Baggins Babe
· 16 April 2008
· Chapter 21: We begin an impossible climb
Poor Bill - and poor Sam, who must have hated having to hit Bill. And how typical of Frodo to have compassion for both of them, even though he must feel dreadful. I hope that their ordeal is over soon and that we can see Bill enjoying himself in Rivendell.
My mother said that when she was a little girl and horses were used for deliveries in the 1920s, the thing which distressed her most was watching those horses struggling to keep their footing in icy weather.
Author's reply
I am also looking forward to arriving in Rivendell! There are a few chapters to go before that - a pony's attention span is only so long, and it takes time to get things down. But we are making our way again, foot by foot, and hope to get to the top of this hill, to the trolls, and on to the meeting with Glorfindel soon.
My dad told me one of his most frightening childhood memories was seeing a runaway horse and wagon, when he was a tiny tot. I can imagine how distressing it would be for a little one to watch horses struggling, feeling sympathy and helpless to do anything to help.
Thanks!
Anonymous
· 16 April 2008
· Chapter 21: We begin an impossible climb
Marvellous story, beautifully written.
So glad you've 'taken up the reins' again!
Looking forward to reading more chapters.
Thank you.
Author's reply
You're welcome, and thank you for taking time to leave a note.
Dreamflower
· 15 April 2008
· Chapter 21: We begin an impossible climb
Oh, poor Bill!
And poor hobbits--Pippin so determined, Merry so protective, Frodo so weary; and Sam, poor Sam, forced to strike his beloved Bill!
It's so like Frodo to deal with it this way, a precursor of his one-foot-in-front-of-the-other slog through Mordor. It *has* to be done, and so it *will* be done, whatever he may feel like!
What a treat to find today--I've had a sort of rotten day, and it was very nice to find this when I got home!
Author's reply
Aww. *virtual shoulder rub - there, is that any better?*
I'm glad that the timing was right.
harrowcat
· 15 April 2008
· Chapter 21: We begin an impossible climb
I am so glad to see this Lindelea I was missing our journey with Bill. Poor Sam. I think that I was weeping nearly as hard as him over hitting Bill. (Well maybe that is a slight exageration!)
Author's reply
I am glad to oblige. Had to get up extra early this morning, and had some time before the rest of the family got up, so I indulged myself with a bit of imagining. Glad you came along for the ride, er, climb.
Larner
· 15 April 2008
· Chapter 20: We follow a promising valley, but it proves false at the last
Ah, our Frodo--so weary and knowing all too well that things are progressing in his own situation. No, he does not have extra days to spend, not our Frodo. So it must be OVER that they go.
I love Bill's continued care for his burden.
Author's reply
I don't know why, but all of a sudden that old song flitted through my head.
Star Trekkin' across the Universe
Always going forward 'cause we cannot find reverse!
I love how JRRT portrayed Bill and his growing attachment to his people, and his practical way of showing it.
Pearl Took
· 15 April 2008
· Chapter 21: We begin an impossible climb
Poor old pony, until someone he is feeling sorrow for tries the thing himself. Well done, Lin! My horse use to get this way in the winter when there would be packed snow or ice beneath his hooves.
Author's reply
My horse would plant her feet whenever sneaky, vicious puddles crossed her path. It is a good thing we lived in a fairly dry climate at the time. Thanks!
shirebound
· 15 April 2008
· Chapter 21: We begin an impossible climb
Ohhh, so heartbreaking! But Bill is definitely one of the Fellowship, with all the toil, respect, and love that entails.
Author's reply
Yes, and I'm still worried about how they're going to manage to get *him* up that hill!
(Thanks!)
Pearl Took
· 5 November 2007
· Chapter 20: We follow a promising valley, but it proves false at the last
I'm sure that climb doesn't look at all inviting to Bill, but FrodoMaster is right, he doesn't have days.
This story is wonderful! I can see and feel everything so well :-)
Author's reply
Thank you!
Larner
· 4 November 2007
· Chapter 20: We follow a promising valley, but it proves false at the last
And I suspect that Frodo is all too right here. No, he doesn't have days they can afford to take at the moment. Poor guy. But this must have been a great disappointment for the rest.
