The tale that started another
In a hole in the ground there lived a hobbit, but I suppose you already knew that didn't you. What you may have not known was that his name was Samwise Gamgee, the first non- baggins to live under the hill at bag-end, and a very proud and gentle hobbit he was, with a somewhat adventurous and much talked about past. He was much regarded (by some sackville-baggins he always thought) as being rather 'queer' and this was a very awful title to have obtained in the shire, and being not quite 'normal' he was often frowned upon by the hobbit elders who hated all the fuddy-duddies about adventures and what-not, "not a very good example for the children, adventures indeed!" some would say. "You know what it is, he goes looking for trouble, that's what!" Others would add. Sam of course never took any notice at these remarks as he thought the hobbits quite jealous and stupid.
Sam had the respect he deserved from the younger hobbits, who thought it terrific to have had so many adventures in so many different places, "especially with Mr merry and Mr pippin who are two of the most famous and courageous hobbits in the whole shire", they would say, these remarks often being followed by claps and screams from hobbits who longed for the terrific world outside the sleepy shire. Sam knew all too well about that world and shuddered to think of it, well, most of the places anyhow, although, Sam often felt a certain longing to go on a very long journey for a very long time, to a place he probably wouldn't return from or wouldn't want to for that matter, where he would meet his friend Frodo Baggins. In the land called 'the grey havens'.
Sam missed his dear friend so much, he was occasionally seen staring out of his window into the distance beyond hobbiton, or gardening at night and during the wrong seasons as if he was waiting for a long lost someone to return. But the distance in time between his searching was lengthening, and the staring time was shortening, until he just seemed to forget about adventures and old friends altogether, until he stopped caring about good memories and past experiences. After all, he had all that he needed right at home, he had his wife, his daughter and his friends (and gardening), and didn't long for anything or anyone anymore, he grew into an ordinary (apart from the occasional oddment which he was always blamed for) and much respected hobbit, who took pleasure in such simple things as food, ale and tobacco. Until (as always) something unexpected happened.
The wind screamed wildly from the north and the rain stabbed down like spears upon the window at bag end. Sam, who had been having a comfortable after-sleep (afternoon sleep) beside the window, awoke to a frightful knocking on his front door and a most impatient old voice from outside.
" I have travelled many miles to come to the hill, it is the middle of September and I feel as though my beard could suddenly freeze up and brake off. And you my good hobbit are snoring like an old dog on a hot day. Open this confusticate of a door Samwise Gamgee, before I am forced to blow it open!" Bang Boom Bang!
Sam was so startled by this wild knocking that he fell off the chair that was nicely placed under the window and rolled to a stand on the floor, he half expected some gobbling army from mordor to come marching through his house until he heard someone say, "that's more like it! Now this house will be no more if you leave me waiting outside Sam, that I can promise!"
Sam stopped dead for a while before remembering his manners toward our dear Gandalf. Can you blame him? It wasn't everyday that he had threats shouted at him from outside and he was quite startled by it, but he loved the old wizard dearly and simply laughed as one being reunited with a very old and ill-tempered friend.
"It's lovely to see you again Mr. Gandalf, I wasn't expecting any visitors, what a lovely surprise" Sam went on like this for a long while until he remembered that Gandalf was still outside, he opened the door immediately and seeing the old wizards grumpy face he offered to put the kettle on. But to Sam's surprise the wizard started to laugh and knelt down to greet him properly, "I have missed you dearly my young hobbit. It is good to hear your voice once again, even if you do have a nasty habit of saying the wrong thing at the wrong time, how about that tea?" And so began an afternoon of conversation and remembrance, Gandalf telling of adventure and excitement, and Sam telling of the matters of a simple life and pretending he wasn't interested in the affairs of the world outside the shire, of Elrond and of elves he simply just shrugged his shoulders and took another deep puff of his pipe.
"You do not seem your usual self," said Gandalf " you usually can't get enough of my tales and riddles and such, and you didn't seem intent on listening to the matters of Frodo, and that is strange indeed"
"Mr. Gandalf" said Sam cutting in "It's been a very long time since I seen any of you, ive got on with my life, I have a wife now and a daughter as well and I.I just don't have time for any of these things anymore, not meaning to be rude, Sir" Sam got out of his chair and pretended to look for new tobacco, he wanted to hide how he really felt about frodo's departure and receiving Bag end, it was like he wasn't going to come back or didn't want to, " for all those years I thought I'd see him coming up the pathway to bag end again and for all those years ive been waiting, do you know what that's like Gandalf?, 'orrible that's what"
" If Frodo thought that you would be less than ok he would have stayed, and im sure if you knew he wasn't happy here in the shire, you would have let him go all the same, he knew you would be ok, just because you haven't seen him for a long while doesn't mean he cares any less or is any less proud of you than he would be if he was here right now, my good Sam. Just because you can't see something, doesn't always mean that it's not really there"
Sam smiled as though the light of the sun had just broken over the top of the clouds; he knew Gandalf all too well now for such trickery and even thought he saw his eyes dance with fire as deep cauldrons with a burning blaze of spark and magic. "We're going to see him aren't we" said Sam as he sat down to his tea, "We are aren't we?" Gandalf smiled.
