"Working more on your list of English literature classics?" John asked curiously, coming into the main room and seeing Sherlock sprawled on the couch with a book.
"Hmm, yes. Missed this one when I was young," Sherlock said, finishing a sentence and looking up. "It's a bit tedious, but at least the main character is observant. He's just noticed that a scale is missing from a dragon's belly. I'm sure that will be important later," Sherlock said, putting the book down. "It's preposterous to be writing of a talking dragon, though. The anatomy of the reptilian throat is unsuitable for sound, much less for speech."
"It's a magical creature, Sherlock," John sighed. "You know, fiction. And this work has had quite a loyal following, for decades. They're making a new movie of it, in fact."
"Hmm," Sherlock said. "At least the actors might some fun with it, if they trimmed out enough of the irrelevant material. I did some acting at uni, John, did you know that? I've trodden the boards a fair bit in my time."
"You're kidding," John said with interest. "And if you were to be part of this movie, which character would you like to play, if you could?"
"Well, since I have a good head for large volumes of dialog, the main one, of course. Bilbo."
