The next morning, Birbo woke up with the first ray of sunlight. He jumped to his feet, ready to look at the clock, picked up the pot to boil water-but he was not home at all. Therefore, he could only sit down dejectedly. It seemed that the idea of washing his face and brushing his teeth had failed. Of course, there was no toast, bacon, or hot tea for breakfast. There was only cold mutton and rabbit meat. After that, he still had to be in high spirits and continue on his journey.
This time, they were allowed to climb onto the eagle's back and grab the feathers between its wings. The cold wind blew past his face, and he couldn't help but close his eyes. When the fifteen giant eagles took off from the cliff, the dwarves shouted goodbye and promised to repay the Eagle King as soon as they had the chance. The sun was still not far from the horizon. It was a cold morning, and fog was swirling around the mountain peak and the valley below. Birbo opened one eye and peeked at the scene before him. He realized that the bird was already flying very high. He was very far from the ground, and even the mountains were left behind. He closed his eyes again, not daring to let go even if he died.
"Don't pinch!" "Even if you look like a little rabbit, you don't need to be as timid as them," said the eagle beneath him. The weather was good this morning, and there was no wind. What could be more comfortable than flying in the sky?”
Birbo had wanted to answer,"A nice hot bath and a feast on the grass!"”However, he thought that it was best if he did not say too much, so he slightly relaxed his tight hands.
After a while, the eagles began to slowly descend. They hovered for a long time before the hobbit opened his eyes again. The ground was getting closer. There were many plants that looked like oak and elm trees below, and there were wide grasslands and a river running through the place. However, there was a huge rock that was almost like a small mountain standing by the river. It seemed to be the last guard of the distant mountain range, or it was like a huge rock thrown by the tallest giant in the world.
Soon, the eagles landed on the rock one by one and put down their passengers.
"Farewell!" "No matter how you're doing, I hope you can return to your nest safely in the end!”This was how the giant eagles bid farewell to each other.
" May the strong wind under your wings allow you to soar to the home of the sun and the end of the moon…" Gandalf knew how to answer the other party's farewell.
Just like that, they separated. Although the Eagle King later became the King of Birds, wearing a golden crown on his head, and the fifteen nobles under him wore golden collars (all made of gold given to them by the dwarves), Birbo never saw them again. The only exception was when he caught a glimpse of them in the sky during the battle of the five armies. However, this was something that would only happen at the end of the story. There was no hurry to discuss it now.
There was a flat land at the top of the hill, and there were many stairs leading to the river. The ferry was also paved with huge stone slabs that led to the grassland on the other side of the river. There was a cave at the end of the stairs (the floor was covered with many pebbles). Everyone gathered at the entrance of the cave and discussed what to do next.
"I've always wanted to take you safely across the mountains," said the wizard."Now, with my good management and good luck, we've achieved it." Now, we have arrived at a place that is even further away than the place I originally planned to send you to. After all, this isn't my risk. Before everything ends, there might be a chance for me to intervene. However, right now, I have more pressing matters to attend to.”
The dwarves made reluctant sounds, and Birbo even shed tears. They all began to think that Gandalf would take the risk with them and help them solve all their difficulties. "I won't disappear right now," he said."I can spend a day or two with you."
If I accompany you, I might be able to help you get out of your current predicament. I also need some help myself. We have no food, no luggage, no mounts, and you don't know where we are. But I can tell you the answer to the last question. We are some distance from the road we should have taken to the north. If we hadn't escaped from the mountains in a hurry, we would have taken that road. There aren't many people living in this area, unless some new friends moved in after I left a few years ago. I do know someone who lives not far from here. This person built a stone staircase on top of the giant rock. I remember that he called this place Carlock. He didn't come here often, at least not during the day. There's no use waiting for him here. In fact, it'll be very dangerous. We have to find him. If everything goes well, I think I can leave easily and wish you all the best wherever you go like an eagle!'”
They begged him not to leave them, and they were willing to share the dragon's treasure and gold with him, but that did not change his mind. "We'll know when the time comes, we'll know when the time comes!”He said,"I think I've earned some treasure that I deserve. When you find the treasure, remember to give me some."”
