The hobbits were carried into the Gardens, and their eyes widened in
amazement that such a lovely paradise could be found within the dark and
dismal Old Forest. Sunlight somehow reached the large clearing through
gaps in the tree cover, and many colorful birds flitted here and there
among the branches of the trees. Flowering bushes with their pink, white,
yellow and red blossoms were interspersed almost erratically, but
naturally, between fernlike foliage at the edge of a small pond containing
glittering blue water. Twinbough and the hobbits crossed the trickling
stream that fed the pool and she gently set them on the ground, and Freddy
was almost reluctant to leave the safety of her arms. The trees themselves
seemed to come alive around them, and a handful of Entwives approached the
three visitors, gazing curiously at them while rumbling to Twinbough in
their own language. There was a surprising variety of them, from oaks to
willows, chestnut to rowan, birch and yew. But they were alike in that
their eyes only radiated kindness, and the hobbits felt at ease. A large
brown Entwife with golden leaves that seemed to be eternally in autumn
suddenly spoke to Ruby.
"Come with me, hobbit, and I shall tend your nicks," she said, and took Ruby in the crook of her arm, as all Ents seemed partial to carrying the small ones. Freddy looked rather forlorn as Ruby was carried away, and Squash, disoriented by the sudden appearance of the looming trees, cowered at Freddy's feet in a quivering yellow ball.
"Hobbits are not regular visitors of the Gardens," spoke Twinbough at his side, and she walked forward, leading Freddy to a large clearing underneath several willows where there were bushes resplendent with all varieties of fruit. The springy grass was lush and velvety underneath his feet, and bright butterflies glided through the air before and behind him, as if welcoming him with every brush of their silky wings against his skin.
"You may rest here and eat as much as you wish, hobbit. Your friend will join you soon. I will seek Wandlimb and speak to her, and after you are rested, you may tell her your story," she said kindly. She reached above her head and took hold of a branch dangling several shiny red apples, shaking it lightly. The apples dropped to the ground to land in the luxuriant grass without hurt, and Freddy thanked her.
"I would much rather be called by my name, if you please. My name is Fredgert Knotwise, but you may call me Freddy if you'd like," he said, performing a small bow. Her eyes twinkled in amusement, and her leaves rustled as she returned her arm to her side.
"I would much rather call you by your name, if you are so free to give it. You may trust me. Now rest, and I will come to you soon." She turned and walked towards a pair of weeping willows, disappearing among their wispy leaves. Freddy looked around him carefully, his stomach rumbling at the sight of the plentiful food available. If this was a garden, he felt sheepish to call his own little patch of land by that name. Vines twined up the side of thick trees lined perfectly in several rows, each bearing a different kind of fruit. Bushes laden with berries stood proudly in the pale sunlight, providing shelter for the small flowers that peeked out from the rug of green grass.
"Freddy!" someone called his name. He turned from his observations and saw Ruby skipping across the clearing towards him, her cheeks red with health. Squash began to wag his tail happily at her appearance. An Entwife approached behind her slowly, carrying a large wooden plate in her hands. It was the oak that had carried Ruby off, and she set the plate on the ground as well as she could without bending too much in the middle, assisted by her long arms. The plate was larger than the hobbit himself, and there was a vivid array of fresh fruit and vegetables arranged on it. Freddy's hungry eyes scanned the plump grapes, peaches, pears, plums, cherries, the bright orange carrots, red tomatoes, and nameless other produce.
"Isn't it wonderful?" Ruby asked excitedly. "They grow everything imaginable here! If only Uncle Knotwise could see this lovely garden," she said, sitting on the ground and taking hold of a plum from the proffered plate. She began to explain that once she had been carried away, the Entwife had dressed her wounds with a sweet-smelling, earthy poultice that had immediately soothed the sting, and then had wrapped her knees with a mossy bandage.
"Do you think they would mind if we took a stroll through the gardens?" she asked at the end of her explanation.
"I suppose not," Freddy assumed, and they rose to their feet, tucking a handful of grapes and cherries each into their pockets to munch on as they explored. The grass was cool and thick as they walked, and they wound between the trees and bushes, pausing at the pond to cup some water into their mouths. They found that it was cold and refreshing, and drank their fill, and even Squash seemed more refreshed as he lapped up the water with his tongue.
"I can hardly believe something this magnificent has been hidden in the Old Forest for so long, and none of us knew a thing about it," Freddy said.
