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Yule Fictions Past and Present  by Grey Wonderer

A GROVE IN BUCKLAND
Featuring the original song, ‘Winter Warmth’, written by Llinos
Beta and additional material by Llinos and Marigold

"All right, on your feet," Saradoc Brandybuck ordered. He tossed a coat and scarf onto the prone figure of his nephew, Pippin, who was resting on the sofa. As Pippin groaned, Saradoc dropped another coat into his son Merry's lap, effectively covering the book that Merry had been reading.

"Doc, where are we going?" Merry frowned. "It's early yet. We haven't even had second breakfast."

"Time's wasting, Merry-lad," Saradoc smiled. "Now, put that coat on and get ready for a bit of labour. We've things to do. If all goes well, the three of us should be back here in time for second breakfast."

"Should be?" Pippin objected. "What if we aren't? What is important enough for us to risk missing second breakfast? Aunt Esme is making ham."

"Get up you lazy Took," Saradoc said. "You'll get fed. You've yet to go hungry underneath my roof. Now, hop to, both of you."

Merry stood and began putting on his coat. "Better get up, Pip. Once he's made up his mind there's no arguing with him."

"The two of you are turning into slugs," Saradoc sighed. "I've seen stones that move faster than you do. Come on, Peregrin. You're far too young to be so slow."

Pippin stood reluctantly. "Where are we going?" he asked as he pulled on his coat and wound his scarf about his neck.

"We are going over to old Mr. Pinebanks' farm," Saradoc smiled. "We've a tradition to see to, lads."

"You have a tradition that puts you in a muddy farm, on a very cold morning, before second breakfast?" Pippin grumbled, looking at Merry.

"We have indeed," Merry grinned. "I had forgotten it was time for this."

"Time for what?" Pippin asked, as he followed the two Brandybucks out into the crisp morning air. "What sort of tradition is this?"

"This, my lad, is a long-standing tradition of great importance," Saradoc said, his breath making tiny puffs of white in the cold air as he spoke. "We are representing the Hall this morning and so I'll be counting on both of you to make the best selection that you can. The success of our Yuletide festivities depends upon it."

"Merry, what are we doing?" Pippin demanded. It was becoming obvious to him that his uncle was going to drag out the explanation as long as possible and Pippin's impatient nature was getting the best of him. "What is so important?"

Merry, who had looked very enthusiastic, now looked lost in thought and did not answer. It wasn't like Merry not to answer. He might not explain, but Merry always responded in some way.

Saradoc had begun to sing “Winter Warmth”, a favourite Yule song, and when Merry continued his silence, Pippin allowed himself to be caught up in the tune and joined his uncle for the second verse. He found that he wasn't as cold if he was singing. Saradoc had a strong, deep voice and Pippin's higher tenor formed a nice harmony. The song was one of Pippin's special favourites for this time of the year.


When dawn is sharp and the Moon grows thin
And Winterfilth has done its worst,
When days grow short and nights draw in,
They swell our hunger and our thirst!

When we go to bed by candlelight,
And waken to the pale red Sun,
We'll stoke our hearth fires big and bright
For the Yuletide Fest has just begun!

When we haul the Yule log and red holly,
From the Forest to our home
Our Yuletide will be bright and jolly
Our pies will rise and our ale will foam!

When the Yuletide Dragon* flaps his wings,
Sending snow from the mountains high above,
Little ones wait for the toys he brings,
The sweets and treats that they all love!

When the North Wind blows and howls outside,
We'll wrap up tight and stay within,
We'll sing songs and tell our tales beside
The warm fires of our kith and kin!


Merry remained quiet and followed along behind the two songsters. His mind was on other things.

They had just come to the end of the song when Saradoc pointed to a large stand of fir trees. He clapped Pippin on the shoulder and said, "It's time to get this event going. I'll be counting on you lads to direct me to the largest, best shaped tree in the grove." He looked back at Merry. "You know that your mother will accept nothing less than perfection when it comes to her Yule decorations, Merry, so don't point out any that aren't worthy."

"Worthy of what?" Pippin asked. He had already guessed the answer, remembering the magnificent fir tree that always stood as the centrepiece of the Hall's ballroom at Yule, but was suddenly suspecting the reason for Merry's downcast demeanour.

"Worthy of the axe of course," Saradoc said and with that he walked over towards a small fire set in a clearing amid the trees. An older hobbit and two younger ones were gathered about the blaze keeping warm.

