A Delightful Visit From the Dwarves
Disclaimer and Authors Notes and Warnings: See page one.
The fair grounds were filled with hobbits buying and selling flowers, vegetables, pastries, etc. There were also many games and activities. The dwarves looked with amazement at the different activities that were going on because they have never seen a hobbit fair before. There was a hobbit lady towards the right selling flower wreathes, and a hobbit lady towards the left selling cherry and lemon pies. There was also a hobbit man who was playing the Hammer and Bell game. He swung the hammer and hit the object which went all the way up to the bell. Near him were a few hobbit lads tossing bean bags on blocks trying to get three in the row, and straight in front of the lads playing the Bean Bag Toss game were two ladies selling carrots, beets, squash, and other vegetables. There were many couples walking around with their arms linked together, and mothers and fathers leading small children by the hand while the children were holding balloons, dolls, or stuffed animals in their hands. There was a family with eight children walking towards the left where a hobbit lady and man were selling stuffed animals, and towards the right of the stuffed animal stand was a little hobbit boy eating candy while holding his mother's hand. The area was filled with music that few of the bands were playing. Towards the far right near the lake a group of children were enjoying a puppet show, and towards the far left side some were farm animals in a fenced in area including ponies, pigs, and sheep. A group of hobbits were riding on a hay filled wagon with two ponies in the front, and near the lake were a few hobbit couples admiring the water as well as a group of tweenagers splashing water on each other despite the fact that the water was too cold because it was only spring.
Frodo, eyes widened with excitement at the sight that was in front of him and tried to pull his hand free from Bilbo so he could run towards the fun actives, but Bilbo did not let go of Frodo's hand.
"Wook Unca Bibo, cakes, and pies, and toys, hoses, and sheep, puppet shows, and hay wides."
"Take it easy Frodo," said Bilbo who wasn't a bit surprised at the child's excitement. "We have plenty of time to do all these fun things."
When Bilbo, Frodo, and the dwarves entered the fair grounds, the hobbits looked at the dwarves with different expressions, some friendly others not so friendly. All of them were curious because they did not often get visitors from outside the shire.
"Ori noticed the unfriendly looks of some of the hobbits and said with annoyance in his voice, "these hobbits are sneering at us."
"I noticed that too," Nori replied. "I wonder why they are staring at us as if we are intruders, it makes me feel uncomfortable."
"Many of the hobbits feel uncomfortable when they receive visitors from outside the shire, because they want to keep to themselves and have nothing to do with the outside world," Bilbo explained to them. "Besides not all of them are unfriendly.
"Well, I don't like them staring at us," said Gloin.
Bilbo turned to Frodo who was still holding his hand and asked him, "what would you like to do first?"
"Go on a pony wide!"
"Let's take him there,"said Bilbo.
They began to walk towards the farm area. On their way there, they passed by a hobbit woman who was selling apricots that Ori bought, a few games including another bean bag tossing game, a group of hobbit children chasing each other, and a few hobbits who were sneering at them.
There was also a hobbit man named Toby Proudfoot who saw Bilbo and said to him, "It's so good to see you again. I haven't seen you in over eight months. You should come visit us again. My wife will make you the best chicken pot pie, and our children would love to hear you tell stories about elves and dwarves."
"It's good to see you too, Toby," said Bilbo, where is your family?"
"My wife and children are talking to one of her sisters." Toby gestured towards two hobbit ladies talking to each other while the children hung around their mothers."
"I see you brought some dwarves with you," Toby said. "Why don't you introduce me to them?"
"Toby, these are my friends, "Bofer, Bifer, Nori, Ori, and Gloin."
"Greetings to all of you," he said to them.
They nodded their heads in response before he caught sight of Frodo holding Bilbo's hand.
"Who is this little lad?" he asked.
"I a big wad," said Frodo who looked proudly at Toby.
"This is my nephew Frodo," Bilbo answered. "His parents are celebrating their wedding anniversary for a few days so they left him in my charge."
Toby knelt down in front of Frodo and said to him, "I have two daughters who are just about your size."
"Do they wike pony wides?" Frodo asked.
"Yes they do."
"I'm going on a pony wide, visit animaws, pway games, eat cakes, go on hay wides, and do wats of ota fun tings," Frodo said with excitement in his voice.
"We have to get going," said Bilbo before Toby stood up again. "Frodo can't wait for his pony ride. I hope you have fun today, and say hello to your family for me."
"I hope all of you have fun too," said Toby.
"Thank you Bofer," said to him. "It was nice meeting you."
The other dwarves nodded their heads in agreement.
