Goat Pie Read Online Free PDF Page B

into the middle of the road or got arrested? Maybe Egbert ought to go and look for him.
    â€˜I know what would put Grumpa in a gladful mood,’ said Ulrik.
    â€˜What?’
    â€˜A nice goat pie.’
    Mrs Troll smiled. ‘I wish I had one. It’s nearly Trollmas and I still don’t know where we’re going to find a goat.’
    Ulrik rested his chin on the table. ‘It’s a pity that farm can’t give us one,’ he said.
    â€˜What farm?’
    â€˜You know, the one I went to with school.’
    Mrs Troll’s eyes widened. She had forgotten all about Ulrik’s trip to the farm last term. ‘They had goats?’ she said.
    â€˜I told you! There was one called Victor.’
    â€˜But lots of goats? A whole herd?’
    â€˜I think so.’
    Mrs Troll clasped him by the cheeks and planted a wet kiss on his snout.
    â€˜You are my big, clever ugglesome!’ she said. ‘Wait till your dad hears this!’
    â€˜What are we going to do?’ asked Ulrik.
    â€˜Do?’ said Mrs Troll. ‘You’re going goat hunting – that’s what you’re going to do!’
    Meanwhile Grumpa found himself lost in Biddlesden shopping arcade. He wasn’t quite sure how he came to be there. After the shock of discovering there were peeples living next door, he had tromped off down the road in a temper, without the faintest idea where he was going. Somehow he had ended up on the high street and stumbled into the arcade.
    Looking about him, he saw bright Christmas lights and crowds of shoppers bustling past. He wasn’t used to peeples and he had never seen so many. They stared at him strangely and the smell of them made him sick and dizzy. He longed to see the handsome face of another troll.
    Plunging on past shops, he didn’t notice the sign saying ‘Santa’s Grotto’, or hear the womancalling to him that he needed a ticket. Unexpectedly he found himself in the middle of a forest. It was made up of tall fir trees, all of them exactly the same and all glistening with snow. Magical music was playing somewhere. Maybe this was the forest his family had spoken about.

    Following a path, he was startled to come on a group of rosy-cheeked, grinning goblins under a tree. They stood still as statues, their arms full of presents. Hoping to frighten them off, Grumpa growled. They didn’t blink an eye. It was plainthey were under the spell of a witch or a wizard. Lost and anxious now, he hurried on, convinced he had stumbled into some enchanted forest by mistake. Round the bend he came upon a little log house, lit with fairy lights. Maybe whoever lived there could tell him the way out.
    He passed through a silver bead curtain and came face to face with a fat peeples sitting in a chair. He was wearing a bright red suit and cap. A flowing white beard hung over his round belly.
    â€˜Ho ho!’ boomed Father Christmas. ‘And whatdo you … ?’ He broke off. Instead of the eager children he was expecting, an ugly, wild-eyed troll stood before him. Its lips parted, revealing sharp fangs. Father Christmas raised his hands to show he meant no harm.
    Grumpa stepped back—the fat wizard was about to cast a spell! He backed away, stumbling over a mound of presents. ‘Please! I won’t tell anybodies,’ he mumbled.
    In a second he was back through the bead curtain and running through the forest. If he ever made it back to Mountain View, he vowed he would shut the door and stay in his room. Biddlesden was a far more dangerous place than he could have imagined.

Night Raiders
    Later that night Ulrik and Mr Troll stole across a field under the cover of darkness. Ulrik had already trodden in a cow-pattie because it was hard to see where you were going in the dark. He felt very nervous and excited. It was long past his bedtime, but here he was on a dangerous hunting trip with his dad. His only worry was that they might meet one of the farm