The Pirates
And
The Trolls
By Dory Lee Maske
Copyright © 2009 by Dory Lee Maske
All rights reserved
Illustration: Copyright © 2009 by Robert Maske
All rights reserved
Cover design by Robert Maske
Smashwords edition 2009
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The Pirates
And
The Trolls
Once upon a time, long ago, there lived a boy in a village by the sea. His was a happy village even though it was not wealthy. Some of the villagers were fishermen, some were carpenters, some were toymakers and many were musicians. The villagers had only one problem and that was their neighbors, the trolls.
The boy hated the trolls. They would come every night after all were sleeping and rattle through the village looking for gold. The trolls loved gold more than life itself. They would come right into the bedrooms of the sleeping villagers and check their fingers for rings as they slept.
One night the boy heard the trolls bumping into things as they made their rude way toward his bed. He pretended to be asleep. He wondered why they still came; none of the villagers kept gold anymore, they all knew that it was useless. He could smell their foul breath close to his face as they pushed back the blankets and checked his hands.
One of the younger trolls saw his new leather shoes. All the villagers wore cloth shoes but a traveler had given these leather sandals to his father in exchange for food. His father had made them a surprise birthday gift. The young troll picked up the sandals and showed them to the older trolls. They just grunted angrily and pushed the young troll aside. The young troll waited until they moved on and then snatched up the sandals and left with them.
The boy was furious. The next morning he complained to his father, "I don't care if they must have our gold but why did they take my shoes?"
"It was a young one who just didn't want to leave empty-handed," his father said. "They have no use for sandals."
The boy was still angry, "Why do we allow them to come here at all?" he asked.
"They are just being trolls," his father said. "They can't help what they are."
That night the boy was to play a new song at the village gathering. He put on his old cloth sandals and forgot about the trolls as he ran through the song in his mind. He picked up his flute and played the song once more to make sure he knew it perfectly. His mother stood at the door listening.
"What a gift you have for music," she said when he finished.
The boy was very happy.
His family walked together to the middle of the village where their friends were already setting up tables of food. His mother added her fish stew to the feast. They talked of fishing and cooking and music. They hardly mentioned the trolls, as there was nothing new in that. The boy did tell his friends about the sandals and his friends agreed that the trolls should be chased into the sea.
After dinner the music began. The boy played his new song on the flute and the villagers stood and cheered. They all loved his song. He would have played another had the cannon not gone off. That was the first they knew of the pirates' arrival. No one had seen the pirate ship sail quietly into the harbor. No one had seen it anchor within firing range. All had been at the gathering.
The cannon ball ripped through the sailmaker's house. By the time the villagers rushed down to the water the pirates were already beaching their small boats and running toward them with swords drawn, yelling wildly. The village men shielded their families behind them as best they could and braced for the attack.
At a signal from one of the pirates the others ceased their shouting and came to a stop just in front of the villagers. The pirate leader stepped in front and raised his sword. "Listen up," he said, "if ye do as I say we kin put up these swords. Give us yer gold an' yer jewels an' yer wine an' we'll be takin' our leave." The pirate looked puzzled by the nervous laughter from the villagers.
One of the elder villagers stepped forward. "Please do not be offended, most excellent pirate," he said, "but we have no gold. We will happily give you food and wine or whatever else you wish if you will spare our village."
"No tricks now," the pirate said harshly. He tested the sharpness of his sword against his finger. "You'd best think again about havin' no gold."
"Most gracious pirate," the elderly man continued, "we have as our neighbors a colony of trolls who see to it that we are unburdened of any gold."
At the mention of trolls, the pirates made disgusted faces and spat on the ground. Even the pirate leader gave a brief shudder. He was quiet for a moment as though he were making a decision. He puffed out his chest and said loudly, "Then we'll have the gold from the trolls." All the pirates began shouting and waving their swords again.
The leader put his hand up for silence. "We'll be stayin' here among ya' till we get the gold," the pirate said. "Treat us good and they'll be no funerals."
The villagers looked at one another with worried glances but they had no choice. They all walked back to the gathering place while the pirates finished off the feast. The pirates took up lodging in the homes that they liked as the village settled into darkness.
That night the trolls came as usual into the village. The pirates did not hear them at first because they slept the stupor-like sleep that comes of heavy drinking. The trolls, however, were quickly aware of the pirates. Throughout the village came the excited gurgling sound trolls make at the sight of gold. The pirates woke to the hot breath and hairy hands of trolls as they mauled them for rings, earrings, belt buckles and other gold ornaments. The sound of swords clanging in the dark and the horrific shrieks of the trolls echoed though the village.
Many trolls died that night and two pirates died as well. The trolls that escaped barricaded themselves in their caves while the pirates swarmed the hills looking for entrances to attack. The villagers were left to deal with the destruction. They buried the trolls as well as they could, having little knowledge of troll customs. The pirates took no notice of their own killed comrades so the villagers buried them as well.
The pirates returned at midday demanding food and information on the trolls. The pirates fascinated the boy even though he felt a little sorry for the trolls. His eyes followed the pirate leader wherever he went. The pirate leader noticed the boy and sat down beside him.
"Would ye like to see my sword?" he asked.
"Oh yes," the boy said. As he examined the heavy sword several of his friends joined him.
The children were hungry for stories of the pirates' adventures and the pirates were happy to boast of their evil deeds. They were well into a number of stories when their leader stood up and said, "Come Mates, we got business with the trolls." He looked at the gathered children and continued, "Would any of ye be knowin' of any secret entrances to the troll caves?"
The children fell silent and shifted back and forth uneasily. They began to drift away in the direction of their parents.
The pirate leader looked at the boy and said. "We’ll talk again, Mate." Then he held his sword high to rally his pirates around him. "I hear our gold a callin'," he shouted. The pirates cheered loudly and headed off for the caves.
That evening the pirates returned, angry and tired. They had not succeeded in storming the caves. The pirate leader saw the boy and smiled at him.
"Come and sit with me," he said. The boy sat down shyly beside him.
"So you fancy the life of a pirate?" the pirate asked.
"I don't know," the boy said, "have you killed many people?"
"Aye, many," the pirate replied, "and the first was the father that adopted me."
The boy's mouth fell open as the pirate continued.