The Birthday Present
Chapter Six

The old man had departed that morning, after finishing his tea and breakfast and checking on the sleeping lad. Rory watched him limp slowly away, and then returned to Frodo's bedside to check on the boy again.

Miraculously, Frodo was no worse for his adventure, except for a sniffle. He apologized to Rorimac for his foolish behaviour and was astonished and then alarmed when the old hobbit quietly accepted his apology, then grabbed him up in a hug. Later that day, passing by the open door of the study, Frodo saw his Uncle Rory (as the Master of Buckland now insisted that Frodo address him) writing a letter at his desk.

Frodo forgot about it as the summer expired and autumn arrived in a riot of colour. He played with his cousins, who all seemed quite impressed with Frodo's new status, so much so that they did not tease him so much as before, nor dare him to attempt anymore foolish things.

September was passing, and Frodo's birthday drew near. He had never paid much attention to birthdays; in Brandy Hall, just about everyday was two or three persons' birthdays. But this year he felt that he would make a change, and he thought very hard, and came up with an idea that pleased him. He would give his Uncle Rory a birthday present. He did not forget about his Uncle Bilbo, though he had not seen him for so long that he figured the old hobbit had quite forgotten about him.

Walking along the road south of Bucklebury, he found a pretty stone about twice the size of his fist. He picked it up and turned it over, wiping off the mud to discover an interesting pattern of marbled crystal running through it. He took it home and washed it, and it was very attractive to Frodo's eyes. He took it to the stonemason in Bucklebury, and asked the hobbit in the thick leather apron to cut it in half.

The busy hobbit stooped to peer into the young hobbit's eye, and asked him why.

"Because my birthday is coming up, and I have only one gift for two different people!"

The 'smith laughed and carefully tapped the stone so that it split neatly in two, and sanded down the sides and polished them so that their natural beauty was enhanced. Frodo thanked him heartily and ran off home, clutching the gifts to his heart. He hid them carefully beneath his bunk, waiting impatiently for the day of giving to arrive.

Frodo tapped on the door of his Uncle's study. It was his birthday today, and he wanted to give Uncle Rory his gift in private, so that no one would be offended. To his surprise, Bilbo opened the door.

"Well, well! Look who it is! And what have you there, young man?"

Suddenly embarrassed, Frodo took a deep breath to keep himself from stuttering. " A birthday present for Uncle Rory."

"Isn't that nice! He will be delighted. I think he is in the third parlour, finishing his tea. Why don't you go down and find him."

"Uncle Bilbo, I have a present for you, too."

Bilbo smiled at the lad. "And I for you, young Frodo. We shall exchange them after dinner, do you think?"

"All right! Uncle Bilbo?" Frodo added shyly. "I am glad you came." He ran off down the hall.

Dinner was delightful, and Frodo was pleased to enjoy a seat next to his Uncle Rory at the big table among all the adults. He listened politely and kept his elbows off the table, even when most of his elders didn't. He felt very grown up, and was even given a small glass of wine with which to toast his Uncle Bilbo's health.

"And also, we drink to the health of my nephew Frodo, who is twenty-one years old today!"

"Good health, Frodo!" cried everyone in the hall, making Frodo blush with pleasure. He bowed clumsily.

"And now, let's have a dance!" Rory led his wife onto the floor and they waltzed while talented hobbits played fiddle and fife, skin and spoons. Everyone rose to their feet and sang and clapped and swung their partners round.

Bilbo drew Frodo aside for a private word. Frodo had been waiting for this moment, and he handed his uncle the gift he had prepared.

"Why, it is lovely!" said Bilbo, turning it in his hands. "I shall set it upon my desk, so that I see it everyday. Thank you, my boy."

Frodo flushed with pleasure. "It is just like Uncle Rory's. It was the same rock, cut in two."

"Then I shall treasure it even more, for now Rory and I share yet another precious thing.

"And now, Frodo, I'd like to give you a gift. But it is not the kind of thing you can put in a box or tie a ribbon around."

"Is this a riddle, Uncle Bilbo?" asked Frodo with a grin.

Bilbo laughed. "No...well, yes, I suppose it could be seen like that. I want to give you the opportunity to learn to read and write. Would you like to come home with me to the Bag End and live there, while I teach you all that I know?"

Frodo was stunned. It was absolutely the last thing that he had expected, and was quite beyond anything he had hoped for. He looked out into the room full of merry people, and saw his Uncle Rory, happier than Frodo had seen him since...than Frodo had ever seen him.

He turned to Bilbo, and spoke slowly and softly. "More than anything, except to change the past, do I wish to come with you and learn. But, Uncle Bilbo... why? Why do you want to do this? Surely Uncle Rory has told you about..."

"I think you had better come and live with me, Frodo my lad. That way we can celebrate our birthday-parties comfortably together." Bilbo laid a hand upon Frodo's shoulder, and said gently, "I have asked your Uncle Rorimac, and he has reluctantly given me permission to ask you. He loves you, you know, but he cannot teach you all you need to learn, nor take you to the places I can show you. He will be here for you, whenever you care to come and see him, and you will always have two homes, Brandy Hall and the Bag End."

Rory came up at that moment with his wife. Frodo ran to them, and then stopped, and cautiously laid his hand on his uncle's arm. "O, Uncle Rory, Aunt Mene, may I truly do this?"

"With our blessings, dear child," his aunt Menegilda said, kissing his brow. Rory mussed his hair lightly, wearing a smile of paternal pride.

"We need a scholar in the family, Frodo, and it is past time for you to learn. You have great energy and wit," Rory coughed meaningfully with a mock-stern glare that made Frodo grin sheepishly, "And we know that you will do great things when you are grown."

"But now, you are going to dance with your Aunt Mene!" and she swept the lad away and showed him the simple steps, so that by the end of the tune, he was dancing well and passing from partner to partner.

Rory chuckled as he leaned on the back wall next to Bilbo, smoking. "You'll keep an eye on that boy, Bilbo. He will steal more hearts than you have dragon's gold." Bilbo shot him a sharp look, but the grizzled old hobbit only puffed his pipe and hummed with the music.

Thus ends this tale, The Young Rascal from Buckland.
Frodo's adventures continue in The Heir of the Hill.