유용, 영어에 다시 도전하다면? 이것으로 할란다.

#유용, 영어에 다시 도전하다면? 이것으로 할란다.

 

 

• Before you continue, understand that the story you are about to read is NOT the original text. It is a special adaptation for beginner English learners. The story is the same, but the language has been edited. Continue at your own peril... 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.
• The Hobbit Or “There and Back Again”. By J.R.R. Tolkien Learning English through reading - for beginners. Read by Joshua Cashill Chapter One 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. 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 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, 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, to 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 the 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. Chapter 3 Roast Mutton Or cooked sheep to you and me. Bilbo woke up suddenly. As he walked to the kitchen, he realized that his nightmares from the night before were not bad dreams at all! What a terrible mess there was in the kitchen! Not only had the Dwarves left without waking Bilbo up, they had used every bowl and plate and cup and glass for breakfast, and they did not wash anything!
• He was relieved that they were gone, but he also felt a little disappointed. “Don’t be silly, Bilbo Baggins!” he said to himself. “Just imagine, you climbing mountains and fighting dragons! And at your age!” He began to eat some cake, which helped him forget the adventures from the night before. Suddenly, Gandalf appeared! “My dear Hobbit, what are you doing here?” Gandalf said.
• “Did you not see the message?” “What message?” said poor Mr. Baggins, very confused all over again. “Confusticate and bebother all Hobbits!” Gandalf said in frustration. He walked over to the living room table and picked up a note that was left there. It was written on Bilbo’s own paper, which was very expensive! This is what the message said: Thorin and Company to Burglar Baggins, good morning! We thank you for your hospitality.
• And we accept your professional assistance on our journey. Terms: cash when the job is finished, but only one fourteenth of the total, if any. All traveling expenses are guaranteed. Funeral expenses, if necessary, will be paid by our representatives. We did not think it was necessary to wake you up, so we have left already in order to make all necessary preparations.
• We will wait for you at the Green Dragon Inn, in Bywater at 11:00 am sharp. Please be punctual. Sincerely, Thorin and company. “You have only ten minutes to get to the Green Dragon Inn,” said Gandalf. “But -,” said Bilbo. “There is no time for it,” said the Wizard. “But -,” said Bilbo again. “No time for that, either! Fly, you fool!” Until the day he died, Bilbo had no idea how he left his comfortable Hobbit home, without a hat or walking stick or any money.
• He threw Gandalf his house keys and he ran as fast as his furry little feet could run down the road, past the big Mill, across The Water, and then on for another mile to Bywater, just as the clock was marking eleven. And to make matters worse, he realized he had left without a pocket handkerchief! The Dwarves were waiting for Bilbo when he arrived, out of breath and confused all over again.
• There were many ponies, and each of them carried all kinds of baggage - food, tools and other important equipment. There was also a very small pony, especially for Bilbo. “Up you go, Mr. Burglar! Let us begin our journey!” said Thorin, as this very unexpected party began walking down the path towards Lonely Mountain, far away to the East.
• Soon, Gandalf arrived on a beautiful white horse. He brought many things from Bilbo’s home, including a lot of pocket handkerchiefs and Bilbo’s pipe and tobacco. Bilbo was very happy. After that, the party traveled along the path very happily, singing songs and telling stories. And Bilbo began to think that adventures were not such terrible things.
• For the first few days of their journey, they traveled through familiar lands, where people were friendly and sang songs that Bilbo recognized. But soon, they entered the Lone-lands, where there were no people, no inns, and the roads were more difficult to travel. The hills around them began to get bigger and bigger, and on some of them there were old castles that did not look very comfortable.
• It began to rain and it did not stop for many days. Travel became miserable - it was cold and wet. But even with the difficult conditions, the party continued eastward towards the Misty Mountains. “I’m sure the rain has made all our food and dry clothing wet,” thought Bilbo. “I haven’t even burgled yet, but I’m tired of burgling and everything that has to do with it! I wish I was at home in my nice hole next to the fire under a warm blanket!” It was not the last time Bilbo wished that! Night was falling as the party needed to stop and find a dry place to sleep.
• The Dwarves, and especially the Hobbit, were anxious to begin cooking dinner. But it was not until that moment that they realized that Gandalf was not with them. So far he had come all the way with them, but the group was not sure if he was part of the adventure or only keeping them company for a while. But Gandalf had eaten the most food, talked the most, and laughed the most.
• But now he simply was not there! They decided to make camp right where they were, in a wet patch under some trees. It was impossible to light a fire with all the rain. “What a perfect time for a Wizard to be helpful,” complained Thorin. Lighting suddenly cracked in the night, and one of the ponies ran away in terror! Fili and Kili tried to run after it and catch it, but the poor animal jumped into a river and drowned, with most of the food they had for the night, and the breakfast for the next day.
• “We have lost the pony, and dinner,“ said Kili when he and Fili returned without the beast.  “And breakfast,” said Fili. “But we saw a light in the distance. Maybe we should go and see what it is.” The Dwarves argued about this decision for some time - some saying it was too dangerous in this area so close to the mountains, and others saying that maybe there might be some food and protection from the weather.
• Thunder sounded again and it began to pour even more than before. “There are fourteen of us, after all,” said Thorin. “And we have a burglar with us.” That decided the matter. So, the Dwarves, Hobbit and remaining ponies all walked off, wet and miserable, in the direction of the light. Suddenly the red light was very bright through the trees.
• “Now it is the Burglar’s turn,” said Thorin. “Go and discover as much as you can about the light. See if there are people there and if it is safe,” he said to Bilbo. “Now, hurry and come back quickly if all is well! If not, come back if you can! If you can’t, hoot twice like a barn-owl and once like a screech-owl and we will try to help you.
• ” Thorin gave the Hobbit a push and Bilbo ran off towards the light, before he could explain that he did not know how to hoot like any owl! But Hobbits can move perfectly quietly in the forest. They are very proud of this ability. And not even an owl would have heard Bilbo on this night! So, naturally, he was able to walk right next to the fire and this is what he saw: Three very large persons sitting around a very large fire.
• They were cooking lamb on long pieces of wood and licking their fingers. What a wonderful smell there was! There was also a barrel of good drink near the fire and they were drinking out of large cups. But they were trolls, obviously trolls. Even Bilbo could see that: their large faces, their size, and the shape of their legs, not to mention the way they were talking, which was very rude and not appropriate for dinner parties.
• “Mutton yesterday, mutton today, and blimey, if it don’t look like mutton again tomorrow, Bert” said one of the trolls. “Aye, Tom, never a stinking bit of manflesh for a long time,” said another troll. “What were William a-thinking to bring us to this here region, anyway?” said Bert, and hit the arm of William, who was taking a drink from his cup.
• William choked and coughed. “Shut you mouths, you swine! All you do is complain like a couple of goblin pups. Eat your mutton, and shut your gobs!” said William. Now Bilbo was no fool. He had read a lot about trolls - in the comfort of his Hobbit hole in Hobbiton, of course, and he knew that trolls would eat him or a Dwarf or a man faster than a Hobbit could blink an eye.
• But he did not want to return to the Dwarves with nothing - he was a “burglar” after all! So while Bert and Tom went to get more drink, Bilbo snuck up to William and put his little hand in his big pocket, and closed his fingers around a money bag. He thought, “I did it! This is the beginning of a fine career as a Burglar!” As Bilbo pulled the heavy money bag out, William turned around and grabbed Bilbo by the neck, before he could escape.
• “Oi, who are you?” “Blimey, Bert, look what I caught me here!” said William. “What is it?” aid the others, as they came into the light of the fire. “How am I supposed to know. What are you?” asked William.  “Bilbo Baggins, a bur…a Hobbit!” said poor Bilbo, shaking in terror, and wondering how to make a noise like an owl before they ate him.
• “A burrahobbit?” they said, a bit confused. Trolls are not the smartest creatures on Middle Earth. “What’s a burrahobbit doing in my pocket?” asked William. “Hey, fellas, maybe there be more of them around, and we’s can make a pie. Oi, you? Are there any more of you urrahobbits sneaking ‘round here?” asked William as he picked Bilbo up by the toes.
• “Yes, lots,” cried Bilbo, before he remembered not to talk about his friends. “No! None at all, not a single one,” he said immediately after. “What d’you mean, ‘lots and none at all’?” asked William. “I say we roast ‘em alive right now!” Bert looked at Bilbo and said, “We can pull him into pieces and eat him raw!” Tom shook his head and said, “No, let’s sit on him and turn him into a jelly?” The trolls, as trolls will often do, began to argue about the many ways to cook and eat a Hobbit.
• They began fighting and rolling around on the ground around the fire, and when William dropped Bilbo, he had time to find a place to hide. Bilbo did not go far, though. He was too scared and in too much pain to run away. While the trolls were fighting and Bilbo was resting, the Dwarves heard the noises and came to investigate.
• They walked right into the light of the fire. The moment Tom saw the Dwarves, he gave a tremendous howl! Now, if you did not know it, trolls absolutely detest Dwarves. When Tom screamed, William and Bert stopped fighting immediately and before the Dwarves knew what happened, the trolls had captured them and put each and every one of them in a dirty sack.
• At that moment, Gandalf returned! But no one saw him. The trolls had just decided to roast the Dwarves now and eat them later. But a voice said, “Let’s not roast them, it will take too long.” Bert thought it was William and said, “Don’t start the argument again, William, or it will take all night!” William looked angrily at Bert and said, “Who’s arguing?” “You’re arguing’!” Bert replied to William “Liar!” Screamed William, and they all started fighting again.
• “Stop it!” yelled Tom. “The night is about to end and dawn comes early here. Let’s eat them!” Then a voice said loudly, “Dawn take you all and turn you to stone!” At that moment the light from the rising sun came over the hill and the trolls raised their hands to cover their faces and were about to scream.
• But they never made a sound: the trolls were turned to stone where they stood. Birds came in the dawn and sat on their stone heads and sang a morning song. Trolls, as you probably know, must be out of the sun before the day starts or they return to the elements they are made from, and never move again. That is what happened to Bert and Tom and William.
• They turned to stone in the sunlight. “Excellent!” said Gandalf, as he came from behind a tree, and helped Bilbo to his feet. Then Bilbo understood. It was the Wizard’s voice that distracted the trolls and caused them to fight until the sun came up and turned them to stone. The unhappy Dwarves were rescued from their sacks.
• They thanked Gandalf and suggested that Bilbo not steal from trolls in the future. “Stop complaining!” said Gandalf. “We must find the trolls’ cave. I’m sure we will find something we can use on our journey.” With a key they found on William, they opened the door to a cave they discovered nearby. The smell was terrible when they entered the dark space.
• But there was a lot of food and clothing and many other useful things the trolls had stolen and kept in the cave. There were many pots of gold coins and several beautiful swords of various shapes and sizes. Gandalf and Thorin each took one of these, and Bilbo took a small knife in a leather scabbard (it would only be a pocket knife for a troll, but it was like a longsword for a Hobbit!).
• “These look like good blades,” said the Wizard, drawing one of the swords from its scabbard and looking at it curiously. “These swords were not made by any troll, or by any ironmaster among men in these parts or in these days. When we can read this ancient writing on the blades, we will know more about them.
• ” They left the troll cave, with a good amount of gold and food and drink. And because their night had been disturbed, they slept until the afternoon. When they woke up, they buried the pots of gold in a secret location, in case they returned, and prepared to continue their journey. “Where did you go?” Thorin asked Gandalf as they rode their ponies along the road.
• “To look ahead,” he answered. “And why did you come back when we needed you the most?” Thorin asked. “Looking behind,” said Gandalf.  “What on Middle Earth do you mean, Gandalf?” asked Thorin in frustration. “I went ahead to see what was on the road. It will soon become dangerous and difficult. But I met some friends from Rivendell on the way.
• They told me about some trolls that were making trouble near the road. You will reach Rivendell in a few days and we will speak with Elrond, who is master there. But Thorin, please be more careful next time, or this journey will be a very short one!” Thorin looked at Gandalf and said, “Thank you, great Wizard!” Chapter 4 A Short Rest The journey continued for many days, and they began to feel the danger that was all around them.
• There was very little food in the bags, and at night, their ponies ate better than they did. One morning they crossed a river that was wide and shallow. The water made a pleasant sound as it flowed over the rocks. Bilbo could not identify exactly what he was feeling, but he sensed a magic that was in the river as they crossed to the other side.
• They continued on and Bilbo could see that the mountains were much closer than before. “Is that THE Mountain?” asked Bilbo, looking at a dark peak in the distance. “Of course not!” said Gandalf. “That is only the Misty Mountains. We must go through them or over them or under them to the other side. And after that, we must travel a very long way before we reach the Mountain where Smaug sleeps on our treasure.
• ” Gandalf was leading the party. “We must pay attention to the road, or we will be lost in the wilderness,” he said. “We need food and supplies, and rest in a safe place before we cross the Misty Mountains.” The Dwarves asked him where they were going and he answered: “We are going towards the beautiful valley of Rivendell where Elrond lives.
• I sent a message by my friends. He is expecting us.” “I have found the path!” cried Gandalf. “We are close now.” They all could hear the sound of water falling and the scent of the trees was clean and fresh. And in the distance, they could see the light of fires and torches. It was Rivendell, one of the last homes of the Elves in Middle Earth.
• “It feels like Elves,” thought Bilbo as they approached a bridge that crossed a small river. They could hear the voices of Elves now, singing and talking in the darkness. They stayed for fourteen days at that house, and it was difficult for them to leave. Bilbo felt like he could stay there forever and ever, even if he could fly back to his comfortable Hobbit home in the Shire.
• But there is very little to tell about their stay with Elrond, the master of the house, and a friend of Gandalf. Elrond’s part in the story of Bilbo’s great adventure is only a small one, but an important one, as you will see. He was a great Elf warrior and leader, a descendant of Men and Elves. He was noble and strong, and as wise as a wizard.
• He knew all about ancient writing and languages, and he was able to read the strange symbols on the swords Gandalf and Thorin found in the troll cave. “These are not troll swords,” said Elrond as he examined them. “They are very old. They were made by the High Elves of the West. They were made in the great city of Gondolin for the Goblin wars.
• The runes on these swords give their names. Thorin, your sword is called ‘Orcrist, the Goblin-cutter’ in the ancient language of Gondolin. It was a famous blade. This sword, Gandalf, was ‘Glamdring, Enemy-hammer’. The king of Gondolin used it himself. You may need them as soon as you cross the Misty Mountains.
• ” “But show me your map!” Elrond continued. Thorin gave the map to Elrond and he looked at it for a long time. The moon was shining bright in the night sky and Elrond held up the map and the moonlight came through it. “What is this?” he said. “There are moon-letters here, next to the visible words that identify the secret door.
• ” “What are moon-letters?” asked the Hobbit, full of excitement. “Moon-letters are magical letters that can only be seen when the moon shines behind them. They were invented by the Dwarves,” explained Elrond. “What do they say?” asked Gandalf and Thorin together. Elrond began to read, “stand by the gray stone when the thrush knocks, and the last light of the setting sun on Durin’s Day will shine on the keyhole.
• ” “Durin, Durin!” said Thorin. “He was the father of the fathers of the race of Dwarves, and my ancestor: I am his heir. But we have lost the skill to know when Durin’s Day is, except that it is a day between autumn and winter. “Is there any more writing on the map?” asked Gandalf. “None that I can read with this moon,” answered Elrond.
• “Perhaps you will learn more on your journey.” The next morning was a perfect summer day, beautiful and warm. The party rode away from Rivendell as the Elves sang and danced. Their hearts were ready for more adventure and they were prepared for the next phase of their journey: to cross over the Misty Mountains.
• Chapter 5 Over Hill and Under Hill There were many paths that went up the mountains, and many passes that went over the mountains to the other side. But most of the paths were deceptions and were not safe. And most of the passes were full of evil things and terrible danger. And with the advice of Elrond and the memory of Gandalf, they followed the right path up to the right pass.
• But even the plans of wise wizards like Gandalf and good friends like Elrond can go wrong when you travel on dangerous adventures. And this adventure was dangerous and the plans did go wrong. Everything was going well until there was a terrible thunderstorm, like a great battle in the sky! The lightning crashed onto the mountain peaks and the sound of thunder filled the night and rolled into every cave and cavern.
• Bilbo had never seen or imagined anything like it. The wind and rain blew in every direction, and the party was cold and wet. “We cannot stay here!” said Thorin. “We will be blown off the mountain by the wind or we will drown in the rain or we will be hit by lightning or we will freeze in the cold!” “Well, if you know a safe place to stay, take us there!” said Gandalf, who was feeling very irritable.
• He was quite afraid of the lightning too. The argument ended when Fili and Kili went to look for a safer place. They were the youngest Dwarves and they had the best eyes. It is always better to look for something if you want to find it, even if you find something you were not expecting. Soon Fili and Kili came back.
• “We have found a dry cave,” they said, “not far from here on the path. We can all fit inside, even the ponies.” “Have you explored the cave carefully?” asked the Wizard. Gandalf knew that caves in the mountains were usually occupied with something! “Yes, yes!” they said, but everybody knew that they could not have looked too carefully - they had returned too quickly.
• “It isn’t that big, and it does not go far back.” That, of course, is the dangerous part about caves: you do not know how far they go back, or what is waiting for you inside. But the wind and rain and lightning were too much for the party. So they followed the path for a short time and there, behind a rock, was a hole in the side of the mountain.
• It felt good to hear the sound of the storm outside and not all around them. But the wizard was not going to take any risks. He lit up his staff and with its light they explored the cave from front to back. They lit no fire - Gandalf would not allow it. They made their blankets comfortable and they began to fall asleep.
• It was a good thing that Bilbo was with them. He slept badly and had very scary dreams. He dreamed that a hole in the wall at the back of the cave got bigger and bigger, but he could not call out - he could only look. Suddenly he woke up and saw that part of his dream was true. There was a hole at the back of the cave! He was just in time to see the last of the ponies disappearing into it.
• He gave a very loud yell, as loud a yell as a Hobbit can give, which is surprising for their size. Out jumped the goblins, big goblins, lots of goblins! The Dwarves and Hobbit were all grabbed and carried back into the hole before they knew what was happening. But not Gandalf! Bilbo’s yell woke him up and when the goblins came to grab him, there was a tremendous flash like lightning in the cave, and several goblins fell dead! The hole at the back of the cave closed with a loud CRACK! and Bilbo and the Dwarves were on the wrong side of it!
