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

A Mid-Year's Walking Trip  by GamgeeFest 9 Review(s)
KathyGReviewed Chapter: 12 on 6/4/2014
“The hobbit-devouring bog,” Pippin whispered, entranced.

Otherwise known as quicksand! Eek! Scary thought.

The hobbits are going to need to grow another hedge to keep everyone out of that bog!


Author Reply: Considering most hobbits would never even consider going into Bindbole Wood, it's probably not a huge issue. Still, you can count on Frodo to alert the proper folk as to its exact location. The way news spreads in the Shire, it won't be long before everyone knows. :)

Elf FriendReviewed Chapter: 12 on 2/24/2005
Hmm...I wonder what the hedge is for? And Pippin's mysterious food story? ^^ I giggled at the hobbit-devouring bog part. This was a great chapter, I can't wait to read more! :)

Author Reply: The hedge is a mystery. Our hobbits will never find out why it was there, but they'll have fun guessing I'm sure. Ah, Merry's got Pippin right where he wants him in regards to the food story. It's only a matter of time now. ;)

Thanks for reading!

trishetteReviewed Chapter: 12 on 2/23/2005
I am definitely looking forward to updates. This story is wonderfully written, and I am quite glad Sam and Merry are finally getting reconciled. Merry, jealous of Sam... why didnt I see that possibility before, considering that Frodo /did/ leave Merry?

Author Reply: My Merry is quite the competitor, and it's only natural for that to turn into jealousy in regards to Sam, especially as they're so close in age. I'm sure there are other stories out there dealing with this topic, but I've never seen any of them and so wanted to address it here.

Thanks for reading! I'm so glad you're enjoying the story. :)

Hai TookReviewed Chapter: 12 on 2/23/2005
Wonderful! It was certainly a good thing that they didn't start out again that night! And for Pippin to notice, very nice. I liked Frodo trying to make plans for another hiking trip and all of them making some kind of excuse! I hope they can all make it. Merry trying to trick Pippin into telling his secret, how very interesting, too bad it didn't work ;)

After reading this story I've decided I want to read your "Tale That Grew in the Telling" but don't have time! Hopefully this weekend or some such. Thank you for the fun, looking forward to more!

Author Reply: Pippin's more observant than people give him credit for. Mostly because he often doesn't show it, but every once in awhile, he lets his intelligence shine through. :)

A strange twist of events that Frodo would wind up enjoying himself and the others wound up having less fun than they expected. Camping is more work that Merry and Pippin bargained for, and Sam's going to need a good long strecth before he can be talked into going again. And don't be so sure Merry's plan didn't work. You know Pippin, curiosity is always his downfall. ;)

Thanks for the review and I truly hope you enjoy "A Tale."

BodkinReviewed Chapter: 12 on 2/23/2005
Well, who would have thought that Merry would end up being grateful for being stung to bits. That bog sounds seriously unpleasant. And it's a good job that Sam has his wits about him or they might well have taken that short cut.

I hope we find out about the hedge.

And what has Eglantine Took got against cinnamon rolls? Pippin seems to have got his own way in many things - so why not cinnamon rolls?



Author Reply: Or that everyone would be grateful about being chased by wasps? We often forget or overlook how one event can affect another. Frodo wouldn't have taken the shortcut, his instincts are better than that, but Sam's observations kept the younger hobbits from doing something foolish.

Feel free to make up your own theory about the hedge. I posted another theory in my response to Dreamflower, but I really wasn't planning anything further with the hedge. It's just one of those mysteries.

I'm sure Eglantine doesn't have anything against cinnamon rolls. Just her son and cinnamon rolls. She's very strict about keeping her son away from sweets as much as possible. He's hyper enough as it is without loads of sugar in him. It's completely a fluke thing that he never had opportunity to sneak one.

Thanks for reading!

DreamflowerReviewed Chapter: 12 on 2/23/2005
This was such a nice little reflective chapter. I love the description of their walk through the woods, especially some of your details about the scenery, the birds, etc. Very much like JRRT would have done. I also loved this little bit:

"Pippin kicked absently at the many leaves and twigs that littered the ground, and every now and then he attempted to jump up and bat at a low-hanging branch." Such a typical, youthful, thing. I've often seen boys of various stages of growing up doing this--trying to catch a branch, or the top of a wall or something else that seems just barely out of reach.

The little interlude at luncheon was also cute. I like the fact that Pippin is on to what Merry is up to, but he is curious enough that he might fall for it anyway, sooner or later.

I enjoyed the speculation about the hedge as well. I'm wondering now if that may have something to do with the mysterious whistler.

The bit with the bog is downright chilling. That's the kind of feeling you get when you turn on the news and hear that there's been an accident on the road that you just barely avoided. Brrr...

And so they are nearly home.

And Frodo has learned that his cousins will make good travelling companions. Which was, I think the whole point of this exercise.

That, and not letting him out of their sight. Although I don't think he has quite yet tumbled to *that* part of it.


Author Reply: Youthful? I still try to do that sometimes! There's just something so appealing about something just barely out of your reach.

Curiosity killed the cat, or in this case, Took. Merry knows exactly what will get Pippin to talk, but he may be surprised at just how long Pippin holds out.

The hedge is a bit of mystery. I have no idea why it's there either. Pippin seems convinced the whistling is the ghost of Nodi Hatcher, and that seems the best theory there is so far. Hm, maybe folk saw his ghost wandering around that part of the woods and built the hedge to try to trap it in? Or maybe Sam's right, and they built it to block the wind. Or mayb it's there for a completely different reason. It's up to the reader. ;)

The rumors about the bog turned out to be true. And Pippin is absolutely correct. It's just far enough a distance from their previous camp that they would have decided to rest there if they had hiked that far.

More like Frodo has forgotten that his cousins were there to their eye on him. He did suspect that they were only coming along to look after him at the beginning of the fic - that was one of the reasons he didn't want them along. ;) He has realized that they make good traveling companions and that they can be quite resourceful at need.

Thanks for the review!

ElenarReviewed Chapter: 12 on 2/23/2005
Lovely chapter!
I'm looking forward to the next part!

Author Reply: Thank you! Glad you're enjoying the story!

LarnerReviewed Chapter: 12 on 2/23/2005
Lovely descriptions of the land.


Author Reply: Thank you. I'm glad you enjoyed them!

Grey WondererReviewed Chapter: 12 on 2/22/2005
I love those. Or at least, I think I would, if I were ever allowed to have one. Do you think it’s right, Sam, for a hobbit to reach my age and never have had a cinnamon roll?”

Loved Pippin's logic on this. He knew he'd love them even though he'd never had them. Also like it as a way to get sympathy.

The entire chapter was great and the bit with the bog was a bit chilling as they might well have walked into it or camped there. I do wonder about the hedge and who planted it. Can't wait for more.


Author Reply: Yes, poor unfortunate Pippin, he loves sweets but is never allowed to have them. You can tell sometimes just by looking at food if you'll like it or dislike it. And of course, Pippin has never met a sweet he didn't like. ;)

The bog was a bit touch and go, whether to leave that in or take it out. But I figured with all Sam's talk about them and how they're real and Frodo teasing him about it, that there had to be a pay off. And then Sam couldn't quite believe it himself! I'm wondering about that hedge too. Just another unsolved mystery.

Thanks for reading!

Return to Chapter List