PS: I decided to use the design of Rosie's house from Tolkien's
illustrations. He drew a two-story brick house in Bywater, noting that it
was the Cotton's house. Had to get that through in case I got things thrown
at me for not having them live in a hobbit-hole (since we all love those!).
Chapter Two: The Rooftop
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By the middle of the last month, a light snow had blanketed the entire Shire. Flurries of snowflakes danced in the wind and little children would run to play outside every morning. Rosie and her brothers had collected wood for fire everynight and Farmer Cotton collected everything for the winter into his separate shed by the house. The Yuletide holiday was coming up soon, as well as the new year, and every family was preparing for the six-day holiday and feasting.
The snow fell gracefully down everyday, and to the children's delight, it only got heavier and heavier. Farmer Cotton came through the door one late afternoon with wet boots and snow-caked gloves and Mrs. Cotton gasped.
"Don't you move! You'll track in muddy snow!" She yelped and Farmer Cotton brushed the snow off outside in a frustrated mood.
"A couple of tiles from the roof of the shed caved in when I was looking for that good shovel of mine. Blasted snow---I always knew that roof needed a-fixing. Oh well, might as well grab a ladder and start on it before a storm comes or what not," He mumbled aggravated as he thought of the work and he kissed his wife's cheek.
Later that day when the sun was sinking low, Lily prepared and set out the evening meal of hearty stew and rolls of bread. The fire blazed in the other room, warming the whole first floor. Nick and Nibs were 'sword- fighting' with their butter-knives and Rosie sighed as she set the pitcher of milk on the table.
"I don't think you two have grown up yet," She said and she kissed the tops of their heads.
"Rose, dear, go get your father. He's been working out there all day and he needs something in his stomach. You know your father and his projects, he never gives them a break...," Mrs. Cotton said and Rosie grabbed her shawl before she opened the door.
The sunset glimmered on the white snow and reflected beams of gold and red. She walked around the house and passed by the stable. She stopped to feed and pet their only pony, Cobfoot, and she locked the small stable her father built many years ago. She remembered when they first got Cobfoot and she begged her father to help hammer the nails into the wood.
"Would you like a little ride around Bywater, Cobfoot? When the blossoms on the thickets are in bloom again, I'll take you 'round," She said and stroked his fuzzy nose.
She let go of the stable and listened. It was dead silent except for the wind through the trees. There was not a sound of a hammer or steps on a roof. She ran around the stable to find the wooden shed, covered in a light sheet of snow.
"Papa!" She cried in panic and she fell on her knees to find her father on his back. His face was pale and his leg was bent. The side of the ladder lay on his legs and she could tell from the ground that he had struggled to get up. "Papa, what happened? Oh, Papa, speak to me, please!" She wiped the snow off his face and he murmured weakly.
"Get your mother. Go get someone, Rosie, love," He said and she took off her shawl and wrapped him in with it. She ran as fast as she could under she broke through the door.
"Mama, it's Papa. He's fallen!" She cried and her mother and brothers ran to Mr. Cotton. He was still lying on his back, attempting to rub his head.
"Tolman, dear! Oh, are you all right?" Lily sobbed and she lifted him up. His arms were sore, but not broken and he groaned as he tried to get up.
"I slipped on some ice on the roof nearly half an hour ago or so. I don't know, I must have blacked out...my back hurts but I can't move my leg," He said and Lily lifted his pant-legs where his knee was already swelling and his ankle on the other was bruised.
"Tom, Tom, go get someone down in town---someone who knows how to heal broken bones and such. Nick, go with Tom. Jolly, Nibs, help me move your father," Lily commanded and Rosie stood behind her mother.
"And me, Mama?" Rosie asked, but Lily cooed to her husband with his head in her lap while Jolly and Nibs moved the ladder slowly off his legs. She watched Tom and Nick open the stable and ride away on Cobfoot to the nearest town, which had to be miles away. She walked away helpless, wondering if she should keep the food warm for her Pa. She walked inside their empty house looking to find anything to help but looked outside the window. There was a clear plain covered in snow and just beyond that she could see Bagshot Row.
