Lisbet was like all the other children in her town; she adored the toy maker Mister Bifur and the toys he made! The adults were all wary of him. Even the most accepting adults Lisbet knew seemed to tiptoe around the toymaker. Her older brother said it was because of the axe in the dwarf's head. It made him 'not right', he had said. Lisbet didn't understand. Mister Bifur seemed perfectly nice to her, the only problem being that he spoke very little and when he did it was in a language she didn't know. He seemed to understand the town's language though so it wasn't too big of a problem.
Lisbet was on her way to the toy maker's stall, excited to see what new toys the dwarf had made. Those were another thing she heard the adults whisper about. His toys. They were 'too frightening for children' they said. Lisbet didn't understand that either. Mister Bifur's toys didn't look like toys from other toy makers but that was part of what made her and the other children love them. They were special.
Once every month Lisbet's parents would give her a couple of coins to spend as she wish. This usually meant one of Mister Bifur's toys. In fact, most of her toys were from him.
When she walked up to the dwarf's stall he greeted her with words she did not understand, followed by her name. It made her very happy that while Mister Bifur never seemed to learn to speak her language, he held onto names. She guessed he could name every child in the town.
She held a one sided conversation as she inspected the toys on display and he sat carving another one. She knew he was listening though. She picked out a figure that seemed to be a cross between a wolf with large wings and held out her coin with a large smile. "I'd like this one please!"
With a returned smile and some garbled words Mister Bifur took the coin and after sharing farewells Lisbet set off to find some other children to play with. She wanted to show them her new toy.
"I heard Mister Bofur and Mister Bombur saying they couldn't buy enough food."
"You shouldn't listen in on private conversations!"
"They were outside! It's not my fault if I could hear what they were saying! They said many of the dwarves were having the same problem."
Lisbet had found a few playmates and they talked about the overheard news as they played with their figurines.
"How could they not have enough? Mister Bofur and Mister Bombur live with Mister Bifur and all three of them have jobs!"
"I don't understand it either. Probably a pricing thing I haven't learned yet."
Lisbet nodded seriously. "My parents haven't taught me much about money. I go to Mister Bifur's stall by myself but they do all the other shopping."
"The three of them are so nice. I hope they can get more money."
A brief silence fell before the child who started the talk spoke up again.
"I'm not sure, but it sounds like they need food more than money. I heard Mister Bofur say no matter how much money they had it never seemed to be enough. I don't know how that works but that's what I heard."
The children hummed thoughtfully and sat contemplating.
"I know!" one of them exclaimed. "Why don't we give them some of our food?"
"My parents would notice if I took any of the food away though and I don't think they want me giving it away..."
The children frowned and contemplated some more.
"What if we don't eat all of our suppers and sneak some of it off the plate to give to them? If we put all of our food together surely it will be enough?"
A chorus of agreements and wary promises to try traveled through the group and with the conversation ended and the problem solved they went back to playing until called away by their parents.
Lisbet had sneaked food off her plate before without her parents knowing. Usually it was food she didn't like and would throw away after the meal was done and she was alone. She was confident she could do this without her parents knowing.
At first she thought about eating only half her meal but she worried it would make her parents suspicious. She was no good at faking illness either so that option was out. So she ate three quarters of her meal, hiding the rest. She hid the small bundle in her clothes chest and went to bed, hoping her parents wouldn't go rifling through her things as she slept.
The next morning straight after breakfast Lisbet grabbed the bundle of food and rushed out the door to meet with her friends. All of them had successfully stashed away some of their suppers (and two even stashed some of their breakfasts!) One of them presented a basket to put it all in ("I'll tell my parents I lost it if they notice. I'm always losing things.") and with smiles on their faces they all headed to Mister Bifur's stall. Mister Bofur and Mister Bombur worked in the mines so it was much easier to give it to Mister Bifur.
They all happily greeted the toy maker when they reached his stall and he greeted them back with some confusion evident. They had never shown up all together before. Lisbet was the one who spoke up.
"We heard that you and your cousins weren't able to get enough food so we brought you some!" she said brightly and placed the basket on the stall table. "I hope it's enough. At least for now. We couldn't get much." she said with an apologetic tone.
A silence fell and for a moment the children were worried they hadn't brought enough but then Mister Bifur smiled bigger than they had ever seen him smile and grumbled a long string of words in a happy tone.
They all grinned, delighted that their gift had been well received.
After that it became a habit to bring food to the toy maker, for him and his family. They never gathered it all up in a basket again but each would give their share when they were able. Mister Bifur always seemed extremely happy and grateful whenever they brought a bundle. Mister Bofur had even approached Lisbet one day with a message from Mister Bifur saying the food could be her payment for her monthly toy and she could keep the coins for herself. She didn't understand why they wouldn't want the money and was hesitant to not give it so met in the middle and convinced them to take one coin each month while she kept the other.