After that, they did not waste any more time. Then, they took off their clothes and took a bath in the clear river. Then, they sprawled out under the warm sunlight and felt full of energy. However, they were still a little sore and hungry. Soon they had crossed the ferry with the hobbits, and began to walk along the meadow, along the edge of the oaks and tall elms.
"Why is this place called Carlock?”Birbo asked as he walked beside the wizard.
"Because he called this Carlock, because he used this word to describe this kind of terrain. He would call similar things Carlock, and this was the biggest Carlock because it was also the Carlock closest to his home and familiar to him.”
"Who named it? Who is familiar with this thing?"
"It's the person I mentioned before, a rather great person. When I introduce him, you must be very polite. I think I should introduce you slowly, two at a time; You must be very careful not to provoke him, or God knows what will happen. He's scary when he's angry, but if you can please him, he's also a very generous person. I still have to warn you that he gets angry easily.”
When the dwarves heard the wizard speak to Birbo like this, they immediately gathered around him. "Are you talking about the person we're going to see?”"Can you find someone else who's not so irritable?" they asked. Can you explain more clearly?”Wait, similar questions.
"Yes, that's indeed the case! No, I can't! I am explaining all this very carefully," the wizard answered three questions at the same time."If you insist on knowing more, I can tell you that his name is Beon. He was very strong and a skin-changer.”
"What? Was he the kind of guy who skinned rabbits for money?”Birbo asked.
"Heavens, no, no!”Gandalf said," Mr. Baggins, please don't be stupid again. I solemnly warn you that as long as you are within a hundred miles of his house, you must not mention any fatal words like furrier, carpet, skinning, and furs! He was a skin-changer. Sometimes he was a big black bear, sometimes he was a strong black-haired man with arms as thick as ham and a thick black beard. I can only tell you this much. This should be enough. Some said that he was a descendant of an ancient bear who lived in the mountains before the giants came. Others said that he was a descendant of the first human race who had settled down before Smaug and the other evil dragons came. Even the orcs came to these mountains from the north later. I'm not sure myself, but I think the last guess is correct. He's not the kind of person who would patiently answer questions.”
"In any case, he's only affected by his own magic. He lived in the oak forest and built a tall wooden house. He looked like a human and raised many cattle, sheep, and horses that were almost as amazing as him. He did not eat them, nor did he hunt or prey on wild animals. He raised many nests of fierce wild bees and lived on cheese and honey most of the time. I've seen him sitting alone on Carlock at night, watching the moon sink toward the Misty Mountains, and I've heard him howl in the language of the bear,'One day, they will be defeated and I will return!'It was also because of this that I thought he came from the mountains.”
Birbo and the dwarves could not ask any more questions, but there were many doubts that needed to be considered. They still had a long way to go before they reached his residence. The group climbed up the slope and slowly entered the valley. The weather became very hot, and sometimes they would rest under the tree. Birbo would feel hungry at regular intervals and look for ripe acorns to fill his stomach.
In the middle of the afternoon, they noticed that a large area of flowers had appeared nearby. The same type of flowers grew in the same area, as if they had been deliberately planted. There were many clovers here, including cockscomb flowers, purple clovers, and a large patch of short white clovers. From afar, one could smell the sweet nectar. The wind was filled with buzzing sounds as the wild bees busied themselves with their work. This kind of wild bee! Birbo had never seen such bees.
If one of them bites me, he thought,""I might swell up to be as fat as I used to be!”
These wild bees were bigger than wasps, and the worker bees were much bigger than your thumb. The yellow stripes on their black bellies were shining like gold.
" We are very close," Gandalf said."We're on the edge of his bee farm.”
After a while, they arrived at an area made of tall and ancient oak trees. There was also a fence made of tall thorns. People could not climb over it, nor could they see through it.
" You'd better wait here," the wizard said to the dwarves."When I shout or whistle, you can start walking in the direction I'm going. You'll know how I'm going later. However, please come in pairs. There must be a five-minute gap between each pair. Pang Bo was the fattest guy. He alone could match up to two of them, so he had better be the last to enter. Come on, Mr. Baggins! There's a door nearby." With that, he and the frightened hobbits began to find their way around the fence.
