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Soon Bilbo saw the pale peaks of the mountains. He shut his eyes and was afraid that he could not hold on any longer. At last the flight ended. Bilbo was really exhausted. Then he saw that the Lord of the Eagles was speaking to Gandalf.
The wizard and the eagle-lord were on friendly terms.[41] Gandalf had once healed the eagle-lord from an arrow-wound. Now Gandalf asked the Great Eagle to carry the dwarves and himself and Bilbo far away across the plains below.
The Lord of the Eagles didn’t want to take them close to men. “They will shoot at us,” he said, “because they think we are after their sheep.[42] No! We will not risk ourselves.”
“Very well,” said Gandalf. “Take us as far as you can! We are already deeply grateful to you. But now we are starving.[43]”
“I am nearly dead of it,” said Bilbo in a weak little voice that nobody heard.
“Don’t worry, we can help it,” said the Lord of the Eagles. The eagles brought rabbits, hares, and a small sheep, and the dwarves cooked dinner.
So the adventures of the Misty Mountains ended. Soon Bilbo’s stomach was full and comfortable again, and he fell asleep. But all night he dreamed of his own house.
The next morning Bilbo woke up with the early sun in his eyes. He jumped up to look at the time and to go and put his kettle on – and found he was not home at all. For breakfast he had cold mutton and rabbit. And after that he had to get ready for a start. This time he climbed on to an eagle’s back and clung between his wings. And soon fifteen great birds rose off from the mountain’s side. Bilbo shut his eyes.
After a while the eagles began to go down. Below them there were oaks and elms, and wide grass lands, and a river. Right in the path of the stream there was a great rock, almost a hill of stone.
Quickly now to the top of this rock the eagles swooped one by one and set down their passengers. And there the eagles parted with the dwarves, Bilbo and Gandalf.
There was a flat space on the top of the hill of stone and a path with many steps leading down it to the river. The party crossed the river in a shallow place. There was a little cave where they stopped to discuss their plans.
“I always wanted to see you all safe over the mountains,” said the wizard, “and now I have done it. But this is not my adventure. Maybe I will see you again before it is all over, but now I have some other urgent business to do.”
The dwarves groaned and Bilbo wept.
“I am not going to disappear this very moment,[44]” said Gandalf. “I can give you a day or two more. We have no food, and no baggage, and no ponies; and you don’t know where you are. Now I can tell you that. You are still some miles north of the right path. Very few people live in these parts. But there is somebody who lives not far away. That Somebody made the steps on the great rock – he calls it the Carrock. He does not come here often, certainly not in the daytime. We must go and find him; and if all goes well at our meeting, I think I will say good-bye to you.”
Then they began to march through the long green grass and down the lines of the oaks and the tall elms.
“And who is that Somebody?” asked Bilbo as he went along at the wizard’s side.
“The Somebody is a very great person. You must all be very polite when I introduce you. And you must be careful not to annoy him. He can be dreadful when he is angry, though he is kind. Still he gets angry easily.”
The dwarves all gathered round when they heard that.
“If you must know more,” said Gandalf, “his name is Beorn. He is very strong, and he changes his skin. Sometimes he is a huge black bear, sometimes he is a great strong black-haired man with huge arms and a great beard. I cannot tell you much more.
“He lives in an oak-wood and has a great wooden house; and as a man he keeps cattle and horses. They work for him and talk to him. He does not eat them; neither does he hunt or eat wild animals. He keeps hives of great bees, and lives on cream and honey.[45]”
Bilbo and the dwarves asked no more questions. They walked on. It grew very hot. Sometimes they rested under the trees, and then Bilbo felt really hungry.
After a while they came to a high hedge.
“You should wait here,” said the wizard to the dwarves; “and when I call or whistle begin to come after me – but only in pairs, about five minutes between each pair of you. Bombur is the fattest, so he should come alone and last. Come on Mr Baggins! There is a gate somewhere round this way.” And with that he went along the hedge and took the frightened hobbit with him.
They soon came to a wooden gate, high and broad. The wizard and the hobbit opened the heavy gate and went towards the house. Soon they reached a courtyard. In the middle there was lying a great oak-trunk. Near it they saw a huge man with a thick black beard and hair, and great bare arms and legs. He was wearing a tunic of wool down to his knees, and was leaning on a large axe.
“Who are you and what do you want?” he asked gruffly, standing in front of them.
“I am Gandalf,” said the wizard.
“And what’s this little fellow?” he said, looking at the hobbit.
