Penny was disappointed Ben hadn’t known who had told Farmer Maggot the story of the Barrow-downs. Now she could tell if it was true or not.
‘Looks like we should be leaving soon,’ Ben said, looking about the little camp. ‘I wonder which direction we’ll be heading. We do need to get going Penny thought, as she grabbed the little she had, including her knife. They put out the fire and started walking back to the Shire. After a couple minutes Penny figured out that they were heading downstream.
“ Isn’t the Shire that way,” Ama said to Old Bill pointing back upstream. The other hobbits agreed, nodding with concerned faces.
“You would think that,” Old Bill replied, “But I know a short cut,” and he tapped his nose and continued to lead them downstream.
The hobbits walked parallel to the river for many hours. Penny watched birds fly though the sky singing. It was a beautiful sunny day. Long rolling grasslands stretched for miles. The grass swayed in the winds, and the leaves on the trees rustled and sighed. It was a perfect day. Penny wished she was back in the Shire, enjoying this day with her friends and family their.
The wind picked up speed and started to blow harder, as the day grew on. Penny was extremely hungry, but they had nothing really to eat. The sun started to set and the sky turned different colors. It was orange and yellow, purple, pink, and red. Soon though everything would be a deep royal blue, with little white stars twinkling, and the moon shining. Penny shivered. It was getting very cold even though the wind had died down again.
When they stopped they made a small fire. Ferd and Ben caught some fish and they began to cook them over the fire. Penny sat by Rosie watching her clean the fish. Penny sighed. She couldn’t wait till the fish was ready. Mirabella and Ben had gotten up to get more firewood. They returned with a few pieces and set them on the fire. Soon the fish was done and everyone was eating happily.
Penny was getting very tired. So were most of the other hobbits. They all huddled up in a small group, keeping close to stay warm. The wind had picked up again and the trees nearby were swaying back and forth. She fell asleep almost immediately. But it wasn’t a pleasant sleep.
She had dreams of trees that talked. They laughed at her, and tired to grab her. She screamed and ran away. But she ran into wolves. They were closing in on her about to eat her. *Gasp* Penny awoke shaking and sweating. She was so scared. The wind seamed to whisper to the trees, and the stars seemed to laugh at her from above. Penny got up and walked around. She couldn’t sleep any more. The leaves rustled and sighed with content and the moon shone bright.
Not far away sat a large rock. Penny walked over and sat down upon it. She stared up at the stars and sky. She wondered when they would be home, and how here friends and family were. Did they miss her? She stayed there all night, until she finally fell asleep.
[ June 18, 2003: Message edited by: piosenniel ]
[ June 20, 2003: Message edited by: elven maiden Earwen ]
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