Liesel lied on her back and squinted her eyes in calculation at almost everything around her. Ori had passed by her as he was unloading his own pack, and rolled out his sleeping mat. Liesel and Bombur had just finished preparing the meal, but had to wait for some time for it to properly cook.

"Ms. Liesel, what are you doing?" The girl`s sharp ears picked up one of the youngest dwarf`s meek voice.

"Counting things." She replied "Bilbo told me to if I`m bored." She returned to counting the single leaves on a tree above her. 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6-.

"Well, I`ll leave you to your 'counting'." He turned to leave, but remembered something Bombur had told. "Oh, and Liesel?" She slightly rose her head up. "The stew`s almost ready." She gave him a small grin. "Okay, I`ll be there."

And she was. After her diner, she had decided to retire fairly early. Only half an hour after that, was when something memorable would happen.

"He`s been a long time." Bilbo paced from his spot he had staring at for an hour, waiting for the grey wizard to return

"Who?" Bofur asked, serving two bowls of stew.

"Gandalf."

"He`s a wizard! He does as he chooses. Here, do us a favor: take these to the lads." The miner handed Mr. Baggins the two bowls, and tilted his head to the direction where Fili and Kili had been keeping watch of the ponies. As Bilbo was leaving, out of the corner of his eye, Bofur caught the fat dwarf scooping more soup out of the pot. "Stop it, you`ve had plenty."

The hobbit continued making his way to the brothers, until he caught his eye of Liesel leaning against the same tree she was a few hours ago, cuddled in a blanket, staring right up into the sky. This caused Bilbo to stop in his tracks and observe her.

"What on earth are you doing?" He managed to ask.

Without breaking contact with the sky, she said "Counting the stars."

He rested his head on his shoulder "But why?"

"It helps me get to sleep easier."

"Why don`t you try counting sheep?"

"It never works for me."

"It does for me," Bilbo muttered.

She dropped her eyes, and turned her head to him, slightly frowning. "You made me lose count."

He scoffed slightly "Well, I`m sorry-."

"1,2,3,4,5,6…" She interrupted him, and her counting could be heard even as Bilbo left her alone.

He went out in the dark to where Fili and Kili are watching the ponies. They were staring out into the dark and did not take the soup from Bilbo when he handed it to them. "What's the matter?" He asked the two.

"We're supposed to be looking out for the ponies." Kili replied, almost insatantly.

"Only we've encountered a slight problem." Fili finished.

"We had sixteen." "Now there's fourteen."

They all examined the group of ponies. "Daisy and Bungo are missing." Kili pointed out.

"Well, that's not good. That is not good at all." The hobbit laughed nervously. "Should we tell Thorin?"

"Uhh, no. Let's not worry him. As our official burglar, we thought you might like to look into it." Fili looked to him. Bilbo looked around and saw some trees recently uprooted and laying on the ground. "Well, uh...look, some-something big uprooted these trees."

"That was our thinking." Kili told.

"Something very big, and possibly quite dangerous." Bilbo also pointed out.

In the corner of Fili`s eye, something had immediately caught it. "Hey! There's a light. Over here! Stay down."

As the three of them quietly ran through the forest toward the light Fili had saw, and they hid behind a log when they realized that it was a fire. Harsh laughter sounds from near the fire.

"What is it?" Bilbo whispered to the brothers.

Kili glared at the light "Trolls."

The brothers ran toward the fire; Bilbo started to follow them, then returned to grab the two bowls of soup he left on the log. He then continued following them. Bilbo hid behind a tree and saw a massive mountain troll walking toward the fire, carrying a pony under each arm!

Bilbo`s eyes widened "He's got Myrtle and Minty! I think they're going to eat them, we have to do something."

The two snapped their heads to the hobbit "Yes; you should. Mountain trolls are slow and stupid, and you're so small." Kili slightly pushed him forward.

The poor hobbit`s breath hitched in his chest "N-n-no."

"They'll never see you."

"No, no, no..."

"It's perfectly safe! We'll be right behind you."

"If you run into trouble, hoot twice like a barn owl, once like a brown owl." Fili finally spoke up. Fili and Kili pushed Bilbo toward the fire. He began whispering Fili's instructions to himself, trying to remember them, but got mixed up.

"Twice like a barn owl, twice like a brown-once like a brown? Are you sure this is a good idea?" Bilbo turned around, but Fili and Kili were already out of sight. The three trolls, Tom, Bert, and William, sat around a fire on which a cauldron of something is cooking. Tom was the troll who brought the ponies. William had on a dirty vest. Bert was the cook and was wearing an apron.

