Concerning Hobbits

Bilbo sat on his porch on yet another fine Hobbtinton day in the neighborhood of The Hill. The breeze was gentle, the sun ever shinning, not to hot, not to cold and everything was satisfying. Bilbo sat in his chair with a long wooden pipe that stretched its way down to his hairy minute toes, blowing forth faultless ringlets of smoke, a ability he liked to do and was quiet proud of. He watched the few hobbits passed by just as he had done days before if not every day in the mornings. Down the path strolled an old man, one of the big folk. While it was odd to see them pass through the Shire, on any such business, on such a nice day what hobbit could care about the Lumbering old man. “Good Morning!” Bilbo greeted with a friendly smile on his face. The Old Man looked down upon the hobbit through bushy brows, long metallic lashes and over a lengthy grey beard “oh?” He said in a short breath “how so do you mean?” He asked Bilbo puffed on his pipe “Do you wish me a good morning, or mean that it is a good morning whether I want it or not; or that you feel good this morning; or that it is a morning to be good on?” The old man asked with raised brow, Bilbo pulled away from his pipe and smiled brightly “why all of them at once!” He called standing up he gestured to his pipe “And a very well morning for a pipe of Old Toby out of doors, into the bargain. If you have a pipe with you, sit down and have a fill of mine! There's no rush, we have all the day ahead of us!” Bilbo said cheerily, taking back his seat.

He closed his eyes and crossed his legs, and with a few puffs of his Pipe, blew two perfect smoke rings. The Old man watched them float gracefully into the air, higher and higher before stretching out and fading away. “How lovely” Said the old man with a slight curve of his mouth, not a full smile, yet not a frown. He cast his eyes upon Bilbo “But I have no time to blow smoke-rings this morning…. I am looking for someone to share in an adventure that I am arranging, and it's very difficult to find anyone.” The old man said looking at the hobbit expectantly .Bilbo chuckled faintly “I should imagine so in these parts! We are simple quiet folk and have no use for adventures. Nasty upsetting uncomfortable things! They make you late for supper! I can’t think of what anyone sees in them.” Bilbo exclaimed. Meanwhile in her bedroom from the back side of the hobbit Hole Pansy stirred in her bed. Bilbo was up again early in the morning, causing much chatter with, who she assumed would be, just another hobbit. Just as suddenly as the conversation had started it seemed to end. Pansy sat up in her bed and groggily looked about listening. It was very odd for one such as Bilbo to just cut off a conversation, and on one of his ‘good mornings’ at that. Sliding out of bed Pansy headed to the front door to investigate.

She saw a towering old man, not a hobbit at all; he was leaning on a wooden staff, peering down at Bilbo. Bilbo had gone to reading his daily mail and was trying with great effort to ignore the grey stranger. Quickly Bilbo set down his mail in his lap and looked up at the old man in a manner that boarder lined being cross. “Good morning” Bilbo said in exasperation “We don't want any adventures here, thank you! You might try over The Hill or across The Water.” Bilbo added, referring to the infamous Tooks. “Adventures?” Pansy muttered sliding out from the door and closing it behind her softly. She gazed up at the old man. Why he didn’t look like your typical elderly man, not in the least. He wore strange grey robes and a very point hat to match, he beard was to long as well as his brows. And his eyes, his eyes were wiser than age alone. “My, what a great deal of things you do use Good morning for” The old man said mildly amused, and it was true, Bilbo wasn’t the trouble seeking sort, and much rather than use a rude statement he’d used a pleasant one in it’s leave. “For now you mean that you want to divest yourself of me, and that it won't be good till I move off.” The old man observed, Bilbo stopped smoking his pipe and looked up slightly bewildered “Not at all, not at all, my dear sir! Let me see, I don't think I know your name?” Bilbo offered up a hint of friendliness, after all, he didn’t wish to tarnish the good name of the Bagginses, the most respectable hobbitses in the Shire. “Yes, yes, my dear sir and I do know your name, Mr. Bilbo Baggins. And you do know my name, though you don't remember that I belong to it. I am Gandalf, and Gandalf means me! To think that I should have lived to be good-morninged by Belladonna Took's son, as if I was selling buttons at the door!” The old man said in great amusement now. “Belladonna Took…this is THE Gandalf?” Pansy thought to herself staring up at the old man in wonder.

“Gandalf, Gandalf!” Bilbo called in awe “Good gracious me! Not the wandering wizard that gave Old Took a pair of magic diamond studs that fastened themselves and never came undone till ordered?” Bilbo said Pansy step up “No surely you can’t be that Gandalf?” she asked The old man smiled down at her and nodded, yet Bilbo carried on “Not the fellow who used to tell such wonderful tales at parties, about dragons and goblins and giants and the rescue of princesses and the unexpected luck of widows' sons? Not the man that used to make such particularly excellent fireworks! I remember those! Old Took used to have them on Midsummer's Eve. Marvelous! They used to go up like great lilies and snapdragons and laburnums of flames and hang in the sunset all evening!” He said with every word dripped more excitement “Bilbo! Bilbo breath, you need a breath of air!” Pansy said shaking him lightly as he had been going on and on without breath. Bilbo did so and cast his eyes back to the old man “Not the Gandalf who was responsible for so many quiet lads and lasses going off into the Blue for mad adventures. Anything from climbing trees to visiting Elvesor sailing in ships, sailing to other shores! Bless me, life used to be quite inter-I..I mean, you used to upset things badly in these parts once upon a time.” Bilbo said quickly masking how enthused he was, in truth, yes most bagginess were passive in their nature, and very simple at heart, Bilbo’s mother Was a Took and that keen sense for something new, was there in him, he’d just beaten it so far down…he’d forgotten it was there at all.

