Who Needs Enemies

by CEShaughnessy

Young Pippin Took is led into mischief by his distantly related cousin of the same age, Sancho Proudfoot. When some of their mischief culminates in a huge disaster, the Took's learn the dark secret the Proudfoot family has been keeping for generations.

10. Chapter 10

Story Summary: Twelve-year-old Pippin Took is led into mischief by his distantly related cousin of the same age, Sancho Proudfoot. When some of their mischief culminates in a huge disaster, the Took's learn the dark secret the Proudfoot family has been keeping for generations.

Chapter Ten Summary:

Facing up to all that's happened, the lads tell just what they've been up to and get ready to face the consequences. Paladin finally obtains the mysterious papers, and Merry anticipates the arrival of his parents.

"Who Needs Enemies…"

Chapter Ten

Pippin squirmed in his chair and looked helplessly at Sancho, who met his gaze with a shrug and a raised eyebrow. Pippin felt Merry's eyes upon him and met them, briefly. He was just now realising how ashamed he was of his behaviour. The room became uncomfortably silent. Finally, Paladin spoke again.

"Look at me, boys."

Both heads rose in obvious reluctance, as Paladin inspected them, just now noticing the blood crusting beneath Pippin's nose and the bruise on Sancho's chin. He peered at them closer, noting the disheveled, grimy clothing, Sancho's, in particular. "You've been fighting?"

"Yes, they have. T'was verra obvious to me the minute I laid eyes on them," Eglantine said.

"Boy, did you sleep in those clothes?" Paladin gestured at Sancho.

"Yes, sir. I haven't been home. I stayed out in the pasture last night."

"And why would you do such a thing instead of heading home?"

Sancho shrugged and the gesture irritated Paladin. "Did you think it would keep your parents from finding out about what happened? You should certainly know better than that, m'lad."

"No sir. I didn't think that."

"Why were you fighting?" Paladin scooped a chin up into each hand. Both youths avoided looking at him and fixed their eyes on the wall instead. When no answer was forthcoming he released them and stepped back, frowning. "I want an answer from both of you. Peregrin?"

"Umm, well Da, we. . .uh. . .that is, we. . ." Pippin's eyes flicked in Sancho's direction and then back to his father.

"Well? What do you have to say for yourself?"

Pippin squirmed with the sudden recall of being in this uncomfortable position before. Oh, sweet Eru's ghost, here we go again. Oh, why didn'a I listen to Merry and Nell? At least 'twould all be over with now. Pippin stared at the floor and tapped his foot against the chair leg while continuing to mentally berate himself.

"Do you not hear me talking to you, Peregrin? Or are you ignoring my question and hoping your troubles will all just go away?"

Pippin quailed at the rising tone of his father's voice. "I. . .I hear, Da."

Paladin turned to Sancho, frowning. "Perhaps you would care to start then, young sir? Your cousin seems to be at a loss for words. Why were the two of you fighting? And I want to know exactly what was going on last night that resulted in my barn being turned into a smoking, charred pile of ruin."

Sancho's distress was plain. He swallowed hard, not wishing to appear frightened in front of the rest of the family, most particularly Merry. He struggled to regain some of his former cheek. "Well, Uncle Pad, you see, it's like this. Umm. . ." Sancho's voice trembled a little as he groped for words, darting a look at Pippin in the hope he would step in again.

"Yes? And what is it like, boy? I'd verra much like you to tell me." Paladin folded his arms across his chest and waited. His Tookish brogue had grown thick as it always did when he was stressed or angry.

"Uh, we thought we'd, uh. . .well, that is, we were going to, um. . . well. . . we were just having a bit of fun, Uncle Pad!"

Paladin scowled. "In the middle of the night. In the barn. With a lantern that Peregrin knows should not be lit around the hay. When you both should have been in bed sleeping. You were just having a bit of fun, you say?"

Sancho bobbed his head. "Aye!" Suddenly realising he was only making matters worse, he stopped talking and darted a self-conscious glance around the room.