"You have no idea how much this means to us lassie." Mister Bofur had said with his well known smile and a ruffle to her hair.
Lisbet didn't interact with any of the town dwarves besides Misters Bifur, Bofur, and Bombur, but one day she overheard her father telling her mother he would be stopping by a dwarf blacksmith called Thorin later that day to make an order. She had heard talk of this particular dwarf around the town and from her friends before. She asked him if she go with him and while he seemed a bit confused as to why she wanted to come he agreed she could.
Excitement gave her enough courage to sneak some food from the pantry itself to bring to the blacksmith. She didn't know if she would see him again, his shop was not in the area she usually spent her time and her parents rarely went to a blacksmith to begin with. Hoping she had enough, (she did not know if Mister Thorin had a family) she put the larger than usual bundle in a bag she used for carrying her toys with her when she went to play. She told her father she'd like to play with her friends after the errand and after giving his permission they set off for the blacksmith.
Mister Thorin was very unlike Misters Bifur, Bofur, and Bombur. His exchange with her father was short, the dwarf speaking only of business with no small talk like most other people she met did. She concluded from this that, like Mister Bifur, the blacksmith was more prone to silence but he didn't share the warm and friendly air the quiet toy maker had. She wouldn't call his demeanor unkind but he was very closed off. His face seemed to hold no expression.
When the talk was done and Mister Thorin had left to begin his work, Lisbet's father told her he had other errands to attend to but that she could go and play with her friends. They parted ways, going different directions but Lisbet didn't actually go far. When she was sure her father was gone from the area she returned to the blacksmith's shop.
Mister Thorin was working when she entered and didn't appear to notice her arrival. She simple stood and watched him work for a while, curious about this new dwarf. After a few minutes he happened to glance up and noticed her.
"Hello!" she greeted brightly.
He just stared at her for a moment before returning her greeting. "You're the daughter of the man who just came in? Shouldn't you be with him?"
"Father said I didn't have to go with him on his other errands." she replied unperturbed. "My name is Lisbet."
His gaze left her and he returned to his work. "I am Thorin." he replied curtly.
"I've heard about you. My friends say you are the prince of the dwarfs in our town."
He paused. "I was."
She frowned slightly. "I don't understand."
He sighed softly and continued working but seeing that Lisbet wasn't planning on leaving he gave into her questioning.
"I was prince of our kingdom. But we are not in our kingdom anymore and can not go back."
Lisbet considered this and vaguely remembered hearing about the town dwarfs leaving their home and coming here. She was young though and did not know the details.
"Were Mister Bifur and his cousins part of your kingdom?"
"They were."
"They're very nice. You must be a very good prince to have such nice people in your kingdom."
She thought she saw the tiniest of smiles form on his lips before he paused again.
"Is there something you want, young one, or do you only want to talk? I do not have the time for a conversation." he said bluntly but not as stiffly as before.
Nodding, Lisbet reached into her bag and pulled out the bundle of food, holding it out. "Me and my friends have been giving Mister Bifur and his cousins some of our food. My friend Haul said that a lot of dwarves need food. So I brought you some."
Several emotions passed through the dwarf's eyes, too many and too fast for Lisbet to identify any of them.
He gently took the bundle from her, keeping his eyes on her. "You are very gracious, young one."
She smiled. "Princes are used to getting gifts are they not?"
He sighed. "It has been a while since I last received one."
She was quiet for a moment, thinking.
"I did not know if you had a family. I am sorry if I did not give enough."
He gave a faint smile. "There is no reason for you to apologize."
She nodded and with a smile turned to leave. "I'll try to bring more when I can. I don't come to this area often. Good bye Master Thorin."
"Lisbet." he stopped her before she could leave. She turned to look back at him. "There are three others in my house if you wished to know."
She smiled. "Oh? Who?"
"I live with my sister and her two young sons, my nephews."
Lisbet thought for a moment then smiled again before leaving. "I will remember."
Lisbet gave Master Thorin food as often as she could. It wasn't as often as Mister Bifur but she did her best. She also started giving the remaining coin not given to Mister Bifur to him. "So your nephews can buy a toy." she had told him.
Lisbet discovered that Master Thorin became friendlier as her visits continued. He wasn't as quiet as she thought him to be, indulging her in conversations. She wondered if he was shy around strangers and that's why he was so silent usually. Whatever the reason for his strange personality she enjoyed her visits with him as much as her visits with Misters Bifur, Bofur, and Bombur. Also, she could say she knew a real life prince!