The two trolls were met with a frigid, howling wind. Blowing snow was already drifting along the lane leading down to the troll village. Gertrude soon found himself breaking a trail through huge drifts so that his mother was able to pass. The walk seemed long and arduous.
Soon, they found themselves in front of the dark cottage of their relatives. Gertrude looked up at the chimney. There was no smoke belching forth from its uppermost point. Where would they be on a bone-chilling night such as this? Winifred tapped her hand on Gertrude’s shoulder, and motioned that they should be going home. They trudged through the streets to the edge of the river to their hovel. Candlelight danced in the window and there was smoke rising from a fire in the hearth. Gertrude barged through the door first, a hand upon his sword. Winifred followed, picking her broom up from next to the door inside.
“Where have the two of you been?” Derry’s face showed lines of concern. “Have the two of you no better sense to be out on a night like this. I noticed when this storm blew in that your windows were dark and that there was no fire lit.” She went over and helped Winifred off with her coat, then walked over and poured them both a hot mug of blog. “Sit by the fire. I have the chairs waiting.”
“We thought that someone was waiting in ambush when we saw the candle burning.” Winifred chattered. Her bones had been right about the storm. The warm fire and the hot blog were most welcome. “Thank you, friend, for thinking of us.”
“Yes, thank you, Derry. Just knowing that we have a friend and neighbor who cares would warm anyone’s heart on a cold night such as this.” Gertrude smiled broadly, holding his mug of blog with both hands to warm them.
Derry blushed. “Gertrude, you sure do have a way with words. It amazes me that some doe has not wrapped you up in a wedding blanket yet. I was talking to Toddy earlier…now there is a doe worth having.”
Gertrude shifted nervously in his chair. Winifred looked at Derry and they could not contain their laughter. They laughed until tears poured from their eyes. He just sat there quietly while the ladies laughed. He liked Toddy a lot. Sometimes he felt very uncomfortable around Toddy. Then, again, there were other times when he felt like a young troll when he was close to her. He looked at his mother and then Derry and shook his head. Then he started laughing, too.
The three friends sat in front of the fire, watching the embers dance in the downdraft. The wind howled a shrill, whining song that made the hovel’s beams shake and shiver as snow pounded against the window panes as if desperate to enter and hide from the winds’ fury.
Winifred grunted as she arose from her cozy seat by the fire, now being thoroughly warmed. She picked up a small set of tongs and placed a few of the glowing embers in the small scuttle next to the hearth and then ambled over to the oven and placed the embers inside. Gertrude had placed logs in it the night before. Soon the oven was throwing off heat, too.
“I must do some baking tonight for I am way behind. I will lose customers if they come knocking tomorrow and I do not have the goods to trade and sell.” She lifted her large mixing bowls onto the table. “Gertrude, would you please fetch me some more cattail flour? I did not think that I had used the entire last batch of flour, but there is none here in my bin.” She lifted the cover to the bin of beet sugar. “Oh my! I must be getting senile. I could swear that there was sugar in here. I guess I will need a sack of beet sugar also.”
Gertrude got up from his chair and went over to the entrance to the root cellar. Something seemed odd. There was a small pile of flour by one corner of the door. He hoisted the door and, with a candle to light his way, he entered. His head reappeared as quickly as it had disappeared. “We have been robbed! Someone has taken all of our stores. Everything is gone! There isn’t enough left down there to feed a cockroach.”
“Gertrude, this is no time to be teasing me! Please do as I have asked.” Winifred turned and looked at her son and then at Derry. The look on Gertrude’s face made her realize that he was telling the truth.
Derry was as white as she could be and started crying. “I am so stupid! How could I just watch them steal all of your foodstuffs? Earlier today I noticed some trolls going in and out of your hovel. I thought you were home because I had seen smoke from your flue. I thought …” Derry sobbed. “How could I let them do this?!”
Gertrude and Winifred both walked over to her and sat her down. Winifred started bawling, too. “It is all right, my friend. I would have done the same thing. Anyways… who would ever think that another troll would steal from a brother troll?!”
Gertrude watched the two ladies holding each other. “Derry, How long have you been here?”
