THE HOBBIT Chapter 2
Far over the misty mountains cold
To dungeons deep and caverns old
We must away ere break of day,
To find our long-forgotten gold.
- Dwarven Song
CHAPTER 2
An Unexpected Party
The next day Bilbo forgot completely about Gandalf. Just before tea-time, there was a very loud ring on his front door bell, and then he remembered! Gandalf! He quickly prepared some tea and cake, and ran to the door.
“I am so sorry to keep you waiting!” is what he was going to say, but when he opened the door, he saw that it was not Gandalf at all. It was a Dwarf with a long, blue beard, and very bright eyes. On his head was a dark green hood. As soon as Bilbo opened the door, the Dwarf came inside, as if he had been invited.
“Dwalin at your service!” he said, leaning forward in a low bow. He took off his hood and hung it on the wall in the corridor.
“Bilbo Baggins at your service!” said the hobbit. He was too surprised to ask any questions. They looked at each other for a moment. Soon the silence became uncomfortable and Bilbo said, “I am just about to have some tea; would you like to have some with me.”
Bilbo sat down at the table with Dwalin. He was not sure what to say to the Dwarf. What would you do, if an uninvited Dwarf came into your home without an explanation?
Suddenly there was another ring at the door, a much louder ring than the first ring.
“Excuse me!” said the hobbit, and he went to answer the door.
“So you are finally here!” That was what he was going to say to Gandalf this time. But it was not Gandalf. Instead there was a very old-looking Dwarf with a white beard and a red hood. He also came inside as soon as Bilbo opened the door, like he had been invited too!
“I can see they have started to arrive already,” he said when he saw Dwalin’s green hood hanging on the wall. He hung his own red hood next to it. “Balin at your service!” he said in a loud voice.
“Thank you!” said Bilbo, trying to catch his breath. It was not the correct thing to say, but ‘they have started to arrive’ had made him very confused. He liked visitors, but he liked to know them before they arrived, and he preferred to invite them himself. But Bilbo thought he was a very good host to his guests and said, “Come inside, and have some tea!”
“I would prefer some beer, if you do not mind, my good sir,” said Balin with the white beard. “And I would love some cake, if you have any.”
“Lots!” Bilbo answered in surprise. He ran to fill a glass of beer and get some cake he had just made. He was going to eat it after dinner.
When he got back Balin and Dwalin were talking at the table like old friends (as a matter of fact they were brothers). Bilbo put the beer and the cake down in front of them. Suddenly, there was a loud ring at the bell again, and then another!
“It must be Gandalf this time,” he thought as he hurried to the door. But it was not. It was two more dwarves. Both had blue hoods, silver belts, and yellow beards. Each of them carried a bag of tools and a shovel. As soon as Bilbo opened the door, they stepped inside. Bilbo was not surprised at all.
“What can I do for you, my Dwarves?” he said.
“Kili at your service!” said one. “And Fili!” said the other; and they both took off their blue hoods and leaned forward in a low bow.
“At your service, and your family’s!” answered Bilbo. He remembered to be polite this time.
“Dwalin and Balin are here already, I see,” said Kili. “Let’s join the crowd!”
“Crowd!” thought Mr. Baggins. “I don’t like the sound of that. I need to sit down for a moment and think.”
Soon the bell began to ring again, and in came Dori, Nori, Ori, Oin, and Gloin! Bilbo showed them to the dining room where all the other Dwarves were sitting and talking and eating his food and drinking his tea and beer.
Suddenly, there was a loud KNOCK-KNOCK-KNOCK on his door! Bilbo ran down the corridor. He was very angry, and very confused. This was the strangest day he could remember. He opened the door and they all fell into the corridor, in a large pile! More dwarves! Four more dwarves! And there was Gandalf behind all of them. He was holding his staff and laughing. He had made a large hole on the beautiful door with his staff. He had also knocked out the secret symbol that he had put there the morning before.
“Let me introduce Bifur, Bofur, Bombur, and especially Thorin! Now we are all here!” said Gandalf.
Everyone asked for something different to eat and drink, and Bilbo realized that he would not have any food for his breakfast tomorrow. At this moment, Bilbo was feeling very confused. It seemed like the adventure Gandalf had spoken about was already in his house! Bilbo was becoming annoyed.
