I Was Strollin' Through the Shire One Day!
I sighed and placed my book aside. I had been in my room reading for hours, it was 10:42 at night. My thoughts were a mix of what I had just read. I wiped my eyes; the tears refused to stop.
"I know Frodo isn't dead!" I told my eyes angrily, "You can stop making me cry now!". But I couldn't. Sam echoed my feelings. Don't go where I can't follow! I could always picture that, Sam weeping his dear little heart out.
I carefully placed The Two Towers back in its place on the shelf. Frodo is my favourite character, I thought. He's just so brave and humble about the Quest. And then there's Sam, so wonderfully sweet, completely willing to sacrifice himself for Frodo. Sam's selflessness had always touched me. Another wave of tears well up in my eyes as I think of Sam. He is so grieved by Frodo's "death", it's incredibly moving. Imagine a friend like Sam!
"ROTK tomorrow," I told my map of Middle-earth, "I get to read all about the painfully long time between Pippin's departure to Minas Tirith till his 'death', great.". I traced a path from Helm's Deep to Minas Tirith.
I got out my CD player, stuck The Fellowship of the Ring movie soundtrack into it, and skipped to Concerning Hobbits. I flicked off the lights and drifted into sleep.
I woke up to the smell of the country. I breathed it in and stood up. Letting out a gasp, I discovered that I was on a dirt road that wound through hilly farmlands and woods all around. I felt oddly at ease. My brain told me I had every reason to be frightened and seemed prepared to run through the possibilities of how I could've ended up here, wherever here was. But I felt perfectly comfortable and eager to explore.
I walked for twenty minutes or so and turned a bend in the road. I covered my mouth with both hands to prevent the gasp of surprise that surely would've come. I was looking at a group of children playing in a nearby field. But they were so very small and had curly heads and hairy feet. My heart raced, "Those are hobbits." my mind informed me.
Being that I am a rather shy person at times, I walked tentatively over to them. I was pondering how to get their attention when I noticed that I clearly had gotten it for they were all staring up at me open mouthed.
"One of the Big People?" I heard one of them whisper.
"Hullo there," I said, trying to sound as much like a hobbit and as friendly as I could. "I wonder, do you know where I am?"
The hobbit children looked at me as if the answer were obvious, but they seemed unsure, as if I should know better, or was tricking them. "Hobbiton.".
Then it came to me, this was a dream. Of course! Wildly, I ran over to the stream nearby and jumped in. The water was ice cold and I suddenly realized that I was still in my PJ's. Water seeped through the light, silky, blue material, and I knew that I wasn't dreaming.
I had wandered around Hobbiton for the rest of the day. I couldn't believe that I was in Middle-earth, I mean just how is that possible? But I knew all the same that I was there, I couldn't explain my confidence that that was fact. It was like my own little joke, nobody even suspected it. All the hobbits stared after me, and I talked to a good many of them. They were all very nice. My clothes were soaked, so one of the hobbitwives gave me a blue dress to wear that actually fit me.
Around twilight I searched for the Green Dragon. The Shire was breathtakingly beautiful. The sweet summer air, the rolling green hills, the blooming flowers. It was so real.
I walked into the Green Dragon. I wonder. sitting down on one of the small barstools I ordered a drink.
"Hallo, what can I get for ye?"
"Oh, umm, white wine?" There were only two hobbitlasses in the bar, and I felt very awkward because of this and my height. I also felt a little mischievous for being allowed to order alcohol.
I picked up my glass and sniffed it. It smelled good, I decided just to take a few sips. It tasted nice, but a bit too strong for me, I was only fourteen you know.
There was a hobbit in the corner, he had sandy hair and looked rather shy. I walked over to him. He seemed surprised that someone as important as me should want to talk to him. I found this odd, as I certainly wasn't anybody important.
"Hullo there." I said with a smile.
"Hello, miss." He said nervously.
"Would you mind terribly," I said, sitting down, "Answering some questions for me?"
"Of course, miss. What questions you need answering to?"
"First of all, my name is Liz, what's yours?"
He stood up and bowed, "Sam's my name, Samwise Gamgee." I gasped.
"Y-you are?" Now how strange must he think you?
He looked concerned. "Yes."
I couldn't help but notice that Sam was somewhat thin. Well, not thin really, but not overweight either; somewhere in the middle. He was really rather good looking.
"Could you show me where Bag End is?" I asked, growing bolder.
"If you want me too, miss." And he took my hand and led me out the door. My heart skipped a beat. No, no I told myself. Frodo's the one I've always liked. But Sam was just so sweet.