"The axe?" Pippin winced, looking at Merry as the two of them followed Saradoc to the little campfire.

"It's time to select a Yule tree for the Hall," Merry said tonelessly, confirming Pippin's suspicions. "Every year I come with Doc and we get first choice of the trees."

"Well, if it isn't the Master of the Hall hisself!" the old hobbit grinned. "Lads, mind your manners," he continued as he nudged his nearest son with a toe and pointed to Saradoc, Merry and Pippin. "We've customers. On your feet and have your axes ready!"

The two lads stood, each holding onto well-sharpened axes and waiting for their father to give them further instructions. "You're here to claim a tree, aren't you?" the old hobbit asked.

"We most certainly are," Saradoc grinned pleasantly. "I wouldn't dream of trying to celebrate Yule without one of your fir trees, Mr. Pinebanks. You grow the finest Yule trees in all the Shire."

"They certainly are lovely," Merry murmured.

Mr. Pinebanks swelled with pride at these words and then waved an arm in the direction of the trees. "Well, I've not got near as many as I normally have on account of them damnable ruffians, but the ones I've got are all healthy and full. You'll have your pick of them. The lads haven't had any chopping to do as of yet. Today's our first day of selling, don't you know."

"I'd heard that," Saradoc said. "The Mistress of the Hall is very keen to get our tree early this year."

"Good thinking," Mr. Pinebanks said, smiling at Saradoc. "Once the word gets out that I'm selling, then all of Buckland will be here. As you know, I always give you first pick of the trees, Mr. Brandybuck. I talked to your missus yesterday and told her we'd like to start selling them today so she'd know to have you come and select yours."

"And I'm grateful to you," Saradoc smiled. "It just wouldn't be Yule without one of your fine trees."

Mr. Pinebanks grinned. "We always do what we can for the Master of the Hall and his family, don't we lads?"

His two sons nodded, each grinning broadly at Saradoc.

"Well then, let's get busy selecting one," Saradoc said. "I'll look around over here and you two look on the other side of the grove, Merry. Then we can meet back here and discuss it all. We don't want to be hasty about this. We need to consider it very carefully and pick just the right tree for the Hall."

Pippin watched Saradoc amble off into a grouping of trees and then he tugged at Merry's sleeve. "Did you hear what he just said, Merry? He said 'don't be hasty'. Merry, Treebeard always said that!"

"I know," Merry frowned as he and Pippin walked further into the trees.

From somewhere in the distance, Saradoc called out, "You lads split up too. It'll make the selection go faster."

"I thought we weren't supposed to be hasty," Pippin shouted and he looked at Merry. "What are we going to do?"

"Go that way, Pip," Merry sighed. "The sooner we get this over with the better." He trudged off with his shoulders sagging under the weight of what they were about to do.

"Go on, follow them and see if you can steer them towards the more pricey ones," Mr. Pinebanks whispered to his sons. With that, the two lads hurried off after Pippin and Merry, axes at the ready. Satisfied that everything was in order, Mr. Pinebanks sat back down next to the fire and pulled an apple out of his pocket to enjoy while he waited.

***

"This one is splendid," Pippin said sadly, leaning his head back and looking up at a very tall pine tree. "Lots of full branches and it has a perfect shape."

"Want me to chop this one down for you?" the lad with the axe asked.

Pippin had not seen the young hobbit come up behind him and he was startled. "What?"

"If this is the one you want, then I'll be happy to start cutting it down," the lad offered.

Pippin looked at the axe as if seeing it for the first time. "Cutting it down?" he said slowly. He looked up at the very big tree.

"I'll make it a nice clean cut down at the bottom and then I'll cut off the lower branches so you can have room to put the presents around it," the lad said. "I'm the better chopper. My brother is just learning this year. Last year he was too young to be swinging an axe but I've been at it for three seasons. I've cut down more than my share of trees. I know just how to fell them."

Pippin swallowed hard, his eyes going to the axe. "You do?" For a moment he thought of Gimli using his axe in battle but his mind quickly returned to the trees. Gimli had used his axe to fell Orcs, not lovely trees.

"I certainly do," the lad grinned. "My father always says that no one can swing an axe like, Hal. That's me. I'm Hal. My brother is Bo. But I'm the one you'll want to do the job."

Pippin looked at the tree. He reached out and ran a hand over the needles on the lowest branch.

