the troll, and he climbed up onto the bridge. "Come along, then!" said the big goat. "I have two big horns, and I'm not afraid of you!"

The big billy goat Gruff lowered his horns and ran at the troll. Bump! He tossed him right off the bridge, and splash! the troll landed in the rushing stream. The cold water carried him away, bobbing and spluttering, all the way down the valley. "Brrr! That's cold!" grumbled the troll. "I'll find a different bridge, with nicer goats!" And he never came back.

Then the big billy goat Gruff trip-trapped up the hill to join his brothers. There they ate the sweet green grass and the wild flowers, and they ate and ate until they were so round and fat that they could hardly walk home again. And if they haven't lost their fat, why, they're fat still. So, snip, snap, snout, this tale's told out. Good night.