A few minutes later we arrived at Bag End. It looked different than the illustrations I had seen. It looked more. real, more livable. Sam stared up at me as if I surely would know what to do next. It hit me that he would be reluctant to disturb his Master this late at night. But wait, when in time was this? Before Bilbo's departure, after that? I became intensely curious about this.
"Well, Sam, thank you for bringing me here," I said.
"Of course. But if you don't mind, miss, I'd better be getting back home, miss." He waved and trotted off towards his own hobbit hole. Three Bagshot Row was it?
Light streamed out through the circular windows of Bag End, I walked up to the door and took a deep breath before I knocked five times.
I heard the sound of something being placed on a table, and footsteps. The door opened and there stood Frodo. This was the Frodo from the books, and he looked absolutely perfect.
"Hello." He looked at me with questioning dark blue eyes. Dark blue eyes? They were almost black.
I stared at him for a moment. It was amazing to stand there, to stand there and watch the character of Frodo Baggins living and breathing. Now what was I to do? Certainly not tell him of the Ring and Sauron, tell him of his future, his fate. What effect would that have on the War of the Ring? I wouldn't endanger the Quest, and if Middle-earth had really existed in a forgotten time, I wasn't about to risk the future: my time.
He cleared his throat. "Is there anything I could do for you."
"Liz." I finished. "Well no."
I felt so very foolish, what was I thinking? I just hoped I'd be invited inside, that Frodo would smooth things over, as his character surely would have.
"Will you come inside?" he said.
Was he reading my mind? He led me into a nice room; it was candle lit and shadows danced on the walls. I walked in and sat down in the chair, larger than the rest, that he gestured me to. Then he started talking and I found myself opening up to him. This was Frodo after all. I made up a history for myself, hastily to be sure. I mean what would people think? How could I explain my world?
"So you come from Bree? My cousin Merry, I think, has journeyed there once or twice to stay at the Inn." said Frodo.
"Oh yes, I see. So tell me Frodo, I've heard so many stories about your uncle Bilbo, are any of these actually true?"
He smiled. I was sure nobody would normally ask of Bilbo's adventures. An adventurous hobbit? Heaven forbid!
"Yes, some are."
"Ah but, has he truly traveled over the Misty Mountains? Through Mirkwood, to Esgaroth? And then on to the Lonely Mountain?" I was glad. Who else knew so much of Bilbo's journey than he and his heir? But I knew just as much, maybe more. It took Frodo by surprise, and I was afraid I had maybe said too much.
"That is true. But." he looked at me nervously. "How would you know?"
Then he does know of the Ring. I didn't want to frighten him; I just let him keep talking.
Frodo sighed. "It is hard to know who to trust these days." he said, as if to himself.
"You can trust me, Frodo."
That's when I noticed that he was fingering something in his pocket. The Ring, I thought mournfully, it's the Ring. I didn't want to believe it, but it was as plain as day. I looked at Frodo's face and started, he looked as if struggling. He slowly, ever so slowly, drew out the Ring. He looked at it intensely. I became worried and a little frightened, how possessed was Frodo already?
Then I laid my eyes on the Ring. It was so beautiful! So very beautiful! How could something so flawless be Evil? Oh it surely could not be. It was golden and smooth and seemed to absorb everything around it. So lovely!
"C-could I see it?" He looked at me, startled. I stood up. All I want to do is touch it. I couldn't take my eyes off of it. Then I found those dark, dark blue eyes again. The spell evaporated.
"Oh!"
"It's all right." He sighed and put the Ring back in his pocket. "Have you been sent by Gandalf?"
I knew I could give him proof, I could draw a G rune or something. I could be a hero. But no, no I couldn't interfere.
"No," I finally managed. "But I know of him, and of the Ring."
He swiftly backed away. My heart cried. The last thing I wanted was to hurt Frodo! I tried to show it in my eyes.
"Calm down. Truly, I'm no servant of the Enemy. But I'm not here to help you. I don't even know how I got here or why, but I could help you."
He trusted me. He smiled sadly and took my hand.
"Thank you, I'll surely need your help. Now where to begin." His fair face was growing dimmer. What?. I felt like I was disintegrating or. something.
The room grew dark and my head spun. I heard music blasting in my ears, my soundtrack? But that lasted for only a second, where was I going? For I could surely feel that I was moving. somewhere.
Boom Crash! I sat bolt upright in my bed. I was in my room, track 13 in my soundtrack had woken me up, seemingly. So it was a dream! I glanced at the clock, it was still 10:42 PM. Now how could that be possible?
I turned off my CD player and rolled out of bed. Oh, but what was this? I was still in the blue dress. The taste of white wine was in my mouth and I smelled like the country.
