Originally written for DarkElf's Challenge "Hobbits."
A-Sailing Do We Go
Merry and Pippin's curly, freckled heads showed at Frodo's window, both blabbering about something. Frodo looked at his younger cousins and grinned. They must have something really exciting this time, Frodo mused. …. Or not. The Brandybuck and Took seemed always to be excited or fascinated about something or the other; it wasn't rare that one could see them hopping around the Shire with enthusiasm and vigor.
Thirteen-year-old Frodo, already full of (well, almost full of) responsibility, calmed his cousins down enough so he could understand them. It took a several minutes, however.
"Frodo, you know the boat we were working on?" Merry's blondish brown hair seemed curlier than usual. That must mean something really was up.
"Well, it works so great!" Pippin continued, his hazel-green eyes shining brightly. Pippin and Merry were cousins, but they looked more like brothers. "We tested out it in Merry's bathtub —" The Brandybuck bathtub was rather large — "and now we're going to test it out in the Brandybuck river. Can you come?"
"-We painted it red," Merry interrupted, unaware of the fact, "and we named it Donna Lee. I don't know where we got the name. Estella said it was a good one —"
"Estella likes Merry!" Pippin sang. Merry's face turned red. Estella, a pretty young girl around Merry's age — in this case, eight — had liked Merry since they were five. Merry, unsure of how to treat a girl who he liked back, simply got embarrassed.
" — And she reads a lot of books," Merry finished, somewhat lamely.
"Can you come, Frodo?" Pippin asked, his big eyes begging. "Plleeease?"
Frodo smiled. He was more than happy to come. It was a bright summer day, and he didn't have anything to do anyway. He was sure Uncle (well, cousin, but Uncle seemed to fit on Frodo's tongue better) Bilbo would let him go outside. "In fact, I was getting ready to go out, Merry, Pippin," he said. "C'mon, I'm getting a picnic for us, too. And we'll pick up Sam afterwards." Nine-year-old Sam was another of their group of close friends, a son of Gaffer Gamgee the Gardener. He had also helped with the boat.
Merry and Pippin grinned with delight. They loved picnics.
After the three of them packed sandwiches, carrots, fruit juice, apples, and jam pastries in a big basket, Merry and Pippin ran to fetch Sam. After a few minutes they returned, Sam with them. All of them, especially Sam, were red from the brisk run. Sam's dog (rather, puppy), a round, loving dog in the name of Tomato, frisked around the three, panting.
Getting the Donna Lee was no problem at all, as it was stored in the Brandybuck house. The Brandybuck River was only some walking distance away, in which the younglings chattered merrily. Tomato ran around until Frodo thought that he must drop, and it seemed that Merry, Pippin, and Sam never ran out of things to say. The boat was light and portable by the hobbits, and so they had no inconvenience.
The boat really did look beautiful, gleaming in the sunlight. It was painted a bright, shining red, and on the side, written in Sam's solid writing, was 'Donna Lee.' It was big enough for all five of them, Tomato included.
Frodo remembered how they had built it. They had earned money by doing chores until they could get enough money for the paint. The pieces of wood were no problem, as Gaffer Gamgee had plenty stored in his "workshop." Some of their relatives had wanted to pay for the paint themselves (such as Bilbo), but the four had disagreed, wanting to make the boat their own personal project.
After getting instructions and lessons from Merry's father, who was handy with these kinds of things, they had built the boat themselves. After ripping the boards apart because they didn't look right, sucking on a bruised thumb, and hours of frustration, they had finally finished it. Of course, it hadn't looked as good as, let's say, the Brandybuck boats, but after the glazing it had begun to look wonderful to the four's eyes. And now, after this paint, it might as well as be an Elvin-boat that Elendil had ridden in.
Finally they got to the destined spot. The spot was straight from the Brandybuck Hall, and the water there was not too deep or shallow. It shone a cool, throughout, deep blue, and some distance away ducks quacked. The hobbits had come to this spot before, and dubbed it their "magical place." Indeed the trees seemed more magnificent, the grass greener, and the birds sing more magnificently.
"Now we have to get the boat in…" Sam stated, grunting as he pushed the boat by himself. After the three others and Tomato pitching in (well, Tomato didn't actually help, but he gave barks of encouragement), the Donna Lee plunged into the water. Merry jumped in, Pippin, Sam, Tomato, and Frodo not far behind. Frodo thought to have the picnic later, when they had tested the boat. Then they could have the picnic on the boat, a rare treat that the hobbits only occasionally tasted.
The sun shone down on them, making all five quite drowsy. The lug of the boat had been some work.
"Did we leave the picnic back on land?" Sam asked when they were about twenty feet away from the riverbank. He was leaning against Tomato, who, in turn, looked sleepy as well. Merry and Pippin's chattering was slowed some, and Frodo's head didn't feel that clear at all. They had rows with them, and though they had used it for the first ten to fifteen feet, they left it alone now. The cool, steady wind rocked the boat from one side to another.
"Yup, sorry to say," Frodo said glumly. To think of it, he was hungry.
"Let's go back," Pippin yawned. "We can get the picnic and then get sail Donna Lee."
