Why Bilbo?

[littlemanpoet]

P'raps Tolkien, a hobbit himself,
b'lieved in the potency of the small,
so rather than a sword wielding elf,
he placed the fate of all
free people of Middle Earth
in the hands of hobbits,
small but of good girth,
who for all their odd habits,
always had the talent
to rise to the challenge.