Years ago in a small, isolated, coastal town in Maine odd occurrences in and around an ancient cemetery began cropping up. It all started with the disappearance of a twelve year old boy who had stayed out far later than his parents curfew of nine o’clock. The boy had wandered into the cemetery on his way home and had been beaten. He was found the next morning bleeding from his wounds and wandering toward his home in a disoriented state.
The child told his parents that he had heard strange mumblings emanating from the cemetery or the woods directly in back of it and gone to see what it could be. He always carried a flashlight with him when he knew he would be out after dark. He flashed it in the direction of the rickety old graveyard gate. It was open and hung creaking and flapping in the brisk breeze. He cautiously entered the eerie place shining his flashlight beam slowly around in every direction to see what might be there in the darkness. It was an extremely dark night with clouds obscuring the sky and no moon or stars could be seen to lend light to the world below. Suddenly fear gripped his heart with its icy fingers and the hair stood up on the back of his neck. He was afraid that his curiosity might prove to be his undoing, but still he pressed forward.
There it was. He heard the strange mumbling again and it definitely sounded as though it was coming from the woods behind the graveyard. He tried to walk as quietly as he could. He didn’t want to betray his presence or to drown out any further mumblings which he knew would lead him to the source. The sounds came again and the voices were speaking, but in a language different from his own. It sounded much more like grunts and snorts than actual words and this intrigued the boy even more.
He approached the fence at the back of the cemetery and as he flashed his beam around he found that part of the fence had rotted away and fallen down leaving a wide gap in which to walk through with no trouble whatsoever. The woods looked uninviting and a sense of foreboding almost overwhelmed the boy, but at the moment he was about to turn back, he heard the mumbling much louder than before. He stepped through the opening in the fence and proceeded along on a faint path that led into the thick woods. As he walked along, the voices became louder and off in the distance through the trees, he saw what looked like the flickering flames of a fire. He switched off his flashlight. He certainly did not want whoever or whatever was there to see him coming. The light was indeed coming from a fire and it became brighter the closer he came and lit up the path he trod. He decided it might be wise to get on his knees and crawl to a small clearing ahead. He peered through the trees into the clearing and saw such an inhuman sight that he almost cried out in horror and revulsion.
There standing directly behind the fire was what had to be the most hideous creature the boy had ever laid his eyes upon. It was huge and looked like a grotesque man with black hair sticking out in all directions, a large hawkish nose with massive nostrils, razor sharp teeth in a humongous mouth, misshapen hands, and big feet shaped like boxes without toes. The creature held a club of enormous size in one of his gnarled hands. There were others sitting in a semi-circle around the fire, but the boy couldn’t see their faces from his vantage point and was glad that he could not. They were giving their rapt and undivided attention to the one standing before them doing the speaking or muttering. Occasionally one would snort in agreement or approval.
The boy had no idea what the creature was saying, but from the respect being shown by the others, he assumed that he must be their leader. As his eyes took in the scene more fully, he began to notice that there were huts throughout the area. The huts looked a lot like huge stumps with thatched roofs. They each had a door and some even had what appeared to be windows and chimneys. The boy marveled at the sight of a community within his own that no one was aware even existed.
Finally the group became silent for a few moments and then they began a low guttural humming sound in unison. This lasted for a few moments more and then the group arose as one, bowed before their leader and then dispersed and went off to their respective huts.
The forest became supremely silent with the only sound being the soughing of the wind and the thumping of the boy’s own heart. The creature remained standing in the same spot, but he cocked his head slightly and seemed to be listening for something. Then he sniffed the breeze with his head back in order to breathe in every possible scent with his huge nostrils. His gold nose ring flashed brightly as the fire flickered over it.
Then he spoke in the boys own language. His voice was low and gruff. He said, “You. You come out. Come out now. I smell you.”
The boy was petrified and didn’t answer.
The creature walked toward him on his clumping box feet without toes and waved his club menacingly. He roared, “Come out or I come get you!”
The boy jumped to his feet and began to run back on the path toward the cemetery with the clumsy creature clumping in pursuit as fast as he could go. The boy began to cry and scream because he could hear the creature getting closer. He was clumsy and slow, but due to his long legs he took great strides and quickly closed the gap between them. The boy switched on his flashlight and whirled around to shine its beam in the creature’s eyes, but before he got the opportunity to do so, the giant grabbed him and flung the flashlight off into the bushes. The creature held the boy by the scruff of the neck and off at his arm’s length as though he didn’t want to make physical contact with him.
He growled, “What you think you do coming to my forest? You not belong there. Go back to own kind. You hear?”
The boy thought that he would faint dead away from fright, but he managed to muster up courage enough to answer the ugly creature. He replied shakily, “I only came, sir, because I heard some muttering sounds coming from the woods. I promise not to trespass ever again. Please let me go home to my family and don’t eat me.”
The creature snarled angrily, “Me no eat. I no like hoomans. They nothing but trouble. You stay out of forest and leave trolls alone. We no bother you, so you no bother us.”
The boy began to regain a little of his composure, since the troll said he didn’t plan to eat him. He said, “I’ve never met a troll before. People say that you don’t exist.”
The troll frowned and asked, “What exist mean?”
The boy said, “Well, I guess it means that they think that you are not real. Yes, that’s it exactly. They say you’re not real.”
The troll was infuriated by this explanation and roared loudly. He threw the boy to the ground and began scratching him with his long claw-like fingernails. The boy screamed in pain.
The troll said, “There. Now they will know that we real. Now go before Clug, the Troll King eat you, after all.”
The boy ran as fast as he could and without the aid of his flashlight he could not see where he was going. He ran into the cemetery and ran over several graves. One of them caved in and the frightened boy lay scratched and bleeding in the hole with an old decayed coffin for his bed. He screamed and pleaded with Clug the Troll King to come and set him free from the horror, but it was to no avail. Clug plodded to the edge of the grave and peered in.
He said, “Be still hooman. You not dead, but if make too much noise will wake one up. They not nice like Clug.”