Merry winced as he watched Sancho's discomfort. It was something different, seeing the lad put his foot in his mouth as he stumbled under their uncle's scrutiny.

"And that 'bit of fun' involved what, young hobbit?"

Sancho melted under the unyielding gaze and dropped his eyes again. "Oh, well, we had an argument."

"I gathered that much, boy. I'm not daft! I want to know what it was about, and I want to know now!"

Sancho jumped at the sudden thunderous demand. "Pippin started it," he muttered, aggravated at his inability to appear aloof.

Pippin's head shot up. "What? I did not!"

"Enough! Whatever happened I'm certain you both had an equal share in it. Now, I'm asking you one more time." Paladin sounded calmer now. "What exactly happened last night and why were you fighting today?"

"We, we were fighting over whose fault the fire was, Da. And. . .and other things."

Sancho snorted in disgust and rolled his eyes. Leave it to Pip to say more than he has to.

"And what 'other things' would that be?"

Eglantine was growing impatient with her son's reticence. "Answer your father, lad. Right now. This has gone on quite long enough."

Pippin noted Sancho's intent study of the kitchen ceiling. Obviously he had no intention of speaking up. Fine then, if you dinna want to help me out here I'll tell them everything!

"We were arguing because Sancho wouldn'a tell me what he meant by something he said about his parents." Pippin continued despite the groan of disapproval from Sancho's direction. "He said his folks didn'a care whether or not he came home at night-"

"That isn't what started the fight! I told you it was that goose's fault and you insisted it was mine because I made you light the lantern!"

"I told you I was angry because you ran off to let me face everything alone!"

Sancho scowled. "You accused me of trying to get you in trouble on purpose!"

"Well you were the reason we were in the barn in the first place!"

Paladin ran a weary hand across his face wondering just when it was that he had lost control of this discussion. "Boys-"

"Playing the prank on Vinca was your idea, Pip, I just thought up what we were going to do!" Sancho clapped a hand over his mouth in sudden realisation of what he'd said and shrank back in his chair as Paladin's expression darkened.

"Och!" Pippin exclaimed, glaring at Sancho. Now you've done it.

"I knew it! I knew he was going to do a prank on me just because he got a thrashing for making me fall!" Pervinca burst out of her hiding place behind the door.

Eglantine was out of her chair in an instant. Grabbing her youngest daughter by the arm she tugged her away from the kitchen after first aiming two resounding swats at her bottom. "Didn'a I tell you to go to your room?" Eglantine whisked her away, continuing to scold. The sound of Pervinca's protest soon turned into distant wails.

"Ahem," Paladin cleared his throat. Ignoring his daughter's outburst he continued as if nothing had happened. "So, you were planning to play a prank on your sister?" Pippin nodded miserably. "One that you came up with," he turned to Sancho, who cast his eyes at the floor. Paladin started to pace the room. They followed his movements warily. "What else?" The boys glanced at one other, hesitant to add anything.

"Come now! I know there's more. You may as well come clean all the way and get it over with." He leaned up against the cupboard, folding his arms across his chest once more in a no nonsense stance. Eglantine returned to the kitchen and reseated herself next to Pearl. The miscreants remained quiet.

"Perhaps I can tell you what I think then." Paladin pointed a finger at first one, then the other as he spoke. "You two have been up to a great deal of mischief over the last several months. From stealing piglets," he frowned at Sancho, "to running off without permission," his gaze swept back to Pippin, "to playing pranks," he eyed them both, " and fighting." He pointed a finger at Sancho, "You, young hobbit, have been responsible for teaching my son to do mischief that he knows he shouldn'a do, and taunting and teasing him until he joined you in it. Isn'a that right?"

Sancho nodded miserably.

"And you, young sir," Paladin waggled a finger at his son, "know better than to agree to go along and get yourself into these predicaments, dinna you now?"

"Yes, sir," Pippin whispered.

"Or to run away from your punishment."

Pippin was silent.

