Part 8

Pippin tried not to seem disappointed but he was. He hadn’t realized that Sam was going to have to work somewhere else after lunch but he really should have known that Sam couldn’t just quit doing his other job, he’s real job, and spend all of his time in Frodo’s barn.

"I’ll be able to help you some tomorrow," Sam had said apologetically. "The Gaffer says things will be a bit slower then if I get us caught up today."

"Can I help you?" Pippin had asked. He really did want to do something to help Sam. "You’re behind because you’ve been helping me. I wouldn’t mind if you want me to. I’ve helped my father with our garden before."

"Oh, I couldn’t let you do that, Master Pippin," Sam had said. "This is a job that I get paid for and I ought to be the one doin’ it. I’m not behind by much so it will be easy to catch up. It’s a fine day for gardenin’ and for bein’ out. You ought to spend some time doin’ somethin’ that you like if Mister Frodo don’t have any other lessons for you."

"All right then," Pippin had agreed though he had no idea at all what he might do until after Sam had left. He looked over at the work table and that was when the idea hit him. He’d surprise Sam by doing some more work on the wheelbarrow. Sam was only supposed to be helping Pippin. It was Pippin’s responsibility to build the project and to have it ready for Mister Tunnely. Pippin realized that he only had two days left to finish before Mister Tunnely would return to see how he was doing. Sam might not be able to work on it this afternoon but he could. Nothing was stopping him. Frodo and Merry weren’t even home right now. They had gone to town on some sort of an errand. Frodo had told him to not wander off so he supposed that working on his wheelbarrow would be fine. Now, all he had to do was decide where to begin.

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"So, that’s how it’s done, is it, Cousin?" Merry asked with a grin at Frodo as Willow sat three large bowls of apple cobbler down on the table. "That’s your version of catching more flies with honey and not losing your temper?"

Frodo looked up from his bowl of apple cobbler and frowned at Merry. "I’ll admit that this didn’t go exactly the way that I had planned," Frodo said.

The Gaffer chuckled. "Seems as if it went ‘bout the way you could expect bein’ as how old Tobias got right insultin’ about the young Master and all." He spooned some of his cobbler into his mouth.

"I wasn’t expecting that either," Frodo agreed. "It’s true that Pippin can be quite a handful but sometimes that’s the result of him being a bit too clever for his own good. The lad is very intelligent. He just doesn’t always think things through."

"That’s true ‘o most young folks and some ‘o the older ones," the Gaffer snorted. "I don’t suspect that old Tobias was thinkin’ too clear when he spoke out ‘o turn to you about your cousin. I wonder that you didn’t say more to him than you did."

"Frodo has amazing restraint," Merry said sarcastically and grinned .

Frodo sighed and looked over at Merry. "You aren’t going to allow me to live this one down are you?"

"Not right away," Merry said happily filling his mouth with cobbler.

"But I was proud of you," Frodo said.

"Of me?" Merry asked looking puzzled. "Whatever for?"

"Well I did have my doubts that you could remain silent and allow me to handle things, but you certainly proved me wrong," Frodo said. "You kept your word and remained quiet in spite of the things that Mister Tunnely was saying about Pippin."

Merry shifted slightly in his seat. "Well, you did say that I couldn’t come along if I didn’t keep quiet," Merry said.

"I did but sometimes when it comes to defending Pippin you don’t always follow my instructions," Frodo reminded him. "Frankly, you behaved far better than I did today. Maybe the next time there is something important to attend to I should allow you to do the talking."

Merry was struggling with whether or not to admit that he had threatened Mister Tunnely but the Gaffer interrupted before he could decide. "You know, this place needs bigger bowls," he said shaking his head. "A’fore you hardly get a taste of it, the cobbler’s gone."

Seeing his chance, Merry stood quickly. "I’ll go see if Willow will bring you another bowl of it Gaffer."

As he disappeared, Frodo leaned forward and spoke to the Gaffer. "I don’t know when and I don’t know how but I am quite sure that Merry must have said something to Mister Tunnely. He wouldn’t let what was said about Pippin go unchallenged."