• Where was Gandalf? The goblins carried them along the passage, deep, deep into the mountain, where goblins like to live. The passages were confusing, but the goblins knew their way, like you know your way to the nearest post office. They took the party down, down into the dark, and laughed in horrible voices as they went.
• Bilbo was more unhappy than when the troll had picked him up by his toes. He wished again and again for his comfortable Hobbit-home, and not for the last time. The goblins pushed and pulled and scratched and bit them, and they ran and ran for a very long time until they came into a large cavern, with a huge red fire in the middle.
• It was full of goblins! The ponies were already there in a corner, and the goblins were looking through the baggage, smelling it, touching it and fighting over it. It was the last time Bilbo and the Dwarves saw the ponies, including the little teeny pony that was especially for Bilbo. Bilbo and the Dwarves were pushed towards another corner of the cavern and there, in the shadows, sat a tremendous goblin with a huge head.
• Armed goblins were standing around him with axes and curved swords. Now goblins are cruel and bad-hearted. They make no beautiful things, but they make clever things. Hammers, axes, swords, daggers and also instruments of torture they make very well. They can mine and tunnel almost as well as the Dwarves, when they want to, or they use their prisoners to do the work for them until they die from lack of food and water and light.
• “Who are these miserable persons?” said the Great Goblin. “Dwarves, and this!” said one of the goblins, pushing Bilbo so that he fell onto the ground. “We found them hiding in our Front Cave.” “What do you have to say for yourselves? Are you spies? Murderers? Friends of Elves? Thieves, I imagine? “Thorin at your service!” he replied.
• It was not a very good response to a goblin king, but it was polite enough. “We were looking for protection from the storm. The cave seemed like a convenient place. We had no intention to inconvenience goblins in any way.” That was true! “So you say!” said the Great Goblin. “So you say! What are you doing here in the mountains in the first place, and where are you coming from, and where are you going? In fact, I would like to know all about you.
• It will not help you, though, Thorin Oakenshield, I know who you are. Tell me now, or I will prepare something very uncomfortable for you!” Thorin was not sure exactly what to say at the moment, especially when he could not tell the truth to the goblin king. So, he invented a story about visiting relatives on the other side of the Misty Mountains.
• “He is a liar, oh Great One!” said one of the goblins. “They killed several of us back in the cave with lightning, and he is carrying this!” The goblin showed the sword Thorin had taken from the troll cave. The Great Goblin knew the sword immediately. He gave a great howl of anger when he saw it, and all the goblin soldiers made a tremendous noise.
• The sword had killed hundreds of goblins in the past, when the Elves of Gondolin hunted them in the hills or killed them on their castle walls. The Elves had named the sword Orcrist, Goblin-cutter, but the goblins just called it “Biter”. They hated it and hated even more anyone who carried it. “Murderers and Elf-friends!” the Great Goblin shouted.
• “Cut them! Beat them! Bite them! Chew them! Take them away and throw them in dark holes full of snakes and never let them see the light again!” He was so angry that he jumped off his chair and ran towards Thorin with his mouth open, ready to bite Thorin’s head right off! At that moment, all the lights in the cavern went out.
• The large fire turned into a column of blue smoke that rose all the way to the ceiling of the cavern and turned into a hot white light. The light fell in burning particles among the goblins and they began to scream in fear and pain! The smoke from the fire and the burning goblins filled the cavern, making it impossible to see anything.
• The goblins began to bite and kick and fight, as if they had all gone mad. Suddenly a sword burned white in its own light. Bilbo saw the sword cut right through the Great Goblin as he stood in the smoke. He was killed instantly and the goblin soldiers all ran away from the sword in terror. The sword went back into its scabbard.
• “Follow me quick! They will come after us!” said a voice in the darkness. And before Bilbo understood what was happening, he was running as fast as he could run, at the back of the line of Dwarves, down a dark passage. Soon he could not hear the sound of the screaming goblins. “Run faster, faster!” said the voice.
• “I can hear them coming!” They ran for a long time down black passages. Dori, who was at the back of the line next to Bilbo, put the Hobbit on his shoulders and began to run again, on and on in the dark. Then Gandalf lit up his staff. Of course it was Gandalf! He took out his sword again, and again it burned with a bright light.
• It burned in anger when there were goblins nearby, and now it was as bright as blue fire after killing the Great Goblin. “Are we all here?” asked Gandalf. Thorin began counting, “two, three, four, five, six, seven, eight, nine, ten, eleven; where are Fili and Kili? Here they are! twelve, thirteen - and here’s Mr.
• Baggins: fourteen! Well, it could be worse, but it could be much better. No ponies, no food, and we do not know where we are going - and there are many angry goblins who want to eat us. Let’s go!” On they went, as fast as they could. They could hear the goblins getting closer and closer. So they ran faster than ever, and poor Bilbo could not keep up, so the Dwarves took turns carrying him on their backs.
• But goblins travel faster than Dwarves in the dark, and these goblins knew the way. The Dwarves heard their yells and cries as they got closer and closer. Soon they could see the red of the goblin torch light behind them, and they were getting terribly tired. “Why, oh, why did I ever leave my Hobbit-hole!” said poor Mr.
• Baggins, bouncing up and down on Bombur’s back. “Why, oh, why did we ever bring a Hobbit on a treasure hunt!” said poor Bombur, who was very fat, and having difficulty staying with the party. “Turn around, Thorin, and draw your sword!” shouted Gandalf. The goblins came around the corner and Glamdring and Orcrist were waiting for them.
• Many goblins fell dead to these terrible blades! The goblins turned around and ran away. But they did not go far. The bravest and fastest goblins extinguished their torches and took off their iron shoes. These ran forward as quickly and silently as the wind in the dark, and the Dwarves and Gandalf did not hear them whey they came up quietly behind them.
• Suddenly, Dori, who was at the back of the line and carrying Bilbo, shouted out! A goblin grabbed him and he fell, and the Hobbit rolled off his shoulders into the darkness, bumped his head on a rock and remembered nothing more. Chapter 6 Riddles in the Dark When Bilbo woke up, he was not sure if his eyes were open or closed.
• It was as dark as dark could be! There was no one anywhere near him. Imagine how scared he was! He could not hear anything, he could not see anything, and he could not feel anything except the cold stone floor. He got up very slowly and began to crawl until he touched the wall of the tunnel. There was no sign of goblins, and there was no sign of the Dwarves.
• And he was not sure which direction they were traveling when he fell. He took a guess and began crawling in that direction. He crawled for a long time in the dark, until his fingers touched something. It felt like a tiny ring of cold metal on the floor of the tunnel. It was a very important moment in his career, but he did not realize it at the moment.
• He put the ring in his pocket, almost without thinking about it. It certainly did not seem very useful to him at that moment. Then he sat down on the cold floor. He was miserable. He thought about cooking bacon and eggs in his comfortable kitchen in his comfortable Hobbit-hole. He was very hungry, after all.
• But thinking just made him hungrier and more miserable. After some time, he continued down the passage, passing many tunnels on one side and then on the other side. But he walked quickly past these passages - there might be goblins in them! On and on he went, until suddenly, in the dark, he stepped - SPLASH - into water! It was as cold as ice! Bilbo could not swim, so he did not go into the water.
• He also imagined dark slimy things with big eyes moving in the water. There are strange things living in underground lakes. Things that swam in ages and ages ago and never left. Even in the tunnels and caves the goblins made, there are other things living in them that came in from the outside to live in the dark.
• And deep down here by the black water lived Gollum. No one knows where Gollum came from. And no one knew who or what he was. He was Gollum. His body was as dark as darkness, with two big round pale eyes. His face was thin. He lived on a small island in the middle of the lake - it was in fact a lake, very deep and very cold - and he used a little boat to move quietly to and from his island.
• He ate raw fish that he caught with his long fingers. And he ate raw goblins, too, when he could find them. He grabbed them in the dark from behind and choked them! Gollum was in his little boat, and he was watching Bilbo from a distance. He could see that Bilbo was not a goblin. His big round pale eyes were like telescopes in the darkness.
• So, while Bilbo was sitting miserable and confused on a rock near the lake, Gollum approached him silently from the water. “It’s not a fishes, is its, my precioussss? No, but it’s a fat feast, a tasty bite it would be for us, gollum!” hissed Gollum. When he said “gollum” he made a horrible sound in his throat.
• That is how he got his name, but he always called himself “my precious”. Bilbo almost jumped out of his own skin when he heard the sound, and he suddenly saw the large round pale eyes looking at him in the darkness. He remembered his little sword and drew it. “Who are you?” said Bilbo, pushing his sword in front of him.
• “What iss he, my preciousss?” whispered Gollum. (he always spoke to himself because he never had anyone else to speak to). This is what Gollum wanted to know. He was not very hungry at the moment, only curious. If he had been hungry, he would have grabbed him first and whispered questions after. “I am Mr. Bilbo Baggins.
• I have lost my dwarves and I have lost my wizard, and I have lost my way.” “What’s he gots in his handses?” said Gollum, looking at the sword, which he did not quite like. “A sword, a blade which comes from Gondolin!” “Sssss,” said Gollum, and he became very polite. Gollum was trying to appear friendly, at least for the moment, so he said, “Praps ye sits here and talks with it, my preciousss.
• It likes riddles, does it?” He wanted to find out more about the Hobbit, if he was really alone or if he was good to eat. Gollum could only think of riddles. They were the only game he could remember playing with other creatures. Before he came down, down into the dark under the mountain. “Ok,” said Bilbo, who was very nervous and wanted to agree.
• He wanted to find out more about this creature, if he was really alone, if he was good or bad, or if he was a friend of the goblins. “You ask first,” he said. He could not think of a riddle in his anxious condition. So Gollum hissed: “What has roots that nobody sees, is taller than trees. Up, up it goes, but it never grows?” “Easy!” said Bilbo.
• “Mountain, I imagine.” “Does it guess easy? It must have a competition with us, my preciouss! If precious asks, and it doesn't answer, we eats it, my preciousss. If it asks us, and we doesn't answer, then we does what it wants, eh? We shows it the way out, yes!” “All right!” said Bilbo. He did not want to disagree.
• But he was having difficulty thinking of riddles to save him from being eaten! So he thought of this one to gain some time: “A box without hinges, key, or lid, but golden treasure inside is hid.” Bilbo thought this was a very easy riddle, but it was very difficult for poor Gollum. He hissed to himself, and cried and spit.
• Bilbo became impatient after some time. “Well, what is it?” he said. “Give us a chance; give us a chance, my preciouss-ss-ss.” “Well,” said Bilbo, after giving him a long chance, “what is your guess?” But suddenly Gollum remembered stealing from bird nests long ago, and sitting next to the river teaching his grandmother to suck -”Eggses!” he hissed.
• “Eggses it is!” Then he asked: “It cannot be seen, it cannot be felt, it cannot be heard, it cannot be smelt. It exists behind stars and under hills, and empty holes it fills. It comes first and follows after, ends life, kills laughter.” Bilbo of course had heard that kind of riddle before. And the answer was all around him, anyway.
• “Dark!” he said without having to put on his thinking cap. He continued with his next riddle. “An eye in a blue face, saw an eye in a green face. ‘That eye is like this eye” said the first eye, but in a low place, not in a high place.’” “Ss, ss, ss,” said Gollum. He had been underground for so long that he could not remember that kind of thing.
• Bilbo thought Gollum was not going to be able to answer. But suddenly, Gollum remembered a time ages and ages ago when he lived with his grandmother in a hole near a river. “Sss, sss, my preciouss,” he said. “Sun on the daisies it means, it does.” These “above ground” riddles were beginning to bore Gollum.
• They reminded him of days when he was less lonely and cruel. They also made him hungry. So his next riddle was more difficult and more unpleasant: “This thing all things devours: Birds, beasts, trees, flowers; gnaws iron, bites steel; grinds hard stones to meal; slays king, ruins town, and beats high mountain down.
• ” Poor Bilbo sat in the dark thinking of all the horrible names of all the terrible creatures he knew, but none of them had done all of those things. He had a feeling that the answer was easy. He also thought that he should know it, but he could not think of it. He began to get frightened, and that is bad for thinking.
• Gollum began to get out of his boat. Bilbo could see his eyes coming towards him. He was terrified! He wanted to shout out: “Give me more time! Give me more time!” But the only word that came out in a frightened yell was: “Time! “Time! Time!” Bilbo was saved by pure luck. For that of course was the answer: “time.
• ” Gollum was disappointed again, and now he was getting angry. He was also getting tired of the game. He was becoming very hungry. Gollum sat close by Bilbo, looking at him. And Bilbo became terribly uncomfortable and completely unable to think! “It's got to ask uss a quesstion, my preciouss, yes, yess, yesss.
• Jusst one more quesstion to guess, yes, yess,” said Gollum. But Bilbo simply could not think of any question with Gollum sitting so close to him, pressuring him. Bilbo thought and thought. “Ask us! Ask us!” said Gollum. Bilbo pinched himself and slapped himself. He held his little sword in one hand and, by accident, felt in his pocket with his other hand.
• And there, in the bottom of his pocket was the ring he had picked up in the passage. He had completely forgotten about it! “What do I have in my pocket?” he asked out loud. He was only talking to himself, but Gollum heard him and thought it was a riddle, and he became very upset. “Not fair! Not fair!” he hissed.
• “It isn't fair, my precious, is it, to ask us what it's got in its nassty little pocketses?” Bilbo realized what had happened. But he could not think of a better question, so he continued, “What do I have in my pocket?” “S-s-s-s-s,” hissed Gollum. “It must give us three guesses, my preciouss, three guesses.
• ” “Very well! Guess away!” said Bilbo. “Handses!” said Gollum. “Wrong,” said Bilbo, who was lucky and had just taken his hand out of his pocket. “Guess again!” “S-s-s-s-s,” said Gollum. He was more upset than ever. He thought of all the things he kept in his own pockets: fishbones, goblins’ teeth, a bit of bat wing, and other nasty things.
• He tried to think of what other people kept in their pockets. “Knife!” he said at last. “Wrong!” said Bilbo, who had lost his own knife a long time ago. “Last guess!” Gollum was obviously having difficulty controlling himself. He hissed and spit and jumped up and down and wriggled and squirmed. But he did not want to waste his last guess.
• “Come on!” said Bilbo. “I am waiting!” He tried to sound courageous and confident, but he did not know how the game was going to end, even if Gollum guessed right or wrong. “Your time is up!” he said. “String, or nothing!” yelled Gollum. It was not really a fair answer, making two guesses at the same time.
• “Both wrong,” said Bilbo. He was very relieved that the game was over. He stood up and held out his little sword. He understood that even evil creatures were afraid to cheat at the riddle game. But Bilbo did not think he could trust this slimy thing to keep a promise, and he was right not to trust him. Gollum did not attack immediately.
• He could see the sword in Bilbo’s hand. He sat there whispering to himself. Finally, Bilbo could not wait any longer. “Well?” he said. “What about your promise? I want to go. You have to show me the way.” “Iss that what we said, precious? Show the little nassty Baggins the way out, yes, yes. But what has it got in its pocketses, eh? Not string, precious, but not nothing.
• Oh no! gollum!” “It’s none of your business,” said Bilbo. “A promise is a promise.” “Angry it is, impatient, my preciousss,” hissed Gollum. “But it must wait, yes it must. We can't go up the tunnels so quickly. We must go and get some things first, yes, things to help us.” “Well, hurry up!” said Bilbo, relieved that Gollum was going away.
• He thought Gollum was making an excuse to leave and was not going to come back. What was Gollum talking about? What useful thing could he have in his house on the dark lake? But Bilbo was wrong. Gollum was coming back. He was angry now, and hungry. And he was an evil, miserable creature. He had a plan. On his island in the lake there was a place where he hid some of his personal things.
• And one of the things was a very beautiful, very wonderful object. He had a ring, a golden ring, a precious ring. It was a ring of power, and if you put that ring on your finger, you became invisible! You could be seen only in full sunlight. But only because of your shadow, and that was weak and blurry. But who knows how Gollum found the ring, ages ago in the old days when there were many powerful rings in the world? Maybe even the Master of the rings did not know.
• Gollum used to wear the ring at first, until it made him tired. And then he kept it in a small bag at his waist, until it irritated him. Now he usually hid it in the hiding place on his island. He liked to look at it. He could not be far from it for very long. And sometimes he put the ring on when he was hungry and did not want to eat fish anymore.
• He was invisible, and he was safe. But goblins were not. Only a few hours before meeting Bilbo, Gollum had caught a small goblin-pup. How the creature squeaked! There was still a bone or two left for Gollum to gnaw later. But he wanted something soft and fat right now. “We will be very safe, we will, my precsiousss,” he hissed to himself.
• “It won’t see us, will it? No. It won’t see us. And its nasty little sword will not hurt us.” That was how Gollum’s evil mind worked. He moved quickly towards his boat and pushed off into the lake. Bilbo thought that was the last time he would ever see him. But he waited for a while. He still did not know how to find his own way out, after all.
• Suddenly he heard a terrible screech. It made Bilbo very scared. Gollum was cursing and screaming somewhere off in the distance. He was on his island, looking for his ring that was not there. “Where is it? Where iss it?” Bilbo heard him crying. “Losst it is, my precious, lost, lost! ”What's the matter?” Bilbo called.
• “What have you lost?” “It mustn’t ask us,” screamed Gollum. “Not its business, no, gollum! It's losst, gollum, gollum, gollum.” “Well, so am I,” cried Bilbo, “and I want to get unlost. And I won the game, and you promised. So come and let me out, and then you can continue looking!” Bilbo was becoming annoyed at the delay and said, “Come, you never guessed my last question, and you promised to show me the way out.
• ” “Never guessed!” said Gollum. Then suddenly out of the darkness Bilbo heard a loud hiss. “What has it got in its pocketses? Tell us that. It must tell first.” Bilbo had no patience anymore. “Answers were to be guessed not given,” he said. “But it wasn't a fair question,” said Gollum. “Not a riddle, precious, no.
• ” “Oh well, if you want ordinary questions,” Bilbo replied, “then I asked one first. What have you lost? Tell me that!” “What has it got in its pocketses?” The sound was much louder and closer now. And Bilbo could now see two small points of light looking at him from the darkness. As Gollum became more suspicious, the light in his eyes burned in anger.
