This story mentions the one before it, "Inside Out", but you don't have to read it to read this one.  Merry is 23 and Pippin is 15.                                    

                                           _{^{"A Sticky Situation"}} 

It was summer and Brandy Hall was filled with mischief.  This year the Hall was teeming with youngsters for some reason and most of them were lads.  The tweens out-numbered the other age groups by a fair amount and had made their presence known in all sorts of exasperating ways.

The Master of the Hall’s own son was among their number and was always in the thick of the mischief, in fact, he was usually the ring leader.  Though not the oldest of them, Meriadoc Brandybuck was a natural born leader and so he often took charge of events.  The others were more than willing to follow him and as Peregrin Took was always fond of saying, “Merry has the best ideas!”

Of late practical jokes and pranks were the order of business with the lads and no one was safe.  They devised elaborate schemes and plotted endlessly against each other.  All of them tried to out-do the others with their efforts.  Vengeance was swift and often embarrassing or messy or both.

Berilac Brandybuck had fallen asleep early one evening and had found himself stretched out on the main table in the dinning hall the next morning when the staff came in to prepare for first breakfast.  He had retaliated against Merry Brandybuck by putting dirt mixed generously with fertilizer between Merry’s bed sheets.  Merry had then got back at him by locking him in the lasses bathroom so that when several of them came later that evening in nothing but their dressing gowns, they found Berilac already inside and trying desperately to escape notice.  The screaming had been heard all over the Hall.

Fredegar Bolger was subtle and had helped with sly pranks that usually involved wagering.  The wagers were nearly always fixed in advance so that things would turn to Fredegar’s advantage and the hapless loser was forced to get even as best as he could.  Peregrin Took had recently bested Fredegar at his own game.

Peregrin, or Pippin as everyone called the lad, had wagered on something that he knew more about than most and that subject was Merry.  Pippin had bet Fredegar that he could convince Merry that he had become stuck inside of a wooden box.  Merry had fallen for the trick and Fredegar had lost three pennies to the lad.  In the bargain Merry had been fooled and thus felt the need to retaliate.

Pippin was not yet a tween himself.  At fifteen, he was the youngest of the group of lads at the Hall that summer but he was determined to keep up with them and to be included.  Naturally, he had participated in the pranks against others, but up until this time, he had merely been willing to assist the actual planner of the prank.  Pippin had not been the instigator nor had he been the victim.

He was extremely proud of his first prank.  It had been successful.  He had beaten Fredegar at his own game and won.  Further, the older lads were all mightily impressed that Pippin had managed to dupe Merry.  Merry was difficult to trick because his mind naturally went to pranks and he had pulled a great many on his own.  He knew what to look for and when to be suspicious.  Pippin’s trick had earned him quite a bit of praise from the older lads and had done much to make him fit in with his older cousins.

Merry, on the other hand, was less than pleased.  Merry had taken quite a bit of ribbing thanks to Pippin’s little prank.  The others made much of the fact that Merry had been fooled by a teen.  Merry had been out-witted by a fifteen-year-old!  Fredegar’s part in it all had been quietly overlooked.  Everyone there had pranked Fredegar at one point or another, but it was rare that anyone managed to get something over on Merry.  Berilac had been the most successful up to this point and that was far less embarrassing because Berilac was a bit older than Merry.  Pippin was a child!

So it really should have come as no surprise to anyone that Merry decided to get even with Pippin. 

_______________________________________________________________________

“Shhh, you’ll wake him,” Merry hissed.

Berilac stuffed his fist into his mouth to keep from laughing and the sight of that almost made Merry laugh.  Merry quickly averted his eyes and looked up at the dark, night sky as if seeking help with his plan.

Berilac moved away from the sleeping form that lay at Merry’s feet when his efforts to stop his fit of giggles failed.  He managed to move several yards away in quick, staggering strides and then sank to the grass in a fit of muffled laughter.

Merry was soon beside of him pulling Berilac to his feet and dragging him toward one of the many entrances to the Hall.  Both lads were weaving back and forth like a couple of drunkards, though neither had touched a drop.  They were overcome by laughter once inside the door and sat on the cool floor laughing until they could manage to make their way back to Merry’s room.

