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Letters to a Troll

A few weeks ago we told you about the great questionnaires your kids mail back to us for our Spy Mystery. But have we told you about the letters to Smaul the Troll? Now that is some delightful correspondence.


Smaul the Troll is one of the characters in our Fairy Tale themed mystery The Enchanted Slumber. No one tries to cross Smaul’s bridge anymore so he is sending his riddles to you. He asks you to reply by mail, for in his wandering he has come across a library and fallen in love with books. If he can get a piece of mail with his name on it he will get his own library card.

We are amazed by how many kids write back to Smaul, and how charming, funny and earnest their letters are. They send drawings, cards, photographs and riddles of their own. They are enthusiastic (“You are the best troll I ever talked to (and the only one!)”) They are incredulous (“I can’t believe I am writing to a troll!") They are noble (“We are standing by, ready to help.”) They are grateful (“Thank you for trusting me in this mission, I will not let you down.”) They are resourceful (“When I think of trolls I think of brown but I do not have a brown piece of paper so I shall use blue.”) They are great judges of character (“Dear Smaul, you sound like a very kind, thoughtful and loving troll.”) And they really, really hope that Smaul gets his library card. (“I love to read, too. So a library card is a shared interest.”)

They have endless theories and even more questions (“How old are you?” “Are you friends with Dragon?” “Do you have a pet?” “How do you get to the Never Changing Forest?” “What color is your bridge and do you like to swim?” “Can you send a picture of yourself?” “Is this the end? I kinda don’t want it to end yet.”)

They offer encouragement (“Good job on the typing!”) They offer advice (“You should really take a shower some day!”) They offer sympathy (“Please can you find out Dragon’s name? I really want to know. Poor him, he can’t remember.") They offer empathy (“Tell Dragon I know how he feels when he gets angry, like when he burned down the village. We both need to work on self-control.”)

These letters make us laugh (“Sorry that I have drawn you slightly fat.”) And they make us cry (“You must miss the princess and all the villagers who used to live in the kingdom and cross your bridge. Our Daddy has been deployed for a month now so we understand how sad and lonely it gets when you miss someone so much.”)

Smaul would like us to tell you how much he appreciates every one of these letters, and that he is honored to get them. He is happy to have his own library card and he is even happier to have so many new friends.

Yours in adventure and friendship,

Smaul the Troll and the Team at Mail Order Mystery