She knew her father needed as much help as possible very soon. She grabbed her thick coat by the door and ran through ankle-deep snow across the meadow.
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Outside number Three, the night was silent and calm and the dark sky was shining with stars. In the Gamgee's smial, the fire was burning and snapping as Hamfast held Bell by the hearth as they whispered. May and Marigold were in their rooms and Sam was on the soft couch in the same room with his parents. He held a book that Mr. Frodo Baggins had given him a long time ago. He used to borrow it all the time for the pictures of fairy- tale creatures but now that he could read, he would regularly read the book to remember the harder pronunciations and words. He got getting better and better and now he could almost recite the book by heart. He started with other books the Gaffer had lying around, but this one was always his favorite.
He got up quietly to bring the book back on the shelf and he stopped to look out the window. He never really liked wintertime, it stopped him from his gardening and everything that was green was turned to a cold white for months. But every time he looked out to the Shire at night, he felt like he was in a different kind of wonderland of glittering frost.
He rest his head on his folded arms on the windowsill and watched the snowflakes slowly drift down. His eyes started to droop as he watched the entrancing snow and his eyelashes fluttered as he tried to stay awake. He looked down to the lane and saw something stumbling towards the road from the meadow. He straightened up when he realized it was a hobbit and it stopped to lean on their gate. He rushed to the door and Hamfast and Bell turned to see what Sam saw.
He came outside and the cold frost nipped at his cheeks and helped the hobbit in. It was Rosie, cloaked in a snow-caked robe, and her tears were crystallized on her eyes. Bell and Hamfast carried her in and gave her a chair to sit in but she forced herself to stay up.
"M-my Papa, he, he f-fell from the roof," She shivered and Bell moved her towards the fire. "Tom went t-to town to get help, but, I t-thought that, that I could g-get help faster. Please, help," She trembled and the Gaffer quickly found his coat.
"Sam, get a blanket and some of May's old clothes for Rosie," Bell said and Sam went down the hallway. The Gaffer grabbed the keys to the stable and Rosie stood up beside him.
"Let me c-come, please! I need to help my father," She demanded but the Gaffer put his gloves on.
"I'm sorry, Rosie, but you can't. Our old pony can barely bear two anymore and it will be impossible to get through the snow with a wagon. You'll have to stay here for the night until I pick you up in the morning," Mr. Gamgee said and Rosie desperately looked outside.
"Please, Mr. Gamgee, I'll walk. I need to get home now," She pleaded but the Gaffer said no more and went out the door.
She stood at the doorway and watched him leave until Bell pulled her inside. She placed her by the fire again and stripped her from her coat and wrapped her with a blanket. "Have you had dinner yet, Rosie?"
She shook her head and Bell hurriedly went to her stove to warm up the leftovers of their meal. She gave her a full plate of food and said, "After you have eaten, you can put on some of May's clothes for the night," Bell said and Rosie ate her food. It was tasteless in her mouth as she thought about her father in the snow. She worried about Tom and Nick and if they had found help for her papa and she prayed that the Gaffer would get there safely.
After she changed into warm clothes, May and Marigold came out to comfort and keep Rosie company. She tried to smile but the thought of her father suffering gnawed at her mind until she just wanted to go asleep.
"Mrs. Gamgee, could I borrow an extra blanket? I think I'm ready to go to sleep and I can sleep on the couch, if that's alright," Rosie said and Sam, who had stayed silent the whole night, spoke up.
"I could sleep out here, Ma, and Rosie can have my bed. She deserves one, being a guest and all," Sam suggested and Rosie shook her head.
"No, don't go through all that trouble---" Rosie differed but Sam grinned slightly, "It won't be any trouble, Miss Rosie."
Marigold came up and took Rosie's arm, "Here, I'll show you Sam's room," Marigold said and she walked her down the hallway.
Sam grabbed a spare blanket from his room before he bid Rosie goodnight. May let him borrow one of her pillows and Sam set up his bed on the couch. He snuggled up with his blanket and watched the fire die down. Bell tiptoed to blow the candles out, kissed Sam's brow and whispered, "Sam, my sweet child."
