Well Met

Peering up beneath his bushy brows and the wide brim of his hat, Gandalf stared hard into the highest branches of the tree. It was true that it had been well over a year since he had visited the Tookland, but he did not suppose that its trees had suddenly begun sprouting young hobbit-lads in his absence.

For his part, the child did not appear pleased at all with his perch atop the tree. Clinging to his branch with white-knuckled fingers, he looked down between the sparse leaves to the grim, grey-clad figure standing below. "G-Gandalf?" he squeaked in surprise.

The wizard continued to gaze sternly at the frightened lad, noting his wide green eyes and the smattering of freckles across his sharp, decidedly Tookish nose with carefully concealed amusement.

"Paladin Took," he rumbled. "What are you doing in that tree?"

Paladin’s face turned a sudden, bright shade of red. “I-I was thinking of Cousin B-Bilbo's stories,” he said in a rush. “And – and I thought that maybe if I climbed a tree I would see an Eagle, too.”

"Indeed," Gandalf said, his eyes twinkling with mirth. "Did you see one?"

"No," Paladin said, shaking his head sadly. "I only saw some regular old birds. Then I started to feel cold and tried to climb down, but I-I couldn't." He peeked through the branches and quickly looked away, his face pale once more. "It's such a long way down," he whispered.

Gandalf frowned. The child was trembling and not just from his fright; the warm sunshine of the early afternoon had given way to clouds and the day had grown quite cool, reminding them that winter was on its way. Having left his cloak hanging on its hook in the hallway of his family’s smial, Paladin wore just a thin jacket that did little to keep out the chill

"Come along, Paladin. The ground is not as far away as you think," Gandalf said kindly. He leaned his staff against the trunk of the tree and gestured to a branch below Paladin's dangling feet. "I daresay if you step onto that branch, I shall be able to reach you."

Paladin glanced down at the branch and gulped. Then he nodded to himself, squared his shoulders, and took one cautious step down. Gandalf watched his progress closely, ready to catch him if he should fall, but Paladin slowly made it to the aforementioned branch without any trouble.

"Well done, my lad," Gandalf said with a smile. With ease he reached up and plucked Paladin from the branches. Immediately the child breathed a sigh of relief and clung tightly to Gandalf as the wizard wrapped his own cloak around Paladin's small shoulders.

“Now let us get you back home before your family begins to worry,” the wizard said, retrieving his staff. “We must see if we can find you something warm to drink, and perhaps I might even tell you and your sisters about the Eagles,” he added with a wink.

Paladin's face brightened, already forgetting his perilous adventure with the promise of a snack and a story. "But Gandalf, home is ever so far away!” he exclaimed. “Won’t you please tell me the story now?”

The Tooks’ smial lay just down the road, not a long distance for Gandalf but terribly far for a little lad with short legs. Paladin fixed a wide-eyed, pleading gaze upon the wizard, and Gandalf grumbled good-naturedly to himself. Tooks.

"Well, I suppose there is no harm in telling you a little about the Eagles now," Gandalf agreed with a smile. Straightening his hat, he strode down the path as Paladin grinned and snuggled close, listening eagerly as Gandalf began his tale.

***

Note: This story is based on a small piece of dialogue in my story First Meeting, in which Gandalf mentions to Pippin that he had once rescued his father from a tree.