Jul

10

Trolling Along.

Posted by Christopher Waldrop

July 10, 2008 |

troll.jpg

This morning on the radio I heard that a Colorado (the specific location wasn’t given) teenager named Robert Hibbs was, in fact, a troll, standing at a bridge and demanding a dollar payment from anyone who wanted to cross. There was no word on whether he was bearded or wearing a loincloth, although he was wielding a broken golf club. He was rolling joints with the dollar bills he got, though, which explains why he broke with the longstanding troll tradition of demanding gold.

The most famous troll story is The Three Billy Goats Gruff, which is an old Norwegian folk tale collected by Peter Christen Asbjørnsen, who, with Jørgen Engebretsen Moe, collected stories and published them. They were kind of the Brothers Grimm of Norway, and some of the other tales they collected–including the story of why the sea is salty–are just as famous as the Grimms’ tales even though they don’t get nearly as much credit.

As for trolls, and not just the internet kind, it seems like they’re here to stay. Neil Gaiman has a story about meeting a troll at a bridge in his collection Smoke And Mirrors, and in the new Hellboy film Hellboy and his team visit a troll market, which they get to by going under a bridge. So if you’re out walking and come to a bridge be prepared. Here’s what I’d suggest: have a dollar bill taped to a string and when you get close to the bridge drop it on the ground. Trolls turn to stone when exposed to sunlight, so you might be able to lure ‘em out.


Comments

2 Comments so far

  1. Peptodismal on July 10, 2008 7:41 pm

    You are overlooking internet blog Trolls who barge into the conversation with all sorts of inane comments. They, also, smoke the dollar bill joint and are very irritating. The one in Colorado could possibly be your cousin-in-law Matt!

  2. Christopher on July 10, 2008 8:24 pm

    Well, I believe I addressed internet blog Trolls in my final paragraph, when I said, “As for trolls, and not just the internet kind…”
    I’m not aware that I’m related to Mr. Hibbs (it’s possible, of course, and it’s just as likely that I’m related to Kevin Bacon).

Name (required)

Email (required)

Website

Speak your mind

<< Post Navigation >>

« « Book ‘Em: The Cowboy Way. | Ideas For Sale. » »