"No," Merry disagreed firmly. "Let's go over there, by that big willow tree. I see some big fish swimming there. Pity we didn't bring our fishing poles; we could've caught some."
"Where?" Pippin leaned, causing the boat to lean as well on Pippin's side.
"Don't do that!" Sam cried, who could not swim. He had been convinced that he would not drown because the three others could swim and help him, and anyway the boat looked too sturdy for that.
Tomato barked at a passing fish. Indeed, the fish was bigger than they had ever seen — about a foot across. "Ew," Frodo grimaced, despite himself. "It's so slimy and big!"
Just then Tomato took that chance to leap out of Donna Lee and take a swim. He could not have chosen a worse time. Sam, who was staring at the fish in awe, lost his balance and tripped over Frodo, who in turn bumped into Merry. Pippin, who had been sitting beside Merry, and obviously leaning too far, was dunked headfirst into the water.
Everybody stopped, even Tomato, who deserted his chase. "Uh-oh," Merry said in a small voice.
"What if Pippin's going to drown!" Sam yelled, panic-stricken. "Mister —" (Sam had a habit of calling Frodo "Mister," as his father worked for Bilbo) "Frodo! Get him out! Quickly! Before the big fish eats him!" The last statement was quite exaggerated, but at that moment, everything seemed possible.
Frodo reached out for Pippin's hand. Under normal circumstances, Pippin was a good swimmer, but then the water was too deep and he spluttered and coughed as he breathed the water in. Frodo belatedly remembered that this part of the river went down deeply and steeply, perhaps even twenty feet or so. "Pippin!" Merry shouted, as a sign of "encouragement" for Frodo. (It didn't help. It made Frodo more nervous, who tended to have things silence when things unnerved him.) "Where are you!"
Pippin's curly head was nowhere to be seen. Sam was bouncing up and down with a scared, but excited look on his face. Merry was calling loud and clear. Sam, in a high-pitched voice, cried, "What if Pippin drown'd? What if?" Tomato barked to keep Sam company.
After a few minutes, in which the four sat numb and stricken, Pippin gasped and put his hands on the boat railing. "Fro'o, S'm, Mer'," he coughed, but the sudden weight of Pippin and Sam and Frodo - who had been leaning on that particular spot - caused the boat to tip over.
The four didn't have a chance to see what was going on, as the Donna Lee was put upside-down against the current.
Merry took it quite well. He floated on his back, helping breathless Pippin do the same. Frodo, watching him, did what his younger cousin did. Tomato dog-swam, barking (kind of) happily.
Sam, however, did not take it well. Spluttering, he flailed his arms wildly, calling "Help!" at intervals. His head kept sinking, and sinking… Sam felt a wild fear in his heart, yet he was calm. Surely somebody would come for him. He kicked and struggled against the gravitational pull for him to sink.
Frodo mentally groaned. He knew that Merry and Pippin had wanted to teach Sam how to swim, but Sam had been too afraid to try. Sam, being a Gamgee, did not take to swimming in water well, except in bathtubs.
Frodo swam over to Sam, who was some distance away, using the same floating technique. "Wait up, Sam!" he shouted, as much as his hoarse voice (since when had it gotten hoarse? Frodo wondered) would let him. Finally Frodo got a hold of the young Gamgee, and got him into the floating position. He then "rowed" himself and Sam back to the shore, where Merry, Pippin, and Tomato were waiting.
It took some time for Sam to get himself back together. Panting, he looked gratefully into Frodo's eyes. "Thanks, Mister Frodo!" he exclaimed. "I thought I was a goner back there!" Merry and Pippin cheered.
Frodo, embarrassed, hung his head and mumbled a "You're welcome."
Sam shook his wet head and said, "I'll never like the water again! Well, except for drinking water... And gardening water.. And bathtubs..."
The five sat in silence. And then Frodo realized something.
"Darn it!" he cried. "We left the Donna Lee!"
However, the red boat was nowhere in sight. Frodo vaguley remembered seeing a hole in it, and was about to point it out when the boat had tipped over. The four knew that their treasure boat had drowned, but to their surprise, they didn't feel all that sad over it.
"I mean, it's bad that the boat drowned, but really, that was fun!" Merry exclaimed with shining eyes.
"Let's do that again!" Pippin laughed. Sam shot him a warning glance, and Pippin hushed, although a mischievous gleam still remained in his eyes.
"Well, I suppose it was exciting," Sam mused. "Even though we all almost drown'd. It's like an adventure Mister Bilbo has." Bilbo's story of dragons and treasures and dwarves was well known, although Bilbo had tried to prevent it. In the adults' point of view, Bilbo was an oddling. In the children's point of view, he was a hero.
"Yeah!" The four hobbits breathed. Frodo, looking back, had to admit it had been fun and quite exciting.
The four sat in silence again, basking in the warm sunshine as it dried their clothes.
"Now what?" Sam asked, breaking the comfortable silence and adventurous memories. They all would have a story to share tonight, despite the adults' sayings of how dangerous it had been. As for the boat, it was gone now. Anyway, over the years it would have rotted, and to experience this adventure was better than a peaceful rowing.
Frodo grinned. "Well, we still have our picnic."
The End