Bodkin
· 25 January 2006
· Chapter 3: We enter the pathless wilderness, no longer on solid ground
I'm not surprised that Bill is a bit nervous. Who wouldn't be?
And all that horrible squelchiness underfoot - it's a good thing the pony trusts Sam and is beginning to see a distinct difference between Bill Ferny and Strider.
Author's reply
Ponies have sound instincts, as I might have mentioned before, except when they are expressing irrational fears about something or other. They can be the most practical, down-to-earth creatures, and the most head-in-the-clouds-what-were-you-thinking? animals I have ever known.
Thanks!
Larner
· 24 January 2006
· Chapter 3: We enter the pathless wilderness, no longer on solid ground
Well, if I were with the party, this would be a part of the journey that I would have hated, too, and I grew up in the midst of such things.
Author's reply
I always hated walking on marshy ground when we were backpacking or portaging. I don't like wet feet, even now, unless it's because we're swimming or wading on a hot day and I'll get to dry them off when we're done.
Thanks!
Larner
· 24 January 2006
· Chapter 2: We leave the Road
Nice to think this one is leaving his "old misery" behind in such a way, and aware this Man is not as was the last.
Author's reply
Yes, it's rather fun to imagine Bill's suspicion turning to grudging acceptance and then appreciation!
If only Strider kept a few apples or sweets in his pockets, the process would go faster.
Larner
· 24 January 2006
· Chapter 1: We take our leave of Bree
Aha--wonderful infusion of Bill's thoughts into the bookverse.
Author's reply
Thanks! I like looking at things from varying points of view. (You can either call it "beating the thing to death" or "looking at it in a fresh, new way". *g*)
GamgeeFest
· 23 January 2006
· Chapter 3: We enter the pathless wilderness, no longer on solid ground
Ah, poor Bill, yearning for the familiarity of home, even though he knows what it'll bring him. I love his nickname for Pippin, "Mr. Apples and Mischief" indeed.
Author's reply
Sometimes it's more comforting to remain in a rut than to brave the unknown... but Bill is in for some pleasant surprises along with the less pleasant ones.
Thanks!
shirebound
· 23 January 2006
· Chapter 3: We enter the pathless wilderness, no longer on solid ground
How fascinating! I never really gave Bill much thought before, but now I'm so happy for him that he's away from a life that was so bitter. I can't wait until he discovers the wonders of Rivendell!
Author's reply
O yes, Rivendell, really a high point in the story, for Bill, anyhow! (Though JRRT was right when he said good times are so difficult to write about at any length.)
Thanks!
Jay of Lasgalen
· 23 January 2006
· Chapter 3: We enter the pathless wilderness, no longer on solid ground
I've only just found this story! I love Bill's musings on the journey and his companions, and his memories of his former life - both with the old man, and with Ferny.
So horses will run back into a burning stable, will they? Hmm ... that gives me an idea ...
Jay
Author's reply
Thanks!
Gives you an idea, eh...? Hmm. Will have to watch for the new story!
Inkling
· 23 January 2006
· Chapter 3: We enter the pathless wilderness, no longer on solid ground
This continues to be so charming, Lin! I love Bill and Strider both sniffing the air, and the beginnings of the pony’s grudging acceptance of the Big Man. And LOL at his personal experience with “Don’t judge a book by its cover!”
Author's reply
I have found ponies and horses to be very literal-minded creatures, when they weren't being irrational about something (and usually that turned out to be literal thinking, anyhow, and not really being irrational so much as over-cautious).
Thanks!
harrowcat
· 23 January 2006
· Chapter 3: We enter the pathless wilderness, no longer on solid ground
The feeling you give - of Bill not being on solid ground in more ways than one - is great. The urge to return to the familiar instead of stepping into the unknown, however promising it looks, is known by many of us I am sure.
Author's reply
Very perceptive. Striking out into the unknown is definitely unsettling.
Dreamflower
· 23 January 2006
· Chapter 3: We enter the pathless wilderness, no longer on solid ground
Bill's a very intelligent and perceptive pony. I love his name for Pippin: "Mr. Apples-and-Mischief", LOL! And of course, his pony-centric view of their journey is amusing and touching.