"Or," Paladin's voice hardened, "to involve others in your mischief against their will."

"What?" Pippin looked at his father, confused.

"You told some of your wrongdoing to your cousin. As a result, Merry felt obligated to cover up for you on more than one occasion. Isn'a that right?"

"Yes, sir." Pippin didn't remember when he'd ever felt more ashamed of himself.

"And you also involved your sister-"

"What? Umm. . ." Pippin glanced at Pimpernel.

"I told Da everything," she said.

"Oh."

"Now, I want to hear the rest of it. Nell and Merry have left the bulk of the tale for you to tell, and I'll hear it now, not later."

Pippin looked at Merry and Pimpernel, eyes wide, mouth gaping open. Oh no! This is their revenge!

Paladin watched his son, his patience wearing thin. "I've asked you a question son, and I want an answer."

Pippin struggled but the words simply would not come. Paladin sighed heavily and scrubbed the back of his hand across his weary face. Pulling Pippin out of his chair, he took a seat, drawing him in close between his knees. He tilted his chin up with a single finger. "Tell me. And I domean now."

"I. . .I-uh, I. . ." The youngster looked around desperately wishing for any distraction to take his father's mind off the inevitable conclusion of this conversation.

"Peregrin, I'm waiting. And not verra patiently, I might add. It's obvious a great deal more remains for you to say. If you dinna open your mouth and start talking then I'll forego allthe explanations and just turn you over my knee for your first licking right now before I-"

"First?" Pippin's head shot up at his father's words.

"You heard me. There's a great deal here that needs answering, and from what little I know already I'm certain there's more. Am I right?"

Pippin froze, his mind still on his father's promise of a 'first' licking. He broke down and wailed, "It wasn'a my fault Da!"

"Here we go again. This is sounding all too familiar. Peregrin, I know when the wool is being pulled over my eyes."

Pippin knew it was a foolish thing to say but the truth was he couldn't think of anything else. His father was going to be positively livid by the time he heard the whole story. He felt a hand under his chin again and was forced to look up.

"And I want to know in what way you included Merry in this. And how Sancho is involved."

"Da. . .please dinna blame Merry! He tried to make me tell but I wouldn'a do it and now everyone else is in trouble too, and it's all because of me!" Pippin threw himself on his father's chest and sobbed.

Paladin placed his arms around him and drew him close giving him a few moments to calm down. He looked at his wife with a grimace. This explained Eglantine's odd disquiet recently. Obviously she'd suspected there was some mischief afoot but hadn't decided quite how to handle it. At last, Paladin pulled his son away and looked him in the eyes. "Peregrin, you must tell me. What did you do? And what did your cousins do?"

"I. . .I lied Da," he said finally, his voice breaking again.

Paladin sat very still, unsure he'd heard correctly. "Look at me." Pippin looked up reluctantly. "You lied to me?" Pippin nodded, the tears spilling down his cheeks in a continuous stream. Paladin frowned. "Just what are you talking about? When did you lie? And why?"

Pippin couldn't contain his despair as he told the story through halting, hiccupping sobs. Paladin's expression was grim as the story went on. Finally he interrupted, "You looked me in the eye and told me an outright lie, then? And, as I recall, reassured me that it wasn'a a lie when I asked if you were saying it just to get out of a hiding."

Pippin nodded, the picture of misery. Paladin appeared temporarily flummoxed. He pushed Pippin back into his chair and stood to pace the room again.

Eglantine knew he was doing his best to gain control over his temper. She watched her youngest child. Pippin slumped in his chair looking for the entire world like he was trying to disappear. She pushed her thick, curly hair back from her forehead with a sigh and stopped Paladin's pacing with a tug on his elbow. "Pad? Dinna you think we should go into another room and talk for awhile?"

Paladin shook his head from side to side. Eglantine fretted. She had not seen her husband this perturbed in a very long while. Pippin was still scrunching himself into the corner of the chair. Paladin was red in the face right up to the tips of his ears, a sure sign he was completely furious.

