Chapter 46. The Hobbit Giant

The Thain stretched, having eaten as much as any three guardsmen. 'Where were we, now?' he said softly. 'Ah, yes, I remember. Snowdrop the Woodcarver's wife had found a newborn babe left in the cradle overnight, and she determined to care for the wee bairn as one of her own, though he was twicet the size of her own fine new son.' He smiled at the Queen's bonny one-year-old, cuddled close to his mother, tiny hands exploring her face. She kissed the fingertips as they came near her lips, and delightful baby laughter filled the room.

The nurse came in to take the young heir. 'Time for lovey's nap, it is,' she crooned. Arwen surrendered her son with a last kiss, watched him borne from the room, then held out her hands to her little daughter. The princess settled into her mother's lap and cuddled, thumb in mouth. Arwen smiled. 'There,' she said. 'I think we are all ready.'

The Thain nodded with a smile of his own and a wink for the princess. 'Well, now, don't you know, the two babes were so close in age that Tam Woodcarver and his wife just raised them as twins. She nursed them both, and for all his size the babe ate no more than her own sweet child. The twain did all things together, learning to roll over, to eat from a spoon, to crawl, to walk, to drink from a cup, to talk, much at the same time. And they were the best of brothers, and the best-est of friends.'

King Elessar put down his carving to light his pipe. The Thain brightened. 'Now there's a nice end to a meal. Just a moment...' he dug out his own pipe, filling and tamping and lighting it as he continued the story.

'Seven, no, eight years went by and the lads grew quickly -- one more quickly than the other, mind. As he approached his fifth year, wee Laddy was taller than both his parents, but a finer lad you have never seen. He was tall and fair and graceful, and excelled in anything he put his hand to. O how they loved their foundling son... Though they wondered sometimes where he'd come from and who he was, there was no question whose he was... he was theirs, their beloved son, dropped by the wind into their cradle. Yet always they remembered that his folk would return someday to claim him, for surely he was special, perhaps somehow, even, the son of a king.

'Young Laddy and his twin Tom were hard workers, and a great help to Tam Woodcarver, gathering mushrooms and nuts and berries. As a matter of fact, the twins could gather twicet the berries of any other two lads their age, for Laddy could reach the tops of the bushes, don't you know, whilst his brother picked from the bottoms. They were a great help to their father in gathering wood, as well, for the fire or for the woodcarver's craft.

'Tam Woodcarver and his wife Snowdrop were very proud of their sons, beloved, who were such good brothers to the woodcarver's littler children. Snowdrop need fear no fox or owl when her little-uns played in the sunlight in the glade on a fair day.

'Eight years had passed, as I said before, do you remember, beloved? ...and Laddy could now wear his father's clothes. He was easy to keep for he still ate less than one of the forest folk, but his parents did worry about how they would manage if he kept on going as he'd begun. Tam had decided he'd have to dig their hole deeper to give the lad more room to grow, and Snowdrop stayed busy at her loom for long hours, to weave enough cloth to make him clothes to grow into. Then one day...'

The little princess sat up, thumb in mouth, the fingers of the other hand twined in her mother's hair.

'One day, beloved, the birds sang their warning songs of a stranger in the forest. The animals whisked into their hiding places and the forest folk crept deep into holes or climbed into high branches to watch.

'A green-clad giant with a bow slung over one shoulder and a bright sword at his side came walking softly into the glade. His shoulders were slumped and he moved slowly as if much wearied, yet he was also wary as one who walks in constant peril. He looked about him carefully, as if he'd been there before and was searching his memories. He came at last to the tree 'neath which the woodcarvers made their home. Watching from their high perches, the carver's family held their breaths as he bent to look amongst the tree roots.

' "Not an animal den," they heard the stranger murmur. "No..." the stranger shook his head and ducked further into the hole. "There was a cradle, I'm sure of it. I remember..." They saw him push aside the loose roots which covered the entrance and finally... he looked into their hole. The forest was so quiet that they heard his sharp intake of breath as he gazed into their sitting room and saw the cradle by the hearth. "Hullo?" he called softly, listening for a long time before withdrawing his head.

