The Troll Who Snored Too Loud

As evening settled over the clay forest, the moon slowly rose above the trees.

A quiet stream flowed beneath a small stone bridge.

And under that bridge lived a troll.

Not a scary troll.

Just a very, very sleepy one.

Every night the troll curled up beneath the bridge, kicked off his enormous slippers, and fell fast asleep.

But when the troll slept… he snored.

And not just a little snore.

His snores were so loud that the entire forest shook.

“SNNNNOOORR—HONNNK!”

The sound bounced through the trees like thunder.

Clay bubbles of “ZZZ—HOOONK” floated into the air.

The forest animals groaned.

Up in the branches, Owl flapped his wings.

” he hooted.

Nearby, Bear covered his ears.

“My ears are buzzing!”

Luka the Dinosaur stomped his feet.

“Make it stop!”

And Mila the Pony peeked from behind her long mane.

“I can’t even dream!”

Just then, three tiny lantern lights appeared near the bridge.

Out stepped three clever little gnomes.

They looked at the snoring troll… and at the tired forest animals.

Gnome One rubbed his beard thoughtfully.

“We need a magical potion,” he said.

Gnome Two shook his head.

“No, no.

Gnome Three grinned mischievously.

“I say we tickle his toes!”

The gnomes argued and argued.

Potion!

Blanket!

Tickle!

But none of the ideas seemed quite right.

Still, they decided to test them anyway.

Gnome One climbed carefully up the troll’s nose to see if he was breathing.

Gnome Two slipped and fell straight into one of the troll’s giant slippers.

And Gnome Three became tangled in the string of his own lantern.

Just then the troll snorted loudly.

“HONNK!

The gnomes tumbled everywhere.

And the snoring grew even louder.

The animals tried helping too.

Owl hooted a gentle lullaby.

Luka waved his long arms to fan cool air.

Mila tiptoed closer carrying sweet-smelling flowers.

Bear carefully patted the troll’s nose.

But nothing worked.

“HOOOONK!”

The troll kept snoring.

The gnomes gathered together to think again.

Gnome Two suddenly snapped his fingers.

“He needs a pillow!”

Mila’s eyes brightened.

“A giant fluffy one!”

The friends quickly got to work.

Luka shook the trees until soft leaves fluttered down.

Mila carried fluffy dandelion seeds on her back.

Owl plucked a few soft feathers.

Bear rolled moss into big green balls.

Soon the gnomes began stitching everything together.

Leaves.

Fluff.

Feathers.

Moss.

Bit by bit they built the squishiest pillow the forest had ever seen.

Luka stepped back proudly.

“This pillow could hold even ME!”

Now came the hardest part.

Getting the pillow under the troll’s enormous head.

Bear pushed.

Luka lifted.

The gnomes tugged.

Mila nudged it forward.

” Bear puffed.

Finally—

PLOP!

The pillow slipped perfectly under the troll’s head.

The forest friends gathered quietly around him.

Owl began singing a gentle lullaby.

Mila swayed softly from side to side.

Luka waved his arms slowly like calm forest wind.

Bear hummed a deep sleepy tune.

The gnomes joined together in a quiet song.

“Snore less, sleep more… Dream sweet, don’t roar…”

The forest filled with soft sleepy magic.

Slowly… the troll’s snoring changed.

The loud HONNK faded.

The snores became softer.

Gentler.

Soon tiny clay bubbles floated into the air.

“Prrrr… prrr…”

The troll smiled in his dreams.

“Mmmm… cozy…”

The forest animals sighed with relief.

That night, beneath the glowing moon, everyone curled up near the bridge.

The troll.

The gnomes.

Owl, Luka, Mila, and Bear.

And from that night on, the troll slept peacefully.

And the forest friends slept peacefully too.