The Adventures of Frodo, Merry, Sam and Pippin
The date was July the fifth and the young mischief makers of the Shire were packing their bags and getting ready to go camping for a few days. Frodo and Merry had been camping before with Bilbo and they were very excited to be leading their friends by themselves.
Sam was doing some last minute weeding when he came across a flower he had never seen before. He looked around to see if there were any others such as the one that was planted before him. He decided to take it. 'Might come of some use on our journey,' he thought to himself.
Bilbo was in his study with Frodo giving him some tips on what to do and what not to do. '…And please Frodo, don't go anywhere than the borders of the Shire,' he called to his nephew as Frodo ran out the door of the study.
Merry and Pippin were in the kitchen of Bag End having a look at all the different foods in Bilbo's pantries. 'Merry look at these,' Pippin exclaimed from inside one of the pantries. He crawled out, wide eyed and with a big smile on his face. He was holding a jar filled with chocolate covered biscuits. Merry's face lit up. 'Quick, Pip, put them in the bag,' He said as he looked warily around himself.
Just as Pippin had finished zipping up the food bag, Sam walked in clutching an orange and blue flower. He was constantly sniffing it. The scent was of pine trees. He sat down on the sofa with his eyes closed while still smelling the flower.
Merry and Pippin looked at each other and sat down either side of Sam. 'Sam, what's with the flower?' Pippin asked while he was trying to get a closer look at it.
'Well, Mr Pippin, I was just outside now doing some weeding for Mr Frodo when I stumbled upon this flower. I picked it up because I feel like it might be of some use on our journey,' He started to smell the flower again. Merry and Pippin knew not to ask anymore about it; Sam had always had a strange passion 'for all things living' as he put it that no one could understand, Not even Frodo.
After a while Frodo and Bilbo came out of the study. 'We can leave as soon as I have checked something,' Frodo said as he dropped his small pack on Bilbo's toes. Frodo ran off to his bedroom and off of his night stand he took a small box. He opened it and smiled. Inside there was a stone. Frodo and Primula had both had a passion for rocks and stones. The stone was a deep, dark blue, almost black, and it was the very last one that Primula had given him before she drownded. Frodo stared at the stone for about five minutes and then placed the box in his pocket. He never went anywhere without it.
He walked out into the lounge and sat on the sofa. He looked over at Sam who was still sniffing the flower. 'Sam!' He exclaimed, 'where ever did you find such a marvelous flower?'
Sam handed Frodo the flower. The sent was beautiful and he could almost see himself running through fields. After a while he said, 'do you know what type it is?'
'That's what we were just talking about before you came out, Mr Frodo. But no one seems to know; not even Mr Bilbo here.'
After a silence Pippin's stomach gurgled. 'Can we have something to eat before we leave? I am terribly hungry,' he asked while patting his stomach.
'I don't see why not,' Bilbo answered. He got off the sofa and walked over to the pantries to get out some biscuits. 'While you are all eating, I'm going to go through your food bag. Who knows what those two packed,' he muttered to Frodo.
Bilbo made them some toast with butter and jam before taking the food bag and tipping its contents onto the floor. To there amazement, the old hobbit laid down on the floor, propped himself up on his arm and began to sort through the pile of things that were in front of him.
When Frodo, Merry, Sam and Pippin had finished eating they decided to go and watch Bilbo. It wasn't all that exciting but it was better than standing around and doing nothing. Before long they were all ready to leave.
Bilbo had taken out a lot of the food that Merry and Pippin had put in. Every time Bilbo disregarded something they both let out loud, disappointed sighs. Bilbo had replaced the disregarded items with dried fruits and loaves of bread. Every one had over looked water so Bilbo went deep into the closet of the master bedroom and fished out four water skins. All were in good condition, though a little dusty. He filled them up with cold water and handed them to each hobbit as they walked out the door.
Soon the four of them were off on their way to the outskirts of the Shire. The sun was warm and there was a breeze in the air. After a while they saw someone coming up the hill.
Sam was delighted (though he was suddenly nervous) to learn that it was Rosie Cotton. He immediately thought of the flower. 'I knew it would come of some use!' He muttered to himself.
