Disclaimer: I own only my eagerness to read and re-read stories of Middle Earth. This sequence of words is a consequence of that, one which I hope you will enjoy.

The page was turned by small sturdy fingers, by the reckoning of men. Sun and shadow were falling over the writing, and wind, although not powerful enough to turn book pages, was rustling through leaves in the trees above and grass below.

The reader was a hobbit, as all are in these parts of the land and his name was - well, Frodo. He was in his preferred spot, in the forest by the main road, spying as one would say on the arrival of a certain welcomed guest.

He had been sitting there for a while leaning against a tree trunk, breathing in the fresh air, absorbed by the reading. Presently, his mood changed, his concentration altered, and he raised his eyes from the page to the trees surrounding him. In that peacefulness he thought he had heard a noise, faint and distant, and he stood silently waiting.

He was fond of this place, leaf and grass, and as he listened to the forest, somehow in his heart a conviction grew, which he effortlessly whispered to himself.

'I do not wish to ever leave the Shire, I think.'

But it had not always been so.

^.^

'Will we ever meet dragons, do you think, Merry?' Pippin asked, continuing before Merry could make an answer 'I would love to see a dragon myself, just like the one from Uncle Bilbo's stories.'

'So would I', Merry added, taking advantage of the opportunity as it presented itself when Pippin looked up, trying to imagine himself facing a dragon. 'But I would not fancy a dragon being very hospitable.'

'I bet he'd like our pipe weed.'

'A dragon breathes fire, not smoke, Pippin. And besides, Uncle Bilbo lost the change to introduce dragons to our customs.'

'Maybe we could do it, you and I. He wouldn't be able to refuse it. Where do you think Frodo has gotten himself to?' Pippin said as he stood up.

They had been lying for some time in a field gold with sunlight, in what could be called a usual unusual-hunting expedition that the three often took near the borders of the Shire. Private property or not, they did not care, though they knew exactly where they were, and Frodo was nowhere to be seen.

'You think we should still wait for him?' Pippin asked, facing him.

'You think he'd be happy not to find us here?' Merry replied.

'But Merry, I'm hungry!'

'You're always hungry.'

'So are you.'

'Yes, but I'm not admitting it to myself. That's when real hunger starts.'

'Merry, if you ever speak again in that silly manner, I'll let the whole Shire know you're not a hobbit!'

'And what exactly am I then?'

'A pre-hobbit.'

'A what?'

'You know, what hobbits were before they were hobbits.'

'You…mind clearing that up for me?' Merry asked, frowning.

'It's all the food deprivation, it's not adding to your smartness.'

'A dumb pre-hobbit.' Merry said as he stood up too, hands on his hips. 'What else?'

'You brought this upon yourself, Merry.'

'Hey, shouldn't we wait for Frodo in a less exposed place, off the Farmer's fields?' Upon hearing this, Pippin looked around. 'Like on the edge of the forest over there?' Merry gestured sharply. 'That idea also came from my recent dumbness of mind,' and with that he slowly walked away.

'I don't think you should talk about yourself like that Merry, it's not proper.' Pippin said, as he started crossing the field closely behind. Merry stopped and turned around, with a menacing look on his face, forcing Pippin to stop and silence fell between them as they walked on.

'Where do you think hobbits came from?' Pippin asked, after a while.

'Why, from across the mountains, far East, when all lands were safe and the Greenwood fair. That's what they say, anyway. Funny things began to happen. Odd creatures began to lurk in the shadows of the forest.' The sun was slowly setting as they crossed the field talking, and the light grew grey and the air cooler. Soon, they crossed the road and made for the trees. 'That's when our Wandering Days began.'

'That's not the legend I've heard,' Pippin said, as Merry began to gather small twigs for a small camp fire.

'It couldn't be very different. We've most likely heard it from the same sources.'

'Well I've heard that it was not fear that drove us away from the Green Forest and across the mountains. It was a desire to settle by the sea, inspired by the Elves, you know.'

Merry began to laugh wholeheartedly, as it always happened when Pippin was around. For hobbits did not like the sea, not even a small river and his and Pippin's family activities, such as boating, were considered queer and unnatural. To advance the idea that hobbits had actually at one point in their history wanted to live by the sea was as truly extraordinary as it was true that the two of them were frowned-upon because of their proximity to the river by Shire-folk west of the Brandywine.

But Pippin was not to be deterred by Merry's amusement as he presently added, 'Really Merry, think about it. We were so close to the Elves once, I think we saw them every day back then, and talked to them. Isn't it just curious that we settled so close to the sea?'

'We're closer to the Grey Heavens than to any other land, there might be some truth in that Pip. But I don't think that was the main reason for our coming here. We're not Elves after all.'

'Why is it that our folk don't seem to agree on a simple story like our history?'

Dusk was gathering across the Shire. Merry was bent over a small pile of wood trying to kindle the fire, when he suddenly lightened up and looked at Pippin in a mixture of cheerfulness and mischief.

'Maybe our origins were so shameful, that our ancestors changed their minds a lot.'