Bilbo, Frodo and the dwarves continued to walk until they arrived at the farm area. The first group of animals they saw inside a fenced in area where ponies, one of them, a brownish white pony, was area grazing on the tall green grass towards the back, while the other one, a dark chocolate colored pony was eating a carrot out of a hobbit lady's hands. A few hobbits looked at the dwarves with unfriendly eyes while they passed by them to visit the animals behind the ponies.
"We don't need these dwarves here," one of the hobbit men," said nastily to his friends."
"Excuse me, Mrs. Burrows," Bilbo said trying to get the lady's attention.
"Yes?" she asked politely while looking expectantly at him.
"Can Frodo have a ride on one of your ponies?"
"Yes he can," she answered.
At that moment, two hobbit men arrived each holding the halter of a pony. When the ponies stopped the men lifted the children, a hobbit lad and hobbit lass off the ponies. The children ran towards their parents who stood a few feet away from Bilbo, Frodo, and the dwarves. Mrs. Burrrows led the ponies inside the fenced in area. They began to graze.
"What pony would you like to ride on," Mrs. Burrows asked Frodo with a sweet voice.
"Tat one," Frodo answered while he pointed to the dark chocolate colored pony.
Mrs. Burrows went inside the fenced in area and led the pony out. She lifted Frodo on the saddle and began to lead the pony on the fair grounds.
While Frodo was going on a pony ride, Bilbo and the dwarves were talking to each other.
"I noticed that this hobbit fair is different from ours," said Gloin "There are no axe throwing contests, objects being forged out of metal, mining contests, or stone shaping contests."
"I noticed that too," said Ori. "I also notice that this fair doesn't have half the meat that our fairs have. Many of the dwarves sell meat with herbs on them including venison, beef, ham, and roast chicken."
"Your fairs sounds interesting," said Bilbo. I would like to visit one when I go traveling again."
"Are you going to visit us at Erubor?" Gloin asked Bilbo.
"Yes, I plan on doing that someday, as well as visiting Rivendell and other places."
They continued to talk to each other until Mrs. Burrows returned with the pony. She lifted Frodo off the pony before she led the pony back inside it's pen.
"That was fun, can I wide on him again?"
"No," Mrs. Burrows answered. "The Pony needs to rest."
"Let's visit the other animals," Bilbo said Frodo while he took his hand.
The first animals they visited after Frodo's pony ride were pigs.
"Look at those pigs," Bilbo said to Frodo.
Frodo looked at the mud covered pigs, and said," Unca Frodo tese pigs wike to get aw muddy wike me? Can I go inside and pway wit them?"
"No, they might bite," Bilbo answered.
"We see wild pigs once in a while in our travels," Gloin said to Bilbo
"That one over there, looks like the pig we ate last week," Bofer said while he pointed at a very large pig that was wallowing in the mud near his home.
"And that one next to him is sleeping," said Ori. "Do you remember the time when we watched a pig race in a human village?"
The other dwarves nodded their heads.
"We were betting on pig races, and Thorin's pig out ran every other pig."
"I remembered that. I also remembered the time when Thorin fell in a mud hole and when he came out again he was covered with so much mud that he looked like a mud monster. Many of us were laughing," said Bofer.
"You were laughing the loudest," said Ori.
"I remembered that time; Thorin was so annoyed at us that he was trying to throw mud at us while he was chasing us," said Nori.
"He did get you good," Ori said to his brother while laughing at the memory. "He threw so much mud that you looked like a mud monster too."
"He pushed you in the mud hole," Nori said in response while laughing. "You looked more like a mud monster than I did."
"I wish I was there, to see it," Bilbo said while he began to laugh.
Frodo looked at them strangely because he did not know what they were talking about.
They passed by the pigs and approached the next area where sheep were being kept.
Bilbo lifted Frodo up into his arms and said to him, "You can pet the sheep. Frodo put his hand on top of one of the sheep's head that was near them and felt the soft wooly fur.
He feels so sof," said Frodo.
"That's because he has large amount of wooly fur," Bofer answered him.
"My wife used to make clothes and blankets out of sheep skin," Gloin said to the others. "It used to keep my little Gimli very warm during the winter months."
Bifer gestured to Gloin, that their mother also used to make winter clothes out of sheep skins for him and his brothers.
"I like to keep warm during the winter too," said Bilbo. "I like watching the snow fall on the ground, and children making snow hobbits and having snow ball fight, but I'm not fond of the freezing cold."
"My Gimli used to have fun playing in the snow," said Gloin. "He and his friends used to build snow forts and pretended to have snow battles."
"Let's visit the other animals," said Bilbo.
They visited the chickens, rabbits, and other animals, until they came to the last area where the cats and kittens were. They watch the kittens wrestle with each other while the cats watched them.
