Herblore
(Written by a bard of Rohan, inspired by Merriadoc Brandybuck's talks with king Théoden)
-o-
In a hole in the ground there lived a hobbit,
Gardener thoughtful, in the ground digging,
from sunny Longbottom in the Southfarthing
Called Tobold Hornblower, to Bree he travelled,
Wondered what plants grow there, wanted to see them
Interesting herbs he saw growing up on the hill
Small seeds carried with him back to Southfarthing
Planted them in his garden, from pests protected
With harvest plentiful was he rewarded
Leaves he lay in the sun, left them to dry there
Thinking to make a tea, then try and taste it
But as he brought the leaves to kettle boiling
Some of them slipped on the coals smoldering
As Tobold smelled the smoke, he smiled broadly
Better than boiling them were the leaves burning
He pondered it and fashioned a pipe from prune wood
So he could smoke the leaves, sweet and refreshing
Pipe-weed he called the plant, plenty he planted
Since then the Hobbits hold in high esteem
The art of smoking, by Old Toby discovered.
-o-
A/N: Written for this task of Tolkien Mailing Competition (TLV by the Hungarian acronym):
Topic: a story set in The Shire, starring any known or unknown hobbit character;
Form: serious style, alliterative verse (I know that has a lot of other rules but here all what is expected is to have at least two or three alliterating word in every line).