They quickly came to a wide wooden door. Behind the door, they could see a large garden and many low wooden houses. Some of them had straw roofs and were built with stacked logs. Barns, stables, stables, and a long row of wooden houses. On the south side of the high fence were rows of beehives with bell-shaped roofs made of straw. Huge bees flew around, and the sound of them drilling in and out filled the area.
The wizard and hobbit pushed open the heavy door and walked along the wide path to the main house. Some of the horses, who looked very noble and sturdy, came over and looked at them with a very wise expression. Then they spread their hooves and ran to the main house.
"They're going to inform us that a stranger has arrived!”Gandaph replied.
Soon, they arrived at the inner courtyard. Three of the sides were made up of the main house and the side rooms on both sides. In the middle was a very tall oak tree, its sturdy branches extending in all directions. Beside him stood a tall man with a thick beard and hair. His exposed arms and legs were extremely strong and muscular. He was wearing a woolen sweater that reached to his knees and leaning against a huge axe. The horse stood beside him, its nose resting on his shoulder.
"Oh! They're here!" He said to the horses,"These guys don't look dangerous. You can go!"”He laughed heartily, put down his axe, and walked over.
"Who are you? What do you want?”He asked in a hoarse voice. His tall figure made Gandalf look shorter. Birbo could even stride forward and pass through the man's crotch without lowering his head, not touching his clothes at all.
"I am Gandalf," said the wizard.
" I've never heard of this person," the man said loudly."Who is this little guy?”He looked down and frowned at the hobbit.
"This is Mr. Baggins, a well-bred and well-known Hobbit," said Gandalf. Birbo bowed deeply. He didn't have a hat to bow to, and it was awkward to have so many buttons missing. "I am a wizard," continued Gandalf.
"Although you've never heard of me, I've heard of your name." Perhaps you have heard of my good friend Redagast, who lives at the southern border of Gloomy Jungle?”
" Yes, as a wizard, I don't think he's a bad person. I used to see him often," Beweng said."Alright, now I know who you are. Or rather, I know who you claim to be. What do you want?"
"To be honest, we lost our luggage on the way and almost got lost. We need the help of a kind-hearted person now, or at least a piece of advice. We had a very unpleasant time with the orcs in the mountains.”
"Beastmen?" The burly man's voice became less hoarse."Oh, heh, so you guys had a conflict with them, right? Why do you have to deal with them?”
"We didn't do it on purpose. They ambushed us in the middle of the night. We were originally prepared to come to this place from the western land. This would take a long time!”
"Then you'd better come in quickly and tell me about this experience. I hope it won't take a whole day!”The burly man led the way into the door leading to the main house in the inner courtyard.
They followed him until they found themselves in a wide hall with a fireplace in the middle. Although it was summer, there was still firewood burning in the fireplace, and the black smoke drifted along the chimney to the roof. They passed the dim hall, illuminated only by the fire and the light from the doorway, passed through another small door, and arrived at a balcony supported on both sides by tree trunks. The balcony faced the south and was still filled with the warm light of the setting sun. Even the garden beside the stairs was bathed in golden light.
They sat on a large bench, and Gandalf began to tell the story. Birbo sat on the bench, shaking his little feet, looking at the plants in the garden, thinking about their names. He had only seen about half of these flowers. The rest were completely unfamiliar to him.
"I was crossing the mountains with a friend or two," said the wizard.
"Two? I can only see this one, and he's a pretty young friend,"Beweng said.
"Alright, to be honest, before I'm sure if you're very busy, I don't want too many people to disturb you. If you allow me, I can invite them in.”
"Alright, invite them in!"
So Gandalf gave a long whistle, and Thorin and Dori came in along the garden path and bowed deeply to them.
"You should be talking about two or three friends, right?”Beweng said,"But these aren't Hobbits, they're Dwarves!”
"Thorin Oakenshield is at your service! Duo Li is at your service!" The two dwarves bowed again.
