Lord of the Rings: The Next Generation
By: Katie Zenk
Chapter 1: Willow and TipperWillow Baggins sat on a rock wall in the heart of the Shire. She looked about her at the beautiful greenery, and at the hustle and bustle of hobbits preparing for market day. Here and there young hobbits darted between carts and boxes of goods. An old hobbit woman was scolding two of the young imps, who stood with their heads hanging. Away to the north she could hear the hammering of Alistair Bugburrow. He was repairing the last of the sellers' stalls from the previous harvest.
Last harvest had been a time of great joy, for the hobbits had had a wonderful harvest that year. The Gamgees had more potatoes than they could eat, and that's a lot, seeing as they had 13 little ones. The Bugburrows had cabbages coming out their ears. The Hornblowers had more string beans than could be counted. It was a splendid harvest! Everyone had more than enough food. Then, the week before the farmer's market, a gang of young hooligans decided to ruin it for everyone.
Little Lucky Hornblower had decided to organize a band of youngsters to steal some crops from "Old Man Gamgee". They had sneaked onto his place in the night to steal some potatoes. Now, if you know anything of hobbits, you know that they like to take a little nip now and again. Well, these youngsters had done just that, and were a might tipsy. In their drunken state, Charlie Proudfoot suggested that they set a little fire in the tool shed. Well, being drunk, they all agreed, and did so.
The chaos spread from there. They got carried away and burned crops, sheds, sellers' stalls, and committed all sorts of other atrocities. Hobbiton was a shambles! The residents had not seen this kind of vandalism for some years. They were horrified! They decided the punishment for the boys would have to be severe. Willow could still remember the words of the shirriff...(1)
"Willow... hullo... Willow," someone called. Willow snapped back to reality. It was Tipper Gamgee. Tipper was a little wisp of a hobbit. He was painfully thin, which is especially unusual in hobbits. He had other strange qualities too. His hair was straight and mousy brown, instead of the common curls of red or brown. His eyes were unusually large and hazel. His health was also of a rather unusual nature for a hobbit. He was rather sickly and frail. Hobbits, though not as sturdy as dwarves or as strong as men, are a fairly hearty race. He was a constant source of worry to his parents.
"Willow, are ye going to come to the Harvest Festival tonight?"
"Of course! I wouldn't miss it for the whole of Middle Earth," she said with twinkling eyes.
The Harvest Festival was one of the biggest events of the year. All the hobbits of Hobbiton and nearby Bywater gathered to celebrate the end of the harvest and the coming of winter. There would be songs, dancing, games, contests, and Willow's favorite part... storytelling. There would be old hobbits telling stories of "the old days". Some would tell of past harvests. Others would tell of romances and family life. Some would tell of the history of Hobbiton.
Many, however, would, to Willow's delight, tell of the dark days when Frodo Baggins of the Shire traveled all the way to Mordor with his gardener and two of his kinsmen.
"Come on Tipper. Let's go before they start without us."
"Alright. Oy, wait for me! Willow... wait!" he called as she darted off down the road. She looked back and noticed Tipper lagging far behind. He was running after, but much slower. He stopped momentarily, coughing and panting.
"Oh Tipper. I'm sorry," she slowed down and walked back to him. Her bright, blue eyes were full of compassion for this sickly little one. She wanted to get to the public square before the storytelling began, but she couldn't leave him struggling alone, as so many others did. She took his hand and they walked towards the public square.
When they arrived the festival was already beginning. There were hobbits dancing, laughing, talking, and of course, drinking. Alistair Bugburrow had finished his work on the sellers' stalls and was sitting with the other men drinking and laughing. The Gamgees were sitting in the grass with the Bagginses. "Old Grumble" Gamgee was telling some little hobbit boys of the ancestry of Hobbiton.
Off in a far corner of the square sat a very old hobbit. He was wrinkled and saggy, yet his eyes sparkled with an amazing intensity. His name was (2) Bilbo Gamgee. He was the son of Old Mister Samwise, and named after Mister Bilbo, the finder of the Ring. He knew the stories of the dark days better than anyone and was a masterful storyteller.
Willow and Tipper found an empty spot at his feet and listened intently until he had finished his talk on their ancestors. "If you please, Master Gamgee, sir, we'd much rather hear about Frodo and the Ring," Tipper said softly.
"Speak up my lad," said Bilbo. "My ears aren't what they used to be."
"He said," Willow bawled at the old hobbit, "that..."
"Alright, alright, you don't have to yell, young Willow. I said my ears aren't what they used to be, not that they had fallen off."
"Sorry," she said with a sheepish grin. "He said that he wanted to hear about Frodo and the Ring. If you could, tell us a little more about Samwise the Brave this time, please," she said with a twinkle in her eyes.
"Ah yes, my poor father and dear Mister Frodo, bless him," said Bilbo softly. His eyes twinkled merrily as he looked off into space, recalling all the tales his father had told him as a boy. Then they began to mist over as he thought of how Frodo had gone away over the sea with the original Mister Bilbo. Little Tipper noticed this and placed his frail, little hand on the old hobbit's knee.
"Oh yes," he said, wiping his eyes. "Where was I? Oh yes, I was going to tell you about Master Frodo and the Ring." So, he told them tales of Frodo and Samwise, Pippin and Merry, Aragorn, and Boromir, Legolas and Gimli, and all their adventures. He told them of Gondor and Rohan. He told them of Mirkwood and Mordor. The young hobbits listened intently. The adventurous tales of their ancestors mesmerized them. When he had finished they begged for more, and he gladly gave it to them. In fact, he went on through the entire festival, long into the night.
When they noticed it was quite dark and everyone was going home, there were only two little ones left, Willow and Tipper. Old Bilbo Gamgee got slowly to his feet. "That's enough for tonight, young ones. Now, hurry on home and get to bed. Ye needs your sleep."
"Oh please just one more! Tell us about Sam's battle with Shelob," Willow said excitedly.
"No," cried Tipper. "That's too frightening! Tell us about King Elessar and the Lady Arwen."
"No, no more for tonight. You two are much too excited as it is. Your parents will never get you to sleep. I've told you more than I've told any children for ages. Now off ye go." Bilbo gave them a little pat on the head and watched them walk hand in hand down the lane and separate only when they came to the house of the Gamgees. He sighed and walked off toward his own cozy hole.
(1) The Hobbit Policeman
(2) Appendix C of Return Of The King "Family Trees" See children of Samwise and Rosie