[alaklondewen]

Ferd sat closest to the fire next to Ama and slowly turned the fish over the flames. Glancing over his shoulder he looked Old Bill over. The man made Ferd nervous, not from anything Bill said or did, but because Ferd had never been around big folk before. He sure is big, he thought as he swallowed nervously.

Olo and Penny passed around some of the berries they’d picked. No one was completely sure whether the berries were really safe, but Ferd took a small handful anyway and popped them into his mouth. They tasted a bit sour from not being quite ripe enough, but Ferd’s spirits rose anyway when the food entered his aching stomach, and he began to sing rather loudly.

One fish, two fish, three fish blue
Sizzlin’ o’er the fire for my favorite crew;
One fish, two fish, three fish blue
And one fish more for my tummy too!

Ferd had an obnoxious tendency to make up little songs off the top of his head, and they typically were not very good. A couple of the other hobbits groaned loudly and Ama elbowed him roughly in the side.

“Sorry, sorry,” he cried throwing his hands up. “But I have some good news…the fish is ready!”

[ June 16, 2003: Message edited by: alaklondewen ]