The boy said pleadingly, “Please, Mr. Clug, lift me out of here and I will give you whatever you ask. I promise.”
Clug said, “There is something.”
The desperate boy asked, “What is it? Just name it and I will bring it to you.”
“Bring Clug a hooman queen. Find beautiful girl for Clug’s wife. That what I want. Me want girl with toes. Me marry and wife give Clug child with toes, so all trolls will have toes someday and not have to go clomping along like now. You promise this to Clug and he set you free,” stated the hideous troll.
The boy yelled loudly, “I promise!”
Clug the Troll King reached down into the grave and gently lifted the boy out, set him on his feet and turned to walk back into the forest.
To be continued...
When the boy didn’t return home by ten o’clock, the boy’s father went out to search for him. He looked everywhere all night long. The only place he didn’t bother to search was the cemetery. He didn’t look there because he knew that his son had a fear of the place. It was a fear instilled in him by his father, who had regaled the entire family with wild tales of boogeymen, zombies, and most of all shades. He had made the stories seem so real that he doubted the boy would dare to venture into the place after dark.
When the boy didn’t return home by ten o’clock, the boy’s father went out to search for him. He looked everywhere all night long. The only place he didn’t bother to search was the cemetery. He didn’t look there because he knew that his son had a fear of the place. It was a fear instilled in him by his father, who had regaled the entire family with wild tales of boogeymen, zombies, and most of all shades. He had made the stories seem so real that he doubted the boy would dare to venture into the place after dark.
In the early morning hours before his father returned home, the boy arrived on his own doorstep in a terrible state. He was not only disoriented, he had a high fever. His mother heard his faint knock on the door and when she rushed to open it, she found her young son had collapsed in a crumpled, feverish heap. She half lifted and half dragged him into the house to better examine him and discovered that not only was he fevered, he had deep, ugly looking scratches on his arms and through his torn clothing she could see more on his back. The boy had angry red streaks that were traveling up his arms as a result, so his mother immediately took him outside and loaded him into the car. Just before she was ready to drive off, her husband arrived.
She rolled down the car window and yelled, “Get in, John! We’ve got to get Jack to the emergency room right now. I’ll tell you what I know on the way.”
He asked, “Are you up to driving?”
She retorted, “Just get in. There’s no time to waste.”
John got in and got a look at his young son lying in the back seat and said, “I see what you mean, Janet.”
She wheeled onto the road and drove as fast as she dared toward the hospital which was almost an hour away.
John said, “When did he get home?”
“Just a few minutes before you arrived. He didn’t say anything, John. I found him lying in a heap outside the kitchen door. He’s covered with scratches that look nasty and infected. I didn’t take the time to take his temperature, but when I put my hand on his forehead, I could tell he’s burning up. I’m so scared,” she said frantically.
“He’ll be okay, dear. We’re getting him there as fast as we can. He’ll be fine. Calm down,” said John trying his best to sound reassuring.
Jack began moaning in the back seat saying something over and over again about someone or something called: Clug.
His parents looked at each other worriedly, but said nothing. Janet gripped the wheel until her knuckles turned white and kept her eyes fixed on the road ahead to the hospital. Jack’s moaning became louder and he was twisting and writhing in the backseat as though he was trying to free himself from some unseen captor. It was unsettling to his parents and Janet pushed harder on the accelerator.
She made the usual hour long trip in roughly forty-five minutes and turned into the hospital entrance. They ran through the door to the emergency room with John carrying his son in his arms. When the nurse saw the fear and urgency in their eyes, she waved them into a nearby examining room to await the arrival of the doctor on call. The nurse took Jack’s temperature and it was 104.5 degrees.
She asked Janet, “Has he been given anything for this fever?”
Janet answered, “No, he hasn’t. He was lost last night and returned home in this state this morning. We brought him here as soon as we got a good look at him.”
The nurse stated grimly, “You did the right thing.”
The doctor walked in and began to examine the child. He looked at the strange scratches and asked, “How did he get those?”
John said, “We don’t know, Doc. He was out all night and we haven’t had an opportunity to question him about it. When he came home, he was completely out of it, but on the way here in the car, he kept saying something over and over again.”
The doctor asked, “What was that, sir?”
“He said the word Clug, Doc,” answered the boy’s father.
“We’ll have to find out what that means as soon as the boy gets better, but right now I want to get him cleaned up, start an IV and get him to a room here in the hospital for observation. I’d like to determine where, how, and what caused those scratches. I’ve never seen infection set in this bad and so quickly,” stated the doctor.
Janet asked, “How long before he show signs of improvement?”
The doctor replied, “I’m hoping that he can be released by this evening, but it will depend on how quickly he responds to the antibiotics in the IV. At any rate, he will need to be on a rugged antibiotic regimen when he goes home to knock this infection out of his system.”
The doctor turned to the nurse and stated, “Call upstairs and see that a room is ready.” Then he turned to the boy’s parents and said, “Go out to the waiting room while I clean these nasty wounds, please. There’s no advantage to gain by watching.”
John and Janet reluctantly obliged.
When the boy was taken to his room, his parents went in to sit with him. John made a phone call home to fill his daughters in on what had happened. They had not been up when Jack had returned home that morning. Since it was a Saturday, they had been sleeping a little later than usual.
Around noon, the boy opened his eyes and looked around wildly. He screamed, “Get me out of here! Please, don’t eat me! Get me out of here!”
Janet ran to his side and put a soothing hand on his forehead. It appeared that his fever had dropped. She stroked his hair gently and said, “It’s alright. It’s alright, Jack. You’re safe now. Nothing’s going to hurt you, baby.”
He blinked as if trying to bring himself back from the brink of insanity. He asked, “Where am I?”
John said reassuringly, “You’re in the hospital, son. You’ve got a terrible infection, but it’ll clear up and you’ll be fine.”
The boy sighed in relief and said, “I feel so hot and achy.”
Janet said, “Tell us what happened last night, Jack.”
The boy said, “I’m sorry I didn’t come home when I was supposed to. I’m sorrier than I have ever been about anything.”