Author's reply
Yes, though from his conversation with Gandalf later, he admits he didn't know exactly what the danger was, he must have felt himself fading somehow.
shirebound
· 3 November 2007
· Chapter 20: We follow a promising valley, but it proves false at the last
Oh, this journey is so difficult for everyone! *sniff*
Author's reply
*sniff*
*so* want to skip over lots of stuff and go right to Rivendell. (Do not pass GO do not collect $200...)
harrowcat
· 3 November 2007
· Chapter 20: We follow a promising valley, but it proves false at the last
You are weaving the changes in enotion so well into this tale Lindelea. A chill went down my spine with that last statement of Frodo's even though I know the story so well.
Love Bill for trying to help Frodo's sleep even at the expense of a strained back. My own is wincing in sympathy.
Author's reply
Oh, thank you. Frodo doesn't speak much in this section of the story, but he was almost chatty a bit later, near the stone trolls (not like the film) and so I figure he was lucid and at least occasionally functioning.
Author Reply: p.s. my back winces too, in remembered strain. Carrying a wakeful baby in a backpack is so very different from carrying a sleeping babe.
Dreamflower
· 3 November 2007
· Chapter 20: We follow a promising valley, but it proves false at the last
Oh dear! Poor hobbits, poor Strider, and poor Bill! But I love the determination to press on!
It was very nice to wake up to a new chapter of this! How lovely!
Author's reply
Yes, they're feeling rather desperate at the moment. At least it's only up for half the way, and downhill after that...
Althea
· 15 October 2007
· Chapter 19: We eat a cold and comfortless breakfast
The Hobbits' light and cheery attitude is a welcome contrast to the weariness and discomfort you have described so well.
Author's reply
Yes, that's one of the first things that drew me to hobbits. Thanks!
Larner
· 15 October 2007
· Chapter 19: We eat a cold and comfortless breakfast
Was just listening to this read b Rob Ingles. Poor Frodo--waylaid by the love they hold for him. Love the thought of them seeking to sing him to sleep, and in Hobbit harmony. As well as the banter, of course.
Lovely images here, Lindelea.
Author's reply
Thank you. O how I love the Rob Ingles recording. We've checked it out of the library a few times...
Nice bit of wordplay yourself, there.
Pearl Took
· 14 October 2007
· Chapter 19: We eat a cold and comfortless breakfast
I could use to have hobbits about to ease my mind! I was always so glad Bill got bought by the Hobbits and Strider. Even though he has to leave them at a dangerous place and time.
Author's reply
I'm so glad for Gandalf's words of guiding. I'm sure they made a difference in Bill's making it back home.
shirebound
· 14 October 2007
· Chapter 19: We eat a cold and comfortless breakfast
hobbits seem to speak lightly more often than not. As a matter of fact, the heavier the going, the lighter their speech
That's one of my favorite things about hobbits. :)
Author's reply
Mine too! Thanks!
Dreamflower
· 14 October 2007
· Chapter 19: We eat a cold and comfortless breakfast
Oh Lin! What a beautiful chapter, as you show so well the power of hobbit nature! I loved these observations:
I have learned something of hobbits in our travels together: whereas my old misery growled whether angry or pleased, speaking with sour tones and jerking me about with hard, harsh hands, the hobbits seem to speak lightly more often than not. As a matter of fact, the heavier the going, the lighter their speech, until at times it seems to me they might float away altogether!
And--
I can see from the slowness of their chewing, and the faces they inadvertently make, that their food is quite as comfortless as mine, but you’d never know it from the soft-spoken words that pass between them.
Pippin's thoughtfulness for Bill right at the start was so sweet, and then to finish it with the three taking such caring efforts for Frodo--Bill's a wise and observant pony!
I am loving this more and more!
Author's reply
Yes, I love the way hobbits speak lightly - as so beautifully brought out by Merry's conversation with Strider in the Houses of Healing, which we just read again for our LOTR literature class.
Thanks!
harrowcat
· 14 October 2007
· Chapter 19: We eat a cold and comfortless breakfast
A cold and comfortless breakfast but at least there is a little food and company to go with it. I am glad that Bill is concerned about the fate of the sapling.
Author's reply
Yes, the company can make or break the meal. Thanks!