"That branch'll have to come off but it won't be any trouble," Hal said knowingly. "Sometimes the lower branches have to go in order to make the tree ready to take home. I have the axe all nice and sharp. Won't take no time at all."

"I don't suppose it will," Pippin murmured. He looked up at the tree and then began to walk around it. Hal followed anxiously.

"If you don't want this one, there's a nice, big one over there," Hal offered pointing to another tree just a few feet away. His father had told him to steer the buyers to the more expensive trees and the one in the centre of the grove was very pricey indeed. His father would be very pleased with him if he sold that one. "It's wider in the trunk and a bit older but I can still have it down in no time. I can have any of them down that you want in the blink of an eye. Even haul it to the Hall if you want. Of course if I do that, then I suspect you'll want to be giving me a bit extra for my trouble but I'll do a good job for you." Hal always thought it wise to mention the idea of a tip when possible. Some folks, no matter how good-hearted, forgot those things if you didn't remind them.

***

Meanwhile, Merry was wandering around aimlessly in another grouping of trees feeling sick to his stomach. Bo, having caught up with him, was following close on his heels with his axe cradled in his arms like a much-loved child.

"How many trees are there in this grove?" Merry asked, placing a hand on the trunk of a large pine.

"This year we had fifty big enough to chop down and make proper Yule trees from," Bo said. "But Hal felled two of the trees early in the year for firewood. If you've a good axe then you can fell any tree you've a mind to and Hal's one of the best."

Merry shivered and reached out to touch another of the trees. "How much for the lot of them?" he asked.

"All of them?" Bo asked, looking stunned. He knew he was a fair hand at the chopping but he'd never thought himself good enough at the selling to manage to move the entire wood in one go.

"Just say that I wanted to buy every single tree in this grove," Merry said. "What would that cost?"

"I'm not too good at my figures. That would be more my father's talent. He could tell you in a flash," Bo said. "Still, I do know it's a pretty penny. Most folks wouldn't have that sort of coin for just trees."

"What if I have the coin?" Merry said. "Would your father be willing to sell me the trees?"

"Well, sir," Bo began thinking as he went. "It'd get him out of the cold. He'd not have to sit here day and night till they was all sold so he'd like that but I don't know if he's willing to sell all of his trees to one buyer. It's never happened before. One year, your mother took five. She bought for some folks that couldn't afford any I think and so that was nice, but no one's ever took the lot. I'd remember that."

***

When they returned to the little campfire and Merry told his father about his offer, Saradoc stared for a moment and then shouted, "Are you mad? No, don't answer that. Of course you are. You'd have to be barking mad to suggest that we buy an entire grove of trees."

"I just thought that..."

"You didn't think at all or you couldn't possibly have decided to offer to buy all of these trees!" Saradoc objected, spinning in a circle with his hands waving about. "Merry, there must be fifty trees in all."

"There were fifty, but Merry told me that two are already gone for firewood. We were too late for those trees," Pippin said, looking sad.

"Thank goodness for that," Saradoc said. He sighed, walked in a circle, and then he turned to face Merry again. "Son, if you are having trouble choosing one, let Pippin do it or I'll do it. No one puts fifty trees up for Yule!”

“Forty-eight,” Pippin corrected.  

 Saradoc ignored this and spoke to Merry again. “This is going to be a Yule decoration, Merry."

"Uncle Doc, look at them! They aren't just Yule decorations," Pippin objected. "They're all so magnificent and so beautiful."

"If both you lads are having trouble selecting one then I'll do it," Saradoc said. "I promise to pick out something that will do us proud." He pointed to one. "There! That one looks like it would be lovely. We could have them cut that one down and..."

"No!" Pippin shouted. "No, I don't want them to cut it down. I don't want them to cut any of them down." He hurried over and stepped in front of it as if he might have to shield it with his body.

"Pippin, what's got into you?" Saradoc demanded. "The next thing I know I'll be watching you pick imaginary flowers. First Merry wants to buy them all and now you're objecting to buying any of them."

"I don't think we should cut any of them," Pippin said quietly. "It isn't right."

"You don't like any of these trees?" Saradoc looked stunned. He turned his attention to Merry. "Merry, can you please explain what is going on here? Why doesn't Pippin like any of these trees?"

"The trouble is, I like all of them," Pippin said, eyes shining.

"You can't have all of them," Saradoc sighed. "Merry, surely you and Pippin weren't serious about buying all of these trees."