"Merry? Would you care to continue?"

"I don't know where to start, Uncle Pad."

"Well, I believe you had nothing to do with Peregrin's first lie because you weren'a here when that happened. Why dinna you start with the second one then? The one involving the papers your father meant for me, and not you children. You never finished telling me about that earlier."

Eglantine patted her nephew's hand. "Merry, we know this isn'a easy. But it must be faced and dealt with now."

Merry looked up into his aunt's kind eyes, his own bright with unshed tears. "I never meant to let it go this far Aunt Tina!" She nodded and urged him to continue. "I wanted him to tell, days ago, before things got any worse. But he wouldn't. I'm sorry."

"It's all right," Pippin whispered. "You tried to tell me Merry."

"Yes, I did try. But. . .I let myself get involved because I felt sorry for you and then I-"

"Boy, you're supposed to be setting a good example for your younger cousin, not helping him deceive his parents and get into more trouble! And those papers were meant for my eyes, not any of you, regardless what was in them." Paladin pulled out a chair and sank into it. "Feeling sorry for Peregrin is not a good excuse."

"I know," Merry whispered.

"And what about young Sancho? How else is he fitting into all this nonsense?"

Merry scowled at Sancho, who scowled back. "It's Sancho's fault Uncle Pad. He-"

"What? No it isn't! I should be able to tell you my side of what happened too! Uncle Pad-"

"Hush Sancho. Now wait just a minute Merry," Paladin interrupted. "That sounds way too much like 'it wasn'a my fault', 'twas someone else's."

"But it was Sancho's ideas that led Pippin into so much trouble."

"Aye Da, it was!"

"What? My ideas? You went along with everything quite happily as I recall, Peregrin!" Sancho leaped from his chair and started for his cousin. Paladin wrapped an arm around the boy's waist placing him back in the chair with a thump. Sancho gave his uncle a defiant stare and then looked hastily away after seeing the dark warning on Paladin's face.

"How so?" Eglantine asked.

"And you did go along with his foolishness!" Paladin exploded. "I'm sorry Tina, but the boy canna be using that as an excuse."

"Now, let's at least hear what they're talking about, Pad."

"Oh, verra well." Paladin leaned back with a grunt.

Sancho bit his lip, waiting for Merry to speak.

"Sancho helped cover it up when Pippin lied to you." He watched his aunt and uncle stiffen at that. "And Sancho egged him on. He wanted to read the papers so he didn't want Pippin to give them up too soon-"

"That's not true. You aren't telling the truth Merry, you're making things up."

"I said hush up, boy!" Paladin was close to shouting as he whirled on his nephew. "The papers everyone has seen but the person they were intended for?"

"Uh, yes. He was going to help Pippin think up an excuse or at least help soften the blow whenever he was found out. But things didn't go according to plan."

"I guess not," Paladin said. "The prank backfired, isn'a that right? You boys had no intention of setting the barn afire. I know that. And then I found out about the papers, but not in the way you'd planned."

"Yes, sir." Merry wanted to hang his head like his cousin but he resisted. "And from there everything got worse."

"So, young sirs. You each lied to us and you conspired to keep the papers from me. And this was supposed to turn out how?"

Merry felt a tear slide down one cheek. "You weren't supposed to find out that it was Pippin who came by the papers. I was going to give them to you and try to keep Da from saying anything."

"So, you were planning on lying to your father too? I'm verra surprised at you, Merry." Now Merry did hang his head in shame. Eglantine reached over and patted his arm.

"Peregrin."

"Yes Da," Pippin murmured without looking up.

"You may as well look at me. You canna be studying the floor forever." Pippin raised his head slowly. "Why did you lie to me? What's the rest of the tale? You said you didn'a really fall asleep in the hayloft and that you'd lied about why your chores weren'a done. How come? What else do you need to tell me?"