• “What have you lost?” Bilbo continued. But now the light in Gollum’s eyes was a green fire, and it was coming closer and closer. Gollum was in his boat, coming back to the shore where Bilbo was waiting. He was so angry because he could not find the ring, and his heart was so full of suspicion that he was not scared of the sword Bilbo was holding.
• Bilbo did not understand why the creature was so angry, but he realized that Gollum was going to murder him. Just in time, he turned and ran back up the passage, feeling the wall with his hand. “What has it got in its pocketses?” he heard the hiss loud behind him, and the splash as Gollum jumped from his boat.
• “What do I have in my pocket?” Bilbo asked himself, as he ran up the dark passage. He put his hand in his pocket. The ring was very cold as it quietly slipped onto his finger. The hiss was close behind him. He turned around and saw Gollum’s eyes coming up the passage. They were like small green lamps. Bilbo was terrified! He tried to run faster, but suddenly he hit his toes on a rock in the floor, and he fell on his stomach with his little sword under him.
• Bilbo prepared himself for the attack, but before he could do anything - catch his breath, stand up, move his sword, Gollum passed by. He did not even look at Bilbo. He continued running up the passage, hissing and whispering. Bilbo stood up. His body hurt. His sword was glowing in the dark - goblins were nearby.
• He put the sword in its scabbard, and he began to follow Gollum carefully. What else could he do? “Curse it! Curse it! Curse it!” hissed Gollum. “Curse the Baggins! It's gone! What has it got in its pocketses? Oh we guess, we guess, my precious. He found it, yes he must have.” Suddenly Gollum sat down and began to cry, a sound that came from his throat.
• It was a horrible sound to listen to. Bilbo stopped and stayed close to the tunnel wall. Soon Gollum began to talk again. He seemed to be having an argument with himself. “We can’ts go back to look for it, no. We doesn't remember all the places we visited. We won’ts find it anyway. The Baggins has it in its pocketses; the nassty cheater has found it, we says.
• We guesses, precious, only guesses. We can't know until we find the nassty creature and squeezes it. But it doesn't know what it can do, does it? It’ll just keep it in its pocketses. It doesn't know, and it can't go far. It's lost, the nassty thing. It doesn't know the way out. It said it doesn’t know.” But it knows a way in, it does.
• If it knows a way in, it must know a way out, yes. It's going to the back-door.  The back-door, that's it. The goblinses will catch it then. But if it has our precious, then goblinses will get it, gollum! They’ll find it, they'll find out what it does. One of the goblinses will put it on, and then no one will see him.
• He'll be there but not seen. Not even our eyeses will notice him; and he'll come sneaking and catch us, gollum, gollum!” “So let's stop talking, precious, and make haste. Hurry, hurry! If the Baggins went that way, we must go quick and see. Go! Not far now. Make haste! Hurry!” With a jump, Gollum got up and started running very quickly.
• Bilbo ran after him, carefully at first. He was afraid he was going to trip again and fall and make a loud noise. He was full of hope, though. It seemed that the ring was a magic ring - it made you invisible! He had heard of magic rings, of course. But it was hard to believe that he had really found one, and by accident.
• They ran on and on. Bilbo was behind him, moving as silently as a Hobbit can. Suddenly, Gollum stopped at the entrance to a passage on the right side of the tunnel. “Here's the passage!” he said. He looked in, and then stepped back. “But we mustn't go in, precious, no we mustn't. Goblinses down there. Lots of goblinses.
• We smells them. What shall we do? Curse them and crush them! We must wait here, precious, wait a little and see.” So, Gollum had brought Bilbo to the way out after all, but Bilbo could not get in! Gollum was sitting in front of the opening to the passage and blocking it! Bilbo could see the glow of his eyes as his head moved from side to side in the darkness.
• Bilbo was right behind him, and suddenly Gollum became very still, and he sniffed the air. His eyes became a bright green. He made a terrible hissing sound. He could not see the Hobbit, but now he was alert. And he had other powerful senses he could use in the darkness: hearing and smell. Bilbo almost stopped breathing, and he became perfectly still himself.
• He was desperate. He must get away, out of this horrible darkness. He must fight. He must kill the horrible creature in front of him. Gollum was going to kill him for sure. But Bilbo was a very fair Hobbit, as most Hobbits are. He was invisible now. Gollum had no sword. Gollum had never really threatened to kill him, or tried to kill him yet.
• And he was miserable, alone, lost. Suddenly Bilbo understood. He imagined how this poor creature lived, day after day, age after age, alone, with only the darkness and goblins around him. All these thoughts came into Bilbo’s mind in a flash. And with one final decision, he found new strength and he jumped! It was not an impressive jump for a man, but it was a jump in the dark - over Gollum’s head, two meters forward and one in the air! He did not know it, because it was very dark, but he almost broke his skull on the low entrance to the passage.
• Gollum turned and threw his hands out and tried to grab what he could not see! But he was too late. He caught nothing! Bilbo landed and ran quickly down the tunnel. He did not turn around to see what Gollum was doing. There was a terrible scream from behind him, filled with hatred and despair. Gollum was defeated.
• He had lost. He lost his prey, he lost his dinner, and he lost the only thing he ever loved in his cruel and miserable life, his precious. Bilbo felt terrible for the poor creature, but he continued on. He heard a voice from behind him, very far away, like and echo: “Thief, thief, thief! Baggins! We hates it, we hates it, we hates it forever!” Then there was silence.
• Bilbo took out his little sword and it glowed blue - there were goblins nearby! The passage went on for a long time still. But the passage turned left and there, in the distance, Bilbo could see a very pale light. Not the light of a fire or torch - it was the light of the sun! Bilbo began to run, as fast as his legs could carry him! He turned the last corner and suddenly he came running right into an open space where the light was very bright.
• The light was coming through a large stone door that was open just a little. Bilbo blinked his eyes. After being in the dark for so long, this light was very bright! And then he saw the goblins! Lots of goblins wearing armor and carrying swords. They were all looking at the door and waiting. They were also watching the passage that came to it.
• They were alert and ready for anything. The Goblins saw Bilbo before he saw them. Yes, they saw him. Maybe it was an accident, or maybe it was the final cruel trick of the ring, but it was not on his finger. The goblins yelled with anticipation and they all ran towards him. Bilbo felt a strong sense of fear and finality.
• He did not even take out his sword. He just put his hands in his pockets… And there was the ring, in his left pocket, and it slipped onto his finger. All the goblins stopped suddenly. They could not see him anymore. He had disappeared. They all yelled even more, but in anger this time. There was terrible confusion as they all tried to decide what to do.
• Bilbo was terrified, but he thought to himself, “I must get to the door, I must get to the door!” So he gathered all his courage and ran straight for the opening in the door. The place was full of goblins and he was knocked over by a goblin who did not understand what he bumped into! Bilbo got up on his hands and knees and crawled as fast as he could between the legs of the goblin captain.
• He stood up and ran for the door. The door was still open, but just a little. Biblo tried, but he could not move it. He tried to squeeze through the opening. He squeezed and squeezed, but he was stuck! It was terrible! His buttons caught on the edge of the door. He could see outside into the open air: there were some stairs going down into the trees.
• The sun came out from behind a cloud and was bright on the door. Suddenly one of the goblins inside shouted: “There’s a shadow by the door. Something is outside!” Bilbo's heart jumped into his mouth. He gave a terrific push. Buttons burst off in all directions. He was through! His coat and waistcoat were torn and buttonless, but he was free! He jumped down the stairs like a goat as the confused goblins were still picking up his beautiful buttons.
• Of course they came after him, yelling and shouting and hunting him through the trees. But goblins do not like the sun: it makes them weak and scared. They could not find Bilbo now with the ring on, running quick and quiet, and staying out of the sun under the trees. So soon they went back confused and frustrated to guard the door.
• But Bilbo had escaped. Chapter 7 Out of the Frying Pan, Into the Fire Bilbo had escaped the goblins, but he did not know where he was. And he did not know where his friends were. He was alone and it was getting dark. The sun was beginning to go down and Bilbo realized, “Good heavens! I have gone all the way through to the other side of the Misty Mountains! Oh, where oh where are Gandalf and the Dwarves? I hope they are not back in the mountain, prisoners of the goblins!” Bilbo continued down the mountain, miserable and hungry.
• While he walked, an uncomfortable thought was growing inside him, “Now that I have the magic ring, shouldn’t I go back into those horrible, horrible tunnels and look for my friends?” The idea terrified him. But in the end, he made up his mind that it was his responsibility, his duty to go back and look for them.
• As he turned around to go back up the mountain, he heard voices! He stopped and listened. It did not sound like goblins, so he continued forward very carefully and very quietly. In a safe place hidden by large rocks, there were people talking. He moved even closer to the sound. Suddenly, between two big rocks, he could see a head with a red hood on top - it was Balin! Bilbo could have jumped up and down in happiness, but he did not.
• He still had the ring on. Balin was looking straight at him, without seeing him! “I will give them a surprise they will remember,” he thought. He crawled into some bushes near the group and listened. Gandalf was arguing with the Dwarves. They were discussing and debating what to do now. The Dwarves were unhappy.
• Gandalf was telling the Dwarves that they could not continue on their journey and leave Bilbo in the hands of the goblins. They must go back and discover if he was alive or dead, and try to rescue him if they could. “After all, he is my friend,” said the wizard, “and he is a good little Hobbit. I feel responsible for him.
• And I wish you had not lost him, Dori.” “Good heavens! Do not blame me! We were fighting the goblins in the dark! You almost cut off my head with your sword, and Thorin was swinging Orcrist everywhere. You gave one of your bright flashes of light and then you shouted ‘follow me everybody!’ and everybody should have followed you.
• There was not time to count everyone with all the confusion. And here we are - without our burglar, confusticate him!” “And here’s your burglar!” said Bilbo, walking into the middle of the group, and taking off his ring. How the Dwarves jumped in surprise! They all shouted with happiness to see their lost friend.
• Gandalf was as surprised as any of them, but happier than all of them to see Bilbo again. Bilbo’s reputation went up considerably after his surprising appearance. No one doubted that Bilbo was a first-class burglar now. The Dwarves wanted to know all about Bilbo’s escape. He told them everything, except the part about finding the ring.
• They were very impressed with his heroic jump and escape through the goblin door. “What did I tell you?” said Gandalf laughing. “There is more to Mr. Baggins than you realized.” He looked at Bilbo in a suspicious way as he said those words. Bilbo wondered if Gandalf guessed the part of the story he did not tell them.
• As the party talked in excitement, the wizard reminded them of the danger they were in. “We must leave this place immediately,” he said. “The goblins will come after us as soon as it is dark. They can smell our footsteps for many hours after we have passed. We are still high up in the mountains. We must go down.
• Let’s go!” They went on for a long distance, down valleys and across mountain streams. They came to a very steep hill, covered in small rocks. As they descended the hill, the rocks began to move! They were soon slipping and sliding down the rocky hill at a great speed! When they all arrived safely at the bottom of the hill, Gandalf said, “Well! That fall has moved us down a good distance, and it will be difficult for the goblins to follow us down this hill quietly.
• ” They continued down the mountain for a long time. “Please, can we stop?” asked Bilbo. “My toes are hurting, and my legs cannot move! And my stomach is as empty as my pockets!” “A little further,” said Gandalf. Suddenly, they heard a terrifying sound - a howl in the darkness down the hill! Then the first howl was answered by another howl, much closer on their right.
• Then, there was another howl, even closer to their left! “Wargs!” cried Gandalf. “Escaping goblins to be caught by wargs!” he said. It became a very popular proverb after that, but we know it today as “out of the frying pan, into the fire”.  “Climb up the trees, quick!” cried Gandalf. Luckily, wargs cannot climb trees.
• The Dwarves and Bilbo all ran to find safety in the trees. It was a very funny thing to see: a forest of trees full of Dwarves with long beards blowing in the wind! Gandalf was alone in a large pine that looked like a Christmas tree, with the wizard as the decoration! But what about Bilbo? He was too small to climb any of the trees! And the wargs were getting closer and closer! “You’ve forgotten the burglar again, my dear Dwarves!” yelled Gandalf.
• Dori climbed down from his tree and let Bilbo climb up his back and stand on his shoulders. Bilbo was finally able to grab a branch and pull himself into the tree. Then, Dori jumped up to grab the lowest branch himself. Only just in time! A warg jumped at his legs and almost bit him. In a minute there was a whole pack of angry wargs surrounding the trees.
• The Dwarves were trapped! For the moment they were safe. But trees become very uncomfortable very quickly when you are trapped in one, especially when you are surrounded by wargs! More and more kept coming. After searching and smelling, the wargs had located each and every tree that had a Dwarf, Hobbit or Wizard.
• They left warg guards at the foot of each one. The party was unlucky: they were trapped in an area of the forest that appeared to be a meeting place for wargs. In the middle of the evil pack there was a large gray wolf. He spoke to the other beasts in the terrible language of the wargs. They answered him in a horrible noise of growls and howls.
• Gandalf understood the language. This is what he heard… The Wargs and the goblins often helped each other to do horrible things in the region. The goblins often used the wargs to attack men in the area, and take them prisoner back to the goblin caves, or eat them. The goblins sometimes rode the wargs like men ride horses.
• And by chance, this night was a night that the wargs were going to meet the goblins to attack human villages at the foot of the mountain. But the goblins were late. The wargs were angry and confused. They were expecting the goblins, but found the Dwarves instead! But they were not going to leave now. They were going to wait for the goblins.
• Goblins, after all, can climb trees, or cut them down! So you can understand why Gandalf began to feel afraid. He was a powerful wizard, but he was a wizard stuck in a tree! But, of course, he was not going to let the wargs do what they wanted. He gathered some of the large pine cones from the branches of the tree he was in.
• He touched a pine cone with his staff and it burned bright with blue flames. He threw it burning, down into the group of wolves! It hit one of the wolves on the back, and immediately the wolf's fur caught fire! He ran around in circles, jumped up and down and yelped horribly! Gandalf threw another pine cone, and then another! One with blue flames, another with red flames, and another with green flames! They exploded on the ground in the middle of the wolves and colored fire flew everywhere! Gandalf hit their wolf chieftain on the nose and he cried in pain.
• The Dwarves and Bilbo shouted and cheered. Very soon, many of the wolves were burning. They ran around, bumping into other wolves and setting them on fire too. But the wolves were not the only things that were burning. Soon, some of the trees near the Dwarves began to burn - it was summer, after all, and the leaves were dry.
• “What is going on in the forest tonight?” said the Lord of the Eagles. He was circling high over the mountains, and he could see the fires burning. The Lord of the Eagles could see a rabbit moving in the grass from two kilometers in the sky, even at night. He could not see the people in the trees, but he could see the wargs and the fire far below.
• He could also see the goblins. They were coming down the mountain in long lines, holding bright spears. Eagles are not kind birds. They do not love goblins, and they are not afraid of them. But if they saw them in the mountains or in the trees, the eagles would attack the goblins, and make them go back into their caves.
• Eagles did not eat the goblins - they did not taste good. But goblins hated the eagles. Goblins could not climb the mountains to kill the eagles, so they were afraid of them. Tonight the Lord of the Eagles was curious. He called his eagle guards to fly with him towards the fire on the mountain. They circled slowly down, down, down towards the ring of the wolves.
• Gandalf, Bilbo and the Dwarves were lucky that night. The circle of trees where they were hiding was beginning to burn. And the fire was getting closer and closer to them. Suddenly, the goblins arrived, yelling and screaming. They thought the wargs were in a great battle with the humans who live near the mountains.
• But when they discovered what was happening, some of them sat down and laughed! Goblins are not afraid of fire, and they had a plan. They picked up burning branches and burning leaves and placed them near the trees where the Dwarves were hiding. Soon, there was smoke and fire everywhere. Bilbo’s eyes were burning, and he could feel the heat from the fires.
• Gandalf climbed to the top of his tree. He held his staff high in the air, and lightning came from it. He was going to jump down into the middle of the wargs and goblins. He would certainly die, but he would kill many wargs and goblins in his final moments. But, he never jumped. Just at that moment the Lord of the Eagles came down from above, picked up Gandalf in his talons, and flew away.
• The goblins and wargs howled in anger. Gandalf spoke quickly to the Lord of the Eagles, and his cry was loud in the night! His guards flew down like black shadows and attacked the goblins and the wargs! Other eagles flew to the trees and picked up the Dwarves. Poor Bilbo was almost abandoned again! At the last moment Bilbo grabbed Dori’s legs.
• Dori was the last to be taken away. Up, up they flew, above the screaming goblins, above the howling wargs, away from the smoke and fire. Bilbo was hanging from Dori’s legs. His arms were almost breaking! Soon, the light from the fire was far, far below them. They were high in the night sky. Bilbo never forgot that flight, hanging onto Dori’s legs.
• He yelled, “my arms, my poor arms!” But Dori cried, “my legs, my poor legs!” Bilbo was not afraid of heights, exactly. But he did not like them, either. So you can imagine how scared he was, when he looked down, down onto the land far below. He did not know if he could hold on much longer. He closed his eyes and imagined what would happen if he let go.
• He felt sick. The Lord of the Eagles would not take them close to where men lived. Men used their bows and arrows to kill the eagles, to protect their sheep. “We will not leave you here, near the villages of men,” the Lord of the Eagles said to Gandalf. “Do not worry,” replied Gandalf. “Take us where and as far as you want.
• We are very obliged to you for your help.” Morning was coming as the eagles finally left Gandalf, Bilbo and the Dwarves. Some of the eagle guards had returned to their homes in the mountains and brought food for the party. The adventure of the Misty Mountains was over. The tired adventurers found a safe place to rest for the morning.
• Bilbo dreamed of his little Hobbit home far away in the Shire. He dreamed of his little kitchen. He dreamed of his little garden. He dreamed of his soft, comfortable bed. And not for the last time. Chapter 8 Flies and Spiders After sleeping most of the morning, Bilbo and the Dwarves woke up to realize where in the world they were.
• The Eagles had taken them far to the north. They were right on the border of Mirkwood Forest! Gandalf explained to the party that they would have to cross the forest if they wanted to get close to the Lonely Mountain. There was no other way around, he said. To the north were the Iron Hills. They were full of goblins.
• To the south was the Necromancer - a creature too powerful even for Gandalf! There was no other way to go but through! It was a journey of many days. And the party did not have a lot of food and their ponies were lost in the goblin caves in the Misty Mountains. “Gandalf, why do you keep talking about going into Mirkwood Forest as if you were not coming with us?” asked Thorin.
