The Three Billy Goats Gruff is a classic tale, retold here in calm, simple words for children to enjoy with a grown-up. Three goat brothers cross a bridge to reach green grass, and a grumpy troll under the bridge learns to share.
Before you start: Has a grumpy troll, a loud TRIP-TRAP and a splash — you can tap the trip-trap softly on your knees. The troll is not hurt.
Listen together Read aloud by Genevieve · 2 min 44 s
Read the story: The Three Billy Goats Gruff
Once there were three billy goats. Their family name was Gruff.
There was a little billy goat. There was a middle-sized billy goat. And there was a big billy goat.
The goats lived on one side of a river. The grass there was short and dry. On the other side of the river, the grass was long and green.
“Let us cross the bridge and eat the green grass,” said the goats.
But under the bridge lived a troll. He was big and grumpy. He did not like anyone crossing his bridge.
First, the little billy goat stepped onto the bridge. Trip, trap. Trip, trap. Trip, trap.
“Who is that trip-trapping over my bridge?” said the troll in a grumpy voice.
“It is only me, the little billy goat Gruff,” said the little goat in a small voice. “I am going to eat the green grass.”
“You may not cross my bridge!” said the troll. The little goat felt nervous. “Please wait for my brother,” he said. “He is bigger than me.” “All right,” said the troll. So the little goat went across.
Next, the middle-sized billy goat stepped onto the bridge. Trip, trap. Trip, trap. Trip, trap.
“Who is that trip-trapping over my bridge?” said the troll.
“It is me, the middle-sized billy goat Gruff,” said the middle goat. “I am going to eat the green grass. Please wait for my brother. He is bigger than me.” “All right,” grumbled the troll. So the middle goat went across.
Last, the big billy goat stepped onto the bridge. TRIP, TRAP. TRIP, TRAP. TRIP, TRAP. The bridge creaked.
“Who is that trip-trapping over my bridge?” said the troll. He climbed up onto the bridge.
“It is me, the big billy goat Gruff,” said the big goat in a deep, steady voice. “My brothers and I are going to eat the green grass.”
The big goat put his head down and pushed with his horns. Push! The troll slipped off the bridge. Splash! He landed in the cool river.
The troll was not hurt. He was just wet. He sat in the shallow water and began to cry. “Nobody ever comes to see me,” he said. “I feel lonely under my bridge.”
The big billy goat felt sorry for him. “We did not know you were lonely,” he said. “If you let us cross the bridge, we will say hello every day.”
The troll stopped crying. “Really?” he said. He felt happy.
So every day, the three billy goats Gruff went trip-trapping over the bridge. They said hello to the troll. And the troll waved back. And the goats ate the long green grass until they were round and full. The end.
On this page
Picture cards to talk about
- Three goats look at the green grass
- Little goat crosses the bridge
- Grumpy troll under the bridge
- Big goat pushes the troll
- Troll sits in the river, sad
- Goats wave to the troll
Talk about The Three Billy Goats Gruff together
- What sound did the goats make on the bridge?
- How did the troll feel under his bridge?
- What did the goats promise the troll?
- Who can you say hello to every day?
Feelings in this story
Nervous, Grumpy, Lonely, Sorry, Happy.
What the story teaches: Being kind to someone grumpy can help them feel less lonely.
This version is our own gentle retelling of a public-domain tale. You can read about the history of the original story on Wikipedia.
Find more calm stories on our Stories page, or play together in the Playground.