The Dwarves ate and drank and talked at the table while Thorin, a very important-looking Dwarf, spoke to Gandalf. Thorin was smoking a pipe and blowing enormous smoke rings wherever he wanted them to go. Bilbo sat and watched him - he loved smoke rings - and then he felt embarrassed because he had been so proud of the smoke rings he had blown in his garden yesterday morning.
“Now it’s time for some music!” said Thorin. “Bring out the instruments!” The youngest Dwarves, Fili and Kili, ran to get their instruments. They came back with viols as big as themselves, and with Thorin’s harp. It was a beautiful golden harp, and when Thorin played it the music began.
The Dwarves sang in deep voices about their ancient homes in caverns far away. They sang of a great kingdom under the Lonely Mountain far to the East. They sang of treasure and gold and jewels. Then the Dwarves sang of the great tragedy - the destruction of Smaug, the evil dragon that came and stole their gold and killed their people. They sang about their desire to return to the Lonely Mountain and take back their kingdom and their gold. As Bilbo listened, something strange woke up inside him. The melody and words transported Bilbo away into distant lands under mysterious skies, far away from his Hobbit-hole under The Hill. He wanted to go there and see the mountain the Dwarves were singing about. He wanted to explore the caves and caverns and feel the Dwarvish gold in his fingers. He wanted to carry a sword instead of a walking stick.
He looked out his window at the stars in the sky. He thought of the treasure under the mountain far away. Suddenly in the fireplace the fire burned bright and hot - probably just a piece of wood changing position - and he thought of the fire from the terrible dragon from their song. The dragon that stole the Dwarves’ gold. He felt afraid, and very quickly he was plain Mr. Baggins of Hobbiton again.
The music stopped suddenly and Thorin began to speak, “Gandalf, Dwarves, and Burglar Baggins…”
Bilbo was surprised at Thorin’s words and asked, “What do you mean when you say ‘burglar’ Baggins?”
“If you prefer, you can say ‘expert treasure hunter’,” answered Thorin.
“Well, yes, I prefer that,” Bilbo said, but he was still confused.
Thorin continued, “We are here tonight in the house of our friend, this most excellent Hobbit.” Thorin then lifted his glass of beer and said, “May the hair on his toes never fall out.” The other Dwarves and Gandalf all raised their glasses and said at the same time, “Hear, hear!”
“We shall soon start on our long journey,” said Thorin. “A journey from which some of us, or perhaps all of us may never return.” When Thorin said “may never return”, Bilbo began to feel a shout of fear building up inside him, and soon it came out like the whistle of a boiling pot of tea. All the Dwarves jumped up in surprise! They knocked over the table. Gandalf raised a hand and calmed everyone in the room. Soon Thorin continued. “I believe all of us know what our objective is.”
“All of us?” asked Bilbo. “It is not well known to me.”
“Really? Then we must inform our burglar. We Dwarves will return to Lonely Mountain far to the East, beyond the Misty Mountains and past the Forest of Mirkwood, to Lonely Mountain, and we will take back what Smaug the dragon stole from us. Smaug came in the night and killed my people and forced my grandfather, King Under the Mountain, run for his life. He burned down the town of Dale and stole my people’s gold. He is still there in the mountain, sleeping on a vast pile of our gold and jewels.”
“Curse the Dragon Smaug!” All the Dwarves yelled.
As all the Dwarves yelled, the poor little Hobbit was so terrified that he fell to the floor and began shaking like a jelly. He continued calling out “hit by lightning, hit by lightning!” over and over again; and that was all he would say for some time. So the Dwarves took him and put him on the sofa in another room with a glass of water nearby, and they went back to the living room to talk about their business.
“Mr. Baggins can become very excited sometimes,” said Gandalf, as they sat down again. “but he is one of the best thieves, one of the best - as brave as a knight when you need him the most.”
After relaxing for a few moments and after drinking the water that was next to him on the sofa, Bilbo returned silently to the door of his living room and this is what he heard the Dwarves saying: “Do you think he is right for our adventure? Gandalf says he is very brave, but one scream like that in a moment of excitement will wake up the dragon and all his relatives, and kill us all! I think he sounded more afraid than excited. I have my doubts. He looks more like a grocer than a burglar!”
When he heard these words, the adventurous side of Bilbo came out. He suddenly felt that he would go without bed and breakfast if people thought he was brave. Many times later, the calm, timid side of Bilbo regretted what he did next: “Pardon me,” he said, “but I heard what you said about me. I do not understand very well what you all are talking about, or why you are calling me ‘burglar’. But I think I am correct to believe that you think I will not be good for your adventure. Well, I will prove to you that I will be good for you. Tell me what you want me to do and I will try it. Even if I have to walk from my peaceful Hobbit home to the East of East and fight the terrible fire dragons of Morgoth.”
