little gentleman

Bilbo was disappointed that he had not heard from Frodo during his first few days in Rivendell.Two letters arrived today, one of which had been misposted elsewhere, and both were addressed to Sam, which surprised Bilbo.

In order to read the letter, Bilbo did not go for a walk in the morning. He shut himself in his room and opened the one he had dropped by mistake first.After opening the folded letter paper, Bilbo was even more strange: although the letter was sent by Sam, the first half of the letter was obviously written by Frodo:

Dear Bilbo:

Satisfied with your travels in Rivendell?I'm too busy to write now, you're not home and Sam and I have been tending to your tomatoes.The neighbors have been very motivated this year, several families have said they want to beat you and get tomato medals, and Sam said we have to work harder too.

Thommen Brown and Lily Carton came once, and they went through every room and studied which furniture would go where.I heard later that they had taken Rosso Sackville Baggins' word that they were going to move in as soon as you died.Seeing how they now take Bag End as their own, I was so angry that I kicked them out.They said that no matter what I think now, as soon as you die, Xiaomei will definitely be the hostess here.But Sam says those two old fellows won't outlive you!

Merry and Pippin went to the tavern in the town yesterday, and they said they saw a strange man in a red cloak who seemed to be able to read minds and know a person's identity and history without asking.But the man said he couldn't do any magic, just smarter than most people, and he tricked them both into paying him for the drink.I guess I should have advised them to stay out of the pub, which you would have done if you were at home.

This concludes the part written by Frodo, the second half of which is in a very scribbled hand, which seems to have been written in haste, and which was written by Sam, who noted that the second half was written a day later than the first half.

Master Baggins:

Something unexpectedly serious has happened, and I don't want to worry you, but I have to tell you.Mr. Frodo went to town last night and never came back. I was just going to bed at twelve o'clock in the middle of the night when Pippin's cousin came running to tell me that Frodo had gone south with an elf, to put it bluntly. , Eloped with Prince Legolas!You imagine my astonishment, for it was so reckless, and not at all like Mr Frodo could have done.I went out at once to chase them, and chased them most of the night without success, and when I got back to Hobbiton after daybreak, Merry and Pippin came to see me, and it seemed that the story was all over Hobbiton.I don't know why Prince Legolas took Frodo away, obviously it can't be for money, and it shouldn't be for Frodo.According to eyewitnesses, Frodo went with Legolas voluntarily, and the reasons for his irrational decision are unclear.Now I have lost their clues, and I hope to have new news tomorrow. At present, I can only speculate that they may be in the south of the Shire, or they may be going west.At any rate, I must find him and bring him safely back to Hobbiton.

Sam

After Bilbo finished reading the letter, he didn't know what mood he was in. He hurriedly opened the second letter. This letter was written a day later than the second half of the first letter. The handwriting was obviously much neater, but the content of the letter was not comforting. .

Master Baggins:

I wrote yesterday's letter incoherently, and now my head is still in a mess. I'm afraid it will be difficult to explain things clearly in this letter.But I have some bad news for you: Prince Legolas and Mr. Frodo seem to have left the Shire. Someone in the south claims to have seen an elf going west with a small companion, but there is a report from the west. The news is not optimistic. I am afraid that they did not go to the West as we thought, but may go all the way south.Worst of all, they are headed in what may well be the most dangerous part of Middle-earth.We don't know which direction to pursue, maybe we should take a short cut and go south, maybe we can stop them in Rohan.Pippin's aunt promised to help, but she was afraid she would only be of the wrong kind, for she had come to Bag End in the morning and babbled about Frodo's bad luck, and perhaps Legolas had abandoned him for being a nuisance. And so on—legolas, from eyewitness accounts, was reluctant to take Frodo with him.Aunt Pippin also said that Frodo would be killed by a wild Orc if he was left behind, or eaten by a warg, and I really hope she doesn't care about that any more.Pippin could do nothing, too, and he would have liked to help after Frodo, but he would be lost out of the Shire.I wanted to go after the two of them myself, but honestly I can't do anything by myself.If it's convenient, I would like to beg you to come back with all my courage, but if you really can't get away, I'll find another way.

I am about to repent, and I beg you to come back, Mr. Baggins, only you can find Mr. Frodo, and that great wizard Gandalf, who will be willing to help.

Sam

"Oh! Gandalf!" Bilbo jumped up from his chair with a whoosh, and wanted to run to Gandalf.

As soon as he ran to the door, the door opened, and Sorin was standing outside the door.

"Bilbo, I think..." Thorin hadn't finished speaking when he realized that something was wrong with Bilbo. The little man was so pale that he seemed to be fainting.

"I beg your pardon, Mister Thorin," Bilbo's voice changed, "but I must go to Gandalf now!"

Although Thorin was surprised, he said calmly, "I don't want to hinder you, but it's better for me or the servant to go to Gandalf. You are not in a good state."

Bilbo did not persist, for his mind was in confusion now, and his legs were trembling with excitement, and it would be a waste of time to go out and find someone in such spirit.Thorin gave a few simple instructions to the servant, requesting to find Gandalf immediately, and the servant left lightly and quickly.

Thorin helped Bilbo into a chair, and asked with concern, "Would you like a drink? You must calm down."

Bilbo shook his head. He picked up the letter paper from the small table next to him with trembling fingers: "Thank you for your kindness, Mr. Thorin. But..." He opened his mouth, raised his hands in a fretful and bewildered manner and then put them down, Repeat this several times.

Thorin looked at him in silence, sympathy in his eyes.

Bilbo took a deep breath and said, "No one can hide this, but... I just received the terrible news: my nephew Frodo ran away from all his family and friends, and was killed by Legolas." The prince is gone!"

Thorin was shocked.

"People say they went south, but where exactly they don't know, and Legolas didn't want to take Frodo with him at all, he took his own initiative to go with him!" said Bilbo in a broken voice, "Now think about it, I should have been on my guard! I know he did the same thing! But why did Frodo go with him? It's all my fault, for I failed to protect Frodo, whom I love best!"

Thorin shook his head, stood up and walked to the window, lost in thought.

Breathing more steadily, Bilbo stood up: "I beg your forgiveness, and please apologize to Lord Elrond for me, but I must go today, and I must go immediately! The letter has been delayed for at least three days. The longer we wait, the less hope of finding them."

Sorin turned around and said with a complicated expression: "Since that's the case, I won't stop you. Fili and Qili must have the luck to meet you today."

Bilbo's heart was pierced, and of course Thorin would not let his nephew see him again, after such a scandal.

"Yes, I'm afraid I can only ask you to greet the princes on your behalf," said Bilbo with a wry smile.

Thorin took a step forward and said in a soft voice, "I'm afraid you wanted me to leave a long time ago, and you should want to be alone now."

"Thank you for your thoughtfulness." Although Bilbo was very sad, he really needed to clear his mind by himself now.

So Thorin took his leave, and striding up to the door, looked back at Bilbo one last time, nodded his head in good-bye, and disappeared from Bilbo's sight.

"I shall never see him again!" Bilbo looked sadly at the door, where Thorin was no longer there.

Presently Gandalf came in, and he thought Bilbo was suddenly ill from what the servant had told him.Bilbo explained everything to him, and begged Gandalf to go back to the Shire with him, and help him find Frodo.Gandalf agreed, and reassured Bilbo that things were not as bad as he thought.

The two left Rivendell in a hurry, and they bid farewell to Lord Elrond briefly, but few people saw them off because of their haste.Bilbo looked around, but he did not see Thorin, and he thought sadly that from now on his and Thorin's lives would never intersect again.