little gentleman

Bilbo got up early the next morning, washed up, and went to breakfast.The dining-room was empty, and one of the elves told Bilbo that the gentlemen had been out early in the morning, and the ladies were still up.Aristocratic men usually get up an hour earlier than women. This is completely different from the custom of Hobbiton. Hobbit wives will drag their husbands to the floor by their hair in the morning and threaten them with buckle if they dare to stay in bed. drop their first breakfast.But the hobbit men were not all slackers. Sam was hardworking, and Bilbo always kept a good, regular schedule.

Bilbo's breakfast was served quickly, and he was not used to being served while he ate, and he did not understand how nobles could eat under the noses of others.It was better for him to sit with everyone yesterday, but today he is the only one eating, which is even more awkward.

Someone else came in at last, and when Bilbo looked up, he thought he was better off alone: ​​it was Gilraine and Louisa who came in.

The three said good morning to each other formulaically.The servants didn't care that there was something wrong with the atmosphere in the dining room, and they had already started preparing breakfast for the two ladies.

Jillraine had a bad time at Thorin's last night, and she was even more annoyed at seeing Bilbo at this moment. She walked gracefully to the seat furthest away from Bilbo and sat down. Louisa sat next to her, and the two The girls exchanged glances, and looked at Bilbo together with contempt.Bilbo pretended not to notice, and buried himself in his breakfast.

Gillian was unwilling to remain silent, and she said sharply: "Mr. Baggins, I didn't expect you to have breakfast now. I thought you would have gone out with other men long ago!"

Before Bilbo could answer, Louisa joined in, saying meaningfully: "Perhaps Mr. Baggins is just slow to eat, after all, hobbits eat two breakfasts!"

"Oh! I'm almost there, hobbits have to eat six meals a day!" Gillane pretended to remember just now, "I hope Rivendell's kitchen doesn't feel too stressful!"

Bilbo didn't want to quarrel with the young girls, but the humiliation was too much. He suppressed his anger and said as calmly as possible: The bitts had a famine. Hobbiton lived with a lot of hobbits, and there was never a shortage of food."

"It's hard to say," Gilleen insisted, "Maybe Lord Elrond didn't consider your appetite, and didn't prepare you five times the normal food!"

"Lord Elrond knows a lot, and he doesn't know hobbits," retorted Bilbo. "I'm a good cook myself, and I'm sure there's enough in Rivendell's kitchen. The ingredients are for me to choose."

Just as he was talking, Sorin walked into the dining room. He was wearing out clothes, with the morning dew on his shoulders.

Thorin greeted the two ladies first, and then said to Bilbo, "I suppose you are having breakfast, and I came here to see you, Mr. Bilbo."

Bilbo took his napkin and pretended to wipe his mouth, which was far less elegant than the two ladies: "I've finished eating, Mr. Thorin."

"That would be great," Thorin strode up to Bilbo's side. "The weather is fine today, and I would like to invite you to the seaside."

"Oh! the sea!" cried Bilbo delightedly. "I've never seen the sea before!"

"We can leave when you are ready." Sorin smiled imperceptibly, and left the restaurant immediately.

Bilbo couldn't wait any longer. He turned to the servant and said, "May I use the kitchen? I want to take some refreshments."

The servant was taken aback, and said a little unnaturally: "You don't need to go to the kitchen, I can prepare it for you."

"No, I'm going to make some myself!" Bilbo is good at preparing picnic baskets. When Frodo was still in the community school, he used to prepare a basket of food for his nephew's picnic on weekends. What parent can't let the child have a basket of food It will be ridiculed.

The servant was dazed with astonishment, but led Bilbo to the kitchen anyway. The handsome elf had never dealt with common people before, and Bilbo's outrageous behavior overwhelmed him.After Bilbo went out, Jillraine angrily threw the napkin on the table and left the restaurant angrily.

The elf's kitchen was as neat as any room, and Bilbo could hardly recognize where the oven was, but he soon became familiar with its layout.In order not to keep Thorin waiting for a long time, Bilbo could only make some simple snacks. With the help of the elves, he quickly filled the two baking trays. in one breath.The kind elf friends also prepared some sweet berries for him. After the pastries were baked, they wrapped the pastries with leaves and put them in a delicate basket together with the berries and drinks.

When Bilbo found Thorin in the living room, the latter looked in surprise at the basket in the hobbit's hand. "I thought you were changing your clothes."

Bilbo hurriedly looked down at his clothes: "Well... that's what we wear when we go out."

Sorin pointed to the basket: "I just didn't expect you to prepare so much... food?"

"Oh! It's very important! I'll prove it to you!" Bilbo held up his basket triumphantly.

They set off together, and Bilbo did not like riding, so Thorin walked with him.Thorin took the basket from Bilbo's hand, carried it in the hand away from Bilbo, and walked side by side with Bilbo.

