Bilbo and I Climb a Tree

Thorin cried with distress,

"Is there no end to this old cursed forest?! Someone please climb a tree and try to reach the top so they can have a look around!" Everyone looked at Bilbo and then they looked at me.

"Four eyes are better than two, right?" Kili said. 

"And two heads are better than one," Fili added. I dropped my shoulders and found an oak tree that was close to the road. I jumped, struggled, and pulled myself onto the lowest branch.

"Come on, Bilbo. We've got work to do," I sighed. He sighed too and I helped him up on the branch. I had to quickly jump to the next one because I feared the branch would break. I climbed my way up very quickly and very easily. Every time I would stop, I would hear lots of whipping and "ow!"s that came from Bilbo. I guessed that branches kept on whipping him in the eyes. From experience, I know what the pain feels like. 

I would throw in an occasional, "Are you okay, Bilbo?" and I would get no answer. I didn't want to get to the top before him and wait. So I waited a couple braches below the top.

"You can make it! You're almsot there!" I encouraged. By the time he got to me, he was red in the face and sweating. 

"Are there any spiders up here?" he asked panicking.

"Most likely... but you can just swat them," I replied. He sighed... but no one likes spiders, right? We climbed to the very top together and peeked our heads through the leaves and tangled branches. We did find some spiders when we pushed through the once undisturbed branches. We squinted because the light nearly blinded us from the darkness of the forest. We heard the dwarves shouting at us but we were so high up that we couldn't understand what they were saying. We waited a long time before we could fully open our eyes. When we were able to, we stared at a huge dark green sea full of trees. There were also many butterflies; they were kind of like purple emporers but they weren't purple at all. They were like black velvet and they had no markings on them.

"Wow..." I sighed with happiness, "I could stay here forever!"

"Me too... and that would mean I would never have to climb down! I wonder how I am going to do that?" Bilbo said aloud.

"Don't worry. We'll figure that out when the time comes. For now, we have a job to do remember?" I replied.

"Yes, sadly you are right," he sighed. We looked around in all directions and saw no sign of an ending of the forest.

"This forest goes on forever! And we'll never find the end!" he cried.

"Don't give up hope! You never know what will come about. There may be something that doesn't meet the eye. For now, we better go down and let the dwarves know what we have found and seen," I said.

"Perhaps you are right," he agreed. I climbed down and he followed me as best as he could. I went along very quickly and was down with the dwarves in no time.

"Where is Mr. Baggins?" they asked.

"I thought he was right behind me," I answered. A panting Bilbo jumped down from the last branch with a thump.

We Are Still in Mirkwood

We sat for a long time and did not move. I was dying to do something. It was one of the worst moments of Mirkwood. Some white deer appeared on the path ahead; there was a doe and a fawn as white as the hart had been black. Three dwarves immediately stood on their feet and shot arrows from their bows, although they had no mark of where they were aiming. The deer turned and disappeared back into the wood as silently as they had come. The dwarves shot more arrows after them.

"Stop! STOP!" Thorin shouted. But it was too late; they had wasted the rest of their arrows and the bows Beorn had given them were useless. Now they had to depend on me to be on my toes and be the archer. 

"Maybe they could learn to trust me now that they have no other option. At least, that's good I guess," I thought to myself. That night we were a very depressed party and the depression became more engraved on us as the days passed. The path beyond the stream wandered just as it had before and there was no change in the forest that we could see. If only I could have told them that we were reaching the eastern edge, then it would have been so much easier. 

Gandalf warned me at the beginning, before the gathering at Bilbo's house so long ago,

"It would be wise to keep your head while trying to help. It is possible that if you would say something, it could change the entire journey. I will ask for permission for you to join but be aware!" So I didn't say anything... well, I didn't say anything that could change the course of the story. If they had known and kept their hope and spirits up, we would have reached the near end, where there was thinner and less trees and sunlight came again. But sadly they did not know this and they did not keep their hope and spirits high. And we were also burdened with Bombur. It took four dwarves at a time to carry him, as best they could, and the others carried the four bags. If the bags had not been lighter, I don't know how we could have managed it. Although helping to carry Bombur was a sad exchange for bags filled with food, no matter how heavy the bag was. In a few days, we would be left with nothing to eat or drink. Nothing grew in the forest that was suitable for anyone or anything to eat.

Our Embark on the River and Afterwards

Bilbo spoke up and asked something that troubled all of us,

"How will we get to the other side if we don't have any oars?"

"Give me another hook and a longer piece of rope," Kili replied. When he had it ready in his hands, he threw it as far and as high with all of his strength. We listened very intently; there was not a sound in the water. We guessed that it had gotten caught on a branch in a tree on the other side.

"Someone that is going in the boat should pull the rope that is stuck in the tree to pull the boat. And another that will stay on this side should hold the rope that is tied to the boat loosely, so that when we are off they can draw the boat back," Kili explained. In this way, we were all safely on the other side. I got out of the boat and helped Bilbo out.

"Good job," I said to Kili.

"Thanks," he replied.

"Did you just say 'thanks'? I didn't think you knew that word," I laughed. 

"And I didn't know you knew the words 'Good job'," he laughed in return.

"Okay, you got me," I said. Dwalin had just climbed out of the boat with the rope comfortably wrapped around his arm. Bombur was getting ready to climb out after him when I heard something. The dwarves started to talk again.

"Shhh... listen," I whispered. On the path ahead, we heard the sound of hooves. Out of the darkness I was facing, the shape of a flying deer became visible to my eyes. I was standing next to Bilbo when I saw it. I stepped aside and pulled him with me to get out of the way of the deer's landing. The deer landed in the middle of the dwarves and knocked them all down.

"Ouch," I said as I cringed. Bilbo and I helped everyone to their feet. The deer then leapt from the bank and over the water. Luckily, Thorin had seen the deer too. He also had stepped aside and fitted an arrow to his bow. He sent the arrow into the beast as it jumped. We heard it stumble on the opposite bank. 

Before we could praise Thorin for his shot, Bilbo wailed,

"Bombur! He's drowning! QUICK!" Sadly, it was true. Poor Bombur had one foot on land and the other was with him underwater. The deer had landed on him and bounced up again. Stumbling, he had thrust the boat away from the bank. Then he toppled backwards into the water with his hands slipping on the slimy roots when trying to regain his balance. The boat was slowly swept away with the current and disappeared from our sight. Above the water we could still see his hood bobbing up and down when we reached the bank. They quickly hurled a rope with a hook to him. His hand caught it and the dwarves heaved to pull Bombur to shore. When he came to shore we found him asleep with a big smile on his face. His whole body was completely soaked and his grip on the rope was so tight they couldn't retrieve it from his grasp. And we were not successful with our many attempts to wake him up either.

