11: Bilbo’s Speech

Rose Cotton was sure she was going to cry. She had just seen Sam – her Sam – kiss that Took lass. But they only seemed to kiss for a moment, before Pervinca turned and fled into the crowd. Rosie knew it was time for her to make her move.

“Sam! Sam!” she called running over to him.

“Oh, hullo, Rosie,” he greeted in a sad voice.

“Would you like to dance?”

“Not really. I’m sorry, Rose.” With that he started to walk away, but Rosie followed him.

“I saw you kissing that Took lass,” she said. “She ran away pretty soon after. Weren’t you any good?”

Sam wanted to be angry with Rose for her accusations, but found that he could not. He sighed. “I don’t know. I suppose she just realised that I wasn’t good enough for her. I was a fool to think that I ever was.”

“Don’t be stupid, Samwise Gamgee!” Rose scolded. “If anything, you’re too good for her.”

Sam smiled. “Well, I don’t know about that Rosie. I don’t think either of us were ‘too good’ for one another. We just aren’t good together.” He took Rose’s hand, as he had with Pervinca, and kissed it. “Rose Cotton, would you like to dance?”

Rosie’s eyes twinkled and she smiled back at him. “Sam, I thought you’d never ask.”

* * * * * *

Merry eventually returned with the water for Pippin. While he had been away, Pervinca informed him that Pippin had fallen asleep, and once he woke, had emptied his stomach twice. Now Pippin was sober enough to be in the company of others without anyone being suspicious, which was fortunate, for he was starving!

Pippin had also woken just in time for the fireworks, which was also fortunate. Both Pervinca and Merry would have been in deep trouble if they had allowed him to miss them. The three of them emerged from their corner just as the fireworks began.

“There’s Gandalf!” Pippin cried, pointing to where the old wizard was setting off the rockets. “Do you suppose he’d let us help?”

Merry shrugged. “We can only ask.”

With that, Merry and Pippin ran over Gandalf. Pervinca followed more hesitantly. She was not as frequent a visitor to Bag-End as her brother and cousin, so was not as well acquainted with the wizard as they. In fact, she was shocked when she heard how casually they spoke to him.

“Stand back, Meriadoc, Peregrin,” Gandalf commanded, though not cruelly. He lit another rocket, which flew into the air and exploded in the image of a tree.

“We want to help, Gandalf!” Merry cried.

“Yes, can we, please?” Pippin pleaded.

With an amused smile, which seemed mainly directed at Pervinca, Gandalf nodded. “Why don’t you choose which rockets I should let off? I’m afraid I cannot let you light them though. Fireworks can be very dangerous, and I’d hate to think what your mothers would do to me if you were to be hurt.”

Both lads nodded. Merry chose the first rocket, and Gandalf informed him that it was a good choice. It exploded into a flock of butterflies, which Pervinca thought looked beautiful, but Merry said were boring. Pippin picked out the next rocket – the largest he could find.

But Gandalf shook his head. “Not that one, lad. Not yet, anyway. I want to keep it for later.”

Pippin nodded, and selected a different rocket, one that resulted in soaring eagles. Pippin had always loved the eagles when Bilbo told the tales of his adventure. They were his favourite part.

Merry and Pippin – and even Pervinca, when she overcame her shyness in the presence of the wizard – continued to pick out rockets for Gandalf for some time. Eventually, he nodded to the large rocket that Pippin had first chosen. It was the only one left.

“Time for that one now, lad,” he said. Pippin, with some difficulty, for the rocket was almost as large as him, handed it over to Gandalf.

As soon as Gandalf had lit the wick, all the lights went out. For a moment, Pippin and Merry thought that someone had stolen the idea for one of their rejected pranks, but then they realised that it would have had to be some sort of magic. All of the lights had been extinguished at the same time.

“Look!” Pippin cried. He pointed to the cloud of smoke. “It’s the Lonely Mountain!”

“And what’s that coming from the top?” Pervinca asked.

Though they had never seen one in their waking life, Merry, Pippin and Pervinca had heard Bilbo’s stories enough times to recognise the beast that was flying from the summit of the smoke-mountain.

“Dragon!” they cried together, throwing themselves flat onto the ground. None of them noticed that Gandalf was still standing, with a smug smirk on his face.

Pippin was the first to look up. “It’s flying over Bywater Pool!”

All of a sudden, the dragon exploded in a shower of twinkling lights. The three young hobbits now all felt rather foolish. They had known that the dragon was a firework, but their imaginations had taken over, and convinced them that it was real.

Gandalf smiled down at them. “Enjoy that one? It was my little tribute to Bilbo. And now, my young friends, I believe it is time for supper.”

At the mere mention of food, Pippin was on his feet. Everything he had eaten that day was now in several sticky messes in a corner of Bilbo’s field. He was famished! As he ran off ahead of them, Merry and Pervinca had to laugh, and even Gandalf chuckled.

“Pathetic, isn’t he?” Merry sighed.