"Mutton yesterday, mutton today, and blimey, if it don't look like mutton again tomorrow." Bert complained.

"Quit yer' griping. These ain't sheep. These is West Nags!" Tom argued.

"Oh, I don't like `orse. I never `ave. Not enough fat on them." William piped in.

"Well, it's better than the leathery old farmer. All skin and bone, he was. I'm still picking bits of him out of me teeth." William sneezed into the pot they have boiling over a fire.

"Oh, that's lovely, that is; a floater."

"Oh, might improve the flavor!"

"Ah! There's more where that came from." William began to sneeze more, but Bert grabbed him by the nose. Bilbo, unseen, got behind them.

"Oh no you don't." Bert threw William down. "Ow! Ow! Ow!" "Sit down." William sneezed again, this time into a handkerchief he pulled out from behind him. He sniffed for a long time. Bilbo, reaching the pen in which the ponies were held, attempted to untie the ropes. He hid as William turned towards him. "I hope you're gonna gut these nags. I don't like the stinky parts."

Bert hit William with his ladle, and William squealed in pain. "I said sit down!"

"I'm starving! Are we `aving horse tonight or what?"

"Shut your cakehole. You'll eat what I give ya'." As William pulled out his handkerchief, Bilbo saw long knife in his belt. Bilbo, unable to untie the ropes restraining the ponies, attempted to get the knife from the troll.

"How come 'e's the cook? Everything tastes the same. Everything tastes like chicken." Tom complained.

"Except the chicken." William pointed out.

"That tastes like fish!"

"I'm just saying, a little appreciation would be nice. 'Thank you very much, Bert,' 'Lovely stew, Bert'; how hard is that? Hmm, it just needs a sprinkle of squirrel dung." William picked up a mug of drink.

"There, that's my grog!" Bert snapped.

William paused, then laughed nervously "Uhh, uhh, sorry." Bert hit William with his ladle again, knocking him down. He got back up. Bert tasted the soup in his ladle.

"Ooh, that is beautifully balanced, that is." Bert let Tom taste some of the soup in the ladle; Tom gulped it down.

Bilbo got behind William and tries to reach for the knife, but William stood up and scratched his bottom. Bilbo bit his tongue to not hiss and looked away.

Tom began again "Me guts are grumbling, I've got to snaffle something. Flesh I need, flesh!"

William, about to sneeze, reached behind him for his handkerchief, but accidentally grabed Bilbo instead, and sneezed all over him!

The ugly creature screamed when he realized he was holding the hobbit "Argh! Blimey! Bert! Bert! Look what's come out of me 'ooter! It's got arms and legs and everything." The other trolls gathered around to take a look.

"What is it?" Tom asked.

"I don't know, but I don't like the way it wriggles around!" William stuttered in fear. The troll shook Bilbo, covered in snot, off the napkin and onto the ground. As Bilbo pulled himself up to run away, Tom picked his knife up and pointed it directly at Bilbo.

"What are you then? An oversized squirrel?"

"I'm a burglar- uhh, Hobbit!" He quickly covered, and prayed to the Green Lady they wouldn't notice.

"A Burgla-Hobbit?" William asked in awe.

"Can we cook `im?" Tom licked his lips.

"We can try!"

William tried to grab Bilbo, but he dodged, only to be cornered by Bert. "He wouldn't make more than a mouthful, not when he's skinned and boned!" Then, the three trolls erupted into a plethora of cries.

"Perhaps there's more Burglar-Hobbits around these parts. Might be enough for a pie."

"Grab him!"

"It's too quick!"

As the trolls tried to catch Bilbo, he ran around trying to dodge them. Bert accidentally hit William with his ladle while trying to hit Bilbo. Bilbo was eventually caught by the legs by Tom, and held upside down in the air!

"Gotcha!" A troll cheered "Are there any more of you little fellas `iding where you shouldn't?"

"Nope." Bilbo spoke, trying to hide the pain from the blood rushing to his head.

"He's lying." William grinned eerily, pointing to Bilbo.

"No I'm not!" Bilbo screamed.

"Hold his toes over the fire. Make him squeal."

"Help!"

Kili suddenly ran out of the bushes and sliced William in the leg, making him howl and fall down.

"Drop him!" The dwarf screamed.

"You what?" Tom growled.

Kili smirked, and played with his sword "I said, drop him!"

Tom threw Bilbo at Kili; Bilbo landed on the youngest dwarf, knocking them both down. The rest of the Company charged out of the bushes yelling and brandishing their weapons. They began fighting the trolls, hacking, slashing, and hammering their legs. As the dwarves fought, Bilbo grabbed William's knife and cuts the ropes, freeing the ponies. Tom, seeing this, grabbed the hobbit. The dwarves stopped fighting when they see the trolls holding Bilbo by the arms and legs!