"Except for the poor hobbit with the map," Ruby replied, shuddering. She popped a grape into her mouth and chewed blissfully. The Entwives seemed preoccupied with their work as the hobbits watched them, but they knew better than to assume the Entwives weren't watchful. Several Entwives seemed to be planting seeds in one portion of the garden, and another held a large wooden bucket with a spout on one end, and as she tilted it, crystal droplets of water showered down upon tender shoots that had begun to sprout upwards from the brown soil. It was miraculous to watch them work, not only because they performed every chore with methodical diligence, but there was also a calm serenity to the gardens as they tended them. The gardens were blanketed with peacefulness, reflected in the languid burble of the crystal stream and regular rustle of the breeze-blown trees.
"Freddy?" Ruby asked suddenly, turning towards him. "You knew about Ents, didn't you? That's why you were so anxious to find them."
Freddy finished chewing a piece of fruit he had popped into his mouth and sat down by the edge of the pond.
"I'd heard about Ents from one of Uncle's stories, but I didn't think they truly existed. Do you remember the story of Meriadoc Brandybuck and Peregrin Took?" Freddy asked. Ruby stretched out on the soft grass, and Squash wriggled into her lap.
"Why, yes, from Uncle," Ruby responded. "He always admired the Fellowship."
"Then you remember that the Fellowship split, and Merry and Pippin were kidnapped, but they escaped and met the Ents."
"Met the Ents? But were they in the Shire?"
"No, not at all!" Freddy replied, growing excited.
"I never heard of any Entwives in the story," Ruby said.
"Neither have I. That means…" Freddy mused.
"That means there are more Ents somewhere else!" Ruby concluded for him.
"I wonder why they've kept themselves hidden for so long," Freddy wondered aloud.
"I suppose you're about to find out," Ruby said, gesturing over his shoulder. He turned and saw Twinbough striding towards him.
"Have you eaten your fill?" she asked genuinely.
"If I ate my fill I'd be here two days," Freddy replied.
"Wandlimb is ready to speak with you, if you are ready. You may stay and continue to eat afterwards, if you wish. Follow me," she beckoned, and turned towards the willows once more, stepping carefully lest she tread accidentally on the hobbits. Freddy rose to his feet and followed, and Ruby gathered Squash in her arms, following Freddy. As they stepped through the archway, the dangling leaves of the weeping willows brushed against their foreheads. Twinbough paused at the entrance and gestured for them to continue on without her.
The grass was cool as they entered the ent-house. There was no roof but the natural cover of trees, but the area seemed more enclosed and private than the clearing had been. There, in the center of the house, surrounded by several slender silver birches was a tall yew, and the underside of its leaves glinted silver. She was standing, eyes closed, arms raised above her head, and when the hobbits entered quietly, she opened her eyes and smiled at them.
"Are you the Queen?" Ruby asked suddenly. There was a gentle chuckle free of any mockery.
"Ents do not recognize Queen and King," she said simply. "No, I am not a queen; I was an Entwife, as any other Entwife, no better and no worse. I will stand, if you do not mind, but will you sit so I may have a better look at you?"
Freddy and Ruby nodded dumbly, they were so stricken with her beauty. If it could be managed, her cheeks were alive with health and color, and her eyes were wise beyond compare. Her voice was kind and friendly, and there was a grace about her and in her movements. Smoothly, she lifted them from their feet and set them onto a sturdy branch. Her large brown eyes scanned them slowly.
"Hmm, I have not seen hobbits for a long while. Not many have endeavored to enter the Old Forest, no; they know the evils of it. But it has been a long time since we have had any visitors."
"Why do you say you 'were' an Entwife? Do you no longer call yourselves Entwives? Are there Ent-husbands? Where are they?" Freddy blurted.
She chuckled musically. "As hasty as I remember, you hobbits are. But I can only answer one question at once. I will answer your question, and then you may answer one of mine." She paused, as if drawing from an ancient memory, and began, "Long ago, before Sauron the Dark Lord came into power, we lived together; the Ents, Entmaidens, Entwives, and Entings," here she paused and smiled wistfully. "It is long since we had any Entings. The Ents, the males, cared to wander and speak to the trees and worried not for the future, only for the present, but we, the Entwives understood that order and routine were necessary and sought it well. Thus we began gardening, and using our link with nature to make the ground obey us, to respond to our pruning, tending, and care by giving us fruit and flowers and such things that the ground, the sun, and the water provide. The Ents wandered, and cared not for gardening, and did not love it as we did, so the Entwives moved to more fertile land, and the Ents did not follow, but we crossed the river and visited them often. We moved once again and the Ents did not follow. We saw less of each other and then nothing. A being of power, hatred and malice, with no love for the land, came to our gardens, the gardens that we had nourished and tended." Her eyes filled with something of anger, and she stared vacantly as she recalled the history. "Sauron destroyed our gardens, and many Entwives. He brought orcs and trolls and they burnt the gardens and cleaved the trees with axes and set many Entwives and Entings ablaze. But a small group of Entwives remained, and fled the gardens, westward, seeking only to find land to replace that which we had lost. And we did not remember the Ents.
