Chapter 8
To the hobbit's surprise (and relief) their journey began without a single hitch. Recounting the difficulty they had the first time they set out, this journey seemed to be a piece of cake. Since they were no longer being pursued, the group was able to travel by day and rest at night, instead of the other way around.
Rosie had no problems driving the cart and Eleanor quickly leaned the basics of riding on a pony. When Sam dismounted so he could walk a little bit, Eleanor remained on Bill the Pony, happily holding the harness, giggling playfully when Bill would toss his head back and bay.
Merry and Pippin, who had no children of their own (yet), took much pleasure in taking care of little Eleanor. Merry would tell her stories of his adventure ridding with the Rohirrim during the War of the Ring, and Pippin, being so young, took on a roll as a sort of older sibling. He would carry her on his shoulders when she was tired of riding Bill and would tickle her until he couldn't breathe, take a break and then start again.
Sam tried to explain to Eleanor that she shouldn't be bothering Mr. Pippin so much, constantly asking questions and begging for rides, but quickly stopped as he watch Pippin pick up Eleanor with the care of a brother and held her close. The love that Pippin obviously felt for Eleanor made Sam keep quiet and just watch.
It wasn't until their 5th day of travel that they ran into something...unexpected.
:: :: :: :: :: :: :: :: :: :: :: :: :: :: :: :: :: :: :: :: :: :: :: :: :: :: :: :: :: :: :: :: :: :: :: :: :: ::
It was a bit past midday and the sun shone brightly from the clear sky. The 4 former Fellowship members walked on ahead of Rosie and Eleanor. They had attached the ponies to the cart so they could walk freely, side by side, down the well traveled road. Pippin, who was at one end of the line, would stoop down and pick a flower or two every so often.
"Whatcha doin', Pip?" Merry asked, spying the flowers bunched in his hand. "You're not going to find any pretty hobbit lasses to impress all the way out here." Sam shot Merry a warning glance. "Besides Rosie, of course." Merry quickly added. Sam nodded in satisfaction then returned to his conversation with Frodo.
"I know. They're for Eleanor. I thought she might like them to put in her hair." Pippin admitted, picking a long-stemmed daisy from the ground.
"Though we may run into an Elf Maiden, if we're lucky." Merry whispered in Pippin's ear, so that Frodo and Sam couldn't hear.
After a few more minutes of walking, Sam stopped abruptly. The other 3 walked on a few more paces before realizing that he had not followed. Looking back, they noticed Sam was glancing around, a look of nervousness in his eyes.
"What's wrong, Sam?" Frodo asked, returning to where Sam stood, still as a tree.
"I...I thought I heard something, Mr. Frodo." Sam said in a whisper.
"What did you hear?" Pippin cautiously asked as he and Merry joined their companions. No one dared move for what seemed like an eternity. Suddenly, there was a strange creaking sound coming from behind them.
The group spun around quickly, each taking a different defensive stance. Merry bent down and picked up a stick from the ground and held it like a makeshift sword in front of him. Pippin still held the flowers tightly in his clenched fist.
"What are you four doing?" Rosie asked. Eleanor sat next to her on the carts drivers' seat and waved happily at her father and his friends. She had just pulled the cart to a stop as the other hobbits breathed a sigh of relief. The three cousins each turned and glanced at Sam, who still looked rather pale.
"Was that what you heard?" Merry inquired, pointing to the cart. Sam looked from Rosie to the cart, whose wooden wheels creaked as the ponies shifted.
"No! I mean, I don't think so." Sam attempted to explain. "It came more from over there, in the brush." Pointing off to their right, he stared off into the wilderness for a minute. Maybe he was going crazy. Maybe it WAS just the cart that made the noise. Maybe there is nothing to be afraid of....
"There! Look!" Pippin exclaimed, motioning over towards where Sam had pointed.
The bushes rustled. Something was there.
"Rosie, take Eleanor and turn back. Don't worry about us, just go!" Sam ordered as he took his defense stance again.
"But Sam, I..." Rosie started but was quickly cut off. Whatever was there seemed to be moving closer. Everyone held their breath. Something sprang from the bushes, landing on the road before the group.
The Fellowship members pulled in close, still in defense mode, yet all four were shaking with fear. Merry still had his 'sword' ready to fight. They stared with fearful eyes at the cause of the panic.