Then he related a story to his parents that he hoped would satisfy them, but it wasn’t the truth. He couldn’t bring himself to tell them what had really happened because he knew they wouldn’t believe him. They’d think he was crazy and probably send him to see a child psychiatrist. He might even end up in the loony bin.
He said, “On my way home, I heard some weird noises in the woods, so I went to see what it was. I got lost and to make matters worse, I lost my flashlight. I wandered around for a long time until I came out behind that old cemetery. I think I fell into some thick blackberry bushes and got all scratched up. By the time I got home I was pretty sick.”
His explanation seemed honest, so his parents took it at face value and he was right they wouldn’t have believed the truth. There’s a reason for the cliché: Truth is stranger than fiction.
When the doctor came by to check on the boy, he said that the fever was almost gone and the boy could go home before suppertime. He asked if Jack had told them how all this had happened. They related the boy’s story.
The doctor said, “I think he’s hiding something. I’ll tell you right now those scratches were not made by blackberry bushes. They were caused by something extremely filthy, in my opinion.”
Janet said huffily, “Don’t call my boy a liar. If he said he got them from blackberry bushes, then that’s what must have happened.”
The doctor replied, “He’s not telling the truth, ma’am. I don’t know why, but he’s not. Maybe you can get to the heart of the matter when he goes home. Maybe he’s afraid to tell you what happened. He might think you wouldn’t believe him.”
The doctor turned and walked out of the room.
The family returned home to find supper waiting for them. The girls had made a wonderful meal. They were each older than Jack. He looked at them. They were so beautiful. He vowed to never, ever keep his promise to Clug.
To be continued...
Jack got better quickly as a result of antibiotics, rest, and the care of a devoted and loving family. Soon he was well enough to return to school. Each day he had to pass the old cemetery on his way there. It set his nerves on edge because he was fearful that he would have another encounter with Clug, but since he never went by there after dark, it didn’t happen and he tried to forget the whole miserable event. His mother and father questioned him several times over the course of a month, but had no real success in gaining any information about what had happened that night. They asked him about the word: Clug, but he adamantly said he had no idea who or what a Clug was, so they attributed it to his high fever and stopped asking him about it. Jack didn’t plan on ever keeping his promise to the troll king, so he didn’t tell his sisters anything about him.
Jack was the only boy in the family and the youngest of four children. His sisters were lovely. Jolene was 15, Gazelle was 17, and Katerina was 19. Jolene was gifted with a superb singing voice, while Gazelle could write enthralling stories and poems and Katerina had a way with all of God’s creatures in the animal kingdom. It was as though she could understand them and converse with them. Each one of his sisters was wonderfully unique and very kind to him. They never picked on him like other older siblings seemed to do.
Jack was the only boy in the family and the youngest of four children. His sisters were lovely. Jolene was 15, Gazelle was 17, and Katerina was 19. Jolene was gifted with a superb singing voice, while Gazelle could write enthralling stories and poems and Katerina had a way with all of God’s creatures in the animal kingdom. It was as though she could understand them and converse with them. Each one of his sisters was wonderfully unique and very kind to him. They never picked on him like other older siblings seemed to do.
One night Jolene had been out to a choir practice at the church adjacent to the old cemetery and while walking by there on her way home a gigantic, dark figure clumped into the road in front of her. The moon was shining brightly and Jolene could see that the figure looked something like a man wearing a long hooded cape. The hood was up on the cape and partially covered his face, but she noticed his large hawkish nose and nose ring. His nose was huge, so it was difficult to disguise it.
She asked, “Who are you?”
The figure answered, “Me Clug. I King of the Trolls. You come with me, hooman.”
Jolene replied, “I will not come with you. It’s getting late and I’m going home, so get out of my way and let me pass, you big ox.”
Clug grabbed the girl and carried her off into the woods behind the cemetery as she kicked, screamed, and tried to get away. He came to the troll community that Jack had seen and dropped her unceremoniously to the ground by the communal fire. Gathered around the fire and throughout the clearing were hundreds of trolls who had turned out in honor of the arrival of what they supposed would be their new queen. They cheered loudly and clapped their hands when they saw Jolene.
Jolene was tired, angry, and more than a little frightened, but tried not to let on. Clug on the other hand was pleased and proud of his captive. He threw back the hood on his cape, so that Jolene could at last have a good look at him and began to strut around with his enormous shoulders pushed back and his chest puffed out. She screamed an ear splitting scream that was more than enough to wake the dead in the nearby cemetery.
Clug smiled, turned to the trolls assembled there and said, “Troll kingdom meet your queen.”
Then he turned back to Jolene and made a long sweeping, but awkward bow and stated, “Hooman meet your husband.”
Then he nodded to the nearest troll and he disappeared into one of the nearby stump houses and returned carrying a large, emerald green valise which he sat down in front of Jolene.
Clug ordered, “Open, hooman. See gift from Clug. You will like.”
Jolene opened the valise and took out the contents. It contained a gorgeous gown of fine purple silk covered with diamonds and other precious gems, a pair of elbow length matching gloves, shoes, and a golden diadem encrusted with more diamonds and gems.
Clug asked, “You like gift?”
Jolene said, “These are gorgeous, but where would an ugly old troll like you get these?”
Clug said, “From mountain trolls far away. They mine for gems. Troll women make gown fit for queen.”
She sneered and said, “I will not marry you, you hideous beast. Besides I am not old enough to marry anyone.”
Clug asked, “How old are you hooman girl?”
Jolene answered, “I am only 15 years old, so you might as well let me go right now. My parents will be searching for me and when they find out what you have done you will go straight to jail.”
“They never find Clug. I keep you here. You will be old enough in 36 moons from now. I wait and marry then, besides no jail strong enough to hold Clug,” said the troll king arrogantly with a smile that showed his razor sharp teeth.
The others cheered and then they began to hum their strange song and swayed back and forth to the music. Jolene began to sing in a clear strong voice the song she had sung during choir practice. It was: Amazing Grace. The trolls stopped humming and clamped their hands over their big pointed ears and began to shriek and stomp their big box feet on the ground in fury.
