Da Trow: The Troll in Shetland Scots

by Christine De Luca

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.

Paperback

Published September 20, 2016

About the author

Christine De Luca is a Scottish poet and writer from Shetland, who writes in both English and Shaetlan Scots. She has had eight poetry collections published and 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 the literature of the Northern Isles of Scotland.

De Luca is an active collaborator with musicians and visual artists, and a long-standing member of both Shetland ForWirds and Shore Poets, Edinburgh. Her most recent publications are Whit ails, whit heals (Francis Boutle, London, 2024), Vod: Shetland's Abandoned Crofthouses (The Shetland Times, 2025), and, with Brigid Collins, Such Fragile Futures (Main Point Books, Edinburgh, 2025).

Reviews

[Kelly Chesley]

Loved this story. Nice to see the when cultures maintain heritage . Very funny and entertaining story.