"Bilbo!" Kili yelled, only taking one step to free the hobbit, only to be stopped by his uncle holding him back. "No,"

"Lay down your arms, or we'll rip his off." Tom warned.

Thorin looked at Bilbo`s begging face in frustration, then planted his sword in the ground. The others dropped their swords and weapons as well in frustration.

Something unknown had woken Liesel Hayward up from her sleep. It wasn't the cries from her neighbor, or even the small battle, her conscience just kept repeating "Not good, not good, not good..."

She stood herself up, and contemplated wrapping the blanket around her and walking around to find someone to ask if anything was wrong. She decided against it, and threw the blanket off, and started to tiptoe to the fire pit she was familiar with; until she heard a chorus of shouts. The girl instantly turned her head to the noise, and treaded to the noise and the light without thinking at all.

The trolls had tied several dwarves onto a spit and are roasting them over a fire; the rest were tied in separate sacks. Unknown to all of them, Liesel slowly walked at the edge of a thick tree, silently, yet fearfully, watching.

"Don't bother cooking them. Let's just sit on them and squash them into jelly." William suggested

"They should be sautéed and grilled with a sprinkle of sage." Bert corrected.

"Is this really necessary?" Dori shouted up to the trolls.

"Ooh, that does sound quite nice." They ignored him, but the dwarrows would not give up. "Untie us, you monsters!" "Take on someone your own size!" The dwarves on the spit and in the bags are all making noises and talking in fear.

"Never mind the seasoning; we ain't got all night! Dawn ain't far away, so let's get a move on. I don't fancy being turned to stone." Tom said.

Bilbo, hearing what Tom said, came up with an idea. "Wait! You are making a terrible mistake." Liesel saw Mr. Baggins standing up to the trolls, and she listened in closely.

"You can't reason with them, they're half-wits!" Dori warned Bilbo.

"Half-wits? What does that make us?" Bofur asked back.

Bilbo managed to stand up, although still tied up in a sack. He faced the trolls. "Uh, I meant with the, uh, with, uh, with the seasoning." The little girl furrowed her eyes in confusion.

"What about the seasoning?" One of the trolls asked.

The hobbit continued "Well have you smelt them? You're going to need something stronger than sage before you plate this lot up." The dwarves yelled at Bilbo, calling him a traitor. The ones in sacks kicked him. "What in the name of Valar is he doing?!" Liesel thought.

"What do you know about cooking dwarf?" Tom asked, obviously on edge.

"Shut up, and let the, uh, flurgaburburrahobbit talk." All of the trolls turned to Bilbo.

His face slightly fell, "Uh, th-the secret to cooking dwarf is, um-"

"Yes? Come on."

"It's, uh-"

"Tell us the secret."

"Ye-yes, I'm telling you, the secret is to.." He looked over to the dwarves, who were obviously in a state of shock. "..To skin them first!"

I would repeat a few of the phrases the dwarfs had shouted at the hobbit, but most of them had an exceeding amount of profanity.

Burt grinned "Tom, get me the filleting knife."

"If I get you, you little-" Gloin growled. "I won't forget that!" Dwalin joined.

While Bilbo was searching his surroundings as the trolls were looking around for the knife, his eye caught Little Liesel, quietly hiding behind a tree halfway, staring directly at them.

With her eyes, the girl sought the area for anything to help her; the closest weapon was Kili`s bow, and maybe she could yank an arrow out of the quiver if she was quick. She looked back up to Bilbo, who shook his head rapidly and was mouthing "No" over and over again. Instead of listening to him, she nodded her head, shaking, and tried her best to tiptoe.

She was quiet as a field mouse, until she snatched the bow and dashed behind the tree. Of course, this had brought attention to the trolls, and the dwarrows.

"What could have that been?" Tom asked.

Almost too quickly, Bilbo replied "Oh, nothing. It must be a rabbit."

William grinned at the lone tree, shielding the young hobbit. "No, I don`t smell rabbit. Smells like…" He sniffed the air "Maybe another Burgla-hobbit?"

Liesel`s breath caught in her throat as she felt the creature`s disgusting face move almost directly next to the tree, listening. She internally cursed herself for her breathing being too loud, and for not grabbing just one arrow. In an act of adrenaline, she took a nearby stone from off the ground and chucked it at an opposite tree; playing hide and seek for the most of her childhood had certainly payed off.

