1.1.1 Introduction
This is a tale about Ents. It is not a tale of elves, although a great many elves of no little repute enter into this tale, as after all, this is a tale of Middle-Earth. Now one might think that if this is not a tale of elves, it must be concerned with men or even the secretive dwarves. But when this tale took place the men of Middle-Earth were uncivilized and dwelt in shadow, while the doughty dwarves carved their deep halls in great mountains, away from searching eyes. No, this tale is concerned with Ents, or rather one Ent in particular.
If you were to say you didn't know what an Ent was, I would not be greatly surprised, for today they are almost all gone, like the great forests from the days when the world was young. Now Ents are very hard to describe, for they are often quite different from each other, except that one could say they are all quite "treeish" in certain ways. That is not to say they are trees. They are much different from trees in many ways. To call an Ent a tree would be like saying the sky and seas are the same simply because they are both blue. No, Ents are somewhat like men in appearance, but one would certainly not mistake an Ent for a man. For one, there are no female Ents, though the elder Ents tell tales of Entwives, who once, long ago left the forests Ents to tend their gardens. As one might guess, Ents are very old and like the trees they tend, they are tall, strong and straight. But they are every one different, some resembling evergreens, some the beech, yew, rowan, oak and ash. Some have beards, some are very tall and some are not. In short, one might be lead to believe that they are much like us or much like trees, but they would be quite mistaken.
An Ent can likely be quite a fearsome sight--especially if one is roused by some unlucky individual--but they have a very strange quality about them that often prevents them from reacting this way. They are very cautious of being too "hasty" as one elder Ent often puts it. Humans, for one, are much too hasty for Ents, with our great thirst for knowledge and power. Trees grow very slowly and hardly move at all, and aside from appearance, this is how Ents can be said to be most "treeish" for they are usually slow to act and move, preferring to be cautious and deliberate. In fact, some Ents have become so slow that they are almost trees themselves, seldom speaking or moving. But there was one Ent who has a reputation for being quite hasty indeed, an Ent quite young in the reckoning of his people. His name was Quickbeam.
Quickbeam was quite an unusual Ent and his name was not the only strange thing about him. Quickbeam lived in Fangorn Forest, which was once part of the great forests stretching across the west of Middle-Earth. In those days, the great War of the Jewels was fought between the Dark Lord Morgoth and the noble Noldorin Elves of the West. The elves followed their leader Fëanor out of the west to reclaim the Silmarils from Morgoth, who had stolen them and destroyed the light of the Two Trees, which was held inside the Silmarils. But that is another tale, one that had long since passed in the First Age. This tale is of the Second Age, long after the great upheavals from the battles that had ended the First Age. Middle-Earth had changed, and many of the great forests were destroyed. The world was becoming the realm of Men and the age of the Elves was coming to a close. The Ents saw this clearly and withdrew to Fangorn Forest or became so treeish and wild that they simply ceased to be Ents. But Quickbeam came of age in Fangorn and so knew little of the great forests of the past, the Entwives or even the Elves. He was tall, even for an Ent and bore skin like a rowan tree. As an Enting he would wander the forests of his rowan kin in the heights of Fangorn, singing to the trees and laughing at the joy of life. For most children this would seem like a normal part of life, but for an Ent, this would be quite unusual and quite hasty.
There was another Ent who lived in the heights of Fangorn, Skinbark. He was a very old Ent, almost the oldest in the forest. He was kin to Quickbeam and was wisest of the highland Ents, tending the birch trees. And he was not the least bit hasty. When he heard of this young Enting and his decidedly unentish behaviour, he resolved to have a long talk with this young one. Now Ents talk very slowly and for a very long time among each other and Entish is a very long and descriptive language. Skinbark quite reasonably assumed that any conversation with an Ent, no matter how young and impetuous, would be a long and elaborate affair, for even Entish names are quite long. But something happened then that never happened in the memory of any living Ent. Quickbeam answered the elder Ent before Skinbark had finished speaking, very uncharacteristically hasty for an Ent. Skinbark was quite taken aback and could never remember being interrupted, so he stood tall over the younger Ent, regarding him for a long time, thinking slowly and carefully and swaying with the wind. Finally he spoke. "Hmmm, you are a hasty one, quite hasty, hastier than any Ent I have ever known. Quick of beam you are…Quickbeam." With that he left the young Ent, muttering quietly about hastiness and impetuous Entings, leaving a young Ent with a new name.