Gandalf interrupted Bilbo and said to Thorin and the Dwarves, “Do you see? Brave and fierce like a knight! There are thirteen of you Dwarves, and thirteen is a very unlucky number. Mr. Baggins will be the fourteenth member of your party. Fourteen is a much luckier number.”
“A very splendid lucky number you have chosen for us, Gandalf,” Thorin said ironically.
“I will not argue anymore!” said Gandalf. “I chose Mr. Baggins and that should be enough for all of you. If I say he is a Burglar, then he is a Burglar. Or he will be when he needs to be. There is more in him than you can see, and a lot more than he knows himself. You may (possibly) all live to thank me for my decision. Now Bilbo, my good Hobbit, get the lamp so we have some light!”
In the light of the lamp, Gandalf placed a map with many words and markings on it. “This was made by Thror, your grandfather, Thorin. It is a plan of the Mountain. You can see here there is a marking that shows a secret entrance.”
“I’m sure Smaug has discovered this entrance. He has lived there for so many years,” said Thorin in a disappointed voice.
“The passage is much too small for Smaug, even when he was a young worm. But it is big enough for a Burglar to enter!” Gandalf said, looking at Bilbo. Bilbo almost fainted again from the thought of going into a secret passage to confront Smaug the dragon.
“Also,” continued Gandalf, “there is a key that goes with the map, a small and interesting key. Here it is!” he said, and handed the key to Thorin. It was made of silver. “Keep it safe!”
“I will,” said Thorin, and he put the key on a chain he wore around his neck and under his jacket. “Now things are beginning to look more hopeful. This key will allow us to enter the secret passage without Smaug knowing we are there.”
“That is why I thought of burglary - especially when I remembered the existence of a secret door,” said Gandalf. “And here is our little Bilbo Baggins, the burglar, the chosen and selected Burglar. So now let’s continue and make some plans.”
“But I must know, Gandalf, how you got the map,” said Thorin to the Wizard.
“Your grandfather Thror was killed, you remember, in the mines of Moria by Azog the Goblin.”
“Curse his name, yes,” said Thorin.
“But before he died, he gave this map to his son Thrain, your father. He tried to return to Lonely Mountain, but his adventure ended before he arrived there. I found him a prisoner in the dungeons of the Necromancer. Your father gave the map and the key to me there.”
“We must consider the power and danger of the Necromancer,” said Thorin.
“Do not be absurd, Thorin! He is an enemy who is more powerful than all the Dwarves together. The one thing your father wanted was for you to read the map and use the key. Do not worry about the Necromancer right now. The dragon and the mountain are tasks that are big enough for you!”
“Hear, hear!” said Bilbo, and he accidentally said it out loud.
“Hear what?” all the Dwarves said, looking towards Bilbo. He was so embarrassed that he answered, “Hear what I have to say!”
“What do you have to say?” they asked.
“Well, I think you should go East and have a look around. After all, there is a secret door, and dragons must sleep sometimes, I imagine. If you sit next to the door long enough, I am sure you will think of something. And well, I think we have talked long enough for one night, if you understand what I mean. What about bed, and an early start? I will give you a good breakfast before you go.”
“Before we go, I suppose you mean,” said Thorin. “Aren’t you the Burglar? And isn’t sitting next to the secret door your job? Not to mention getting inside the door? But I agree about bed and breakfast. I like six eggs with my ham, when starting on a journey.”
After all the others had ordered their breakfasts without even saying “please” (which annoyed Bilbo very much), they all got up. The hobbit had to find room for all of them. He filled all his rooms and made beds on chairs and sofas. Finally, he went to his own little bed feeling very tired and not very happy. One thing he decided before falling asleep was that he was not going to wake up to make all their breakfasts. He was feeling the timid side of his Hobbitness, and he was not so sure that he was going on any journey in the morning.
As he lay in bed he could hear Thorin singing to himself in the bedroom next to him:
Far over misty mountains cold
To dungeons deep and caverns old
We must away ere break of day,
To find our long-forgotten gold.
Bilbo went to sleep with that song in his ears, and it gave him very uncomfortable dreams. It was long after the break of day, when he finally woke up.