"Well, one of you best make up your mind which ones you do want," Hal said, looking confused. He looked over at his brother Bo and shrugged as if to say, sometimes the gentry are a might cracked. Bo didn't know much about that sort of thing but Hal had seen it before. "There's other folks what will want to buy one. Soon as you decide which one you want me to take my axe to, then I've got to get busy chopping down another one for the next buyer."

Pippin looked over and saw a couple of hobbits standing there talking to Mr. Pinebanks. "Merry, we can't let him do that.  Look!  Mr. Pinebanks is already working on selling off some of the trees," Pippin said quickly. "It isn't right."

"Pippin, everyone has a right to have a Yule tree," Saradoc interrupted impatiently. "Now, we need to get on with this. I will pick one."

"But what if they're like Treebeard, Merry? What if some of these are the Entwives or Ents or about to be Ents? Merry, what if these trees are alive?" Pippin objected quickly.

Hal and Bo exchanged confused looks. "I don't know what Ents are but of course these trees are alive. They're growing things," Bo said.

"But a few whacks with an axe will fix that up for you," Hal offered.

"Pippin, these are just trees," Saradoc said looking around, but a trace of doubt seemed to be making its way into his eyes. "These trees aren't like the ones that you and Merry saw on your journey."

"How do you know?" Merry asked, placing a hand on his father's arm. "Here we stand just yards away from the Old Forest, Doc, and you know all about *those* trees."

Hal backed up a step. "I'll cut any of these down you want, but I'm not going into the Old Forest," he said with a shiver. "You don't have that much coin to make me go in there. Those trees are dangerous. It'd be a foolish hobbit that would take an axe to any of them and my father didn't raise any fools."

Pippin and Merry locked eyes for a minute and then Merry reached out and touched one of the trees. "I don't know if these trees are awake or not," he said softly. "But now that we know what we do, how can we take that chance?"

"Treebeard protected all the trees in the forest," Pippin said. "Even the ones that didn't seem lively. He was very angry when any of the trees were cut down. If any of these trees are at all like those that are in the Old Forest..."

"Oh, these aren't," Hal said quickly. "These are just plain old trees. You don't have to be afraid of these trees." He looked over at Saradoc for confirmation.

"Trust me on this," Merry said quietly, looking over at his father. "We just can't do this.

"But what do you plan to do then?" Saradoc asked. "What's your solution? Not everyone in Buckland will see things your way, Merry. In fact most of Buckland isn't likely to believe what you saw even if you sat them all down and explained it. Some days I have trouble with it and if you weren't my son, I don't know if I'd be able to believe it at all. A story like that takes a great deal of faith on the part of the listener."

"Trust me, Doc," Merry said. "I know what I'm doing."

"Very well," Saradoc sighed. "But you and Pippin will be explaining this to your mother."

"How much for all the trees?" Merry asked and Hal's mouth fell open.

***

"Excuse me a minute, folks," Mr. Pinebanks said to the two hobbits that he had been talking with before the Master’s party returned. “Let me get this straight, Mr. Merry. You want to buy all my trees but you don't want to chop any of them down?"

The two potential buyers exchanged frowns as they listened to this exchange.

"That's right," Merry said. "We want to leave them all exactly where they are."

"But these are Yule trees and most folks like to decorate them during Yule," Bo objected breaking in. He'd had nothing much to say at all up to this point and now felt that he should have his views heard. The two waiting hobbits nodded at Bo’s words but didn’t comment.

"We... we... we'll decorate them right here!" Merry said, suddenly. Mr. Pinebanks might not know the look in Merry's eyes but Pippin knew it well. Merry was getting an idea.

"What?" Mr. Pinebanks looked even more confused. He glanced over at the Master of the Hall hoping that he might be able to clear this up but Saradoc just spread his hands and said nothing.

"It will be like a display," Merry said, thinking as he went. "We'll leave them standing and we'll decorate every single tree in this wood. In fact, we'll get anyone that wants to help to come along and we'll have a tree-decorating party!"

“That sounds pretty,” one of the listening hobbits mused.

"It will be like harvest fest or the Midsummer fair, only a Yuletide gathering!" Pippin said grinning. He marvelled anew at Merry's ability to think on his feet. Merry always did have the grandest ideas.

Even Saradoc was starting to see the value of this plan. "That just might work," he said.

