13. Tales by the Hearth

That evening found the Gamgees and their guests settled comfortably in the sitting room. Halfred and Jessimine sat together on the sofa, playing with ten-month-old Tansy who sat between them. The baby was round, red-cheeked and nearly always happy, it seemed. Her soft curls were the same raven-black as Jessimine's, making her round blue eyes all the more striking. The dimples in her cheeks showed as she giggled and tried to wiggle out of her father's gentle tickling.

Fennel sat near the hearth with her knees curled beneath her, playing quietly with her little ragdoll, Goldilocks. Despite its name, it had brown yarn for hair, which had been pulled back into one long thick braid, like Fennel's own, and Jessimine had stitched eyes of periwinkle blue. The doll's small, pink mouth was curved in a smile, and she had a bright dress of homespun cherry-colored plaid, with a tiny apron pinned to the front of it.

Frodo, Sam and Hazel were stretched out on the rug, deep in a game of checks. Sam was simply watching, having lost the game before this one, but that agreed with him quite well - he had more skill with chess or marbles than with checks.

"...And, king me!" Hazel said triumphantly, hopping his black "check" over Frodo's red one, and reaching the other side of the board.

Frodo gasped. "Not again!" he exclaimed, watching with dismay as Hazel proudly placed the red check he'd jumped over in his growing pile of them. "At this rate I don't have a chance of winning!"

Sam chuckled as Frodo sighed and cupped his chin in his hand while moving one of his checks. "Maybe checks isn't your game, Mr. Frodo," he suggested with a grin. "You should try chess. Even I can beat Hazel at chess."

Frodo gave Sam a mock glare, causing both his friend and little Hazel to laugh. "Oh no, you don't, Sam," he said; "I know you too well to fall for that little trick of yours. Not only can you beat Hazel, I'm sure, but everyone in Hobbiton! Remember, I was there at the Ivy Bush when you beat Ted Sandyman last spring!" He smiled as he jumped over one of Hazel's checks and added it to his own pile. "Ah, I'm catching up to you, Master Hazel."

Hazel snorted and moved his own check. "I have not begun to play!" he declared resolutely.

The game lasted for about fifteen minutes more, when at last the inevitable came.

"Ha HA!" Hazel whooped, hopping his check over the last remaining red one and dropping it triumphantly in his pile. "Hazel Gamgee wins again!"

Frodo groaned and buried his face in his hands, while Sam patted his shoulder with one hand, ruffling Hazel's hair with the other. As the champion proudly crowed his victory again, louder this time, Fennel turned to him with a frown.

"Hazel, please! Not so loud," she scolded. "You'll wake up Goldilocks."

Hazel subsided - slightly - and gave Frodo a malicious grin. "Care for another game?" he offered sweetly.

Frodo lightly hit him on the head with a couch pillow. "I know better," he said playfully. "From now on, I shall remember not to play against you in checks, or Sam in chess. What else is there to play?"

Hazel thought a moment. "Well, I've lost most of my marbles, and my tops are broken." He suddenly sat up. "I know!" He sprang to his feet and rushed over to the sofa, pausing to tickle little Tansy, sitting on her mama's lap.

"Mum," he said excitedly, "can I go out with Uncle Sam and Uncle Frodo and show them how I can sword-fight? Please?" He widened his round brown eyes and stuck out his lower lip hopefully.

Jessimine laughed. "But it's nearly dark out, dearest," she said, burying her fingers in his unruly curls. "You can't fence in the dark!"

"But we can fence in the barn, where the lantern is lit," Hazel pointed out quickly. "Oh, please say yes, mum!"

Jessimine glanced at Halfred with her fine black eyebrows raised, and he shrugged. "I suppose you may," Halfred said with a smile; "as long as 'Uncle' Frodo and Uncle Sam don't mind fencing so late."

Frodo and Sam stood and came over. "I'm for it," said Sam, looking at Frodo. "What about you, Mr. Frodo?"

"Of course," Frodo agreed, getting down on his knees to play with Tansy. "Perhaps there is one game that I can beat Hazel at."

Halfred laughed. "I'm not so sure about that," he said mischievously. "Our Hazel-lad's gettin' to be quite good at fencing."

Frodo smirked skeptically as he tried to gently pry Tansy's chubby fingers from the dark locks of his hair that she'd grabbed. Jessimine noticed and quickly helped, giving Tansy her rattle as the baby began to squall when her newest diversion was taken away.

