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Four of a Kind  by Grey Wonderer

“Leaving Home”

Pippin age 6

“No more biscuits, Peregrin Took,” Pimpernel said sternly as her younger brother reached for another handful of the warm treats.

“I need more than this for my sack,” Pippin objected holding out the sack in question for his sister’s inspection.

Pimpernel frowned.

“I’ll be gone a very long time and all on my own. I could starve before I get where I’m going,” Pippin urged with pleading eyes.

Pimpernel sighed and put three more biscuits into the sack. “That’s enough. If you think you are in danger of starving then maybe you shouldn’t be running away from home today.”

“I’ll be fine,” Pippin said pulling the sack closed. “I have my pack and Errol and my food.”

“Well you just be careful,” Pearl said as she entered the kitchen followed by Merry Brandybuck. “The last time you ran away you scraped both of your knees and one elbow.”

“I’ll be careful, Pearl,” Pippin said looking up at her and smiling. The scabs on his knees were still healing.

“I tried to talk him out of running away today but he has his mind set on it and you know how stubborn he is,” Pimpernel sighed.

“I’m not stubborn,” Pippin frowned wrinkling up his nose which was dotted with tiny freckles. “I’m running away on a’count of all of the hard work and the way they treat us here. But I'm not stubborn.”

“Of course not,” Pimpernel said grinning over at Pearl. “Not you.”

“Hullo, Merry!” Pippin said smiling brightly as his older cousin entered the kitchen. “I’m running away from home. Want to come?”

“Why are you running away from home?” Merry yawned. He and his parents had arrived the night before for a visit and Merry was still only about half awake. Pippin had kept him up most of the night chattering. The youngster had been so excited when Merry had arrived that he'd insisted that Merry sleep in his room. This might have been all right *if* Pippin had allowed Merry to do any sleeping. Instead Pippin had told Merry one story after another until the child had finally drifted off to sleep in mid-sentence.

“Cause I got to,” Pippin said. “If I don’t then I’ll be locked up in my room and have to clean the whole smial all by my ownself. I might even be beaten.”

“Twice,” Pearl said knowingly.

Merry looked at her to try and see if she were serious. He sometimes couldn’t tell with Pearl. She could be hard to read. Pippin interrupted his thoughts by tugging Merry’s sleeve. “You better come too or they’ll make you work and they won’t feed you anything but a crust of bread,” Pippin said.

“I’m not doing any work. I’m visiting,” Merry objected with another yawn.

“It doesn’t matter. They don’t give you any choice. You just have to work all day in the hot sun in the garden or in the kitchens,” Pippin said. “Not me though. I’m running away and no one will ever catch me will they Pearl?”

“No they won’t,” Pearl smiled. “You’ll be far, far, away and you won’t have to work here any more.”

Pippin nodded. “Errol’s coming too. Don’t you wanna come, Merry?”

“Pip, they’re teasing you,” Merry said frowning at Pearl and Pimpernel. “You don’t have to work. You’re only six years old.”

“They make the little ones work too,” Pippin said looking very sad. “It’s awful. Some of them die.”

“Pippin!” Merry objected horrified.

“Two died only last week,” Pearl sighed calmly.

“They were so young,” Pippin said wiping at his eyes as if he were crying but he didn’t appear to be. “That’s why I got to leave quick. I’m too clever to die that young.”

Pimpernel snorted and Pippin glared at her. “I am clever, Nelly,” Pippin said looking annoyed.

“Like a fox,” Pearl assured him.

“Bye, Merry. Don’t work too hard and die,” Pippin said as he started for the door.

“Stop him,” Merry hissed at Pimpernel. “He really means to do it.”

“Of course he does,” Pimpernel said. “He’s spent the morning packing. You should go with him.” She gave Merry a thoughtful glance. “You don’t want to die in the garden.” She raised her eyebrows at him as she spoke.

Merry swallowed. Pippin's older sisters were rather odd and it was too early in the morning to deal with this sort of thing. The poor little lad must lead a dreadful life. “That’s rubbish!” he said but he wasn’t entirely certain that these two lasses weren't up to something. Lasses were always up to something.

Pippin waved and smiled and then turned suddenly serious as he opened the door. “I’ll miss all of you and I hope you get away before it’s too late,” Pippin said biting his lower lip. “I’ll bring back help if I can!”

“Good-bye, Pippin,” Pearl said dramatically. “You’re so brave going out on your own this way.”

“I know,” Pippin said looking impressed with himself. “Bye, Merry!” And with that the tiny lad hurried out of the kitchen door nearly knocking his sister, Pervinca down as he went.

Pervinca glared at him and shouted, “And don’t come back!”

“I won’t!” Pippin called out.

Pervinca entered the kitchen and slammed the door shut. “I hope he goes further than the barn this time.”

“He isn’t allowed to go further than the barn,” Pimpernel said.

Pervinca reached across the table and took a biscuit. “Well, if he’s taken any of my things in that pack of his then he better keep running. The last time he went he took one of my bears. He said that Errol wanted a friend along.”

Pearl giggled. “I think he has taken most of our food this time so I doubt that he has room for any of your things.”

“Silly twit,” Pervinca muttered as she munched her biscuit. “Lads are dreadful.”

“Doesn’t anyone care that he is going off on his own because he’s afraid he’ll be worked to death in the garden?” Merry objected looking upset.

Pervinca snorted. “What game are you playing?”

“What do you mean?” Merry frowned. “I’m not playing anything. I think I’m the only one who cares about Pippin around here. I’ve half a mind to take him back to Buckland with me since none of you are watching him. He’s only six! He shouldn’t go to the barn alone. He isn’t old enough to go anywhere alone.”