The fragrance of flowers is floating in the valley, and the fresh grass is dyed with the breath of spring.The two walked through the low-lying valley, listening to the sweet chirping of insects.

"Mr. Baggins, is this the second time you have left the Shire?" Thorin chatted with Bilbo as they walked.

"Yes, the last time was to Mirkwood." Bilbo felt that bringing up the subject would embarrass both of them.

But Thorin didn't care at all: "The forest and the canyon are different. Rivendell is a beautiful place, and there is no more beautiful canyon in Middle-earth."

"Indeed," said Bilbo, seeing a bouquet of lily-of-the-valley waving in the breeze, and ran his tiny fingers over the bell-like flowers, "and the forest here is another kind of beauty."

"This is called the 'underground forest', and many plants are unique to Rivendell." Thorin and Bilbo were walking through the underground forest at the bottom of the valley.

"If only the plants here could grow into the garden at Bag End," envied Bilbo.

"Perhaps you can try." Thorin looked gently at Bilbo's eager expression. Hobbit happiness is always so simple.

After crossing the valley, they walked onto the almost pure white silver beach. The endless sea, wider than the world, unfolded in front of them like a giant painting. Where the water and the sky meet, the sky and the blue of the sea merge into one, like a unified universe before the creation of the world.

As blue as Thorin's eyes, Bilbo remarked.He couldn't help but look at the profile of Thorin standing beside him. Thorin's eyes were really like the sea that could contain the whole world. For the first time, Bilbo deeply realized that Thorin Oakenshield was a great man. king of

"This is so..." Bilbo was full of emotion, but he didn't know what to say, "There is such a large... water area!" The sea breeze blew his curly hair, and the moist, slightly salty breath soaked into his lungs, refreshing him.

"Seeing the sea for the first time will be very exciting," Thorin's black hair flew back in his head, "I remember when I first came to the beach, I still roared towards the sea."

"Why roar?" asked Bilbo, tilting his head.

"Calling to the people beyond the sea," said Thorin, "I believed in the legends of the sea when I was a boy."

It turned out that Thorin had believed in legends too, and Bilbo could not imagine Thorin as a child, and Thorin was already a majestic king when he knew him.But after thinking about it, everyone was once a child, and Thorin was no exception.Bilbo could not help imagining Thorin as a child.

"What are the legends about the sea?" Bilbo asked curiously.

"That's a story passed down from generation to generation by the elves: the elves come from the west of the sea, and all the elves living in Middle-earth will return there in the end, and their souls will take the big ship and sail to the eternal realm of the west." Thorin said tell.

Bilbo was fascinated. "Is this a true story? All the elves sail west in a boat?"

"The elves believe this is their history, but the other races think it is only an ancient myth," Thorin said. "Anyway, every nation has some legends from the early days, but there is no convincing corroboration."

"I hope it's true!" said Bilbo, looking longingly at the horizon, trying to stand on tiptoe to see farther.

"It is a good thing to keep good wishes, Mr. Baggins." Thorin looked sideways at Bilbo, and the hobbit showed a childlike expression.

"Actually..." Bilbo hesitated to speak, as if he had just made up his mind, "you can call me Bilbo."

Thorin looked at Bilbo a little surprised, but said nothing.

"Er... I just thought it sounded better that way... Of course, if you don't think it's appropriate..." Bilbo wondered if he had said something rude.

"No, that's all right, Bilbo." Thorin smiled, and his eyes brightened even more.

Bilbo breathed a sigh of relief, and then he felt the rumbling in his stomach: "I think it's time for us to eat, and I would like you to try my raspberry pancakes, Mr Thorin."

They sat on the soft white sand, and Bilbo took the cloth that had covered the top of the picnic basket and spread it out, taking out all the food and placing it on the pale green doily.

The raspberry shortcake smelled tantalizing, as did the vanilla petit fours, and the little bagels were dusted with icing sugar.Thorin raved about every food, and he had tasted Bilbo's cakes in Mirkwood, but they were not as rich as they were today.The chat continued, although no one said much, but with the company of delicious food, everything seemed warm and comfortable, as if the two of them had long been used to this kind of casual life.

It was nearly dusk when Thorin and Bilbo returned to the mansion, having missed tea but just in time for supper.The two of them didn't sit together again at dinner, Bilbo was next to Gandalf and Boromir this time, and Thorin was sandwiched between Gilraine and Louisa, and the dwarf king had to deal with Gilraine's various affairs at any time. Talking to each other annoyed him, and in order to maintain table manners, he had to listen carefully to every word she said.Bilbo's neighbor was much nicer, and he told Gandalf how he felt seeing the sea for the first time, while Boromir asked him a few questions about Hobbiton, and the dinner ended in pleasant chatter.