Visiting with the Violets

            Vito Hornblower smiled.  “Welcome, Bilbo, Frodo!  My wife, Veronica.  Our son, Verdigris, and our daughters Violetta, Viola, and Violet.”

            The three lasses looked much alike, each with a viscous smile, each dressed in vivid purple.  They grabbed hold of Frodo and began dragging him about their home, competing for Frodo’s attention with increasing violence as the day progressed.

            At dinner time Frodo finally escaped.  He dragged Bilbo into a back bedroom and secured the door with a chair under the knob.  “Uncle, you have to get me out of here!  Those lasses—I think they’re trying to devour me!”