'When he pulled head and shoulders out of the hole, they saw the tears upon his face. The stranger looked up, calling to the trees around him, "Hulloo! Is anyone there? Please..." he said, and they heard the desperation in his tone, best beloved, and their hearts grieved for him.

' "Please..." he said again, more softly, but the sharp ears of the forest people could hear every word. "I came here once before," the stranger said, "with a babe, my only child, fleeing from deadly peril into deadly peril..." he leaned his back against the tree, slumping to the ground, weary and defeated, yet still he told his tale. "His mother died but a few hours before as we fled our pursuers... I kissed her still-warm lips as the life left her eyes, and took up our son and ran..." He scrubbed at his face with his sleeve, and the woodcarver and his wife rubbed their own tears away.

' "I thought to hide him in a hole, to draw the pursuit away, to buy him a few more hours of life by spending my own... but in the hole was a cradle, and so I left him with hope he might find a safe haven, more than a few hours to live, more than I could hope for myself... I left him, and ran again, laying a false trail to lead death away from him..."

'He called again, more softly, "Is anyone there?" Tam Woodcarver's heart, his father's heart, heard the cry of a sorrowing father, but he dared not answer, for he was only one of the forest folk, and the stranger was twicet his size, best beloved of mine.

'The stranger looked up again into the treetops and raised his voice. "Please!" he called. "Please, I want nothing of you, nothing more than to know that he lives. I'd give my life for him..." He listened to the wind in the treetops, and bent his head once more to his knees as he wept in weariness and despair. The forest people watched and waited, expecting him to rise and depart, but instead the stranger's head drooped lower, the sobs eased... and the stranger fell asleep. Can you believe it, beloved? He'd come to the end of his search, friendless, without food or shelter, to find an empty cradle and no folk about.'

The little princess stared, wide-eyed. 'You know what happened then, do you not?' the Thain asked softly. Faramir smiled, having heard the story many times before. 'Tam Woodcarver crept down from his branch and over to where his wife was hiding.

' "His folk have come back for him," he whispered. "Just as you said they would, my love."

'Snowdrop nodded. "Aye," she said, "though it breaks my mother's heart to let Laddy go, he belongs with his own folk."

'Tam Woodcarver kissed her tenderly on the cheek. "And they shall find him safe and well-cared for, just as you promised." He turned to the wide-eyed children, put his hand on Laddy's arm. Pointing with his other hand, he said, "There's your father down there, lad. Just as we've always told you, he's come for you at last."

'They all wept silent tears to be parting, but all had known this day would come. With a kiss and embrace for each member of his forest family, the lad climbed down to stand before the stranger, who awakened at last to stare in wonder.

' "Arahel?" he said, reaching glad arms to embrace the lad. "Son?" '

King Elessar sat straighter, laying down his pipe.

'With new strength, the green-clad stranger rose to embrace the lad. His arms around his son, he raised his head to call softly to the trees about them, "My heart-felt thanks! My undying gratitude! May grace go with you all your days."

'And the twain walked out of the forest, never to be seen by the forest people again, best beloved, but the forest people have never forgotten Tom Woodcarver's twin, and they tell his story to this very day.' Pippin sucked on his now-cold pipe, knocked it out, filled it afresh and lighted it. The little princess blinked, seeming to come awake out of a dream.

The Thain nodded. 'Aye, lass, that's the end of the story, as my grandfather told me and his grandfather told him, as has been handed down from the days before there even was a Shire as we know it today. Some years later, Tookland became a part of the Shire, but in those days it was still a woodland where forest folk dwelt and lived quiet lives, keeping to themselves and not much concerned with the wider world.'

The King's eyes were bright with wonder. 'Arahael?' he asked softly.

'Aye, that's the name passed down in the story.'

Elessar nodded slowly, his eyes meeting Arwen's. 'He was the second chief of the Dunedain,' the King whispered. 'His father, the eldest son of the Last-king, carried him away from the fall of Fornost as the north-Kingdom was thrown down. As a young lad he was brought to be fostered at Rivendell.'

'So there was truth at the bottom of the old story,' Pippin marveled. He grinned at the King. 'You know what this means, Strider?' The King lifted an eyebrow at him and he chuckled. 'Our families have been friends for a long time... long time, indeed.'