I sighed and placed my book aside. I had been in my room reading for hours, it was 10:42 at night. My thoughts were a mix of what I had just read. I wiped my eyes; the tears refused to stop.
"I know Frodo isn't dead!" I told my eyes angrily, "You can stop making me cry now!". But I couldn't. Sam echoed my feelings. Don't go where I can't follow! I could always picture that, Sam weeping his dear little heart out.
I carefully placed The Two Towers back in its place on the shelf. Frodo is my favourite character, I thought. He's just so brave and humble about the Quest. And then there's Sam, so wonderfully sweet, completely willing to sacrifice himself for Frodo. Sam's selflessness had always touched me. Another wave of tears well up in my eyes as I think of Sam. He is so grieved by Frodo's "death", it's incredibly moving. Imagine a friend like Sam!
"ROTK tomorrow," I told my map of Middle-earth, "I get to read all about the painfully long time between Pippin's departure to Minas Tirith till his 'death', great.". I traced a path from Helm's Deep to Minas Tirith.
I got out my CD player, stuck The Fellowship of the Ring movie soundtrack into it, and skipped to Concerning Hobbits. I flicked off the lights and drifted into sleep.
I woke up to the smell of the country. I breathed it in and stood up. Letting out a gasp, I discovered that I was on a dirt road that wound through hilly farmlands and woods all around. I felt oddly at ease. My brain told me I had every reason to be frightened and seemed prepared to run through the possibilities of how I could've ended up here, wherever here was. But I felt perfectly comfortable and eager to explore.
I walked for twenty minutes or so and turned a bend in the road. I covered my mouth with both hands to prevent the gasp of surprise that surely would've come. I was looking at a group of children playing in a nearby field. But they were so very small and had curly heads and hairy feet. My heart raced, "Those are hobbits." my mind informed me.
Being that I am a rather shy person at times, I walked tentatively over to them. I was pondering how to get their attention when I noticed that I clearly had gotten it for they were all staring up at me open mouthed.
"One of the Big People?" I heard one of them whisper.
"Hullo there," I said, trying to sound as much like a hobbit and as friendly as I could. "I wonder, do you know where I am?"
The hobbit children looked at me as if the answer were obvious, but they seemed unsure, as if I should know better, or was tricking them. "Hobbiton.".
Then it came to me, this was a dream. Of course! Wildly, I ran over to the stream nearby and jumped in. The water was ice cold and I suddenly realized that I was still in my PJ's. Water seeped through the light, silky, blue material, and I knew that I wasn't dreaming.
I had wandered around Hobbiton for the rest of the day. I couldn't believe that I was in Middle-earth, I mean just how is that possible? But I knew all the same that I was there, I couldn't explain my confidence that that was fact. It was like my own little joke, nobody even suspected it. All the hobbits stared after me, and I talked to a good many of them. They were all very nice. My clothes were soaked, so one of the hobbitwives gave me a blue dress to wear that actually fit me.
Around twilight I searched for the Green Dragon. The Shire was breathtakingly beautiful. The sweet summer air, the rolling green hills, the blooming flowers. It was so real.
I walked into the Green Dragon. I wonder. sitting down on one of the small barstools I ordered a drink.
"Hallo, what can I get for ye?"
"Oh, umm, white wine?" There were only two hobbitlasses in the bar, and I felt very awkward because of this and my height. I also felt a little mischievous for being allowed to order alcohol.
I picked up my glass and sniffed it. It smelled good, I decided just to take a few sips. It tasted nice, but a bit too strong for me, I was only fourteen you know.
There was a hobbit in the corner, he had sandy hair and looked rather shy. I walked over to him. He seemed surprised that someone as important as me should want to talk to him. I found this odd, as I certainly wasn't anybody important.
"Hullo there." I said with a smile.
"Hello, miss." He said nervously.
"Would you mind terribly," I said, sitting down, "Answering some questions for me?"
"Of course, miss. What questions you need answering to?"
"First of all, my name is Liz, what's yours?"
He stood up and bowed, "Sam's my name, Samwise Gamgee." I gasped.
"Y-you are?" Now how strange must he think you?
He looked concerned. "Yes."
I couldn't help but notice that Sam was somewhat thin. Well, not thin really, but not overweight either; somewhere in the middle. He was really rather good looking.
"Could you show me where Bag End is?" I asked, growing bolder.
"If you want me too, miss." And he took my hand and led me out the door. My heart skipped a beat. No, no I told myself. Frodo's the one I've always liked. But Sam was just so sweet.
