Terry the Troll spent most of his days standing in the middle of his bridge playing sentinel, straining his tiny troll ears, hoping someone or something would try to cross the river which flowed beneath his feet. He couldn't hide under his bridge, not since King Not-Withstanding had ordered that the Rose River be redirected, the waters flowing directly through Terry's home, under his bridge of stone.

Rather than argue the point with a king far too busy to measure and debate the grievances of a mythical monster, Terry decided to tax all who dared choose his bridge to be where they would cross over that river.

During the cooler months of Fall and Fall Further (also known as Winter), traffic was light; the occasional lost goat or a very confused squirrel. As the weather grew warmer, however, Terry found he was able to catch travellers of a more human variety.

"Halt! Who does so dare cross MY bridge!" Terry would grumble and rumble as in ones and twos, and sometimes threes, the people of the kingdom would approach.

Each in turn, those travellers would sit upon the weighing chair and pay in gold coins the amount that Terry decided was a fair fare.

Soon news spread across the kingdom of Terry, and his fair fare chair, and as Spring sprung, the fair fare chair could no longer bear the weight of all who wished to cross there. The troll found he could not spare the time to enable all who did care to cross there at the bridge most famous for the fair fare chair. So, the bridge was closed. Too many customers that customs could not cope. That was the excuse given by Terry, and the very words presented to the king by the patrol. Straight from the horse's mouth, the message did get delivered, since the Sergeant was a Stallion, the head of the battalion.

"I shall see for myself why this troll is so droll," announced King Not-Withstanding, and, a man of his word, he set off for the bridge that very morn.

"We are CLOSED!" announced Terry the Troll as the king approached, accompanied by all of his horses, his men, and a large throng of the curious.

"You shall open this bridge for your king," announced King Not-Withstanding.

"Your majesty, of course," Terry agreed. "As long as you are willing to pay the price."

"To be weighed by the chair of the fairest fare would be twice as nice as coconut and ice," the king replied in agreement.

Refusing to dismount from the royal steed, the fairest fare was quite high indeed. And that is why, without telling a lie, Terry the Troll is quite a rich guy. With the funds that he got from the king and his lot, the troll converted his bridge into a home of brick and loam, and when that home sank, what remained in the bank left the troll quite content when he relocated to a tent.

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