• “Because I am not coming with you, my good Dwarf!” answered Gandalf. “I have important business to the south. The Necromancer has been causing problems. I must see if I can help.” “You are leaving us?” cried Bilbo. “How will we survive without you?” Gandalf looked at Bilbo and smiled. “I am trusting you to take care of the Dwarves now, my dear Burglar Baggins.
• I think you will be very useful to them. If I can, I will join you on the other side. But this is your adventure now - yours and the Dwarves’. I am confident you will be just fine.” The Dwarves grumbled and complained. But Gandalf told them to stop acting like little Dwarflings. “Listen to me now. You must follow the trail through Mirkwood.
• “Whatever you do, do not leave the trail!” The forest is full of danger. Good-bye and good luck to you!” Gandalf turned and began walking south. “And remember, do not leave the trail!” Those were his final words. The entrance to the trail was an arch made by two large trees. Their branches connected over the path.
• The path was dark. It was also very narrow - they had to walk in a single-file line under the branches. After a while, they looked back. They could not see the entrance. They could only see the dark trees and dark shadows. There were strange noises in the forest. On both sides of the path, they could hear things moving in the leaves.
• They could hear branches cracking in dark places off the track. But the worst things they saw were the spider webs. The threads were very thick, like rope. They were in the trees on either side of the path. Bilbo could only imagine what kind of creature made them. Very quickly they began to hate the forest.
• They hated it as much as they hated the dark tunnels of the goblins. They could not see the sky, and there was no wind under the branches. The forest was still and dark. It bothered the Dwarves and the Hobbit very much, and they were used to tunneling under the ground! The nights were the worst part about the forest.
• They were so black that you could not see your hand in front of your nose! They could see nothing! Well, that is not exactly true: they could see the eyes. When it was Bilbo’s turn to watch at night, he could see the eyes shining in the darkness all around them. Sometimes he could see pairs of yellow or red eyes.
• They would look at him from a little distance, and then disappear. “Insect eyes,” he thought, “they are too big to be animal eyes.” The days and nights passed with no end in sight. They did not have much food left, and they did not know how much longer they would survive. One night, with their stomachs growling in hunger, Balin, who was leading the party along the path, called out: “What was that? I thought I saw a light shining in the forest.
• ” A long distance off the path they saw a red glow in the dark. Another point of light appeared, then another next to it. It seemed clear to them that the lights were torches and fires burning under the trees. Then they could smell the delicious smell of cooking meat! The Dwarves wanted to run off the path into the forest, but Bilbo reminded them about the warning Gandalf gave them: “Whatever you do, do not leave the trail!” They argued for a moment.
• Then Thorin said, “A feast would be no good, if we did not return from it alive. But without food, we will not survive much longer!” Hunger decided it for them. They all left the path and walked into the dark forest together, towards the distant lights. They crawled for a long time through the dark. Finally they came close to an open space in the trees - a clearing.
• They heard voices and laughter. There were many people in the clearing. Elves! There were forest Elves having a feast! Full of hunger, the party ran forward into the ring of light. Suddenly, the lights went out and the forest was black as black. The Elves were gone, and Bilbo and the Dwarves were lost in the black night.
• They could not even find each other, it was so dark! Bilbo ran around in the dark calling out the names of the Dwarves! “Dori, Nori, Ori, Oin, Gloin, Fili, Kili, Bombur, Bifur, Bofur, Dwalin, Balin, Thorin Oakenshield!” The others were also calling out, but their cries began to move further and further away.
• And soon their cries for their friends turned into cries for help and cries of fear! Soon, all their cries disappeared into the distance. Bilbo was left alone in complete silence and in complete darkness. That was one of Bilbo’s most miserable moments. He decided there was nothing to do but wait until the morning to look for his friends.
• So he sat down in the dark with his back against a tree and fell asleep. Soon, and not for the last time, he started to dream about his little Hobbit hole far, far away. In his hunger he began to dream of delicious eggs and toast and butter. Suddenly, he felt something touch him! Something like a strong sticky string was against his hand.
• He tried to move, but his legs were already covered in the same stuff. So when he stood up, he fell over! Then the giant spider, that had been tying him up in its web, came from behind a tree. It jumped at Bilbo! He could only see the creature’s eyes, but he could feel its strong legs trying to wrap the horrible sticky threads round and round him.
• He was lucky that he woke up at that moment. Soon he would have been covered with the sticky thread. But Bilbo was ready to fight! He used his hands to beat the creature away - it was trying to poison him, like small spiders poison flies before they eat them. Then Bilbo remembered his little sword. He drew it out and the spider jumped back! Bilbo had time to cut his legs free.
• Now it was his turn to attack! He came at the massive spider and struck it with his sword right in the eyes. The spider made a terrible sound. It jumped and danced and threw its legs in horrible movements. Bilbo struck it again with the point of his sword. It fell dead, its legs in the air. His sword was covered in black blood.
• Bilbo was alone. No Dwarves. No wizard. No help from anyone else. That was very important to Mr. Baggins. He felt like a different person. He felt much stronger. He felt much more courageous, even with an empty stomach.  He looked at his little sword. “I will give you a name,” he said to it, “and I will call you Sting!” He wiped the blood from the sword on the grass and put it back in its scabbard.
• “Now,” he said to himself, “I must find the Dwarves!” He did not know where they were exactly, but he guessed. Bilbo put on his ring and went into the dark forest to look for them. He imagined his friends were more or less in the same situation as he had been - caught by spiders! So, he followed the spider webs where they were the thickest and darkest.
• His guess was a good one! After walking a long distance, he came to a place in the forest that was darker than dark - the spider webs were so thick that they obscured the light! Suddenly, he saw that there were huge and horrible spiders in the trees above him. Even with the ring on, he was afraid they would discover him.
• Then, he saw them - the Dwarves! They were hanging from the branches above him like white bags. They were covered in the sticky spider threads, but he could see parts of their hoods and the tips of their noses. They were motionless. He heard the spiders making a terrible noise, as if they were talking to each other.
• And to his amazement, he could understand them! They were talking about the Dwarves! “It was a difficult fight, but it was worth it,” said one spider. “They have nasty thick skins, but I imagine they have good juices inside.” “Yes, they will taste delicious, especially after they hang for a while,” said another spider.
• “Kill ‘em, I say,” hissed a third spider, “kill ‘em now and hang ‘em dead for a while.” “I think they are already dead,” said the first spider. “That they are not. I saw one moving just now. They are waking up again from their beautiful spider sleep. Come, I’ll show you.” Then the fat spider ran along a thick spider thread over to the Dwarves.
• Bilbo was horrified! The spiders began to prick the hanging dwarves with their hairy legs. The fattest hanging bag - it must have been Bombur - kicked the spider hard. It fell from the branch. “You were right,” laughed one spider, “they are still alive and kicking!” “I’ll put an end to that,” hissed the spider that fell.
• It climbed back up the tree and was ready to bite! Bilbo saw that he must do something. He could not climb the trees like a spider, and he did not have anything to shoot with. But he saw that all around him on the ground there were many stones. As a young Hobbit boy, Bilbo was known in the Shire as a good shot throwing stones.
• As an older Hobbit, he was also quite good at bowling and darts and other throwing games. So he picked up one of the stones, a nice round stone that fit nicely in his hand. Then, Bilbo threw the stone! It hit the spider right on the head! It fell unconscious off the branch and hit the ground on its back - its legs curled into its fat body.
• The next stone went flying through a big spider web, breaking its thick threads. The spider that was in the middle fell from the tree and hit the ground, dead. These attacks caused a lot of commotion in the spider colony. The spiders forgot the Dwarves for a moment and they went to look for whoever was throwing the stones.
• They came down from the trees as quick as lightning, crawling and swinging. They could not see Bilbo, but they threw out long threads of sticky rope in his direction. They tried to capture him in their webs! Bilbo moved quickly and quietly to a different place. Then he had an idea: he would lead the angry spiders further and further away from the Dwarves.
• He began to call the spiders names to infuriate them, and so the Dwarves could hear his voice. “Attercop! Attercop! You old fat spiders! Stop spinning your webs and come get me! You’ll never catch me!” he called out. It wasn’t very good, but the spiders were furious! As he ran away, he threw more stones at the spiders.
• There were dozens and dozens of them in the trees, following him from above. Bilbo moved quickly from one place to another to try to attract the spiders. But other spiders were using their webs to make a fence all around to trap the annoying thing calling them names. Soon, Bilbo would not be able to escape.
• He saw this and began to cry, “Lazy lob and crazy cob, come catch the invisible fly! You cannot trap me, you lazy bees!” He took out his little sword and cut the last web that would catch him, and he ran deeper into the forest. Bilbo ran as far away into the forest as he could. The angry spiders followed him.
• He had very little time now before the spiders would go back to the Dwarves. He ran back silently to where he saw the Dwarves hanging from the trees. It was quite difficult to climb up the tall tree to rescue them. But he used a thick spider thread like a rope to climb up. It stuck to him and it hurt him, but he succeeded! Bilbo’s next job was to free the Dwarves.
• What could he do? They were very high off the ground. If he cut a Dwarf down, they would fall and surely be hurt. “No time!” he thought. He took his little blade and cut the threads that covered the closest Dwarf. Out fell Kili! Bilbo and the Dwarves were lucky. The floor of the forest was covered with a thick layer of dead leaves.
• Kili fell hard, but he was not injured! Bilbo worked quickly, and soon there was a pile of spider-poisoned Dwarves lying on the forest floor. Bilbo climbed quickly down the same spider thread and tried to help the Dwarves. “Quickly now,” he said, “there is no time for questions. Here come the spiders. We must fight to escape!” Then the battle began.
• The Dwarves were exhausted and sick with poison, but some had knives and some had sticks, and all of them could find stones to throw. And Bilbo had Sting! But there were simply too many spiders! The party was getting tired. In the end, Bilbo could not think of anything. He had only one choice - he must let the Dwarves know about his magic ring.
• He was sorry about that, but there was nothing else to do. “I am going to disappear,” he said. “I will lead the spiders away from you. You Dwarves keep together and go in that direction towards the Elf fires from last night.” They did not understand, but Bilbo could not wait any more. He put the ring on his finger and disappeared! Soon the Dwarves could hear Bilbo in the distance calling out to the spiders - calling them fat and calling them lazy.
• This made the spiders so angry that they abandoned the Dwarves - who had stones and knives and sticks - and they ran after the voice in the distance. The Dwarves did not have any option. They began to move away from Bilbo’s voice and towards where the Elves had been the night before. But the Dwarves were not fast enough.
• Soon they were almost surrounded by several spiders that followed them instead of the voice. The Dwarves had to run for a little and then turn to fight for their lives. They repeated this many times, and they were becoming exhausted. They could not continue for much longer. Suddenly, Bilbo appeared and cut down many of the spiders.
• The spiders were scared of the bright blade. They did not follow after the surprising attack. The Dwarves and Bilbo escaped, and they found their way back to the Elf clearing. There was good magic there, and the spiders did not follow them. But the adventurers’ luck was about to run out. Suddenly, out from the trees came a whole company of Elves, armed with swords and shields and spears and bows and arrows.
• All the commotion caused by the Dwarves the night before had attracted the spiders, and the Elves had come to discover what was going on. Bilbo quickly put on his ring and disappeared. But the Dwarves were very visible, and now they were prisoners of the Elves of Mirkwood. Elves do not love Dwarves. They pushed and dragged the Dwarves back to their fortress in the forest.
• The Elves of Mirkwood lived in caves and caverns under the ground. The caves were like the Dwarven caves, but brighter and not as deep. Bilbo followed them carefully, trying not to be heard. In the enormous cave, close to the edge of Mirkwood on the eastern side, lived the forest Elves’ greatest king. The king’s cave was his palace.
• It was also his dungeon. That is where the Elves were taking the poor, exhausted Dwarves. Bilbo was almost left behind again, as the Elves brought the Dwarves into the caves, and the front gate closed behind them. And it is there that the Elf king questioned the Dwarves about their journey. As I said before, the Elves did not love the Dwarves.
• Far in the past they were enemies. They went to war against each other because of gold and treasure. Now, this Elf king of Mirkwood loved treasure more than anything. So when he questioned Thorin and the Dwarves about their journey, they refused to answer the Elf king. “If you will not answer my questions, Dwarf, I will let you sit in the dark until you think of an answer,” said the Elf king.
• “Take them away! Keep them safe until they are ready to talk.” Then the Elf guards put iron chains on the Dwarves and took them deep into the caves. They gave the Dwarves food and drink. Forest Elves are not goblins, after all. There, in the dungeons below Mirkwood forest, the Dwarves became prisoners of the forest Elves.
• Bilbo was alone and scared inside the caves. He was not a prisoner, but he also could not leave! He had his ring on, but the Elves other senses than their eyesight. He found a dark corner to hide, and to think, and finally to sleep. He dreamed, not for the last time, of his comfortable Hobbit home a long, long, long way away to the west.
• Chapter 9 Barrel Rider Poor Mr. Baggins! He lived for a very long time in those caves. He was all alone, and he was always hiding. He did not take off his ring, not for a single moment. He slept in remote corners of the caves so the Elves would not find him. He was lonely and miserable. Sometimes the Elves would leave the palace to hunt in the forest.
• Bilbo followed them from time to time, but it was a dangerous thing to do. When he was outside the gates, he realized there was nothing he could do! He did not know where he was, and he did not want to get lost in the forest. Most of all, he did not want to abandon the Dwarves. So he stayed in the Elf caves.
• He was hungry most of the time. He was invisible, so he was able to steal food and drink when possible. But he was afraid the Elves would discover him. “I am like a burglar who can’t escape. I am forced to burgle the same house day after day,” he thought. “This is the most tedious part of this uncomfortable adventure!” Bilbo was alone and scared, but he did not spend his time in the caves doing nothing.
• He was diligent, and soon he knew his way around the caves very well! He watched the guards, and he watched their movements. And finally, after about two weeks, Bilbo managed to discover where each of the Dwarves was kept. He found all of their cells in different parts of the palace. Thorin was the last Dwarf Bilbo found.
• He was in a cell deep under the ground. When Bilbo found him, Thorin was desperate. He had lost all hope, and he was going to tell the Elf king everything about their journey. Until he heard Bilbo’s little voice in the keyhole! “Thorin! At last, I have found you!” They talked for a long time. And soon, Thorin decided not to reveal anything to the Elf king.
• “I will never share my treasure with these Elves!“ said Thorin angrily. “Tell the other Dwarves, my dear Burglar Baggins, that they should not lose hope. I am sure you will find a way to break us out of these Elvish prison cells!” Bilbo did what he was told - he talked to all of the Dwarves about Thorin’s decision.
• They agreed with Thorin about two things: one, that they would never share their portions of the treasure with any Elf! And two, that Bilbo would certainly find a way for all of them to escape. But Bilbo himself was not so sure! So Bilbo sat and thought and thought, until his head was hurting. But he could not think of any great ideas.
• He had one invisible ring for himself, which was a wonderful thing. But it was not helpful for all fourteen of them. But of course, as you can imagine, Bilbo did rescue his friends in the end. And this is how it happened: One day, while he was wandering through the caves, Bilbo discovered that the front gates were not the only entrance to the caves.
• There was a stream that flowed in the deepest part of the palace. The stream left the palace, and before it flowed into the principal Forest River, there was a watergate! The gate was often open, because there was a lot of traffic and trade that went in and out through the watergate. The Elf king’s cellars were above the watergate.
• There the Elf king kept all his food and drink. Especially - wine! Barrels and barrels full of wine, food, fish and other supplies from Laketown, the town of men on the Long Lake near the eastern border of Mirkwood. Laketown was a town that was built on bridges and piers on top of the water on Long Lake. It was built over the water to protect the men from all types of enemies - especially against the dragon of the Lonely Mountain.
• The barrels from Laketown were tied together like big rafts and pushed up the river to the Elf king’s palace. When the barrels were empty, the Elves pushed them through trap-doors in the floor of the cellar. The barrels would fall into the stream. The Elves would then open the watergate and the empty barrels would flow along the river back to Laketown.
• Bilbo thought a lot about the watergate. And he thought a lot about the barrels. And soon, he had the beginning of a desperate plan! One day, Bilbo discovered something important! The Elf guards were talking about a feast that the Elf king was going to have that night in the palace. “Come with me,” said one guard to another, “I will show you the new barrels of fine wine and delicious food that have arrived from Laketown.
• We can try some before the king drinks all the wine during the feast.” An unusual kind of luck was with Bilbo that night. The guards went down into the cellars, with Bilbo close behind them. There, stacked one on top of the other, were dozens and dozens of barrels, full of food and wine for the feast. The Elf king’s guards were not supposed to drink this fine wine, but these guards were friends with the cellar guard.
• And soon they were all very drunk from the king’s fine wine! Before long, both the king’s guards and the cellar guard were sleeping at the table. The king’s wine was really a very good, strong wine! This was Bilbo’s chance! In perfect Hobbit silence, Bilbo approached the sleeping guard, and soon he was without his prison keys! What an amazing display of Hobbit burglary! One by one, Bilbo unlocked all the Dwarves from their prison cells.
• The last to be freed was Thorin. “Gandalf was right, after all!” cried Thorin. “There is no better burglar in all of Middle Earth! But what do we do now?” Bilbo saw that now was the time to explain his desperate plan. The Dwarves did not like his plan at all. They grumbled and complained, even though there was no other hope for them.
• “We will be hurt!” cried some of the Dwarves. “We will all drown in the river!” cried others. Bilbo was very frustrated. “If that is how you will thank me, then come with me,” he said, “and I will return you to your cells in the Elf king’s dungeon!” The Dwarves calmed down considerably after Bilbo said those words to them.
• They were ready to listen now. Bilbo and the Dwarves had to act quickly, before the king’s men came to get the food and wine. Bilbo led the Dwarves down to the cellars. And there, still snoring at the table, were the Elf guards. “No time now, my good Dwarves!” said Bilbo. “Into the barrels, as fast as you can!” Bilbo really was a good Hobbit.
• Before he put the Dwarves into the barrels, he returned the prison keys back to the prison guard. “That will protect him from some of the trouble he will be in tomorrow,” thought Mr. Baggins. “That guard was a good Elf, after all. And he was very decent to my friends, the Dwarves.” One by one, Bilbo helped the Dwarves climb into the barrels.
