The Hobbit
"Well, hello!" Arwen calls to him. He looks up in surprise
and a bright smile spreads itself across his rumpled, chubby face.
"I haven't seen you in a long time! It is good to see you!"
"Arwen, my dear friend!" She moves to shake his hand, and he
wrings it in obvious pleasure. "How long has it been?" Arwen
steps backwards, and he jumps off his bench. To your surprise he runs
up and hugs her knee. She gently bends down and gives him a hug.
"Here," says Arwen, "I would like you to meet
someone." She turns to you, and you see a smile is forming on her
rosy lips. "This is Eredwhen. She arrived just this
morning."
"Pleased to meet you Mr...?" you pause, unsure of who this
new person, who is obviously a hobbit, might be.
"Baggins, Bilbo Baggins. Pleased to meet you too." He wrings
your hand, very hard, and bobs his snowy-white head.
"I think I'll leave you two alone, to get better
acquainted," says Arwen Undomiel with a half-smile, and looks at
you mysteriously. She walks around the corner, the edges of her dress
floating along behind her, and she then disappears.
"What are you writing?" you ask, looking curiously at the
fat little book that he holds.
"Oh, nothing." He glances down at it. "It's just a book
about all my adventures. Though, I don't know what I shall call
it." He hands you the bbok and you flip through the pages.
"I think," you begin, "you should title it 'The Red
Book of the Westmarch.' By Bilbo Baggins."
"You know, I think that's what I'll call it." He grins a
toothy smile at you, and scribbles something down in the dog-eared
pages.
From then on, you and Bilbo become the best of friends.
A short, elderly hobbit sitting on one of the benches. His cropped
hair is curly and white, and bright blue eyes shine out merrily in his
wrinkled little face. He swings his feet gleefully, and for one second
you think he looks rather like a happy child. He is apparently writing
in a fat little book that he holds in his crumpled hands, and he hums
to himself a jolly little tune.
