[Child of the 7th Age]

If Bella was surprised by Ginger's answer, she gave no hint in her own cheerful response, "You must be a bright lass to teach yourself all that on your own. I suspect it wouldn't take much for you to read a book like this as well. Still, this one would be a bit of a mouthful to start with."

Bella went to the stack of books on the table and pulled out two slim volumes, both well worn, which she then took and deposited in Ginger's hands. One was labelled "Primer" and the other "Riddles". Both had a generous assortment of pictures. The primer had an alphabet section in the front with a large letter on each page and short words underneath.

"You're welcome to have a look at these and return them whenever you'd like. I would try the Primer first. Better yet, look at it a while and then drop by in a day or so to show me how you're doing. I'll be glad to explain anything you'd like."

Before Ginger left, Bella had her sit down at the table and showed her how the letters "a", "e" and "o" could be put in the middle with a "b", "d", or "g" at the front and back end to make an assortment of words that could easily be sounded out.

Walking to the door, Bella beamed encouragingly at Ginger, "Not so hard. You did very well. And perhaps there's something you can do for me. This could be our secret. I've never been in the Shire before, and there's a lot about hobbits I only know second hand. Father never felt right here. Too many hurt feelings. I've been to Bree once or twice but most of my life was spent among the Big Folk. Perhaps you could teach me a thing or two about the Shire, just simple things like hobbit songs and dances and how to make favorite foods that folk like to eat. Strange isn't it," Bella mused, "I've been from one end of Middle-earth to the other but never lived among my own kin."

There was a glint of sadness in Bella's voice, but it was quickly replaced by a hopeful tone, "Not that I can complain. I doubt there are too many folk who can call the New Lands their home...."