“That is Mr Baggins, a hobbit of good family and fine reputation,” said Gandalf. Bilbo bowed.
“I am a wizard,” continued Gandalf. “I have heard of you, if you have not heard of me; but perhaps you have heard of my good cousin Radagast who lives near the Southern borders of Mirkwood?[46]”
“Yes; he is not a bad fellow, I believe,” said Beorn. “Well, now I know who you are. What do you want?”
“To tell you the truth, we have lost our baggage and nearly lost our way. We have had rather a bad time with goblins in the mountains.”
“Goblins?” said the big man less gruffly. “Why did you go near them?”
“We were coming out of the Lands over West into these countries – it is a long tale.”
“Then come inside and tell me the story,” said the man leading the way to the house.
They sat on wooden benches, and Gandalf began his tale. “I was coming over the mountains with a friend or two…” said the wizard.
“Or two? I can only see one,” said Beorn.
“Well, I did not want to bother you with a lot of us. I will give a call, if I may.”
“Go on!”
So Gandalf gave a long whistle, and so Thorin and Dori came and stood before them.
“One or three you meant, I see!” said Beorn. “But these aren’t hobbits, they are dwarves!”
“Thorin Oakenshield at your service! Dori at your service!” said the two dwarves bowing again.
“I don’t need your service, thank you,” said Beorn, “but I expect you need mine. I don’t like dwarves; but if it is true that you are Thorin, and that your companion is respectable, and that you are enemies of goblins… But what are you doing here, by the way?”
“They are on their way to visit the land of their fathers, beyond Mirkwood,” said Gandalf, “and it is just an accident that we are in your lands. We were attacked by the evil goblins – as I was going to tell you.”
“Go on telling, then!” said Beorn, who was never very polite.
“There was a terrible storm; the hobbit and I and several of our companions…”
“Do you call two several?”
“Well, in fact there were more than two.”
“Where are they?”
“You see, we are very much afraid that there are too many of us.”
“Go on, whistle again!” said Beorn.
Gandalf whistled again.
And so in the end all the dwarves arrived.
By the time the wizard had finished his tale, it was evening.
“A very good tale!” said Beorn. “It’s the best I have ever heard. Now let’s have something to eat!”
“Yes, please!” they all said together. “Thank you very much!” Beorn clapped his hands, and in came some snow-white[47] sheep led by a large coal-black[48] ram. One had a white cloth; others had on their broad backs trays with bowls and platters and knives and wooden spoons, which the dogs took and quickly laid on the tables.
There they had a supper, or a dinner, such as they had not had since they left the Last Homely House in the West and said good-bye to Elrond. Beorn told tales of the dark and dangerous forest of Mirkwood.
The dwarves listened and shook their beards, because they knew that soon they had to go into that forest. When the meal was over they began to tell tales of their own, but Beorn looked sleepy and paid little attention to them.
Suddenly Gandalf stood up. “It is time for us to sleep,” he said. Bilbo saw that beds had already been prepared at the side of the hall. For him there was a little mattress of straw and woolen blankets. Soon he fell asleep.
It was full morning[49] when he awoke.
“Get up lazybones,[50]” Bofur said, “or there will be no breakfast left for you.”
Up jumped Bilbo. “Breakfast!” he cried. “Where is breakfast?”
“It is out on the veranda. We can’t find Beorn anywhere, though we found breakfast on the table as soon as we got up.”
They spent one more day at Beorn’s, and the next morning they were all wakened by Beorn himself. They all went to breakfast with him. Beorn was really kind. He said that he had caught a Warg and a goblin in the woods. From these he had got news: the goblin patrols were still hunting with Wargs for the dwarves, and they were really angry.
“Your story was good,” said Beorn, “and now I am sure it is true. So I will think more kindly of dwarves after this. You killed the Great Goblin!” he chuckled to himself.
“What did you do with the goblin and the Warg?” asked Bilbo suddenly. “I just killed them!” said Beorn.
Now he was their friend, and he promised to help them. He gave ponies for the dwarves and Bilbo, and a horse for Gandalf; a lot of nuts, flour, dried fruits, honey, and cakes. He also gave them bows and arrows. He said that there were streams and springs along the road, so they could get water from them. “But your way through Mirkwood is dark, dangerous and difficult,” he said. “There is one stream in Mirkwood, black and strong, which crosses the path. You should neither drink of it, nor bathe in it; for I have heard that it carries a great sleepiness and forgetfulness. And remember: you mustn’t stray from the path.
“That is all the advice I can give you. At the gate of the forest I must ask you to send back my horse and my ponies. But I wish you all good luck.”
