The afternoon sun came streaming through the healthy green leaves of the trees casting dancing shadows over the mossy forest floor. Streams of pale gold glittered on the dew-soaked roots of the old and worn oak tree. Birds fluttered from branch to branch sending tiny showers of sparkling water droplets floating downwards. It was a beautiful day in the Shire; one that any hobbit could enjoy.
In fact, two little hobbits in particular were wading in a shallow crystal clear stream that trickled through the dense wood. One, a young lass looking a little older than 10 years of age, was sitting on a rock, splashing her feet back and forth. Tiny silver fish swam frantically from one way to another trying to escape the disturbance. She smiled as she watched them dart about, leaning in so close to watch them that the tips of her light brown hair dipped into the water. The other hobbit, another young girl, was skipping around on the slippery rocks that jutted out from the calm creek bed. She was gripping her sage green pants to keep them around her waste. They were a size or two too big for her, since she had 'borrowed' them from a particularly nasty hobbit lad named Tom.
She frolicked and darted around, doing some sort of rhythmic dance to amuse herself, narrowly avoiding slipping or hitting her head on a low hanging branch. Her feet were almost numb from the ice-cold water and her legs tingled where the drops touched her bare skin. Around and around she went, grinning widely and giggling happily, until finally she lost her footing and tumbled into a small round pool. The water came up to her waist, thoroughly soaking her pants and the bottom edge of her baggy, white peasant shirt. Fish shot away up and down stream like tiny arrows to escape the sudden newcomer.
The first lass looked up at the second and began giggling. "Lyra, are you alright?" she asked with a toothy grin.
Lyra rolled her eyes, scowled for a moment, and allowed a small quizzical smile to spread across her lips. "I'm fine, Elanor, thanks for the concern," she replied sarcastically. She got up, stumbling slightly to catch her footing, and began ringing out her shirt. The baggy ends of her sleeves (which flared out, beginning at a small band around her elbow) were sopping wet. She did those first. Then she proceeded to the bottom hem of her shirt, which was currently semi see through and rather clingy. She ignored her sopping pants and began dancing and skipping happily. Elanor watched the fish return to the pool cautiously. She occasionally dipped her finger in and out to see if she could touch one.
The two hobbits were perfectly content in their woodland paradise, until a disturbance rang through the forest making both of them freeze. Birds cawed loudly and burst from their formerly calm resting-places in the high, twisted braches of the oak trees. The sound that echoed in the hobbits' ears was unnatural, almost inhuman. It made the hair on the back of their necks stand up on end, and sent a chill down their spines. It sounded as though it was a mix between a small hobbit lass shrieking and somebody dragging a jagged piece of metal across a smooth pane of glass. Elanor and Lyra exchanged nervous glances and immediately dashed for the road, to go home. All was silent now, nothing was heard but the two hobbits' panting. They finally stopped for a break when they had reached the road, and Lyra spoke up.
"What in the world was that?"
Elanor turned to her friend. "I don't know, and most certainly don't want to find out." as their hobbit feet touched the hard dirt road, something in a bush began to russle. The girls stopped. Staring wide-eyed at the berry bush across the road, they began to shudder. All of a sudden three small forms rushed through the bush. One ran to the river, and the other two tackled Lyra and Elanor. The girls fell to the ground screaming with their eyes closed. Lyra was continuing to scream while Elanor opened her eyes. Her little brother Pippin was sitting on her chest.
"Elanorf" he said with a smile. He was only two and couldn't quite pronounce her name. Elanor sat up, and placed Pippin on the green grass. Lyra stopped screaming but wouldn't open her eyes. Elanor turned to her friend to see that on top of Lyra was her other little brother Merry. He cocked his head to see why Lyra wouldn't open her eyes. Elanor smiled, "It's okay Lyra, its only the boys, Merry and Pippin." Lyra cautiously opened one eye, looked around, and saw the little toddler face of Merry, who was only four years old.
"Hello Lyra." he said with a smile. Lyra grinned sheepishly, and removed Merry, placing him on the ground. But, where was the third form? Elanor's eyes widened. She turned to Lyra. "It must have been my other little brother Frodo!" Just then, Elanor heard screaming from down the river. As the river flowed south, it began to get rougher, and harder to swim through (for a hobbit).
Elanor, quick on her feet, ran to where the screaming was coming from. She saw a terrifying sight. Her hobbit brother was clinging to a rock in the middle of the river, helplessly divided from the shores and his sister. He was splashed and thrown around, but still clinging to the rock. Elanor cried out to him, "FRODO! HANG ON!" she turned around to see her little brothers and Lyra. "Lyra run back to the house and get my father, take Merry and Pippin too." She ordered. Lyra nodded, picked up Merry and Pippin and ran, screaming back to the Gamgee's house.
"Mr. Samwise! MR. SAMWISE!" Lyra screamed at the top of her lungs.
"DADDY!" the little ones screamed. Sam, who out gardening, as usual. "Here now, calm down. What's the trouble this time Lyra. Did Frodo get stung by a bee again? I keep warning that boy to stay out of trouble, but just like who he's named after, trouble is always his shadow."
Lyra explained to Sam that Frodo was down river, clinging to a rock. Sam turned to his little sons. "Go inside, mommy is baking some cookies and could use some help."
Sam always told Merry and Pippin to go help mommy when he wanted them stay out of the way. Lyra turned around, "follow me." she advised.
They both sprinted to where Elanor was screaming at her brother. "FRODO! DON'T LET GO!"
From across the river you could here his young voice, "I wasn't planning on!"
Sam rushed down to the shore. "Hold on Frodo, dad's coming." he said in his shaky voice. The last time he remembered going in water for a special reason was to go with Frodo to Mount Doom, and the water was calm! Sam took a deep breath, and plunged in. The water was deeper than at the shallow pool where Elanor and Lyra were, and much colder. The water came up to Sam' stout neck. He waded through the water. "Hold on Frodo, I'm coming." Just as Sam reached his son, Frodo's gripped loosened. "DADDY! I'm SLIPPING!"
For a brief moment, Sam thought back to when Frodo Baggin's parents died, drowning. He lunged out the water, catching his son. He stood, placing Frodo on his shoulders, and waded back to shore. Elanor and Lyra rushed down the bank to where Sam and Frodo lay panting. "Haven't done THAT in years." Sam said, catching his breath.
Frodo turned to his dad, who was sprawled out on the ground. "Thanks dad." Sam nodded than coughed.
Elanor kneeled down beside him, her golden locks falling on his chest. She leaned and whispered into his ear, "You really are "Samwise the Brave."
Sam smiled. "Samwise the Brave." Elanor helped her father to his feet, placed Frodo on her shoulders, and all four of them headed toward the house of the Gamgees.