A few minutes later we arrived at Bag End. It looked different than the illustrations I had seen. It looked more. real, more livable. Sam stared up at me as if I surely would know what to do next. It hit me that he would be reluctant to disturb his Master this late at night. But wait, when in time was this? Before Bilbo's departure, after that? I became intensely curious about this.
"Well, Sam, thank you for bringing me here," I said.
"Of course. But if you don't mind, miss, I'd better be getting back home, miss." He waved and trotted off towards his own hobbit hole. Three Bagshot Row was it?
Light streamed out through the circular windows of Bag End, I walked up to the door and took a deep breath before I knocked five times.
I heard the sound of something being placed on a table, and footsteps. The door opened and there stood Frodo. This was the Frodo from the books, and he looked absolutely perfect.
"Hello." He looked at me with questioning dark blue eyes. Dark blue eyes? They were almost black.
I stared at him for a moment. It was amazing to stand there, to stand there and watch the character of Frodo Baggins living and breathing. Now what was I to do? Certainly not tell him of the Ring and Sauron, tell him of his future, his fate. What effect would that have on the War of the Ring? I wouldn't endanger the Quest, and if Middle-earth had really existed in a forgotten time, I wasn't about to risk the future: my time.
He cleared his throat. "Is there anything I could do for you."
"Liz." I finished. "Well no."
I felt so very foolish, what was I thinking? I just hoped I'd be invited inside, that Frodo would smooth things over, as his character surely would have.
"Will you come inside?" he said.
Was he reading my mind? He led me into a nice room; it was candle lit and shadows danced on the walls. I walked in and sat down in the chair, larger than the rest, that he gestured me to. Then he started talking and I found myself opening up to him. This was Frodo after all. I made up a history for myself, hastily to be sure. I mean what would people think? How could I explain my world?
"So you come from Bree? My cousin Merry, I think, has journeyed there once or twice to stay at the Inn." said Frodo.
"Oh yes, I see. So tell me Frodo, I've heard so many stories about your uncle Bilbo, are any of these actually true?"
He smiled. I was sure nobody would normally ask of Bilbo's adventures. An adventurous hobbit? Heaven forbid!
"Yes, some are."
"Ah but, has he truly traveled over the Misty Mountains? Through Mirkwood, to Esgaroth? And then on to the Lonely Mountain?" I was glad. Who else knew so much of Bilbo's journey than he and his heir? But I knew just as much, maybe more. It took Frodo by surprise, and I was afraid I had maybe said too much.
"That is true. But." he looked at me nervously. "How would you know?"
Then he does know of the Ring. I didn't want to frighten him; I just let him keep talking.
Frodo sighed. "It is hard to know who to trust these days." he said, as if to himself.
"You can trust me, Frodo."
That's when I noticed that he was fingering something in his pocket. The Ring, I thought mournfully, it's the Ring. I didn't want to believe it, but it was as plain as day. I looked at Frodo's face and started, he looked as if struggling. He slowly, ever so slowly, drew out the Ring. He looked at it intensely. I became worried and a little frightened, how possessed was Frodo already?
Then I laid my eyes on the Ring. It was so beautiful! So very beautiful! How could something so flawless be Evil? Oh it surely could not be. It was golden and smooth and seemed to absorb everything around it. So lovely!
"C-could I see it?" He looked at me, startled. I stood up. All I want to do is touch it. I couldn't take my eyes off of it. Then I found those dark, dark blue eyes again. The spell evaporated.
"Oh!"
"It's all right." He sighed and put the Ring back in his pocket. "Have you been sent by Gandalf?"
I knew I could give him proof, I could draw a G rune or something. I could be a hero. But no, no I couldn't interfere.
"No," I finally managed. "But I know of him, and of the Ring."
He swiftly backed away. My heart cried. The last thing I wanted was to hurt Frodo! I tried to show it in my eyes.
"Calm down. Truly, I'm no servant of the Enemy. But I'm not here to help you. I don't even know how I got here or why, but I could help you."
He trusted me. He smiled sadly and took my hand.
"Thank you, I'll surely need your help. Now where to begin." His fair face was growing dimmer. What?. I felt like I was disintegrating or. something.
The room grew dark and my head spun. I heard music blasting in my ears, my soundtrack? But that lasted for only a second, where was I going? For I could surely feel that I was moving. somewhere.
Boom Crash! I sat bolt upright in my bed. I was in my room, track 13 in my soundtrack had woken me up, seemingly. So it was a dream! I glanced at the clock, it was still 10:42 PM. Now how could that be possible?
I turned off my CD player and rolled out of bed. Oh, but what was this? I was still in the blue dress. The taste of white wine was in my mouth and I smelled like the country.