'Hello!' Rosie said with a smile on her face from ear to ear. 'And what might four hobbits such as you be doing with large packs on their backs?' She asked.
'We're going camping!' Pippin said with enthusiasm.
'That sounds like fun. I was just on my way to the Green Dragon to start my shift and decided to take a different route. I always liked this part of Hobbiton more,' she said looking up at the trees and gardens. 'Well, I had best be on my way. You have fun. Come by the Dragon when you get back. Good day.'
She went to walk off when Sam called her back. He had been trying to work up the courage to speak to Rosie. 'Miss Rose, I would like you to have this flower. I found it in the garden of Bag End. I have never seen a flower so beautiful. It smells of pine trees.'
Rosie took the flower and sniffed it. 'Sam, it's beautiful! Thank you so much. I will go straight home and put it in a vase by my bedside. Thank you again, Sam! Have fun camping,' she kissed Sam's cheek and went on her way, still smelling the flower with a big smile on her face.
Sam was smiling too and wondered if see another flower like the one he had just given Rosie.
It was nearing twelve o'clock and the hobbits were getting hungry, so they decided to look for a shady tree. Soon they found one and they got out the food from the food bag. Frodo opened it up and took out some of the dried fruit. Merry and Pippin's spirits rose a little when they found that Bilbo had left one jar of the chocolate covered biscuits. 'No, not until we get to out destination later tonight,' Frodo said as he took the jar from them. They were disappointed but also now more eager to get to the borders, Though Frodo hadn't told them that they wouldn't reach the borders until the next afternoon.
They packed up and walked on. Soon, Sam walked up to Frodo and asked him if there was anything special at their destination. 'There is Sam, but I can not share it with you; it's a surprise.'
Originally, Frodo hadn't really had a reason for taking his friends camping, other than giving them a bit of an adventure but when Sam had shown him the flower, he remembered his parents taking him to the borders when he was younger and he remembered a flower that looked and smelled exactly the same. He silently smiled to himself at the thought of this memory.
They went on further and were very weary by nightfall. They walked on a little way until they were surrounded by trees. Pippin had asked to sleep amongst the shrubbery as he said that sleeping out in the open made him feel exposed.
The next day Merry and Pippin woke Frodo and Sam up before the sun had even risen. 'We can't see in the dark,' Frodo had said. 'Sam and I are going back to sleep. Wake us up when the sun is up,' and with that Frodo turned over and went back to sleep.
It's all right, you twp, I wasn't sleeping anyway,' Sam said with a yawn and a stretch.
'Yes, Frodo is getting grumpy in his old age,' Merry joked. Frodo heard this and decided to retort. He couldn't sleep after Merry and Pippin had woken him up.
'For your information, Meriadoc, I haven't even come of age yet! I'm only thirty, there's still another three years before you can call me old,' Frodo laughed.
'So Frodo, where are you taking us?' Pippin asked as Frodo handed him a chocolate covered biscuit.
'It's a surprise, my dear Pippin. I'm sure you will like it,' Frodo said. Though he was quite sure his cousin wouldn't be interested in the flowers, he had a rather good feeling that Pippin would be interested in the squirrels and other wild animals. Pippin had often told stories about how he had managed to tame Farmer Maggot's dogs once, though the story had changed significantly over the years. But Frodo was sure that his cousin wouldn't be disappointed with this adventure.
As the others were continuing with their breakfast and washing themselves, and then having second breakfast (in Pippin's case), Frodo was sitting on the small patch of grass where he had slept the night and he was looking at the small stone that he mother had given him when Sam walked over and sat next to his master.
'That is a lovely stone that you have there, Mr Frodo,' he said while admiring the stone that lay in Frodo's hand. 'Where did you get it?' Sam asked.
'This, Samwise,' Frodo started,' is the very last stone that my mother gave me before she died. We used to share a passion for stones and such, you see, Sam. And can you believe that I have never collected one since the accident?' Frodo laughed lightly, though it was forced. He had tears in his eyes and one dared to fall.
Sam sighed and spoke,' Mr Frodo, if you are to ever collect another stone, I think that it should be as beautiful as the one that you have in your hand there, and it should symbolize your mother's beauty.'