“Perhaps,” Gandalf mused. “But I think we can expect great things of that lad.” He smiled at Merry. “Of both of you.” He followed after Pippin, leaving Merry and Pervinca in a state of confusion.

Just as the three hobbits and Gandalf entered the great pavilion, they heard a voice cry out, and saw Dudo Baggins, Frodo’s uncle, fall onto the ground. His seat had collapsed beneath him. As he complained about poorly made furniture, his sister, Dora, was quick to point out his bulging stomach.

“The chair probably broke beneath your weight!” she scoffed. Dudo grumbled, and was given another chair.

Pippin looked over at Merry, and saw that the young Brandybuck was smirking, and obviously trying to restrain a laugh. “Merry, you didn’t…”

“When Pervinca made me fetch some water for you, I couldn’t control myself,” Merry admitted, snickering. “I saw that old Dudo would be sitting there, and I weakened one of the chair legs. I thought that since you had helped carry out my prank, it was the least I could do.”

“Meriadoc Brandybuck, that was very irresponsible of you,” Gandalf scolded, but the twinkle in his eye betrayed him. He was also trying to retrain from laughing.

Pippin, Pervinca and Merry quickly located their families, who were, fortunately, sitting together, near the head of the chief table. As the future Thain and Master of Buckland, both Paladin and Saradoc were considered important people. Eglantine shuffled her two youngest into their seats.

“Crackers!” Pippin cried, seizing the cracker that had been set in front of him. With Pervinca, he pulled it open, and found a wonderfully made horn. He was almost as excited as he had been when he had received the wooden dragon. Of course, his excitement was subdued as dinner was served. Pippin ate an amazing amount for an eleven-year-old. Fortunately, there was plenty of food and many a comment was made about Bilbo being aware of the voracious appetite of young Peregrin Took.

Finally, when even Pippin could not take another bite, Bilbo stood, apparently to make his Speech. Pippin heard Pearl groan, and mumble something about boring grown-up speeches. He would have usually agreed with her, but he tended to like Bilbo’s speeches. They weren’t at all like the speeches other grown-ups made. Bilbo would often start talking about his adventure, and Pippin could never hear enough about that.

Bilbo stood beneath the beautiful tree at the end of the chief table. “My dear Bagginses and Boffins, and my dear Tooks and Brandybucks…”

This was the boring part of the Speech that Pippin always hated. There were a lot of families present, and Pippin assumed that Bilbo was going to name them all. He started playing with his dragon until Bilbo came to a good part. After Bilbo had mentioned something about everyone enjoying themselves, Pippin saw that at the next table, several of his cousins had taken out their instruments and started to play a tune. His cousin, Everard Took, stood on the table, pulling Merry’s cousin, Melilot Brandybuck up to dance with him.

Pippin glanced at Pervinca for a moment, and saw that she was gazing at Everard rather fondly. He was about to say something, but suddenly, Bilbo snatched the horn from his hand and used it to capture everyone’s attention.

“I shall not keep you long!” Bilbo’s words earned a cheer of approval. “I have called you all together for a Purpose.”

Paladin and Saradoc exchanged glances, and Pippin heard his father murmur, “I wonder what he means by that.”

“Indeed, for Three Purposes. First of all, to tell you that I am immensely fond of you all, and that eleventy-one years is too short a time to live among such excellent and admirable hobbits. I don’t know half of you half as well as I should like; and I like less than half of you half as well as you deserve.”

Paladin Took choked on his drink as he stifled a laugh. Across from him, Saradoc was snickering, but very few other guests seemed to understand Bilbo’s comment, Pippin least of all. He assumed that old Uncle Bilbo had made some grown-up joke that he would get when he was older.

Bilbo next mentioned the fact that it was also Frodo’s birthday, and Merry and Pippin stood and cheered. Their respective mothers pulled them back into their chairs, but Frodo smiled warmly at them, from his seat at the very head of the table.

Pippin’s ears pricked up again when he heard Bilbo talking about Esgaroth. Though he always though that Lake Town was the most boring part of Bilbo’s story, it was still a part of the old hobbit’s adventure, and could have been the lead in to a more interesting part. But Bilbo did not speak more of his adventure, nor did he recite a poem, as many of the guests feared (and Pippin secretly hoped) he would.

“I am going. I am leaving NOW. GOODBYE!” With a huge flash of blinding light, Bilbo disappeared.

Peregrin Took looked from one face to another of those around him. Pervinca’s eyes were widened with horror. Paladin looked completely stunned. But Merry and Frodo did not seem so surprised. Frodo shook his head sadly, and looked at the table. Merry’s brow had knitted into a frown, and he muttered, “So he finally did it.”

“He finally did what, Merry?” Pippin whispered. “What are you talking about?”

“Never mind, Pip. Never mind.”

* * * * * *

A/N: As you all probably know, Bilbo’s speech came directly from The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring – ‘A Long Expected Party’. In fact, most of this chapter came from comments made in that chapter.