"That's probably the enchantment..." I told Bilbo. The dwarves stood over him grumbling about their bad luck, Bombur's clumsiness, and the loss of the boat. 

You may be wondering,

"Why would they need a boat? They already crossed the river..." Well, when Thorin shot the deer we were hoping that we could go back and bring it to the side we were on. But when we lost the boat, we lost the deer too. After much thinking, there was a silent moment. We heard the sound of a dim blowing of horns somewhere in the wood. We sat down and listened to what seemed like the noise of a great hunt, though we saw no sign of it.

Mirkwood (continued)

One day, in the middle of another march, I called a halt.

"What are you doing? Why did we stop?" the dwarves asked. 

"Can't you hear it? There is a river blocking the path. I think it is the one Beorn warned us about," I answered. Thorin pushed through the line to the front where Bilbo and I were standing, shoulder to shoulder. The river was black in appearance and it was flowing very fast. In the river, by the bank we were on, stood old, broken wooden posts.

"There must have been a bridge here before..." Bilbo guessed. The dwarves sat down in their places and tried to think of a way to get across without getting wet. Bilbo and I knelt down on the shore of the river. He squinted his eyes; I thought he saw something. He called out to the dwarves and they all came in a flash.

"I think I see a boat! Oh, why couldn't it be on this side?" Bilbo said sadly.

"How far away do you think it is, Bilbo?" asked Thorin.

"Not very far. Maybe twelve yards at the most," Bilbo answered.

"Twelve yards?! I thought it was at least thirty. Alas, my eyes aren't as sharp as they used to be. Well, we can't jump and we certainly wouldn't dare try to wade or swim. Wait a moment, do we have a rope?" Thorin said. Bofur got his bag and pulled out a hook and a random piece of rope that was rolled up in a little ball. He attached a hook on one end of the rope and handed it to Thorin.

"What good would that be? Even if it did hook on (which I doubt), it is probably tied up or something," said Balin.

"I don't think it's tied," said Bilbo, "but I can't be positive with such little light. It appears to me that it is merely drawn onto the bank."

Thorin budged in,

"Dwalin is the strongest, maybe he can throw the hook. Although Kili is the youngest and has the best sight out of all the dwarves. Kili, come here and see if you can see the boat Mr. Baggins is talking about." Kili came to the front, stared for a long while, and said he saw the boat. Once he knew where the boat was at, he called for the rope and threw it. Splash! the rope fell in the water.

"You almost made it! A couple more yards and you would have hooked on. Bring the hook back and try again! I'm pretty sure a bit of wet rope wouldn't cause any harm," Bilbo encouraged. Kili had the hook in his hand again. And when he threw it, everyone held their breath. We all waited to hear a splash but it never came. We all breathed again with relief. Kili gently pulled and it didn't move. He tugged on the rope; soon Fili, Oin, and Gloin were tugging the rope too. Bilbo was watching very carefully at the rope. Suddenly, the dwarves fell back and the hook came flying back with a chunk of the boat. Bilbo caught just before it whacked someone in the eye. The boat started to float away but luckily Balin caught in just in time.

"Now that we have the boat, who's going to cross first?" Bilbo asked.

"You, Fawnabelle, and I will cross first with Kili and Balin. Then Fili, Oin, Gloin, and Dori; after them Ori, Nori, Bifur, and Bofur; and the last ones will be Dwalin and Bombur," Thorin explained.

"Why do I always have to be the last? It's not fair, someone else should be the last one," Bombur complained.

"Well, you shouldn't be so fat! You must be the lightest and last boatload. Don't argue against orders or we'll get ill luck," Thorin replied. Bilbo and I exchanged looks and laughed silently.

Mirkwood

The path led to a gloomy tunnel that was made of two big trees that leaned toward each other. The trees were old and ivy looked as if they were strangling them and lichen dangled from every one of their branches. Curvy and narrow was the path among the tree trunks which we walked on. Soon, the light, from which we came, had turned into a teeny little dot. It was like a bright little hole that continued to shrink as we went deeper into the forest. It was so quiet that our footsteps sounded like loud thumping and no matter what we did to stop it, it remained the same. The trees seemed to lean over us and listen to the sound of our feet as we walked by. There was no sign of light although it was still daytime in the outside world. 

Every now and again, there would be a little beam of sunlight through a gap in the leaves above. But that stopped when we got deeper and the trees had fuller branches. Our eyes eventually got used to the darkness and we began to notice things that were beside us as we walked along the path. There were black squirrels but only Bilbo and I could see them. While we walked, we heard weird noises like scufflings and grunts. They sounded like they were coming from underground and near thick piles of leaves on the side of the path. The most frightening things we saw were the cobwebs. They were thick and often stretched from one tree to the other. They were also tangled in low branches and bushes. The webs did not touch or stretch across the path whatsoever.

"Why do you think they aren't disturbing the path?" I asked quietly.

"Maybe a spell is cast on the path so others can travel safely on it," Bilbo whispered.

"Well, I suppose... I can't think of any other reason why," I replied. It was not long at all before we all began to hate the forest and its darkness. It looked as if the forest had no end and it was hard, even for me, to see the bright side. We were all craving sunlight, the sky, and the air on our faces. We wanted to have at least a moment of fresh air and a glimpse of the outside world. Under the thick forest roof, there wasn't any air circulating for us to breathe. It was stuffy and still; nothing felt to have life in it. It felt like we were being suffocated, slowly but surely. The worst parts were the pitch-black nights. Every night, it was so dark that if you waved your hand in front of your face, you still wouldn't see anything. We stayed together during the night and took turns but I was not sleepy; I suppose my mind was busy thinking. Hobbits can notice things better than dwarves so I offered to be on the look-out almost every night. Bilbo would stay up with me for a little while but eventually fell asleep. Another thing that creeped me out was the eyes.

I saw them all around us and up in the trees. They were different colors like red, yellow, and green. The terrifying eyes would stare at us all throughout the night. But the same eyes would not glow forever. They would gleam for a little while and then fade. Then before you knew it, they had completely disappeared and another pair took its place in a different spot. The dwarves tried to have a fire going during the night so we could have some light. But it was in vain for it seemed that more eyes watched us than usual and the light drew giant moths and bats towards us. Some moths were almost as big as your hand and they came towards the fire in large numbers. The dwarves governed how much we could eat so we wouldn't run out so quickly. We all began to feel hungry continuously. I never ate much anyways, but I still was a little hungry. They tried to find something else in the forest that they could eat that was not poisonous.

