Once upon a time there lived a little boy. His mother was a milkmaid and his father had died in the war, but him and his little sister were happy. One day they were playing in the long grass, which swayed like ballerinas in the wind, when they heard their mother call out for dinner.

But that can’t be right! Tommy thought, looking at the sun in the sky. It’s still the afternoon, and we just had lunch!

That was when Tommy ventured out of the grass, and he saw a troll!

It had big horrible claws that were green and pointy and a big scary smile full of teeth. Tommy was so scared, he picked up his little sister Patricia and ran! But the grass was very long, and Tommy couldn’t tell where he was going, and the troll with his mother’s voice kept chasing him. Tommy’s thoughts raced, who was this troll and what did he want?

Tommy had never felt so scared in his life. He could hear the troll's heavy footsteps behind him, crushing the long grass under its feet. Tommy risked a glance over his shoulder, and that was when he tripped on a large stick that was in his path.

Thump!

Tommy fell to the ground hard, dropping Patricia. His younger sister, who was only three years old, stood up, and started toddling away. Right in the direction of the troll.

"No! Patricia!" But it was too late. The troll had picked Patricia up in his hand, and was dangling her over his mouth. Patricia's terrified screams sounded out across the field, and Tommy knew he had to do something. Feeling around beside him, he picked up a large smooth rock. Hoping for the best, he hurled it with all his might, sending it spinning on its way toward the large, ugly troll.