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Twice Twenty by Dreamflower	5 Review(s)
Queen Galadriel	Reviewed Chapter: 10 on 5/9/2006
Ah, I wondered how that came about. This is so Merry, to be frightened to death for Pippin's sake and then to be angry with Pippin because he frightened him. A good thing Frodo and Bilbo were there, and Sam too, to try and keep Merry steady while Frodo went after Pippin. God bless, Galadriel Author Reply: Yes, it was a good thing that all of them were there. This established the pattern for Merry and Pippin. By the time Pippin left with Merry on the Quest, Merry had been truly angry at him only four times in their lives, and this was the first. Each time involved Pippin putting himself into a peril from which Merry could not save him.

Gryffinjack	Reviewed Chapter: 10 on 10/14/2005
Incredible - each story is better than the last! I really am enjoying reading the stories in chronological order this time. They make more sense and I do not feel like I am missing something. However, which is the story where Frodo first teaches Pippin to climb a tree? I did not see that one in your chronological list. Frodo is fantastic in this story, the way he takes care of both Merry and Pippin. He really is a wonderful older cousin and I wish that he were my older cousin as well. And I have been quite remiss in not mentioning before how much I adore the way Frodo calls Merry "sprout." It is such a sweet little term of endearment that he only uses for his Merry! I wish he would have continued to call Merry that once in a while later on when Merry was an adult. Sam is his usual comforting self in this story, the way he looks after Merry once they realise that Pippin has climbed higher in the tree. Pippin ... is a Took. He gets something into his head and acts on it without thinking it out fully. However, at least he does learn from his mistakes and never repeats them. A Fool of a Took, yes, but an intelligent one. And now he has learnt another hard lesson in life, not only that his actions affect others as well as himself, but just how powerfully Merry's love for him is. I am so proud of Merry in this story, the way he tried to ignore his own fears in order to rescue Pippin. I am sure that Pippin would have jumped over several ditches if need be to rescue either Merry or Frodo, but this was Merry's moment to shine. Unfortunately, he is too young to understand just how brave he truly was. It is not easy to act in the face of one's fears, but Merry did it anyway. The fact that he did not climb all the way up to rescue Pippin is irrelevant. Climbing ten feet is quite a milestone for him. Author Reply: The tale of Pippin learning to climb is one of three drabbles called "First Lessons", which is slightly out of order, since each drabble takes place at a different time. Merry began to object to the "baby-name" when he began to approach his tweens, so Frodo stopped. But I would bet in later years that Merry missed it a good deal. Sam's always a comfort, isn't he? So solid and reliable. Exactly. Pippin is very impulsive and impatient, two major Tookish traits; but you are quite right--he is also very intelligent. His is not the steady, forward thinking type of intelligence that Merry has, but more of flashes of brilliance, that occasionally go awry. And he does learn a lesson from his mistakes. That is exactly what I wanted to convey. That ten feet was further for him than Frodo's easy clamber to the heights. But at his age, all he could see was that he was afraid, and that he did not do what he set out to do, a bitter pill for a determined Brandybuck to swallow. I am truly loving these reviews. I think tonight I will try again to update the chronology, so that the rest of them will truly be in order for you!

Larner	Reviewed Chapter: 10 on 7/17/2005
Learning to deal with fear gone to anger is something we must all do. And now Pippin is realizing this happens. Poor little Hobbit. Author Reply: Yes, poor little Pip, to find out that his Merry can truly get angry at him, and to realize why. And poor Merry, to find out that it's possible to get both that frightened and that angry.

Nina the powerwriter	Reviewed Chapter: 10 on 4/19/2005
Poor Merry! Poor Pip! It had to happen sooner or later. But at least Pip understands why Merry was mad at him. Author Reply: Yes, it was inevitable that as the cute little faunt grew up into an inquisitive little lad with his own sense of things, he would from time to time make Merry mad at him. But Bilbo, thankfully, explained it so Pip could understand.

Andrea	Reviewed Chapter: 10 on 4/10/2005
Dreamflower, you are amazing! Every little story here is very special. Beeing myself not so very comfortable with heights, I can understand Merry. But he is a very brave hobbit. He only has to realize it! I liked the idea of the two Bagginses splitting up to comfort their younger cousins. And I always love it when Frodo calls Merry "sprout" :) Author Reply: Why thank you very much! blushes Poor Merry is still young enough that he equates "brave" with "not ever being afraid"--he will eventually come to understand. It made sense to me that Bilbo would handle little Pip, while Frodo, who is basically Merry's "big brother" would comfort Merry. I came up with "sprout" as Frodo's special baby-name for Merry when I wrote "A Place for Gandalf". Only Frodo calls him that, and he never calls any of his other younger cousins or friends that; he used it for Merry occasionally all the way up until Merry entered his tweens, although not so often as he got older.

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