Learn now the lore of Living Creatures! First name the four, the free peoples: Eldest of all, the elf-children; Dwarf the delver, dark are his houses; Ent the earthborn, old as mountains; Man the mortal, master of horses: Beaver the builder, buck the leaper, Bear bee-hunter, boar the fighter; Hound is hungry, hare is fearful... Eagle in eyrie, ox in pasture, Hart horn-crowned; hawk is swiftest, Swan the whitest, seprent coldest...

...Half-grown hobbits, the hole-dwellers.

Treebeard Hasty little things they are, but such nice little voices. It is no wonder their verse was left out. Hmmm, they must have been over-looked, by man or elf, no doubt in charge of the poem. Whence did they come about? Who created them? They must be a creation of Eru, as they are polite as can be. Hoom, must have been over-looked. Surely they would be in the poem if more knew about them. Hmmm, they live far away, away from prying eyes, no one bothers them. They do not want to be bothered. They are no better, nor worse than any other race of kind. They have no quarrel, not grudge, no horrific deed done in their name. Sad they are not mentioned. Must their ancestors have done ill towards others? Hoom, well, if there were a quarrel, it would be not with them, and surely not with their kin. Only, with their ancestors, long gone to heavens. Not like elves and dwarfs, though righteous and intelligent each...their minds are too complex. These little folk are simple. They don't mind not being mentioned in a silly poem. They simply made their own line of representation. Hum, ho, the Hole-Dweller's Verse.

PippinTreebeard was happy with my little verse. My little verse for my little people, in our little houses, leading our little lives. My family might not be the wealthiest, might not be Brandybucks, but we have more to show for it. We are Thains. Mighty Thains. Though, to the big folk, that is nothing to speak about. A hobbit, being a Thain? Might as well make a hobbit king of Gondor. No one cares about what happens to the Shire but us little folk living in it. No one cares about us. No, that's not true. The Fellowship cares about us. Because of them, all of Middle Earth cares for us. Only because of Frodo. Frodo has to carry his burden to save everyone. What if the Ring hadn't come to a hobbit? Would they still care? I only know that we have to care for ourselves, if no one else will. I'm simple-minded, yes - but I still have a mind. I deserve a line in Treebeard's poem. Hobbits deserve a line. The Hole-Dweller's Verse.

MerryI would have thought one as old as an Ent would know of us. Pippin is probably thinking the same thing. No one pays attention to us halflings. Easy to miss, we are. But, surely he would know of us? He thought our voices were pleasant and nice. That's what we are - pleasant and nice. I don't mind. I don't even mind not having a verse at all. I'm a Brandybuck to heart. We don't need the kind of recognition that Tooks try to live for. We just work hard for ourselves. We are one of the wealthiest families in the Shire. That has to count for something. But it doens't need to. We don't need it to. Pippin made line for us, and that is fine and dandy. Let him do something to make the rest proud and feel important. We should have had a verse to begin with, but were overlooked. But, that's what we've always wanted. We like being left alone. I like being left alone. But, we don't like being lonely. We don't like being left behind. Now, we are the ones going ahead. Our lives are in Frodo's and Sam's hands. Hobbits get to make history. It makes me feel good. Come to think of it, Brandybuck's don't mind feeling good. We rather enjoy it. So, we do need a verse. The Hole-Dweller's Verse.