There were squirrels and there was a lot of them; they figured one less squirrel in the forest wouldn't do any harm. And, I forgot to mention that Beorn had given some of the dwarves bows and quivers with arrows. They weren't enchanted like mine, but they had them. And might I also mention that they know how to use them but they aren't very good at it or not very good at all. But nonetheless, they tried their luck to shoot one down. They wasted almost all of their arrows and still did not have one. They asked me to try and I took one down in one shot. They didn't make a big stink out of it or say anything in gratitude. I don't know why they didn't ask me in the first place but I guess they were to proud to admit I could most likely get one before them. They made a valiant effort though, sort of. After I shot it, they roasted it and ate it. It smelled horrible when it was cooking and I did not want to take any chances with the taste of it. According to the dwarves, it did not taste good at all so we would never shoot another squirrel again.

Our Entrance Into Mirkwood

After Gandalf left, the dwarves talked among themselves. Bilbo and I still watched Gandalf ride out of sight. Bilbo took it really hard that he almost cried. I felt very bad for him.

"Come on, Bilbo. Let's go. The sooner we start, the sooner we can get out," I sighed. We joined the group again and we were ignored. He turned towards the middle of everyone.

"Ahem, excuse me," Bilbo peeped, "shouldn't we be going in right now?" He turned back to me.

"How are we going to go in if they aren't listening?" Bilbo asked me.

"Allow me," I replied. 

I cleared my throat and shouted, "EXCUSE ME!" They all stopped talking and turned to me.

"Thank you. I assume Gandalf has told you of the plan?" I asked. They all shrugged and shook their heads. I sighed; Gandalf did tell them, but I guess they weren't listening to him.

"Well, please allow me to inform you. He has asked me to look after everyone. But I am not the leader of this company, as you know. I am solely looking out for danger and making sure no one is off the path and other unimportant things like that. So, Thorin if you would please put everyone in an orderly single file line that would be very helpful," I explained.

"Well, you and Mr. Baggins may be in the front since you were assigned to 'look out for danger'. And then the rest can just mush in and yes, I believe that's about it. We're ready now. Please proceed, Miss Baggins," Thorin said. Kili and Fili snickered.

"Is something wrong?" I asked. I wanted so badly to get even with them.

"Nothing at all, Miss Baggins. We're ready to start walking. Try not to go too fast please," they answered.

"I never knew dwarves could be so sarcastic," I muttered. Bilbo caught it and tried not to laugh.

"Is something wrong, Miss Baggins?" Fili and Kili asked.

"I was wondering why you two are being so rude today," I answered. Then Bilbo laughed.

"Let us go!" I said joyfully. Sadly, Bilbo was the only one that appreciated my enthusiasm. Some of the dwarves did not like the idea of me leading the bunch especially Kili. I had hoped my positive energy would change their perspective but it didn't. The entrance to the forest was in the form of an arch. When I first faced the path to Mirkwood, I felt a cold breeze that sent a chill down my spine. But I didn't quit, I marched right in the face of that forest.

Gandalf's Farewell

The dreaded time had come. The dwarves despaired and panicked thinking the worst if he didn't accompany us. But nothing could change his mind; he mentioned some "pressing business" away in the south. He gave us a little pep talk and some happy and encouraging words. We unpacked the ponies and tried to distribute the luggage evenly. My pack was oddly very light. I feared they did it on purpose so after we ate our last meal with Gandalf before he left, I snuck some stuff out of Bilbo's bag and put it in mine. He was in a better mood and I was glad we were all equal. Bilbo wanted to leave home that instant; he even tried to get out of walking through the forest and asked if there was a way to go around it instead. Honestly, I wanted to go back to the Shire too. Don't get me wrong, not everyone can say they saw and did all the things we did and were going to do. Gandalf laughed at Bilbo's suggestion.

"You can't leave now! I need you to look after these dwarves for me..." he told Bilbo.

He glanced at me, called me over, and said to Bilbo and I, 

"Never mind, Bilbo. I suppose she'll do this assignment better than you will. You'll look after them, won't you?"

"Oh... of course. It'll be my pleasure. I'll do my best, Gandalf," I replied with a fake smile. When they walked away, I put my head in my hands and sighed.

"You've really got it this time. Those dwarves will be the end of you and your caring nature..." I paused and frowned, "Gee, how humble of myself to tell myself that I have a caring nature..." Gandalf said his last farewells and rode with the ponies out of our sight. I must admit I was really sad to see him go. He was, after all, my defender... my guide... and my dear friend (sniffle, sniffle). But enough of the dreary depressing part, let's get on with the action.

Our Arrival to Mirkwood

Beorn advised us not to take the main road to Mirkwood. He said that goblins used it to ambush people on the road and if we needed to run away from enemies, using the road would be more difficult. We rode for a long time in silence. I suppose everyone was thinking of the spooky stories of Mirkwood that Beorn told us. When the ground was flat and grassy, our horses galloped. Once we were miles from Beorn's house, shook off our gloomy attitudes, and forgot about the road ahead, we started to enjoy the ride. The dwarves went back to their old happy selves and talked and sang until we found our campground. I believe I slept the best out of the group besides Gandalf. I remember hearing tossing and turning when I did wake up every now and then. 

The next morning was bright and cheery. The air was fresh and there was thin blanket of mist hovering over the ground. But as soon as the scarlet colored sun rose in the east and the shadows were still on the ground, we started riding again. We rode for two more days and we saw nothing except trees, grass, flowers, and small groups of various animals. Sometimes I would see something big and black walking on the right or left of our little parade. I knew that I wasn't seeing things because Bilbo talked to Gandalf more than usual and tried to not let anyone hear. Gandalf got so annoyed from hearing him, he would only say: "Hush! Take no notice!" 

Finally, after our third morning of traveling, we could see Mirkwood as if it were getting ready to meet us. The earth beneath us began to slope up and up. It seemed that the closer we got, silence seemed to come over everything around us. As the hours went by, the birds sang less and we could not see any other animals. By that afternoon, we were standing in front of the old creepy forest.

"And here it is... Mirkwood. The greatest and largest forest of the Northern world. I hope you are enjoying its appearance so far. Now is the time to send these helpful ponies back to their master," Gandalf said cheerfully. And the dwarves groaned and grumbled at the thought of going inside with no means of transportation besides their own feet.

The wise wizard told the "fools" some advice,

"Beorn is nearer than you think. Mr. Baggins can testify to this, for he saw this with his own two eyes. He has been off in the distance watching us day and night. Not only to guard you, but to make sure that his precious ponies are safe and being well taken care of, which is true thanks to Fawn." I beamed with joy knowing that at least someone knew that I was doing something helpful for a change. Kili gave me a look; I think he was jealous. I don't know why but I think we had a little competition between ourselves on who did a better job and got praised the most. Thorin and the dwarves praised him while Bilbo and Gandalf praised me. I think Gandalf's praise beats all of the dwarves. Not that I wanted to win but it's true and he knew it.

Gandalf continued,

"He loves his animals like they are his children. Beorn can be friendly, but you do not know what kindness he has shown towards you all. Letting dwarves use and ride his ponies to Mirkwood! To think what would happen if you took them into the forest, I wouldn't dare." Thorin asked what Gandalf would do with his horse. Gandalf answered by saying that he would ride it back and make sure all the animals got there safely. Yes, he was departing from our company.