Clug yelled, “Stop singing, hooman! Stop now! We no can stand hooman singing!”
Jolene sang verse two and Clug grabbed her up like a sack of potatoes, threw her over his shoulder, and ran back through the forest to the road and dumped her in the ditch.
She said, “Since you don’t like hymns, I’ll try a show tune.”
She began singing these words, “The sun will come out tomorrow...”
Clug put his fingers in his pointed ears and screeched, “Clug hate your singing!! Stop now!”
Jolene laughed and said, “I guess this means the wedding is off, huh?”
Clug roared angrily and scratched her viciously with his claws. He said, “Clug never marry you. Singing stinks!”
The furious troll turned and ran clumsily back through the cemetery and into the forest roaring as he went.
Jolene got up out of the ditch, dusted herself off, and headed in the direction of home. It wasn’t difficult to find her way by the abundant moonlight. When she arrived, all the lights were off in the house. Only a dim porch light was left on, so she quietly crept inside. She didn’t want to wake anyone because she didn’t want to have to explain the events of her evening. She knew no one would believe such a crazy story. She went to the bathroom and took a shower. Then she took great care to clean up the scratches. They looked superficial, so after she cleaned them, she put some antibiotic cream on them. She slipped a long sleeve flannel nightgown over her head and went to bed.
The next morning she took a look at the scratches and they didn’t look too bad. She made sure to wear long sleeves to hide them. She didn’t want anyone to notice and ask about them. She went about her day and her normal routine and no one was the wiser. She wasn’t even worried to walk by the old cemetery because she knew that all she needed to do was sing at the top of her lungs and the trolls would stay as far away from her as they could.
To be continued...
About a month passed without further incident and Jack and Jolene remained silent about their encounters with Clug and his kingdom. Neither of them wanted to open themselves up to ridicule. They firmly believed that everyone would assume they were fabricating the whole story. Since no one else in the family knew any better, they continued to go on about their lives in blissful ignorance of the trolls living behind the cemetery.
One night as Gazelle was returning from her literary club meeting, she heard a rustling in the bushes by the side of the road near the cemetery. She stopped and listened assuming it was a raccoon, a deer or maybe even a skunk. She didn’t want to come in close proximity to a skunk, so she stood stalk still waiting for whatever was in the bushes to pass by. The noise became much louder and sounded more like clomping than rustling and she became more alarmed because she thought that it had to be a much larger animal. Then she got a whiff of a pungent odor that she could not seem to place. She couldn’t decide what to do. She didn’t want to have a run-in with a bear, but from all she had learned from her father, bears made almost no noise at all as they moved through the world on their thickly padded paws. They were far too stealthy to be making this loud clomping sound. Besides, bears didn’t have such a strong, foul smell. She reasoned that the sounds must be coming from a moose. Moose were not quiet moving creatures and were notoriously smelly.
As she stood there feeling terror well up in her heart and mind, she listened keenly and before she knew what had hit her, something or someone clobbered her over the head. She awoke in the heart of the troll village with a throbbing headache with Clug smiling down at her. She looked at him in revulsion and rubbed her head finding a lump there about the size of an egg.
She asked, “Who are you and why did you hit me over the head?”
The troll king answered, “Me, Clug, King of trolls. I brought you here to marry.”
Gazelle gasped and said, “I would never marry you.”
Clug asked, “Why?”
She answered, “Well, for one thing, you’re hideous, but even beyond that, you stink to the high heavens. You make me sick. Why don’t you marry one of your own kind?”
He said, “Clug want marry hooman so children will have toes, that why. You understand?”
“I understand, but count me out; besides, I’m too young to get married. You’ll have to find someone else. I had better go home now before my parents get worried and send out a search party,” reasoned Gazelle.
“How old are you, hooman,” asked Clug.
“I am only 17,” she answered.
Clug smiled and stated, “Clug will wait. It not that long. I have royal wedding gown and other gifts. You want?”
She said, “No, I don’t want and I don’t want to see them.”
She shook her head in disbelief and in an effort to clear away the cobwebs and to bring her eyes into focus. As she looked around, she saw that the clearing was filled with other trolls all listening intently to what she had to say. There was a huge bonfire and many sat around it, so the thought occurred to her that now would be a fine time to tell them a story.
She began, “Once upon a time, in a far off land, there lived a beautiful princess, who was loved by an ugly old elf...”
Clug roared, “Stop! Me not want to hear story. Trolls hate stories.”
Gazelle said, “That’s too bad.”
Then she continued, “The princess found the elf to be so unattractive that she had him banished from the realm and sent him to...”
All the trolls began to scream and jump up and down angrily.
Gazelle said, “What’s wrong with you? This is a story I wrote myself, so listen up.”
Clug grabbed her roughly by the arm and dragged her onto the trail and back toward the graveyard to the cheers of the congregated trolls. When he reached the cemetery he shoved her through the opening in the old fence.
He said, “Go home, hooman. Clug no can stand you. You talk too much and tell fairy tales. They all lies. Clug hate liars.”
Gazelle said “Good-bye, Clug. Can I give you one piece of advice before I go home?”
Clug sighed and asked, “What?”
“If you want a human wife, you had better take a bath and work on your manners. No human girl will marry you if you stink or if you hit her over the head. Try turning on the charm, pal,” she instructed.
Clug scratched his head and asked, “What is bath?”
Gazelle said, “You must use soap and water and scrub yourself until all the grime and odor are gone. I will leave a bar of soap and a washcloth and towel in this cemetery tomorrow, if you will promise never to bother me again. Is it a deal?”
Clug replied, “Deal.”
He walked back through the graveyard and into the forest. Gazelle returned home and aside from a headache she was fine. She wasn’t late by much, so no one in the family questioned her about her evening or her literary club meeting.
The next day she took the items she had promised the troll and dropped them off in the cemetery on her way to school. She had no thought of telling anyone about what had happened the night before, but she thought she might write a book about it. She figured it would sell like hotcakes.
To be continued...