"Maybe he thinks you done enough defendin’ for the both ‘o you this time," Hamfast suggested.

Frodo smiled. "When it comes to protecting Pippin, Merry always has to directly involve himself. He never thinks that anyone else can do it as well as he can." Frodo took another bite of his cobbler. "Come to think of it, Merry seldom thinks that anyone can do anything as well as he can."

Hamfast chuckled. "Well, that goes to bein’ young and full ‘o yourself. He’ll out-grow it as soon as he runs up against something he can’t handle."

"More cobbler," Merry said sitting down a tray with three bowls on it. "Willow said it was on the house."

"Why is the cobbler on the house?" Frodo asked.

"Never question free cobbler, lad," the Gaffer advised as he removed a bowl from the tray and began to eat.

"Merry?" Frodo frowned noticing Merry’s overly wide smile.

"Willow says that there hasn’t been a bigger or better fight in The Ivy all month long," Merry said. "She says that everyone here was pulling for you to tell Mister Tunnely off the minute that he started saying those things about Pippin." Merry laughed. "Willow called you a fire-brand. Said that your eyes flash when your angry." Merry winked at Frodo who was now blushing to the roots of his dark hair. "She said that-"

"I think I’ve heard quite enough of what Willow said," Frodo hissed.

Merry snickered.

"Eat your cobbler, Meriadoc," Frodo said in a warning tone.

"Best eat up," Hamfast agreed. "Ain’t every day that you get free cobbler." He then looked over at Frodo and smiled. "Sometimes it pays to be a might angry if you can get your eyes to flash."

Merry, his mouth full of cobbler, snorted, covering his mouth with his hand so as not to spit cobbler on the table.

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Pippin had worked for over an hour now sanding all of the wood just so. With Sam’s help earlier he had measured the boards for the sides and bottom of the wheelbarrow and had actually sawed them. He had been a bit awkward with his sawing in the beginning but Sam had quickly shown him the proper way to hold the saw and how to support the board so that it wouldn’t slip while he was sawing.

Pippin ran a hand over the freshly sanded board and smiled. Sam would be pleased. The boards were all smooth and ready to be painted or stained. Sam had said that it would be best to paint them before putting them together. When Pippin had questioned this, Sam had explained. "If you paint them before then you can get a good coat all over them and lay them out flat. That way the paint don’t run and drip so much. Also you get the paint all over the wood. If you nail them together first then it’s hard to get the paint in the cracks and corners."

Pippin was impressed with this bit of knowledge. He smiled at the freshly sanded boards and wondered if he should try anything else on his own. He supposed that he could paint them. He’d painted a few times before though not very much. It wasn’t hard really. He wondered if Frodo had any paint. If he did then Pippin supposed it would be out here in the barn or maybe in the Gaffer’s garden shed. It wouldn’t hurt to look for some.

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"Gaffer, I’d like to ask your permission to offer Sam the job of completing Pippin carpentry education over the summer," Frodo said once the second round of cobbler was completely gone. "I know that summer is a busy season for you and for Sam and so I will try to find someone else if you can’t spare him."

"Well, how much time to you figure on the lessons takin’?" Hamfast asked.

"Mister Tunnely was supposed to work with Pippin for the next two months," Frodo said. "He was going to evaluate Pippin’s progress at that point and then advise Paladin if Pippin should continue lessons next summer."

"What do you expect Mister Paladin Took would think ‘o your offerin’ the job to my Sam?" Hamfast asked. "Sam don’t normally teach buildin’ and such so Master Pippin wouldn’t be learnin’ his lessons for a real carpenter. Don’t take me wrong on this, my Sam’s a fine hand at buildin’ things and all, but Mister Took might want someone with credentials."

"I can, of course, write to Paladin and see what he would like," Frodo agreed. "But I would hate for Pippin to lose the time on his lessons while I wait for a response. Would it be all right for Sam to continue instructing Pippin at least until I hear from Pippin’s father?"