They thanked him, of course. Soon after midday they ate with Beorn for the last time, and after the meal they left his home.
They rode silently all day, and in the evening they made a camp and set a guard, and most of them slept uneasily. Still the next morning was bright again. So they rode for three more days, and they saw only grass and flowers and birds and trees, and occasionally small herds of red deer sitting at noon in the shade.
Soon they could see the forest. Birds began to sing less. There were no more deer. By the afternoon they had reached Mirkwood.
“Well, here is Mirkwood!” said Gandalf. “It’s the greatest of the forests of the Northern world. I hope you like the look of it. Now you must send back these excellent ponies.”
“What about the horse?” said Thorin.
“I am not going to send it back.”
“What about your promise then?”
“I am not sending the horse back, I am riding it!”
Then they knew that Gandalf was going to leave them at the very edge of Mirkwood, and they were in despair.
“I have, as I told you, some business in the south; and I am already late. Maybe we will meet again before all is over, but maybe not. That depends on your luck and on your courage; and I am sending Mr Baggins with you. So cheer up, Bilbo, and don’t look so gloomy. Cheer up, Thorin and Company! This is your expedition after all. Think of the treasure at the end, and forget the forest and the dragon, at any rate[51] until tomorrow morning!”
So they filled their water-skins at a clear spring at the forest-gate, and unpacked the ponies.
Then at last they said good-bye to their ponies. Now Gandalf, too, said good-bye. Bilbo sat on the ground feeling very unhappy.
“Good-bye!” said Gandalf to Thorin. “Don’t stray off the track!”
“Do we really have to go through?” groaned the hobbit.
“Yes, you do!” said the wizard, “if you want to get to the other side. And, Mr Baggins, you have to look after all these dwarves for me,” he added. Gandalf turned his horse and rode away. But in a moment he said again: “Be good, take care of yourselves – and DON’T LEAVE THE PATH!”
“O good-bye and go away!” grunted the dwarves. Now began the most dangerous part of their journey. The dwarves and Bilbo went into the forest.
Chapter 8
Flies and Spiders
They walked in single file.[52] The path was narrow and winding. There were black squirrels in the wood. There were queer noises too; but what made the noises they could not see. They saw dark dense cobwebs, often stretched from tree to tree. There were none stretched across the path, though.
The forest seemed endless, and they began to hate it. But they had to go on and on. The nights were the worst. But in the complete darkness they could see eyes. They slept all closely together, and took turns to watch; and when it was Bilbo’s turn, he could see pairs of yellow or red or green eyes in the distance, and then they slowly faded and disappeared and slowly shone again in another place. “Insect eyes” he thought, “not animal eyes.”
Bilbo was always hungry, for they were extremely careful with their provisions. They once shot a squirrel with an arrow, but when they roasted it, it had a horrible taste, and they shot no more squirrels. They were thirsty too, for they had very little water, and in all the time they had seen neither spring nor stream. And then they saw that their path was blocked by running water. It flowed fast and strong, and it looked black. They remembered that Beorn had warned them against it, so now they only thought of how to cross it without wetting themselves. Bilbo looked ahead and suddenly cried:
“There is a boat against the far bank!”
“How far away is it?” asked Thorin.
“Around twelve yards,[53]” answered Bilbo.
“We can’t jump it,” said Thorin.
“Can any of you throw a rope?” asked Bilbo.
Fili thought he could; so he took the rope in his hand, and then flung it across the stream.
“Not far enough!” said Bilbo who was looking forward. “Try again. I don’t think that the magic is strong enough to hurt you, if you just touch a wet rope.”
Fili picked up the hook. This time he threw it with greater strength.
“You have thrown it right into the wood on the other side now. Draw it back gently,” said Bilbo.
Fili pulled the rope back slowly, and soon the boat was close to them.
“Who’ll cross first?” asked Bilbo.
“I will,” said Thorin, “and you will come with me, and Fili and Balin. After that Kili and Oin and Gloin and Don; next On and Nori, Bifur and Bofur; and last Dwalin and Bombur.”
“There aren’t any oars. How are you going to push the boat back to the far bank?” asked the hobbit.
“Give me another rope and another hook,” said Fili. Then he threw the rope into the darkness ahead and as high as he could. The hook got stuck in the branches. “One of you,” said Fili, “should pull on the rope that is stuck in a tree on the other side. One of the others must hold the hook that we used at first, and when we are safe on the other side he can hook it on, and you can draw the boat back.”
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