Two weeks had elapsed since Gazelle’s encounter with Clug. Her headaches had stopped and the egg sized lump on her head had disappeared. She had not begun writing a book about her experience, but she had written about it in her daily journal. She had kept a journal each day from the time she was old enough to know how to write and had filled several over the years with all of her experiences and innermost thoughts and desires. She kept each one under lock and key and did not allow anyone access to them. Little did she know that her older sister, Katerina had routinely read them and knew all about her thoughts and ideas. The two girls shared a room and Katerina often watched her younger sister and knew her so well that she could actually tell when Gazelle was writing something particularly exciting because she would begin tapping her foot and the tapping increased as the excitement began to build.
One evening as Gazelle sat at her desk writing in her journal, Katerina noticed that not only was her younger sister’s pen flying across the pages, her foot was tapping furiously on the floor. She knew that whatever she was writing about must be more intriguing than the usual daily drivel she had been offering up of late. Katerina decided that after her sister went to sleep, she would swipe the journal and the key that her sister kept in a separate little box in her night stand. She didn’t have long to wait. Her sister went to bed shortly after completing her journaling and quickly went to sleep.
Katerina waited a few minutes, until she was sure her sister was, indeed, sleeping soundly and then she crept to the night stand, retrieved the key and padded across the floor to the desk and opened the top drawer, took out the journal, and slipped out of the room with it. She stuffed the journal down inside of her robe and walked down the hall to the bathroom, went in, and closed the door silently behind her and locked it. She switched on the light and sat down on the bathmat next to the tub, took out the journal, opened it with the little silver key and began to read.
As she read through the pages of the last couple of weeks, her jaws dropped in astonishment. She knew what her sister wrote must be true because there was no need to lie since the only person allowed access to the journal was Gazelle. At least, that is what her sister thought. Katerina felt a little like a criminal, but brushed it aside and continued to read entry after entry avidly. As she learned of her sister’s encounter with Clug, the Troll King and it seemed that it explained some of the recent odd behavior around her home. Katerina began putting the pieces together and saw that her brother’s scratches and terrible infection had to have been a result of an encounter with the troll. She read on and learned a lot of enthralling information about Clug and the troll community.
Katerina was a young woman with an uncanny knack for communicating with the members of the animal world. She was also caring and quite sensitive, so as she closed the journal, she wondered if perhaps, Clug was misunderstood. She also thought that she would like the opportunity to meet him and talk with him. She had a feeling deep inside that she would even know how to speak his language. She was sensitive to his plight, as well and thought how terrible it must be to have no toes and to be despised and misunderstood by the world. She made up her mind to go in search of the Troll King. She was confident that she could find him because her sister had given detailed directions to the troll community in her journal. She was positive that she could locate the path behind the old broken down fence behind the cemetery. Finally she finished reading, closed the journal and locked it. Then she furtively placed the journal back inside her robe, crept back to her room and placed the items back where they belonged. She slipped into bed, but had a difficult time going to sleep that night because so many thoughts swirled through her mind.
The next morning, Katerina awoke feeling tired, but excited. She looked out of her bedroom window on a soggy, rainy day, but it did nothing to dampen her high spirits. Her two younger sisters and Jack were already up and getting ready for school. She went down the stairs and into the kitchen to join the rest of the family. They all had things to do that day and would be out of the house. Since she was out of school and had not as yet enrolled in veterinary school, she had the entire day to herself. She could hardly wait for them to clear out and she generously offered to clean up the breakfast mess and do the housework for her mother.
When they were gone, she set about putting the house in order and hummed happily as she went about her work. The rain tapered off and the sun began to peek out from behind the clouds which raised her soaring spirits even more.
She went outside to feed the birds and as was her usual custom, she held out both arms and began calling the birds to come to her. First, she expertly called the Goldfinches, then the Cardinals, then the Blue jays and on and on until both arms were covered in her feathered friends. Purple finches came and formed a wreath around her head and a Robin sat on each of her shoulders. She began conversing with them and they spent an hour talking together. She told them of what she had learned about the Troll King and as it happened they knew all about him. They said he was a very kind king, but misunderstood by humanity. Most humans were terrified of him simply because they found him unattractive intimated a particularly chatty Blue jay. Many of the birds offered to lead her to him, but she told them to go about their day. She knew she could find him on her own.
To be continued...
Although the sun was now shining brightly, Katarina went inside and put on her rubber boots. She knew that where she was planning to go in search of Clug she would encounter lots of puddles and muddy trails. She was glad her sister had provided the necessary details to make it easy to find the location of the troll community. Her other siblings had encountered Clug at night with less than wonderful results, so she determined to go unafraid and in broad daylight. She wondered if she would smell him before she saw him. Gazelle’s journal had revealed that the troll was high smelling and not in a good way, but Gazelle had also written about delivering lavender soap and other bath items to the cemetery for the troll king to find and hopefully put to good use. If he had actually used the soap, Katarina was sure she could sniff him out.
To be continued...
Although the sun was now shining brightly, Katarina went inside and put on her rubber boots. She knew that where she was planning to go in search of Clug she would encounter lots of puddles and muddy trails. She was glad her sister had provided the necessary details to make it easy to find the location of the troll community. Her other siblings had encountered Clug at night with less than wonderful results, so she determined to go unafraid and in broad daylight. She wondered if she would smell him before she saw him. Gazelle’s journal had revealed that the troll was high smelling and not in a good way, but Gazelle had also written about delivering lavender soap and other bath items to the cemetery for the troll king to find and hopefully put to good use. If he had actually used the soap, Katarina was sure she could sniff him out.
She grabbed the large lunch she had packed from the kitchen counter, put on a warm jacket and went out the back door. She cut through some woods that stood between her home and the graveyard. She broke out into a clearing and a few small furry creatures scampered out to meet her as she walked swiftly along. She stopped for a few moments and sat down on a fallen tree to chat with a raccoon with which she was familiar. He climbed up next to her and sat down.
He said, “I usually come out after dark, but I came earlier today. I’m on my way to the shore to go clamming. Where are you going, Katarina?”
