Stories of Arda Home Page
About Us News Resources Login Become a member Help Search
swiss replica watches replica watches uk Replica Rolex DateJust Watches

Trust a Brandybuck and a Took!  by Grey Wonderer

So far, this is the shortest thing I've written.  More Pip and Merry, of course!

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

"It tickles," Pippin giggled as Merry sat the small caterpillar on his finger. Pippin giggled and watched the small, furry creature make its way across his hand.

"Hold your hand still, Pip and be careful so that you don’t crush it," Merry said. Instructing Pippin on the proper way to do things was his responsibility as the older cousin. Pippin was very quick to catch on if he was paying attention. Sometimes Merry had to repeat things in order to get his point across, but usually Pippin was ready to learn new things.

Merry reached out and took the small bug from Pippin’s hand and moved it over onto the grass. "Now, it will go on about its business," Merry said.

Pippin leaned his sharp nose down level with the bug and began tracking its path through the grass. "What is its business, Merry?" the inquisitive five-year-old wanted to know. "What do bugs do all day?"

"Well, they have to find food and stuff," Merry said, knowingly. He watched as Pippin crawled carefully on his hands and knees through the grass after the brightly colored bug.

"Can we help it find food?" Pippin asked. "I don’t think it's doing so good at it. It’s a long way from our vegetable garden over here." He sat up, taking his eyes off of the bug for a moment and looked over at Merry. "Can we move it to the garden? Can we, Merry?"

"Pip, bugs eat different stuff than we do. They aren’t like hobbits," Merry said, patiently. "Some of them eat grass."

Pippin was trailing after the caterpillar again. "This one isn’t eating any grass, Merry. Maybe this one likes vegetables."

"Maybe the bug is full right now Pip. Maybe it just ate before we found it," Merry said, hoping to distract his little cousin. "It might be doing something else just now."

Pippin was nearly on the ground as he studied the bug’s movements. "What’s it doing then, Merry?"

Merry sighed, exasperated. "Its just being a bug, Pippin."

Pippin sat up and looked at Merry. "It’s very good at being a bug, isn’t it?"

Merry laughed. "Yes, Pipsqueak, it’s a really great bug."

Pippin crawled over and sat down next to his older, wiser, cousin and asked, "If I were a bug like that one, do you think I’d be a good bug, Merry?"

Merry considered the rather grass-stained, cheerful, little hobbit sitting in front of him and nodded. "I think you’d make a terrific bug, Pip."

"What color would I be?"

"I think you’d be a green bug," Merry said, letting the grass stain sway his opinion on this matter.

"I could hide in the grass then and other bugs couldn’t find me," Pippin said, liking this idea. "Only I’d want you to find me and put me in the garden with the vegetables because even if I was a bug, Merry, I would still like vegetables better than grass."

"If you were a bug, I’d be sure to put you in the garden,’ Merry assured him, trying not to laugh. Little lads were very easily offended. Sometimes, you could hurt Pippin’s feelings without knowing what you’d done.

Pippin threw his arms around Merry’s neck and grinned. "Pretend I’m a bug now, Merry and put me in the garden."

Merry stood with his little cousin in his arms and started toward the garden. "I will, but you have to promise not to pick any of the tomatoes. You always get those all over you."

Pippin lay his head on Merry’s shoulder and asked, softly, "What if you couldn’t find me because I was so green, Merry?"

"I’d find you," Merry assured him.

Pippin pulled back and looked intently at Merry. "How?"

Merry sighed, "Because if you really were a bug then I’d be a bug too because we’re cousins. Also, you’d be the noisiest bug ever so you’d be easy to find." The thirteen-year-old hobbit lad smiled at his little cousin and sat him in the vegetable garden, knowing full-well that the child would go straight for the tomatoes. It was going to be a long afternoon.

                                                           The End 





<< Back

Next >>

Leave Review
Home     Search     Chapter List