“You’re absolutely right, Merry,” Pearl smiled. “You do have half a mind.”

Pimpernel laughed and Merry glared at all three of Pippin’s sisters. “I’m going after him.”

“He asked you to come along,” Pimpernel pointed out.

“Well someone has to watch him,” Merry said.

“Watch who?” Paladin Took asked coming into the kitchen.

“Pippin,” all three lasses said.

“What’s he done now and how did he manage to do it before I've had my first breakfast?” Paladin demanded.

“He’s running away from home and these three are letting him go,” Merry said. “I think they told him that he’d be worked to death if he stays. He thinks someone’s been killed here already.”

“Two little lads,” Paladin nodded lighting his pipe. “They died from the work and the heat and because they didn’t have enough food to eat but one brave little lad managed to escape. He was clever and ran away and got help for all of those that were being worked unfairly in the fields. Quite a story really.”

Merry’s mouth fell open. “It’s a story?”

“Of course it’s a story. I didn’t think it was a proper story for a lad Pippin’s age mind you. I would never have permitted him to hear it had I known before hand. Your cousin, Frodo read it to him,” Paladin said frowning slightly.

“Frodo read Pippin a story about little lads dying in the fields?” Merry looked even more stunned.

“He did and I had a word with him on the subject but apparently I was wrong. It seems that I over reacted,” Paladin sighed. “Pippin has enjoyed himself very much because of that story. He doesn't seem to dwell on the deaths or the other unpleasant portions of the tale. Instead he has become very keen on running away from home to get help. It is the rescue that he enjoys and the rest of the story seems not to have troubled him in the least. This is the third time this week that he’s run away from home.” Paladin Took said this as if this were a normal activity for a child of six.

“Fourth,” Pearl corrected.

“You mean he is playing as if he is a character in the story?” Merry said feeling foolish.

“He is the clever lad who escapes,” Pearl smiled. “Apparently Frodo renamed the character from the actual story. He called the lad Peregrin or Pip for short. The clever lad saves up his food and waits for a chance to escape for his evil captors who are working him and lots of others nearly to death. He packs up all of his belongings.”

“But he doesn’t have much because he’s real poor,” Pervinca sighed. “That’s what I can’t understand. Pippin always leaves here with half of the smial! The lad in that story doesn't have anything. That isn’t at all like the story is it?”

“No, perhaps not,” Paladin smiled. "I do believe that Pippin gets rather creative with the lesser details."

“And he goes off in search of help, which apparently is in the barn,” Pimpernel grinned. “Every time he runs away he brings back one of our farm workers at about tea time and announces that the poor farm hand is here to rescue all of the over-worked lads from the fields.”

“You wait, Merry,” Paladin grinned. “You’ll enjoy that part of it. I believe that portion of the story is the reason I forgave Frodo for reading the thing to Pippin. It’s very dramatic. Sometimes Pippin passes out in the doorway from hunger, sometimes he makes a grand speech, and depending upon which field hand he coaxes into doing the rescue we get treated to varying degrees of acting skill as our farm hands each take a turn at saving the day.”

“Then they usually stay for tea with our brave, clever lad,” Pearl said grinning. “In fact if you want to be the hero of the day then go out to the barn just before tea time and I am certain that Pippin will let you be the one who does the rescue.”

“This is barking mad,” Merry moaned still slightly embarrassed that he hadn't realized what was going on.

“Actually, if gives Pippin an adventure,” Paladin smiled. “It also entertains him and keeps him out from under foot for a portion of the day. In fact if I had known that Pippin would enjoy such a thing so much I might have read him a few violent books myself.”

“But he’s in the barn all by himself. He could get hurt,” Merry objected. He still wasn't certain that the Tooks were taking this seriously enough.

“No, he isn’t alone. He may think he is but one of the farm workers is lurking about close. We all take turns watching after him and he knows not to venture any further than the barn,” Paladin said. “I believer Tucker is on watch at present isn’t he Nell?”

“Yes, he’s the one,” Pimpernel smiled. “I do wish Tucker were doing the rescue at the end today. He’s very good. He yells loudly and charges into the parlor with such a racket that you’d think he really was doing a rescue.”

“I thought I was very good. Better than Tucker,” Pervinca objected.

“You were quite splendid,” Paladin offered smiling at his youngest daughter.

“You fell over the edge of the carpet,” Pimpernel pointed out.

“That wasn’t my fault!” Pervinca objected.

“What does he do in the barn all afternoon?” Merry wanted to know.

“Silly little lad stuff,” Pervinca sighed. “He walks all over the barn like he’s going somewhere but all he is doing is walking in circles talking to himself. Sometimes he plays in the hay or pets the cows and sometimes he gets very dirty and he smells when he comes in for tea.”

“And all of this is Frodo’s fault?” Merry sighed.

“It is,” Paladin said. “That lad has a way with a tale and Pippin enjoys play acting so this was the result.”

“Madness,” Merry muttered but later Merry laughed the hardest and played his part the best when Pippin dragged one of the farm workers into the parlor for the rescue. It was indeed Tucker and Merry could certainly see that Tucker had acting ability. In fact Merry found out later that several of the farm hands actually competed with one another by drawing straws in order to be the one that got to do the rescue and come to tea. It seems that Frodo’s story was entertaining the entire farm.

***

“Pip,” Merry whispered as they lay in the bed in Pippin’s room that night.

“Yes?”

“You won’t really run away from home will you?” Merry asked.

“Of course not,” Pippin said hugging his stuffed rabbit tightly in his arms. “I wouldn’t be afraid to go but everyone would miss me too much and they’d be lost without me.” Pippin yawned.

“I suppose you’re right,” Merry agreed when he could speak without laughing.

The End

GW 06/24/2007





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