She answered, “I am going in search of Clug, the troll king. I talked to some of my backyard birds earlier this morning and they told me that he is kind and misunderstood by humanity. My sister had a run in with him, but knowing her she probably didn’t try to understand him.”
“Well, I don’t know if he is nice or not. I’ve heard conflicting reports, but I don’t think I would try to invade his territory if I were you. He might not appreciate it,” stated the raccoon sagely.
“Oh Roland, you are such a worry wart. I’ll be fine and I’ll even bet that I’ll know how to converse with him just like I do with you and all of my other woodland friends,” said Katarina enthusiastically.
About that time a rather rotund black bear waddled out of the forest and sat down on the ground in front of Katarina and Roland. He smiled good naturedly at his friends and said, “I’m glad the rain stopped. Now, tell me where you two are going and what are you going to do once you get there and furthermore can I go with you to wherever it is you are going and may I do whatever it is you plan on doing when you get there with you. Well, you know what I meant to say, don’t you?”
Katarina laughed merrily at the foolishness of her friend, Black Burt. She answered, “I don’t know why I didn’t think of it before. Why don’t we all go together?”
Black Burt replied, “I’ll go to wherever and do whatever and furthermore oh, oh, what am I tryin’ to say, anyway, anyhow.”
Katarina said, “I am going in search of Clug, the troll king and I would be most honored if you would accompany me, Black Burt. I’d like you to come, too, Roland, if you could manage to skip clamming for today.”
Black Burt eyed Roland soberly and then looked at Katarina. He said, “I don’t know if I want to go wherever and do whatever, if it means meeting Clug. I’ve heard that he’s mean and he reeks, too.”
Roland said, “I’d rather go clamming. It would be safer and besides I’m hungry.”
Katarina sighed and said, “Well, I’ll have to go all by myself.”
Black Burt stood and placed a big paw on her shoulder and said, “I won’t let you go alone. I’ll go with you wherever and do whatever to protect you because you’re my very best friend, Katarina.”
Roland leaped down and stood next to Black Burt, rubbed his tiny hands together nervously and said, “I’ll go, too. I guess I’m brave enough to risk it for a good friend like you.”
Katarina stood, picked up Roland and gave Black Burt a bear hug. She smiled at her two companions and stated, “You are the best friends a girl could have. Now follow me because I know how to get there.”
Black Burt said, “Okay. We’re off to wherever to do whatever with that ugly old troll king. I hope you know what you’re doing.”
Katarina smiled and said, “We’ll be fine. You’ll see, but we must not talk and be as quiet as you can.”
“I’ll be quiet as a mouse,” whispered Black Burt.
Roland chided, “No, you big brute. Mice are noisy. You had better be really quiet.”
Katarina said, “Just do your best and please stop arguing.”
Black Burt said, “I’ll keep my sniffer sniffing and I’ll sniff him out, too. You just watch me.”
Katarina whispered, “He might smell like lavender soap.”
Roland said, “Oh yuck.”
“That’s kind of a girly smell,” whispered Black Burt.
They walked on through the woods without talking until they came out to the road. They crossed over being careful to look both ways first and headed in the direction of the cemetery. When it came into view, Black Burt stopped.
He asked softly, “Are you sure we have to go through there? I don’t mind going wherever, you know, and I don’t mind doing whatever, but I don’t like it in there. I’ve heard too many stories about the shades that haunt this place. What if they chase us, Katarina? I’m too fat to outrun ‘em.”
Katarina said, “They won’t bother us while it’s still daylight. Everyone knows that. We’ll be fine. All we have to do is walk right through to the back where the fence has rotted and fallen down. When we get there we’ll see a trail which will lead us straight to the troll community.”
“Whatever,” sighed Black Burt.
“We had better be back before dark,” whispered Roland, “because I have important things to do.”
“I’m sure we’ll be back long before dark. I’ve got a lunch in this big basket and we’ll all share it with Clug. Won’t that be fun?” asked Katarina.
“Whatever,” whispered Black Burt as they walked in through the rickety cemetery gate.
Roland rubbed his little hands together and asked, “What’s in that basket?”
Katarina whispered, “You’ll have to wait and see. Don’t step on any of the graves, Black Burt or you might fall through.”
The black bear walked quietly on his thickly padded paws and stepped gingerly around every grave on his way through. Finally they reached the old fallen down fence and stepped out of the graveyard and onto the trail dodging several large puddles.
They walked on the trail for only a short distance when they all smelled the bouquet of lavender soap. It was overpowering, so they knew Clug must be very near. The trio stopped and listened intently.
Katarina spoke in a barely audible voice, “Oh King Clug, are you there? Please come out and talk with us. We are your friends.”
Black Burt said loudly, “Umm, whatever, I guess. Oh yes, well, you might as well come out and do whatever as long as whatever is nice, I meant to say.”
Clug clomped out of the woods on the opposite side of the trail. He was sparkling clean and his wiry black hair that usually stuck out in all directions had been combed and slicked back nicely. His cloak was also clean and tidy. Then he smiled and revealed his wickedly sharp and gleaming white teeth. He made a sweeping bow and said, “Welcome hooman and animal friends. Follow, Clug.”
To be continued...
Black Burt looked worriedly at Roland and Katarina and began backing up. He said, “I don’t know about this. I’m not so sure that I want to follow this troll king wherever. I don’t have a clue about wherever he wants us to go and I don’t plan to do whatever he comes up with when we get wherever, if you know what I mean. In other words, I’m scared.”
Roland looked up at Katarina and stated, “I agree with Black Burt. We don’t know enough about this Clug to blindly follow him. I think we had better turn around and go back. Besides, I told you earlier, I have important matters to attend to.”
Clug smiled broadly and his razor sharp teeth terrified Katarina’s two companions. They were trembling and Roland scampered up Black Burt’s leg, sat on his shoulder, and hugged the big bear’s neck.
Clug bowed and said, “Animal friends no need to worry. Clug and other trolls no eat you. Follow Clug into forest and me show you troll village. You will like and have good times.”
