This story takes place in one of the coves of lake Tynn, in the parish of Odensvi in the north-east of Småland. One day, an old man who lived by the lake was out fishing. Suddenly he saw something strange. From a cliff on the opposite shore came a crash, and a door opened in it. The fisherman watched, very frightened.
"Soon, a pair of heavy, clumsy and very ugly trolls came plodding out of the cliff. They were carrying a gleaming copper pot which was as large as a small cottage. They took the pot to the shore, filled it with water and placed it on a couple of stones. "I was curious to see what was happening, so I overcame my fear and stayed on," the fisherman told later.
The trolls returned to their cliff, but they soon came trudging back with an armful of firewood and a fishing-net. One of the trolls made a fire, whilst the other one started to pull out fish from the lake."
Now, the trolls started to prepare a fish-soup. When it was cooked, they went back into the cliff. After a while they came out again, accompanied by yet another troll. This troll was the Old Troll himself, big and stout, with moss covering his head and tail. The two others put him on a flat rock. What was about to happen?
"Quite unexpectedly, the smaller trolls started wringing the head of the older troll. They twisted and turned it and the fisherman expected them to kill the old troll. "But imagine my surprise and horror when I saw that they were screwing his head off!"
The little trolls put the large head on the beach and fetched the pot. Quickly, they poured the soup down the old troll´s throat. Then they replaced his head carefully. The old troll sat there, looking very pleased. He patted his great belly and his face shone with contentment.
Now, all the three trolls returned to the cliff and a large rock was put in front of the opening. The fisherman pointed out the cliff on the lake. No one doubted that he told the truth."
This fairy-tale is taken from "Sagor från Tjust" by Sven Kjellgren.