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Chapter Two: The Rooftop
~·· ··÷¦÷·· ·· ··· ··÷¦÷·· ·· ··· ··÷¦÷·· ··~
By the middle of the last month, a light snow had blanketed the entire Shire. Flurries of snowflakes danced in the wind and little children would run to play outside every morning. Rosie and her brothers had collected wood for fire everynight and Farmer Cotton collected everything for the winter into his separate shed by the house. The Yuletide holiday was coming up soon, as well as the new year, and every family was preparing for the six-day holiday and feasting.
The snow fell gracefully down everyday, and to the children's delight, it only got heavier and heavier. Farmer Cotton came through the door one late afternoon with wet boots and snow-caked gloves and Mrs. Cotton gasped.
"Don't you move! You'll track in muddy snow!" She yelped and Farmer Cotton brushed the snow off outside in a frustrated mood.
"A couple of tiles from the roof of the shed caved in when I was looking for that good shovel of mine. Blasted snow---I always knew that roof needed a-fixing. Oh well, might as well grab a ladder and start on it before a storm comes or what not," He mumbled aggravated as he thought of the work and he kissed his wife's cheek.
Later that day when the sun was sinking low, Lily prepared and set out the evening meal of hearty stew and rolls of bread. The fire blazed in the other room, warming the whole first floor. Nick and Nibs were 'sword- fighting' with their butter-knives and Rosie sighed as she set the pitcher of milk on the table.
"I don't think you two have grown up yet," She said and she kissed the tops of their heads.
"Rose, dear, go get your father. He's been working out there all day and he needs something in his stomach. You know your father and his projects, he never gives them a break...," Mrs. Cotton said and Rosie grabbed her shawl before she opened the door.
The sunset glimmered on the white snow and reflected beams of gold and red. She walked around the house and passed by the stable. She stopped to feed and pet their only pony, Cobfoot, and she locked the small stable her father built many years ago. She remembered when they first got Cobfoot and she begged her father to help hammer the nails into the wood.
"Would you like a little ride around Bywater, Cobfoot? When the blossoms on the thickets are in bloom again, I'll take you 'round," She said and stroked his fuzzy nose.
She let go of the stable and listened. It was dead silent except for the wind through the trees. There was not a sound of a hammer or steps on a roof. She ran around the stable to find the wooden shed, covered in a light sheet of snow.
"Papa!" She cried in panic and she fell on her knees to find her father on his back. His face was pale and his leg was bent. The side of the ladder lay on his legs and she could tell from the ground that he had struggled to get up. "Papa, what happened? Oh, Papa, speak to me, please!" She wiped the snow off his face and he murmured weakly.
"Get your mother. Go get someone, Rosie, love," He said and she took off her shawl and wrapped him in with it. She ran as fast as she could under she broke through the door.
"Mama, it's Papa. He's fallen!" She cried and her mother and brothers ran to Mr. Cotton. He was still lying on his back, attempting to rub his head.
"Tolman, dear! Oh, are you all right?" Lily sobbed and she lifted him up. His arms were sore, but not broken and he groaned as he tried to get up.
"I slipped on some ice on the roof nearly half an hour ago or so. I don't know, I must have blacked out...my back hurts but I can't move my leg," He said and Lily lifted his pant-legs where his knee was already swelling and his ankle on the other was bruised.
"Tom, Tom, go get someone down in town---someone who knows how to heal broken bones and such. Nick, go with Tom. Jolly, Nibs, help me move your father," Lily commanded and Rosie stood behind her mother.
"And me, Mama?" Rosie asked, but Lily cooed to her husband with his head in her lap while Jolly and Nibs moved the ladder slowly off his legs. She watched Tom and Nick open the stable and ride away on Cobfoot to the nearest town, which had to be miles away. She walked away helpless, wondering if she should keep the food warm for her Pa. She walked inside their empty house looking to find anything to help but looked outside the window. There was a clear plain covered in snow and just beyond that she could see Bagshot Row.
She knew her father needed as much help as possible very soon. She grabbed her thick coat by the door and ran through ankle-deep snow across the meadow.
