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Number Three, Bagshot Row  by GamgeeFest 9 Review(s)
nancylea57Reviewed Chapter: 3 on 12/4/2008
hit the wrong button, oh well i's back
first cmping trip and no real mistakes, that has to be a record. but its hard when you know your friend is playing along to make you happy. and you know that if he'd just let go it would be fun. and too young for that hard stuff as they evidently already know.

Author Reply: I'm sure Tom and Robin enjoyed themselves plenty. This is something they will have to do over and again as they grow up with Sam, accommodating his queer notions but secretly enjoying themselves all the while. I imagine wanting to "travel" as a reason Robin later became a Shirriff - and all because of his childhood spent listening to Sam's stories and playing his games.

Queen GaladrielReviewed Chapter: 3 on 1/28/2006
Oh, how fun! Makes me wish I could be out there with them. I used to love ghost stories when I was little, and you've really done an excellent job with these. Had to laugh at "Scalawag," for all I know I shouldn't! :)
God bless,
Galadriel

Author Reply: The hobbits believe in their ghosts. They may not believe outlandish stories from outside their borders, but they do believe that ghosts are sometimes the only explanation for things. :) Scalawag was actually based on a tv special I saw once about ghosts that supposedly haunt this ship (or maybe it was a hotel bar); one of them would blow of a woman's neck if there was a man standing behind her, lol. Blowing on necks is a bit too sensual for hobbits, but who doesn't remember some kid coming along and trying to depants a friend or look up a girl's skirt? It's just innocent enough for hobbits. :)

Thanks for reading!

Isilhen DaegolReviewed Chapter: 3 on 12/31/2005
How funny! I love little Sam stories. He was such a serious young hobbit. And very practical. It was so in character about how he placed the "goblins" and "gollums." Good job with it.

Author Reply: Kids are so serious at times, especially about playing games such as this. Sam is no different and all those stories of Bilbo's would have influenced the way he would expect this game to be played. At least he pays attention, even if his friends don't. ^_^

RenaissanceGrrlReviewed Chapter: 3 on 11/7/2005
Poor Sam. No scary parent stories. *I* have more than he does, and at a younger (relative) age than that! Teeheehee.

Hatcher. Lol. I shall forever imagine my psych professor as a ghost Hobbit now...

I loved it. It really sounded like Sam; you got his voice very well. ^_^ I can easily imagine this being an essay he wrote for Bilbo in the course of his lessons, a few years after the fact. (He sounds a little older than six; or even nine.)

Author Reply: I always hated it when everyone else had a story about something and I didn't. Though, I can't imagine Sam feeling sorry about this one, lol. Nodinas Hatcher gets a brief mention here. He's a popular ghost. :)

You'd be amazed at some of the things six year old kids will say or reason out on their own. My youngest neice has always talked like an adult, even at that early age, mostly because she grew up in a house full of adults and much older kids. I can see the same happening with Sam, spending all that time with the Gaffer and Mr. Bilbo.

BodkinReviewed Chapter: 3 on 11/7/2005
Sam is so sweet and serious about his adventures. The other two are humouring him a bit - but he is the one providing the ideas!

Author Reply: They're humoring him a lot, lol. They'd much rather just sit and eat their food and talk about their siblings or whatever else comes to mind. But as this was all Sam's idea in the first place, they're going along with what he says. I can't imagine Sam *not* being sweet, and he does take his adventuring rather seriously, which makes him all the more sweet.

Thanks so much for reading! I'm glad you enjoyed this. :)

LarnerReviewed Chapter: 3 on 11/7/2005
If only all adventuring was as pleasant.

Author Reply: Or as easy! Camping out in one's yard is a lot easier than packing up a car and driving 100 miles to the mountains. *sigh* If only everything in life were as simple as it is in the Shire.

Thanks for reading!

DreamflowerReviewed Chapter: 3 on 11/7/2005
How on earth did I manage to miss the notice for this?

I love it! Sam is just so very *Sam* in this, even at this young age--earnest and filled with his admiration for Bilbo and Bilbo's stories. I adore the way he leads the other two into doing as he says. It's quite easy to imagine that this is a Sam who could hold his own in the Wide World one day, or that he would be capable of becoming Mayor and leading the Shire.

And I love the story of the young Cottons eavesdropping and learning "language", LOL! That was hilarious, and only too believable.

And I like that the Gaffer never straps his children. I always feel that corporal punishment would be relatively rare in the Shire--not unheard of, but that it would not be used frequently. Mainly, I suppose, because of the peaceable nature of hobbits, and also because JRRT said they indulged their children.

Really a sweet story!

Author Reply: Thank you! Sam is well on his way to being the hobbit we meet during the Quest. He can lead by suggestion and so he mistakingly believes that he isn't leading at all!

LOL, who *hasn't* eavesdropped and learned all sorts of things they shouldn't! Tom and Jolly would have gotten away with it, if Jolly'd had enough sense to keep his own mouth shut. At least he will from here on out. :)

The Gaffer's only raised his belt once to Sam (much later after this story) and it was for something that Sam didn't even do (the fire that Merry started during the Harvest Moon Dance). I can well imagine how horrified Hamfast must have been to discover his mistake. But you're right, it's hard to imagine the hobbits using corporal punishment except in the most extreme cases. The Gaffer might be gruff and have an edge to his words, but I can't see him as one to regularly hit his children, as other authors have suggested.

I'm glad you enjoyed this! Thanks for reading!

ArmarielReviewed Chapter: 3 on 11/6/2005
What a delightful, enchanting story, love the ghosts and Sam is just.......ummmmm *hugs him* Delicious!

Author Reply: The ghosts of the Shire have that same unique blend of mischeif and innocence as the hobbits that live there. And Sam is just too precious for words at any age. I'm glad you enjoyed this. Thanks for reading!

shireboundReviewed Chapter: 3 on 11/5/2005
I love Sam's imagination, and his urgent need for a "real" adventure! And this just cracks me up:

"Mr. Bilbo says so.” There. They can’t possibly go arguing ‘gainst Mr. Bilbo.

Author Reply: Sam is a most unusual hobbit, but his friends put up with him because they love him. :) I can imagine that Sam would crave to have a "real" adventure after listening to endless hours of Bilbo's stories. LOL, Sam puts a lot of stock into what Mr. Bilbo says, but Robin found a way to argue with it anyway. Glad you liked this. Thanks for reading!

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