This is a tale about Ents. It is not a tale of elves, although a great many elves of no little repute enter into this tale, as after all, this is a tale of Middle-Earth. Now one might think that if this is not a tale of elves, it must be concerned with men or even the secretive dwarves. But when this tale took place the men of Middle-Earth were uncivilized and dwelt in shadow, while the doughty dwarves carved their deep halls in great mountains, away from searching eyes. No, this tale is concerned with Ents, or rather one Ent in particular.
If you were to say you didn't know what an Ent was, I would not be greatly surprised, for today they are almost all gone, like the great forests from the days when the world was young. Now Ents are very hard to describe, for they are often quite different from each other, except that one could say they are all quite "treeish" in certain ways. That is not to say they are trees. They are much different from trees in many ways. To call an Ent a tree would be like saying the sky and seas are the same simply because they are both blue. No, Ents are somewhat like men in appearance, but one would certainly not mistake an Ent for a man. For one, there are no female Ents, though the elder Ents tell tales of Entwives, who once, long ago left the forests Ents to tend their gardens. As one might guess, Ents are very old and like the trees they tend, they are tall, strong and straight. But they are every one different, some resembling evergreens, some the beech, yew, rowan, oak and ash. Some have beards, some are very tall and some are not. In short, one might be lead to believe that they are much like us or much like trees, but they would be quite mistaken.
An Ent can likely be quite a fearsome sight--especially if one is roused by some unlucky individual--but they have a very strange quality about them that often prevents them from reacting this way. They are very cautious of being too "hasty" as one elder Ent often puts it. Humans, for one, are much too hasty for Ents, with our great thirst for knowledge and power. Trees grow very slowly and hardly move at all, and aside from appearance, this is how Ents can be said to be most "treeish" for they are usually slow to act and move, preferring to be cautious and deliberate. In fact, some Ents have become so slow that they are almost trees themselves, seldom speaking or moving. But there was one Ent who has a reputation for being quite hasty indeed, an Ent quite young in the reckoning of his people. His name was Quickbeam.
Quickbeam was quite an unusual Ent and his name was not the only strange thing about him. Quickbeam lived in Fangorn Forest, which was once part of the great forests stretching across the west of Middle-Earth. In those days, the great War of the Jewels was fought between the Dark Lord Morgoth and the noble Noldorin Elves of the West. The elves followed their leader Fëanor out of the west to reclaim the Silmarils from Morgoth, who had stolen them and destroyed the light of the Two Trees, which was held inside the Silmarils. But that is another tale, one that had long since passed in the First Age. This tale is of the Second Age, long after the great upheavals from the battles that had ended the First Age. Middle-Earth had changed, and many of the great forests were destroyed. The world was becoming the realm of Men and the age of the Elves was coming to a close. The Ents saw this clearly and withdrew to Fangorn Forest or became so treeish and wild that they simply ceased to be Ents. But Quickbeam came of age in Fangorn and so knew little of the great forests of the past, the Entwives or even the Elves. He was tall, even for an Ent and bore skin like a rowan tree. As an Enting he would wander the forests of his rowan kin in the heights of Fangorn, singing to the trees and laughing at the joy of life. For most children this would seem like a normal part of life, but for an Ent, this would be quite unusual and quite hasty.
There was another Ent who lived in the heights of Fangorn, Skinbark. He was a very old Ent, almost the oldest in the forest. He was kin to Quickbeam and was wisest of the highland Ents, tending the birch trees. And he was not the least bit hasty. When he heard of this young Enting and his decidedly unentish behaviour, he resolved to have a long talk with this young one. Now Ents talk very slowly and for a very long time among each other and Entish is a very long and descriptive language. Skinbark quite reasonably assumed that any conversation with an Ent, no matter how young and impetuous, would be a long and elaborate affair, for even Entish names are quite long. But something happened then that never happened in the memory of any living Ent. Quickbeam answered the elder Ent before Skinbark had finished speaking, very uncharacteristically hasty for an Ent. Skinbark was quite taken aback and could never remember being interrupted, so he stood tall over the younger Ent, regarding him for a long time, thinking slowly and carefully and swaying with the wind. Finally he spoke. "Hmmm, you are a hasty one, quite hasty, hastier than any Ent I have ever known. Quick of beam you are…Quickbeam." With that he left the young Ent, muttering quietly about hastiness and impetuous Entings, leaving a young Ent with a new name.
