http://www.BakingInATornado.
http://berghamchronicles.
http://spatulasonparade.
http://dinoheromommy.com/
http://themomisodes.com
http://morethancheeseandbeer.
http://www.southernbellecharm.
http://thethreegerbers.
http://thelieberfamily.com
http://www.someoneelsesgenius.
http://climaxedtheblog.
http://stacysewsandschools.
http://sparklyjenn.blogspot.
http://www.silenceofthemom.
So this month my prompt is:
There is a troll in the garden. What do you do? and it was submitted by the wonderful Stacy at Stacy Sews and Schools.
I used to be a skeptic about mythical creatures. They simply didn't exist. Fairies and elves lived in fairy tales along with knights in shining armor and happy endings. That all changed the day I discovered there was a troll living in my own garden. I had noticed little things at first, Miss K's toys would be moved around, or strange rocks would appear seemingly out of nowhere overnight. I thought nothing of it at first, probably just neighbour kids throwing things over the fence, or strong winds. But then random holes started appearing throughout my yard. I thought it was a feral animal, so I called animal control to come and inspect the place. The guy took one look at the holes then asked me if I had any piles of rubbish lying around. I showed him to the rubbish pile in the back and he started digging around. He lifted up a piece of corrugated iron, and there was a small living space underneath it. "Just as I suspected," he said, "you've got a troll problem here. You don't need animal control, you need a witch." At first I thought he was joking, I mean trolls just don't exist. But it turns out he was deadly serious. "Trolls are nothing to take lightly." he told me. "You need to get rid of it now before it starts causing real trouble for you." He then slipped me a small white piece of card. "This is the number of my cousin. She practices the craft. She'll be able to set you right."
I called the number on the card and got the messaging service of someone called Tamara. I left my number and waited nervously for a call back. An hour later there was a knock at my door. When I opened it a small woman with dark eyes was staring at me. "I understand you need my services" she said. Then she turned and headed towards my back yard. Gobsmacked I followed behind her. "Who are you?" I asked. She ignored the question and headed straight for the rubbish pile. She stopped dead in her tracks a few metres away from it and stared quietly. She crouched down and touched the ground. I could have sworn I could hear her humming. After what seemed like an eternity she stood up again. "I got here just in time" she said as she turned to me. "This troll is starting to get comfortable here. If you'd left it another week he'd be permanent and you'd be stuck with him." She handed me a small purple bottle. "Sprinkle this on the rubbish pile" she said. I followed her instructions, still feeling that this was just an elaborate prank that someone was playing on me, and as I sprinkled she muttered a spell. Once the bottle was empty she became silent. I stood there watching her, waiting to see what was meant to happen next. When she finally spoke her voice was grave. "What will happen next won't be pleasant." she said, "The troll isn't going to like what we've just done here, and he's going to try to resist leaving." "How long will it take?" I asked her quietly. "Depends" she replied, "could be a few days, could be a few weeks. Depends on how stubborn he is." "Stubborn is something I know well" I said with a grim smile. "Then you should be able to outlast him" came the reply. "Just whatever you do, don't leave anything even remotely edible outside until you're certain he's gone. And don't let him see that what he's doing annoys you, that will only make this take longer." With that she left.
The next few days were a nightmare. Every morning I would go outside to find all my garden furniture overturned, and Miss K's toys scattered around in an absolute mess. I would quietly tidy everything up, not once reacting to the mess as the witch advised. When the troll realised this wasn't working he started getting worse. Suddenly I started finding graffiti scrawled on my outside walls in mud. Poorly spelled messages like "Yew smel" and "This haus is ful of meanees" Every morning I would go out with a bucket of water and wash the messages off, again not revealing how frustrated I was at the extra work being created for me. On and on it went for two weeks, the messes getting larger, and the messages getting ruder, until one day I went outside and the yard was exactly as I had left it the night before, except for one last message scrawled on my wall, simply the words "Goodby forevar". I was so relieved the ordeal was over, and was getting ready to celebrate when I heard a voice behind me. "I see you won." I turned and there was Tamara standing there. "Looks like I did" I replied. "Thanks for all your help." She smiled and turned to leave. But then something struck me. "Why did you tell me not to leave any food outside?" I asked her. She stopped dead in her tracks but didn't turn to face me. "For a person who spends a lot of time on the internet you sure don't know anything." she said. "What do you mean?" I asked. As she walked off she said "Surely by now you must know from public forums that you should never feed the trolls."
