"I'm hungry. I think I could eat three whole suppers right about now,"
Ruby said wistfully, swinging her arms as she half-walked, half-skipped
down the dirt road leading to Hobbiton. Once they had left the forest and
were able to see the sky again, they had both let out relieved sighs, even
though the golden sun heralded the coming of evening. Freddy could have
sworn he left his home in the late morning, and he repeatedly expressed his
distress at how quickly it had grown so late.
"Now I'll never get all my chores done before sunset. Oh, I've wasted far too much time," he complained, kicking a loose rock across the path as he walked.
Ruby's face suddenly lit up. "I'll go back with you and help you with your chores, and then we can examine that rock further. What do you say?"
Freddy glanced at her suspiciously. "You'd miss your supper."
"No, not at all! You'll fix it for us both, and Uncle Knotwise, of course."
He began to protest, but she shushed him and held her arm out, gesturing for him to listen. The hobbits strained their ears but only heard the lethargic croaking of frogs and exultant trills of blissful birds.
"What did you do that for?" Freddy asked, glancing behind and in front of them.
"I thought I heard something," she said quietly. A rustle in the bushes off to their left prompted them to suddenly yank their heads in that direction.
"I heard it, I heard it!" Freddy whispered sharply. Ruby grasped his arm tightly and stared into the deepening shadows of the wild foliage. A wild fern still waved back and forth at the recent passing of some silent watcher.
"Go see what it is!" Ruby hissed in Freddy's ear. He could feel her trembling as she clung to him, nearly squeezing the blood from his arm. His arm began to throb, and he shook her loose.
"Ouch! Not so tight!" he cried, and then lowered his voice. "I've heard stories like this, Ruby Knotwise, I'm not going to look! The one that looks ends up being, well, he ends up…" Freddy dragged his thumb across his throat and made a gurgling sound.
"Just go see!" she urged, shoving him forward.
"I don't want to! You go!" he whispered rather loudly.
Ruby placed her hands on her hips and raised her eyebrow with a condemning look in her eyes. "Freddy!"
He shook his head.
"Fine, we'll both go," she whispered back.
"Fine," he said. She tiptoed towards him and they both crept slowly towards the bushes. Closer and closer they edged towards the undergrowth, and Freddy extended a hand to pull back the bushes.
A fuzzy shape leapt at Freddy and knocked him backwards onto the ground, and he faintly heard the shrill piercing of Ruby's scream. He cried out and raised his arms to cover his face as the assailant clawed at his chest. In the background, Ruby's screams evolved into amused laughter.
"Oh, Freddy, it's just a dog!" she gushed, and knelt next to the hobbit's squirming form to pull the canine into her lap. The dog fidgeted happily and wagged its stumpy tail as it bathed Ruby's cheeks with its pink tongue. Freddy, chagrined, sat up and brushed dust from his tunic.
"I knew it," he said, "it just surprised me, is all." He scooted closer to Ruby and patted the animal on its furry head. The dog looked up at Freddy with big brown eyes, its mouth hanging open as it panted. It was a veritable ball of energy as it wriggled in Ruby's lap, leaving paw prints on her once clean skirt. Freddy ran his hand through the dog's soft, sandy fur.
"It looks to be almost all grown up, and not in need of food at all, though I bet a spot of supper would taste good to him," Freddy observed.
"Yes, he's rather fat, isn't he? He must've escaped from his owner. I wonder how far he came." She smiled down at the dog, who responded by attempting to lick her mouth. "Let's take him along," she said, setting the dog on the ground and giving it one last pat.
"Ruby, I don't…I don't know…Uncle's allergic, and…" Freddy said slowly.
"Come along, you frisky dear!" Ruby called to the dog, her bare feet slapping against the earth as she darted down the road. The animal paused in its nasal exploration of the wonders of hobbit feet and let out a lively bark, trotting after the Halfling girl.
"Ruby! Ruby, wait! I don't think this is such a good idea!" Freddy called, starting after her but stopping short to run back and pick up his satchel.
"Ruby, slow down!" he panted.
"Shh!"
"I'm being as quiet as I can!"