• These barrels were the ones to be returned that night to Laketown. Finally, after some complaining and grumbling, all the Dwarves were packed into barrels like sardines at the market. Thorin, of course, complained the most - his barrel was, in fact, a barrel full of sardines! Oh, the smell!!! Only a moment after the last Dwarf was in his barrel, the king’s men came to the cellar to push the barrels into the stream, and off to Laketown.
• They saw the sleeping Elves and laughed at them. “Here they are!” they yelled. “This is why we did not see them at the feast! Come on, wake up! Help us push the barrels into the stream!” They all laughed and drank one more cup of the king’s fine wine. Then they opened the trap-door and started rolling the barrels down into the cold water below.
• It was at that moment that Bilbo realized the weak point in his plan. Of course, he was not in a barrel himself! Soon there would not be any barrels left! The Elves were rolling them through the trap-door and down into the stream. Now the very last barrel was being rolled through the trap-doors! In a desperate move, and not knowing what else to do, poor little Bilbo grabbed the barrel just as it was being pushed through the trap-door! Splash! Bilbo fell into the cold stream below, with the barrel on top of him!
• Bilbo did not know how to swim - in fact, most Hobbits do not know how to swim. They do not love the water. But Bilbo did not let go of the barrel! He tried to climb up onto the barrel, but every time he tried, the barrel rolled over and pushed him back into the water. His mouth was full of water, his eyes were full of water and his ears were full of water.
• Then suddenly, it became very dark. The Elves had closed the trap-doors! Bilbo was holding on desperately to his barrel in the icy water, all alone. He was all alone because you cannot count thirteen Dwarves packed in barrels as your friends in times like these. Soon, he heard the watergate open and he could see the light of day, and the light of freedom.
• One by one, the barrels passed through the watergate and into the Forest River. Bilbo and the Dwarves were free! Once again, luck was with our Mr. Baggins. The barrels began to collect in a curve of the river. There, men from Long Lake were waiting. They tied the barrels together, like large rafts, and began pushing them down the river again.
• Bilbo was able to climb onto the top of his barrel. The wind was cold, but he preferred the cold wind to the icy water. Finally,  as night came, after many hours of bobbing and rolling and swaying on top of the raft of barrels, Bilbo and the Dwarves arrived at Long Lake. There the men of Laketown pushed the barrels to the shore.
• The next day they would bring them to the town and empty them, then fill them up again and return them to the Elf king’s palace. Bilbo, wet and cold, managed to climb off the raft of barrels and find a safe place to sleep for the night. His magic ring made him invisible, but the lake men could easily see his wet footprints! He began to sneeze in loud Hobbit sneezes! Soon, the men protecting the barrels were in a great commotion! But he was able to escape into the woods and sleep behind a tree for the night.
• He woke up with the gray morning, and a loud sneeze! He walked silently towards the lake. He was just in time! The lake men were pushing the barrels - with the Dwarves still inside - into the river. At the last moment, Bilbo ran and jumped onto the barrel raft! He had escaped! Scared and anxious for his friends, Bilbo rode the barrels towards Laketown.
• Chapter 10 The Secret Door The day became clear and warm as Bilbo and the Dwarves arrived at Laketown in and on their barrels. And there, in the distance, Bilbo finally saw it: Lonely Mountain. The very top of the mountain was visible above the clouds. Bilbo had come very far and he had survived many adventures to see the mountain.
• And now he did not like to see it at all. Boats came out from Laketown to pull the barrels towards the town. Soon, men were pulling the barrels from the water. Some men complained about the weight of the barrels. “I thought these barrels were supposed to be empty!” said one Lakeman. After he pulled it onto the pier, he opened it.
• To his tremendous surprise, out fell a very unhappy Dwarf. He was wet and bruised and there were sardines in his beard. It was Thorin. There was a great commotion in the town that day! “Who are you and what are you doing here?” the Lakemen asked, after all the Dwarves were removed from their barrels. Bilbo was still wearing his ring.
• He found a safe place to watch as the townspeople came to see what the excitement was. “I am Thorin, son of Thrain, son of Thror, King Under the Mountain!” said the Dwarf in a loud voice. “I have come back. I demand to see the Master of your town!” Then there was great excitement in the town. Some townspeople looked at the mountain, expecting it to turn to gold! Thorin and the Dwarves were taken to the Master of Laketown.
• The Master and all the important people of Laketown were at a feast in the Great Hall. When the Dwarves appeared before the Master and his people, they all jumped from their chairs in surprise. But no one was more surprised than the Elves who were sitting at the Master’s table. Those Elves had helped push the barrels down the river to Laketown.
• “These Dwarves are prisoners of our king! They must have escaped!” cried the Elves. “Is this true?” asked the Master. The Master did not really believe the Dwarves to begin with. “It is true that we were prisoners of the Elf king,” answered Thorin. “But he had no right to put us in prison.” The Master understood the power of the Elf king, and he did not want to be the Elf king’s enemy.
• But the people at the feast, and the people in the town were very happy to see the return of the King Under the Mountain. The Master of Laketown was an intelligent man, and he did not want his townspeople to be angry with him. They were already singing old songs about the return of the King. When the forest Elves heard the happy singing, they began to wonder if their Elf king did not make the wrong decision to put the Dwarves in prison! Thorin explained his objective to the Master of Laketown.
• The Master of Laketown and its people were ready to help Thorin and his party. After the feast, the forest Elves returned to the King’s palace. I do not know what happened to the Elf guard who lost his keys to Bilbo, but soon the Elf king knew about Thorin and his efforts to capture the treasure in Lonely Mountain.
• “We will see what happens if the Dwarves try to return this way with their treasure!” said the Elf king. At the end of two weeks, Thorin was ready to begin his final journey to Lonely Mountain. For the first time, the Master was surprised and a little frightened. Maybe Thorin was the real, true King Under the Mountain! But the Master was not unhappy to see them leave.
• These unexpected guests were very expensive. They had eaten a considerable amount of food and they had drunk a considerable amount of beer while they were staying in Laketown. So, one day, with a cold wind blowing from the north, the party took some boats to the north shore of Long Lake. There they met the horses and ponies the Master had given them.
• The Master had also given them supplies of food and tools for the rest of their journey. The Dwarves were very happy and excited to begin the final part of the adventure. The only person who was unhappy was Bilbo. It was a long and difficult journey to Lonely Mountain. It was cold, and the land around the Mountain was empty.
• They did not talk and they did not laugh. They all thought about the dragon who was still inside the Mountain. Autumn was almost over, but here, close to the mountain, there were no leaves on the trees. There was no life at all. They had come to the Desolation of Smaug. As the party approached Lonely Mountain, they passed the ruined city of Dale.
• Dale was a prosperous town of men. They were allies of the Dwarves before the dragon came. Now the city was empty. They continued north, following the Running River that flowed out of the mountain. But they did not want to go too close to the front gates. From behind a rock, they could see the dark opening to the Mountain.
• The front gates. Out of the opening came the River Running. And out of the gates came steam and dark smoke, and a horrible odor. “The dragon is still alive and in the halls under the Mountain. Or I imagine from the smoke,” said the Hobbit. The Dwarves and Bilbo were truly scared now. They were alone in this dangerous place.
• No help was coming. None of them had much spirit left to continue the journey. But Bilbo did not have the same feeling as the Dwarves. He often looked at Thorin’s map. And he often read the message of the moon-letters Elrond had read. It was Bilbo that made the Dwarves begin the dangerous search for the secret door on the western side of the Mountain.
• For many days they searched. They climbed up and down the steep side of the Mountain, but they did not find any secret door, or any door at all! But at last, as you can imagine, it was Bilbo who found what they were looking for. As he was walking with Fili and Kili further to the south of the Mountain, they saw a large stone that looked like a pillar.
• Behind it, Bilbo saw steps, steps going up a path hidden by the rocks. They went up the steps excitedly. In some places the path disappeared! In other places, they rediscovered the path. After a long and dangerous climb, they arrived at an open space on the right side of the path. It was a secluded area, with grass on the ground.
• To their left there was nothing - only open air and a long fall. They looked down. Far below, they could see their camp. The space they were in was not a cave. It was open to the sky above. At the far side of the space, there was a high, flat wall. Near the ground, the wall was perfectly smooth. Only Dwarves could have made the wall so smooth and perfect.
• But there were no signs of a door post. There were no signs of a doorknob. There were no signs of a keyhole. But they were certain they had found the secret door! They hit the door with their hands. They kicked the door with their strong boots (Bilbo did not kick the door - Hobbits, you remember, do not wear shoes!).
• They pushed at the door. They implored the door to open. They spoke fragments of magic spells to try to open the door. Nothing worked. Finally they were tired. They rested on the grass near the wall. Soon it began to get dark. They began the long and dangerous climb down the path to tell the other Dwarves. There was excitement in the camp that night.
• The next day, they prepared to move all their equipment and supplies up the dangerous path to the secret door. But Bombur refused to climb the path. “I am too fat to climb the path!” he said. “I am not a mountain goat! I am sure I would fall, and then you would be thirteen again.” So, Bombur stayed at the camp with the horses and ponies.
• The Dwarves had brought tools with them - picks and hammers. They used their picks and hammers, banging against the wall. But their tools broke! And their hands were hurt badly! And they were terrified of the loud noises they were making. Bilbo could do nothing to help the Dwarves and the Dwarves were not able to discover the secrets of the door.
• So Bilbo did nothing. He sat on the grass and he thought. Then he heard the Dwarves talking. “The last week of autumn begins tomorrow.” said Thorin. “What is our burglar doing for us? Since he has an invisible ring, I think he should use it and go through the front gates to discover what is going on.” “You said sitting on the doorstep and thinking would be my job,” said Bilbo.
• “Not to mention getting inside, so I am sitting and thinking.” But I am afraid Bilbo was not thinking much of the job. He was thinking about his comfortable Hobbit hole, far in the distance. As Bilbo sat and thought, he stared at a large gray stone in the center of the grass. There were large snails on the stone.
• They crawled slowly along the surface of the rock. The sun was going down and the new moon was coming up. At that very moment he heard a sharp CRACK! There on the gray stone was an enormous bird - a thrush. It was almost black, with a yellow breast with dark spots. Crack! It had caught a snail and was knocking it on the stone.
• Crack! Crack! Suddenly Bilbo understood. Quickly Bilbo explained to the Dwarves. He reminded them about the message on the map: “stand by the gray stone when the thrush knocks, and the last light of the setting sun on Durin’s Day will shine on the keyhole.” The sun went lower and lower, and their hopes fell.
• The sun sank behind a cloud and then disappeared. The Dwarves could not control their sadness. “We have run out of time!” cried Thorin. Then suddenly, when they had lost all hope, a ray of sunlight passed through the cloud. A finger of red light shined into the secluded area and touched the smooth rock wall.
• The old thrush who was watching from the stone made an excited tweet. Then there was a loud crack! A piece of wall cracked from the wall and fell. A hole appeared suddenly about one meter from the ground. Quickly, the Dwarves ran to the rock and pushed with all their strength. Nothing happened. “The key! The key!” cried Bilbo.
• “Where’s Thorin?” Thorin came quickly. “The key!” shouted Bilbo. “The key that went with the map! Try it now while there is still time!” Then Thorin approached the wall. He took the key from around his neck. He put it in the hole. It fit! He turned it! Snap! The ray of sunlight disappeared. The sun sank, the moon was gone, and the sky was dark.
• Now they all pushed together. Slowly, a part of the rock wall began to move inward. And suddenly, where a few moments before there was no sign of a door, now a door one and half meters high and one meter wide was visible in the rock wall. With one more push, the door swung inwards silently. There was a deep, dark hole in the side of the mountain, like an open mouth.
• Chapter 11 Inside Information The Dwarves stood in front of the dark door for a long time. Finally, Thorin said, “Now it is time for our dear Mr. Baggins, the most courageous Hobbit in all of Hobbiton, the luckiest burglar of all burglars, to perform the service he agreed to perform. Now it is time for him to earn his reward.
• ” “If you think I am going to enter this secret passage first, Thorin Okenshield, do not forget that I already helped you in two difficult situations.” said Bilbo angrily, “And they were not included in our contract! I think I already deserve some reward!” “But, like my father used to say, the third time's the charm,” Bilbo continued.
• “I trust my luck more now than in the old days (by ‘the old days’ Bilbo meant last spring, before he left his house to go on this adventure!). Now, who is coming with me?” He did not expect everyone to volunteer to help him, so he was not disappointed when the only Dwarf to offer help was old Balin. He said he would follow Bilbo some way into the passage.
• But not all the way. He would be prepared to call for help if Bilbo needed it. The stars were shining bright in the night sky when Bilbo and Balin passed the enchanted door and entered the Mountain. The passage was made by the Dwarves - its walls and floor were smooth and straight. It went down very gradually to some distant end below.
• The darkness was complete. Balin soon stopped. He wished Bilbo luck, and told him to call out if he needed help. Then Bilbo put on his ring, and began to continue down, down, down into the dark. He did not make a sound. He was terrified. He was a very different Hobbit now than the Hobbit who left Bag End without a handkerchief.
• “What a fool you were, Bilbo Baggins!” he said to himself. “Why did I ever accept to come on this journey? I do not need treasure guarded by a dragon. Oh, how I wish this tunnel was the tunnel in my beautiful, safe Hobbit hole back in the Shire!” Bilbo was completely alone. Soon, he thought the air began to feel warm.
• Then he thought he saw a soft glow far ahead of him down the tunnel. It was a glow. As we went forward, the glow began to grow and grow, until he could clearly see a red light far ahead. And now, it was getting hot in the tunnel! He began to sweat. And now he could hear a sound. It was like a bubbling noise, mixed with a rumbling sound, like a gigantic cat purring.
• The sound grew louder and louder, until it was clear what the sound was. It was the gurgling noise of some vast animal snoring! The snoring sound was coming from the red light in front of him at the end of the tunnel. At this point, Bilbo stopped. Going forward was the bravest thing he ever did. He fought the most difficult battle in that tunnel, alone.
• His fear was almost like a living thing. But he continued forward, even though he did not understand the tremendous danger that was waiting for him at the end of the tunnel, in that red, hot light. Bilbo finally came to the end of the tunnel. He put his Hobbit head out into the vast room and looked around.
• It was a massive chamber at the bottom of the Mountain. It was almost completely dark, so he could not see how big it really was. But there in front of him, on a huge pile of gold and jewels and treasure, was a red glow. The glow of Smaug! There he was. A giant red-golden dragon, sleeping. The rumbling noise coming from his mouth and nose was very loud.
• And smoke came from his nose, too. His giant wings were folded on his back. And under him was a very long and very strong tail, curved under his body. All around him, on all sides and covering the enormous floor of the chamber, were piles and piles of gold and precious things. Bilbo did not have words to describe his feelings.
• The gold! The jewels! Bilbo had heard stories and songs about dragon treasure. But he could not comprehend what he saw. His heart was filled with the desire of Dwarves, the greed of Dwarves, the lust of Dwarves for gold and treasure. He almost forgot about the guardian of the gold that was asleep in front of him.
• Bilbo stared at the gold for a long time. Then, almost without realizing it, he ran from the safety of the tunnel entrance. He ran across the floor to the closest pile of treasure. Above him the dragon was sleeping. Even sleeping, Smaug was a danger. Bilbo picked up a large golden cup. It was almost too heavy to carry.
• He looked up quickly at the dragon. Smaug moved his wing and opened a clawed hand. The sound of his snoring changed. Then Bilbo ran back into the tunnel as fast as he could. But the dragon did not wake up. Not yet. Bilbo ran until he felt like his legs were going to break and his heart was going to explode.
• But he did not let go of the cup. He thought, “I have done it! I have done it! This will show the Dwarves! And they said I was more like a grocer than a burglar. Ha! This will change their minds for sure!” And it did change their minds. Balin was very happy to see Bilbo again. To be honest, Balin was also very surprised.
• He did not think that he would ever see Bilbo again! But he carried the Hobbit up the tunnel and into the open air. It was midnight and the Dwarves could not control their excitement. The Dwarves were looking at the golden cup. They were very excited to have recovered their treasure. Suddenly there was a vast and terrible rumble from underneath the mountain, like a volcano about to erupt! The secret door was almost closed - they had put a stone to block it from closing - but they could hear the terrible sounds of roaring and crashing coming up the tunnel.
• In their excitement and happiness, the Dwarves had forgotten all about Smaug! It is not a prudent thing to exclude a dragon from your calculations. Dragons do not really need gold and treasure. But as a rule, dragons know exactly what they are guarding, especially after guarding it for such a long time. And Smaug was no exception to the rule.
• When Bilbo ran up the tunnel, Smaug began to wake up. He went from a delicious dream of violence and death, to a doze, to being wide awake! He could feel a change in the air in his cave. Was it coming from that little hole? Smaug had never liked the little hole. He wondered why he never blocked it. He even thought he had heard banging and knocking sounds coming from the little hole recently.
• Smaug lifted his head and sniffed the air. Then he saw that the cup was gone! Thieves! Fire! Murder! Something like this had not happened since the first days when he came to the Mountain! It is impossible to describe his anger. He screamed fire into the dark chamber and the mountain shook like an earthquake.
• He crawled quickly out of the dark chamber and up to the front gates. The only thing he wanted was to hunt all around the Mountain until he found and caught the thief. He came out of the Gate. The water from the River Running boiled with his heat. He flew high into the air and landed on the mountain top, breathing fire and smoke! The Dwarves heard the terrible sound of Smaug flying over the mountain.
• They stayed very quiet in the open space. They hoped that the dragon would not find them there. They would have been killed, but Bilbo saved them once again. “Quick! Quick!” he yelled. “The door! The tunnel! We cannot stay out here in the open.” They were just about to enter the secret passage when Bifur gave a shout, “My cousins! Bombur and Bofur - they are down with the ponies.
• They will be killed! There is nothing we can do!” “Do not be silly!” said Thorin. “Quickly, get the rope. We will pull them up. Hurry!” Those were the most dangerous moments they had been through so far. They could hear the horrible sounds of Smaug’s anger on the mountain above them. At any moment he could fly down and find them.