Our Departure From Beorn's

The next morning, Gandalf told Beorn our purpose for our journey. He figured Beorn would offer more assistance if he knew the reason. He promised us each a pony to ride and a horse for Gandalf. He let us take his ponies just as long as we let the ponies go when we got to Mirkwood. We were not allowed to take them into the forest. He also gave us food that would last for about four weeks or more. The food was packed so it would be easily carried. He gave us jars of nuts, honey, dried fruits, and a lots of packages of twice-baked cakes. These special cakes were one of Beorn's secret recipes. They were made with honey so it would overpower the "twice-baked" part and they tasted pretty good. He also gave us each a skin to carry water in. He called a meeting so he could tell us what to do and what not to do and answer any questions we had that he was able to answer.

"There is a stream or river in that forest," Beorn explained, "People from all around say it's enchanted. You can tell it is different from other water sources. Its appearance can tell you to stay away. The color of the water is black; so beware and do not touch, drink, walk, or swim in it."

"What would happen if we accidentally fell in or something like that?" Bilbo asked.

"No one knows what will happen if you touch it but I don't think you want to take that chance," Beorn advised, "You also must not, under any circumstance, stray off the path. I don't know everything that lies in that forest. But if you did leave the path, I'm almost certain you wouldn't find it again." When we finished our meeting with him, we feasted the rest of the day until late at night. The next day, we thanked him for his kindness towards us.

The dwarves bowed and swept their hoods many times while saying: 

"At your service, O master of the wide wooden halls!" 

I, in my opinion, think the dwarves didn't need to go that far. But in the end, we were all sad to leave such a comforting house. The whole day they were worried about the danger that was at hand. During our entire stay, I had been preparing myself for what I knew would happen. The next morning, I treated and groomed the ponies before our expedition to Mirkwood. Everyone put the bags outside on Beorn's front porch for me to load while they talked to Beorn. Soon after noon passed, we ate with Beorn for the last time and after the meal, we mounted our steeds and bid Beorn farewell. We rode through his front gate and onward towards Mirkwood.

When Beorn Came Back

I awoke that morning to find Beorn stepping over all the dwarves to get to Bilbo. When Beorn did reach him, he picked him up.

"Good morning, Mr. Baggins!" Beorn shouted. 

"Nice little bunny is getting fatter everyday on bread and honey! Glad to not be eaten by Wargs or goblins or wicked bears, I see," he chuckled as he poked at Bilbo's waistcoat. Beorn was very jolly for a change. We ate breakfast with him and he seemed to be in a very good and humorous mood. He told us stories so funny that we would keep talking about them for days to come. Beorn didn't wait for us to ask what he had done while he was out. He told us as soon as breakfast was over. And this is what I have quoted from the book:

"He had been over the river and right back up into the mountains- from which you can guess that he could travel quickly, in bear's shape at any rate. From the burnt wolf-glade, he had soon found out that part of their story was true; but he had found more than that. He had caught a Warg and a goblin wandering in the woods. From these he had got news: the goblin patrols were still hunting with Wargs for the dwarves, and they were fiercely angry because of the death of the Great Goblin. Also because of the burning of the chief wolf's nose and the death of many of his servants. So much they told him when he forced them, but he guessed there was more wickedness afoot. A great raid of the whole goblin army with their wolf-allies into the lands shadowed by the mountains might soon find the dwarves, or to take vengeance on the men and creatures that lived there and who they thought must be sheltering them."  

"Your story was a good one," said Beorn," but I like it even more so that I know for certain that it's true. You must forgive me for not taking your word. If you lived by Mirkwood, you wouldn't take anyone's words if they weren't your brother or closer. I hurried as fast as I could to see that you were all safe and offer my help to you as much as I can. Please believe that I will think and act more kindly towards dwarves after this. Killed the Great Goblin, killed the Great Goblin!" He chuckled to himself at the thought. 

"What did you do with the goblin and the Warg after you got their information?" Bilbo asked curiously.

"Come and see for yourself!" Beorn replied. We all followed Beorn around the undiscovered side of his house. In the front of the lawn of his entryway, there was a goblin's head stuck on a post connected to his gate. There was also a tree nearby that had a Warg's skin nailed to its trunk. Beorn was a fierce and dreaded enemy to all goblins and their allies. Now that he was our friend, we could get a lot of help and advice from him. He told us to go to bed early so we could help prepare for when we would be on our way to Mirkwood.

Gandalf Returns

Bilbo and I watched the bees buzz around in front of the left wing window. I had never been there before. I guessed that Bilbo explored the front of the house all on his own. From the left wing, you could also see the front gate. 

"So you're a Junior Protector of Nature? What's that? And how did you become that? And what can you do differently than normal hobbits?" he asked.

"Well, it's a pretty long story. I don't think we have enough time. Maybe we should wait for another day," I said with a little smirk.

"No no no! Can't you just tell me the short version or something? Please tell me, Fawn. Please?" Bilbo begged with puppy eyes.

"I don't know..." I sighed.

"Please just tell me the story," he replied quickly. So, in the end, I told him the story. He was happy that it ended with his birthday party. Soon, Beorn's animals shoved us to the hall and made everyone sit down and eat dinner. We had vegetable soup; it was similar to minestrone soup but this soup had the little pieces of rabbit that was left from lunch. It was really good considering that the animals put it together. All of a sudden, the front door opened. Gandalf walked through and sat down at the table and asked for a bowl of soup from one of the animals.

"Where is Beorn? And where have you been all day?" the dwarves asked immediately. 

"No questions at the moment please! I haven't had a single bite since this morning's breakfast," Gandalf responded quickly. We all finished dinner and waited for Gandalf's tale of where he had been. 

When he had eaten to his content, he finally said to them,

"I shall answer your second question first..." But he didn't finish his sentence. He took out his pipe and started to blow smoke-rings. It nearly drove the dwarves crazy. He left them waiting for a long time. He finally answered them after about half an hour.

Gandalf explained to them,

"I have been trying to pick out bear tracks. There must have been a bears' meeting outside last night. I know for certain that Beorn didn't make all of those prints by himself. There were many sizes of prints and that is why I assumed that there was a meeting. They came from every direction. But none came from the west over the river to the mountains. In that direction, one set of footprints led."

He paused then continued again,

"I believe they were Beorn's and this is my evidence. They led to the Carrock and went into the river. It was far too deep for me to cross so I had to walk down the river until I found a spot shallow enough. Once I had waded across the river, I walked back up the river again to find the tracks. I followed the tracks to where we had our little party with the Wargs. Now that I think about it, I believe I have finally answered your first question as well." He sat for a moment in reflection. Bilbo assumed he knew what Gandalf was thinking.

