One of the best-known folktales, surely the most recognizable piece from the Asbjørnsen and Moe collection.  It is a simple animal fable, recognizably Norse because of the troll; made into many picture book versions and common in storytelling sessions for young children.
        Note the typical folk/fairy tale elements of repetition by threes (three billy goats, three passages across the bridge, three repetitions of essentially the same dialogue between the goats and the troll.  There is also strongly formulaic language in the opening ("Once on a time. . .") and conclusion ("Snip, snap, snout/This tale's told out") - the concluding lines are particularly typical of the Norwegian tales collected by Asbjørnsen and Moe, who were concerned with preserving the oral flavor of the stories they gathered.
        However, most experts would not characterize "The Three Billy Goats Gruff" as a fairy tale because there is no actual magic involved in the story.  (The fact that the animals talk is not really magical in this context, although it might be a feature of magic in tales where the animals talk to human characters. such as "Puss in Boots" - talking animals are also characteristic of beast fables, which seems a more appropriate genre into which to place this tale.)  The troll is a magic creature, but neither he nor the goats deploy any magic en route to the conclusion - it is a a simple conflict of strength between the biggest billy goat and the troll.

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