Katarina smiled, stepped forward and took Clug’s hand. She said, “We will be fine. Let’s go with Clug and meet the other trolls.”
Black Burt asked, “How can you trust him to be nice? Look at his sharp teeth. He could bite you or whatever and tear you to shreds with his claws. How do you know that wherever he takes you, he will ever let you go home again?”
Katarina stared into Clug’s eyes and answered, “I can tell that he is nice and will not harm us. I know about these things. Come along and we will share our lunch with him.”
Then she asked Clug, “You will promise to behave like a gentleman, won’t you, King Clug?”
Clug answered, “Clug will promise, hooman girl. I give you anything you want. You will see.”
Katarina said to her frightened friends, “See, he gives us his promise. Please come with me. I know it is going to be alright. Don’t worry.”
Black Burt replied, “Whatever you say, I guess. Err, I still don’t like it, but I’ll go wherever and do whatever I have to do to take care of you.”
Roland buried his little head in Black Burt’s furry coat and said, “I’ll go, too, if Black Burt will carry me. I can’t stop shaking.”
Black Burt said, “I’ll carry you wherever little buddy.”
Katarina smiled sweetly and said, “You are such wonderful friends. I don’t know what I would do without you.”
Clug said, “Animal friends loyal, hooman. They good friends. We go now. Give me basket and I carry it for you.”
Katarina handed the large basket to Clug and he took it on his other arm. He gently held her hand and led her and her animal friends on the trail through the forest. In a matter of a few minutes, Clug paused on the trail.
He said softly, “Clug must go. I tell other trolls in village to gather to welcome new friends. I be back soon. You wait here.”
Black Burt raised a slight objection to Clug’s plan. He said, “You can go wherever, but the basket stays here. How do we know you won’t eat everything in it or whatever and never return from wherever?”
Clug took the basket from his arm and set in on the ground next to Black Burt. He answered, “I leave basket with you, bear. It is show of good faith. I return soon.”
Katarina nodded at Clug and smiled. She said, “Hurry back, Clug. I can hardly wait to visit your village and meet all the other trolls. I would also like to share this lovely lunch I have prepared with you, Black Burt, and Roland.”
Clug clomped off into the forest and soon disappeared from view. Roland climbed down from his perch on Black Burt’s shoulder and sat on the ground. He began to cry.
He said, “I don’t like this horrid troll and I don’t want to meet the rest of them. I have better things to do and I’ll tell you another thing. I think Clug is trying to lure us into the village so he can eat us.”
Katarina laughed and said, “That is the most ridiculous idea I have ever heard, but I can see that you really are worried about it, so I think you should scurry on home, Roland.”
Roland began rubbing his hands together as he looked up at Black Burt. He said, “What about you? Are you coming with me or not?”
The huge bear shook his head and stated, “No, Roland. You go on home or whatever. I am staying with Katarina. Whatever happens I’ll be wherever and take care of my friend.”
Roland asked, “Aren’t you afraid you’ll be eaten by the trolls?”
Black Burt replied, “Whatever.”
Roland looked at Katarina and said, “I love you very much, but I’m too scared to stay.” He turned and ran back toward the cemetery as fast as his legs could go.
Katarina watched and sighed sadly. She hugged Black Burt and said, “Poor little Roland. He’s really frightened. I know that you are, too, so while I appreciate what you are doing, please don’t stay if you’d rather go home. I will be fine. I can tell that Clug is a gentleman with honorable intentions.”
Black Burt didn’t sound convinced as he responded. He said, “Whatever, if you say so, I guess. You’re right about one thing. I’m scared like Roland, but I’m not leaving you with that ugly troll so he can take you to wherever and eat you or whatever it is that trolls probably do to people. I’m sticking to you like glue or whatever and there’s no use in trying to talk me out of it.”
They looked around as they heard Clug clomping and clumping in their direction. Black Burt whispered, “He sure makes a lot of noise or whatever.”
Katarina replied, “Yes, he’s loud because he doesn’t walk like humans. He has no toes, so I think that must be why he clomps along the way he does, but please don’t say anything to him about it. He might be sensitive.”
Black Burt shrugged his shoulders and said, “Oh, whatever, Katarina.”
Clug came out of the woods in the lead with a procession of trolls following behind him. They were arranged according to size from tallest to shortest. They marched along clomping and clumping, until Clug raised a hand and ordered them in troll language to stop. Katarina was not at all surprised to find that she understood what he said completely.
Clug said, “Trolls were excited to meet you. They could not wait, so came with Clug.” He looked around and asked, “Where did small animal go?”
Black Burt answered, “He went wherever because he had whatever to do, you know. He won’t be back. He’s scared or whatever.”
The troll king said, “I made promise not to hurt and I keep promise.”
Katarina replied, “Of course and I believe you, but Roland has never seen a troll and he didn’t think he could trust you. Please understand and try not to be offended.”
Clug said, “I understand. Now you and big bear follow us to village. I have many things I must show you and have question to ask you beautiful hooman girl. I will share lunch with you, too.”
Katarina smiled, took the troll’s hand and he led the way into the forest followed closely by Black Burt and the troll entourage.
To be continued...
It didn’t take long before they arrived at the troll village. Katarina was quite taken with it and exclaimed over and over that she thought it was lovely. This pleased Clug immensely and his smile went from ear to ear. The other trolls clustered around Katarina in order to get a better look at her and smiled and nodded their delighted approval. Black Burt was not so easily taken in by the scene. He looked about apprehensively and tugged on Katarina’s coat sleeve in a vain attempt to get her to leave.
The trolls had an inviting fire blazing in the middle of the village and the entire mood of the place was festive. Lots of chatter was going on and the trolls were busily stringing up decorations from one troll house to another. Katarina offered to help, but the trolls wouldn’t hear of it, so Katarina suggested to Clug that it was now high time to share the contents of the lunch basket.
As she took out a large checkered tablecloth from the basket and began spreading it out on the ground, she said, “There, now we must eat this lunch I have prepared. Sit down, Clug and you sit down, too, Black Burt.”