• The Dwarves pulled on the ropes with all their strength. Up came Bofur, and they were still safe. Up came Bombur, and still they were safe. They pulled up their tools and food, and then the danger was there. There was a loud noise, like a wind storm. There was a red light reflecting on the rocks. They entered the tunnel at the last moment.
• The dragon came. He came with fire and death! His hot breath burned the grass in the open area. Flames entered the tunnel and the Dwarves could feel the heat. Then darkness came again as the dragon flew past the secret door. The ponies and horses far below screamed and broke their ropes, and they ran away in terror.
• The dragon flew down to follow them. He was gone. “Our ponies and horses will certainly die!” said Thorin. “Nothing can escape Smaug once he sees them. We are trapped here. Unless someone wants to go back to Laketown with Smaug on the watch!” They were in the tunnel for a long time. Every now and then they could hear the roar and scream of the flying dragon outside the tunnel entrance.
• Smaug guessed that Lakemen had come to the mountain with their ponies and horses. He thought the men had climbed the mountain, but Smaug did not see the secret entrance.  Smaug hunted around the Mountain for a long time. But dawn came and he went back to sleep on his golden bed. To rest and to regain his strength.
• He would not forget the thief, not for a thousand years. But he could wait. He crawled slowly and silently back into the Mountain. He went back to his chamber and half closed his eyes. They debated for a long time what they were going to do. Were they going to try to escape and return to Laketown? Or were they going to go back down the tunnel and face Smaug with weapons? There was a good chance the first option would end badly.
• Smaug could catch them in the open. The second option was certain death. Finally, Bilbo spoke, “I was not hired to kill the dragon. That is your responsibility. But I can put my ring on and sneak back down the tunnel to see what Smaug is doing. ‘Every worm has a weak spot,’ my father always says. But I am sure he was not speaking from personal experience.
• ” Obviously the Dwarves accepted Bilbo’s offer. They had already begun to respect little Bilbo. Now he was the real leader in their adventure. He came up with ideas and made important decisions that helped everyone in the group. When it was midday, he prepared for another journey down into the Mountain. Bilbo did not like the idea of going back down, but he knew more or less what was in front of him.
• But if he had known more about dragons and how dangerous they really were, he might have been more frightened. After all, he thought he might be able to catch the dragon while he was taking a nap. Bilbo always was a hopeful and positive little Hobbit. Bilbo moved silently as he went down the tunnel. And he felt a little proud of himself as he approached the door to Smaug’s chamber.
• This time, there was only a very soft red glow. “Old Smaug is tired and asleep,” thought Bilbo. “He can’t see me and he won’t hear me.” Bilbo had forgotten, or he had never heard about a dragon’s sense of smell. He also did not know that dragons can sleep with half an eye open, if they are suspicious. But Smaug certainly looked fast asleep.
• He looked dead, in fact, and dark. He was making almost no sound. His snore was almost imperceptible. Bilbo was just about to walk into the chamber when he saw a thin ray of red light coming from under Smaug’s left eye. He was only pretending to sleep! He was watching the tunnel entrance! Quickly, Bilbo went back into the tunnel.
• Thank goodness for his ring. Then Smaug spoke. “Well, thief! I smell you and I feel your air. I hear your breath. Go on then! You may take whatever you want, there is plenty, and to spare!” But Bilbo was not that naive. And if Smaug expected Bilbo to come closer so easily, he was going to be disappointed. “No thank you, O Smaug the Tremendous!” he replied.
• “I did not come for presents. I only wanted to look at you and see if you were truly as great as the stories say you are. I did not believe them.” “Do you believe the stories now?” asked the dragon. It is always a good idea to compliment dragons, even if they do not believe your flattery. “The songs and stories do not come close to the reality, O Smaug the Greatest of Calamities,” replied Bilbo.
• “You are very polite for a thief, and a liar,” said the dragon. “You seem to know who I am, but I do not know your smell. Who are you and where do you come from, may I ask?” “Of course you may ask! I come from under the hill, and under the hills and over the hills I have traveled. And through the air. I am the traveler who walks unseen.
• ” “That I can believe,” said Smaug, “but it is not your real name.” “I am the clue-finder, the web-cutter, the stinging fly. They chose me for the lucky number.” “Lovely titles!” answered the dragon. “But lucky numbers are not always lucky.” “I am he who drowns his friends and takes them alive again from the water.
• I came from the end of a bag, but no bag went over me.” “These do not sound so believable,” laughed Smaug. “I am the guest of eagles. I am Ring-finder and Luck-wearer; and I am Barrel-rider,” continued Bilbo. He was beginning to be pleased with his riddles. “Ha! That’s better!” said Smaug. “But do not let your imagination run away with you!” This of course is the way to talk to dragons, if you don’t want to reveal your proper name (which is a good thing not to do),
• and you don’t want to make them angry at you (which is also a good thing not to do). Dragons love talking in riddles and trying to understand them. Smaug did not understand all of the riddles Bilbo was telling him (but I am sure you know all about Bilbo’s adventures which he was talking about), but Smaug thought he understood enough.
• “I thought so last night,” he smiled to himself. “Lake-men, some nasty scheme of those miserable Lake-men, or I’m a lizard.” “Very well, O Barrel-rider!” he said loudly. “You may walk unseen, but you did not walk all the way. Let me tell you I ate six ponies last night and I will catch and eat all the others soon.
• In exchange for the excellent meal I will give you one piece of advice for your good: don’t associate with Dwarves more than is good for you!” “Dwarves!” said Bilbo, pretending to be surprised. “Do not lie to me!” said Smaug. “I know the smell (and taste) of Dwarf - no one knows it better than I do. You’ll come to a bad end, if you go with such friends, Thief Barrel-rider.
• Go back and tell them that from me.” But he did not tell Bilbo that there was one smell he could not identify at all, the smell of Hobbit; it was outside of his experience and he was very confused by it. “Did the Dwarves give you a good price for the cup you stole last night?” he continued. “Well, did they? They paid you nothing, didn’t they? Well, that’s just like the Dwarves.
• And I imagine they are hiding outside, and your job is to do all the dangerous work and take what you can when I’m not looking. Will they give you a fair portion for your trouble? Don’t you believe it! If you get out of here alive, you will be lucky.” Bilbo now began to feel very uncomfortable. While they were talking, Smaug’s eye continued to look for him.
• Bilbo was invisible, but each time the light from Smaug’s eye flashed across him, he was terrified! And he felt a powerful desire to run towards Smaug and take off the ring - and reveal himself and tell all the truth to the dragon. In fact, Bilbo was in real danger of coming under Smaug’s dragon-spell. But Bilbo found his courage and he spoke again.
• “You do not know everything, O Smaug the Strong,” he said “We did not come here to the Mountain only for the gold.” Smaug began to laugh, Ha! Ha! So, you admit that you are not here alone! Why don’t you just say ‘us fourteen’ and tell me the truth, Mr. Lucky Number?” Bilbo continued, “I say that gold was not the main reason we came.
• We came over hill and under hill, by wave and by wind for… REVENGE! O Smaug the unbelievably wealthy, you must understand that you have made some very jealous enemies because of your success.” Then Smaug really did laugh - a terrifying sound that caused Bilbo to fall to the floor. The Dwarves also heard the sound, and they thought for sure that Bilbo had come to a very bad end.
• “Revenge!” he cried, and the light from his eyes filled the cavern from floor to ceiling like red lightning. “Revenge! The King Under the Mountain is dead, and where are his people to get their revenge? The Lord of Dale is dead. I ate his people and destroyed their town. Where are his sons and grandsons to take revenge on me? I kill who I want, and no one can stop me.
• ” “I killed the great warriors of old, and there is no one like them who lives in the world today. I was young and inexperienced when I did that. Now I am old and strong, strong, strong, Thief in the Shadows! My armor is like shields, my teeth are swords, my claws are spears, the shock of my tail is like a thunderbolt, my wings are a hurricane, and my breath is death!” A great fireball came from Smaug’s jaws
• and illuminated the chamber in a red light. “I have been told,” said a very frightened Bilbo, “that dragons have a weak spot, especially in the region of the - er - chest. But I am sure that a dragon as strong as you are does not worry about such things.” Smaug became silent. “Your information is old,” he yelled.
• “I am armored above and below with scales that are as strong as iron and diamonds. There is no sword that can cut me.” “Of course there isn’t,” said Bilbo. “You have no equal in the world today, O Lord Smaug the Impenetrable. It must be magnificent to wear a coat of fine diamonds!” “Yes, it is rare and wonderful,” said Smaug, who was absurdly happy with Bilbo’s compliments.
• He did not know that the Hobbit had already seen his belly and chest during his last visit, and wanted to have a closer look. The dragon rolled over onto his side. “Look!” he cried. “What do you think about that?” “Marvelous! Perfect! Impeccable! Amazing!” cried Bilbo out loud, but what he thought inside was, “Old fool! One of your scales is missing! There is a hole in the side of your left breast as big as a dinner plate!” After he had seen that, the only thing Mr. Baggins wanted to do was to get away.
• “Well, I really should not take any more of your time, Your Magnificence,” said Bilbo. “I should let you rest. It is difficult, I believe, to catch ponies. It is difficult to catch burglars, too,” he added with some sarcasm. As he said the last words, he ran back up the tunnel as fast as he could. It was not very intelligent to say that to Smaug, because he shot terrific flames after Bilbo in anger.
• Bilbo was not far enough up the tunnel to escape without any damage. Luckily, Smaug’s head was too large to fit completely inside the tunnel entrance. But fire and vapor came from his nose and followed Bilbo up the passage. He was nearly cooked like a roast turkey! “Never laugh at live dragons, Bilbo you fool!” he said to himself, and it became a favorite saying of his later.
• “This adventure is not over yet,” he added, and that was true as well. It was almost nighttime when Bilbo came out of the tunnel. The Dwarves were there to help him and doctor his burns as well as possible. But it was a long time before the hair on the back of his head and feet grew back properly again.
• The Dwarves were very excited to hear about his encounter with the dragon, especially why he had made so much noise, and how Bilbo had escaped. But the Hobbit was worried and uncomfortable, and he did not tell them very much about his adventure with Smaug. He felt bad about some of the things he said to the dragon, and he did not want to repeat them.
• The old thrush was sitting on the rock near the group. He was listening very carefully to everything that Bilbo was saying. Bilbo was in a very bad mood, and threw a rock at the bird. “Go away bird!” said Bilbo angrily. The bird jumped up, flapped its wings, and landed again on the rock, listening carefully again.
• “I do not like the look of that bird, and I think he is listening to us!” “Leave him alone!” said Thorin. “They are a magical race of birds. They understand our language. For hundreds of years they were the friends of the Men of Dale and my father and grandfather’s people.” “Well, he will have news to take to Laketown tonight, if that is what he wants,” said Bilbo.
• “But I can’t imagine there is anyone in Laketown who can understand his thrush-language.” “Why? What has happened?” cried the dwarves. “Please, tell us what happened!” So Bilbo told them everything he could remember, and he confessed that he had a terrible sensation that the dragon learned too much from his riddles.
• “I am sure he knows we came from Laketown and had help from there,” said Bilbo in a worried voice. “And I have a horrible feeling that Smaug will try to hurt the people of Laketown. I wish I had never said that I was a barrel-rider. Even the dumbest creature would think of the men of Laketown.” “Well, it is difficult not to become hypnotized by a dragon,” said Balin, trying to make Bilbo feel better.
• “I think you did very well, if you ask me. You discovered a very useful piece of information, about the hole in his scales.” Then they began to talk about how to kill dragons, all the historical and mythical stories they had heard about the different ways to defeat dragons. The general opinion was that it is very difficult to kill a dragon, even when you catch them sleeping.
• The whole time they talked, the thrush was listening to them. And without them seeing, the bird opened its wings and flew silently into the night. While they talked, Bilbo became more and more worried and unhappy. He was scared. At last he interrupted them. “I am sure we are very unsafe here,” he said, “and I don’t think we should stay here.
• I think the dragon will attack this place soon. He will break all this side of the Mountain to kill us all.” Finally, Bilbo convinced the Dwarves to move inside the tunnel and to close the door, using a stone to keep it open. Soon they began to talk of all the gold and treasure that was down in the dragon’s hall.
• But the most beautiful of all the treasure was the great white gem that the Dwarves found at the very bottom of the Mountain. They called it the “Heart of the Mountain”, the Arkenstone of Thrain. “The Arkenstone! The Arkenstone!” cried Thorin in the dark. “It was like a globe with a thousand faces. It shines like silver in the night, like water in the sun, like snow under the stars, like rain on the Moon!” But as they talked, Bilbo became more and more worried.
• He kept listening for sounds of the dragon. “Close the door! Please!” he begged them, “I believe the dragon will find us. It is too silent outside, and down in the hall. Shut the door before it is too late!” Something in Bilbo’s voice convinced Thorin to listen to the Hobbit. He got up and kicked the small stone away that was holding the secret door open.
• The door closed with a snap! There was no sign of a keyhole. They were trapped in the Mountain! And not a moment too soon. They had moved only a short distance down the tunnel when there was a tremendous noise on the side of the Mountain. It sounded like an explosion of thunder and rock. The walls around them began to crack, and stones fell on their heads from the roof of the tunnel.
• I cannot imagine what would have happened if the door had still been open! Because Bilbo convinced them to act, they survived the attack by Smaug. He broke large rocks into small small pieces. With his powerful tail he destroyed the rock wall around the secret door. With his horrible flames, he burned the grass in the open area next to the door.
• All of it disappeared in flames and rock. After Bilbo had run away up the tunnel, Smaug left the mountain very quietly. He flew silently into the air and floated in the dark sky. He was trying to see where the tunnel might have an exit on the side of the mountain - the same tunnel that the “thief” had used.
• He guessed the location of the exit, but he was furious that he could not find anyone there. He was so angry that he decided to destroy the mountain around the opening to kill the invaders. Smaug felt much better after releasing some of his anger. And he believed now that there would not be any trouble from that tunnel anymore.
• But his night was only beginning. There was revenge in the air. “Barrel-rider!” he said. “I do not recognize your smell, but if you are not one of the Lakemen, they helped you in some way. They will see me now and they will remember who the real King Under the Mountain is!” He rose into the air in a cloud of fire and smoke, and flew away towards Laketown.
• Chapter 12 Fire and Water The dwarves sat in the darkness and silence for a very long time. They did not speak very much and they did not eat very much. They did not know how long they stayed there. Finally, after what felt like days and days, Thorin spoke, “Let’s try the secret door!” he said. “I must feel the wind on my face soon or I will die.
• I prefer to be killed by Smaug in the open air than suffocate in here!” They discovered that part of the tunnel was blocked by broken rocks. The secret door would never open again. “We are trapped!” they shouted. “This is the end. We will all die here.” But somehow, just when the Dwarves were most afraid, Bilbo felt a strong sense of confidence.
• “Come on, my good Dwarves!” he said. ‘As long as there is life, there is hope!’ as my father used to say, and ‘Third time pays for all.” I am going back down the tunnel again. I have been there twice already, when I knew there was a dragon at the other end. So I will take the risk and make a third visit, when I am not sure if he is there.
• And I think you should all come with me.” The Dwarves were desperate, so they all agreed. Thorin went first, and walked beside Bilbo. Down, down they went. When they got close to the bottom, Bilbo put on his ring and walked forward alone. But he did not need the ring - it was totally and completely dark! In fact, it was so dark that Bilbo did not know it when he came out of the opening of the tunnel.
• He put his hand into open air and fell forward into the giant treasure chamber. Bilbo stayed there for a long moment, not moving. He was terrified that Smaug would find him and eat him! But nothing happened. Bilbo could not take it anymore. “Come out, Smaug, you worm!” he shouted in a voice that sounded like a mouse.
• “Cook me and then eat me, if you want, if you can catch me!” There was no answer. Bilbo got up but he did not know which direction to go. It was black as night. Bilbo called back to the Dwarves, “A light! I need a light!” So Fili and Kili quickly lit a torch and Bilbo ran back to get it. But Bilbo could not convince the other Dwarves to follow him into the chamber.
• Thorin carefully explained that Bilbo was still officially their expert burglar and investigator. So, if he wanted to use a light to explore the chamber, he was welcome to do it. Bilbo looked at the Dwarves in frustration, turned his back to them, and walked towards the piles of treasure. As he climbed the large piles of gold and jewels, the Dwarves could see the little Hobbit holding the little torch.
• Then, far in the distance, they saw him stop and bend down, as if to look at something on the floor very closely. But the Dwarves did not know why. It was the Arkenstone, the Heart of the Mountain. That is what Bilbo guessed from the description Thorin gave him. From a distance, Bilbo had seen the gem burning with a white glow.
• It pulled him towards it. He looked down at it now, and almost against his own control, he reached his little hand towards it. His hand could not close around it. It was large and heavy. But he lifted it and put it in his deepest pocket. “Now I am a real burglar!” he thought. Bilbo’s little light disappeared into the distance, and the Dwarves did not need any more encouragement.
• They were very excited to explore the hall while they had the chance. They did not know where Smaug was, but they were going to take advantage of the opportunity while he was not there. They picked up the gold and filled their pockets. They felt the gems in their hands and observed the magnificent armor and weapons that were still in perfect condition.
• The Dwarves completely forgot their fear of the dragon. The ancient desire of the Dwarves, the lust of the Dwarves for gold and treasure was very strong now. And Thorin was looking for one thing, and one thing only - the Arkenstone! But he could not find it, and he did not say anything to anyone about it yet.
• Soon Thorin said, “Mr. Baggins! Here is the first payment of your reward! Take off your old coat and put on this!” Thorin placed on Bilbo a small coat of mail - a shirt made of thousands of small rings linked together. It had been made by the Dwarves many ages ago for some young Elf-prince. It was a shirt of Mithril, a material stronger than steel, the color of bright silver.
• The Mithril coat also came with a belt of pearls and crystals, and a light helmet decorated with white gems. “I feel magnificent,” he thought. “But I imagine I look quite silly. If the Hobbits back home saw me like this, they would all laugh at me! But I wish I could see myself in a mirror.” But Bilbo kept his head clear of the enchantment of the gold, more than the Dwarves did.
• “Thorin!” shouted Bilbo. “What do we do now? We have weapons and armor, but what can they do against Smaug the Horrible? This treasure is not yours yet. We must look for a way to escape this mountain, before our luck leaves us!” With that, the Dwarves spoke together to decide what to do next. Remember, they were so occupied with the gold and treasure that they had not even thought about this obvious question.