Derry looked up at Gertrude through tear-swollen eyes. “I came over here right after dark fell. The trolls that were here earlier had left shortly before.” Realization crossed Derry’s face. “No... Nooooooo! How could I let them do this? I should be thrown out of the village. I have disgraced my family! I must go home and check out my stores. Gertrude please tell feebl- minded me that they did not steal my stores.”
Winifred held tight to Derry. “I believe that is what Gertrude is telling you. They may have been stealing stores from any hovel that was….” Winifred was interrupted by a loud knocking. The latch raised from its restraint. ‘Bang!’ The door flew open and the wind pushed what appeared to be a snow-troll through the door.
Gertrude rushed over and threw all of his weight against the door, closing it with great difficulty. He was covered completely with snow when he turned back around. “Mother, help me here. Derry, some hot blog, please.” Gertrude started pulling off the troll’s scarf and hat, brushing off the snow as he went.
Winifred unbuttoned the troll’s coat and started pulling it off of the half-frozen figure. She gasped… “Father!” It was indeed Grump.
They rushed him over to the fire and started warming his hands in theirs. Grump was speechless and had a scary, faraway look in his eyes. Gertrude yanked off his boots and placed a warmed blanket around his feet. Derry got up and brought over some hot blog and started to make him drink.
“What in the name of Kern, Father, were you doing out on a night like this?” Winifred’s eyes, already swollen from crying with Derry, welled up with fresh tears. She looked at Gertrude as if he would know the answer.
Gertrude shrugged his shoulders and brought over a quilt he retrieved from a nearby cupboard. “Grump may not have all of his gold in one bag, but I don’t think he walked here in this blizzard because he wanted a cookie.”
“A cookie? Did I hear someone mention a cookie?” There was a little life glowing in Grump’s eyes.
Winifred hugged her father and sobbed. “You old troll, what in the name of Kern are you out and about on a night like this for? Here, drink some more of this.” Winifred forced Grump to take another swallow of the hot blog.
“Cough! Cough! What in tarnation are you trying to do to me, child? Drown me?” Grump pushed his daughter’s hand away. “Why are you three looking at me that way? What are you doing over here in my house when you should be home baking? I want that cookie someone mentioned. I’m hungry.”
Winifred looked at her father and shook her head, throwing her arms up in the air with exasperation. “Father, you are at my house. Why did you walk here in this blizzard?”
“You sure do ask a lot of questions for a young troll.” Grump paused a moment as if a strand of sanity had finally found the knitting needles in his head and they were creating a lucid thought in his moth-eaten brain. “Those trolls just waltzed into my house and took all of my food. I thought that they were staying to make me some supper, but they took everything with them. Darn young grasshoppers have no respect any more! They could have at least invited me to go with them….Someone mentioned a cookie. A whole plate would be better…”
Winifred walked over to a container hidden behind some blankets and spirited out a handful of cookies. “Here, Father, I made these just for you.” Winifred handed him the plate and watched a child-like expression light up he
r father’s face.
“These are mighty fine cookies.” Grump shoved one whole cookie into his mouth. “Dees cohhoookies ahr hust wike dah wuns mhy dutter mucks.” He spit cookie crumbs out as he spoke.
The stress of the evening finally took its toll on Winifred, Derry and Gertrude. They laughed and laughed until their sides ached. Winifred had to sit down as she was having trouble catching her breath.
Gertrude was the one to regain his composure first. He wiped the frost from a nearby window and peeked through the opening to the snowy world outside. “Derry, it is not safe for you to go home tonight. You will stay here and take my bed. Grump can sleep on the bench with some blankets. I will sleep in front of the door to keep Grump from escaping.”
She was still out of breath from laughing so hard. Derry bid everyone a good night as she ambled to Gertrude’s room. Winifred made a bed up for Grump in the corner and made him lie down so she could cover him up. She bent down and kissed him on his forehead.
“Good night, Florah, my sweet.” Grump whispered
“Good night, old troll.” Winifred whispered back. “I love you.” Winifred wiped the tears from her eyes and headed for her room. She shook her head, looked up at the ceiling as if it were open sky and uttered, “Goodnight, my Love. Good night, Gertrude.”
“Good night, Mother.” Gertrude busied himself with making a bed for his weary body in front of the door. He crawled in beneath the covers. His mind kept playing over the day’s events. Tomorrow promised to be a long day. A fitful sleep finally caught up with his racing mind.