"Be quieter!"
"What was that?"
"It was the dog. Don't let him bark."
"The door is open, go through. Uncle is in the library," Freddy said, pointing down the hall. Ruby, her arms wrapped around the hairy animal, tiptoed down the hallway towards the library and peeked around the corner. A figure with a head of curly grey hair sat rocking in a wooden chair by the fire, and the faint wisps of pipe smoke curled up towards the ceiling.
"Go," she heard Freddy whisper behind her. She proceeded to creep past the library when the dog began to squirm furiously in her arms. With a low-pitched whine, the dog slipped from its perch and padded into the library, exploring the area behind the old hobbit's chair. Freddy let out a strangled cry and dashed after it, his foot slipping on the rug and sliding across the wooden floor, causing him to tumble headfirst into a towering stack of tomes with a thunderous crash.
"Fredgert? Fredgert, is that you?" gasped the old hobbit.
"Y-yes, it's me, Uncle," Freddy stammered painfully. He glanced quickly at the dog sniffing the ground and abruptly grabbed it around its chubby stomach, hiding it behind his back. His uncle turned around in his chair, the pipe sticking out from the corner of his mouth.
"Bless you! You're back. I had expected you home earlier. How was your trip to market? Did you bring anything back?"
"Well, I…yes…" Freddy stalled, struggling to hold the dog in place.
With his grey eyebrows knitted in a frown, the elder hobbit examined his nephew.
"What is that you're hiding?" he inquired, leaning forward.
"Uncle!" shouted Ruby loudly, entering the library and flinging herself into the old hobbit's arms in a fierce embrace. Looking over her uncle's shoulder at Freddy, she glanced towards the doorway with her eyes, urging him to escape with the dog.
The old hobbit smiled brightly, his brown eyes twinkling. "Ruby, my dear Ruby, it is always good to see you! And my, how you've grown!" he cried, holding Ruby at a distance to look at her. "Why, I haven't seen you in nearly two months. How are your father and my sister? How are your brothers and sisters?"
"All wonderful, though rather busy with the preparations! It'll be my twentieth birthday soon, a surprise one, in fact," she replied, seeing Freddy creep away with the dog. The old hobbit's nose twitched and he looked as if about to sneeze, but soon rubbed it away with his free hand.
"A surprise party, eh? It doesn't seem much of a surprise if you know of it. But if you're as sneaky as I remember you to be, it's difficult to keep a surprise from Ruby Knotwise. A regular trickster, rival to Pippin Took himself! But you've grown so! I can see your mother in you; you grow lovelier by the day."
"Oh, uncle," she blushed.
"Are you still fiddling? How I would dearly love to hear music again before I have nothing to hear at all," he said wistfully. Ruby grabbed his wrinkled hands in hers.
"I should have brought my fiddle! Next time, next time, I will! But what do you mean, hear nothing at all?" Ruby frowned. Her heart was filled again with love for her dear uncle, and she quailed internally at the thought of anything dreadful happening to him.
"Oh, don't worry yourself, my dear, but age is coming upon me as swift and silent as a thief. And it seems age has burgled my hearing from me. In this ear, this ear I call 'the bad one'. Why, I can remember my own father leaning over. 'Eh?' he always said. In a few years' time, we all were stomping around the house shouting to each other because we had grown so used to it. What a sight we were," he chuckled at the remembrance and his eyes took on a faraway look.
"How dreadful it would be not to hear the birds, or the rooster welcoming the dawn, or the frogs at the river! And the sound of a fiddle! Oh, uncle!" she cried, tears brimming in her eyes.
"No, no, my dear!" he said gently, placing a mottled hand on her cheek. "Even if I lose all my hearing, I will always have the memory, and then I will hear music every day, especially your fiddle!" He tapped her nose with his finger.
A loud barking came from down the hallway. Ruby tensed and looked at her uncle, but he smiled at her, oblivious.
"Come, uncle, I'm starved. Let me show you a recipe my mother taught me!" she said, climbing out of his lap and tugging at his arm.
"Is it her special squash pie? I would give my right leg to taste your mother's squash pie again," he reminisced, grunting slightly as he rose from his chair. His cane clicked against the wood as he followed Ruby down the hall.