Is that a true bit of lore? *Will* a pony or horse run back into a burning stable? I find that fascinating.
I don't think Bill will find the Midgewater Marshes to be one bit different than he expects from the name.
Looking forward to more.
Author's reply
Pony lore: The "running back into a burning stable" is what I was taught, early on. I looked it up in google with interesting results. One site about "horse myths" poo-poos the idea, but several fire-safety sites treat it as a likely and serious threat to be prevented.
Poor Bill. He doesn't yet know about midges. But Frodo will get a chance to shine, in the next chapter, hoorah!
Baggins Babe
· 22 January 2006
· Chapter 2: We leave the Road
I just wanted to tell you how much I love this story. it is wonderful to hear at last the voice of Bill, one of the unsung heroes of the Quest. It is sweet that he has already decided he likes Sam and the other hobbits but he is naturally more wary of Strider, given his experience with Men so far. I hope he gradually discovers that Strider is not so bad. :-))
I hope we learn more about Bill's journey home from Moria to Bree.
Author's reply
Will do my best to figure out Bill's journey home from Moria to Bree. You know how ponies are... terribly distractable creatures, and difficult to keep them on topic.
Author Reply: p.s. Thanks!
gamgeefest
· 22 January 2006
· Chapter 2: We leave the Road
I'm loving Bill's story so far! His observations of the hobbits and wariness of Strider, the way his thoughts go back and forth between present and past, and especially the way he thinks of Sam as another 'beast of burden' - its all very believable that a pony might have such thoughts. Can't wait for more.
Author's reply
Glad to have your input!
gamgeefest
· 22 January 2006
· Chapter 2: We leave the Road
Bodkin
· 21 January 2006
· Chapter 2: We leave the Road
I'm glad Sam is good at listening to Bill - who seems to have a well-developed sense of danger. Bill's life has improved in many ways. Of course, with all the nasty creatures of Arda on their trail, the news is not all good, but I think, on the whole, he will prefer it with his new team.
Author's reply
Ponies do seem to have a well-developed sense of danger as a whole. Quite often invisible, imaginary danger at that. I suppose it comes from their being "prey animals" rather than predators, perhaps.
For trackless wilderness to be an improvement over his old life, well... that says a lot about Bill Ferny, I'm afraid.
Julie
· 21 January 2006
· Chapter 2: We leave the Road
Oh goody!! I'm so glad to see you're finally continuing this story! I just love your whole idea of telling a familiar tale to everyone here from the pack pony's POV.
"I have heard the grumbles of dwarf-ponies as they passed my yard, and heard snatches of places far and away. For me, the Road always ended where we turned towards Archet, to the Chetwood to haul wood, or to go around Staddle ..."
Bill is almost like the hobbits in this chapter. They have never left the boundaries of the Shire, and likewise Bill has never left Bree either. He gets his news of the outside world in much the same way, albeit from the travlling dwarves' ponies.
I really hope you post more soon!
Author's reply
I do like to look at a story from various angles.
There is actually another "tenth walker" story outlined, but it probably won't be written until this one finishes. That one is rather more a comedy than this. I cannot even tell you the perspective and identity of the tenth walker in that one without giving away a great deal of the plot... and the joke.
Will keep posting until I get stuck, and then I'll be working on other stories until I get unstuck. Seems to work.
Thanks!
Author Reply: p.s. nice insight, that, comparing Bill to the hobbits. I never looked at it in quite that light before.
harrowcat
· 20 January 2006
· Chapter 2: We leave the Road
To give Bill a voice in the story is great Lindelea.
Author's reply
Thanks!
Dreamflower
· 20 January 2006
· Chapter 2: We leave the Road
I love Bill's description of Pippin's smell. This is just lovely.
Author's reply
Thanks!
demeter d
· 20 January 2006
· Chapter 2: We leave the Road
I have you on my author update list. Very good! Awhile back I read a piece where The Ring called to Bill the Pony, and he would have taken it except he realized he had no hand on which to wear it! i am sure this one will be as good! I hope you have the stamina to take him back home by himself. And it would be interesting to see how the year of troubles and the invasion of the Bad Men to Bree through the eyes of Bill, with perhaps Bob and Nob's commentary thrown in. Well begun!
