Beware the Trolls.

I’ve discovered the magic of keeping my wandering 3 year old Hope at home. Finally! No amount of time-0uts, stern talks from mom about stranger danger, pleading or railing could keep my little one from inviting herself into Nearly all of our neighbors homes.

And then I figured it out. She’s deathly afraid of Trolls. Thanks to a horrible ‘Earnest Scared Stupid’ movie my boys downloaded on Netflix just for laughs.

I was desperate to keep her in the yard… so with my Young and Gorgeous Counselors blessing … I proceeded to warn her about the horrible trolls that patrol the neighborhood

Opps! No not these kind of hair-raising trolls … but the scary kind – the kind that snatch up young wandering children and chew on their bones.

Well o.k. I left out the bone chewing part. But I did warn her that she must not leave the safety of our yard. I might have mentioned something about Trolls having special magical powers so that sometimes they can look like nice people…yada, yada, yada.

I guess Hope has both feet firmly planted in the wild and crazy land of Imagination because she hasn’t taken off for three weeks. Halleluiah!!!

So… some parents tell their kids about the Easter Bunny, Santa, and Leprechauns. Me – I’m all about Trolls! Fairies too!

The reason our yard is safe – well it’s a Fairy Sanctuary! Like in the Book ‘FableHaven’ (Which I love by the Way – and have read to my kids) by Brandon Mull.

None of the dangerous mythical creatures are allowed in our yard and that includes Trolls. Occasionally I'll let the Twilight vampires and werewolves roam around. Regardless, Hope is safe as long as she sticks close to home.

It appears the tiny fairies can give trolls quite a little zing so they stay clear of the yard. And to keep the fairies happy we are setting up little houses and flower gardens for them all over the yard.

I know I’m getting carried away. But it’s important that she’s safe and this seems to be the one thing that’s keeping her home.

That and I’m having a blast – I love imagination! I’ve not got both feet planted there but I do take an occasional vacation to that magical place. I’m sure when she’s a bit older and understands safety a bit more I’ll fill her in on all the gory details. But until then I’ll let the Trolls live in her imagination too.

And if she does wander off – I may be tempted to get Abner’s friend with a Gilly suit to hide out in the field across the street. Long enough for her to get an eye-full.

Of course I’d scare him off by singing silly songs, waving my magic wand and tossing glitter fairy dust in his direction. On second thought that may put her over the edge, and then I’d have company in my counseling sessions.

Until then I’m rejoicing in the fact that I found a way other than padlocks and GPS locaters to keep Hope at Home.