Author Reply: (What's that proverb? Better dish of vegetables where love is, than feasting in a house of strife.)
Anonymous
· 9 October 2007
· Chapter 18: We are forced to turn away northwards out of our course
What a miserable journey for everyone! And I'd be surprised if Strider didn't catch a cold, what with the lack of sleep and now no cloak--I've got a horrible cold now meself, so I would sympathize.
Thoroughly enjoying your writing!
Author's reply
Hmmm. Interesting. Do Dunedain fall ill of such mundane maladies? I have not done enough reading to know... Would it be canonical, I wonder.
(Do Elvenkind catch cold? I seem to have a memory that they are above such minor annoyances, but I don't know for sure. I don't know if I've read of Elladan or Elrohir, half-Elven as I've heard them called, suffering from colds. Broken bones, yes, near-drowning, concussion. But I get the impression that their immune systems are superior. Considering the lifespan of the Dunedain, I wonder if they also have superior immune systems? How interesting to contemplate. And makes me want to write Elessar with a cold being ministered to by Frodo and the rest of the hobbits in Minas Tirith, when the Quest is safely over...)
shirebound
· 9 October 2007
· Chapter 18: We are forced to turn away northwards out of our course
They all must have been beyond exhaustion when they reached Rivendell. What a courageous group, and what a wonderful pony.
Author's reply
Beyond exhaustion, an apt description. I never quite realized it before this story. And to think, they'd used themselves up, and still had several days of anxiety over Frodo to deal with when they got to Rivendell.
(Bill thanks you for the compliment, and nudges for an extra portion of sugar as suits a wonderful pony.)
Larner
· 9 October 2007
· Chapter 18: We are forced to turn away northwards out of our course
Yes, more rain and discomfort, and poor Frodo having difficulty sleeping, perhaps hearing THEM out there in the distance.
As for Bill himself--I think this is like one of the diary entries--"Dreary day--more likely in store in near future." Poor, patient pony.
Author's reply
Yes, perhaps he does hear them. JRRT doesn't make clear whether he is merely imagining things, or whether it's real, at least, that's how I remember it. (The book is put away, and I must not get it out lest dinner not get started on time... LOL)
Dreamflower
· 9 October 2007
· Chapter 18: We are forced to turn away northwards out of our course
Oh dear! Bill describes their misery so perfectly, I found *myself* shivering as I read. Poor wet everybody!
I loved Pippin offering some of his food to Bill, and his words of sympathy to the poor wet pony!
And Strider, ever watchful and vigilant--and worried...
Author's reply
It has helped, perhaps, that the rainy season has begun, with its wet cold, and we're trying to delay turning on the heat so long as possible, to save on heating oil.
Poor Pippin. He probably grumbled, earlier in the journey, at how dry and stiff and inedible the journeybread was, having to be soaked before one could break off a piece or even chew the stuff, and now it's even less edible in its soggy and unappetizing state--and even, possibly, subject to mold. Poor everyone!
harrowcat
· 9 October 2007
· Chapter 18: We are forced to turn away northwards out of our course
Brrrr...I have a few memories of being that wet but I've always had a tent or a nice warm home to go back to!
I think that when I next re-read FOTR I am tempted to replace this section with your wonderful tale-telling
Author's reply
Ah yes, even a tent would help, though such can be very heavy to carry.
And such a high compliment! Of course, the foundation and underpinning all comes from JRRT's wonderful imagining and power of description.
Pearl Took
· 9 October 2007
· Chapter 18: We are forced to turn away northwards out of our course
Poor everyone! I've often thought how horrible it had to be to travel in the rain that way. And all of them so exhausted as well.
You've caught it all well!
Author's reply
Thanks! You know, I always skimmed over this part before, eager as I was to get to Rivendell. I've been cold and exhausted and soaked and unable to get warm, but I never connected that with this journey before I started contemplating these few chapters where Bill joined the Fellowship for a time.
Pearl Took
· 5 October 2007
· Chapter 17: A soaking rain begins
A beautiful and somehow lonely feeling chapter. I can feel the damp and see the grey and smell the wet earth.
Very Well Done :-)
Author's reply
It helps, I think, to live in a cold and rainy place. *shiver* That damp cold is so much colder, somehow, than snowy cold.
Thanks!