Two of the trolls dashed to where the rock is thrown, cheering and mocking the escaping stranger, but found nothing.

"Never mind that now." Bilbo spoke up again, distracting them. "Now, about the seasoning-."

"What a load of rubbish!" Tom interrupted the hobbit "I've eaten plenty with their skins on. Scuff them, I say, boots and all."

In a flash, Bilbo Baggins saw Gandalf himself slipping behind a few trees to them!

"`e's right!" William`s voice brought Bilbo back to the happening "Nothing wrong with a bit of raw dwarf!" William grabbed Bombur, who is in a sack, and dangles him upside down over his mouth, about to eat him. "Nice and crunchy." The poor, plump dwarf cried and winced as he was tangled upside down.

In a flash, Liesel dashed out of her hiding spot, and yanked an arrow out of Kili`s quiver, and into the bow. "Put him down!" She yelled.

The troll had been so startled, that he dropped poor old Bombur onto the pile of dwarves. The three trolls` attention was all on the little child with the bow.

"What`s this now? Another Burgla-hobbit?" Tom had unintentionally mocked the little hobbit.

"Yeah, but this one`s just a small, little girl." William taunted.

She glared at the ugly creatures, her grip on the bow and arrow tightening greatly, but not shooting; this had obviously been brought to a few of the others attention.

"What are you doing you stupid girl? Shoot it!" Gloin`s voice rang in Liesel`s ears, as she accidently let go of the arrow to look at the dwarf. The next thing she heard was William screeching a horrible noise as the arrow had merely poked him in the knee, but had still drawn blood.

She whipped her head to look at the monster, but was picked up by her legs, and now staring directly at William the troll. "Oh, I think this one would do nicely raw. Don`t ya think? Tender and fresh." The troll holding her spoke all at once, leaning her towards his mouth. The poor girl couldn't help but let out a fairly loud cry as she prepared for her doom.

"Not-not that one, she-she's infected!" Bilbo stammered the words out, hoping to save the child in time. The thirteen dwarves, three trolls, and other hobbit stared at Bilbo.

Tom had finally broken the silence "You what?"

"Yeah, she`s got worms in her … tubes."

William threw the poor thing onto the ground like a rotted piece of meat. When her body hit the ground, she still believes she heard a crack.

"In-in fact they all have, they're in-infested with parasites. It's a terrible business; I wouldn't risk it, I really wouldn't." He shakes his head, whooping in his head that his plan was successful. "Parasites, did he say parasites?" Gloin shouted at the hobbit.

Kili joined in "We don't have parasites! You have parasites!"

"What are you talking about, laddie?"

The rest of the dwarves chimed in about how they didn't have parasites and how Bilbo is a fool. Bilbo rolled his eyes as the dwarves foiled his plan. Liesel knew exactly what he was doing.

"Quiet, quiet, just play along." She whispered to them, but her whispers didn't reach their ears, even when they were alone a few inches away from her mouth.

Thankfully, Thorin, understanding Bilbo's plan, kicked the others. They stared at their king for a split second, then understood.

Oin was the first to speak. "I've got parasites as big as my arm."

"Mine are the biggest parasites, I've got huge parasites!"

"We're riddled." "Yes, I'm riddled." "Yes we are. Badly!"

One of the troll`s voice spoke "What would you have us do, then, let 'em all go?"

Bilbo shrugged his shoulders "Well…"

"You think I don't know what you're up to? This little ferret is taking us for fools!" The troll poked the hobbit in the chest, sending Bilbo to stagger a bit. "Ferret?" Bilbo squeaked back.

"Fools?"

"No good roasting `em now, it`d take all night," said a voice.

"Don`t the argument all over again, Bill." Bert turned to the other troll "or it will take all night."

"Who`s a-arguing?" William stammered, thinking the voice was Bert`s.

"You are."

"You`re a liar!"

"Now stop it!" It had been Tom to break the small quarrel. "The night`s getting on and dawn comes early. Let`s get on with it!"

Gandalf appeared on top of a large rock. "The dawn will take you all!"

The dwarves held their breath in thankfulness as the trolls stared at the wizard in confusion. "Who`s that?"

"No idea."

"Can we eat `im too?"

Gandalf stroke the rock with his staff, splitting it in half, allowing the sunlight behind it to pour into the clearing. When the sunlight touched the trolls' skin, they began turning into stone amidst loud screams and howls of pain. Within seconds, there were three stone statues of trolls in the clearing. All the dwarves cheered for Gandalf.

"Oh, get your foot out of my back!" Dwalin, still on the spit above the fire, shouted.

Did any of you catch the little detail I added from the book? :)