“pardon me…Mr.Gandalf Sir….” Pansy said walking up to the towering figure she tugged lightly at his Robes to grab his attention “We had no idea you were still in trade.” She said her eyes twinkling with prospect “Where else should I be?” he asked with a light chuckle “adventuring” Pansy said simply Gandalf smiled down at her a ruffled her hair before casting his eyes back to Bilbo “All the same I am pleased to find you recall a bit with reference to me. You seem to remember my fireworks nicely” he said with a far off smile “at any rate, land that is not without hope. Indeed for your old grand-father Took's sake, and for the sake of poor Belladonna, I will grant you what you asked for.” Bilbo looked at Gandalf confused “I beg your pardon, I’ve not asked you for anything at all?” Bilbo stated scratching the top of his head, “You have, twice now…and I will give it to you, In fact” The Wizard paused stroking his beard “I will go so far as to send you on this adventure. Very amusing for me, very good for you and profitable too, very likely, if you ever get over it.” He said. Bilbo shot out of his chair and grabbed Pansy’s hand drawing her back “Sorry! I don't want any adventures, thank you. Not today. Good morning! But please come to tea any time you like! Why not tomorrow? Come tomorrow! Good-bye!” Bilbo said hurriedly as he pulled Pansy behind him back into the hobbit hole, she took one last glance at Gandalf Stating “Don’t speak for me…why can’t I go on an adventure!” as the door closed behind them. Gandalf shook his head and laughed at their antics and reached out his staff to the door of the hobbit whole, marking it with some foreign symbol.

Bilbo turned to Pansy who leered at him in annoyance “What on earth did I ask him to tea for!” He asked her, Pansy shrugged “I do not know but I am very glad you did…you shouldn’t speak for me Bilbo…I would have went…besides he said you’d be rewarded in the in…Profitable…Bilbo, means money…wealth…riches!” Pansy said tossing her hands in the air “adventure Bilbo…that makes for not a good morning but a perfect day” She added a hopeless look coming into the young hobbit girls eyes, had she missed a chance of a lifetime, surely after Bilbo’s acts Gandalf would never offer again. “Mad…mad you are Pansy; I wouldn’t be surprised if we are blood related…you may be a Took!” He said scuttling into the Kitchen, the fright that had been worked up within him, made his stomach long for cake and a nice spot of tea. Pansy followed her friend into the Kitchen “Then a Took am I, let me be so…” she said her voice trailing off as she looked out of the window “there is so much more beyond these Hills…I love the shire and it’s good green lands….But I want to see more…travel farther and the Bagginses just may be the wisest of Hobbits….But I cannot go alone…I cannot take the step out the door with just my own wit…” Pansy uttered. Bilbo watched her silently a tang of guilt building up “I’m sorry Pansy, but it is for the best you know…just stick to those lovely books you read, from the Tooks.” He said walking out of the room. “if that’s all I’ll ever have” Pansy sighed, she too grabbed and cake and a canteen of water, and backed it away in a basket along with her beloved book. Going to her room she through on some clean cloths and headed out for the day, to her favorite tree, in which she would read her book all the day long.

She finished another chapter and sighed, hugging the book to her chest, she read of elves this day, and how they wandered the earth before many of them were drawn to the sea, and the lore of how dwarfs came to be. Dwarfs…small creatures just as hobbits where, but such power creatures in their own right. “I would love to see a mine…and the crafts and metals made there in…” Pansy sighed opening back up her book to a small sketching “Great halls of stone…might pillars, torches lighting up the darkness…the glittering of the metal speckles rock faces…”She mused in a daze, like a day dream she envisioned the dwarf kingdoms. Tearing a stick off of the tree she held it out and pretended it was a bow “or to learn how to shoot and arrow, form a great distance from the elves!” She said getting to her feet she took imaginary aim. Fighting alongside the kings of old” she used her stick as a blade as she fought off imaginary goblins and monsters. “Sending Goblins running, meeting royal leaders…traveling the wide open earth…” she continued settling down now she nestled herself back on the branch clutching her book. “Sleep under the stars in a far off land….that would be the greatest adventure…the best morning…or at least it is…concerning this hobbit…” she muttered as she gazed up into the tree tops. She sighed and shook her head before looking back into her book, at the sketch of the dwarf city. She trailed her hands over the pages softly. “I still my dreams…and they’ll have to be enough” she thought.