"That’d be fine as long as you know that Sam’s still goin’ to be busy with his gardenin’," Hamfast said.

"Oh, I do realize that," Frodo said. "In fact I am wondering if maybe this would be too much of an imposition with all Sam has on his plate all ready. That is why I wanted your leave to ask Sam."

"You have it," Hamfast said. "My Sam seems to be enjoyin’ the work and he says the lad is startin’ to pick it up. He told me that your little cousin is a quick learner if you can keep his attention."

"That is the entire trick to teaching Pippin anything," Frodo agreed. "He can learn but you do have to keep him interested and focused and Sam has done a marvelous job of that. Pippin seems to be enjoying his carpentry lessons with Sam. He wasn’t enjoying them with Mister Tunnely. I think he has learned more from Sam the past few days than he did from Mister Tunnely."

"I can’t spare Sam more than three mornings a week," Hamfast said. "‘O course if we have rain then he’d have more time and what Sam does with his spare time is of his chosin’."

"Thank you, Gaffer," Frodo smiled. "I’ll write to Paladin and see what he wants done, but until I hear from him, I will see if Sam is interested in continuing as Pippin’s tutor. I think after hearing the entire situation, Paladin will be more than happy to have Sam as Pippin’s tutor."

Merry frowned. "What are you planning to tell Pippin about all of this?"

"I suspect that since everyone here heard the loud discussion that I had with Tobias Tunnely that I will have to sit him down and try to find a way to tell him the truth of it all," Frodo sighed. He looked over at the Gaffer. "Do me a favor and if you see Pippin, don’t mention any of this to him until I’ve had a chance to talk to him, will you?"

"I’ll not say a word," Hamfast promised.

"Merry, you and I should be heading back to Bag End," Frodo said, standing. "I have a few stops to make on the way. I want to pick up some flour and some tea but then I suspect I had better get back and have a word with Pippin."

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The search for paint turned up nothing. Pippin was disappointed to find that even the Gaffer’s garden shed didn’t have any old stain or shellac or paint stored in it. A quick trip down to Bag End also proved pointless. Merry and Frodo still weren’t back yet. As Pippin leaned against the kitchen table eating a wedge of cheese, he decided that he’d go into town and get some shellac. He was sure that the grain and supply store would have shellac. He would have liked to make some paint for his wheelbarrow but he really had never made paint before and just now he wasn’t feeling like waiting. He wanted to shellac the boards so that they might dry and then he and Sam could put the wheelbarrow together tomorrow. He would surprise Sam.

Pippin got parchment and charcoal and left Frodo a note. He doubted that going to town to get building supplies could be considered running off as long as he left a proper note. He had enough money for the shellac and he might also find something for lunch while he was gone. His stomach was beginning to rumble.

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The baked goods shop’s door opened just as Pippin passed it on his way to purchase his shellac and the smell of freshly baked bread over-powered him. There is nothing like the smell of warm bread. Grinning and pulling out a hand full of coins, Pippin decided that his stomach needed filling before he could purchase any shellac.

He walked into the inviting shop sniffing the air and was rewarded by delectable aromas too numerous to mention. He was studying one of the lovely glass cases filled with breads and cakes when a voice asked, "Can I help you?"

Pippin looked up and saw one of the shops owners, Mister Burrows looking down at him from behind the counter. Pippin smiled and in spit of his original plan to buy some warm bread he announced,  "I’d like a pie."

"What sort of pie?"

"What sorts do you have?" Pippin asked.

"Well there’s cherry and that’s fresh from two hours ago, apple which was made this morning, raisin which is still good, but was made yesterday afternoon, there’s some poor-hobbit’s pie just out of the oven, and then there’s some plum pie, but that’s near to two days old now," Mister Burrows advised. "Course the plum is half price on as it’s that old."

Pippin fairly bounced on his toes as he tried to decide. The plum was the right price and buying that would leave him more than enough for some milk and his shellac, but fresh cherry pie was hard to pass up and then the poor-hobbit’s pie had always been a favorite of his. His Aunt Esme, Merry’s mum, made the best that he’d ever tasted.

