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 apart: 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.