Once upon a time, there was a bridge outside the small town of Littleton, under which lived a troll called Gamis. Now, Gamis had lived under the little bridge for as long as anyone could remember; even the old men of the town could remember seeing Gamis under his little bridge when they were just small children. Over the years, as the town prospered, the troll too prospered as he had more to eat. For you see, Gamis caught and ate all of the wild wolves and foxes which came into the valley to eat the town's animals, and so the townsfolk, especially the farmers, felt safe knowing Gamis was there, living under his bridge.
One day a man came to the town, a businessman from the city, and he informed the elders that a railway was to be built near the town and, as such, there would be built a small railway station in the town itself. But they soon learned that the little bridge at the edge of town, where Gamis lived, would have to be broken down to make way for the new railway. They went at once to speak to Gamis, to tell him of their news. The troll told them that it did not matter if his little bridge was to be broken down to make way for the new railway because he knew it was soon time for him to die, for it is the nature of all trolls to know their time to die. Hearing his words, the townsfolk were very sad, for who then would protect their sheep and animals grazing in the fields at night.
The troll also told the town's elders of an arrangement he had made with Henri Littleton one hundred years ago. For Henri Littleton, after whom the town was named, had made a bargain with the troll when he had come looking for a place to build the town so long ago. Hearing this, the town elders went to the library and read the town charter, where they saw written the agreement, stating that when the troll, Gamis, who lived under the little bridge outside the town, died, he was to be buried in a particular field next to the town. This sorely upset the townsfolk for they also saw that this field was in the same place as was planned for their new railway station.
When Gamis died, the townsfolk held a council meeting to decide what to do. Persuaded by the businessman from the city, they agreed that Gamis' burial place was not as important as their new railway station and so they buried Gamis in a different field near a stream, under the shade of some trees. They also made a small monument using the stones of the bridge Gamis had lived under for so long and placed it above the spot where the troll was buried.
Thinking they had done right by Gamis, they set about building their new railway station, making it a marvelous addition to what was becoming so important a town, to have its own railway station.
However, every night, when the townsfolk went to bed, they could hear a lonely, sorrowful crying filling the air and they wondered who could be so upset as to make such a lonely, sorrowful crying at night.
Slowly, ever so slowly, even so slowly that the townsfolk did not realise it was
happening, they began to change, all the while still wondering who could be crying
so sorrowfully in the night. Soon enough, as the townsfolk's transformation was
complete, they realised that the lonely sorrowful crying had also changed -
And Gamis, even though he was laughing, was still crying for the townsfolk, for he remembered a time, long ago, when he too had lived in a town, not too far away from Littleton, which also had a troll who had lived under a little bridge. And that troll also had not been buried where had been agreed.