THE HOBBIT Chapter 1
“The Road goes ever on and on,
Down from the door where it began.
Now far ahead the Road has gone,
And I must follow, if I can...”
- Hobbit walking song
The Hobbit
Or There and Back Again
CHAPTER 1
About Hobbits
Many ages ago, before man recorded his history, it was the time of Middle Earth, when man lived together with elves, dwarves, wizards, goblins, dragons and Hobbits.
In the lands of Middle Earth, in a region known as the Shire there was a village named Hobbiton. There, in a hole in the ground, lived a Hobbit. It was not a dirty, wet hole, filled with insects and a bad smell. It was also not a dry hole with sand on the floors and nothing to sit down on or to eat: it was a Hobbit-hole, and that means comfort.
Everyone knows that Hobbits are small, quiet creatures. They live small, quiet lives in comfortable homes underground. They never, ever visit the world outside. And they certainly never go on adventures! But this is the story of a very special Hobbit, a Hobbit who went on an adventure - and what an exciting adventure it was! His name was Bilbo Baggins.
What is a Hobbit, after all? Before we continue, it is important to explain what exactly a Hobbit is. Hobbits are a little people. They are half the size of us Big People, which is what they call us. They are smaller and shorter than the Dwarves. Dwarves have very long beards. Hobbits do not have beards. Hobbits are timid and they do not like to be around us Big People.
They have very little or no magic at all. The only magic they have is the ordinary kind of magic that helps them disappear quickly and quietly when Big People like you and me appear. We make a noise like elephants, and the Hobbits can hear us from very far away. Hobbits are generally fat in the stomach. They like to wear clothes with bright colors (mainly green and yellow).
They do not wear shoes, because their feet have strong natural bottoms. And on the top of their feet, they have thick brown hair that is like the hair on their heads (which is curly).
They have happy faces, and they like to laugh loudly and often (especially after dinner, which they eat twice a day when they can). Now you know enough about Hobbits to continue the story.
One beautiful Wednesday morning, Bilbo Baggins was standing in his garden in front of his Hobbit hole. He was smoking a very long pipe made of wood when Gandalf appeared. Gandalf! The last time Bilbo had seen Gandalf, he was a young Hobbit. So, the only thing Bilbo saw that morning was an old man with a long wooden stick that he used to help him walk.
He had a tall blue hat with a point at the top. His cloak was long and gray. He wore a silver scarf around his neck, and over everything was his long, white beard that came all the way down below his waist. On his feet he wore large black boots.
“Good Morning!” said Bilbo, and he meant it - the day was beautiful and warm. But Gandalf looked at him in a confused way.
“What do you mean?” he said. “Do you wish me a good morning; or do you mean that the morning is good; or do you mean that you feel good this morning; or that it is a morning that you can be good on?”
“All of them at the same time,” said Bilbo. “And it is a very fine morning to smoke a pipe outside, too. If you have a pipe, sit down and I will give you some of my tobacco! There’s no hurry, we have all day!” Then Bilbo sat down on a seat by his door and blew a beautiful gray ring of smoke that floated up into the air and flew away over The Hill.
“Very pretty!” said Gandalf. “But I do not have time to blow smoke-rings this morning. I am looking for someone to come on an adventure with me, and it’s very difficult to find anyone.”
“I imagine that it would be difficult - in this area! We Hobbits are simple and quiet folk and we do not want any adventures.
They are very uncomfortable things! They make you late for dinner! I don’t understand why anyone likes them,” said our Mr. Baggins. He blew another smoke ring that was bigger than the first one. Then he took out his morning letters from his pocket, and began to read, pretending not to see the old man.
Bilbo had decided that he wanted the old man to go away. But the old man did not move. He stood there, holding his stick and looking at the Hobbit without saying anything, until Bilbo became very uncomfortable and even a little angry.
“Good morning!” he finally said. “We don’t want any adventures here, thank you! You can look over The Hill or across The Water for adventurers.” This is how Bilbo decided to end the conversation.
“You do use good morning for many things!” said Gandalf. “Now you mean that you want me to go away, and that the day will not be good until I am gone.”
“That is not what I mean, not at all, my dear sir! Let me see, I don’t think I know your name?”
“But I know your name, Mr. Bilbo Baggins. And you do know my name. But you don’t remember that I belong to it. I am Gandalf, and Gandalf means me!”
“Gandalf, Gandalf! Good gracious me! Forgive me! You are the mysterious wizard who used to tell such wonderful stories at parties, about dragons and goblins and giants and of princesses and treasure! The man who used to make excellent fireworks! I remember those! They were the most extraordinary fireworks in all the land!”
“I am happy to see you remember something about me. You seem to have nice memories of my fireworks, and that is a good thing. So, because of that, I will give you what you asked for.”
“I’m sorry. Forgive me, but I haven’t asked for anything!”
“Yes, you have! Twice now. You asked for me to forgive you! And so I will give you my forgiveness. In fact I will give you even more - I will give you this adventure. It will be very amusing for me, and very good for you - and profitable too, if you return from it.”
“Sorry! I don’t want any adventures, thank you. Not today. Good morning! But please come to tea - any time you like! Why not tomorrow? Come tomorrow! Goodbye!” Bilbo turned around and went into his Hobbit home as quickly as possible without seeming rude. Wizards after all are wizards, and you do not want to make them angry.
“Why did I ask him to come to tea?” he asked himself. He had just eaten breakfast, but he needed some more cake after his encounter with the wizard. He was feeling very nervous!
After Bilbo entered his home, Gandalf was still outside the door, laughing quietly to himself. After some time, with the point of his staff he marked Bilbo’s beautiful green door with a strange symbol. Then he walked away. At that same time Bilbo ate his second piece of cake and was feeling like he had escaped adventures.
