"Boys! Put that stuff down!" Dis commanded to no avail.
"Good day sir! How absolutely spiffing to see you!" Fili said, holding the monocle up to his eye and faking a posh air.
"Yes indeed! Absolutely marv... marvless!" Kili said, tilting the top hat towards Fili. With it on, he was at least 30cm taller.
"Marv-O-lous" Fili corrected.
"Whatever!" Kili playfully hit his brother on the shoulder.
"Oi! What're you doin'?" An angry voice said. "Leave my stuff alone!" The man snatched the hat off of Kili's head, and took the monocle off Fili. "No touchin' unless you're plannin' on buyin'."
The brothers walked off dejectedly, but couldn't stay annoyed for long. They were in a real market! Not a dwarvish market, but one run by men! The two brothers strayed away from their mother, who was trying to keep an eye on them and buy some carrots at the same time.
"Kili! Look over here!" Fili directed his brother's attention to a magnifying glass. He held it up to his face.
"Ah! Your eye is huge!"
"And so are you!" The two brothers marveled over the contraption.
"Fili! Look!" Kili dragged his brother to a stand with beautiful paintings on it. "It looks so real!" He pointed at the picture of a flower.
"Which one's your favourite, Fili? Mine's the pony. No! The dragon! Or the... Fili?" Kili felt his brother pull away from his grip. "Where are you going?"
FIli didn't answer. He seemed entranced by something Kili couldn't see."Kili.. look..."
"What is it? I wanna see!" Kili tried to jump as high as he could to see what Fili was staring so fixedly at, but the bustling crowd stopped him. Then, just for a second, the crowd parted, and he saw them.
They were beautiful. Their glossy, green skin shone bright in the morning sun. The pretty, mottled pattern was strangely alien to Kili. But he was intrigued.
There were more of them, more than Kili could count, piled on crates behind the glorious one that the boys were edging towards. They were large, almost two thirds of Kili's height. One was sliced up in from of the dwarflings, it's crisp pinky-red flesh making their mouths water.
"Fili... what is it?"
"It's a watermelon." A man with a heavy accent approached them. He had tanned skin, and it was obvious he wasn't from around these parts.
"A what?" Kili stood on his tippy-toes to get a closer look at it. He saw all the little shiny black seeds buried in the slightly translucent flesh. He saw the vibrant green shell fade into a clean white, then into the rich red colour. He felt... hungry...
"A watermelon." The man repeated, patting one like it was his pride and glory.
"What does it do?" Asked Fili, poking it warily. The man laughed.
"It's a fruit."
"Huh?" The only fruits Kili had ever eaten were apples and pears. They were small, soft colours with sweet white centres. Nothing like this monstrous lump.
"Do you want to try some?" The man asked as the two dwarflings stared at it quizzically.
Kili was about to accept vigorously when Fili pulled him aside, and said in a cautious whisper,
"Kili! Remember what mum said? Don't take food from a stranger!"
"But he says it's fruit! And fruit's healthy!"
"So? He could be lying! It doesn't look like fruit to me!"
Kili was about to argue again when he heard his mother calling for them.
"Boys! Fili! Kili!" Dis was trying to get her voice heard above the crowd.
"Mum! Over here!" Fili waved, and his mother saw. As she jogged over, Fili saw she had a bag brimming full of colourful fruit and vegetables, some of which he had never seen before.
"Mum! Look! A watermelon!" Kili pointed at the green fruit again.
"A watermelon?" Dis looked at it with about as much confusion as the two boys had. The man laughed.
"So I take it you're local dwarves?"
"Oh- yes." Dis was snapped out of her confused trance.
"So you've never tried watermelon?"
"No, I can't say I have."
"Would you like to?"
"Please! Please, mummy!" Kili tugged at his mother's sleeve. His mouth was watering. Dis laughed at her son's enthusiasm.
"Ok then, but only a small piece! You don't want to ruin your dinner!"
Kili thought of the bleak pie waiting for them at home. He actually did want to ruin his dinner. Kili reached up at the table, but he was too short to reach the plate. The man chuckled and handed him down a piece.
"Here you go buddy. Would you like one?" He turned to Fili, who shyly accepted.
"And you, m'lady?" He held a piece out to Dis. She took it graciously.
"What do you say boys?" Dis said expectantly.
"Thank you!" Fili said politely.
Kili didn't wait to say thank you. He dug his teeth straight into the juicy fruit. Juice dripped down his chin. The sweet coolness exploded in his mouth, the soft flesh melting on his tongue. He really, really liked watermelon.
Fili looked over at his brother. Kili seemed to like the watermelon, given the way he was grinning maniacally as he munched at the , too, was nodding her head in approval.
"Not bad." She said between mouthfuls.
Fili looked at the piece in his hand. It was so tempting...
Juice began to drip down his wrist. He took a bite- not a big one, just a small, tentative one. Wow. This watermelon stuff was delicious!
Kili smiled as his brother took his first bite. He saw Fili's eyes light up. Kili looked down at the shred of watermelon that remained in his hand- the rind. He wondered if it tasted as good as the rest. He shrugged. You never know until you try.
The man who owned the shop was smiling at these three dwarves trying their first watermelon. They seemed to like it. Everyone here did. He had made a huge profit today. He was about to go attend to another customer when he saw the youngest dwarf preparing to bite down hard on the rind.
"Buddy? I wouldn't do that if..."
Kili brought his jaw down with force.
Ouch.