Pippin trembled as he looked at his parents. His mother's eyes were kind but firm. And his father's expression left no room for any more falsehood. He took a deep breath. "I," he paused before finally blurting out, "I stole away and went with Sancho into Whitwell and that's why my chores weren'a done." Paladin and Eglantine exchanged a look of disbelief. Sancho fidgeted, looking ashamed.

"Well?" Paladin prompted, "And what else?"

"That's where we saw Uncle Saradoc and he gave me the papers for you."

"So, then you had to lie yet again, eh? He would've wondered why you were there alone, just you two young ones in the middle of the day."

"Uncle Pad, Sancho really did encourage Pippin to lie."

"I did not! Pippin did a fine job of that all on his own, Merry!"

"Sancho, I told you to hush and I'd best not need to tell you again. Do you hear me?" Sancho hugged himself and sulked, refusing to look at them. Paladin turned back to Merry. "And you also knew? But you didn'a tell your da anything was amiss?"

"I didn't want to get Pippin into any more trouble than he was already."

Paladin sighed deeply and scraped his chair back from the table. The youngsters watched him cautiously, tracking his progress as he paced back and forth across the kitchen. He paused in front of Pippin and Sancho. "And so, somewhere in the midst of all this nonsense the barn went up in flames?"

"Aye, Uncle Pad."

"Yes, Da."

"There are two more things I want to know, boys. Where are those papers now? Were they destroyed? And tell me just how the fire started."

Pippin and Sancho traded looks. Pippin wondered just how his father was going to take the knowledge that they'd read his personal property without his permission. He fished inside of his shirt and withdrew the tattered parcel and handed it to his father. Paladin accepted it and stared at the torn and smudged packet in dismay. He pried at the corner of it, curious in spite of everything. Paladin couldn't help smiling slightly when he realised what they were. All this over these. Everyone watched his reaction with interest.

Sancho grew bold. "Um, Uncle Pad? You wouldn't want to tell us what those are, would you?"

They all stared at him in disbelief. Sancho shrugged, "Well, we've waited a long time to find out, after all. I just wanted to know what-"

"Sancho Proudfoot! You ought to be ashamed of yourself for asking your uncle such a question under these circumstances," Eglantine interrupted.

"Yes indeed, young sir. 'Tis none of your concern." Paladin placed the packet on a high shelf and turned back to them. "Now, who is going to answer my other question?"

"I will." Pippin glanced around the room at his family, suddenly weary of the whole mess. It seemed to him he'd been trying to cover something up for a very long time and it was more than time to end it. "We were going to set up the prank for Vinca for morning but we got distracted by the papers. Sancho decided he wanted to see them again, so I lit the lantern even though I knew it wasn'a a good idea. We were reading them when Pansy came 'round the stalls and-"

Sancho interrupted, "I reached for the lantern to get a closer look. That's when that stupid goose attacked me. She bit my hand and I tipped it over." Sancho's voice fell to almost a whisper. "So, I guess the fire was really my fault, Uncle Paladin."

Paladin stared at the tops of their bowed heads. "So, you lads read my personal property?"

"Just a wee bit of it, Da. We didn'a have the chance to read verra much, either time," Pippin tried to put their actions in the best light possible. Pearl chuckled at this, and Nell smiled in spite of the mood.

"Either time? " Paladin looked at him askance. "You just said you didn'a have time to read much. So, just how many times did you look at my papers?"

"Uh. . ." Pippin shifted his gaze to Merry and then looked away, horrified at what he'd just revealed.

Merry groaned. "Uncle Pad, I saw them too. I'm sorry."

Paladin almost wanted to laugh at the sheer absurdity of the situation. The harder the boys tried to come clean, the more deeply they were getting mired in their troubles. Paladin looked around the table. "Well, I'm glad that it's all out in the open finally. And 'tis about time. Now the question is, what are we going to do about it?"

Pippin and Sancho were quiet. Merry darted a guilty look at Pimpernel and she smiled a little as if to reassure him. Eglantine held her breath.

"Merry?"

"Yes, sir?"