Bilbo stood up and cried,

"What shall we do now? What if he leads the Wargs and goblins here to kill us all? I thought he was our friend not their friend."

"Don't be ridiculous, Mr. Baggins! Go to sleep if you are going to talk nonsense!" Gandalf yelled. He did go to bed and he did fall asleep. Now I had an excuse to leave early so I didn't have to hear their drowsy singing. It had been a very long and exhausting day.

Bilbo's Tour

When I entered the room, everyone stopped talking and froze. 

"Where were you? Where's Gandalf?" they asked.

"Firstly, I was outside enjoying the silence. Secondly, how would I know where Gandalf was? If I were with him, I wouldn't be here talking to all of you. I didn't see him when I woke up this morning, if you would like to know," I answered. They huffed and went back to their conversations. I went to the kitchen and looked for the leftovers. There were hardly any left. There was a little bit of rabbit and the rest was salad which dwarves don't like one single bit. Rabbit salad did not sound at all appealing so I just had plain salad with a lemon oil dressing. It tasted good and I was satisfied with only one plate. I tried to stay away from them because I didn't feel like answering questions. I can never understand why dwarves ask so many of them. 

Bilbo was hardly being entertained so when he saw me go out of the hall and into the other room, he snuck away and followed me. He tapped me on the shoulder and I jumped. 

"Do you think you could show my Beorn's garden? I'm interested of what he has in his vegetable beds," he asked curiously.

"I would be honored," I affirmed.

"Lead the way please, Fawn," Bilbo said happily. I smiled and led him to the stables. 

"These are Beorn's stables. He has many horses and ponies kept here," I explained. He looked at everything. He was trying very hard to keep up with me. I was walking at a regular pace but he kept getting distracted. 

"And here is a little field where his rabbits and deer roam. You have to keep quiet though or they'll get frightened. Look, a rabbit is coming this way," I whispered. We knelt down and the little bunny sniffed Bilbo's hand. Then the funniest thing happened, a doe came up behind Bilbo and tickled him with her wet nose. He jumped when he felt her cold nose! I laughed and the doe ran away. Then we laughed together and kept walking through the field. 

"This is a sack full of seeds. There are seeds for planting and seeds for his birds. Why don't you give some to the birds," I encouraged him.

"Do you really think it's a good idea? I mean do you think he'll notice that seeds are missing?" he asked nervously, "I would hate to make him angry."

"Don't worry, I've done it before. It makes the birds very happy. I'm pretty sure he wouldn't be mad because his birds are happy," I assured him. He took a pinch and sprinkled it on the dirt path in front of us. Three blue birds came and pecked the seeds and ate them in a jiffy. The birds flew away and we entered the garden.

"Is this all his?" Bilbo asked.

"Yes, he has many fruits and vegetables that he grows himself," I answered. He looked and wrote down each name. He was interested in his veggies and how it was so tasty. I suppose he wanted to know how Beorn got his produce to be so productive.

"Is there anything else?" he asked.

"Uh... no... there isn't. I mean, there is but I don't think you want to see it. I think we should go back inside. It's going to get dark soon and it will soon be dinnertime," I stammered. 

"Okay, well can you at least tell me what the thing is?" Bilbo asked.

"Beorn owns many honeybees. That's where he gets his delicious honey. But they aren't like regular honeybees. You see, they're larger than regular ones and they are a little frightening to look at. So, that's why I figured you wouldn't want to see them," I said as quickly as possible.

"Oh, well why didn't you say so? I can probably see them from the left wing window inside the house. Let's go back, it's getting a little breezy anyway," he answered. We walked back to the house and waited in the left wing until the dwarves were finished talking.

My Exploration of Beorn's Backyard

Once I hadn't heard them in the room anymore, I looked up and saw a white horse standing above me. Looking down at me, he twisted his head in curiosity. I sat down on his stack of hay for a moment. I sighed; it felt good to be in the silence. Usually, breakfast was one of the loudest and most talkative meals of the day. Especially because they didn't have to eat lembas. I stood up and pet the horse. I looked around to find more horses in the stables. I walked through the stables toward an exit door.

"Beorn must own a lot of animals," I thought to myself, "I guess they keep him company."

I left the stables and walked through a little field of tiny colorful flowers. The field was surrounded by white wooden posts. There were rabbits and deer walking around the field sniffing the flowers and eating the grass. I walked slowly and silently so I wouldn't scare them away. They all seemed so happy and calm and without a care. I found a sack in front of the posts where the field ended. It had seeds of plants as well as seeds that birds like to eat. I took a handful and scattered it on the dirt path which led to a garden. It had a white wooden gate. The garden was also enclosed with the same white wooden posts as the field. Beorn had several beds of vegetables, buckets with grapevines, and a mini orchard of fruit trees in his garden. The grapevines grew over the posts and covered them with their big leaves. When I walked out of the garden, I froze. There were many types of trees that had beehives on their branches. There were dozens and dozens of bees buzzing around. They were larger than regular honeybees that you've seen. They weren't monstrously huge but big enough to frighten me. I walked backwards very slowly and when I felt the garden gate I hurried behind it.

I know they're just bees but if you had seen them I bet you would have screamed with terror. Well, maybe I like to exaggerate but it was still pretty scary. I decided maybe it was time to go back inside. It was lunchtime and I was pretty hungry. At least I got to know what was back there. So I retraced my steps and was back in the stables. I went through the door and found them in the hall talking very loudly again.

"Oh boy, I'm in for it. I wonder how many questions they'll ask me. I hope they didn't even notice I was even gone," I said aloud as I reached for the doorknob.

The Next Morning

When I woke up the next morning, it felt as if I had only slept a wink. I just sat up and opened my eyes. It was a little startling to just wake up suddenly like that. Anyway, I looked around for the dwarves. They were all still asleep. Gandalf was walking out the door when I went to the kitchen to find something to eat. There was nothing there so I decided to check the hall instead. On the table, there were platters with eggs and different varieties of fruit and bread with little saucers of honey. There were pitchers of water for tea and barrels of ale. I boiled half a kettle of water for my tea. It wasn't the best breakfast but I was full after I finished. 

I snooped through everyone's bags for a little pocket knife. I found one in Bifur's bag; thank goodness he had a lot of things for emergencies. I was going to put it back before any of them got up. Besides, it's not like I was going to use it for a bad purpose. I was bored so I used the knife to sharpen my arrows. You may have remembered that I have never used any of the arrows except the very beginning. Like I said earlier, I was bored. Bilbo wasn't even awake yet and he gets up earlier than I do some days. Besides, he is honestly the only one that I can talk to. So I sharpened my arrows quietly on a stool in the hall.

