William

William is one of the three trolls—along with Bert and Tom—who waylay Thorin and Company in the Lone-lands, a region near the Misty Mountains. He is the largest of the three, and his name is sometimes given as Bill or Bill Huggins. The trolls are roasting mutton over a large fire of beech-logs when Bilbo Baggins, sent ahead by the dwarves to scout, creeps up to them. William is the one who catches Bilbo attempting to pick his pocket, grabbing the hobbit by the neck after a talking purse squeaks a warning. When Bilbo identifies himself as "a bur—a hobbit," William and the others are puzzled by the unfamiliar term. William, having already eaten a fine supper, is initially inclined to let Bilbo go, calling him a "poor little blighter," but Bert insists on torturing the hobbit for information about possible companions. This disagreement escalates into a physical fight between William and Bert, during which Bilbo escapes their immediate grasp.

Capture of the Dwarves

While the trolls are fighting, the dwarves, having heard the commotion, begin to creep toward the fire one by one. Tom spots Balin and gives a howl, and the trolls quickly set upon the dwarves with sacks, capturing them one after another. Thorin, the last to approach, is caught only after a brief struggle in which he burns Bert's eye with a flaming branch. William comes up behind Thorin and pops a sack over his head, ending the fight. The dwarves are left tied up in sacks while the trolls argue over how to cook them—roasting, mincing, boiling, or sitting on them to squash them.

Gandalf's Trick and Petrification

Just as the trolls are about to begin their meal, Gandalf, who has been missing, returns and begins to mimic the trolls' voices, causing them to argue endlessly among themselves. William is the first to be addressed by the disguised voice, and he repeatedly gets into quarrels with Bert and Tom over who said what. The argument continues until dawn, when the first light of day breaks over the hill. As William stoops, he is turned to stone; Bert and Tom, looking at him, are likewise petrified. The three trolls remain standing in that spot thereafter, unless birds perch on them, for trolls must be underground before dawn or they turn back into the stone of the mountains.

Aftermath and Significance

After the trolls are turned to stone, Gandalf and Bilbo free the dwarves. The company then searches the trolls' nearby cave, where they find a hoard of plunder, including several swords of elvish make—Orcrist and Glamdring—which later prove crucial. Bilbo also finds a small knife that he will name Sting. The gold coins from the cave are buried secretly by the river. William's role, though brief, is pivotal: his capture of Bilbo sets off the chain of events leading to the group's capture, and his quarrelsome nature, exploited by Gandalf, allows the timely rescue. The trolls' petrification also provides the company with their first significant weapons and treasure, marking an early turning point in the adventure.