“I like it, Mr. Brandybuck, sir,” the other of the two potential buyers agreed. “It would be quite a sight.”

"It would indeed," Merry said. "Buckland will have a magnificent display of decorated Yule trees for everyone to enjoy. In fact, we can let businesses from Bucklebury decorate a tree each and then we can put signs in front of them. Decorated by 'Ob's Feed and Grain' or decorated by 'The Brandybuck Family' or something like that."

"Folks would have to pay then?" Mr. Pinebanks frowned. He was seeing a good chance here. As he had already sold all of these trees to the Master's son, perhaps he could even make some extra coin by charging folk to decorate them too!

"No, they'd just have to provide their own decorations," Pippin said hoping this was what Merry had in mind. "Then there would be a grand sign at the edge of the grove saying, 'All trees raised and tended by the Pinebanks Family.' Everyone would know that you and your sons had raised these wonderful trees."

"Everyone?" Bo asked looking impressed.

The listening hobbits smiled in approval and one of them clapped Bo on the back. "That’d be a very notable distinction to have in the township," he said to Bo.

"Anyone and everyone that joined in with the idea," Merry said. "And Pippin and I will pay you for all the trees just as if we were taking them home."

"Only we won't and they will still be right here," Pippin said quickly. "You won't be losing a thing in the deal."

"Then we can sell them again next year," Hal grinned. "That's clever!"

Pippin looked alarmed but this time it was Saradoc who spoke up. He smiled and said, "Or, if this idea of a Bucklebury decorated grove catches on then we'll buy them again next year. It will be a guaranteed income for your family. Every year you sell us the same trees."

Mr. Pinebanks looked confused. "You pay for them again next year?" The Master had always seemed like such a shrewd hobbit when it came to business but Mr. Pinebanks could not see how Saradoc could be turning any profit on this idea. Who, in their right mind, would continue to pay for the same trees over and over again?

"Every year from now on as long as you don't cut any of them down," Pippin said.

"Isn't that a bit foolish?" Mr. Pinebanks frowned. He'd not have said this to the Master, but he felt he could say it to a Took.

"Why do you care? You'll be assured of money every year at Yule without so much as raising a finger save to tend these trees through the year and keep them healthy and green and ready for decorating."

Mr. Pinebanks shook his head. "You know that you're getting a poor deal here, don't you, Master Saradoc?"

"Oh, I don't know," Saradoc smiled. "This may turn out to be something wonderful for the whole of Buckland."

"I’d like to decorate one if you’re making a list or anything," one of the hobbits who had come to purchase a tree said. "My name’s Andy, Andy Chubb. Me and my family would like a tree."

"It's a waste of trees," Hal sighed looking longingly at his unused axe.

"It saves them," Pippin objected. "It saves them so they can continue to be beautiful right here in this grove just the way they were planted." He smiled and looked up at the trees.

"It does indeed," Merry agreed, and then he said softly so that only Pippin could hear, "I think Treebeard would approve."

“Excuse me, but if you all plan on doing this, I want one too. My name is Brockhouse. Put me down for a tree near the front."

Saradoc smiled at Mr. Pinebanks. "If we’re all agreed on this, I think we need to start making a list. It looks as if two of the trees in the Buckland Grove have been claimed for this year."

"Hal, put down that axe," Mr. Pinebanks ordered. "Bo, go and get me something to write on. Me and the Master here have to get these trees all spoken for proper-like."

Merry and Pippin grinned.

***

Saradoc and Merry stood at the edge of the grove and looked out at the decorations adorning the trees. "I have to give you credit, Merry," Saradoc said proudly. "Everyone in town is talking about this. They love the Yule Grove, as they are now calling it."

Merry smiled. "I did have more than a little help with the idea, you know." He looked over to where Pippin was leading a group of hobbit children through the trees, pointing out the special decorations as he went.

"You and I both know that your partner in crime had a hand in this, but Mr. Pinebanks is telling anyone that will listen that he and the Master's son came up with it," Saradoc said. "The old gent is as proud as a peacock at his part in it all. The more folks that comment on it, the bigger his head swells. I don't think Pippin is getting much of the credit here."

"He doesn't mind," Merry said. "Pippin is happy with the results. Between you and me, this worked out exactly the way Pippin wanted it to."

"And between you and Pippin, you managed to convince your mother that she didn't need a Yule tree in the Hall in order to throw a proper celebration," Saradoc grinned. "That was a small miracle right there."

