‘I WANT ICE CREAM!’
(A Snippets Book)
David Elvar
Smashwords Edition
Copyright 2011 David Elvar
Smashwords Edition License Notes
Thank you for downloading this free e-book. It may be reproduced, copied and distributed for non-commercial purposes provided it remains in its complete and original form, and that the author and Smashwords are given full acknowledgement.
~oOo~
In an old, old forest, there’s an old, old tree. And in this old, old tree lives a troll.
Although she lives in an old, old tree, she’s not herself very old. In fact, she’s quite young as trolls go—about 300 at her last birthday. She has a baby troll, and they both live high in this old, old tree in this old, old forest.
Being so high in this tree, she has a long way to go to get down to the ground. First, she has to go down the steps that run round the inside of the top half of the tree to a hole in the bark, which takes her to the steps that run round the outside of the bottom half. These take her down to a long, low branch, which she has to balance her way along to get to the three steep steps that take her to the huge mud puddle that is her garden. This she wades through until she gets to the road. As you can see, it’s a long journey she has to make even before she thinks of getting anywhere.
Now, it so happened that, one day, the ice cream troll came by. He pushed his ice cream barrow to a stop right outside the troll’s old, old tree and sounded his bell. At that, the baby troll perked up his ears and cried out suddenly—
‘I want ice cream!’
And the troll, being a troll with a good heart, grabbed some money, rushed down the inside steps, tripped over the baby troll’s tricycle, picked herself up and ran down the outside steps then scurried along the low branch and waded through the mud to get an ice cream. Then she waded back through the mud, up the outside steps, up the inside steps and handed the baby troll his prize.
But the baby troll just looked at it like there was something wrong with it.
‘I wanted a topping,’ he said.
‘A topping!’ said the troll. ‘Well, they have wiggly worms in snapdragon sauce—’
—but before she could finish, the baby troll shouted—
‘I want wiggly worms in snapdragon sauce!’
So the troll rushed down the inside steps, tripped over the baby troll’s sandpit, picked herself up and ran down the outside steps then scurried along the low branch and waded through the mud to ask the ice cream troll for wiggly worms in snapdragon sauce.
The ice cream troll scratched his left ear, then his right ear, then his middle ear and said, ‘Well, I can give you some but I’ll need to take some of the ice cream off first.’
‘Do that,’ said the troll.
With the ice cream topped with wiggly worms in snapdragon sauce, she waded back through the mud, up the outside steps, up the inside steps and handed the baby troll his ice cream. But the baby troll just looked at it like there was still something wrong with it.
‘I wanted more topping,’ he said.
‘More topping!’ said the troll. ‘Well, they also have slimy slugs in frogwart jelly—’
—but before she could finish, the baby troll shouted—
‘I want slimy slugs in frogwart jelly!’
So the troll rushed down the inside steps, tripped over the baby troll’s seesaw, picked herself up and ran down the outside steps then scurried along the low branch and waded through the mud to ask the ice cream troll for slimy slugs in frogwart jelly.
The ice cream troll scratched his nose then his other nose and said, ‘Well, I can give you some but I’ll need to take more of the ice cream off first.’
‘Do that,’ said the troll.
With the ice cream also topped with slimy slugs in frogwart jelly, she waded back through the mud, up the outside steps, up the inside steps and handed the baby troll his ice cream. Again. But the baby troll just looked at it like there was still something wrong with it.
‘I wanted even more topping,’ he said.
‘Even more topping!’ said the troll. ‘Well, they also have crunchy beetles wrapped in stinging-nettles—’
—but before she could finish, the baby troll shouted—
‘I want crunchy beetles wrapped in stinging-nettles!’
So the troll rushed down the inside steps, tripped over the baby troll’s buggy, picked herself up and ran down the outside steps then scurried along the low branch and waded through the mud to ask the ice cream troll for crunchy beetles wrapped in stinging-nettles.
The ice cream troll scratched his forehead then his backhead and said, ‘Well, I can give you some but I’ll need to take even more of the ice cream off first.’
‘Do that,’ said the troll.
With the ice cream also topped with crunchy beetles wrapped in stinging-nettles, she waded back through the mud, up the outside steps, up the inside steps and handed the baby troll his ice cream. And at last, he seemed satisfied.
He ate quickly. He ate his way through the wiggly worms in snapdragon sauce, through the slimy slugs in frogwart jelly, through the crunchy beetles wrapped in stinging-nettles, but as he took his last bite, he suddenly realised something. He held up his empty cone for the troll to see.
‘Oh dear,’ she said. ‘In making room for the toppings, we seem to have lost all the ice cream.’
The baby troll took a moment to understand. And he did understand. And he looked up at the troll and shouted—
‘I want ice cream!’
~oOo~
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