Three Billy Goats Gruff

The story introduces three billy goats (male goats), sometimes identified as a youngster, father and grandfather, but more often described as brothers. In other adaptations, there is a baby or child goat, mama goat and papa goat. "Gruff" was used as their family name in the earliest English translation by Dasent and this has been perpetuated; but this has been pointed out as a mistranslation of the Norwegian name which was here employed in the sense of "tuft, clump" of hair on the forehead of domesticated livestock. The word can mean "fizz" or "effervescence", but also a "frizzle (of hair)" according to Brynildsen's Norwegian-English dictionary, == Plot ==

Three billy goats, all named "Gruff," live in a valley with very little grass. They must walk across a bridge to reach a mountain pasture where they can graze. However, a fearsome troll lives under the bridge and eats everyone who tries to cross. The smallest billy goat goes first. The troll stops him and threatens to "gobble him up!" The little goat tells the troll he should wait for his big brother to cross, because he is larger and would make for a more gratifying feast. The greedy troll agrees and lets the smallest goat pass. The medium-sized billy goat approaches the bridge. He is more cautious than his brother, but the troll stops him too. The second goat convinces the troll to wait for their eldest brother, the largest of the three, and the troll lets him pass as well. The largest billy goat steps on to the bridge and meets the troll waiting to devour him. The goat challenges the troll to fight and then throws him into the water with his horns. The troll drowns in the stream, and from then on the bridge is safe. The three billy goats live happily ever after. ==Retellings==

Writer and illustrator have created three books in Norwegian based on this story. The first, Bukkene Bruse på badeland (The Three Billy Goats Gruff at the Waterpark), came in 2009 and had by 2014 sold over 110,000 copies in Norway, making it one of the biggest selling picture books in the country. By March 2019, the three books had sold over 450,000 copies in Norway. The following is a list of children's book adaptions of the story into the English language, suitable for the elementary school classroom: • Arnold, Tim (1993) The Three Billy Goats Gruff Macmillan • Brown, Marcia (1991) [1957] The Three Billy Goats Gruff. Harcourt Golden Books did a version of the story that was similar to the book. The only difference is that when the troll is washed away by the stream, he is later mentioned to have moved into a cave. == Media adaptations ==

Audiobooks • Scholastic Corporation produced an audio recording in 1963, with music composed and directed by Arthur Rubinstein, narrated by Bob Thomas, and cover illustration by Susan Blair and Ellen Appleby. It was first made available as a phonograph record, and then on Compact Cassette. Films • The 3 Billy Piñatas (2015) is a version with a Spanish twist, produced by "Team Juan" at the Duncan of Jordanstone College of Art and Design at the University of Dundee Television • In 1995, Australian children's TV series Johnson and Friends adapted this fairy tale, with the characters 'roleplaying' and acting out the story in a humorous fashion. • In 2004, the story is retold on Hi-5. This version has the goats replaced by sheep and instead of the troll wanting to eat them, he just wanted to sleep and was annoyed by their noise. The story ended with the biggest sheep giving him earmuffs made out of wool. In the original Australian version of the show, three sheep crossing a bridge disturb the napping bunyip underneath. • In 2008, the BBC created a modern adaptation for its Fairy Tales TV series. In this, the story was given a twist in that the troll was presented as a tragic, cruelly maligned victim. Music and musicals Frank Luther wrote a version of "The Three Billy Goats Gruff" geared towards music education for elementary school grade children, published in "Singing on Our Way", Our Singing World Series by the Ginn and Company (c. 1949). Some years earlier Yvonne Ravell had recorded a version she wrote in sung (1940), cited as suitable education material for the theatre in one journal. Gwen Edwards adapted the story into a popular children's musical called Billy, Goat, Gruff: The Musical (summer 2007), at Barter Theatre in Abingdon, Virginia. A musical adaptation by British composing team George Stiles and Anthony Drewe was commissioned by the Singapore Repertory Theatre. It premiered there in 2015 and made its North American debut in 2017 at the Aurora Theatre in Lawrenceville, Georgia. Play productions • Lazy Bee Scripts published Billy Goat Gruff (2009), a simple play for young children. Games • The Three Billy Goats Gruff (2013) game adaptation for tablets and mobile phones was developed by the Norwegian game studio Agens. The game was made with support from the Norwegian Film Institute. ==Explanatory notes==