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When the strange little man appeared, Jules spoke before he had a chance to recite his rhyme. “What do you want this time?”
The man glanced at the huge pile of bales, stacked as high as the cave ceiling. “To produce so much gold, I would need something more valuable than a hair or a shoe. What have you got?”
“Uh.” Coming up with an answer was a struggle against exhaustion. “How about my firstborn child?”
The strange little man was taken aback. “That’s your opening offer?”
“I don’t have a lot to work with. I’m not planning on having children, anyway.”
“You might change your mind.”
“Ugh!” Jules scowled. “Everyone says that. Look, I have four little sisters, and they’re great, but it’s enough, all right? Sometimes people who say they don’t want children actually don’t want children!”
“Fine, fine, whatever you say!” The man held out his hands in a placating gesture. “Calm down. I’ll take the firstborn child you think you’re not going to have. Unless…you can guess my name!”
“Honestly, I really don’t care if—”
“Unless,” he stated firmly, “you can guess my name. That’s the rule.”
Jules rolled their eyes. “Fine. Whatever. It’s a deal.”
The man leapt to the spinning wheel, spun the bales of straw into gold, and vanished.
The troll king was well pleased. “Lovely, just lovely. I appreciate the cabling, although I was rather hoping you’d produce a chainette yarn this time around. Still, it’s good work. We shall be married immediately.”
A groggy Jules blinked at him in shock. “What?”
“Come now, what did you think this was for? A bride with such a talent will make me the envy of the other troll monarchs.”
“I…I won’t do it! I’ll say no!”
“Please don’t make this difficult,” the troll king tutted as the smaller trolls gathered around them for the wedding ceremony. “I’ve written my own vows. If you want to do the same, you’d best hurry up. I, the troll king, do take—”
“Wait!” called a voice from the entrance to the great cavern.
Jules looked up to see Yudit standing there, with Lulach peering out from behind her. In Yudit’s hands was a large cane toad, nearly a foot long from rear end to snout. It must have weighed at least five pounds.
The trolls all sighed with longing. Which was only to be expected, for the affection of warty, gray-green trolls for their smaller amphibian cousins is well known.
“Why marry a human who can merely spin straw into gold,” Yudit cajoled the troll king, “when I can offer you this if you call the wedding off?”
The troll king hesitated, sorely tempted, but shook his head. “That is a fine toad indeed, but not enough for me to stop the ceremony.”
“Did you think that was all I had to offer?” Yudit countered. “Give me a moment.”
She ducked out of sight. While young Lulach waited nervously, the sound of horrible retching could be heard outside the cavern.
Yudit returned with a goliath bullfrog in her hands, a huge specimen nearly a foot and a half in length, with enormous yellow eyes. The trolls all gasped with amazement.
“Why marry a smooth-skinned human,” she coaxed the troll king, “when I can offer you this if you call the wedding off?”
The troll king hesitated, sorely tempted, but shook his head. “That is a gorgeous frog indeed, but not enough for me to stop the ceremony.”
“Did you think that was all I had to offer?” Yudit retorted. “Give me a moment.”
She ducked out of sight. While young Lulach waited apprehensively, the sound of horrible retching could be heard outside the cavern. It went on for some time. And then for some time longer.
Yudit finally returned, looking pale and sweaty from effort and dragging a giant salamander behind her. It was six feet long at the very least, with a thick, mottled-brown body and tiny, lidless eyes. The smaller trolls all swooned with rapture at the sight. The troll king had to exert great effort not to faint right along with them.