Author's reply
You know, I read that piece too, but don't remember where, or who the author was. (Might even have been me, though I rather doubt it, but I remember joking with Dana about Bill and the Ring at one time, how Bill disappeared in the movie when the crebain came and I suggested that Frodo jammed the Ring over the pony's ear to make him invisible until the crows had passed over... and just what Bill might have thought of it, at the time.)
Author Reply: p.s. thanks for the vote of confidence. And I hope I have the stamina too!
pebbles66
· 20 January 2006
· Chapter 2: We leave the Road
Oh, I am glad that you are working on this again. I really enjoyed reading the first 2 parts. Poor Bill, how he was treated reminds me a little of Black Beauty, which I read as a child. My parents had to take it away from me because I got so upset! I'm glad that the hobbits will take care of Bill now. And I'm looking forward to reading more, soon, I hope!
Author's reply
Thanks! Got stuck for a bit, but Bill just recently nudged my elbow, spilling my tea, and so I am working on this again.
Anso the Hobbit
· 7 July 2005
· Chapter 1: We take our leave of Bree
Lovely! I do like how you make the pony think. I`m glad he approved of Sam`s use of that apple. :D
Author's reply
Belated thanks!
Inkling
· 5 July 2005
· Chapter 1: We take our leave of Bree
My former misery…a nice touch, that Bill refuses to call Ferny master.
And a very poignant moment with the poor old woman…sad from the death of her husband and the fate of her pony. Abuse of animals is so painful to read about…I remember Black Beauty making a huge impression on me.
Author's reply
Hullo! Was replying to a recent review in this chapter and saw yours. You're spot on--that little scene with the carrot was inspired by something similar in Black Beauty.
We sometimes watch Animal Cops on television, and the little ones want to grow up to be protectors of animals...
Cuthalion
· 3 July 2005
· Chapter 1: We take our leave of Bree
My old misery ducks too late, and I hear him cursing from behind the hedge, yet my trembling has left me, and I step forward confidently under Sam's guiding hand and Pippin's soft pull. Somehow I know I have nothing to fear any more. I lift my tail as we pass by the rusty gate and leave a steaming pile in the middle of the entry to the overgrown yard, a last farewell.
'Waste of a good apple,' Sam says, but I shake my head. It was my apple, after all, and I gladly donate it in service to the cause in which it was employed.
*laughs*
I love it. I lovelovelove it. Bravo.
Author's reply
Thank you!
Hopefully Bill will provide a bit of lightness to the heavier parts of the story, as well. He seems to have his head on straight. Ponies are eminently practical creatures, when they aren't taking on irrational dislikes/fears.
Cuthalion
· 3 July 2005
· Chapter 0: Prologue
And then Sam came. Practically a pony himself, that one. He doesn't complain, weighed down by his burden. And neither shall I.
*grins with delight* Absolutely wonderful Lin, the whole thing. *hugs*
Author's reply
*hugs back*
Glad to have made you grin! I figure Bill must have been something special, to get all the way to Moria, and then back again by himself. What a journey that must have been!
elliska
· 3 July 2005
· Chapter 1: We take our leave of Bree
I like Bill's memory of 'his misery' (very sad but well done) and his reaction to the use of the apple. I'm sure that is exactly what Tolkien intended him to think. :-)
Author's reply
LOL... I figured if Sam had an apple in his hand, either he was going to eat it himself or he was offering it to Bill, and it makes sense that if he was leading Bill, the apple was meant for Bill. I don't think Sam would have regretted so much the waste of a good apple if it had been on his own account, but that it was *Bill's* apple, well, that is cause for regret, from Sam's viewpoint.
(OTOH, Bill appreciated the apple's fate)
elliska
· 3 July 2005
· Chapter 0: Prologue
If Bill as the tenth walker has been done, then I missed it. This is adorable. You have given him quite a personality in just the beginning chapter. I really like this. :-)
Author's reply
Thank you! Ponies do have quite a lot of personality, I've found. They definitely think their own thoughts.