Frodo immediately began to play with the kittens. He dangled a toy mouse in front them swinging it back and forth on a string while two of the kittens were batting at it. When he was finished playing with them, he petted a stripped kitten, and tried to pick up a black and white kitten, but Bilbo pulled his hands away from the kitten.. The mother cat was making a soft hissing sound. It was obvious that she did not like to have anyone pick up her kittens.
"You must not pick up the kittens," Bilbo said.
"Why?" Frodo asked. The kittens looked so adorable that he wanted to cuddle them.
"The mother cat does not want them to be picked up."
"I wan tat one," said Frodo who pointed at another black and white kitten.
"No Frodo," said Bilbo.
"But he's so cute," said Frodo who was beginning to pout.
"Would you like me to give you a pony ride?" Bofer asked Frodo, trying to distract the child from the kittens and prevent him from having a temper tantrum.
"Yes! Yes!" Frodo answered excitedly while he jumped up and down.
Bilbo handed Frodo to Bofer who put him on his shoulders before they walked out of the farm animal area.
"Would you like to join a children's race?" Bilbo asked Frodo.
Frodo nodded his head.
They turned towards the right and began to walk towards the children's racing area. The Sackville Baggins and the Greenhomes saw them from a distance.
"Isn't that just like Bilbo to bring those dwarves to our fair and ruin it," Tulip said nastily. "We don't need those dwarves here."
"And we don't need that Bilbo here, either or in the shire," Lobelia said just as nastily. "We would be living in Bag end right now if Bilbo stayed away. Otho would be sitting comfortable on the bag end chair in the parlor, and my Lotho would be the envy of other hobbit children."
"I want to have a race with the other kids," Lotho said, who was standing beside her.
"Otho, let's take Lotho to the children's racing area."
Bilbo and the dwarves continued to walk towards the children's racing area passing a few game booths including a children's toy fishing game, and a few selling booths including one that where a hobbit lady was selling potted plants, and a hobbit man was cups and bowls. When they arrived at the children's racing area, they saw a group of older children lined up in a row and bent slightly forward; ready to take off.
"On your mark! Get set! Go!" yelled a hobbit man who was in charge of the races.
The children took off running some surpassing the others while the families and friends of the racing hobbit children cheered them on.
"Go Lilly! Go! Go! Go! Go Sadoc! "Go Hal! You can beat them Lilac!"
Bofer put Bilbo down on the ground.
"These children run fast," said a hobbit boy who was standing next to his mother.
"I can wun fas too," Frodo said to the older boy while he looked up at him.
"Maybe you should race," the older hobbit boy said to the toddler.
"I came here to wace and to win," said Frodo. "Aw you gonna wace too?"
"Nah," said the older hobbit boy. "I don't like to race."
"Excuse me," Bilbo said trying to get the attention of the hobbit man who was in charge of the children's races.
The hobbit man turned around and looked at them with a frown on his face. "Dwarves," he sneered quietly.
The words however were picked up by Bilbo and the others, including Gloin who started towards him, but Bofer kept him back.
"Ignore him Bofer; the last thing we need right now is a fight."
"But he said…" Gloin objected.
"If you fight him, it will spoil Frodo's chance to race with the other children," said Bofer.
"I suppose you're right," said Gloin. He reluctantly backed off.
"My nephew would like to join a race."
The hobbit man knelt down to the Frodo who was holding Bilbo's hand.
"So you like to race?" he asked kindly.
"I wike to wun," Frodo answered.
"You can join the next race with the younger children," the hobbit man said before he stood up again.
"Go Tom go! Go! Go! Go! Faster Lilac!"
"What do you say Frodo?" Bilbo prompted him.
"Tank you."
"You're welcome," said the hobbit man.
"Run! Run! Run! Go! Go! Go! Faster Hal! Faster Lilac! Come on Pearl you can win! Don't let her beat you Bert!"
The older children continued to race until Lilac stepped on the finished line.
"The winner!" a hobbit woman said while holding up Lilac's hand.
Lilac's family rushed to her and surrounded her while cheering excitedly.
"Hoorah! Hoorah!" they cheered
"You won! You won! You won!" said Lilac's older sister.
"Lilac, the faster runner in the shire!" her mother shouted while holding up Lilac's arm.
The hobbit man gave Lilac a new doll as a prize for winning the race.
"Now it is time for the younger children to race," said the hobbit man."
He began to line the younger children up. He took Frodo's hand and walked him to the line.
"You stand right here," he said to Frodo while he placed him between a hobbit girl who was his size and a bigger hobbit girl.
"And you can stand here," he said to another hobbit boy when he brought him to the far end of the line.