"Your parents should be here by tonight and while I realise you will answer to your father, I feel it's my responsibility to punish you for your part in this."

Merry swallowed hard. "I understand, sir, and I expected no less."

"Good."

Pippin chimed in immediately, "No, Da! That isn'a fair!"

"Be quiet, Peregrin."

"But Da-"

"Pippin! You heard your father." Eglantine's voice was firm. Pippin turned huge pleading eyes her way, but she shook her head.

Paladin reached into his pocket and Pippin sucked in a sharp breath at the gesture, knowing all too well what was coming. Paladin withdrew his pocketknife and Pippin shrank back at the sight of the unwelcome object.

"No!"

Merry shivered watching his cousin's reaction. He hadn't often earned a switching but he had no difficulty recalling what an unpleasant experience it was. Paladin reached for Merry's hand and plunked the knife into it.

"No Da, it wasn'a his fault, 'twas all mine!"

"There's plenty of blame to go around, it would seem. Let this be a good lesson to you about what happens when you include others in your mischief."

"But Da!"

"Pippin, stop," Merry pleaded.

"Peregrin Took!" Paladin snatched his son by the arm and gave him a shake.

Eglantine gasped at the sudden shout and Sancho shrank further into his chair.

"That will be quite enough!" Releasing him he stepped back and spread his hands apart. "Look at me boys, and pay attention. You will go down to the willow tree and each of you are to cut a switch this long, and as big around as your finger." He tapped Merry's smallest finger. "You will strip the leaves off and smooth them down and then march yourselves to the woodshed since we've no barn for me to send you to!" Paladin shook his finger at them in warning. "I dinna know how long I'll be. I need to calm myself before I deal with you lot. At the moment I barely know which end is up. And while you wait I suggest you each use the time to consider what happens to lads who do mischief and tell outright bold lies whilst expecting to get away with them. Now, are there any questions a'tall?"

Three heads promptly shook from side to side.

"Verra well." He pointed at the door. "Then go and do as I said." They hurried out the door as one. Paladin watched the downtrodden youths trudging away before he settled into a chair and looked at his wife unhappily. Eglantine touched his arm. He brushed her hand with his fingers. "Ah, Tina, I dinna want to have to do this."

"I know, Pad. But they dinna leave you much choice, did they?"

Paladin sighed. "You knew something was amiss. Why didn'a you tell me?"

Eglantine sighed and patted her husband's arm again. "I wasn'a entirely certain Pad, and I was hoping I might be wrong. Ah, I questioned Pippin's story about falling asleep in the hayloft but I didn'a want to believe he'd be so foolish as to run off again with Sancho after you told him in no uncertain terms he was to stay home. So I waited and then everything seemed to happen all at once."

Paladin's eyes narrowed. "I'm going to have a long talk with Olo after I deal with Sancho, and he will pay attention to what I have to say, like it or not. His boy has got to leave off with this behaviour or I'll not allow Peregrin to go about with him anymore, and that's all there is to it."

"Well, per'aps he'll listen to you this time, seeing how so much has happened."

"Listen or not, I've made up my mind."

"I know you have dearest, and I agree with you."

Paladin rose from his chair. "I'm going for a walk before I deal with them. Besides, there's nothing like the time spent waiting for a thrashing to give a lad a much clearer picture of his wrongdoing."

"Ah, and that's the truth. Pad?" Eglantine caught his arm as he headed toward the door.

"What is it Tina? What's on your mind, love?"

"Dinna be too hard on them. They've earned their lickings and all, but-"

Paladin chuckled. "But you canna abide the switch. I know." He patted her arm and then hugged her. "I'm only going to give them what they have coming. No more, but no less, either. Dinna worry yourself so. They'll live to tell the tale, just like we did."

Eglantine sighed. "Aye, well then do what you have to do. Dinna make them wait too long, though. Pippin will be fair climbing the walls."

"I willn'a, never fear." Paladin opened the door and was gone.

Eglantine sank back into a chair and startled when she heard a sound behind her. Pimpernel came around the corner and sat beside her. "Mum? I knew something was amiss too, and I never said a word either."