"I’ll have the poor-hobbit’s pie," Pippin decided.

"A slice or an entire pie?" Mister Burrows asked.

"A whole pie if you please," Pippin grinned.

"Be right back with it," Mister Burrows smiled.

Pippin watched him leave to get the pie and entertained himself with thoughts of the delicious pie. It would have a warm, flaky crust, and inside would be lots of milk, butter, eggs, a touch of cinnamon and maybe some maple syrup. Poor Hobbit’s pie was so named because it contained no fruit and the filling just covered the bottom of the crust in a thin layer. Pippin could eat three of them without stopping for breath because they were so thin but he dearly loved them. He looked at his change and sighed. He might be able to eat three of them but if he wanted the shellac one would be all he could afford today.

Mister Burrows came back carrying his pie and sat it on the counter. "You want a sack to put it in?" he asked.

"No, I think I’ll just eat it as I walk," Pippin smiled.

"You can eat it here at the counter if you want," Mister Burrows offered. "I can get you a cup of milk to go with it."

"Thank you," Pippin said placing his change on the counter top. "Will this cover the cost of the milk too?"

"It will indeed," Mister Burrows smiled.

Pippin was already breaking off pieces of the pie and eating it when Mister Burrows returned with the milk. He watched the lad eat and smiled. "So, where are you off to after this?" he asked.

"I need to buy some shellac,"Pippin told him. "I’m building something and I need to paint it."

"So I’ve heard," Mister Burrows said. "I was sorry to hear about what old Tobias done to you."

Pippin frowned. How did Mister Burrows know about his carpentry project and what was he sorry about?

"That just wasn’t right," Mister Burrows continued. "He shouldn’t be able to call himself a tutor if he doesn’t plan to stick to the job. A fella ought to finish what he starts even if the job isn’t what he’d thought it would be. Not everyone takes to building right off. Don’t you give it another thought, Master Took. I’m sure your cousin will find you a proper tutor."

What was Mister Burrows talking about? Pippin had a tutor and as a matter of fact his cousin Frodo had found the very tutor that he did have. Oh, his father had suggested Mister Tunnely but it had been Frodo who had hired him. Pippin chewed another bite of his pie as Mister Burrows went on sympathetically, "I don’t think Mister Tunnely had any call to spread those rumors around town about you almost killing him with a hammer. I’m sure that anyone with any sense at all would have to know that was an accident. Still, it sure must have been quite a hit to the head that you gave him if it left him dizzy for several days like he says. I never cared for carpentry myself and so I didn’t make my own lads learn it. They can all bake of course. I taught ‘em myself. Easier to teach your own than to have someone else to do it."

Pippin blinked, took a sip of the milk and tried to puzzle Mister Burrows’ words out so that they made sense. Mister Burrows refilled Pippin’s mug with more milk and continued talking. "I think your cousin was quite right to tell him off the way he did in The Ivy."

"Merry?"

"No, Frodo Baggins. It’s all over town that Frodo told Mister Tunnely off for quitting," Mister Burrows said.

"Mister Tunnely quit?" Pippin said barely above a whisper.

"You’re better off without him, lad," Mister Burrows said patting Pippin on the shoulder. "The way that old hobbit was talking about you was disgraceful. I don’t care what you hit him with he has no call to tell folks that you’re a few eggs shy of a dozen. We can’t all be carpenters. Who’d make the bread and shoe the ponies and farm if we were? Just cause you got no talent for building things it don’t mean that your slow-witted."

Pippins’s fingers slipped from the handle of the cup and milk poured onto the counter.

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Poor-Hobbit's pie is actually Poor Man's pie and contains  a custard like mix in the bottom of a pie crust.  It is called a poor man's pie because it is usually made with left-over dairy products from your kitchen and the filling only covers the bottom of the crust.  My grandmother used to make them when I was growing up.     _     G.W.