Midsummer Eve is officially the *second* longest
day of the year - but to children waiting for the
celebrations to begin at sunset it seems *the*
longest.

   A Flock of Elf-maidens descended on the nursery at
daybreak and carried Berya off with them. Then the
twins showed up and insisted on taking Hallam away,
though they wouldn't say why and just laughed when the
youngsters asked if they couldn't come too.

   Left to their own devices the three younger
children wandered into the Banquet Hall about mid-day
to find it full of Elf-girls, Berya among them, busily
weaving garlands out of heaps of flowers and yards of
brightly colored ribbon. Little Mr. Baggins was there
too, sitting disconsolately at the the far end of one
of the lower tables.

   "There's nothing to eat." he told the children
mournfully.

   "We know. You're supposed to save your hunger for
the feast tonight." Estel explained.

   Poor Bilbo looked so appalled at the prospect of
going foodless til sunset that the children took him
back to the nursery and shared their hidden cache of
fruit, meat and cheese with him.

   "Oh dear," he said when he finally slowed down. "I
seem to have eaten most of your stores."

   "That's all right." Meleth assured him, "it
wouldn't have kept much longer anyway."

   "Hobbits seem to eat a great deal." Amin observed.

   Estel elbowed him. "That's rude!"

   "No, no, he's quite right." Mr. Baggins smiled to
show he wasn't offended. "We Hobbits do like our food,
seven meals a day when we can get them."

   "Seven?" Meleth echoed, round eyed.

   "There's first breakfast and second breakfast,"
Bilbo said, ticking them off on his fingers, "then
elevenses, luncheon, afternoon tea, dinner and finally
supper."

   The three children stared incredulous. "All that?"
Estel gasped.

   "How do you ever get anything done?" Amin wondered.

   "Oh we manage." the Hobbit looked suddenly wistful.
"I have a bit of something for first breakfast right
after I get up, then do my morning chores and sit down
to a nice second breakfast in my parlor or outside on
the lawn. After that it's time for a pipe or two, and
to write my orders for the grocer and the butcher and
the dairyman, or have a chat with Old Holman *1, (my
gardener you know) and by the time I'm finished with
all that it's struck eleven and I'm ready for a little
something to refresh myself."

   The children's rapt attention encouraged him to go
on. "After elevenses I might take a walk, or pay a
call on a friend, or I might have business matters to
attend to. Sometimes I lunch at the Green Dragon,
that's our local inn, quite a good cook they have
there too. I might spend the whole afternoon at the
Dragon hearing the news and visiting with my
neighbors. Then it's home to dinner with perhaps a
guest or two to share it. Pipe and slippers and a good
book, then supper and finally bed." he sighed. "A very
quiet life really."

   "It sounds nice." Meleth said tactfully.

   "I suppose you became a burglar for a bit of
excitement." said Amin, rather less tactfully.

   "Yes," said Mr. Baggins, sound faintly surprised,
"I suppose I did." lowered his voice confidentially.
"It was Gandalf's idea actually, and sometimes I think
it was a very bad one," he paused, looked around the
nursery with its lacy vaulting and graceful statues.
"Other times I think he was quite right, quite right."

   They ended up spending most of the day with Mr.
Baggins. His Dwarf companions were all wrapped up in
packing and preparations, as they were to resume their
journey Midsummer morning, leaving their burglar at
loose ends just like the children.

   It soon became clear Bilbo had been told who they
were so the children could answer his questions as
readily as he had answered theirs. He seemed to find
it all a bit much to take in, the Lost Realm of Arnor
and the Witch Wars and the rest.

   "So the King's People didn't all die after all." he
said.

   "No. That's just what Aranarth wanted everybody to
think, so the Witch King would stop his warring."
Estel explained.

   "And it worked." said Meleth. "He thought he'd won
and went away."

   "But - hadn't he won?" Bilbo asked uncertainly.

   "NO!" all three children cried at once, making him
jump.

   "He hasn't won because we're still here." explained
Estel. "Still protecting our people from the creatures
he left behind."   

   "We're called Rangers now." Amin chimed in. "You
must have seen some of us on the road."

   "The tall Men in green." said Meleth.

   "But we're not your people," Mr. Baggins objected.
"we Hobbits and the Breelanders and the rest."

   "Of course you are." Estel assured him. "Long, long
ago the Men of Eriador swore allegiance to Elendil and
his Heirs and so did the Hobbits when they came into
the Kingdom. And in return we promised to protect you
from your enemies, we're just keeping our word."  

   "I see." said Bilbo.
   **********************************************
  
   Even the second longest day of the year eventually
ends. The children presented themselves at the Banquet
Hall as the golden afterglow of sunset filled the
Valley. Tubbed and scrubbed to a quite unecessary
degree, (in their opinion anyway) and dressed in their
new festival finery.

   Meleth's summer blue gown shimmered with flowers
embroidered in brilliant silks and gilt thread. Estel
was in green and white and Amin wore blue and yellow.
Garlands of flowers were plopped on their heads by
laughing Elves the minute they stepped over the
threshold but of course they expected that, and
everybody else was wearing them too.

