Tufti the 10ft Troll

Here's the story of how Tufti came to meet the people of Reykjavík, by Brian Pilkington. On his 72nd Birthday, Tufti, still a very young Troll, decided he was going to do something out of character. He would do something brave! He went to the entrance of his cave, closed his eyes tight and stepped out into the light. With his eyes still tightly shut he patted his arms, then his legs and eventually his torso. "But no!" he thought, I haven't turned into stone! It's not true what they said would happen. Very slowly, he opened his eyes. It was a beautiful cloudy day! He jumped up and down with joy, then ran through the beautiful countryside for what seemed like hours, until he was quite out of breath! He sat down on a rock to get his breath back and to admire the view. There in the far distance was the city of Reykjavík. "I wonder what goes on over there?" he asked himself. "Well, it's my birthday! A day for being brave. Maybe I should go and find out!" So, he set off towards Reykjavík and then stomped right through the streets into the city centre. He caused quite a stir! People ran for their lives and hid in shops and their houses, sure that the troll would be too big to find them there. Eventually, both Tufti and the people got used to each other. And both sides realised there was nothing to be scared of. Now, these days he is a very welcome guest. The children love seeing Tufti and Tufti loves seeing the children. Everybody looks forward to Tufti's visits.