"It wasn't easy," Merry laughed.

"But I did enjoy listening to the two of you try to convince her," Saradoc said. "I knew Pippin was a fast talker but I had no idea how fast."

"Scary, isn't it?" Merry said.

"Well, your mother is already planning decorations for 'our' tree in the grove next year," Saradoc laughed. "She's completely won over by the idea now, especially after seeing this lovely grove decorated so beautifully."

"How'd you folks come up with this idea?" Tag Whitfoot, the youngest and most ambitious of Will Whitfoot’s three sons, asked hurrying over to them. "I'm thinking of doing this very thing in Michel Delving next year. The whole Shire is talking about the Yule Grove in Buckland. My older brother says that this is good for local shops and good for Yule celebrations."

"It has brought quite a few folks to Buckland that don't usually pass this way at this time of year," Saradoc mused. "Shop owners and the Inns have been kept busy with all the visitors. I can't say that I know how word got out about it so quickly but everyone wants a peek at our trees."

"It's good business," Tag said. "After all the hard times we've had here in the Shire this sort of thing just gives folks a smile. It's full of festive cheer. I only wish my Father were feeling up to travelling here for a look. I know the sight would cheer him. Why didn't you put the Yule lights** around the grove?"

"Well, we don't want to burn our festive cheer to the ground now do we?" Saradoc grinned. "The Yule lights are still a very important tradition here in Buckland but everyone does those at their homes. I think it best not to light little candles in bags so near to a forest, don't you?"

"Hadn't thought of it like that," Tag said.

"No, too many folks tramping in and out of the trees. There'd be too much chance of a fire starting," Saradoc said. "We'll stick with decorations of a less dangerous sort in *our* Yule Grove." He winked at Merry. “Tell your father we hope to do this again next year and he’s to concentrate on building up his strength so he can join us.”

“I’ll do that, sir,” Tag said, his voice filling with emotion. Will Whitfoot, the Mayor of the Shire, was still recovering from the ill treatment received during his imprisonment in the Lock Holes by the ruffians and in the meantime Frodo was acting as his Deputy.

"I'm going to go over and see how Pippin is faring," Merry said, patting Tag on the shoulder as he took his leave of them. He walked over and found Pippin standing with Sam at the edge of the grove.

"I think it's right fine that you didn't cut down the trees this year," Sam smiled as Merry joined them. "We lost so many trees during the time of the ruffians. Why, when I think of Mr Bilbo's Party Tree, it still breaks my heart."

"Yes, this little wood seems to have inspired folks," Merry nodded, placing an arm around Sam who was wiping a tear from his eye. The loss of the Party Tree still made Sam cry. "I hear that other folks are thinking of doing this very same thing next year."

"Really?" Pippin looked pleased.

"They are indeed and I think that they should know about your part in it all," Merry said. "Mr. Pinebanks and I seem to be getting all the credit. You had a hand in this too."

Pippin smiled. "I like it better this way, Merry. Let Mr. Pinebanks take credit and you take credit for organizing it all. I just wanted the trees to be saved."

"What made you two think of it, though?" Sam asked curiously.

"It was just something that my father said," Merry sighed. "He said we shouldn't be hasty in picking out a tree."

"That was one of Treebeard's sayings, 'Don't be hasty'," Pippin put in. "But I think Merry was already thinking about Treebeard before we got here."

"I suppose I was," Merry said. "I used to love selecting a tree and taking it home for Yule. It was part of the family tradition, but after seeing all that we did on the Quest and meeting Treebeard, our family tradition just didn't appeal to me anymore."

"Well, however it happened, it was the right thing to do," Sam said, looking pleased.

"These trees are lovely," Frodo said, coming over to join them. "They give me hope for all of the Yules to come. May there always be trees in this wood and in all of the Shire." His eyes were bright with an inner joy that was so often missing since the Quest. Upon seeing this, Merry knew that, as usual, Sam Gamgee was right. However it had come to pass, it was the right thing to do.

And thus, a new tradition came into being in Buckland.

The End

GW   
December 2009

*The Yule Dragon, Thluggul, who is mentioned in “Winter Warmth” is an original character created by Llinos.  He can be found in her story, “A Partnership in Villainy”.

**The Yule lights, which are based on the luminaries that folks sometimes use for decorations, come from a Waymeet Challenge story that I wrote called, “When in Buckland”

As always, Happy Holidays to everyone and thank you for reading!





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