The garden looked like we had opened up a city zoo. Not only were there foxes sitting by the bushes but there was a collection of hedgehogs, rabbits, some kind of rodents and even a badger. A badger! I’ve never even seen a badger at a real zoo and there was one in my garden, standing there like it was on holiday or something!Angie said “Oh my goodness!” and grinned from ear to ear.

Dad sat on a chair and held his head in his hands. I think he was starting to lose it because he just started muttering to himself.

The garden was getting a bit crowded

“It’s a dream, just a dream.” he said, “Any minute now I’m going to wake up. It’s just a dream.”

“Dad.” I said.

He just carried on muttering. “I mean, trolls aren’t real. Badgers are real of course but they don’t wander into gardens in the middle of the day. Trolls on the other hand-”

“Dad!” I said louder and he snapped out of it. “What are we going to do?” Dad shrugged and then stared back out the window.

“For a start we should stop Angie.” he said.

I turned and saw that Angie had gone back outside. We both rushed out, skidding to a halt beside her. She was talking to Johan, who was standing just in front of his hole. He had grown a little bit more and I’m not sure he would have fit in it very well.

“Angie what are you doing?” Dad said.

“Talking to Johan,” she replied as if it was obvious.

“Johan,” I asked, “what are all these animals doing here?”

“I invited them,
don’t you see?
As I told you,
animals are friends with me.”

“You invited them?” Dad stammered. “You can’t just invite a bunch of wild animals into our garden.”

“Why–ever not?
What wrong could there be
in telling my friends
of your hospitality?

“Wrong? Wrong?!” Dad said, “There’s plenty wrong!” and then he shook his head, muttering something about the fact that he was arguing with a troll.

“Really? How confusing.
I’m afraid I did not know.
If I did something wrong,
You should tell me so.”

“Yes Dad,” Angie said, “what is wrong with having the animals here? I mean you’re always saying we should take care of the environment.”

“She has a point Dad,” I added, “last year we spent ages building that bug hotel.”

“No, no, no,” Dad said, “that’s not the same.”

“Not the same?
Why is that,
I’m confused again.”

I have to say that I could see what he meant. “Dad, why are these animals different?”

Dad was getting flustered. “I suppose, well, if you put it like that, I, er, well they’re not.”

“So then please tell me why,
They are making you cry?”

“They’re not making me cry,” Dad said, “but them being here has upset me a bit.”

He started to pace around, Angie and I both recognised this from when he had told us off. We knew we were in for a lecture.

“As much as the animals might be your friends. You can’t just invite them here without asking. “ Dad carried on, “You see, this garden, this house, is not yours. You don’t pay for it, you won’t have to clear up the mess, you won’t have to try and explain to the neighbours. When you are gone, we’ll be left to sort this out and so I’d like to keep the work we will have to do to as little as possible.”

“Gone? What on earth do you mean?
Why leave my hole, so cosy and clean?”

I’m not sure Dad had considered if the troll wanted to leave. “You will leave,” he said, “you have to leave. You see, while I am sure you are a nice troll, it seems a lot of trouble follows you about. Trouble we could do without.”

“But the trouble has been small
and I did not cause it all.
It’s not fair to blame me!
The facts seem to be
that you’ve not made me welcome at all!”

“Not made you welcome?” Dad said, “We didn’t even know you were coming! You turned up here and ruined our garden. You’ve eaten all our food, brought a host of wild animals into it and ruined Mr Peaflummock’s jumper!”

“The jumper is as good as can be.
Look over there and you’ll see.
And as for your food,
I don’t mean to sound rude,
but the biscuits were not eaten by me.”

“That’s true Dad”, I said, “we all ate the biscuits between us.”

“That may be true, “ retorted Dad, “but it was ‘Mr fluffy’ here who ate pretty much the rest of the kitchen by himself!”

“Sorry, but I still am not clear

what I have done wrong here?”

“I thought I had explained that,” Dad said, “you can’t go around treating this place like you own it. We live here, it’s ours and we want to build our home here. If you take it over like this, then there’s no room for us.”

“But surely there is room for us all?
I am only small after all?”

“Actually you’re not.” Angie interrupted. I looked at Johan and it was true he seemed bigger than when we had first come out.

“How come you have grown so much?” I asked.

“It is plain to all but a ninny–head,
that things will grow when they’re fed.”

I was going to answer but my phone bleeped and stopped me. I pulled out the phone and unlocked it. It was a text from the girl at school. I’d given it to her in science class in case she came up with something. It seemed that she had. The text read:

FOUND OUT SOMETHING ABOUT UR PROBLEM.
TELL U AT SCHOOL 2MORO. FOR NOW –
VITAL THAT U LEAVE UR VISITOR ALONE.

I was dumbstruck. How could she possibly have known? Surely she hadn’t been spying on me? I looked around and saw nobody. Yet she clearly knew my issue with trolls was beyond some research project. She mentioned a visitor so she must have known about Johan, but how? I had been extra careful and to be honest how could somebody think we had a real troll in our garden? Most people think they are made up creatures, the stuff of fairy stories. Even I did, before we started digging up the garden.

I started to text her back and then stopped. I couldn’t think what to say. If I admitted about the troll, she’d know for sure. She might have been guessing and her text was a hook waiting to catch me like a fish. On the other hand she did say her and her friends were resourceful. Even if she had figured it out she clearly thought Johan was something to be avoided. Why would she think that? What had she found out? I was getting more confused by the minute.

I realised I had to respond to her, whatever I thought. In the end I simply typed

THX C U 2MORO

I’d just have to wait until school to find out the rest.

Angie interrupted my thoughts. “Who was that?” She said.

“Oh just a friend from school.”

“You’re making friends already? That’s great!” Dad said, “Why don’t you invite them round?”

“Dad!” I sighed, nodding towards Johan, “can we have this conversation later?”

“Oh, yes. Good point.”

“I think we should go back in. This all seems to be getting us nowhere.” I said.

“Perhaps you’re right,” Dad said, “but before we do, you” he looked sternly at Johan, “need to get this straight. From now on you do not bring anything into this house or garden and you do not eat or touch anything of ours without asking first, okay?”

Johan nodded and shuffled back to his hole, not that he could fit in it any more. We all went back indoors. We finished clearing up in the kitchen and then after Dad had ordered some more food, Angie and I finished off our homework. To be honest I couldn’t really focus on it though. All I could think of was that text message. What on earth had the girl from school found out and what we were going to do about that troll singing to the badger in the garden.

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