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GamgeeFest's Keepsakes  by GamgeeFest 7 Review(s)
Agape4GondorReviewed Chapter: 7 on 8/13/2007
Oh my goodness gracious. What a delightful story. And I loved the signature line!

Author Reply: *rereads signature line* Ah, yes, Frodo has a knack for eloquence, doesn't he? He truly treasures Sam, even at such a young age, and can see how special this young hobbit already is.

Thanks for the review!

harrowcatReviewed Chapter: 7 on 3/24/2006
What a lovely tale to come home to GF! Just perfect to compliment Larner's story. I really enjoyed it and can understand why Sam would treasure it.

( I do have a small 'nitpick!' A gopher is essentially an American animal which we don't have in England and I don't think the Prof would have thought of putting one into the story. I suppose it depends on your point of view as to whether it spoils the enjoyment. You might substitute 'Mr. Mole' ) Hope you don't mind me mentioning this. It isn't intended as a flame, more of a point to debate! *Sheepish grin and slinks away!*

Author Reply: Thank you! I'm glad it was able to compliment Larner's story so well, as I am quickly becoming a great fan of it.

LOL, no worries! It's good to know these things. Though really, if ME could have tomatoes, potatoes and chocolate, I don't see why they can't have gophers too! ~_^ Mr. Mole is duly noted and I'll update that before I post this to West of the Moon. *grins*

Thanks for reading!

AndreaReviewed Chapter: 7 on 3/24/2006
That was beautiful!
No wonder that Sam has treasured this story throughout the years.

[...] and while Sam would always claim that the garden was no more his than anyone else’s, those that lived there knew the truth.

That's absolutely Sam!

Now, I'm off to reading Larner's story to find the plot bunny, which produced such a wonderful tale :)

Author Reply: You will enjoy Larner's story, I'm sure. I've just started reading it, and it's already inspiring me!

That is just like Sam, never taking credit for his hard work and just glad that he is able to bring cheer and color to the world. Frodo sees this in him, even at such a young age, and he admires Sam for that, as this story clearly shows.

Thanks for reading!

DreamflowerReviewed Chapter: 7 on 3/24/2006
Absolutely beautiful, and a wonderful foreshadowing of the day that the whole Shire would become Sam's Garden!

This was gorgeous!

Author Reply: I'm so pleased that you enjoyed this! Not only does it serve as a foreshadowing of the Scouring (the parellels of which I'm sure Sam recognizes when he rereads it), but it is also a metaphor for Frodo's life up to that point. Frodo rather felt like that little garden: he was spared the storm (his parents' deaths) only to be more or less forgotten or overlooked as everyone else put the deaths behind them and went on with their lives. I've touched on the theme before, as others have, that Sam is like the sun for Frodo, bringing light and cheer into his life when no one else could. Sam would be too young to really understand many of this when he first received the story, but as years go by, he'll be able to read more and more into it, and so treasure it all the more.

shireboundReviewed Chapter: 7 on 3/24/2006
Rain and Sun took turns with the garden, and every day, whether rain or shine, the hobbit lad would come to spend time with the residents of the garden. He sang and he laughed and he told the animals many stories to pass the hours, but still nothing grew or sprouted. The animals and tree were beginning to despair, but the hobbit lad was as joyful as ever, so they took heart in his cheer and hoped it would be enough.

What a lovely story! I can see why Sam (and the rest of us) would treasure it.

Author Reply: Thank you so much! It's clear to see how much Frodo treasures Sam's friendship already, and why Sam would grow to love his master so dearly.

LarnerReviewed Chapter: 7 on 3/24/2006
I am truly touched, for this is indeed just the kind of story I'd expect for Frodo to write for Sam! Now we're going to have to see to some of the others I've hinted at.

This is beautiful, GamgeeFest. Thank you so much for it!

Author Reply: Thank you for giving me leave to write it. :) I'm so pleased this is what you had in mind, for it rather popped into my head all at once and wouldn't leave me alone until it was written. The story is not only written at a level that Sam can understand it (and continue to learn his reading, for some of the words are a bit beyond his teaching at that point), but it is also a metaphor for Frodo's life. Whether Frodo intended that way or not, Sam would eventually come to understand the deeper meaning behind the story and so treasure it all the more.

If the plot bunny nibbles at me for any of the other stories you've hinted at, I'll let you know!

Queen GaladrielReviewed Chapter: 7 on 3/24/2006
Oh, GF, how very lovely! Just the kind of story I imagine Frodo writing for young Sam, gentle and comfortable and hobbit-like, and with a sort of loving twist at the end. Now, what did Sam write for Frodo? :) When I get around to read "For Eyes..." for the third time--I can't get tired of it--and I come to that part, I'll come back here and reread this sweet story, for it's so like what Frodo might have really done that it seems to fit right in and provide a very satisfactory answer to the question of what was written. Wonderful work!
God bless,
Galadriel

Author Reply: Thank you so much! I'm just starting to make my way through "For Eyes" for the first time and I'm very much enjoying it, as this story here proves! I can just see Frodo writing Sam such a story and it's not only something that Sam could enjoy as a child reading it the first time, but it also serves as a sort of metaphor for Frodo's life up to that time. What great insight Sam must have gotten from that little story!

Thanks for the lovely review!

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