“Do you really think we should be forced to have first breakfast at this dreadful hour?” Pervinca Took sighed as she followed Estella Bolger out of the kitchen and onto the small flagstone terrace. 

“It is a lovely morning, Pervinca,” Estella smiled.  “Don’t be so set in your ways.  I thought you were raised on a farm.”

“I was, “ Pervinca yawned.  “That is why, when I am visiting, I like to sleep late.  It’s the only chance that I get to do so.”

“Well, you can always take a nap after our fittings in town,” Estella said.  “I believe that someone has everything set up out here because I smell something wonderful!”

“Smells like molasses, doesn’t it?” Pervinca smiled, waking up a bit more.  “Maybe Aunt Esmeralda has made those wonderful molasses tea cakes, or maybe it is just for putting on toast.”

“Did either of you fix something with molasses in it?” Esmeralda asked, joining the two younger females on the terrace.

Pervinca giggled.  “We thought that you did,” she said, inhaling deeply.

“Maybe it was Melilot,” Estella suggested.

“Maybe what was me?” Melilot asked, coming out of the door behind them along with Hilda Bracegirdle and several other lasses.

“Maybe it was you that make something with molasses,” Pervinca said.  “Don’t you smell it?”

“I do now that you mention it,” Melilot said.  “Smells quite wonderful but I didn’t make it.”

Pimpernel Took came out of the kitchen at that moment carrying a large tray of honey buns.  “I thought we could use something sweet,” she said, holding the tray out for all to see.

“Those look wonderful, dearest,” Esmeralda said.  “Why don’t you put them over on the table and we’ll all get started.  If we don’t finish our breakfast on schedule we shall be late for the dress makers.”

The entire group of lasses trooped over to the long table that Merry and Freddy had been forced to move out onto the terrace yesterday evening in preparation for this morning.  Estella smiled as she remembered how the two lads had hated trying to please Merry’s mum with the location of the table.

Esmeralda had kept having them shift the heavy thing back and forth until she deemed it perfectly located.  Freddy had groaned and muttered almost as much as Merry, but Esmeralda had ignored them both and continued until she had things placed just so.  This ‘lass’s day out’ had been her idea and she’d been determined to make things perfect.

The table was well stocked with delicious breakfast items and beautiful flowers.  Things simply could not have been lovelier.  The ten chairs were arranged about the table and the linen tablecloth moved ever so slightly in the gentle morning breeze.

As they seated themselves, Pimpernel, whom all of the lasses just called Nell, sat her tray of honey buns on the table and began to take her seat, when suddenly, something rather odd caught her attention and she seemed to freeze half way to her chair.

“Nell, sit down so we can begin,” Pervinca frowned, reaching up and tugging on her older sister’s sleeve.

“What’s that?” Nell asked, pointing off toward her Aunt Esmeralda’s flower garden.  The little garden started at the edge of the flagstone terrace.  The summer flowers were in full bloom and the roses were particularly lovely this year.  Some of the plants had grown quite tall.

Pervinca and Estella rose up and glanced over toward the garden where Nell was pointing.  “What are you looking at, Nelly?” Estella asked, squinting as the morning sun was catching her in the eyes and making it hard for her to have a proper look.

From the far end of the table, Esmeralda turned toward the garden and her eyes widened.

“What in the name of all the shire is that?” she blurted, now standing also.

Everyone at the table followed her gaze and soon there were gasps and giggles from nearly every chair at the table.  Shy little Pansy Brandybuck quickly hid her face in her hands while blushing crimson, but everyone else was wide-eyed with either curiosity or amusement.

________________________________________________________________________

Pippin’s nose itched as he sat up.  He wasn’t sure exactly why, but something was tickling the end of it.  Yawning, he reached up with one hand and scratched.  He frowned as he pulled his hand back and squinted down at his fingers with sleepy eyes.  There was something sticky on his hand.  He hoped that he hadn’t spilt something on his bedcovers.  He didn’t remember eating anything in the bed, but he supposed that he might have.  It had been very late when he’d finally gone to bed at all.

He rubbed his eyes with the other hand and suddenly realized that his eyelids seemed to be sticking together now also.  What did he have on his hands?  With an effort that hurt a bit, he pulled his eyes open and looked down at both hands.  He was so completely startled that he blinked which was a mistake.  Now his eyes were pasted shut again by something gooey.

