Julia Donaldson's The Troll, now translated into Shetland Scots for the first time!.Dey wir eence a trow at baed anunder a brig. (Maist trows bide in hadds anunder hills.) Aboot da sam time, fram apo da far haaf, dey wir some pirates dat baed apon a ship. (Dat's whaar pirates is meant ta bide.) Trows is supposed ta aet goats (dey say!) But nae goats ivver cam tipperin owre dis trow's peerie brig. Sae he ot fish instead.
So begins this hilarious tale of the adventures of a bunch of incompetent pirates who can't cook, and a crabbit auld troll (in Shetland, where they live in great abundance, trolls are known as trows) who can. Their lives seem very far the troll, whose favourite dish is goat, tries and fails to eat the creatures crossing various bridges he hides under; the pirates, who like to eat fish, try and fail to find buried treasure.
Christine De Luca is a Scottish poet and writer from Shetland, who writes in both English and Shetland dialect. Her poetry has been translated into many languages. She was appointed Edinburgh's Makar, or poet laureate from 2014 to 2017. De Luca is a global advocate for the Shetland dialect and literature of the Northern Isles of Scotland.