'I think you are right, Sam. When we get to our destination I will throw this stone in the little river that is nearby. You can come if you'd like, Sam.'
'Thank you, Mr Frodo, I will definitely come with you,' Sam said with a smile.
After a short silence Frodo spoke.' 'You know, Sam, there is one good thing that came out of my mother and fathers deaths, though it sounds cruel to say so, but I'm glad that Bilbo adopted me, it led me to you. All my life I have had friends from Brandyhall but no where else, and though Merry is older than you, you speak of wisdom beyond your years. Sam you are, and I hope to the end of my days, one of my very best friends.'
At this, Sam felt very important and stood up and bowed to Frodo, Surprisingly, Frodo allowed this, one of very few. He pushed Sam back up and hugged him tightly.
'Mr Frodo, if you hadn't have moved to Hobbiton then I never would have had a friend such as you, or Mr Merry or even Mr Pippin. Because of you, Mr Frodo, you have given me a reason to live and a purpose as appose to just being people's gardener. You have given me a meaning to my life and I thank you, Mr Frodo,' Sam bowed again.
Merry and Pippin had heard Frodo and Sam's quiet conversation and had sat down on their sacks, listening and thinking of how close Frodo was to them and how they would hate to lose him. They would risk their lives for Frodo's safety.
Soon Frodo and Sam got themselves together and continued to pack. They were going to have to quicken their pace if they were to reach the field by sundown later that day.
Finally, they were all packed and were again on their way to the "Special Field" as Frodo called it. By lunchtime they had a little over five leagues to go until they reached the field. They stopped by a small stream for a brief break and to re fill their water skins.
Again they were on their way, though slightly weary as they were. After about another half league Frodo decided to give Pippin a piggy back ride the rest of the way, or until he couldn't handle Pippin's weight any more. The young hobbit hadn't had nearly enough to fill himself, and all the walking had tired him out. Sam was occasionally feeding him some dried fruit biscuits.
After a few more hours, the sun had just started to set over the Misty Mountains and Frodo knew that they were close to the special field.
'We're close! I can feel it,' he said. Pippin climbed off of Frodo's back, took Merry's hand and together they bounded off down the hill. Frodo and Sam ran down the hill at a great pace.
They reached the field and it looked almost like one of those happy ending fields in movies with the butterflies and such. Though this was similar to those sorts of fields, it still had certain uniqueness about it.
Frodo was right about one thing; Pippin was enjoying the beauty of the wildlife that was present. He was chasing a pair of squirrels around.
As Sam got closer to the field, he noticed something; there were millions of the blue and orange flowers every where. He gripped Frodo's arm when he realized that these were the same to the one that he had found in Bag End a few days previous.
Together all four of the hobbits lay down on the grass surrounded by the mysterious flowers all thinking to themselves. Just as Frodo was about to fall asleep, Merry quietly said something to him. 'Frodo this really is a wonderful adventure that you have taken us one, thank you, cousin!'
'Well actually, Merry, I had initially intended to come this way but not as far, I came here for the last vacation that my parents took me on before they died. When Sam had the flower over in Bag End it reminded me of this place so I bought you all here. We can stay for as long as three days Bilbo said or he would start to get worried,' he had said to himself. Merry and Pippin had fallen asleep in their weariness. Sam was listening intently to his master.
'Mr Frodo, I think that this is a good time to give away your stone, don't you think?' Sam asked in a hoarse whisper.
'I think you're right, Sam. Now does feel like the right time. It's just, I feel kind of reluctant to throw it away. After all, this stone symbolizes my last memory of being away with my family. I will throw it away in the stream over there if I can bring myself to do so,' Frodo said sadly as he indicated the stream away south of where they sat.
Merry woke up suddenly and carried Pippin over to the small cave where they were to sleep. And Merry, too, went to bed. Frodo and Sam stayed awake for a bit longer before they started to yawn and went to bed.
The next morning all four of them slept in, peacefully. The field was quiet except for a bird whistling every now and then. Frodo awoke and turned over and faced the stream. Something caught his eye; it was listening in the sun light. He warily got up to investigate. He was careful not to step on anything that might wake his friends. Finally, he reached the small stream, but he had lost sight of the glistening object so he sat down and rested his head on his knees while listening to the stream.