"I don't need to order you around. You're welcome," Beweng said."But I think you'll need my help. I don't really like dwarves, but if you really are Thorin (I believe you should be the son of Thor, the son of Thorne), then you are worthy of my respect! You are also the archenemies of the orcs, so it is impossible for you to do anything bad on my land. By the way, what mission do you have?”
" They are preparing to visit the land of their ancestors, just east of Gloomy Jungle," Gandalf interrupted."It was an accident that we came to your territory. We were about to pass through the highest pass, and should have been able to set foot on the road south of your territory, when we were attacked by the evil orcs-I was about to tell you.”
"Then let's continue!" Beweng didn't like formalities.
" We encountered a terrible storm. The Rock Giants began to throw stones everywhere. We found a cave at the highest point of the pass and hid in it. The Hobbits and I and a few of our companions..."
"How many do you call two people?"
"Uh, actually not. In fact, we have more than two partners.”
"Where are they? Was he killed, eaten, or returned home?”
"Neither. They didn't seem to come together when I whistled just now. I think they were shy. You should also know that we are actually very worried that it will be too troublesome for you to have so many people.”
"Go on, whistle again! Looks like I can hold a banquet this time. It doesn't matter if I have one or two more!”Beweng growled.
Gandaph whistled again, but Nori and Oli were already standing outside the door before the whistle ended. Because, if you remember, Gandalf told them to come every five minutes in pairs.
Beweng said,"Hello! You guys are quite fast. Where were you hiding before? It just popped out like that!"
" Nori is at your service, Ori is listening..." They opened their mouths, but before they could finish, they were interrupted by Beon.
"You're welcome! I'll tell you when I need you. Sit down and tell me your story. Otherwise, it might be dark before dinner!”
" As soon as we fell asleep," Gandalf returned to the main topic."There's a crack in the bottom of the cave, and the Orcs are coming out and taking the Hobbits and dwarves, even our ponies-"
"Those ponies? What's going on with you guys? Was it a traveling circus? Or did you bring a lot of goods? Do you always call six a group?”
"Oh! No! In fact, we have more than six ponies, because we have more than six companions. Ah, look, there are two more people!”At that moment, Balin and Dwarin appeared at the door. They bowed so low that their beards touched the ground. The burly man frowned at first, but they did their best to greet their master politely. They kept nodding and bowing, taking off their hats (of course, they did it in the most correct etiquette of dwarves), and finally, the burly man chuckled. They looked so interesting!
"Alright, you're right about a group!”He said,"And it's funny." Come on, funny boy, what are your names? I don't need to order you around now. I just want to know your names. Then, you can sit down and stop bowing!”
" Balin and Dwarin." They didn't dare to say much, afraid of offending each other. Finally, they sat down on the ground with a surprised expression.
"Continue!" Beweng told the wizard.
"Where was I? Oh yes, I wasn't caught, I killed a orc or two with my Flash-"
"Excellent!" Beweng slammed the table and roared,"It seems that there are benefits to being a wizard."”
"-and then I slipped in before the rift closed, and I followed them all the way to the great hall, which was packed with orcs, and the orc leader was there, surrounded by thirty or forty armed guards. At that time, I thought,'Even if they weren't tied together by iron chains, how could a dozen warriors fight against so many enemies?'
"One hit! This is the first time I've heard that eight people can be called a dozen. Could it be that you still have some mysterious person hiding?”
"Oh, well, yes, looks like two more-Philip and Kili, I think," said Gandalf, as they stood grinning and bowing in the doorway.
"Enough!" Beweng said,"Sit down quietly! Gandaph, continue!"
Gandalf continued to tell his story. Finally, he came to the battle in the dark and the process of discovering the lower door. And their panic when they found Mr. Baggins missing. "We counted and counted, and the Hobbits were gone-there were only fourteen of us left!”
"Fourteen! This was the first time I heard that ten minus one would become fourteen. You mean nine people, right? Otherwise, you haven't told me all their names yet.”
"Oh my god, you must not have seen Ou Yin and Gloin! They're here. I hope you can forgive them for disturbing you.”
