[Merri]

"Do you have any toast. Five slices is all I need..."

"Five!" Elanor gasped out loud before she could restrain herself, then she remembered that she was a hobbit, and therefore was in no way qualified to comment on how much another man ate. "I'm quite sorry, good sir- I didn't mean to- show such cheek- it's just that, I suppose I haven't been in the company of other hobbits often enough . . . you see, books don't eat much and-" she fell silent, blushing. She was talking nonsense, and she knew that.

It's just like mother says, she chided herself. All diseases come from the mouth, and you're going to get a mighty big one if you don't stop talking.