The small prince Bu is a constant cause of worry to Queen Sirena and King Ulvik of the Troll Kingdom (a kingdom perched atop a tall Norwegian mountain). Bu uses nasty words like "please" and "thank you", is quiet, and altogether too, well...good. The king decides that it must be what children are learning in school, so he goes to Sinister School. There, he interrogates Bu on the moral system of the trolls, on how their hearts are frozen, and on the inofficious Troll Bible. Bu gets everything right, to his two two-headed brothers' rage. Along with some nasty troll-teens (the fulsome Stav and the slovenly Ribo), the two brothers (Borch and Prag) concoct a plan to lure Bu down to the world of the troll-eating humans. Playing off of Bu's knack for being the hero, they claim that the humans are planning an attack on the Troll Kingdom. Bu and the revolting lot head down the mountain, where they observe the colossal humans hanging wreaths on their doors and cooking gingerbread men. Bu, mistaking the gingerbread men for cooked trolls, quickly hurries the other trolls back toward the mountain. But they quickly stop Bu, tying him to a tree and leaving him for dead. Bu is found by two human girls, Sonja and Kristi, who mistake him for a gnome. They tell him about God, who loves everyone ("Even evil trolls...", as their song goes). However, just as things are going well, Malfred, the king's astonishingly frightening messenger, comes to bring Bu back to the Troll Kingdom. Bu is placed in jail, where he realizes how much he misses Sonja and Kristi. He feels his heart beating, and realized he doesn't want to be an evil troll. King Ulvik has Bu brought before the Council of Elders, where his brothers press charges of deception, desertion, and fraternization and conspiracy with the humans. The king decides that if Bu can remember the morals and ethics of the troll society, he should be let off. However, when questioned, Bu answers with what he learned about God from Sonja and Kristi, not to mention loses his most trollish attributes (a long tail, a large nose, and pointy ears). The king, in horror, disowns Bu, and in the ensuing brawl Bu manages to escape. Stav, Ribo, Borch, and Prag all realize that Bu is missing, and head after him down the mountain. Boo comes across a charming Gnomish couple, who tell him where Sonja and Kristi live.