We came to the Shire, a beautiful land of rolling hills, forests, and rivers, and a land untouched by the dark power of Sauron. A land of hobbits," and she paused and smiled, and the twinkle returned to her eyes. "We discovered the Old Forest, and the trees that resided there. They are malicious and mischievous and enjoy taunting and teasing to the brink of madness and death, and even beyond. But, we took residence in the very heart of the Old Forest, and here we remain, protected yet secluded, and we ever mourn the loss of our gardens and the Ents." She grew silent, and they realized she was done.
"The loss of the Ents?" Freddy asked.
"They were destroyed ere we departed, and even now our numbers grow smaller with no Entings, no 'children'."
Freddy nearly leaped from his perch in the branch, and he all but shook with excitement.
"No, well, I think they're still alive!" he cried.
Wandlimb turned to gaze at him steadily, and hope flickered in her eyes.
"We often believe the same," she said sadly.
And Freddy laughed aloud. "Oh, I didn't mean any disrespect, but, well, near seventy years now it has been since the Fellowship set out to destroy Sauron's ring. Two of the hobbits –Merry and Pippin, that is –met up with old Treebeard himself. Though where, I cannot say that I remember. Much help that is, but the Ents are still alive!"
"Treebeard, you say?" There was a green flicker in her eyes. "This is news indeed, very good news. Thank you, Freddy. Will you answer one of my questions?"
"I'll honor my part of the agreement," Freddy answered.
"Why were you in the Old Forest?"
Freddy shifted uneasily. "You see, I found a rock in the forest, when I was collecting rocks, and, well, it had the word "ents" on it, and I discovered that it was a map, and we found a, well, a slain hobbit in the forest with a map on him, and we followed it, and then your friend –the Entwife—Twinbough found us and brought us here."
Wandlimb nodded sedately. "Would I have known any hobbit wandered the Old Forest alone, I would do all in my power to aid him. The forest is wicked, very wicked, but that is what has kept us safe for so long during Sauron's reign. But now that he has fallen, it may be safe to venture out once more. A new age has begun, one that may prove to reconcile the Ents and Entwives once more."
"Now that you know they're alive, will you find them again?" Ruby asked.
"We would not even know where to begin," Wandlimb said sadly.
"I know just who to ask, if you'll let me help," Freddy said suddenly. He had a desire to help the Ents and Entwives become reunited once more, and an idea was growing in his mind.
"Your assistance will be appreciated, but it has been many years. Who will you ask?" Wandlimb asked him.
"Why, Merry and Pippin, of course!" Freddy returned.
"Come with me, hobbit, and I shall tend your nicks," she said, and took Ruby in the crook of her arm, as all Ents seemed partial to carrying the small ones. Freddy looked rather forlorn as Ruby was carried away, and Squash, disoriented by the sudden appearance of the looming trees, cowered at Freddy's feet in a quivering yellow ball.
"Hobbits are not regular visitors of the Gardens," spoke Twinbough at his side, and she walked forward, leading Freddy to a large clearing underneath several willows where there were bushes resplendent with all varieties of fruit. The springy grass was lush and velvety underneath his feet, and bright butterflies glided through the air before and behind him, as if welcoming him with every brush of their silky wings against his skin.
"You may rest here and eat as much as you wish, hobbit. Your friend will join you soon. I will seek Wandlimb and speak to her, and after you are rested, you may tell her your story," she said kindly. She reached above her head and took hold of a branch dangling several shiny red apples, shaking it lightly. The apples dropped to the ground to land in the luxuriant grass without hurt, and Freddy thanked her.
"I would much rather be called by my name, if you please. My name is Fredgert Knotwise, but you may call me Freddy if you'd like," he said, performing a small bow. Her eyes twinkled in amusement, and her leaves rustled as she returned her arm to her side.
"I would much rather call you by your name, if you are so free to give it. You may trust me. Now rest, and I will come to you soon." She turned and walked towards a pair of weeping willows, disappearing among their wispy leaves. Freddy looked around him carefully, his stomach rumbling at the sight of the plentiful food available. If this was a garden, he felt sheepish to call his own little patch of land by that name. Vines twined up the side of thick trees lined perfectly in several rows, each bearing a different kind of fruit. Bushes laden with berries stood proudly in the pale sunlight, providing shelter for the small flowers that peeked out from the rug of green grass.
