AN:I still have some stories, that are not posted on SOA yet. Actually I wanted to post them also in English and German. But the German equivalents are not totally done, because after I made changes in the English stories I did not do them in the German ones. Some stories are a year old, mostly stories from challenges, so now I decidet to post them only in English and maybe adding the German ones later, should I ever find the time to bring them up to date so to say. ;) So thats the reason why you will find no German equivalent to the next stories. Just telling you, so you ( especially Andrea *g*) don´t wonder.

This story, when I remember right, was one of the smallish personal Challenges Pearl and I did for challenging each other. It was fun to write it, because we played the Game ourselfes and those were sentences that came out of it. Also thank you to Pearl for betareading it afterwards!

Elements I had to include were:  Frodo, Pippin, Merry, A rainy day, a warm cosy fire, a game, hot buttered scones

A Lesson with Cousin Frodo

It was a rainy day outside. Rain drops fell heavily from grey, deep hanging clouds onto the already muddy ground, and it did not seem as if they would stop falling anytime soon.

 “When will it finally stop raining?” Pippin asked disgruntled. “It’s been raining forever!”

“I don´t know Pip, but since it is still raining, we may as well get back to your lessons. You still have some writing to do,” said Frodo, massaging his temples.  His head had started to hurt some time ago. This had been the tenth time today, that Pippin had tried to get a “small rest from his hard labour.”  The problem was, that every demanded rest was barely more than 5 minutes apart.

“Why do I have to do lessons and Merry doesn’t?” Pippin asked sullenly, looking over at Merry who was lying, sprawled out on a blanket before the warm cosy fire in the fire place, with his nose stuck in a book.

“Without even looking up, Merry only mumbled. “I am doing something educational, Pip.  Besides, I had to do the same lessons at your age. So don’t complain, just get it done.”

Pippin stuck his tongue out at Merry and turned back to Frodo.

“Frooooooooodooooo,” he whined, “can´t we do the writing tomorrow. My hand hurts!”

Frodo yawed. “Pip you tried that excuse already.”

Pippin glared at Frodo, then his expression softened.

“I am really hungry.”

“You are always hungry.”

“But Froooodoooo….. my stomage hurts. Owww. “ Pippin said holding his stomach. “I have cramps. I really cannot sit down and practice writing.”

“Pippin.” Frodo said sternly.

“Owwww!” Pip was holding his head now. “And my head…hurts…owww… I feel so dizzy…so weak…I think I shall faint any moment now.”

“Peregrin!” There was a definite note of warning in Frodo’s voice.

Pippin stumbled through the room, one hand on his head, the other on his stomach.  Merry was rolling his eyes at his cousins antics, but he had to hide a chuckle as well because Pippin was a really good actor.

Suddenly Pippin’s body went limp and he fell down on the floor.

Frodo sighed.

“Peregrin, get up!”

Pippin weakly held up an arm. “C-can´t. N-no strength. Need marmalade . . . a-and S-Sam´s hot . . . buttered . . . scones and tea.”

Frodo’s face was showing signs of defeat. Again he reached to massage his temples.

Slowly shaking his head, he looked at his little cousins body on the ground and then at Merry, who just shrugged his shoulders.

“How will this lad ever learn his letters,” Frodo thought, “and all the other important things a gentlehobbit needs to know when he has such a poor attitude towards learning?”

While still staring at the small hobbit on the floor before him, an idea started to form in his mind and his eyes started to twinkle.

“All right!” Frodo said aloud. “We will have tea now.”

“We will?” Merry and Pippin both asked astonished. Merry put his book down and Pippin sat up.

Some time later they sat around a little table and enjoyed their tea and scones, cakes and cookies, and other nice dainties.

When the edge had been taken off their hunger, Frodo asked, in a tone that was a little too innocent, “How about playing a game while we fill up the corners?”

Merry knew this tone in Frodo’s voice and looked up questioningly, but when Frodo winked at him, he knew whatever Frodo had in mind was directed at  Pippin. 

Pippin, however, was oblivious to that fact and nodded excitedly at the prospect of playing a game with his older cousins.

“Oh yes Frodo!” the child exclaimed.  “A Game! What a splendid idea!  What game are we playing, Frodo?”

“Well,” Frodo said, “the game is called ‘Uncle Otto sits laughing in his bath tub’.”

That sounded like a fun game to Pippins ears. “All right,” he said eagerly,  “How does one play?”

Frodo stood up.  Getting some paper, quills and ink bottles from the desk, he set them on the table, then started to explain.

“Each of us writes a bit of a sentence, but the others do not get to see what has been written.  The first one puts down who the sentence is about, like ‘Uncle Otto’ in the name of the game.  The next player puts what they think that person is doing, is he sitting or drinking or gardening for example. Then the next player writes how he is doing what he is doing, is he laughing or crying while he is sitting or gardening; whatever comes to your mind.  Then, since there are three of us, the one who wrote first writes where the person is. Like in the bathtub or on a pony or out in the fields.  Then comes the really fun part, the last player reads the made up sentence out loud.”

“Sounds fun!” Merry said, his eyes now twinkling like his older cousin’s. “Doesn’t it, Pip?”

Pippin nodded. Yes! I start!”

Frodo handed Pippin some paper. “You write your part here, and then fold it, so I cannot see and then I will write the next part and give it to Merry.

Pippin thought for a moment, grinned and started to write.

After the first paper had made its way around and back to Pippin, he opened it and began to read.

“Frodo sniffs self . . . selfishly . . . ewww,”  Pippin said giggling.

“What? What’s written there, Pip?” Merry asked curiously.

“BOOT!” Pippin spat out.  “Frodo sniffs selfishly in a boot!”

Frodo scrunched up his nose and all of them laughed.

So the afternoon continued.

“Cousin Ilbiric bites irritably in the basket.”

“Cousin Bilbo dreams faintly in a lasses dress.”

“Merry steps crazily on a cow-pat.”

These and other sentences were the result of Frodo’s smart little game.

The cousins had a lot fun on this rainy afternoon and not once did Pippin complain.

Frodo chuckled.  Who ever would believe that Pippin actually had fun writing and reading. Sometimes, wonders do happen.

The End