I used to be a skeptic about mythical creatures. They simply didn't exist. Fairies and elves lived in fairy tales along with knights in shining armor and happy endings. That all changed the day I discovered there was a troll living in my own garden. I had noticed little things at first, Miss K's toys would be moved around, or strange rocks would appear seemingly out of nowhere overnight. I thought nothing of it at first, probably just neighbour kids throwing things over the fence, or strong winds. But then random holes started appearing throughout my yard. I thought it was a feral animal, so I called animal control to come and inspect the place. The guy took one look at the holes then asked me if I had any piles of rubbish lying around. I showed him to the rubbish pile in the back and he started digging around. He lifted up a piece of corrugated iron, and there was a small living space underneath it. "Just as I suspected," he said, "you've got a troll problem here. You don't need animal control, you need a witch." At first I thought he was joking, I mean trolls just don't exist. But it turns out he was deadly serious. "Trolls are nothing to take lightly." he told me. "You need to get rid of it now before it starts causing real trouble for you." He then slipped me a small white piece of card. "This is the number of my cousin. She practices the craft. She'll be able to set you right."
I called the number on the card and got the messaging service of someone called Tamara. I left my number and waited nervously for a call back. An hour later there was a knock at my door. When I opened it a small woman with dark eyes was staring at me. "I understand you need my services" she said. Then she turned and headed towards my back yard. Gobsmacked I followed behind her. "Who are you?" I asked. She ignored the question and headed straight for the rubbish pile. She stopped dead in her tracks a few metres away from it and stared quietly. She crouched down and touched the ground. I could have sworn I could hear her humming. After what seemed like an eternity she stood up again. "I got here just in time" she said as she turned to me. "This troll is starting to get comfortable here. If you'd left it another week he'd be permanent and you'd be stuck with him." She handed me a small purple bottle. "Sprinkle this on the rubbish pile" she said. I followed her instructions, still feeling that this was just an elaborate prank that someone was playing on me, and as I sprinkled she muttered a spell. Once the bottle was empty she became silent. I stood there watching her, waiting to see what was meant to happen next. When she finally spoke her voice was grave. "What will happen next won't be pleasant." she said, "The troll isn't going to like what we've just done here, and he's going to try to resist leaving." "How long will it take?" I asked her quietly. "Depends" she replied, "could be a few days, could be a few weeks. Depends on how stubborn he is." "Stubborn is something I know well" I said with a grim smile. "Then you should be able to outlast him" came the reply. "Just whatever you do, don't leave anything even remotely edible outside until you're certain he's gone. And don't let him see that what he's doing annoys you, that will only make this take longer." With that she left.
The next few days were a nightmare. Every morning I would go outside to find all my garden furniture overturned, and Miss K's toys scattered around in an absolute mess. I would quietly tidy everything up, not once reacting to the mess as the witch advised. When the troll realised this wasn't working he started getting worse. Suddenly I started finding graffiti scrawled on my outside walls in mud. Poorly spelled messages like "Yew smel" and "This haus is ful of meanees" Every morning I would go out with a bucket of water and wash the messages off, again not revealing how frustrated I was at the extra work being created for me. On and on it went for two weeks, the messes getting larger, and the messages getting ruder, until one day I went outside and the yard was exactly as I had left it the night before, except for one last message scrawled on my wall, simply the words "Goodby forevar". I was so relieved the ordeal was over, and was getting ready to celebrate when I heard a voice behind me. "I see you won." I turned and there was Tamara standing there. "Looks like I did" I replied. "Thanks for all your help." She smiled and turned to leave. But then something struck me. "Why did you tell me not to leave any food outside?" I asked her. She stopped dead in her tracks but didn't turn to face me. "For a person who spends a lot of time on the internet you sure don't know anything." she said. "What do you mean?" I asked. As she walked off she said "Surely by now you must know from public forums that you should never feed the trolls."
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