billy goats gruff

[ned]

what did the troll say to the goats as they crossed the bridge-i swear it was 'who's that tramping across ny bridge' in the childrens version i was reading as a kid, which was about 25 years ago...now i hear and read anything from trotting to clip clopping which are all fine but i thought tramping far more apt and cool... i need to put this demon to bed...

[andy hughes]

i remember my eldest duaghter learning to read out loud as a child, and reading this story to me, and I recall your first quote as the one in the version we had. The goats were then described as going "Trip trap" accross the bridge which is another wonderfully evocative piece of language. I guess different published versions may change the verbs and adjectives slightly, there is possibly no definitive version, so just use the words you like.

[Cetti]

"On a bluff, On a Bluff, There stood three billy goats gruff - Little billy goat, middle billy goat - great big billy goat gruff! They came trip trap, trip, hop and skip, hop and skip - over the rickety, rackety bridge. Under the bridge was the Troll who sang "I'm a troll, hol de rol, I'm a troll, hol de rol and I'll eat you for supper". This is the singing version which I remember singing to my son, like Andy I adore words you can get your teeth into and really ham it up for a child - of any age!!