"I'm sorry, Mr. Frodo," said Jessimine with a smile, bouncing the now giggling Tansy on her knees. "I should've warned you - she's just begun to find hair most interesting."

"Quite alright," Frodo assured her, rubbing the sore spot on his head. "She's got a strong grip for such a little thing!"

"Aye," said Halfred, gazing down at his youngest child with fatherly pride and affection. "She's goin' to be quite a strong lass when she gets a mite bigger - just like her mum, she is."

Jessimine laughed and lightly elbowed him in the ribs before pulling Tansy's fingers from her own hair. "More like her dad, she is," she asserted with a playful smile at Halfred. "Oh, but you'd best get on outside, Hazel dear, if you want to fence tonight." She glanced out the window and then caught Hazel's shoulder as he began to hurry towards the door. "And you aren't to be out any longer than an hour, all right?"

"Yes ma'am," he responded obediently.

Jessimine smiled and quickly kissed the top of his head before giving him a small push to the door. "Go on, then," she said, "and be easy on your poor old uncles!"

"I will!" Hazel called out laughingly as he shut the door. He excitedly led the way to the large, thatch-roofed wooden barn where a lantern swung in the cool wind as they opened the heavy door. Two ponies, along with a cow, her calf, and a large sow with several piglets, looked over the doors of their stalls and pens curiously as the three hobbits entered.

"This is May-Bell," Hazel said, petting the mother cow's soft nose, "and this is her baby, Rosalee. She was born just two months ago, but she's pretty big already." As if to prove his statement, Rosalee butted him in the stomach with her hard brown head and nearly made him fall backwards.

"Nice-lookin' calf," Sam commented, rubbing Rosalee's velvet ears. "But a bit feisty, isn't she?"

Hazel laughed and pushed May-Belle's large nose out of his face. "Aye," he nodded. "But she's Fennel's calf, and May-Belle's my mum's cow, so I don't have to worry about her much - unless I have to help milk." He made a face and they continued to the ponies' stalls.

"This is Gil," Hazel said, patting the darker grey pony's neck, "and that's Galad. An easy way to tell the difference between 'em is that Galad's got one blue eye, and she's a mare, o' course."

Frodo and Sam smiled and rubbed the ponies' noses and necks, while Gil and Galad eagerly searched their pockets for treats. Finding none, they snorted disdainfully and withdrew into their stalls to eat their own hay.

Hazel shrugged and went on to show his two "uncles" to the last pen, where the sow and her piglets stood by the gate, squealing for food. "No treats right now," Hazel laughed, wagging his finger at the large mother pig. "You've still got the rest of your supper to eat." He grinned and looked up at Frodo and Sam. "This is Mathom," he said, scratching the sow's rough back. "Dad named her that last winter when mum wouldn't let him make her into pork - he said that she wasn't good for nowt else, but mum insisted, so he let us keep her as a pet."

"Do the piglets have names yet?" Frodo asked, reaching into the pen and managing to touch one of the piglets' backs before it squealed and ran to the other side.

"Aye," said Hazel quickly. "There's Afteryule, Solmath, Rethe, Astron, Thrimidge, Forelithe, Afterlithe, Wedmath, Halimath, Winterfilth, Blotmath, an' Foreyule." He grinned at the expressions of surprise on Frodo and Sam's faces. "There were too many of 'em to try to give 'em decent names, mum said, so we just named 'em after the months."

All three reached into the pen again to touch the elusive piglets, and at last they each managed to catch one each. "Which one is this?" Frodo asked, holding a small black piglet with a white spot on its nose, in one hand.

"That's Astron," said Hazel, "and Uncle Sam, you've got Halimath there. I've got Rethe."

Just as he finished his sentence, Mathom began to squeal loudly, and the three hobbit's winced at the piercing, grating sound. "She's mad at us for takin' her babies," Hazel observed. "We'd best put 'em back."

They lowered the piglets back into the pen, and Frodo narrowly missed being bitten by one of them - fortunately, he pulled back his hand just in time.

Hazel led Frodo and Sam up the ladder to the haymow, where the fencing sticks were kept. Curled up on the bales of hay there was a large black and white cat, and he surveyed the two intruders coolly with his unblinking yellow eyes.

"That's Tibs," said Hazel as he pulled three long, slender, strong sticks out from in between two bales of hay. "He's supposed to catch the mice that keep eatin' our corn an' feed, but he's too lazy to even try to go after 'em. Dad says that he should be called Mathom, too."