• After some time, they decided to leave the mountain through the front gates, and walk down to an old defensive tower to the south. There they could see anyone, or anything, that was coming towards the Mountain. They passed out of the Mountain through the front gates. There, in the valley below, was the ancient town of Dale, now destroyed by Smaug and in ruins.
• They passed by the town with sadness, and walked for many hours. The night was very dark when they finally reached the defensive tower. There they rested and prepared for what was to come. There was still no sign of Smaug. And what about Smaug? Well, if you would like to hear news about Smaug, we must go back two days into the past, when he destroyed the secret door and flew away in anger towards Laketown.
• Most of the people of Laketown were in their homes that night, or walking along the piers and looking at the stars in the clear sky. Lonely Mountain was far to the north, and only the very top of the mountain was visible from Laketown. But the people rarely looked to the north. It was a dark and scary mountain, even in the bright sunshine.
• And on this dark night, it was invisible in the black sky. Suddenly, the mountain flashed in a bright red glow that appeared and disappeared quickly. “Look!” said a man. “The lights again! Last night the watchmen saw them flash from midnight until dawn. Something is happening up there.” “Perhaps the King Under the Mountain is forging gold again,” said another man.
• “The Dwarves went north a long time ago. Maybe the songs are true and they have taken the Mountain back.” “Which king?” said another man, with a serious voice. “It is more probable that it is the fire from the Dragon, the only King Under the Mountain we have ever known.” “You are always so pessimistic, Bard!” said the others.
• “You only talk of tragedies, from floods to poisoned fish. Why don’t you talk about something happy for a change?” Then suddenly there was a bright flash of red light! It was in the hills very close to Laketown. The glow turned the surface of the lake golden in the night. “The King Under the Mountain!” they shouted.
• “He has returned! He is turning the lake into gold!” People began to come from their houses to see what was happening. The town was full of excitement and enthusiasm. But the man with the serious voice, Bard was his name, ran to the house of the Master of Laketown. “The dragon is coming, or I am a fool!” he cried.
• “Cut the bridges! To arms! To arms!” Then there were warning trumpets in the night. The cheering from the townspeople stopped and their happiness turned to terror. Because of Bard’s quick actions, the town was not completely unprepared for the attack. They could see the dragon approaching from the north, getting bigger and more massive as he came.
• The fire he shot as he flew towards Laketown illuminated him like the sun. Every bucket in the town was filled with water to extinguish the fires, every warrior was armed, every archer had their bows and arrows ready to shoot, and the bridge connecting the town to the land was taken down and destroyed. They could hear the dragon as he came closer and closer, the sound of his wings and the roar of his fire was terrible.
• The townspeople screamed in fear as the dragon flew over them towards the bridge - but the bridge was not there! Smaug could not easily reach the town. The water of the lake was too deep and too dark, even for the dragon! He knew that if he fell into the cold water, it would extinguish him forever. In frustration, he flew back over the town.
• Arrows from the archers flew up and snapped and rattled against his scales, and then fell burning into the lake. The dragon was furious! He was blind and mad with anger! No one had tried to fight him for ages and ages. And the people of Laketown would not have tried, if Bard had not been there to encourage them.
• He ran back and forth between the groups of archers, cheering them on and persuading the Master to order them to fight until the last arrow. Smaug circled the town from above. In his anger he breathed fire from his mouth and nose, and turned the trees around the lake the color of blood. Then he came down with great speed, straight through the storm of arrows.
• He did not care about the danger. He only wanted to turn the town into burning buildings and black ashes. The houses made of wood began to burn as the fire-dragon passed around the town, over and over again. Hundreds of townspeople threw water when a new fire began to burn. Smaug circled back, and with his powerful tail, he destroyed the Master’s hall.
• Flames burned in the night from every part of the town. Again Smaug came down from the dark sky, and another house began to burn and fall. There was not a single arrow that hurt the great beast any more than the bite of an irritating fly. The people were terrified, and many of them began to jump into the lake from every side of the town.
• Women and children climbed into boats to try to get to safety. Men dropped their weapons. There was terrible sadness now, where only a few days before they sang happy songs about the return of the Dwarves. Now the men hated the Dwarves. The Master of Laketown climbed into his large boat, trying to save himself from the disaster.
• The town was almost deserted, and soon it would burn down to the surface of the lake. That was what Smaug wanted. He did not care if they all got into boats. It would be easier to hunt them later. He would let them starve to death if they decided to stay in the water. Soon he would burn all of the land around the lake - all of their fields and pastures.
• Right now he was enjoying the sport of burning Laketown more than he had enjoyed anything for years and years. But there was still a company of archers among the burning buildings. Their captain was Bard, the man with the serious voice and serious face. His friends had made fun of him because of his pessimism, but they did not doubt his courage.
• He was a descendant in a long line from Girion, the Lord of Dale. He belonged to a race of proud, strong men that had died defending the Mountain when Smaug arrived so long ago. Bard stood in the middle of the burning flames. He was holding a large bow made of strong wood. All his companions were leaving him in terror.
• But he continued to shoot until he had only one arrow left. He pulled his bow back to his cheek to shoot for the last time. Suddenly, out of the dark, something came fluttering by his shoulder. He was surprised, but it was only an old thrush! The bird was not afraid! It sat on his shoulder and began to tweet into his ear, telling him of the news he heard from the Mountain.
• Bard could not believe it! He understood the words the thrush was telling him! He was, after all, a man from the race of Dale. “Wait! Wait!” said the thrush to him. “Wait for the moon to appear. Then look for the hole in his left breast when he flies and turns above you!” Then Bard pulled his bowstring back to his ear.
• The dragon was circling back, flying low. As he came closer, the moon appeared over the hills and illuminated the great beast. “Arrow!” said Bard. “Black arrow! You are my last arrow. You have never failed me, and I have always recovered you. My father gave you to me, and his father before him. If you were made by the true King Under the Mountain, go now and speed well!” The dragon flew down once more, lower than ever.
• As he turned, his underside glowed white as the moon reflected off the gems and jewels that protected him. But not in one place. There was a hole as big as a dinner plate near his left breast. The bow TWANGED! The black arrow flew fast and straight, directly into the hole where his front leg connected to his chest.
• It flew so fast that it disappeared, point, shaft and feathers, into the hole in his chest! Smaug gave a tremendous scream that destroyed men’s ears, knocked down trees and crushed stones! The dragon flew high into the dark sky, spitting fire and smoke. He turned over and crashed down to his death! He fell on the town and destroyed it completely.
• The lake boiled with his heat. A vast cloud of steam rose into the air, white in the moonlight. There was a terrible noise of water and steam, and then there was silence. And that was the end of Smaug, and of Laketown. But not of Bard. The people of Laketown cried as they watched their town destroyed. But they were actually very lucky.
• Only a few were killed by the dragon fire. They had most of their boats, and their fields and pastures were safe. And the dragon was dead. They did not know the significance of that yet. They arrived in groups onto the land, in the cold wind. Their first complaints were against the Master. He was one of the first to run away from the town, while many stayed to protect it.
• They were angry with the Master. “He may be a good businessman,” some said, “but he is no good when something serious happens!” And they applauded the courage of Bard and his tremendous shot. “I wish Bard had not died when Smaug crashed onto our town,” they all said. “We would make him a king. Bard the Dragon-killer! But he is dead!” But from the smoke a tall man approached them.
• He was soaked with lake water and there was a strong light in his eyes. “Bard is not dead!” he cried. “He jumped into the lake when the dragon fell. I am Bard, from the race of Dale. I killed the dragon!” “King Bard! King Bard!” they all shouted. But the Master was not happy. “Bard is from the line of the men of Dale, not from Laketown,” said the Master.
• “Here in Laketown, the people choose a master from the old and wise people of the town. We do not want warriors as our leaders. Let ‘King Bard’ go back to his kingdom - Dale is now free of the dragon because of him. He can return to his home. And anyone who wants to go with him is free to go. The green fields of the lake are much better than the cold stones of the Mountain.
• ” “We want King Bard!” the people shouted. “We do not want old men and money counters anymore!” “Hurray for King Archer and down with the Money-counter!” The Master had no choice. He was an intelligent man, and decided to wait and see what the future decided for him. But he said this before he sat down again, “Remember who woke the dragon! We would not be in this situation if the Dwarves had not returned to take their gold from Smaug!” “Be silent!” yelled Bard.
• “Now is not the time for cruel words. Do you not see? The Dwarves were probably Smaug’s first victims!” But even as he said these words, the power of the Dwarven treasure called to him. Bard knew that with all the gold hidden in the Mountain, they could rebuild Laketown even better than before. But he needed men to help him on his journey.
• “Come, people of Laketown!” cried Bard. “We have work to do!” And as Bard began to organize the people in their new camp, he heard them talking about the vast treasure that was waiting in the Mountain, unguarded. But there was much to do, and in the days that followed, many people became sick and died, even though they survived the attack from Smaug.
• Bard worked very hard to help the people, but he knew he could not do it alone. So he sent fast messengers into Mirkwood Forest to ask for help from the King of the Elves. But before the messengers reached the King, they found a vast army of Elves coming to Laketown. The Elvenking had received news from other messengers about the death of Smaug.
• All the flying creatures in the land, birds and insects, were very excited about the death of the dragon - they were now free to fly without fear! They whistled and tweeted and brought news to all the peoples in the regions around the Desolation of Smaug. “Smaug is dead! Smaug is dead!” they cried! The Elvenking heard it in Mirkwood, and the orcs heard the news in their mountain caverns to the north.
• Smaug was dead, and the treasure was unguarded. “Thorin Oakenshield is most likely dead, I fear,” said the Elvenking of Mirkwood. “He should have remained my guest. It is terrible news, though.” But the Elf King had not forgotten the stories about the vast treasures the Dwarves kept in the Mountain. So that is why Bard’s messengers found the Elves already marching to the Mountain, prepared for battle.
• But the Elf King was not an evil ruler. He was a good and kind king. So he turned his marching army away from the Mountain and went to the lake to help the homeless Lakemen. They arrived at the new camps next to the lake only five days after the death of Smaug. They were welcomed by the Lakepeople. The Master was not liked, but the people knew he was a good businessman, so he and Bard negotiated with the Elf King for his assistance and soon their plans were ready.
• With the help of many skilled Elf carpenters, they began to cut the wood and prepare to rebuild the town, bigger and better than before. But they planned to build it farther to the north, away from the watery grave of Smaug. They were terrified of the place where the dragon fell. His bones remained there for ages after, but no one went into the water to get the gold and diamonds that fell off his decomposing body.
• Now, all the warriors of Laketown who were still able, and most of the Elves, prepared to march north to the Mountain. And so eleven days after the death of the dragon and the destruction of the town, the army of Men and Elves entered the region of the desolation of the dragon. Chapter 13 A thief in the Night Smaug was dead.
• The Men of Laketown and the Elves of Mirkwood were marching north to the Mountain. But what about Bilbo and the Dwarves? They had no idea what was happening in the south. They had no knowledge that the guardian of the treasure was gone. As Bilbo and the Dwarves waited for any news, suddenly, out of the sky, the old thrush appeared! The same thrush that Bilbo had tried to hit with a rock only two days before.
• He fluttered down and sat on a rock near Thorin and began to tweet and chirp. And to their surprise and joy, they understood him. Bilbo, however, was unable to understand everything the bird said, and Balin had to explain the details to him later on. But this is what the old thrush said: “Thorin, King Under the Mountain! Smaug is dead! The guardian of the gold has fallen.
• ” “Dead! Dead?” shouted the Dwarves. Dead. Then we have been hiding in fear for no reason. And the treasure is ours. They all jumped up and began to dance and shout in happiness. “Yes, he is dead. He fell two days ago. You can return to your Mountain as King, and the treasure is yours - for the moment. But there are many who are coming here.
• The news that Smaug is dead has been told all over the land. And there are many who want the unguarded treasure. There is an army of Elves coming from Mirkwood, and the Lakemen are angry and blame the Dwarves for the destruction of their town.” Thorin replied in anger, “Thank you for the news, old thrush! You and your kind will not be forgotten.
• But no thief will steal any of our gold, nor will any army try to take it while we are alive. If you would help us, thrush, bring us news of the people as they come closer. Also, I would ask you to send a message to my cousin Dain in the Iron Hills close to here. He has many strong, well-armed and armored Dwarves.
• Tell him to come as fast as he can!” “I will not say if your decision is good or bad,” said the thrush, “but I will do what can be done.” Then he flew off into the sky. “Come, Dwarves! Back to the Mountain. We have many things to do in preparation, and we have no time to lose!” “And little food to use!” cried Bilbo.
• The Hobbit was always practical when it came to food and comfort. In fact, Bilbo believed that now that the dragon was dead, the adventure for him was basically over. He was very mistaken, and he would have given most of his reward in gold for this whole adventure to come to an end. “Back to the Mountain!” cried the Dwarves.
• They did not listen to Bilbo, and Bilbo had no choice at the moment. Back to Mountain he went. Now, you know very well what happened. And you know that the Dwarves still had many days to prepare for the arrival of the armies. So they began to work very hard to prepare the front gates for any attack. They built a high, strong wall that blocked part of the River Running.
• Soon the entrance to the Mountain was blocked and flooded. There was only a small space for anyone to approach the front gates. One night, after many days, the Dwarves could see many lights, like little fires, in the valley to the south, around the town of Dale. “The armies are here!” called Balin. “And there are very many of them.
• ” The Dwarves did not sleep that night. The next day a small company of Men and Elves approached the front gates. Thorin called out to them in a loud voice, “Who are you, and why do you come dressed for war to the gates of Thorin son of Thrain, King Under the Mountain?” A tall man walked forward and cried, “Thorin! Why have you built a wall to close the front gates? We are not your enemies.
• We are happy to see that you survived the dragon. But there are many things we must discuss.” “Who are you and why should we talk?” answered Thorin. “I am Bard. I killed the dragon and released your treasure. Is that not important to you? I am a descendant of Girion of Dale, and much of the gold and wealth that was in Dale is now part of the treasure that Smaug stole.
• Also, Smaug destroyed Laketown, and I have come to ask for your support to help its people to rebuild the town. They helped you when you needed assistance, but your presence only brought sadness and destruction, but I know you did not mean for it to happen.” Bilbo thought that what Bard was saying was true and quite fair.
• Of course Thorin would agree to talk. But Bilbo did not consider the power the gold had on Dwarves’ hearts. Thorin had spent many hours in the treasure hall, touching and feeling the gold and jewels. He searched mainly for the Arkenstone, but there were many other beautiful pieces there. Thorin finally answered, “The Dwarves will repay the people of Laketown soon, but as long as you stand there with weapons and the threat of war, we will give nothing.
• Until you leave your weapons behind, we will consider you our enemies. And we will never talk to the Elf king and his people. I remember how he treated us. They have no place in this debate. Leave now before I send you arrows instead of more words!” “And if you want to speak with us again, return without the Elf-king, and without your weapons!” “The Elk-king is my friend,” said Bard.
• “He helped the people of Laketown when they needed it the most. We will give you time to reconsider your words. Think again, before we return.” Some hours later, the company returned to the front gates of the Mountain. “In the name of Laketown and the Forest of Mirkwood,” the speaker shouted, “we ask that Thorin Okenshield, King Under the Mountain, consider what we have requested.
• If he refuses, we will call him our enemy. He must give Bard one-twelfth of the treasure, as the killer of the dragon and descendant of Girion of Dale. Also…” Before the man could finish, Thorin took a bow and arrow and shot it at the speaker. The arrow hit his shield and stuck there. “If that is your answer,” the speaker continued, “then consider yourselves our enemies.
• The Mountain is surrounded. We will not attack you, but we will also not let you leave. You may stay with your gold and eat that if you are hungry!” Bilbo did not approve of Thorin’s behavior. In fact, he was tired of the Mountain and he did not appreciate that he could not leave now. “This whole place still smells like dragon,” he complained to himself.
• So, many long days passed. Thorin now spoke openly about the Arkenstone. He asked the other Dwarves to look for it in the piles of treasure. “It is worth more than a river of gold to me. There is nothing more precious. If anyone finds it and does not give it to me, they will suffer the consequences!” Bilbo was terrified of what Thorin would do if he discovered that Bilbo had the Arkenstone.
• But he did not say anything. “I am afraid I must make a decision,” he thought to himself. Time passed. The birds informed Thorin that his cousin Dain was only two days away. Thorin hoped that when the armies of Men and Elves learned that Dain was coming, they would reconsider their position. That night, Bilbo made up his mind.
• He could wait no longer. He put the Arkenstone in his pocket, put on his ring, and snuck over the wall in the dark night. He was as silent as a Hobbit could be and no one saw him or heard him. He walked quietly down to the valley towards the fires, and crossed the river to find their leaders. As he was crossing, his foot slipped on a wet rock and he fell with a loud “splash!” into the cold water.
• “That was no fish!” said an Elf guard. “There is a spy out there. It might be that strange creature that is with the Dwarves. They say he is their servant!” “Servant?” said Bilbo angrily, then sneezed very loudly. The Elves quickly surrounded him, but they still could not see him. “I am here, if you want me!” shouted Bilbo, and he took off his ring.
• The Elf guards captured him quickly and took him to the leaders of their armies. Soon, Bilbo was sitting near a warm fire. Bard and the Elf-king were sitting on the other side of the fire. “I am Mr. Bilbo Baggins,” he said. “I am a companion of Thorin, if you want to know. Things are impossible. And I am tired of this journey.
• I do not want anyone to get hurt and I want to go home. But Thorin is prepared to sit on his piles of gold forever.” “Well, let him!” said Bard. “He is a fool, and he deserves to starve.” “That is true,” said Bilbo, “but I have important information for you. Dain, Thorin’s cousin from the north, is only two days away.
• He comes with 500 armed Dwarves. Many of them have experience in the Goblin Wars. When they arrive, your situation will become more difficult, I am sure.” “Why are you telling us this?” asked Bard in a serious voice. “Why are you betraying your friends, or are you threatening us?” My dear Bard!” said Bilbo in surprise.
• “I only want to prevent more trouble for everyone. I would like to make you an offer!” “Go ahead. We are listening,” replied Bard. “Here it is!” With these words Bilbo took the Arkenstone out of his pocket. The Elvinking, who was accustomed to things of great beauty, stood up in wonder and amazement. Even Bard looked at the stone in silence.