He took both hands and pried his lids open and looked down at himself and decided that he must still be asleep.  His bedcovers seemed to have been replaced by flowers and some of the petals were sticking to his feet and legs.  In fact there were flower petals on his arms also.  What was going on?  Confused, and smelling something that must be breakfast, Pippin sat up and sniffed.  For some reason, he could smell molasses.  Pancakes, maybe?

“Who is that over in the flowers?” Melilot whispered to Estella. 

Pervinca began to snicker helplessly as she caught sight of her younger brother who was sitting in their aunt’s flower garden nearly covered in flower petals and twigs and grass and a great many other things that the wind must have blow onto him.  He looked a bit like one of those old logs in the woods that have moss and fungi growing all over it, that is, if logs could move.  At that moment, Pippin stood, looking puzzled and stretched.

Estella and Melilot howled with helpless laughter and several of the other lasses at the table began to snicker.  “Morning, Pippin,” Pervinca called out.

Still not sure where he was, Pippin looked over at her in confusion.  Was he outside?  How had he come to be outside?  He didn’t remember leaving his bed.  Maybe he had walked in his sleep.  Merry had done that several times and Pippin had found it quite alarming and terribly frightening.  He looked at Pervinca and tried to put things in place.

“What are you wearing?” Nell shouted, in exasperation.  “Are you daft?”

Pippin looked down at himself and quickly ducked back down into the flower garden in panic.  He was not only outside, but he was outside in not but his short clothes just a few feet from an entire table of lasses.  Merry!  Somewhere, Merry was having a good laugh over this one.  He’d kill Merry for sure this time.  He was already trying to think of ways to make Merry pay for this as he crawled on his knees through the flowers trying to figure a way to get into the smial without further embarrassment.

“You stay where you are, Peregrin Took!” Esmeralda said, firmly.  “I’m getting your uncle and you had better not move from those flowers!”

_________________________________________________________________________________________________________

Saradoc sighed deeply as if the weight of the Shire had come crashing down upon him.  It seemed as if his entire job as the Master of Buckland this summer could be boiled down to being in charge of a group of rebellious tweens and one teenage Took.  He had followed his lovely wife out into the garden with a blanket draped over his arm and a resigned expression on his face.

In front of him, Esmeralda ranted under her breath in furry.  “One morning.  Just one morning of peace and quiet and a nice breakfast.  Maybe a trip to town to the dressmakers,” she hissed.  “What must it be like to live like civilized folks?  What is it to wake up and enjoy breakfast without finding someone lurking about half-clad in amid your flowers?”

Saradoc wisely said nothing at all.  He knew that now was hardly the time to try and reason with his wife.  Her Tookish accent was thick and her temper was at the boiling point.  Saradoc felt a bit sorry for whoever was involved in this latest mischief.  Someone would pay dearly. ___________________________________________________________________________________________________

The lasses were giggling madly and teasing Pippin for all they were worth.  Pippin was hiding as best he could in behind the flowers.  He cringed as Pervinca announced, “Come on out Pippin, at least two of us have already seen your short clothes.  In fact, I’ve even mended them on occasion.”

“Aunt Esme told me to stay here,” Pippin growled.  “And don’t be telling half the Shire about my short clothes!”

“I don’t see why she shouldn’t,” Estella laughed, wickedly.  “After all, you’ve shown them to half the Shire.”

Pippin seethed.  He couldn’t stand Estella Bolger most of the time.  She was Pervinca’s friend and the two of them together always tormented him.  Now was no exception.  Here Merry had gone and left him outside in this state of near undress, which was bad enough, but now his older sister and Estella Bolger were making matters worse.

“I can’t believe this,” Melilot giggled.  “Lads are so ridiculous!”

Pippin wished that they would all just go away, but that wasn’t likely to happen.  They were enjoying his predicament far too much for that to happen.  “Ouch!” he winced as something stung his right foot.  He pulled his foot toward him and frowned, trying to see the bottom of it and just as he did so he felt something sting him on the back of his neck.  He swatted at it and then realized that he was surrounded by a buzzing sound.

“Bees!” Pippin yelled, no longer caring who was watching.  He jumped to his feet and began to swat at them, waving both arms about wildly in what looked like some sort of insane dance.  He flailed his arms about and turned in a circle as the bees swarmed about him, drawn by the sweet, sticky molasses.  “Help!” Pippin shouted.

