[Anguirel]

An interesting question is brought to mind in your distinction between Dwarves and Ents, suggesting that Ents are "natural" because they are part of the Music of the Ainur.

Are Dwarves, then, not part of the Music?

That would make them an almost lone anomaly, and have interesting practical knock-on effects - for example, their fate would presumably be a complete mystery to both Manwe and Mandos.

Yet we know that in their separate ways Manwe and Mandos know quite a few elements of the fate of the Men and Elves. And that fate is surely affected in no small way by the Dwarves! The Naugrim offer invaluable aid in the Fifth Battle under Azaghal, craft lots of important goodies, kill Thingol and at one point nick a Silmaril, the physical representations of the fate of Arda!

I think the Dwarves must have been in the music and comprehensible to Mandos to a certain degree; but it rather beats me how.

"Nonetheless they will have need of wood." I remember some debate about whether or not this was the funniest gag in the Silmarillion. Personally it brings a wry smile to my face, if not a veritable guffaw, but later put-downs, especially by Curufin and Beren, do, I think, excel it.

(Oh, and if we take into account the Unfinished Tales, Androg the outlaw becomes a serious competitor for Jester-in-Chief of the Silmarillion...)