Her mother patted her hand. "Dinna worry about it too much Nell. What's done is done and per'aps your brother and your cousins will finally learn a good lesson."

III

Pippin looked down the hill at the willow's sprawling branches. "Merry, I'm so sorry I got you in trouble. I canna believe Da is going to punish you too."

"Well, what about me?"

"What about you, Sancho? You do deserve it," Pippin sniffed.

"Why you little horror-" Sancho advanced on Pippin, fists raised.

"Look who's talking," Pippin also made fists and stamped towards Sancho.

"That's enough. Let's just get this over with," Merry yanked them apart. "And as for me getting punished, Pip," Merry said quietly, "Uncle Pad's right. I'm supposed to be setting an example for you and what did I do? I went along." He made a disgusted sound and started down the hill.

"But Merry, I wanted you to, so that's my fault. I practically made you do it."

"No you didn't. I know how to say no when I want to. Quit blaming yourself. Let's just get this over with." Merry trotted the rest of the way to the tree and started looking for appropriate branches.

Pippin plopped down onto the ground by the pond. "Oh, I so dinna want to. I hate getting switched."

"Well, so do I. But there isn't anything we can do about it now." Merry chose a branch and started cutting it. "You want me to cut yours?" he called over his shoulder.

Pippin snorted. "You're so verra thoughtful Merry." He fell back on the grass and threw an arm up over his eyes sighing deeply. "Make certain you get exactly what Da said to, though. I've been sent back for another when I tried to cut a smaller one. He isn'a easily fooled."

It was Merry's turn to snort. "And you're telling me something I don't already know?" He tossed a limb in his cousin's direction and turned to cut another one. "I'll wager you got some extra licks for your trouble, too." Pippin mumbled something. "What was that? I didn't hear you."

Pippin sat up and tugged at a clump of grass in annoyance. "I said you're right."

"Of course I am. Older cousins just know these things, that's all." Merry straightened his back and began stripping the little limb of its leaves and bumps. He gave a snort. "There's just something so humiliating about having to do this."

Pippin nodded as he climbed to his feet and retrieved the branch Merry had tossed to him. "That's why Da makes us do it. He says it's part of the punishment because it makes you think about it even more."

"My father has never made me cut it. He always did it himself," Merry grumbled as he finished trimming the limb and handed the knife to his cousin.

"I know." Pippin accepted the proffered instrument and quickly prepared his own.

Sancho grimaced when Pippin passed the knife to him. He accepted it reluctantly and went to select a limb for himself.

Merry eyed his finished product. "But at least this way you get to make sure it's smooth, huh?" He grinned wickedly and snapped the switch through the air.

Pippin jumped at the sound. "A small comfort that is!"

Sancho joined them with his switch, wearing a sullen expression as he prepared it. Snapping off the errant twigs with a vengeance, he tossed them to the ground, grumbling, "Hmph, well this is something I've never had to do before."

"Yes, and isn't that a surprise." Merry slapped him on the back.

Sancho glared at his older cousin. "You don't have to be enjoying this quite so much, Meriadoc."

Merry grinned. "Oh yes I do. Sancho, I've been waiting for this moment for a long time, lad."

"You're getting a thrashing too, you know."

"It'll be worth it just to see you finally get yours. Come," Merry nudged them towards the shed, "Let's get it over with."

"I hope you get it twice as bad as we do, Merry," Sancho fumed, stamping ahead of them.

"Well, he might, because he is the oldest," Pippin mused.

"Thanks a lot, Pip." Merry smacked him lightly on the back of the head.

"Ow!"

"Don't be forgetting just how much trouble you are in yourself," Merry told him.

"You dinna have to remind me," Pippin sighed, trailing behind as they walked up the hill. "I hope Da doesn'a take forever. I dinna think I can stand it."

"Is that part of the punishment too?" Sancho wanted to know.

"Probably," Pippin said, his face gloomy.