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Dreamflower's Mathoms I by Dreamflower	10 Review(s)
GamgeeFest	Reviewed Chapter: 76 on 8/8/2006
I can see a young Bilbo purposely doing bad on a paper to make his friend feel better. Thank goodness Bungo figured out a way to help both lads. I had to chuckle at Bungo's idea of too many students. Hobbits wouldn't know what to make of our school system today, where one teacher has to teach upward of 50 students at once (and sometimes more). Author Reply: It's the sort of thing children will do. And it took Bungo a few days--being used to only having one student at a time, but he worked it out. I think Hobbits would be appalled at the idea of farming their children out to perfect strangers for a goodly portion of everyday--why, they aren't even connections, much less blood relatives! How could they know how to teach children who weren't even family?!? And all those children at once! Dreadful! (At least that's how my hobbits would react to our current educational system!)

Glory Underhill	Reviewed Chapter: 76 on 6/2/2006
Ah this was wonderful! Bilbo and Siggy, a friendship renewed! So lovely to read young Bilbo stories. Thank you for posting this! Author Reply: Thank you for stopping by to read and review! I do enjoy writing about young Bilbo!

Queen Galadriel	Reviewed Chapter: 76 on 4/25/2006
This is a very interesting glimpse at a much, much younger Bilbo than we know from the books. It's too bad his plan to help his cousin didn't work, poor boy, but it really wasn't a wise thing to do. But what a thoughtful gift! And the scarf was very funny. smirk God bless, Galadriel Author Reply: I like the idea of young Bilbo--he had his own growing up to do before he had his Adventure, and I like to explore that a little bit. Children tend to go for the obvious when there's a problem, and sometimes the obvious solution is the wrong one. Fortunately Bungo was able to salvage the situation. Well, I don't think little Otho was any more likeable than his son was later on! Bilbo couldn't have been expected to want to give the little brat a nice present, LOL!

EstellaB	Reviewed Chapter: 76 on 4/15/2006
"In an effort to mend matters with his cousin, he had deliberately made a mess of his work, spelling words wrong, blotting the ink, and putting down answers that were blatantly incorrect." This is so true to life-I actually used to do this in an attempt to make a friend feel less inferior than he did. And yup, it made matters worse. Author Reply: It's true, kids often get hold of the wrong end of the stick sometimes when they try to help. It's well-intentioned, but very often backfires. Poor young Bilbo really wanted to help his cousin feel better. Fortunately, his father was able to help him mend matters.

Larner	Reviewed Chapter: 76 on 11/8/2005
Aha--very satisfying for both lads. Poor Siggy--having to try to compete with Bilbo. And am so glad he liked the desk set in the end. PS--loved the mushroom paperweight going back to its source. Author Reply: Well, Siggy turned out to be much brighter than he had given himself credit for, and it took a good teacher like Bungo, and a friend like Bilbo with faith in him to bring it out--I think that's why he liked the desk set, it showed Bilbo's belief in him. grin It seemed to me to be a rather hobbity thing, that mathoms would make the rounds and eventually end up where they started.

Lindelea	Reviewed Chapter: 76 on 10/30/2005
What a lovely picture of a friendship, and how wise Bilbo's father showed himself, after the first stumble. Sigismond has come a long way, to welcome the desk set, and to think he became a teacher in turn... and I think Bilbo showed an understanding and insight beyond his years in his choice of Siggy's mathom. (And the mushroom paperweight was a hoot!) It was fun to read your "take" on young Bilbo (and Siggy!). Author Reply: I'm so glad you like Bilbo's and Siggy's friendship. Of course, Bungo not being used to having more than one pupil needed a bit of time to figure out how to handle it, but I think all things considered he did all right. Siggy was pleased with himself, to discover that not doing well at lessons was not necessarily a flaw in his intelligence, but rather the need of different methods of learning. And young Bilbo did want to show Siggy how smart he thought he was. (I got a kick out of that mushroom paperweight myself--I can just picture it in my head, in fact, and wish I had one, LOL!) I'm very happy you like Bilbo and Siggy. And I have you to thank for them, because it was doing that chapter for "To Tell a Tale" that made me think of them.

Julie	Reviewed Chapter: 76 on 10/29/2005
I really enjoyed this little tale about Bilbo as a child. Sometimes it's hard to picture him as such, but you always do a wonderful job. I laughed at his reaction to having to give his little cousin Otho a mathom. I just adore your Bilbo stories and I encourage you to continue writing them. Author Reply: Oh, I'm so glad! It's a lot of fun to explore and examine the earlier branches of the hobbit family trees!

	Reviewed Chapter: 76 on 10/29/2005


Bodkin	Reviewed Chapter: 76 on 10/29/2005
I do like Bilbo and Siggy. I hope lots more stories about them are fermenting in your fertile mind! I also loved (in an ironic way) 'his cousin Isembard has so many students. Sigismond shares his time with at least four other cousins.' So kids working in classes of 30 or more in schools of 600 and more really don't have a chance!! Poor Siggy - I can see how he feels humiliated and insulted - and it is so difficult for Bilbo to know how to react without upsetting somebody. His father was very tactful - and Siggy and Bilbo's friendship only grew stronger for the time together. The present could have worked either way - but I'm glad Siggy was happy and took it the way he did. And I notice that his own learning developed sufficiently for him to act as a tutor to the young. I hope he was flexible in his teaching methods! Author Reply: Thank you so much. Sometimes I feel stories about Bilbo are just being sucked into a vacuum, yet I just love to write about him. Well, since in my Shire all teaching is done by family, most children would have their lessons one on one, or at the most two. Five to a class would be highly unusual. Also, I don't imagine they spent more than two or three hours a day at their lessons, so a small teacher/pupil ratio would be very important. Yes, thankfully Bungo was both a wise teacher and a good father/uncle. By allowing the lads to work together, and letting Siggy see that he could improve he really bolstered his confidence. And my idea is that both Siggy and Bilbo grew up to be teachers of the young. I am quite sure that he took his inspiration from his Uncle Bungo, and from Bilbo's patience.

harrowcat	Reviewed Chapter: 76 on 10/29/2005
You have been busy Dreamflower - two pieces at once - what a treat! And this was lovely. Author Reply: Thank you very much. I am having a good time thinking about young Bilbo.

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