The lasses had been laughing all the harder until, Nell suddenly caught sight of the bees.  “Oh, evermore!” she yelled.  “He’s being stung!”

“Do something!” Pervinca demanded.  She was all for having a bit of fun at her younger brother's expense, but she didn’t want him hurt.

“Get some water!” Estella ordered. 

Esmeralda and Saradoc reached the terrace just as Pervinca aimed a large pitcher of water that she had taken from the table in what she thought to be Pippin’s direction but instead she managed to soak Esmeralda completely.  Eyes wide with furor, Esmeralda stared at her niece.  “What in blazes are you doing?” she demanded.

Before Pervinca could explain herself, Pippin caught their attention as he escaped the flower garden, still swatting at the bees and screamed in a rather high-pitched voice, “They’re eating me alive!”

Saradoc charged toward the lad with the blanket in his hands, looking as if he might be waving a flag of victory and knocked Pippin to the grass.  Esmeralda, dripping with water and looking stunned, watched as the bees began to work on Saradoc who was trying to wrap the blanket protectively about Pippin while driving the bees away.

Thinking that they might draw some of the bees in another direction, Nell grabbed up her plate of honey buns and ran over toward her uncle and her brother.  She tossed the buns onto the grass near them and was pleased when at least some of the bees took the bait.  She was not pleased when two of them stung her for her trouble.

Estella, determined that water was the answer, charged over to the well and with Pervinca’s help, managed to raise up a full bucket of water.  Not trusting Pervinca’s aim after that last effort, Estella took charge of the bucket herself and ran out toward Saradoc and Pippin and tossed the water on both of them.

Pansy, her eyes still covered, had been knocked to the ground and had pulled part of the tablecloth with her.  This had resulted in half of the first breakfast, following her to the flagstones.  “I’m not supposed to look at lads in their short clothes!” she screamed as a rather large bowl of porridge fell on top of her head and the warm porridge dripped down over her. _________________________________________________________________________________________________________

From their vantage point in a window in the smial, Merry, Fredegar, Berilac, and several of the other lads watched the scene on the lawn as it became more and more confusing.  The amusement that they had all felt when Pippin had first been discovered was fast fading.  “I never thought about the molasses attracting bees,” Merry moaned.  “I didn’t mean to hurt him.  I just wanted to teach him exactly who he was messing with.”

“I think you’ve outdone yourself,” Berilac said.

“Me?” Merry objected.  “I seem to recall that you helped me put him out there, cousin.”

_________________________________________________________________________________________________________

It took several hours in a hot tub of water to remove all of the molasses from Pippin.  It had been in his ears, in his hair, between his toes and even up his nose.  It had taken three tubs of water because of all of the dirt, grass, and flower petals that had been sticking to the molasses.  The first tub of water had to be dumped and clean water put in because the entire surface of the water had been coated with things that were sticking to the molasses.

Pippin, much to his embarrassment, had been forced to bathe in the barn.  Esmeralda was firm in not allowing him into the smial with “half of the garden sticking to him!”  Saradoc had grudgingly set to the task of cleaning up his young nephew and then cleaning up himself as well.  By the time everything had settled down again, Pippin had not been the only one coated in molasses.

Pippin didn’t see why Pansy had been allowed back into the smial coated as she had been with porridge and other breakfast items.  It didn’t seem fair, but Pansy had been led inside to a proper bath and not made to bathe out in the barn with half of the Brandybuck’s stable hands watching and chuckling as much as they dared.  The Master was not in a particularly good humor this morning and so it was not advisable for them to become too jolly.

Esmeralda was livid.  Needless to say the trip to the dressmakers and the lovely breakfast and her plan for a nice luncheon in town had all been spoiled.  She was, instead, supervising the clean up of the terrace. 

______________________________________________________________________________________________________

There was a soft knock on the door to the bedroom and Pippin looked up at his uncle questioningly.  Saradoc nodded and Pippin said, “Come in.”

Merry and Berilac walked into the bedroom looking rather sheepish and repentant.  Saradoc glared at them and sighed.  “You have ten minutes and then I want both of you in my study,” Saradoc said, sternly.  “I have a bone to pick with the two of you.”  He pointed down at several large, angry welts on his arm and then left.

