Anastasia and the plot are the only part of this which belongs to me. Everything else belongs to their respective owners; namely J.R.R. Tolkien.

Italics – Thoughts/Thinking

Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring

Chapter 8: The Cow Jumped Over the Moon

Anastasia

I follow the short men straight to the inn. The lone man had vanished, but I wasn't too worried. Surprise attacks failed when attempted on me. I could hear them coming, their heart beat quickening, their breath catching and their muscles tensing; leaving me well aware of the pending attack.

The short men met up with the Inn-keeper, Butterbur, who had a full house. They also met Nob, an employee at The Prancing Pony before being shown to their rooms. During the time spent inside the building the lone man once again showed up, but was intercepted by Butterbur and Nob. Apparently he was trying to see them. Well that is not going to happen tonight. If you slip passed the inn-keeper and short man, you will then have to go through me and I am not an easy foe to overcome.

I had lain on the roof of the building they had supper in. They spent a lot of time dedicated to just eating. There was minimal talk from them as they inhaled the food Butterbur and Nob had brought them. The certainly liked food which is another, unfortunate, reason to like them. Not long after three of them left and the one caught in the crack of the Willow tree remained saying something about a walk.

Remaining on the roofs, I jumped from one to the next, following the three hobbits like a shadow. Once they had settled inside I jumped down and crept under a window. It was easier to hear them from this location than on the roof. Listening, I found out they talked to hobbits, which it sounds like they are, dwarves and big folk. I also found out this village was called Bree. I am most definitely no longer near home. No more Thomas' for me, as long as, I'm not sent back.

Soon one of the hobbits started signing, Mr. Underhill perhaps, gaining the attention of those in the inn.

"Now quicker the fiddle went deedle-dum-diddle;"

"the dog began to roar,"

"The cow and the horse stood on their heads;"

"The guests all bounded from their beds"

"and danced upon the floor."

"With a ping and a pong the fiddle-strings broke!"

"the cow jumped over the Moon,"

"And the little dog laughed to see such fun,"

"And the Saturday dish went off at a run"

"with the silver Sunday spoon."

"The round Moon rolled behind the hill"

"as the Sun raised up her head."

"She hardly believed her fiery eyes;"

"For though it was day, to her surprise"

"they all went back to bed!"

It sounded similar to the nursery rhymes were taught as a child and also the one I currently couldn't remember. I was racking my brain as the hobbit started signing again after some encouragement. Soon everyone else joined in. Before they were finished a clatter arose flowed by gasps. Everyone started talking in a rush as their anxiety levels increased. After many told the inn-keeper what had occurred, they left leaving the hobbits, someone sitting in the corner and the staff of The Prancing Pony behind.

"Very good! But before you go, I should like a word with you in private, Mr. Underhill," said Butterbur after I realized I should be paying attention. Uh oh. This might not be promising. I know he said he'll help the hobbits, but disappearing people tend to make others change their minds. Good grief! Forgetting the verse is going to bother me until I figure it out. "Something has just come back to my mind that I ought to tell you. I hope that you'll not take it amiss. When I've seen to a thing or two, I'll come along to your room, if you're willing."

"Certainly!" replied the hobbit who was signing earlier. He sounded as if he had a heavy heart. As the three hobbits left, I didn't move from my place under the window. Part of my body was shrouded in shadows, but my face was not and as long as they didn't turn around they would not be aware of my presence. The lone man followed them looking back as he did, but at the last second I moved out of sight not sure if he saw me. I followed trying to catch a peek at his face, but his steps remained silent and measured, and his face passive. Why can't you wear your thoughts on you face instead on making it blank! I was obsessed with figuring out if he saw me and at the last minute realized he entered the room with the hobbits. So much for preventing him from seeing the hobbits tonight, I groaned to myself. I resumed my place on the roof and once again listened in on their conversations. I was going to barge in if the big folk, as the hobbits call them, tried to hurt those who burrowed into my heart.

Frodo

Frodo, Pippen, and Sam made their way back to the parlour. There was no light. Merry was not there, and the fire had burned low. It was not until they had puffed up the embers into a blaze and thrown on a couple faggots (a bundle of sticks, twigs, or branches bound together) that they discovered Strider had come with them. There he was calmly sitting in a chair by the door!

'Hallo!' said Pippin 'Who are you, and what do you want?'

'I am called Strider' he answered; 'and though he may have forgotten it, your friend promised to have a quiet talk with me.'

'You said I might hear something to my advantage, I believe,' said Frodo. 'What have you to say?'

'Several things,' answered Strider. 'But, of course, I have my price.'

'What do you mean?' asked Frodo sharply.

'Don't be alarmed! I mean just this: I will tell you what I know, and give you some good advice – but I shall want a reward.'

'And what will that be, pray?' said Frodo. He suspected now that he had fallen in with a rascal, and he though uncomfortably that he brought only little money with him. All of it would hardly satisfy a rogue, and he could not spare any of it.

'No more than you can afford,' answered Strider with a slow smile, as if he guessed Frodo's thoughts. 'Just this: you must take me along with you, until I wish to leave you.'

Anastasia

Lying on the roof eavesdropping I learned that Frodo Baggins was carrying something of great value, and that Strider and his friends had an interest in it. There were also the black riders, which I heard a bit about on my first journey to Bree, after what the hobbit carried.

Soon after Butterbur barged in and began taking about a letter, which he never sent, and some named Gandalf.

There are only three hobbits where could the fourth one have gotten off to, I pondered as I hopped off the roof in an attempt to protect the hobbits. It was a self-given mission of great importance. It was a matter of life and death. Strider would protect them for a few minutes while I looked for the missing hobbit in the moonlight.

Hey diddle diddle,

The cat and the fiddle,

The cow jumped over the moon.

The little dog laughed to see such a sight,

And the dish ran away with the spoon.

I laughed to myself as I remembered the tune. It did have some similarities to the song sung earlier this evening, but those thoughts were chased out of my mind as I enjoy the cool evening air rushing past me as I leaped from one roof to the next.

Frodo

While Strider was gone, Frodo gave Merry a rapid account of all that had happened since supper. Merry was still reading and pondering Gandalf's letter when Strider and Nob returned.

"I went to ruffle up the clothes," began Nob, "and put in a bolster down the middle of each bed, but what do I find! It's already been done and Strider said that it wasn't him! I then made a nice imitation of your head with a brown woollen mat, Mr. Bag – Underhill, sir," he added with a grin.

Pippin laughed. "Very life-like!" he said. "But who could have setup the beds? And what will happen when they penetrated the disguise?"

"We shall see," said Strider. "Let us hope to hold the fort till morning. As for who set up the beds, I have an id – Who are you!"

All heads swiveled around to look at the person relaxed in a chair across the parlour. They gave a small smile along with a finger wave when Strider questioned them.

1 Tolkien, J.R.R. The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring. London: Allen & Unwin, 1954. Print.

The quotes came from the chapters called At the sign of the Prancing Pony and Strider.

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