Barnaby was a troll, but not a scary one. He was a small troll, with bright blue fur instead of grey, and he *loved* collecting shiny pebbles. Most trolls liked to grumble and hide under bridges, but Barnaby preferred to sit in the meadow and arrange his pebbles into sparkling patterns. The other trolls often teased him. “Look at Barnaby, playing with rocks!” they’d boom. “A real troll should be guarding something important!”
Barnaby tried to be like the other trolls. He tried to grumble, but it sounded like a giggle. He tried to look fierce, but his blue fur just made him look fluffy. He even tried guarding a small stream, but he kept getting distracted by the pretty fish swimming by. He felt very sad and wished he could just disappear.
One evening, as the sun began to set, Barnaby noticed something was wrong. The meadow, usually twinkling with fireflies, was dark. Old Man Tiber, the wisest troll, explained, “The fireflies have lost their glow! They flew too close to the Misty Mountains and the cold wind stole their sparkle. Without their light, the meadow will be gloomy forever!”
The other trolls grumbled. “Not our problem,” one said. “Let the fireflies find their own sparkle.” But Barnaby felt a pang of sympathy for the little fireflies. He remembered how sad *he* felt when the other trolls teased him. He had an idea! He gathered all his shiny pebbles and carefully arranged them in a long, winding path leading towards the warmest part of the meadow, where a patch of sun still lingered.
“What are you doing, Barnaby?” Old Man Tiber asked. “I’m making a path of warmth for the fireflies,” Barnaby explained. “Maybe if they sit on the warm pebbles, they can get their sparkle back!”
Slowly, hesitantly, the fireflies began to land on the pebbles. And as they did, something magical happened! The pebbles radiated a gentle warmth, and the fireflies began to glow, first faintly, then brighter and brighter. Soon, the meadow was filled with twinkling lights, even more beautiful than before.
The other trolls were amazed. They had never seen anything like it. “Barnaby, you saved the fireflies!” one of them boomed, but this time, it wasn’t a tease. It was a cheer. Old Man Tiber smiled. “Barnaby, you used your special gift – your kindness and your love of shiny things – to help others. That’s more important than guarding any bridge.”
Barnaby beamed. He realized that being different wasn’t a bad thing at all. It was what made him special. From that day on, the other trolls didn’t tease Barnaby anymore. They admired his kindness and his sparkling pebble paths. And Barnaby, the little blue troll, continued to collect shiny pebbles, knowing that even the smallest troll could make a big difference, especially when he used his heart.