:: :: :: :: :: :: :: :: :: :: :: :: :: :: :: :: :: :: :: :: :: :: :: :: :: :: :: :: :: :: :: :: :: :: :: :: ::
"Bunny!" Eleanor shouted happily, pointing to the small rabbit that hat innocently in front of them. It was true. The thing that had gotten everyone all worked up, was nothing more then an everyday, brown rabbit.
Merry, Pippin, Frodo and Sam looked at each other before taking a step away. They had pulled in very close to one another and now, were feeling even more foolish.
"Bunny!" Eleanor exclaimed again as she slowly climbed down from the cart. Running past the still worked up adults, Eleanor approached the rabbit and gently picked it up, cradling it in he arms. "Can I keep him?" Eleanor asked her father, holding up the rabbit towards him. Sam looked at it; his little black eyes and pink nose just staring at him.
"As long as you take care not to let him loose." Sam sighed finally.
"Yeah!" Eleanor cheered running over to the cart. "Mommy! Mommy! Look! Daddy said I could keep him!" Merry, Frodo and Pippin looked at Sam again.
"What?" Sam asked a bit surprised at their reaction.
"What should I call him?" Eleanor asked out loud.
"How about 'Rabbit'?" Pippin suggested excitedly. Sam and Frodo stifled a laugh. "Well, why not?" Pippin demanded, taking offense to the strange looks he was receiving.
"How about 'Stew'?" Merry said bitterly. He was still rather embarrassed after over reacting to, of all things, a rabbit!
"Meriadoc!" Merry flinched at the sound of his full name. "Don't say that in front of Eleanor!" Frodo scolded. He would have continued if Eleanor hadn't gotten excited.
"Stuart! Yeah, I'll name him Stuart and call him Stu for short!" Eleanor jumped up and down with the newly named rabbit. "Thank you, Mr. Merry!" She added happily. The 4 adults looked at each other. No one was about to explain to this innocent child what Merry had meant.
"That's an odd name for a bunny. At least 'Rabbit' could have made sense." Pippin stated plainly.
"I think it's a wonderful name, honey." Rosie said, coming up next to her daughter. "Come on; let's see if we can find something for Stuart to sleep in." So together, mother and daughter went back to the cart.
"Well, how do you like that?" Frodo said after a minute. "Looks like our biggest scare turned into our smallest traveling companion." Sam and Pippin began to laugh and was soon followed by Merry. Together, the four laughed off their fear and got back to their journey.
To the hobbit's surprise (and relief) their journey began without a single hitch. Recounting the difficulty they had the first time they set out, this journey seemed to be a piece of cake. Since they were no longer being pursued, the group was able to travel by day and rest at night, instead of the other way around.
Rosie had no problems driving the cart and Eleanor quickly leaned the basics of riding on a pony. When Sam dismounted so he could walk a little bit, Eleanor remained on Bill the Pony, happily holding the harness, giggling playfully when Bill would toss his head back and bay.
Merry and Pippin, who had no children of their own (yet), took much pleasure in taking care of little Eleanor. Merry would tell her stories of his adventure ridding with the Rohirrim during the War of the Ring, and Pippin, being so young, took on a roll as a sort of older sibling. He would carry her on his shoulders when she was tired of riding Bill and would tickle her until he couldn't breathe, take a break and then start again.
Sam tried to explain to Eleanor that she shouldn't be bothering Mr. Pippin so much, constantly asking questions and begging for rides, but quickly stopped as he watch Pippin pick up Eleanor with the care of a brother and held her close. The love that Pippin obviously felt for Eleanor made Sam keep quiet and just watch.
It wasn't until their 5th day of travel that they ran into something...unexpected.
:: :: :: :: :: :: :: :: :: :: :: :: :: :: :: :: :: :: :: :: :: :: :: :: :: :: :: :: :: :: :: :: :: :: :: :: :: ::
It was a bit past midday and the sun shone brightly from the clear sky. The 4 former Fellowship members walked on ahead of Rosie and Eleanor. They had attached the ponies to the cart so they could walk freely, side by side, down the well traveled road. Pippin, who was at one end of the line, would stoop down and pick a flower or two every so often.
"Whatcha doin', Pip?" Merry asked, spying the flowers bunched in his hand. "You're not going to find any pretty hobbit lasses to impress all the way out here." Sam shot Merry a warning glance. "Besides Rosie, of course." Merry quickly added. Sam nodded in satisfaction then returned to his conversation with Frodo.
"I know. They're for Eleanor. I thought she might like them to put in her hair." Pippin admitted, picking a long-stemmed daisy from the ground.
"Though we may run into an Elf Maiden, if we're lucky." Merry whispered in Pippin's ear, so that Frodo and Sam couldn't hear.