Merry turned to look at Pippin.  His younger cousin was covered in spots of white paste that the healer had put on Pippin’s numerous bee stings.  Pippin looked back at him with his bright green eyes.  One eyelid was slightly puffy from a sting and so that eye was only open slightly.  Several stings dotted Pippin’s cheeks and one angry welt pushed Pippin’s curls out at an odd angle on his forehead.  Both arms were coated with the white paste, as were both legs.  Pippin sat on the bed in his nightshirt looking up at Merry who now felt like a complete monster.

“Pip, Berilac and I never meant for this to happen,” Merry began, slowly.

“I didn’t tell on either of you,” Pippin broke in.  “I don’t know how they found out, Merry, but I swear that I didn’t tell them.  I didn’t know for sure who had done it.  I did think it was you, naturally, but I didn’t know.  I honestly didn’t tell any of it.” 

This bit of information startled Merry.  He was even more startled at how important Pippin thought that this was at the moment.  He had expected Pippin to be angry, not defensive.

“I know you didn’t tell, Pip,” Merry reassured him, sitting down on the bed as Berilac moved over and sat in the chair.

Pippin sighed with relief and sank back onto his pillows.  If it was one thing that being the youngest had taught him, it was that you never tattle.  Tattling can get you excluded faster than anything and in spite of recent events, Pippin didn’t want to be excluded.

“Does it hurt much?” Merry asked.

“Some,” Pippin admitted, shifting uncomfortably on the bed.  “The ones on my, er, well, some of them make it hard to find a proper way to sit down.”  He looked at his toes in embarrassment.

“I didn’t mean to hurt you,” Merry said.  “I never thought about the bees coming to the molasses or I’d have left that bit off.”

“I know,” Pippin said.

“It was still kind of funny from the window,” Berilac said and both Merry and Pippin glared at him.  Berilac shrugged and said, “Well it was.”

“Just wait,” Pippin said, firmly.

“Wait for what?” Berilac frowned.

“I don’t know yet, but it is going to be spectacular!” Pippin assured him.  “When I’m better, you best not turn your back on me, either of you.”  He included Merry in his glance and shifted his position on the bed again.  “When these stings are gone, I’m getting even if it takes me the rest of the summer.”

Berilac swallowed.  “You aren’t serious.  If you get even then you know we’ll have to repay you.”

“I don’t care,” Pippin said.  “I’ll not be outdone by a, a, a pair of Brandybucks!”

Berilac seemed flabbergasted, but Merry only smiled.  After all, this was Peregrin Took and Merry was expecting nothing less.  He would indeed be watching his back for the rest of the summer.  Not only was Pippin determined, he was also motivated.  It was a dreadful amount of bees stings and the pillow that Pippin was sitting on didn’t seem to be making it any easier for him to sit comfortable.  He had no doubt that Pippin would not go away quietly.

“We had better go and see what my father is planning to do to us just now,” Merry said to Berilac.  “I think we have a truce with Pippin here until he heals.”

Pippin nodded, the angry red welts coated in white standing out on his face.  “Merry?’

Berilac was already out in the hall and Merry was standing holding the door open.  “Yes, Pip?”

“Would you come back later if Uncle Doc will let you?” Pippin asked.  “It’s a wee bit lonely being stuck in bed and I might be bored by then.”

Merry grinned at him.  “Of course I will.  I’ll bring the chess set and a snack if I’m allowed.  Maybe you can take out your anger on me by beating me at chess.”

Pippin smiled, which hurt a bit and said, “You won’t be expecting me to let things be all settled if I win will you?”

“No,” Merry laughed.  “But don’t expect me to let you win either just because you’ve wrestled with a few bees.”

“I won’t,” Pippin agreed.

“Good,” Merry said.  “As long as we understand each other.”

“We do,” Pippin said.

“One thing,” Merry said.  “You made quite a sensation with the lasses in your short clothes today.”  Merry snickered and quickly closed the door just as Pippin hurled a pillow at it.

Pippin shifted miserably and turned on his side.  He wondered if anyone had ever put goats in Merry’s bedroom before and he began to study on just how many goats might fit in there at one time as he drifted off to sleep.

The End

G.W.     05/10/2005