I eventually got bored of that too and decided to look around. I put Bifur's knife back and when I started to exit the room, Fili woke up. Kili woke up almost instantly after Fili did. Out the window went my adventure exploring Beorn's house. I couldn't just go around looking at everything while they were awake. They already didn't trust me very well. So I was stuck with the dwarves... again. I went back to the hall and looked out of the gigantic window on the left side of the room. I could see his honeybees and his garden and his stables. It was rather peaceful to look at. Then it struck me... it was daytime wasn't it? Gandalf said we couldn't go out at night; but it wasn't night. So I could go out and look around outside! Of course, I couldn't touch anything outside. But at least I wouldn't be bored. 

I was interrupted when Fili and Kili came into the room. I pretended to ignore them but they came up to me. 

"Where's the food?" they asked.

"Uh... on the table? On those huge platters that are the first things you see when you enter the room?" I answered sarcastically. Then before they could answer, we heard a huge yawn. The rest of them were waking up. 

"Um, thanks?" Kili said as Fili walked away and left him.

"You're welcome," I replied as he walked away to join Fili at the table. Now that they knew where the food was, maybe this would be my chance to escape. I snuck away from the hall and went out the back door which led to the stables.

Beorn's House

We walked down a path towards Beorn's house. Some pretty horses came to us, inspected us, and then galloped away to tell Beorn that he had visitors. We kept walking on the path and came to Beorn's courtyard where he was standing.

"What do you want and who are you?" Beorn questioned.

"I am Gandalf," the wizard replied.

Beorn growled lowly,

"Never heard of you before. And what are these?" He stooped and looked at Bilbo and I.

"These are hobbits, this is Mr. Bilbo Baggins and Miss Fawnabelle Baggins. I don't know if you knew this but she is a Junior Protector of Nature," Gandalf answered. Bilbo looked at Gandalf with confusion; I hadn't told him the whole bird and training thing yet. I lived with him for two days and the time before that, well, it never came up.

"Is she now? Well, I'm glad someone here will have something in common with me," he said happily.

"Pleased to meet you, Beorn. You're a Protector of Nature too?" I asked as I curtsied. Bilbo bowed but came up quickly because he saw and remembered his missing buttons from his waistcoat. 

"Of course! That is precisely why I own so many animals," Beorn explained.

Gandalf talked away and tried to interest Beorn in our journey so far. Once it had caught Beorn's curiosity, he invited the three of us inside his house so he could hear the rest of the tale. When Beorn sat us down, Gandalf kept talking while Bilbo and I looked out the window pretending to listen. Every once in a while, we would chime in and give our own little side to it and Gandalf would continue again. After a few whistles by Gandalf, everyone was inside and listening to the story. They came in orderly pairs and this was the order: Thorin and Dori, Nori and Ori, Balin and Dwalin, Fili and Kili, Oin and Gloin, Bifur and Bofur, and lastly Bombur, who counted as two because as they said he was too fat to count as one. At the end of the tale, Beorn invited us to stay for dinner and rest at his house tonight and we all gladly accepted. 

After he heard the response, he clapped his huge hands together and his animals got the hall and table ready for us to eat. We did not have a fine dinner like this since Elrond's house. While we ate, Beorn told stories about Mirkwood, as well as the other spooky lands neighboring his home. All the dwarves looked to each other and shook their heads. They knew we would have to go through the terrifying places to continue towards the Lonely Mountain. When he was finished with his tales, the dwarves began to tell some of their own. It was mostly about how much gold there was in the mountain and how rich they used to be and other boring stuff similar to that. 

Meanwhile they said their own share of stories, Beorn seemed to be dozing off and nodding his head. I would have chuckled to myself but it isn't polite to laugh at how others sleep so I was stuck listening to the dwarves. Soon I noticed that Beorn wasn't in the room anymore. The dwarves kept talking and talking until they decided to sing. Oh my goodness, you couldn't believe how tiring it was to keep my eyes open! I was getting so sleepy like they were casting spells on me and it was horrible. All of a sudden, I realized they had stopped singing, which was a huge relief. I was practically half asleep. Gandalf had us go to bed after we cleaned up a little bit. He told us that if we should wake up in the middle of the night that we should not go outside until the sun was out again. Then my head hit my pillow and I fell fast asleep.

Our Walk to Beorn's

When we landed on the Carrock, Gandalf told us he would leave us soon. Everyone tried to convince to stay. 

But in the end, he told us,

"I am not going to leave you this second. I will stay with you a day or two more. We have no supplies and you don't know where you are. You are a few miles from the path you must take to journey onward. There is someone I know who lives alone not far from here. He can be generous if we don't upset him. We must go and find him quickly; and if our meeting goes as planned, I believe I shall be off." They started to beg him again but he would not change his mind. They even tried to bribe him with a share in the treasure. 

Once they accepted the fact that he would leave, I walked onward to look ahead. They had planned to wash in the river and I wanted to take a break away from them and clear my head. I walked through a field of long green grass and down lines and lines of oak and elm trees. There were birds singing in the trees and I watched them. Then I climbed the last elm in the lines of trees and stopped to think to myself.

And I thought,

"Hmm, let's see. Not the spiders, not Mirkwood..."

"Beorn! We're going to Beorn's! Yay! I'm so excited!" I squealed happily. Beorn is one of my favorite characters. I figured it out just in time too. They were walking towards the trees. I jumped from the tree and waited for them to come. Bilbo was talking to Gandalf; he was probably asking questions. The dwarves interrupted by asking more questions.

Upset, Gandalf explained sternly,

"If you must know, the man I speak of is a skin-changer, he is very strong and tall, and his name is..."

"Beorn," I interrupted out loud.

"How did you know that?" the dwarves asked suspiciously.

"Um... I... Gandalf told me about him when we were talking with Gwaihir," I answered quickly. Luckily, almost everyone believed me. Fili and Kili were the only ones who suspected something. They kept a close eye on me from that point on. They all went back to asking more and more questions and Gandalf answered them as calmly as he possibly could. Dwarves! Why can't they ever be satisfied?

Once they had stopped asking questions, I walked to the front to see if Gandalf had any questions for me. In the middle of the afternoon, we saw plenty of signs that told us that we were close to Beorn's. 

"Brilliant work covering yourself up back there," he winked.

"Thanks," I smiled. "Fili and Kili are onto me. It's so difficult to keep a secret."

"Don't worry, they'll give up eventually. Are you excited to see Beorn?" Gandalf asked.

"Yes, I have been excited ever since I knew," I replied happily.

"And when did you figure it out?" he asked.

"When I climbed the elm and thought to myself," I answered.

"So, the plan is that you, Bilbo, and I will see Beorn first. Then, all the dwarves will follow in pairs," he explained. We walked a few minutes more. Once we arrived at the front gate, Gandalf told them the plan. After they understood, we pushed the gate open.