After a few minutes later, the sun caught the glistening object again so Frodo kept his eye on it and moved closer to it. He reached it but stopped in his tracks where he was; it was a silver locket. Frodo felt like he had seen it before somewhere but he didn't know where. It was stuck around a rock so he carefully unhooked it and looked inside. It was a small picture of him as a baby and on the other side was a picture of Drogo and Primula; it was his mother's locket. She must have been wearing it on the night of the accident.
Frodo closed it up and walked slowly back to his bed where he put his head under the covers and sobbed until he could sob no more.
Sam woke and heard Frodo quietly crying. He carefully got out of his bed and tiptoed over to Frodo. He was careful not to alert Frodo or wake up Merry and Pippin. When he reached the small lump that was Frodo, he pulled the covers away to reveal a tear stained, wet faced Frodo.
Sam was surprised to see Frodo so sad. 'Mr Frodo, what's the matter?' Sam asked as he sat down and took Frodo's hand to comfort him.
'Sam, I found one of my mother's lockets by the stream. I think she was wearing it the night of the accident. That little stream joins up to the Brandywine,' Frodo said sadly.
'Frodo that is terrible news!' Was all Sam said. His eyes had filled with tears and he could feel Frodo's pain.
After a while Frodo spoke. 'Sam I have decided what to do about the stone and about what you said; I am going to throw the stone into the stream and instead of finding a new and better one. I will keep my mother's locket. I was thinking of doing it now actually,' He added almost as an after thought.
Together the two of them headed down to the stream. Frodo was sad to say good bye to the very last thing that his mother gave him, but knew that the locket would be a better thing to have. He threw the stone in and watched it disappear down the stream. He turned around and cried into Sam's shoulder.
Merry and Pippin silently walked over to Frodo and Sam who were looking out at the stream and meadow that followed. 'What are we looking at?' Merry asked when he couldn't spot anything.
'We were just taking in the view,' Frodo said quietly. Merry and Pippin looked at each other in confusion before joining their companions. After a while they all greed to start on their journey back to Bag End after lunch.
When they were all packed and ready, Sam bent down and inhaled the scent of the flowers. 'Just for the road,' he said to Frodo when he stood back up. Soon they were on their way back to Bag End.
All four of them were looking forward to sleeping in a real bed again. The ground was never actually comfortable and Sam swore that the roots and sticks deliberately moved to where he had set up his bed.
During the next three days they slowly made their progress towards Bag End. By the evening of the third day since they left the special field they could finally see the way back to Hobbiton. As they were heading over the Brandywine Bridge, Rosie Cotton appeared from in front of them still clutching the flower. 'A Liriac*,' she said breathlessly. 'That's what this flower is called. I asked my father and he called it a Liriac,' she said answering the four puzzled faces that stood before her.
'Of course!' Frodo said suddenly,' clapping his head to his hand. 'I remember my father telling me about it when we went to the field.'
They conversed with Rosie for a little while longer before saying good bye and heading to Bag End. They soon reached it and Bilbo was at the door waiting for them 'I had a feeling you might turn up some time tonight,' he laughed.
The five of them walked inside where Merry Pippin and Frodo all went straight to bed. Sam went back home to number two.
Frodo awoke late in the night and he realized that he hadn't told Bilbo he had found his mother's locket. He got out of bed, took the locket and went in search of Bilbo. Frodo found him sitting on the sofa by the hearth of the fire reading. Frodo sat down next to him, startling the old hobbit.
'Frodo, what are you doing awake so late?' Bilbo asked.
'Uncle I realized something just now; I never showed you something that I found while I was gone,' Bilbo had a curious look on his face. Frodo took from his pocket his mother's necklace. Bilbo gasped. 'I found it when we reached the field. It was hooked on a rock. I know it's hers because there is a picture of Mother, Father and me inside.' Frodo passed the locket to Bilbo who looked at it carefully. He handed it back to Frodo and told him to keep it safe, it was a precious thing. Frodo went back to bed happily that night and dreamt of his parents.