"Oh, come on in! Move quickly! You two, come in and sit down. But listen, Gandalf, even now, it's just you and the Hobbits and ten dwarves. That would add up to eleven (and one missing guy), not fourteen, unless wizards did not do the math the way the average person did. Forget it, continue with your story!" Beweng didn't look overly interested, but in fact, he was already quite fascinated by the story. Did you know? In fact, a long time ago, he was quite familiar with the area that Gandalf described. When the story progressed to the part where they caused a landslide and charged into the pack of wolves, he nodded and growled in approval.
When Gandaph mentioned that everyone had climbed up the tree and that there were mount wolves below, he stood up excitedly and began to pace back and forth."I wish I was there! Other than fireworks, I can also teach them a good lesson!”
" Alright." Gandalf was very happy to see that his story had made a good impression on the other party. "I did my best! The warg was raging around us, and the forest was on fire. At this moment, the orcs came down from the mountains and found us. They shouted happily and began to sing and laugh at us. There were fifteen birds on the five trees…
"Good heavens!" " Don't say that orcs can't count," Beweng shouted." Twelve people are different from fifteen. Even if they are stupid, they know the difference!"”
"I know that too, because there's still Beaver and Boffo. I didn't dare to introduce them before, but these two have only just appeared.”Beaver and Boffo walked in. "And me!" Pang Bo ran in, panting and sweating profusely. He was fat and angry at being left behind, so he rushed in with the two people in front of him without waiting for five minutes.
"Well, now there are finally fifteen of you. Since the orcs are not bad at math, I think it should be these people hiding in the tree. You can finish the story without being disturbed this time!”Mr. Baggins finally understood how smart Gandalf was. The interruption only made Bion more interested in the story, and the story made it impossible for him to chase away all the dwarves like beggars. As long as it was possible to avoid it, he would never invite outsiders into his house. He only had a few friends, and these people lived far away. Not only that, he rarely invited more than ten people into the house at a time. Now, there were fifteen strangers sitting on his balcony!
By the time the wizard told them about the rescue operation of the giant eagle and how they came to Carlock, the sun had already set in the Misty Mountains, and Beweng's garden was shrouded in shadows.
"What a great story!" He said,"It's the best story I've heard in a long time. If all beggars could tell stories like yours, I might be more generous!" Of course, you might have made it up, but this story will earn you dinner. Let's find something to eat!"
"Yes, thank you!" "Thank you very much," they said in unison.”
The hall was now very dark. Beweng clapped his hands and four beautiful white ponies and a few slender greyhounds walked in. Beweng spoke to them in a language that sounded like the roar of an animal. They went out and quickly came back with torches in their mouths. Then they lit torches from the fire in the fireplace and stuck them on the surrounding pillars. The dogs could stand on their hind legs and carry things on their front legs when necessary. In a moment, they took out boards and supports from the wall next to them and placed them in front of the fireplace.
Then, they heard baa-baa-baa! A charcoal black goat led a few snow-white sheep in. One carried a white cloth embroidered with animal patterns on its back, while the other sheep carried plates, knives, and wooden spoons on their broad backs. The dogs took these things and immediately placed them on the table. The tables were so low that even Birbo could sit comfortably beside them. A pony pushed two short benches to the table, and two low stools with cushions were pushed to the table for Gandalf and Thorin to sit on. At the main seat was a large black chair similar to Beweng's design (his legs had to be placed under the table when eating). He had used up all the chairs he had kept in the hall. He had deliberately made these chairs shorter, most likely to make it easier to serve his animals. Where should the others sit? Of course, they had not been forgotten. The other ponies rolled in on round stakes. These wooden stakes had been specially polished and painted, and Birbo could sit comfortably on them. Soon, everyone sat down at Beon's table. It had been a long time since this hall had seen such a lively scene.
After that, it was time for dinner. They hadn't had such a formal meal since they left Elrond's last shelter. The light of the torch shone on them, and on the table were two huge candles made of red beeswax. When they were eating, Beweng would tell the story of the wilderness on this side of the mountains in a low voice, especially the dark and dangerous forest they were about to face. It extended to the north and south, about the distance of a day's ride. This Gloomy Jungle was the obstacle that prevented them from heading east.
This book is provided by FunNovel Novel Book | Fan Fiction Novel [Beautiful Free Novel Book]