"Chunks of squash, sliced carrots, corn…"
His voice faded down the hallway as he accompanied Ruby to the kitchen.
"Now I'll never get all my chores done before sunset. Oh, I've wasted far too much time," he complained, kicking a loose rock across the path as he walked.
Ruby's face suddenly lit up. "I'll go back with you and help you with your chores, and then we can examine that rock further. What do you say?"
Freddy glanced at her suspiciously. "You'd miss your supper."
"No, not at all! You'll fix it for us both, and Uncle Knotwise, of course."
He began to protest, but she shushed him and held her arm out, gesturing for him to listen. The hobbits strained their ears but only heard the lethargic croaking of frogs and exultant trills of blissful birds.
"What did you do that for?" Freddy asked, glancing behind and in front of them.
"I thought I heard something," she said quietly. A rustle in the bushes off to their left prompted them to suddenly yank their heads in that direction.
"I heard it, I heard it!" Freddy whispered sharply. Ruby grasped his arm tightly and stared into the deepening shadows of the wild foliage. A wild fern still waved back and forth at the recent passing of some silent watcher.
"Go see what it is!" Ruby hissed in Freddy's ear. He could feel her trembling as she clung to him, nearly squeezing the blood from his arm. His arm began to throb, and he shook her loose.
"Ouch! Not so tight!" he cried, and then lowered his voice. "I've heard stories like this, Ruby Knotwise, I'm not going to look! The one that looks ends up being, well, he ends up…" Freddy dragged his thumb across his throat and made a gurgling sound.
"Just go see!" she urged, shoving him forward.
"I don't want to! You go!" he whispered rather loudly.
Ruby placed her hands on her hips and raised her eyebrow with a condemning look in her eyes. "Freddy!"
He shook his head.
"Fine, we'll both go," she whispered back.
"Fine," he said. She tiptoed towards him and they both crept slowly towards the bushes. Closer and closer they edged towards the undergrowth, and Freddy extended a hand to pull back the bushes.
A fuzzy shape leapt at Freddy and knocked him backwards onto the ground, and he faintly heard the shrill piercing of Ruby's scream. He cried out and raised his arms to cover his face as the assailant clawed at his chest. In the background, Ruby's screams evolved into amused laughter.
"Oh, Freddy, it's just a dog!" she gushed, and knelt next to the hobbit's squirming form to pull the canine into her lap. The dog fidgeted happily and wagged its stumpy tail as it bathed Ruby's cheeks with its pink tongue. Freddy, chagrined, sat up and brushed dust from his tunic.
"I knew it," he said, "it just surprised me, is all." He scooted closer to Ruby and patted the animal on its furry head. The dog looked up at Freddy with big brown eyes, its mouth hanging open as it panted. It was a veritable ball of energy as it wriggled in Ruby's lap, leaving paw prints on her once clean skirt. Freddy ran his hand through the dog's soft, sandy fur.
"It looks to be almost all grown up, and not in need of food at all, though I bet a spot of supper would taste good to him," Freddy observed.
"Yes, he's rather fat, isn't he? He must've escaped from his owner. I wonder how far he came." She smiled down at the dog, who responded by attempting to lick her mouth. "Let's take him along," she said, setting the dog on the ground and giving it one last pat.
"Ruby, I don't…I don't know…Uncle's allergic, and…" Freddy said slowly.
"Come along, you frisky dear!" Ruby called to the dog, her bare feet slapping against the earth as she darted down the road. The animal paused in its nasal exploration of the wonders of hobbit feet and let out a lively bark, trotting after the Halfling girl.
"Ruby! Ruby, wait! I don't think this is such a good idea!" Freddy called, starting after her but stopping short to run back and pick up his satchel.
"Ruby, slow down!" he panted.
"Shh!"
"I'm being as quiet as I can!"
"Be quieter!"
"What was that?"
"It was the dog. Don't let him bark."