My Ride on Elwind

When we left that morning, we got to climb on the eagles' backs. We would ride them to the Carrock where we would be dropped off. It felt awkward to ride an eagle while its huge wings are flapping. Also there's nothing to hold onto like a western saddle. Gwaihir the Windlord wasn't expecting that many of us. This young eagle flew to him very quickly and offered his assistance.

"Absolutely not! You are far too inexperienced and reckless. I don't want anyone getting hurt or scared out of their feathers. I'm sorry but you will have to go now," Gwaihir told the youngling. The young eagle walked away very disappointed and began to get ready to leave. I felt so sad for the poor thing so I called him over.

"What's your name?" I asked.

"Elwind," he answered.

"Pleased to meet you, Elwind. I'm Fawnabelle. I know what you're feeling right now. Nobody wanted me to come on this journey either but Gandalf helped me," I said. But he still looked sad.

"Thank you for the kind words, Fawnabelle. But I'm afraid they won't help me. I've never seen any eagle convince Gwaihir anything," he replied gloomily.

"Maybe an eagle can't persuade him. But I might," I offered.

"You'd do that?! For me?! That's very nice of you, Fawnabelle," Elwind said.

"Well, I'm the one who doesn't have a ride so if I can convince Gwaihir then I'll probably be riding you," I explained. I walked over to Gwaihir and asked him to allow Elwind to take me. He was reluctant but he agreed. So I boarded Elwind and we took off.

"Can you do any tricks?" I asked curiously.

"Of course! Hold on," he replied excitedly. I held on tight and we flew in a loop!

"That's nothing! Ready?!" Elwind asked. 

"Let's do this," I replied. He sped up and we dove down near the water that was underneath us. I looked down at the water and saw my reflection. Then, he twisted upwards back with the group. After that, we zig-zagged between the other eagles then to the back of the line again. And that time, he looped around every eagle in front of us! Finally, he finished it off with a corkscrew loop! It was so much fun! Then I spotted Bilbo in front of us. He looked really nervous.

"Do you go think I could talk my cousin? He's on the eagle in front of us," I asked.

"Sure," he answered. We flew over to Bilbo. He had his head down resting on the eagle's feathery back.

"Are you feeling alright, Bilbo?" I asked happily. He didn't say anything; he just shook his head "no".

"We're almost there. Don't worry," I assured him. Then Elwind and I flew to the back of the line where we started. 

"We're about to land," Elwind said to me.

"Thank you so much. That was really fun!" I told him.

"And thank you for asking me to do it!" he replied. The eagles started to fly in a big circle. They circled down to the Carrock and dropped us off. 

The Eagles

I looked to Gandalf to see what his plan was. He looked as if he were going to jump down from his high branch. In the distance, I saw something flying towards us. It got closer and closer, then I saw it clearly. It was an eagle! He grabbed Gandalf in his claws and flew away. We finally had a chance of survival. 

Soon, other eagles came and carried us away from the fire. I was the next one to be picked up by an eagle because I was at the highest branch on our tree. Bilbo was almost left behind. He grabbed Dori's legs just before he had fully left. We flew and flew for a while before we got to feel the ground. Gandalf and I were laid on the shelf of rock connected to the mountainside. 

We stood up and we met the Lord of the Eagles. He introduced me to him and Gandalf talked to him. I just stood there listening to their conversation in awe of the great eagle. He looked much better in real life than in the movies. I wanted to touch his silky feathers.

"Do you think you could take us to the path in those plains?" Gandalf asked. 

"The men that live in those plains would shoot us down. I'm sorry but we cannot take that risk. But, we may land you on the Carrock," the eagle replied.

Everyone just arrived on the shelf when Gandalf said,

"Thank you. We are very grateful. In the meantime, do you have anything for us to eat? We are very hungry."

"I'm nearly dead of it," I heard Bilbo mutter.

"We can fix that," the Lord answered. Thorin's company made a nice little fire on the ledge that night. The Lord sent some of the other eagles to fetch a couple rabbits, hares, and a small sheep. Bilbo couldn't help because he was still scared from the ride over there. The only thing he did was eat. I did almost all of the work but Ori helped a little. The next morning, we were to fly to the Carrock. 

Out of the Frying Pan and Into the Fire

We waited a few moments and suddenly a little voice said,

"And here's your burglar!" They all jumped in surprise and shock. I had no doubt in Bilbo, but obviously everyone else did. Everybody asked about where he had gone and how he escaped. He explained everything to them, except he didn't mention the Ring. Although I knew what had happened, I asked him questions too. The dwarves treated him with more respect. I suppose he had proved himself to them. 

Unfortunately, they didn't change their perspective about me. They also asked how Gandalf and I weren't captured, how he made the tower of smoke appear, and other things like that. We started to walk onward just in case the goblins came running after us. The goblins had taken our ponies so we were stuck walking. Surprisingly, the shoes that I was wearing were very comfortable. So luckily, I wasn't complaining. 

We came to a clearing with a few trees and noticed we were hungry and that there wasn't much food to go around. The moon was shining and the sky was clear. No trouble seemed to come our way tonight. But, out of nowhere, we heard a very loud howl. That howl was answered by another two howls. More and more howls answered and we heard them coming closer to where we were. 

"What are we going to do?" Bilbo panicked. 

"Into the trees!" Gandalf yelled. "And hurry!" I almost said the saying "out of the frying pan and into the fire", but I'm pretty sure it wasn't invented yet. We all climbed different trees. Fili, Kili, and I were in a tall larch tree. Dori, Nori, Ori, Oin, and Gloin were in a humongous pine tree. Bifur, Bofur, Bombur and Thorin were in another pine. Dwalin, and Balin were in a fir tree and Gandalf was in the farthest and tallest tree in the glade by himself. I kept climbing until I reached the tallest and sturdiest branch I could find. Bilbo was still not in a tree yet and kept running around trying to see if he could jump up and someone would grab him. But he had no luck. Dori had to climb down, get Bilbo up in the tree, and then climb back up again.

Finally, we were all safe, sort of. While we were in the trees, Wargs came to the clearing and had a meeting. Gandalf and I were the only ones who could understand what they were saying. I couldn't translate very well because protectors of nature only understand good creatures. But what I did understand was not very good news. The goblins were supposed to meet the Wargs and attack the villagers (and us!). Once Gandalf heard this, he grabbed a pine cone. And with his staff, he created sparks which lit the pine cone on fire. Then he threw it at the wolves to create a diversion. After he had thrown some more pine cones, the grass caught on fire. The wolves started to have sparks on their coats and they had caught fire. There was lots of yelping and running. We cheered for Gandalf for thinking of such a remarkable idea. To keep the fire going, the rest of them started to throw unlit pine cones so it could light when it hit the ground. But they had taken it too far. 

Soon, the grass was burning towards the trees where we were in! One by one, the trees in front of us were starting to catch on fire. Now, we were in deep trouble.