Frodo and Sam chuckled and helped Hazel carry the fencing sticks down the ladder, where the boy handed his uncles one for each of them and took one for himself. "Sometimes my friend, Robin, comes over to fence with dad an' me," he explained, "so we keep an extra one for 'im."

After a few moments of deciding upon the rules, their fencing match began. Sam and Frodo found that Hazel was, indeed, a fine fencer, and were hard put to avoid his deft strokes. Having more practice in fencing (or at least pretending to battle with sticks), Frodo outlasted Sam, and after several intense minutes, he was able to lightly flick Hazel's stick from his hand.

"At last, I have bested you!" said Frodo triumphantly, lowering his own stick. "Shall we have at it again?"

Of course this challenge could not be passed, and so the fencing match continued. By the time their hour was up, all three were out of breath and exhausted, but very pleased with themselves. Each had won at least one match -Frodo had shown his skill and won two - and congratulated one another as they entered the house.

Jessimine held a finger to her lips as they came in, as baby Tansy lay soundly sleeping in her lap. Fennel was now in her long white nightgown, curled up on the sofa next to her father with Goldilocks in her arms.

"I'll go put little Tansy to bed," Jessimine whispered, carefully standing and scooping the child into her arms. "Half a moment."

"Go get ready for bed, now, Hazel," said Halfred as Jessimine left. "Then you can come back here and sit with us for a while."

Hazel nodded obediently and left, while Frodo and Sam seated themselves on the floor by the hearth. "Had fun?" Halfred asked, stroking Fennel's long brown curls.

"Aye, very much," Sam nodded with a smile. "Hazel is quite handy with a stick!"

Halfred laughed softly. "I told you," he agreed. "He is, isn't he? I hope he wasn't too hard on you two."

"Not at all," said Frodo, smiling. "I just hope we weren't too hard on him - he looked rather worn out when we finished."

"'Tis good for him," Halfred said; "he'll get a good night's sleep tonight, and an early start in the mornin'. I s'pose he introduced you to all the animals?"

"He did," Frodo replied, "although I don't think the piglets liked me very much; one of them tried to take a bite out of my hand."

"Sorry, Frodo," said Halfred, although his brown eyes twinkled playfully. "They'll do that - I've some nasty scars meself from the little scamps' teeth. Sharper than they look."

Frodo laughed along with Sam and Halfred as their host pointed out the various scars made by the piglets' teeth on his hands. Hazel soon came in, in his long, chaff-colored nightshirt, and he stretched himself out on the rug by the hearth.

"Sam-lad, would you mind comin' with me for a minute?" Halfred asked after a moment. "I'm goin' to town again tomorrow, and I wanted your advice on a few things."

"'Course, Hal," Sam answered, getting to his feet.

Halfred gently lifted the half-asleep Fennel from his lap and resettled her against the sofa pillows as he stood. He and Sam left the room, and the door could be heard opening and closing behind them.

"Can you tell me a story, Uncle Frodo?" asked Hazel suddenly, after a long while of silence. "Uncle Sam says you're awful good at tellin' stories."

Frodo blinked as he was startled from his thoughts. "A story? Well, which one would you like to hear?"

"Something new," Hazel responded eagerly; "something I haven't heard before - with lots of scary monsters and dragons and heroes."

Fennel sleepily raised her head from the sofa. "But not too scary," she begged. "I don't want bad dreams."

While Frodo considered what story to tell, Fennel slipped off the sofa and without a word, settled herself contentedly in his lap. Frodo was surprised, but he let her get comfortable while Hazel scooted closer, propping his elbows up on the rug and cupping his chin in his hands.

"All right," said Frodo at last, "have either of you heard of the giant spiders of Mirkwood?"

Hazel's eyes grew wide. "No," he said excitedly.

Fennel shivered and looked up worriedly. "They're not too scary, are they, Uncle Frodo?"

Frodo smiled. "No, not too scary," he assured her. "But I imagine Sam's told you a few of my Uncle Bilbo's adventures with thirteen dwarves and Gandalf."

"Oh, yes," Hazel answered with a wide grin, "and he said that Gandalf lives forever! Is he an elf?"