"Freddy!" someone called his name. He turned from his observations and saw Ruby skipping across the clearing towards him, her cheeks red with health. Squash began to wag his tail happily at her appearance. An Entwife approached behind her slowly, carrying a large wooden plate in her hands. It was the oak that had carried Ruby off, and she set the plate on the ground as well as she could without bending too much in the middle, assisted by her long arms. The plate was larger than the hobbit himself, and there was a vivid array of fresh fruit and vegetables arranged on it. Freddy's hungry eyes scanned the plump grapes, peaches, pears, plums, cherries, the bright orange carrots, red tomatoes, and nameless other produce.
"Isn't it wonderful?" Ruby asked excitedly. "They grow everything imaginable here! If only Uncle Knotwise could see this lovely garden," she said, sitting on the ground and taking hold of a plum from the proffered plate. She began to explain that once she had been carried away, the Entwife had dressed her wounds with a sweet-smelling, earthy poultice that had immediately soothed the sting, and then had wrapped her knees with a mossy bandage.
"Do you think they would mind if we took a stroll through the gardens?" she asked at the end of her explanation.
"I suppose not," Freddy assumed, and they rose to their feet, tucking a handful of grapes and cherries each into their pockets to munch on as they explored. The grass was cool and thick as they walked, and they wound between the trees and bushes, pausing at the pond to cup some water into their mouths. They found that it was cold and refreshing, and drank their fill, and even Squash seemed more refreshed as he lapped up the water with his tongue.
"I can hardly believe something this magnificent has been hidden in the Old Forest for so long, and none of us knew a thing about it," Freddy said.
"Except for the poor hobbit with the map," Ruby replied, shuddering. She popped a grape into her mouth and chewed blissfully. The Entwives seemed preoccupied with their work as the hobbits watched them, but they knew better than to assume the Entwives weren't watchful. Several Entwives seemed to be planting seeds in one portion of the garden, and another held a large wooden bucket with a spout on one end, and as she tilted it, crystal droplets of water showered down upon tender shoots that had begun to sprout upwards from the brown soil. It was miraculous to watch them work, not only because they performed every chore with methodical diligence, but there was also a calm serenity to the gardens as they tended them. The gardens were blanketed with peacefulness, reflected in the languid burble of the crystal stream and regular rustle of the breeze-blown trees.
"Freddy?" Ruby asked suddenly, turning towards him. "You knew about Ents, didn't you? That's why you were so anxious to find them."
Freddy finished chewing a piece of fruit he had popped into his mouth and sat down by the edge of the pond.
"I'd heard about Ents from one of Uncle's stories, but I didn't think they truly existed. Do you remember the story of Meriadoc Brandybuck and Peregrin Took?" Freddy asked. Ruby stretched out on the soft grass, and Squash wriggled into her lap.
"Why, yes, from Uncle," Ruby responded. "He always admired the Fellowship."
"Then you remember that the Fellowship split, and Merry and Pippin were kidnapped, but they escaped and met the Ents."
"Met the Ents? But were they in the Shire?"
"No, not at all!" Freddy replied, growing excited.
"I never heard of any Entwives in the story," Ruby said.
"Neither have I. That means…" Freddy mused.
"That means there are more Ents somewhere else!" Ruby concluded for him.
"I wonder why they've kept themselves hidden for so long," Freddy wondered aloud.
"I suppose you're about to find out," Ruby said, gesturing over his shoulder. He turned and saw Twinbough striding towards him.
"Have you eaten your fill?" she asked genuinely.
"If I ate my fill I'd be here two days," Freddy replied.
"Wandlimb is ready to speak with you, if you are ready. You may stay and continue to eat afterwards, if you wish. Follow me," she beckoned, and turned towards the willows once more, stepping carefully lest she tread accidentally on the hobbits. Freddy rose to his feet and followed, and Ruby gathered Squash in her arms, following Freddy. As they stepped through the archway, the dangling leaves of the weeping willows brushed against their foreheads. Twinbough paused at the entrance and gestured for them to continue on without her.
The grass was cool as they entered the ent-house. There was no roof but the natural cover of trees, but the area seemed more enclosed and private than the clearing had been. There, in the center of the house, surrounded by several slender silver birches was a tall yew, and the underside of its leaves glinted silver. She was standing, eyes closed, arms raised above her head, and when the hobbits entered quietly, she opened her eyes and smiled at them.
"Are you the Queen?" Ruby asked suddenly. There was a gentle chuckle free of any mockery.
"Ents do not recognize Queen and King," she said simply. "No, I am not a queen; I was an Entwife, as any other Entwife, no better and no worse. I will stand, if you do not mind, but will you sit so I may have a better look at you?"
