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Truth  by Lindelea 2 Review(s)
FantasyFanReviewed Chapter: 9 on 9/11/2003
I was afraid of something like this. Five hens and a rooster are missing. Linden got two months under the ban for breaking 6 mugs of beer with a joke taken too far, so who knows how severe punishment would be for this? Stealing or destroying a "good citizen's" personal property and family's foodsource, with what could be construed as deliberate malace bordering on harassment: it's not like raiding the mushroom field.

It seems here in the shire, there's no warrant needed for arrest, and no presumption of innocence, so Frodo may just well be hauled right to Tuckborough. How will he plead his defense? First of all, he doesn't have the knife - he lent it to his brother, and it was lost. If they are lucky, his brother will remember the last time he saw it was in the vicinity of the mill - anyone could have it.

Secondly, what happened to the chickens? They have to be around somewhere. They didn't go into the stew pot at Bag End - I am sure many from the family could testify to that, and there is precedence for allowing family testimony. If they were killed but not eaten, Hodge would have to be more clever than I give him credit for to implicate the Gamgees by stashing the carcasses somewhere on Bag End property. Eru forbid he just added them to the Bag End chicken coop, so that they could be found just by opening the door. No - someone would have noticed a second rooster, and even Bag End can't have so many chickens that five more wouldn't be commented on. Wait - Robin's never counted them. Oh no. Frodo's in trouble now.

Author Reply: Thanks for the comments! Had no time to write author notes before i posted over at ffnet, but just wanted you to know I got this review and digested it. "Deliberate malice bordering on harassment", nice turn of phrase, I hadn't thought of that.

You're right about the Shire, they are old-fashioned about these things, i.e. a suspect is "guilty until proven innocent"

Nice guesses about the chickens. Your questions will be answered in chapter 10.

MirielReviewed Chapter: 9 on 9/11/2003
Oh no! They should know better than to trust any Sandyman...Grr. I knew that there would be trouble as soon as Frodo lent out his knife. Can't wait to see how this plays out! (Along with Faramir and Goldi!!)

Author Reply: Poor Sandyman, to have to live with such a reputation. "A good name is better than gold". Thanks for reviewing!

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