Stories of Arda Home Page
About Us News Resources Login Become a member Help Search

A Day in the Life  by GamgeeFest 10 Review(s)
nancylea57Reviewed Chapter: 3 on 12/8/2008
no attempt to convince him revenge is best eaten cold?

Author Reply: Well, he's already eaten his cold revenge, and didn't much care for it. He will at least be more tactful next time. ;)

Queen GaladrielReviewed Chapter: 3 on 4/23/2006
Um, they can have as many of those days as they want, but I think they're more fun to read about than live. LOL! Goodness, now that was a mean prank Merry played! That was really mean and he ought to be ashamed! But Frodo got his vengiance. I do feel so sorry for poor Pip, though. Yes, he helped, and no, he shouldn't have listened to Merry, but at least he really *was* sorry. I loved this! And I'm turning to you the next time I need pranks. *grin* Just kidding. Unlike Merry, I *want* to live to see my next birthday.
God bless,
Galadriel

Author Reply: This is definetly the sort of day to be watched from a far and not experienced in any way. LOL Merry knows where to hit Frodo where he's most vulnerable. He paid back Frodo and then some. Frodo quickly showed him who still had the upper hand though. :D Pippin will, I'm afraid, always listen to his Merry, even when he knows it can only lead him to disaster. He may not be as blindly optimistic as Merry is, but he is just as rash and has the same taste for mischief.

Oh, don't come to me for pranks! It took me forever just thinking of this one and I had no idea what Merry was planning with half of that stuff he was gathering up in Bag End. :)

PendoraReviewed Chapter: 3 on 1/28/2006
Oh good heavens. This was utterly priceless, GamgeeFest!! I enjoyed it so much and was laughing the entire time. I love the way you write the cousins and get inside Merry and Frodo's devious heads. This was truly remarkable. Thanks so much for a great read!!! :D

Author Reply: hehe. I love it when Frodo gets to be a rascal and he shows his true colors here. Merry is quite the devious one also, but he'll never be able to steal Frodo's title as worst rascal in Buckland. Pippin was just along for the ride, no matter what might happen. :D Thanks for the review! I'm glad you got a laugh!

Baggins BabeReviewed Chapter: 3 on 1/15/2006
*gasp* *chortle* This was priceless! What an evil trick to play, especially on such a dignified hobbit as Frodo. And Merry didn't have to say anything to his cousin because the Shirefolk did it for him! Frodo will never live it down - can you imagine the questions every time he goes into Hobbiton?
I don't blame him for making them wait for supper.

That meal must have seemed interminable to Jolly and Tom! And Frodo chatting brightly while the others sit there mesmerised was too funny.

Love these stories!


Author Reply: The hobbits will forget all about this as soon as something else comes along to grab their attention, though I can just imagine that barkeep many years from now bragging about his miraculous medicinal brew: "Why, this malt liquor even unclogged poor Mr. Baggins, who hadn't dropped a stone in four months." LOL!

Frodo came up with the perfect punishment for that trick, one that neither Merry nor Pippin will forget anytime soon. That's a meal Sam, Tom and Jolly won't be forgetting anytime soon either! The poor guys really hadn't done anything to deserve that. Frodo is a rascal, what can I say? lol

Thanks so much for reading! I'm glad you got a laugh out of this!

AndreaReviewed Chapter: 3 on 1/14/2006
Oh my God!!! This chapter chapter needs a "Laugh Alert"!

“I need a drink,” Frodo said.
[...]
“What is this?” he demanded.

“Tis me strongest malt liquor, mixed with cordial to help it go down,” the barkeep announced. “That’ll unclog you, if anything does, and a lot quicker than those healer’s herbs. On the house.”
LOL! That was prizeless!

Although I agree that denying someone food is a mean thing among hobbits, I'd say that Merry deserved it. Did he really think Frodo's punishment would be so soft?
And after all, they got their food anyway, only some time later!

I only feel sorry for poor little Pippin!
"Why did he always listen to Merry?" This question will return to him often enough, I'm quite sure. But he will always end up doing exactly the same thing - listening to Merry ;-)

Thank you for this great story!



Author Reply: I never thought I'd see the day where Frodo would utter the words "I need a drink" lol. It only took Merry, Pippin and a morning and afternoon of pure misery. :) That was quite a drink he got too! I know absolutely nothing about alcohol, so that was all made up. It seems to be credible enough, no one's complained so far, at any rate. ~_^

Even Frodo isn't *that* cruel so as not to feed his cousins at all. Once his point got across, he was more than happy to let them out and let them eat. At least they've all learned that humiliation is off-limits and Merry won't be attempting payback any time soon, and when he does attempt it, he'll wait until *after* mealtime, lol.

Pippin will always go along with Merry. Even when he knows he shouldn't, even against his better judgment, he'll do as Merry says because, let's face, most of the time they *do* get away with their pranks.

Thanks so much for reading! I'm glad this gave you a laugh and I'll keep that in mind about a "laugh alert" for next time. ~_^

BodkinReviewed Chapter: 3 on 1/14/2006
That must have been a singularly unpleasant meal that Jolly, Tom and Sam sat through. I'm not surprised they couldn't stomach seconds.

Merry is a little schemer. That was a very simple and quite nasty trick - although I suppose he was getting his own back for something that was highly embarrassing. He seems to be very quickly getting over his realisation that there are some things he cannot do as well as working hobbits - shame. Merry could do with a bit of squashing now and then.

And Pippin seems more resigned - but then he always knew he would be caught. It just didn't stop him, because he would follow his cousin into the flames.

On the whole, that's a day I'm sure they're all glad is over.

Although Frodo had better not drop his guard just yet.