   The Dwarves seemed slightly embarrassed by theirs
and kept fidgeting with them but Mr. Baggins quite
ignored his, intent on his plate. And Gandalf sported
his wreath of violets and cornflowers with the air of
one well accustomed to such adornments.

   Only Thorin himself, his sister-sons Fili and Kili,
and the Wizard had places at the high table, the other
guests were seated at the head of the nearest side
table. Estel found himself placed between Thorin and
Gandalf on his Uncle's right hand with Hallam, who he
hadn't seen all day, directly opposite him. In
addition to his garland Estel noticed his cousin had a
bluebell in a knot of orange ribbon pinned to his
green surcoat.

   "Where'd you get that from?"

   Hallam blushed and Elladan, beside him,  laughed.
"Never you mind, young Estel." *2

   He looked at Amin, on Elladan's other side, and his
cousin shrugged equally baffled. Then Thorin made a
comment about the weather and Estel had to concentrate
on making polite conversation with the guest.

   The feasting lasted til moonrise, then Uncle took
the Dwarves and Mr. Baggins off to his library for
some last minute advice. But the rest of the company
went laughing and talking and singing though the
forecourt, out the gate, across the bridge and down
the riverside to a wide green lawn lit by jewelike
lamps where they made music and danced.

   Berya, in a rose red dress patterned with silver
leaves, danced with Elrohir who had a knot of red
ribbon and a pink rosebud pinned to his shoulder. And
Hallam danced with a pretty Elf maiden in a shimmery
orange dress with bluebells and snowdrops in her hair.

   Estel had a dance with his mother, looking lovely
in buttercup yellow, Midsummer being one of the two
days a year she put aside her mourning grey. Then
waited until Meleth and Amin had finished their dance
before reminding them they had to go and collect their
presents.

   The baskets of flowers and sweets for Mother, Aunt
Ellian and Grandmother, and the green silk pouch
holding Uncle's gift were quickly fetched from their
chest in the nursery and Nuneth set to watch over
them.

   Getting the kestrel chicks proved more challenging.
They were sleepy and cross and inclined to snap at
fingers and noses. The children soothed them with Elf
speech as they put on the jesses and once the hoods
were on the little birds seemed to go right back to
sleep. By the time the children got back to the
dancing lawn Uncle and the guests had come down and
the gift giving had begun.

   "Ah, here are our truants." said Uncle, sitting in
the chair set for him under a tall hemlock. "And what
are these?" meaning the birds.

   "They're for Elladan and Elrohir from us three."
Estel said quickly. "We had to go up to the summer
tower to get them."

   "You've been keeping them in the summer tower?"
Uncle said, eyebrows and voice rising.

   "We'll clean it up." Meleth assured him hastily.

   "Indeed you will!" Uncle promised as Gilraen
covered her eyes and Grandmother shook her head, a
smile tugging at her mouth.

   "They're lovely little birds," Elladan interposed
tactfully. "Thank you, Estel."

   "And Amin and Meleth." his twin added.

   Amin in the meantime had quietly gotten the silk
pouch from Nuneth and handed it to Estel. "And this is
for you, Uncle."

   Elrond opened it rather cautiously, presents from
his fosterlings could be quite unpredictable and
occasionally hazardous, lifted out the flask: Pear
sized and pear shaped, the polished beryl etched with
a delicate pattern of leaves, the silver stopper
wrought in the shape of a flower. Elrond stared at it
as if transfixed.

   "It's from the treasury," Estel said, uneasily,
"but Gandalf said it would be all right to give it to
you."

   "Thank you, children," their Uncle said rather
huskily, "It is very beautiful." cleared his throat.
"I believe you'll find some things to interest you on
the other side of the lawn."

   The children raced off, followed by mothers,
Grandmother and the twins. Elrond turned to Gandalf.
"Olorin -" *3

   "It was entirely their own idea, I assure you." the
Wizard nodded at the flask. "Estel picked it out
himself, he had no way of knowing it had belonged to
Elros, or that you had given it to him."

   "When we said good-bye, just before he sailed for
Numenor." Elrond said softly, blinked back tears.
"Imagine his heirs keeping such a little thing all
these long years."

   "Your brother's children have a knack for hanging
on to what's important." said Gandalf.
   *********************************************

1. This is Holman Greenhand, the Gaffer's cousin and
predecessor as gardener at Bag End.

2. It is the custom on Midsummer Eve morning for
Elf-maidens to collect flowers for garlands and
decorations and for the unmarried Elf-men to tease and
flirt with them as they do so. The maidens give
favors, a flower and a bit of ribbon, to the men who
please them. It's all very light and courtly and at
fourteen Hallam and Berya are now considered old
enough to join in the fun.

3. Gandalf, then called Olorin, was part of the Host
of Valinor which defeated Morgoth at the end of the
First Age. That was when he first got to know Elrond
and his brother Elros.