The Goblins Cave

All of a sudden, a huge crack was in the middle of everyone. Then big ugly goblins jumped out of the crack. There were a lot of them. And by a lot, I mean about six to each of us. I ran to Gandalf and we stood side by side, ready to fight them off. The dwarves and Bilbo were carried off into the crack. Twelve goblins surrounded us and I didn't make a move or a sound. Gandalf shot a bolt of lightning from his staff that killed all the goblins around us.

"Gandalf, we have to save them!" I exclaimed.

"I know, Fawn," he replied calmly. "Hold on tight to my staff and stay quiet..." I grabbed his staff and we slipped through the crack right before it closed. We followed them silently in the shadows and we were not seen by anyone. Gandalf made a tower of blue smoke and all the lights went out. We ran to the center and Gandalf stabbed the Great Goblin with his sword, Glamdring. The goblin king fell dead and Gandalf hurried everyone out of the commotion. It was completely dark but Gandalf lit his staff and led us to a tunnel. Gandalf freed the dwarves and Bilbo, who were in chains. Gandalf did a head count; we were all together. I stayed behind Gandalf instead of with Bilbo because I knew he was about to separate with the group and meet Gollum. I didn't want to interfere with the story. 

We started to run again and we heard goblins crying, "Biter and Beater!" over and over again. These were the nicknames the goblins had for these ancient swords Gandalf and Thorin were holding. My bow was of no use for I couldn't see a thing. Soon, Gandalf led us out of the mountain and did another head count. Then he noticed Bilbo was missing. Dori had been carrying him because he couldn't keep up with all the running. 

"A goblin grabbed my legs from behind and I stumbled. I hurried away to get back with the group. I thought he was behind me..." Dori explained. Gandalf was pretty upset with him. I had to do something before Gandalf's yelling caused a different argument.

"There's no use arguing, Gandalf. I say we give Bilbo a little time. He'll show up eventually," I told him.

"And how do you know for certain? That burglar can't even run fast enough to keep up with everyone. I doubt he could outrun a goblin," Thorin said plainly. 

"Trust me, I know Bilbo. Give him a chance," I replied. After much convincing, they agreed to wait and see if he showed up. But that still didn't stop Gandalf arguing with Dori for dropping him. 

The Storm on the Mountain

One day on the mountain, there was a huge thunderstorm. And we were so high up on the mountain that it was very loud. We attempted to camp under a hanging ledge of rock that was connected to the mountain. It helped for a little while until it started to rain. When the wind came our direction, it drenched everything and everybody. The dwarves were grumpy as usual. And I presume that Bilbo wished he were home again like always. 

Then the dwarves argued if someone should go look for a new shelter or not. After their argument, they sent Fili, Kili, and I to go look. It was very difficult for the wind was constantly changing directions. One minute it would be for us and a second later it would be against us. I wished the wind would make up its mind.

They let me go first, by which I mean convinced me. We had to walk sideways because there was not much room. I didn't know if the ponies would make it if we did find shelter over here. I saw a cave and while they checked it out, I tried to remember when this event would be in the book, as usual. I racked my brain but couldn't find the answer. 

"It looks safe enough," Fili said.

"I think we should go back and tell them about it," Kili added. 

"I don't know. I think we should keep looking, just for safety precautions," I told the wall. They had already left!

"Honestly!" I huffed to myself. "Can't anyone consider my opinions besides Gandalf and Bilbo?" I stomped back to the group and sat down while Fili and Kili described how fitting the cave would be. Thorin gave the approval and we all went to the cave. Once we were all inside, we tried to go back to sleep. But I couldn't sleep at all. I noticed Bilbo tossing and turning next to me. 

So, I turned to him and whispered,

"Bilbo? Do you have a bad feeling about this cave?"

"I don't know. I just want to go to sleep. I am very exhausted," he whispered back to me.

"Go to sleep!" Gandalf whispered.

"Sorry!" we both quietly replied. Gandalf and Bilbo went back to sleep but I still couldn't manage a second. All of a sudden, CRACK! Bilbo let out a yell. Gandalf and I sat up, then I took my bow in my hand and Gandalf grabbed his staff.

My Talk with Galadriel and My Anti-Aging Process

The room had a large, round, glass table and at that table sat Elrond. There was a beautiful arch and standing under it was even more beautiful. The great Galadriel herself was present in the same room with me! I couldn't speak. Even Gandalf looked surprised on that one. Gandalf sat down across from Elrond and I sat in between them on another side. The chairs were made of the finest metals and were pretty tall for a hobbit like me. My feet couldn't touch the floor but the chair was comfortable. When I was done fidgeting and scooting my chair closer to the table, Gandalf began to share with the two of them what we had been through and what he had found in Dol Goldur with Radagast the Brown. 

"He was with Radagast? I wish I could have gone with Gandalf so I wouldn't have had to see those horrifying spiders in Mirkwood. It would have been great to see the Brown wizard again," I thought.

"You know Radagast?" a voice whispered in my head.

"Yes... and who are you?" I asked the voice.

"I am Galadriel," it answered.

"Lady Galadriel is standing over there," I replied. I glanced to make sure she was still there.

"I have a way of speaking to people through their thoughts," she added.

"Can I learn that? How long did it take to master it? Why did you get inside my head in the first place?" I asked.

"My, my. What a curious hobbit you are, Fawnabelle," she laughed.

"I'm pretty sure it runs in the family," I said with a smirk.

"What do you know of the blade that came from Dol Goldur?" she asked.

"Um... I don't know anything. I've never seen anything like it in the Shire," I stammered.

"Why are you afraid? Do you fear what may come in the future? Do not let him take hold of your heart, mind, and emotions," she said in a comforting voice.

"Him? Who is him?" I asked.

"You know of whom I speak... for you have read it however long ago," she answered. I looked at Gandalf and he looked at someone else that seemed vaguely familiar. 

"Saruman!" I gasped. I looked around me and no one was looking back at me. I sighed with relief. Soon the meeting was over and Gandalf took me to a special room that Elrond had allowed him to use. He took an herb from his pocket and gave it to me to eat. I ate it and felt a glowing heat run through my entire body. I shivered from chills and looked at myself. I looked the same and felt the same.

"It worked!" I said in amazement.

"Yes it did. You will remain the same age until the hobbit Frodo is one year older than you; seventeen to be exact. Then you will start aging again," Gandalf explained. I thanked him and he told me to get some rest. 

The next morning, we left Rivendell to continue our journey. Elrond discussed the plans on which road to take to Gandalf while I was on packing duty again. The elves baked loads and loads of lembas. 

We waved goodbye to Elrond and thanked him for his hospitality. Gandalf led us on a crooked road that went uphill. It was pretty difficult but we knew we were on the right track. We traveled for about a week and soon we found ourselves on the edge of a tall mountain.