Black Burt shook his head in the negative and stated, “I don’t mind going wherever with you, but this is one whatever I am not interested in doing. I don’t want to have lunch with this ugly troll king and I think you should leave and go back home now before it gets dark and your family gets worried.”
Katarina retorted, “Now, Black Burt, we have plenty of time to have our lunch before it gets dark. Stop talking nonsense and have lunch with us.”
Clug said, “Clug no hurt Katarina or Black Burt. You no worry, bear. Sit and eat.”
Black Burt sighed and said, “Oh, whatever. I will not go wherever and leave Katarina here alone with the likes of you.” He sat down in the middle of the tablecloth and took up most of the room available.
Clug and Katarina sat side by side on the ground. Katarina opened the basket and took out several sandwiches, bananas, carrot sticks, and apple turnovers. Then she took out a thermos and poured hot cocoa into insulated cups. She handed a checkered napkin to Clug, Black Burt, and also put one on her own lap. Katarina said grace and they began eating their lunch.
Clug had very nice manners for a troll and Katarina was quite impressed with him. They chatted and laughed merrily together while Black Burt looked on suspiciously. As the meal progressed even Black Burt began to let his guard down and joined in on the lively conversation. They had such a wonderful time that none of them noticed that the sun was setting and soon nightfall would creep in on the world making it more difficult to go home. There was no moon to shed light and Katarina had not brought a flashlight along.
Black Burt finally said, “Oh my goodness, Katarina. It is getting dark and we should have gone back to wherever long before this. Whatever shall we do?”
Clug replied, “Stay longer hooman and bear. I have something to show you. Don’t go yet.”
Katarina said, “We will stay for a little while longer. What is it that you have to show us?”
Clug looked slightly embarrassed and hung his head as his face turned red. He replied, “What I have to show is for you hooman girl. I hope you like.”
Katarina clapped her hands in delight and said, “I am sure I will like whatever it is. I love surprises.”
Clug summoned one of the trolls and whispered something in his ear. The troll bowed to Clug and ran off into the village and disappeared into a stump house. He returned a few minutes later carrying the same emerald green valise that had been presented to Jolene. He sat it down in front of Katarina with great flourish. The other trolls all gathered around and looked on expentantly.
Clug said, “Open it, hooman.”
Katarina opened the valise and took out the beautiful gown, matching gloves, shoes and the diadem. She exclaimed, “These are so exquisite! Where did you get them?”
Clug replied, “From mountain trolls far away. These are for you hooman, but first I ask question.”
Katarina asked, “What would you like to ask?”
Clug said, “I ask you to marry Clug and be troll queen. Will you marry troll, Katarina?”
Black Burt cleared his throat loudly and said, “Don’t answer him. You can’t do whatever he says and live wherever. You must go home now.”
Katarina patted Black Burt’s arm and said, “It’s alright. Don’t worry about me, dear friend. I will be fine.”
Then she smiled sweetly at the troll king and answered, “I would be honored to marry you Clug.”
Clug smiled and Katarina stepped forward and kissed him on the cheek.
Ending #1.
When Katarina’s lips gently touched his cheek, Clug turned into a handsome prince. Katarina was shocked and stepped back to have a better look at him.
She asked, “Where did Clug go and who are you?”
The prince stated, “I am Prince Clement. An evil old witch named Alisha turned me into a hideous troll because I refused to marry her. She said I would remain a troll forever unless I could find a human girl that would willingly agree to marry me. She said that there was probably no chance of that ever happening, so I began to believe that I was doomed to be a troll forever. The other trolls made me their king and it hasn’t been a bad life, but now with you by my side, I will go back and take my rightful place in the kingdom and I will deal with that old hag once and for all.”
“I see,” said Katarina dejectedly. “I am sorry but I cannot marry you for I have fallen in love with Clug. Since he doesn’t really exist, Black Burt will accompany me home and I will go to veterinary school as I have planned all along.”
When Katarina finished saying that, Prince Clement immediately turned back into a troll. He stated, “I am a troll once more. Please reconsider, I don’t want to be a troll forever.”
Katarina’s eyes filled with tears and she said, “I’m sorry. I don’t want to marry a prince. I want to marry a troll. If I agree you’ll turn back into Prince Clement and that will never do.”
Katarina and Black Burt made their way back along the trail, through the broken down old cemetery fence and back to her home. Black Burt gave her a bear hug, told her she had made the right decision and went back into the forest.
Katarina never told anyone about her adventure. She went to veterinary school, became a veterinarian, and helped all her animal friends.
Ending #2.
Clug said, “We will marry now.” He clapped his hands and a troll woman stepped forward and packed the lovely bridal dress and the other items back into the valise and began to lead Katarina to a nearby stump house to get ready for the marriage ceremony.
Black Burt objected, “Katarina, you can’t be serious about marrying this troll. Whatever are you thinking and wherever will you live?”
Katarina replied, “Be happy for me. I love Clug and I want to marry him with all my heart. We will live right here in the troll community and you can visit whenever you want. Now go find Roland and bring him back here as soon as possible. I want my two dearest friends here for the wedding. I want you to give me away.”
Black Burt gasped and said, “Whatever! What about your parents, though? I don’t think you should do whatever without inviting your family.”
“They simply would not understand. Please go find Roland and return as fast as you can,” implored Katarina.
Black Burt turned and hurried off to find Roland and Katarina went into the stump house to get ready for her wedding.
When she came out of the stump house and walked back to the blazing fire, she looked stunning. The purple gown fit her to a tee and the diadem sat regally upon her pretty head of golden hair. Clug was there waiting along with Black Burt and Roland.
A troll priest performed the ceremony and when it ended Clug kissed his bride. About a year later, a son was born to Clug and Katarina. He had wiry black hair , a big nose, pointed ears, and ten toes. Clug was very happy. Katarina was, too. She loved her husband and baby and they all lived happily ever after.
I hope you have enjoyed this little folk tale. I have
thought of several endings. I have provided you
with two of them. Cast your vote for either ending
number one or ending number two by leaving a
comment below.