• The Arkenstone glowed with a rich, white light. “This is the Arkenstone of Thrain,” said Bilbo, “the Heart of the Mountain; and it is also the heart of Thorin. He values it above a river of gold. I will give it to you. It will help you in your negotiations with Thorin.” Then Bilbo gave the marvelous jewel to Bard.
• When the stone left the Hobbit’s hand, he felt a very powerful sense of loss. “I am going back now, before they realize I am gone. I hope this will be useful to you.” As Bilbo was walking through the camp back towards the Mountain, an old man wearing dark clothes stood up and came towards him. “Hello there, Mr. Baggins!” he said happily.
• “There really is more to you than anyone expects!” It was Gandalf! Bilbo was happier than he had been for many days. Bilbo wanted to ask Gandalf many questions about his own journeys. “There is no time right now!” said Gandalf. “Things are coming to an end. There are some difficult times in the coming days, but keep your heart positive! You may come through safe and sound.
• There is news that even the birds do not know. We will talk soon. Good night!” Bilbo felt confused, but he felt more positive now. He walked quietly back to the gates. Before he got too close, he put his ring back on and climbed up the wall, and climbed into his little bed. He was soon fast asleep. He forgot all about the things that worried him until the morning.
• As a matter of fact he was dreaming of eggs and bacon. Chapter 14 The Battle of Five Armies The next day, a group of Men and Elves, with Bard and the Elf King leading them, came to the front gates and called to Thorin. “They have come to talk to me because they know my cousin Dain is coming. They are scared!” “Hail, King Under the Mountain! Have you changed your mind about the gold?” It was Bard who called to Thorin.
• “My mind does not change so quickly! The Elves are still here, I see. I demanded that they leave. We have nothing to discuss!” “Is there nothing that will change your mind so you will give us our part of the gold?” asked Bard. “Nothing that you or your friends might have!” answered Thorin. “What about the Arkenstone of Thrain?” asked Bard.
• There was an old man in dark clothes next to Bard. He opened a box and took out the jewel. He held it above his head so Thorin could see it clearly. Thorin could not believe his own eyes. No one spoke for a long time. Then Thorin said, “That stone was my father’s, and it is mine! I will not buy from you something that is already mine!” Thorin was confused, and then asked, “How did you get the Arkenstone, thief?” “We are not thieves,” answered Bard.
• “We will give you the stone if you give us what is ours.” “Tell me how you got the stone!” yelled Thorin in great anger. “I gave it to them!” squeaked Bilbo, who was standing next to Thorin and very afraid of what the Dwarf would do to him. “You! You!” cried Thorin. Thorin turned and grabbed Bilbo with both hands.
• “You miserable Hobbit! You minature - burglar!” he shouted, not knowing what to say. He shook Bilbo like a rabbit. “I wish Gandalf had never chosen you for this adventure!” yelled Thorin. “I hope his beard falls off! And you, you miserable Hobbit, I will throw you off this wall and onto the rocks below!” He began to lift Biblo up and over his head! “Be calm, King Under the Mountain!” yelled the old man that was holding the stone.
• “I am Gandalf! And it appears I have arrived just in time! Please do not damage my Burglar. Put him down.” “You are all conspiring against me!” cried Thorin. “I will never trust a wizard or his friends.” He looked at Biblo and asked, “What do you have to say for yourself, you descendant of rats?” “‘Descendant of rats’?” complained Bilbo.
• “Thorin Oakenshield, I have saved you and your people many times on this adventure, and this is how you thank me? You said I could take any treasure I wanted - one-fourteenth of the profits! Assume that the Arkenstone was my portion and I used it the way I wanted!” “If that is what you prefer,” said Thorin angrily.
• “Now get out of here before I change my mind!” Thorin looked down at Bard and Gandalf and yelled, “I have been betrayed! I will give you a one-fourteenth portion of the treasure in gold and silver - but no gems! That will be the amount I will give to you, and you can divide it however you want. The Hobbit will not get much from it.
• Take him away from here, if you want him to live.” “And the gold?” asked Bard. He did not trust Thorin to pay him. “We will deliver that soon.” “And we will keep the stone until you deliver the gold,” answered Bard. “You are not acting very much like a King, Thorin!” yelled Gandalf. “But that may change soon.
• ” But Thorin was already planning how to use his cousin Dain to recapture the Arkenstone and not pay any gold to anybody! Bilbo climbed down the wall and walked quickly to stand next to Gandalf. “Good-bye!” he yelled to them. “I hope we meet each other again as friends!” “We will return tomorrow at noon to collect our portion of the gold!” cried Bard.
• “If you do that with no deception, we will leave, and the Elf King will return to the Forest.” The sun rose the next day and messengers came to the camp with news. “Lord Bard,” said one of the messengers, “a large army of Dwarves is coming from the north!” Dain had arrived. He came with 500 Dwarves armed with heavy war hammers and shields.
• Dwarves are shorter than Men, but they are stronger. And the Dwarves from the north are the strongest. Their beards were long and their helmets were made of strong iron. Because the army of Men and Elves was blocking the path of Dain and his army, Dain could not enter the mountain to help Thorin. The Dwarvish army waited some distance away, preparing for battle.
• Bard and his men quickly went to the front gates to get the expected gold. When they arrived, there was no gold - only arrows that the Dwarves shot at them from behind the wall. Bard was not surprised. He had heard many stories about the greed and deceit of Dwarves. And he knew that the Men and Elves outnumbered the Dwarven army.
• He did not think they would attack. But Bard did not consider the desire for the Arkenstone. It burned very hot inside the mind of Thorin and the Dwarves. And so, with complete surprise and quickness, Dain and his army moved to attack the Men and Elves. Just as suddenly, a powerful storm of black clouds formed in the sky and came over the waiting armies.
• Winter thunder sounded on the wind and lightning hit the top of the Mountain. But beneath the black clouds there was another, darker blackness - and it was moving against the wind. It came from the north. The moving cloud was so dense and full of flying creatures that no light passed through. “Stop!” cried Gandalf, who appeared suddenly between the Dwarves and the army of Men and Elves.
• “Stop!” he called in a voice like thunder. A flash of lighting came from his staff. “Danger has come. It has come sooner than I expected. The goblins are here! Bolg of the North is coming, Dain! You killed his father in Moria. Look! The bats are flying above his army like a sea of terror. The goblins are riding wolves and Wargs are with them!” The armies were full of confusion.
• While Gandalf was speaking, the darkness grew. The Dwarves looked at the sky and the Elves cried out with worried voices. “Come, everyone!” Gandalf cried. “There is still time for us to talk. Dain, Bard and the Elvenking must join forces!” And so a battle that no one had expected began. It was called the Battle of Five Armies, and it was a terrible battle.
• This is how it happened. After Gandalf killed the Great Goblin in the Misty Mountains many months before, the Goblins hated the Dwarves even more. They sent messengers to all their cities and colonies, and their leaders determined to take control of the North, to kill the Dwarves and Men who lived in the region around Lonely Mountain.
• They began to make weapons and armor. The goblin soldiers marched secretly under the mountains and at night until vast armies formed in the far north under Gundabad, their mountain capital. They were prepared to come south in surprise. Then they heard news about the death of Smaug, and they were very happy.
• They marched faster than ever now. And before anyone knew about their plans, they arrived at Lonely Mountain right behind Dain. The birds in the region did not even know they were coming until the goblins began their attack. Goblins were the enemies of all. So the armies of Men, Elves and Dain the Dwarf joined against their common enemy, they forgot their differences for the moment.
• There was no time to make a great battle plan or to ask for help. And soon, before they were fully prepared, the bats came in vast clouds. Men, Elves and Dwarves were terrified. And then they could hear the howling! Wolves and Wargs with goblins on their backs came first and attacked! The battle was terrible.
• Archers from Laketown were on the side of the mountain shooting arrows into the goblin army. But they were like crawling insects! There were so many of them! It was the most terrifying thing Bilbo had ever seen, but it was the battle that he liked to talk about the most, even though he was not important in it.
• As a matter of fact, when the fighting began, he put on his ring and disappeared from sight, but not from all danger! A magic ring like Bilbo’s does not provide total protection against a charge of goblins riding wargs. And it does not protect you from flying arrows or stones, either. But it does prevent your head from being chosen specifically as a target! It was the army of Dain that prevented complete destruction.
• They formed a powerful wall of shields and helmets, and pushed the goblins back. But there were too many! The faster goblins riding wargs began to curve around the sides of the Dwarven army. And with them came the bodyguard of Bolg - they were goblins of huge size with scimitars of steel! And as night approached, the bats came! Massive clouds of bats swirled around the heads of Elf and Man and Dwarf, and bit them like vampires! And then, there was a loud shout from the front gates of the Mountain.
• They had forgotten Thorin! Out the Dwarves came from the gates and they were wearing bright armor and carrying sharp axes! Wargs and goblins died like flies in front of them. Thorin was invincible in that moment. “To me! To me! Elves and Men! To me! To me Dwarves of Dain!” he yelled, and his voice was like thunder in the valley! The goblins ran away in fear, but there were too many of them.
• They returned in greater numbers and many Men and Dwarves fell. And many Elves who should have lived long ages happily in the forest, were killed by the goblins. Finally, the armies were completely surrounded by the goblins. They were forced into a great ring, facing every direction. And Bilbo saw all of this with great sadness.
• He was inside the ring of defenders. And Gandalf was there, too. He was sitting on the ground thinking deeply. It appeared like he was preparing some final magic before the end. “It will not be long now before the goblins destroy us,” Bilbo thought. “After all the adventures I have been on. This is the last one.
• I think I would have preferred that Smaug keep the treasure, and not these terrible goblins! And all the poor peoples who have died, Elf, Man and Dwarf. All the songs about battle sing that defeat can be glorious. But it seems very uncomfortable to me. I wish I was not part of it.” The dark storm clouds covered the last light of day.
• Then suddenly, the clouds opened for a moment, and bright light came through. And in the light Bilbo saw a sight that made his heart jump with joy! There were shapes in the sky. They were small but they were majestic in the final light of the day. It was the eagles! “The Eagles! The Eagles!” he shouted. “The Eagles are coming!” Bilbo’s eyes were not wrong very often.
• The Eagles were coming with the wind from the west. There were so many that he could not count them. “The Eagles! the Eagles!” Bilbo cried, and he danced and jumped and waved his arms. No one could see him, but they could all hear him. Soon everyone had seen the Eagles and they all cried with Bilbo, “The Eagles are coming!” “The Eagles!” cried Bilbo one more time, but at that moment a stone came down from above and hit him on his helmet.
• He fell down to the ground, unconscious. “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...” Chapter 15 The Return Journey When Bilbo woke up, he was completely alone. There was no one near him.
• The day was bright, but it was cold. “I wonder what has happened?” he said to himself. “At least I am not one of the fallen heroes. But there is probably still enough time for that!” He looked around and he saw a camp in the distance. He walked slowly towards it. His head was still hurting. He found the tent where the captains of the armies were meeting.
• There were guards outside the entrance, and Bilbo said, “Hello! I am here to see Bard.” The guards were surprised! “Who said that?” they asked, “Who is there?” Then Bilbo realized he was still wearing his ring. He took it off, and to their greater surprise, they could now see Bilbo, right in front of them! Gandalf came out of the tent when he heard Bilbo’s little voice.
• “Bilbo Baggins!” he cried in happiness. “Well, I am surprised! Alive after all - I am glad! I was not sure if you had survived. The battle was a terrible one. We were almost destroyed. But news of the battle can wait. Come quickly. He wants to see you.” Gandalf brought Bilbo into the tent, and there was Thorin, laying in a bed.
• He was wounded with many wounds. There were holes in his armor and his helmet was dented. Thorin looked up as Bilbo came next to him. “Good-bye, good thief,” he said. “I will go now to the halls of waiting, to sit next to my fathers, until the world begins again. Where I am going I do not need any gold or silver.
• I leave all that behind. So I would like to take back the things I said and did to you at the gates.” Bilbo knelt on one knee, and was filled with sadness. “Good-bye, King Under the Mountain!” he said. “I wish our journey did not end this way. There is no gold in all of Middle Earth that can fix it. But I am happy that I traveled with you.
• It is more than any Baggins deserves.” “No!” said Thorin. “There is more good in you than you know. You have courage and intelligence. If more of us preferred food and comfort over gold and jewels, the world would be a happier place. But sad or happy, I must leave it now. Good-bye!” Bilbo left the tent and found a quiet place to sit.
• He cried for a long time. He was tired of his journey. He just wanted to begin the long trip back to his comfortable Hobbit home, far away in the west. Gandalf found him, and explained to him all that had happened. The Eagles suspected that the goblins were forming a vast army in the mountains. And so the Eagles had come together in large numbers, too.
• Their leader was the great Eagle of the Misty Mountains. They had followed the goblins from above and arrived at the battle just in time! Dain was now King Under the Mountain. And the goblin army was completely and totally destroyed. There was peace in all the land for many years after the great battle.
• ​​ Thorin was buried deep under the Mountain, and Bard placed the Arkenstone on his chest. “Here it will rest until the Mountain falls!” he said. Now all the gold was divided as was agreed. Bard received his portion to help the reconstruction of Laketown. And of the thirteen Dwarves, only ten still lived to receive their portions.
• Fili and Kili died protecting Thorin with their own bodies. He was their mother’s older brother. The other Dwarves stayed with Dain in the Mountain. And Bilbo received his portion of the gold - one-fourteenth, to be exact. It was more wealth than he could possibly imagine. “I am not sure how I will take this home with me,” he said to Gandalf, when they were preparing Bilbo said good-bye to the Dwarves, and offered to make them tea and cakes if they ever visited him in the Shire again.
• Bilbo looked one more time at the Mountain, and said out loud, “Good-bye, Thorin, King Under the Mountain!” And then he and Gandalf began their long journey back to the Shire. They traveled with the Elves as they marched back to the Forest. But they did not go through the Forest. Bilbo refused to go back inside! They traveled to the north of the Forest.
• But before they parted ways with the Elvenking, Bilbo offered him a beautiful necklace of pearls and diamonds that was part of his portion of the treasure. “Why are you giving this to me?” asked the Elf king. “To repay you for all the food I ate and wine I drank while I was in your cavern,” replied Bilbo.
• The Elf king laughed happily at the gift. It was a long road around the Forest, but it was much safer now that the goblins were crushed. Finally, as spring began, they arrived at the same pass in the Misty Mountains where they were captured by the goblins. They reached the top of the pass during the morning.
• The day was bright. Bilbo looked back to the east, and there, far in the distance, he could see Lonely Mountain. He turned and looked far to the west. He could see the green lands where his Hobbit hole waited for him. They came down the mountains safely and stopped for a long time in Rivendell. There they rested and told Elrond the story of Smaug and the great Battle.
• And there Gandalf recounted the story of his adventure: Gandalf had gone to the south of Mirkwood Forest, and together with the help of other powerful wizards, they had expelled the Necromancer of Dol Guldur. Bilbo was fascinated. He rested and listened to the singing of the Elves, and before they left, Elrond named him “Elf-friend”! They said their good-byes and continued on their journey.
• And before long, Bilbo recognized the forest they were traveling through. “I recognize this place, Gandalf! This is the spot where we were attacked by the trolls!” “Yes, my dear Hobbit! This is the very same place!” And off the path, Bilbo could see the stone statues of Tom, Burt and Bill. They recovered the gold they had hidden long ago, and put it on their ponies.
• The ponies were not happy about this! The weather was beautiful as they entered the lands around the Shire. Spring was turning to summer, and Bilbo began to feel the heat. He dried the sweat from his face with a clean red handkerchief. Not a single handkerchief of Bilbo’s had survived the journey. Elrond had given him this one before he left Rivendell.
• Soon, they came to the top of a rise in the land, and there, in the distance, Bilbo could see his own Hill. Suddenly, Bilbo said, “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.” Gandalf looked at him. “My dear Bilbo!” he said.
• “Something is the matter with you! You are not the Hobbit that you were. “They crossed the bridge and walked down the comfortable path right back to Bilbo’s own front door. “My goodness! What is going on here!” he cried. There was a great commotion, and Hobbits of all kinds, respectable and unrespectable, were going in and out of his Hobbit hole.
• He had arrived back home in the middle of an auction! The Hobbits of the Shire had decided that Bilbo had gone away on his journey and had died. And since he was not coming back, they would sell all of his belongings, and his Hobbit hole! He had arrived home just in time to prevent this great tragedy! He went into his bedroom, and there were his cousins, the Sackville-Bagginses.
• They were measuring his room to see if their furniture would fit! It took a long time to resolve the legal complications. Many Hobbits had bought items that belonged to Bilbo. And he believed that the Sackville-Bagginses had stolen his silverware. Bilbo had to use some of his treasure to buy back his own things! Finally, Bilbo was able to relax and enjoy his comfortable Hobbit home once again.
• One evening, many years later, Bilbo was sitting in his study, writing his memoirs. He decided to call his story “There and Back Again, a Hobbit’s Holiday”. Suddenly, there was a ring at his door. It was Gandalf, and a Dwarf. The Dwarf was Balin. “Come in! Come in!” said Bilbo. Soon they were talking about their journey and laughing.
• Balin noticed that Bilbo had placed his sword Sting over the fireplace. Bilbo asked about things at the Mountain. Bard had rebuilt the town of Dale. Men from all over the region came to live there again. The desolation was now filled with birds and trees and green fields and pastures. There was profitable trade going up and down the River Running.
• There was friendship between Dwarf, Man and Elf. The old Master of Laketown had come to a bad end. Bard had given him much gold to help the Lakepeople, but in his greed, he took most of the gold and ran away. He died of starvation, and his companions all deserted him. “The new Master is intelligent,” said Balin, “and very popular.
• He gets most of the credit for the prosperity of Laketown. They are making songs that say that because of him the rivers run with gold.” “So the prophecies from the old songs are true!” said Bilbo. “Of course!” said Gandalf. “Don’t you believe the prophecies? Or do you doubt them because you were responsible for them coming true? You don’t believe that all your adventures and escapes were just pure luck? You are a very good Hobbit, Mr. Baggins, and I like you very much.
• But you are only quite a little fellow in a wide world after all!” “Thank goodness!” said Bilbo laughing, and blew an enormous smoke ring into the air.

 

 

 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eIlplTBSIl4&t=199s

 

 

 

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Inglês Essencial