After a few more minutes of walking, Sam stopped abruptly. The other 3 walked on a few more paces before realizing that he had not followed. Looking back, they noticed Sam was glancing around, a look of nervousness in his eyes.
"What's wrong, Sam?" Frodo asked, returning to where Sam stood, still as a tree.
"I...I thought I heard something, Mr. Frodo." Sam said in a whisper.
"What did you hear?" Pippin cautiously asked as he and Merry joined their companions. No one dared move for what seemed like an eternity. Suddenly, there was a strange creaking sound coming from behind them.
The group spun around quickly, each taking a different defensive stance. Merry bent down and picked up a stick from the ground and held it like a makeshift sword in front of him. Pippin still held the flowers tightly in his clenched fist.
"What are you four doing?" Rosie asked. Eleanor sat next to her on the carts drivers' seat and waved happily at her father and his friends. She had just pulled the cart to a stop as the other hobbits breathed a sigh of relief. The three cousins each turned and glanced at Sam, who still looked rather pale.
"Was that what you heard?" Merry inquired, pointing to the cart. Sam looked from Rosie to the cart, whose wooden wheels creaked as the ponies shifted.
"No! I mean, I don't think so." Sam attempted to explain. "It came more from over there, in the brush." Pointing off to their right, he stared off into the wilderness for a minute. Maybe he was going crazy. Maybe it WAS just the cart that made the noise. Maybe there is nothing to be afraid of....
"There! Look!" Pippin exclaimed, motioning over towards where Sam had pointed.
The bushes rustled. Something was there.
"Rosie, take Eleanor and turn back. Don't worry about us, just go!" Sam ordered as he took his defense stance again.
"But Sam, I..." Rosie started but was quickly cut off. Whatever was there seemed to be moving closer. Everyone held their breath. Something sprang from the bushes, landing on the road before the group.
The Fellowship members pulled in close, still in defense mode, yet all four were shaking with fear. Merry still had his 'sword' ready to fight. They stared with fearful eyes at the cause of the panic.
:: :: :: :: :: :: :: :: :: :: :: :: :: :: :: :: :: :: :: :: :: :: :: :: :: :: :: :: :: :: :: :: :: :: :: :: ::
"Bunny!" Eleanor shouted happily, pointing to the small rabbit that hat innocently in front of them. It was true. The thing that had gotten everyone all worked up, was nothing more then an everyday, brown rabbit.
Merry, Pippin, Frodo and Sam looked at each other before taking a step away. They had pulled in very close to one another and now, were feeling even more foolish.
"Bunny!" Eleanor exclaimed again as she slowly climbed down from the cart. Running past the still worked up adults, Eleanor approached the rabbit and gently picked it up, cradling it in he arms. "Can I keep him?" Eleanor asked her father, holding up the rabbit towards him. Sam looked at it; his little black eyes and pink nose just staring at him.
"As long as you take care not to let him loose." Sam sighed finally.
"Yeah!" Eleanor cheered running over to the cart. "Mommy! Mommy! Look! Daddy said I could keep him!" Merry, Frodo and Pippin looked at Sam again.
"What?" Sam asked a bit surprised at their reaction.
"What should I call him?" Eleanor asked out loud.
"How about 'Rabbit'?" Pippin suggested excitedly. Sam and Frodo stifled a laugh. "Well, why not?" Pippin demanded, taking offense to the strange looks he was receiving.
"How about 'Stew'?" Merry said bitterly. He was still rather embarrassed after over reacting to, of all things, a rabbit!
"Meriadoc!" Merry flinched at the sound of his full name. "Don't say that in front of Eleanor!" Frodo scolded. He would have continued if Eleanor hadn't gotten excited.
"Stuart! Yeah, I'll name him Stuart and call him Stu for short!" Eleanor jumped up and down with the newly named rabbit. "Thank you, Mr. Merry!" She added happily. The 4 adults looked at each other. No one was about to explain to this innocent child what Merry had meant.
"That's an odd name for a bunny. At least 'Rabbit' could have made sense." Pippin stated plainly.
"I think it's a wonderful name, honey." Rosie said, coming up next to her daughter. "Come on; let's see if we can find something for Stuart to sleep in." So together, mother and daughter went back to the cart.
"Well, how do you like that?" Frodo said after a minute. "Looks like our biggest scare turned into our smallest traveling companion." Sam and Pippin began to laugh and was soon followed by Merry. Together, the four laughed off their fear and got back to their journey.