R+R please.
In a hole in the ground there lived a hobbit, but I suppose you already knew that didn't you. What you may have not known was that his name was Samwise Gamgee, the first non- baggins to live under the hill at bag-end, and a very proud and gentle hobbit he was, with a somewhat adventurous and much talked about past. He was much regarded (by some sackville-baggins he always thought) as being rather 'queer' and this was a very awful title to have obtained in the shire, and being not quite 'normal' he was often frowned upon by the hobbit elders who hated all the fuddy-duddies about adventures and what-not, "not a very good example for the children, adventures indeed!" some would say. "You know what it is, he goes looking for trouble, that's what!" Others would add. Sam of course never took any notice at these remarks as he thought the hobbits quite jealous and stupid.
Sam had the respect he deserved from the younger hobbits, who thought it terrific to have had so many adventures in so many different places, "especially with Mr merry and Mr pippin who are two of the most famous and courageous hobbits in the whole shire", they would say, these remarks often being followed by claps and screams from hobbits who longed for the terrific world outside the sleepy shire. Sam knew all too well about that world and shuddered to think of it, well, most of the places anyhow, although, Sam often felt a certain longing to go on a very long journey for a very long time, to a place he probably wouldn't return from or wouldn't want to for that matter, where he would meet his friend Frodo Baggins. In the land called 'the grey havens'.
Sam missed his dear friend so much, he was occasionally seen staring out of his window into the distance beyond hobbiton, or gardening at night and during the wrong seasons as if he was waiting for a long lost someone to return. But the distance in time between his searching was lengthening, and the staring time was shortening, until he just seemed to forget about adventures and old friends altogether, until he stopped caring about good memories and past experiences. After all, he had all that he needed right at home, he had his wife, his daughter and his friends (and gardening), and didn't long for anything or anyone anymore, he grew into an ordinary (apart from the occasional oddment which he was always blamed for) and much respected hobbit, who took pleasure in such simple things as food, ale and tobacco. Until (as always) something unexpected happened.
The wind screamed wildly from the north and the rain stabbed down like spears upon the window at bag end. Sam, who had been having a comfortable after-sleep (afternoon sleep) beside the window, awoke to a frightful knocking on his front door and a most impatient old voice from outside.
" I have travelled many miles to come to the hill, it is the middle of September and I feel as though my beard could suddenly freeze up and brake off. And you my good hobbit are snoring like an old dog on a hot day. Open this confusticate of a door Samwise Gamgee, before I am forced to blow it open!" Bang Boom Bang!
Sam was so startled by this wild knocking that he fell off the chair that was nicely placed under the window and rolled to a stand on the floor, he half expected some gobbling army from mordor to come marching through his house until he heard someone say, "that's more like it! Now this house will be no more if you leave me waiting outside Sam, that I can promise!"
Sam stopped dead for a while before remembering his manners toward our dear Gandalf. Can you blame him? It wasn't everyday that he had threats shouted at him from outside and he was quite startled by it, but he loved the old wizard dearly and simply laughed as one being reunited with a very old and ill-tempered friend.
"It's lovely to see you again Mr. Gandalf, I wasn't expecting any visitors, what a lovely surprise" Sam went on like this for a long while until he remembered that Gandalf was still outside, he opened the door immediately and seeing the old wizards grumpy face he offered to put the kettle on. But to Sam's surprise the wizard started to laugh and knelt down to greet him properly, "I have missed you dearly my young hobbit. It is good to hear your voice once again, even if you do have a nasty habit of saying the wrong thing at the wrong time, how about that tea?" And so began an afternoon of conversation and remembrance, Gandalf telling of adventure and excitement, and Sam telling of the matters of a simple life and pretending he wasn't interested in the affairs of the world outside the shire, of Elrond and of elves he simply just shrugged his shoulders and took another deep puff of his pipe.
"You do not seem your usual self," said Gandalf " you usually can't get enough of my tales and riddles and such, and you didn't seem intent on listening to the matters of Frodo, and that is strange indeed"
"Mr. Gandalf" said Sam cutting in "It's been a very long time since I seen any of you, ive got on with my life, I have a wife now and a daughter as well and I.I just don't have time for any of these things anymore, not meaning to be rude, Sir" Sam got out of his chair and pretended to look for new tobacco, he wanted to hide how he really felt about frodo's departure and receiving Bag end, it was like he wasn't going to come back or didn't want to, " for all those years I thought I'd see him coming up the pathway to bag end again and for all those years ive been waiting, do you know what that's like Gandalf?, 'orrible that's what"
" If Frodo thought that you would be less than ok he would have stayed, and im sure if you knew he wasn't happy here in the shire, you would have let him go all the same, he knew you would be ok, just because you haven't seen him for a long while doesn't mean he cares any less or is any less proud of you than he would be if he was here right now, my good Sam. Just because you can't see something, doesn't always mean that it's not really there"
Sam smiled as though the light of the sun had just broken over the top of the clouds; he knew Gandalf all too well now for such trickery and even thought he saw his eyes dance with fire as deep cauldrons with a burning blaze of spark and magic. "We're going to see him aren't we" said Sam as he sat down to his tea, "We are aren't we?" Gandalf smiled.
R+R please.