~·· ··÷¦÷·· ··~
Outside number Three, the night was silent and calm and the dark sky was shining with stars. In the Gamgee's smial, the fire was burning and snapping as Hamfast held Bell by the hearth as they whispered. May and Marigold were in their rooms and Sam was on the soft couch in the same room with his parents. He held a book that Mr. Frodo Baggins had given him a long time ago. He used to borrow it all the time for the pictures of fairy- tale creatures but now that he could read, he would regularly read the book to remember the harder pronunciations and words. He got getting better and better and now he could almost recite the book by heart. He started with other books the Gaffer had lying around, but this one was always his favorite.
He got up quietly to bring the book back on the shelf and he stopped to look out the window. He never really liked wintertime, it stopped him from his gardening and everything that was green was turned to a cold white for months. But every time he looked out to the Shire at night, he felt like he was in a different kind of wonderland of glittering frost.
He rest his head on his folded arms on the windowsill and watched the snowflakes slowly drift down. His eyes started to droop as he watched the entrancing snow and his eyelashes fluttered as he tried to stay awake. He looked down to the lane and saw something stumbling towards the road from the meadow. He straightened up when he realized it was a hobbit and it stopped to lean on their gate. He rushed to the door and Hamfast and Bell turned to see what Sam saw.
He came outside and the cold frost nipped at his cheeks and helped the hobbit in. It was Rosie, cloaked in a snow-caked robe, and her tears were crystallized on her eyes. Bell and Hamfast carried her in and gave her a chair to sit in but she forced herself to stay up.
"M-my Papa, he, he f-fell from the roof," She shivered and Bell moved her towards the fire. "Tom went t-to town to get help, but, I t-thought that, that I could g-get help faster. Please, help," She trembled and the Gaffer quickly found his coat.
"Sam, get a blanket and some of May's old clothes for Rosie," Bell said and Sam went down the hallway. The Gaffer grabbed the keys to the stable and Rosie stood up beside him.
"Let me c-come, please! I need to help my father," She demanded but the Gaffer put his gloves on.
"I'm sorry, Rosie, but you can't. Our old pony can barely bear two anymore and it will be impossible to get through the snow with a wagon. You'll have to stay here for the night until I pick you up in the morning," Mr. Gamgee said and Rosie desperately looked outside.
"Please, Mr. Gamgee, I'll walk. I need to get home now," She pleaded but the Gaffer said no more and went out the door.
She stood at the doorway and watched him leave until Bell pulled her inside. She placed her by the fire again and stripped her from her coat and wrapped her with a blanket. "Have you had dinner yet, Rosie?"
She shook her head and Bell hurriedly went to her stove to warm up the leftovers of their meal. She gave her a full plate of food and said, "After you have eaten, you can put on some of May's clothes for the night," Bell said and Rosie ate her food. It was tasteless in her mouth as she thought about her father in the snow. She worried about Tom and Nick and if they had found help for her papa and she prayed that the Gaffer would get there safely.
After she changed into warm clothes, May and Marigold came out to comfort and keep Rosie company. She tried to smile but the thought of her father suffering gnawed at her mind until she just wanted to go asleep.
"Mrs. Gamgee, could I borrow an extra blanket? I think I'm ready to go to sleep and I can sleep on the couch, if that's alright," Rosie said and Sam, who had stayed silent the whole night, spoke up.
"I could sleep out here, Ma, and Rosie can have my bed. She deserves one, being a guest and all," Sam suggested and Rosie shook her head.
"No, don't go through all that trouble---" Rosie differed but Sam grinned slightly, "It won't be any trouble, Miss Rosie."
Marigold came up and took Rosie's arm, "Here, I'll show you Sam's room," Marigold said and she walked her down the hallway.
Sam grabbed a spare blanket from his room before he bid Rosie goodnight. May let him borrow one of her pillows and Sam set up his bed on the couch. He snuggled up with his blanket and watched the fire die down. Bell tiptoed to blow the candles out, kissed Sam's brow and whispered, "Sam, my sweet child."
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