I really enjoyed this - although I think my sympathies are with Sam!

Author Reply: It might be some time before the Cottons can be talked into dining with the Master again. They'd rather risk insult after this! Even after everything gets cleared up, they'll still have the memory of how uncomfortable it was.

As soon as Ilby and Dody suggested starting a rumor, Merry's eyes must have lit up. He probably even had several different rumors he could have started, depending on which vendors were there. Merry does need to be knocked down a peg or two, and Frodo's plan worked for a little while, but Merry's at that age where he can make up excuses for himself for not being able to do things, or can delude himself into believe he *could* have done them if not for certain holdbacks (in this case, Pippin).

This is one day they'll be glad to see end. Merry's smart enough not to try anything right away. He might even forget about his vow to get even, but eventually, after enough years have passed, he'll get his revenge, lol. And Pippin will be there to help. ;)

Thanks for reading! I'm glad you enjoyed this!

Grey WondererReviewed Chapter: 3 on 1/14/2006
Not at all what I expected but very clever of Merry. He got even without actually doing anything physical to Frodo except for making him deal with Pippin and those rugs. The residents of Hobbiton played right into it and it was priceless.

Poor Sam and the Cottons had a miserable evening though, didn't they? Maybe if they ever hear what Merry did to Frodo they will think less badly of him but for now, I can see why they were confused.

I am now wondering if Pippin might want to get even with Merry for getting him into this mess to begin with. So often, one prank does lead to another. LOL

I enjoyed this very much! Excellent story.

Author Reply: Merry knew he would never be able to pull anything close to what Frodo did to him, so he had to be a little more tricky about it. It was the perfect scheme, for what hobbit could ignore such a rumor about the Master of the Hill lol. And, if you think about it, Merry technically wasn't the one who embarrassed Frodo - it was everyone else!

Oh, Frodo will be telling Sam all about what happened come morning, and Sam will doubtless tell the Cottons because he wouldn't want them to think that his master has lost it. It'll be some time before any of them agree to dine with him again though!

Pippin's best revenge is, and always has been, refusing to talk to Merry. Besides, he knew he would get into trouble for this if he went along with the plan, but he did anyway because he would do anything for his Merry. He'll forgive Merry pretty quickly. Merry will just have to slip him some of that chocolate first. ~_^

I'm glad you enjoyed it. Thanks for reading!

LarnerReviewed Chapter: 3 on 1/13/2006
How utterly perfect! Wonderful means of paying the two twerps back! Love, love it!

Author Reply: hehehe And so Frodo defends and retains his title as "Worst Rascal in Buckland" even though he's no longer *in* Buckland. Frodo has years of trouble-making experience over his cousins, and he's wise enough to realize that sometimes the simplest approach is the best one. He got Merry and Pippin where it counts the most - their stomachs. Very fiendish and diabolical of him, but it could have been worse, trust me. There's a reason I had Frodo leave the laxating herbs behind. ~_^

Thanks for reading and reviewing! I'm so glad you enjoyed this and got a laugh out of it. :)

XtremeFrolickerReviewed Chapter: 3 on 1/13/2006
love it, Love It, LOVE IT!! You truly have a gift. That was so creative!! I can't wait for another story!

Author Reply: Thank you! It's been quite a while since I've written something this silly and it was a nice reprieve from all the angst. I'm glad you enjoyed it. Thanks for the review!

DreamflowerReviewed Chapter: 3 on 1/13/2006
Oh dear! *ROTFLMBO!*

This was a hoot!

But I still say "poor Pippin" and "poor Sam". Sam's advice was practical, and not so bad--Frodo might have thought of it before he put a kink in the first plan, which would have been far less humiliating. Hopefully, Pippin has learned now not to let himself get caught in the crossfire again--though I doubt it--he'll still go along with most anything Merry proposes, I fear.

It's a good thing Merry didn't throw his back out with that first stone, too. Still it seems that at least both cousins have learned that public humiliation is off limits, however much more ordinary pranks are not.

And Sam should know, if he thinks about it, that Frodo would feed his cousins anyway, once the point was made. Hopefully now the three of them can go about having a nice visit together for the rest of the time, and not be worrying about having to "one-up" one another.

I have to say, I loved the way Frodo was able to carry on his conversation at the table, and totally ignore the yells of the other two! But it's a shame that he will probably never be able to coax Tom and Jolly into joining him for dinner again.

This was a delightfully funny tale--and it's definitely become one of my favorites!

Author Reply: A favorite! Woot! I love to hear that! *hugs*

Tom and Jolly certainly saw a side of Frodo they never want to see again. For Sam's sake, they'll keep quiet about it. I can only imagine the whisperings that would be going around if anyone found out about what Frodo did to his cousins. Hm, the next time they all take supper together might just be when Frodo and Sam move into the Cottons' after the Quest, lol.

Pippin did get a pretty shabby deal out of this, but he *knew* he was going to get busted for helping Merry and he went along with it anyway. And we all know that he'll always go along with what Merry says, no matter what the consequences. ;) Once Sam gets over the shock of it all, he'll realize that Frodo would never starve his cousins overlong. It was good advice and now he'll be left in peace to work as the cousins enjoy the rest of their visit with Frodo.

Merry was secretly glad his first plan was a bust. He would have gone along with it and been happy enough had Frodo not caught him out, but this one in the marketplace was the one he *really* wanted to do. They did learn to not publicly humiliate each other anymore, so it wasn't all for nothing, and I'm sure Merry will still be silently snickering over this for a long time to come, as Frodo still silently snickers over the frock. In time, they'll both learn to laugh at their own humiliation.

Return to Chapter List