"The door is open, go through. Uncle is in the library," Freddy said, pointing down the hall. Ruby, her arms wrapped around the hairy animal, tiptoed down the hallway towards the library and peeked around the corner. A figure with a head of curly grey hair sat rocking in a wooden chair by the fire, and the faint wisps of pipe smoke curled up towards the ceiling.
"Go," she heard Freddy whisper behind her. She proceeded to creep past the library when the dog began to squirm furiously in her arms. With a low-pitched whine, the dog slipped from its perch and padded into the library, exploring the area behind the old hobbit's chair. Freddy let out a strangled cry and dashed after it, his foot slipping on the rug and sliding across the wooden floor, causing him to tumble headfirst into a towering stack of tomes with a thunderous crash.
"Fredgert? Fredgert, is that you?" gasped the old hobbit.
"Y-yes, it's me, Uncle," Freddy stammered painfully. He glanced quickly at the dog sniffing the ground and abruptly grabbed it around its chubby stomach, hiding it behind his back. His uncle turned around in his chair, the pipe sticking out from the corner of his mouth.
"Bless you! You're back. I had expected you home earlier. How was your trip to market? Did you bring anything back?"
"Well, I…yes…" Freddy stalled, struggling to hold the dog in place.
With his grey eyebrows knitted in a frown, the elder hobbit examined his nephew.
"What is that you're hiding?" he inquired, leaning forward.
"Uncle!" shouted Ruby loudly, entering the library and flinging herself into the old hobbit's arms in a fierce embrace. Looking over her uncle's shoulder at Freddy, she glanced towards the doorway with her eyes, urging him to escape with the dog.
The old hobbit smiled brightly, his brown eyes twinkling. "Ruby, my dear Ruby, it is always good to see you! And my, how you've grown!" he cried, holding Ruby at a distance to look at her. "Why, I haven't seen you in nearly two months. How are your father and my sister? How are your brothers and sisters?"
"All wonderful, though rather busy with the preparations! It'll be my twentieth birthday soon, a surprise one, in fact," she replied, seeing Freddy creep away with the dog. The old hobbit's nose twitched and he looked as if about to sneeze, but soon rubbed it away with his free hand.
"A surprise party, eh? It doesn't seem much of a surprise if you know of it. But if you're as sneaky as I remember you to be, it's difficult to keep a surprise from Ruby Knotwise. A regular trickster, rival to Pippin Took himself! But you've grown so! I can see your mother in you; you grow lovelier by the day."
"Oh, uncle," she blushed.
"Are you still fiddling? How I would dearly love to hear music again before I have nothing to hear at all," he said wistfully. Ruby grabbed his wrinkled hands in hers.
"I should have brought my fiddle! Next time, next time, I will! But what do you mean, hear nothing at all?" Ruby frowned. Her heart was filled again with love for her dear uncle, and she quailed internally at the thought of anything dreadful happening to him.
"Oh, don't worry yourself, my dear, but age is coming upon me as swift and silent as a thief. And it seems age has burgled my hearing from me. In this ear, this ear I call 'the bad one'. Why, I can remember my own father leaning over. 'Eh?' he always said. In a few years' time, we all were stomping around the house shouting to each other because we had grown so used to it. What a sight we were," he chuckled at the remembrance and his eyes took on a faraway look.
"How dreadful it would be not to hear the birds, or the rooster welcoming the dawn, or the frogs at the river! And the sound of a fiddle! Oh, uncle!" she cried, tears brimming in her eyes.
"No, no, my dear!" he said gently, placing a mottled hand on her cheek. "Even if I lose all my hearing, I will always have the memory, and then I will hear music every day, especially your fiddle!" He tapped her nose with his finger.
A loud barking came from down the hallway. Ruby tensed and looked at her uncle, but he smiled at her, oblivious.
"Come, uncle, I'm starved. Let me show you a recipe my mother taught me!" she said, climbing out of his lap and tugging at his arm.
"Is it her special squash pie? I would give my right leg to taste your mother's squash pie again," he reminisced, grunting slightly as he rose from his chair. His cane clicked against the wood as he followed Ruby down the hall.
"Chunks of squash, sliced carrots, corn…"
His voice faded down the hallway as he accompanied Ruby to the kitchen.