"Looks like everybody is ready," said the Hobbit man. "On your mark! Get…."
"Wait! Wait!" cried Otho. "My son wants to get into this race too."
He took Lotho to the starting line.
"You can stand here," he said to Lotho while he put him between Frodo and the older hobbit girl."
"Is everybody ready?" the hobbit man shouted.
"Yes!" all the children yelled.
"On your mark! Get set! Go!"
The hobbit children took off and as the families cheered the older children on they were now cheering the younger children.
"Go! Go! Go Frodo! Go Pearl! Go! Dodi! Faster Lotho! Faster!"
The younger children were racing as fast as their little legs allowed with some surpassing the others. Frodo, who was fast for his age, was catching up to Lotho. Though Lotho was four years older and twice his size he was a slow runner; by the time they were halfway through Frodo caught up to him. Lotho seeing that Frodo was running even with him and would soon pass him stuck his leg out and tripped Frodo who fell on the ground and skinned his knees. Frodo began to wail loudly while tears were running down his cheeks.
"I saw that!" the father of one of the other racing children yelled. "That big boy tripped that smaller boy!"
"I saw that too!" his wife shouted while she was holding an infant girl in her arms.
"Stop the race!" Gloin yelled while Bilbo ran towards his crying child and held him in his arms.
"It huts Unca Bibo," Frodo wailed while he rubbed his scraped knee.
"Let me look at that," the hobbit man who was in charge of the race said.
He looked at the skinned knee and said to Bilbo, "that is a nasty scrape, get that cleaned up."
Bilbo silently nodded his head at the other hobbit man while holding Frodo in his arms and trying to comfort him.
"Tat big boy twipped me!" Frodo yelled.
He did not!" Otho yelled angrily. "That brat is lying!"
"He did trip him!" Nori shouted angrily. "I saw it with my own eyes. You need to teach your child some manners!"
"I saw it too!" said another hobbit lady.
"Mind your own business!" Tulip shouted angrily at her.
My child did not trip him!" Lobelia shouted. "And even if he did, that Brandybuck brat deserved it!"
"He did not!" Gloin shouted!
"Yes he did!" Dodo shouted back. "He's a Brandybuck and he doesn't belong here."
Nori started toward him wanting punch him, but Ori held him back.
"He's not worth it."
"I saw the whole thing; Lotho tripped Frodo," the hobbit man who was in charge of the race said. "He's out of the race."
The Sackville Baggins and the Greenhomes walked away angrily.
"I wish you had never come back," Lobelia said angrily to Bilbo before she joined the others.
"Good riddance!" Bilbo shouted angrily at them before he turned back to Frodo.
"Shush! Shush! It's alright. You are going to be fine. Let's go to the lake and get your knee all cleaned up, and then you can join another race."
"No wana wace any mo," Frodo said sadly.
"Would you like me to give you another horse ride?" Bofer asked.
"Yay!" Frodo answered already forgetting his hurt.
"Let's do that after we clean his knee," Bilbo said to Lotho.
Bilbo carried Frodo in his arms while he and the dwarves walked to the lake which was close by. When they got to the lake, Bilbo dipped his handkerchief in the cold water and began to clean Frodo's knee of dirt and blood (there was very little of it). Frodo flinched when the cold water hit his skin and tried to move, but Gloin held him still.
"It's alright, Frodo," Bilbo said soothingly to him. "I'm going to clean your knee and you will feel all better."
When Bilbo finished cleaning his knee, Frodo felt much better. Frodo stood up and began to walk towards the water.
"Come on Frodo," Bilbo said to Frodo while he took his hand to lead him away from the water. "We are not going swimming today."
"Would you like me to give you another pony ride now?" Bofer asked Frodo.
Frodo nodded his head.
Bofer lifted Frodo on his shoulders and began to gallop, making Frodo laugh. He already forgot about his scraped knee.
"Fater Bofa Fater!" Frodo shouted.
They came upon a hobbit lady who was selling strawberries.
"I would like to buy some strawberries," Bilbo said to the lady.
He handed the hobbit lady some money and she handed him some strawberries. Bilbo handed two strawberries to Frodo who put them in his mouth right away. He was enjoying the juicy sweet taste of the strawberry.
"Mo Unca Bibo!"
"Here you go," Bilbo said to him while gave him another strawberry.
Frodo ate that strawberry too.
"Mo Unca Bibo!"
"No that is enough for now; I don't want to spoil your appetite for afternoon tea," said Bilbo.
"Twabewy is dewicious," Frodo said.
"Would you like to see the puppet show?" Bilbo asked Frodo.
Frodo nodded his head happily.
To Be Continued