Freddy and Ruby nodded dumbly, they were so stricken with her beauty. If it could be managed, her cheeks were alive with health and color, and her eyes were wise beyond compare. Her voice was kind and friendly, and there was a grace about her and in her movements. Smoothly, she lifted them from their feet and set them onto a sturdy branch. Her large brown eyes scanned them slowly.
"Hmm, I have not seen hobbits for a long while. Not many have endeavored to enter the Old Forest, no; they know the evils of it. But it has been a long time since we have had any visitors."
"Why do you say you 'were' an Entwife? Do you no longer call yourselves Entwives? Are there Ent-husbands? Where are they?" Freddy blurted.
She chuckled musically. "As hasty as I remember, you hobbits are. But I can only answer one question at once. I will answer your question, and then you may answer one of mine." She paused, as if drawing from an ancient memory, and began, "Long ago, before Sauron the Dark Lord came into power, we lived together; the Ents, Entmaidens, Entwives, and Entings," here she paused and smiled wistfully. "It is long since we had any Entings. The Ents, the males, cared to wander and speak to the trees and worried not for the future, only for the present, but we, the Entwives understood that order and routine were necessary and sought it well. Thus we began gardening, and using our link with nature to make the ground obey us, to respond to our pruning, tending, and care by giving us fruit and flowers and such things that the ground, the sun, and the water provide. The Ents wandered, and cared not for gardening, and did not love it as we did, so the Entwives moved to more fertile land, and the Ents did not follow, but we crossed the river and visited them often. We moved once again and the Ents did not follow. We saw less of each other and then nothing. A being of power, hatred and malice, with no love for the land, came to our gardens, the gardens that we had nourished and tended." Her eyes filled with something of anger, and she stared vacantly as she recalled the history. "Sauron destroyed our gardens, and many Entwives. He brought orcs and trolls and they burnt the gardens and cleaved the trees with axes and set many Entwives and Entings ablaze. But a small group of Entwives remained, and fled the gardens, westward, seeking only to find land to replace that which we had lost. And we did not remember the Ents.
We came to the Shire, a beautiful land of rolling hills, forests, and rivers, and a land untouched by the dark power of Sauron. A land of hobbits," and she paused and smiled, and the twinkle returned to her eyes. "We discovered the Old Forest, and the trees that resided there. They are malicious and mischievous and enjoy taunting and teasing to the brink of madness and death, and even beyond. But, we took residence in the very heart of the Old Forest, and here we remain, protected yet secluded, and we ever mourn the loss of our gardens and the Ents." She grew silent, and they realized she was done.
"The loss of the Ents?" Freddy asked.
"They were destroyed ere we departed, and even now our numbers grow smaller with no Entings, no 'children'."
Freddy nearly leaped from his perch in the branch, and he all but shook with excitement.
"No, well, I think they're still alive!" he cried.
Wandlimb turned to gaze at him steadily, and hope flickered in her eyes.
"We often believe the same," she said sadly.
And Freddy laughed aloud. "Oh, I didn't mean any disrespect, but, well, near seventy years now it has been since the Fellowship set out to destroy Sauron's ring. Two of the hobbits –Merry and Pippin, that is –met up with old Treebeard himself. Though where, I cannot say that I remember. Much help that is, but the Ents are still alive!"
"Treebeard, you say?" There was a green flicker in her eyes. "This is news indeed, very good news. Thank you, Freddy. Will you answer one of my questions?"
"I'll honor my part of the agreement," Freddy answered.
"Why were you in the Old Forest?"
Freddy shifted uneasily. "You see, I found a rock in the forest, when I was collecting rocks, and, well, it had the word "ents" on it, and I discovered that it was a map, and we found a, well, a slain hobbit in the forest with a map on him, and we followed it, and then your friend –the Entwife—Twinbough found us and brought us here."
Wandlimb nodded sedately. "Would I have known any hobbit wandered the Old Forest alone, I would do all in my power to aid him. The forest is wicked, very wicked, but that is what has kept us safe for so long during Sauron's reign. But now that he has fallen, it may be safe to venture out once more. A new age has begun, one that may prove to reconcile the Ents and Entwives once more."
"Now that you know they're alive, will you find them again?" Ruby asked.
"We would not even know where to begin," Wandlimb said sadly.
"I know just who to ask, if you'll let me help," Freddy said suddenly. He had a desire to help the Ents and Entwives become reunited once more, and an idea was growing in his mind.
"Your assistance will be appreciated, but it has been many years. Who will you ask?" Wandlimb asked him.
"Why, Merry and Pippin, of course!" Freddy returned.