Frodo laughed and shook his head. "No, he's not an elf," he said. "He's - well, he's kind of hard to explain. He's something called a wizard, which is sort of like an elf, I suppose." Hazel and Fennel nodded, and Frodo paused a moment before beginning the story. He told about Bilbo's encounter with the spiders in Mirkwood, and how he had rescued the dwarves from the creatures - but he was careful not to make it too frightening for Fennel.

Frodo ended the story with the naming of Bilbo's sword, Sting, and found that Fennel had fallen asleep in his lap. Hazel was silent for a long moment, staring wide-eyed and open-mouthed, in awe of the story about so brave a hobbit.

"Was... was that a true story?" he asked at last, hesitantly.

Frodo smiled and shifted Fennel into a more comfortable position in his lap. "It was," he said with a nod; "Bilbo told me himself, and I've seen some of the memoirs from his journey."

"Glory and trumpets!" Hazel exclaimed softly. "He must be the bravest hobbit ever!"

"I think so," Frodo agreed, pleased once again at the enthusiasm with which his uncle was praised. He caught Hazel stifle a yawn. "But I also think that you're getting sleepy. Isn't it time for bed?"

"Almost," said a voice by the door, and Frodo and Hazel looked up with surprise to see Jessimine, Halfred and Sam standing in the doorway, smiling. "Wonderful story, Frodo," Halfred commented with a chuckle.

"Gets better every time I hear it," Sam added.

"How long have you three spies been standing there?" Frodo demanded, flushing slightly.

Halfred shrugged and leaned nonchalantly against the doorframe. "Long enough," he said teasingly. "Jessi was already here when Sam an' I came."

Jessimine blushed a little. "Beggin' your pardon, Mr. Frodo," she said, "but I couldn't help but listen. I'd never heard that story."

Frodo sighed, but said nothing more, and Hazel yawned again. Jessimine looked at him. "Time for bed, dearest," she said, coming over and gently taking Fennel from Frodo's lap. Halfred followed her and scooped Hazel up from the rug; the boy was too tired to protest, and merely settled comfortably in his father's strong arms.

"Well, Mr. Frodo," Sam said, coming over to sit beside his master, "it seems the little ones have taken a liking to you! You'll be forced to tell them stories constantly now - believe me, they won't let you alone."

Frodo chuckled. "That's all right with me," he said with a shrug. "You know I'm always glad to tell stories about Bilbo to those who will listen." He grew slightly melancholy and sighed, and Sam squeezed his shoulder understandingly.

"An' I'm always glad to listen to them," he said. "But Mr. Bilbo wouldn't want you to be tellin' them if they made you sad, you know."

Frodo looked up at him with a small smile. "Thank you, Sam," he said sincerely. "You always know how to cheer me up." Sam smiled back, and just then, Halfred and Jessimine returned.

"How about another story, Frodo?" asked Halfred as he settled down on the couch beside his wife. Frodo started to protest, but soon Jessimine and Sam had joined Halfred in pleading with him, so he sighed in defeat.

"Very well," he said, throwing up his hands. "I give up! But what story should I tell? I daresay Sam has told you nearly everything about Bilbo's adventures, as well as every Elf story he knows."

Halfred grinned at his younger brother. "Well, I don't know," he said thoughtfully. "He was goin' to tell us a story about some Elf-Lord, Elrond, it was, I think. But he never got the chance."

"It was about Lord Elrond and his wife," said Sam to Frodo with a slight blush. "You know, the story I was tellin' you all those years ago, when you were sick with that snakebite."

"I remember," Frodo said with a smile. "But why don't you tell it again?"

Sam argued, but as they had done against Frodo, Halfred and Jessimine joined in and eventually, they won Sam over. Shyly at first, and then becoming enthusiastic and animated as the story progressed, he told about Celebrían, Elrond's wife, and her wounding by orcs in the Misty Mountains.

When Sam had finished, Frodo was persuaded to tell another story, and it was close to midnight when they finally went to bed.

Frodo and Sam slept in the guestroom, where they had placed their packs that afternoon. It had been arranged that they would stay for three or four days - Jessimine would not hear of them leaving any sooner.

"Good night, Sam, Mr. Frodo," said Jessimine as she prepared to shut the door. "See you in the mornin'."

"Night, Jessi," Sam mumbled tiredly, burying his face in the soft pillows. Frodo was already sound asleep in the other bed. Jessimine watched the two with a fond smile for a moment, before blowing out the candle that hung on the wall, and quietly heading for her own bed.

TBC...