Chapter 307 The Restless Family
On this day, Bilbo greeted his gardener and brought his most sincere blessings.
"Sam, what a fat boy he is. He will grow up to be a very strong man."
Looking at this plump little guy, Bilbo couldn't help but smile.
But when he looked at the little guy, finished his words of blessing, and was about to turn around, open the door, leave this lively family and return to his own home, he sighed softly for no apparent reason.
Looking at the slightly loose skin on the back of his hands, Bilbo suddenly realized that he was no longer young.
And now he was still alone, living by himself in Bag End.
Bag End is a leisurely, quiet...and empty place.
Shaking his head and letting go of these random thoughts, Bilbo returned home and continued to sit in the rocking chair, looking at the scenery and the sun gradually setting in the sky. He sighed as always: "Today's weather is exceptionally sunny."
Zhuo Guo's family, far away in Brandy Bridge, thought the same.
Today was indeed a festive day. In the evening, a joyous banquet was held in the Brandy Hall. As one of the most tolerant Hobbits in the area, Zhuo Guo would naturally not miss this event.
So he took his wife and children to the banquet, and the family had a great time eating and drinking.
Twelve-year-old Frodo also had a great time playing with the other children, so much so that he was so tired that he fell on his bed and fell asleep as soon as he got home.
But Frodo fell asleep, but Drogo and Primula were not at all sleepy.
The couple looked at the clear sky, watching the sun set and the moon rise, and suddenly an idea popped into their minds: "Let's go boating!"
Zhuo Guo, with a blush on his cheeks, imitated the poet's tone and said, "Look at the Brandywine River. The moon in it is so beautiful, and the stars are so shining. If I could swim around it, it would be a beautiful scene in my dreams tonight."
Apparently, this guy had been drinking a lot at the Brandy Bridge party.
Coincidentally, his wife also drank a lot.
"Then let's go now!" Primula agreed immediately.
So they left Frodo at home and ran straight to the river.
They sang, laughed and danced on the boat.
Then the boat capsized.
“Help!!”
The heart-wrenching cry startled several bushes.
"What's going on?"
A ranger stuck his head out and looked towards the river.
Another companion who had better eyesight took a look and immediately stood up: "Someone is drowning, don't just stand there!"
They ran over quickly, dived into the river, and with great effort pulled out the two hobbits, who were quite plump in figure.
"Fortunately, I'm fine."
Looking at the Hobbit couple hugging and crying on the river bank after the robbery, the two rangers lay exhausted on the grass with water dripping from their foreheads.
It’s hard to tell whether it was river water or sweat from exhaustion.
The commotion that night alarmed many people, and the news that Drogo Baggins and his wife had fallen into the water and nearly drowned spread quickly.
You have to know - this is the Shire, the most peaceful Shire in Middle-earth. People here have a lot of free time. This matter spread to the next town next town next town almost the next day.
That is Hobbiton.
"Boats are unreliable to begin with. If you just sit there and do nothing, you might get into trouble."
Sam's father, the gardener Mr. Hamfast, expressed this sentiment while chatting with Bilbo.
"Fortunately, there are two rangers nearby, otherwise Frodo would have become an orphan at the age of twelve."
Compared to Hamfast, Bilbo was more concerned about something else.
"Then this child is so pitiful."
Bilbo couldn't help shaking his head at the thought of this possibility.
Fortunately, fortunately this did not happen.
"But this couple is so irresponsible. They are grown up, but they still do things like leaving their children alone at home and going boating."
Bilbo stroked his chin, thinking secretly.
"No, as Zhuo Guo's cousin, I must go and have a good discussion with him."
As soon as this idea came to Bilbo, he could not sit still. A few days later, he got dressed, took a walking stick and walked eastward to Brandy Bridge.
Zhuo Guo is really quite old this year, he is already 72 years old.
Yes, when Frodo was born, his father was already 60 years old, and his mother was only 12 years younger than his father.
The couple are now 72 and 60 years old, which is not young.
As for Bilbo... he seemed to have lived a long life. He was now 90 years old, and one of the oldest people in the whole Shire.
But even so, the old man is still full of energy and spirit.
It's simply a mystery.
But no matter how spirited he was, he was not a young Hobbit after all.
Even Bilbo himself sighed. It took him an entire afternoon to walk from Hobbiton to Brandybridge and he still hadn't finished it.
In the past, especially on the journey to Lonely Mountain, even if Thorin and his companions left on horseback first and walked for half the morning, he would still be able to catch up with the expedition before lunch.
"call--"
At dusk Bilbo took a deep breath and sat down by the river.
That’s right, it was the Brandywine River, where Zhuo Guo and his wife almost drowned.
After crossing the river, we will reach the Buck Land, but before that, we should take a rest.
“Help!!”
Just as Bilbo sat down, a shout was heard, coming from far away and approaching, as if it were from the other side of the river.
"What's going on?"
Bilbo stood up at once, holding his stick tightly in his hand.
He took two steps forward and looked over with squinted eyes.
This sight made old Bilbo no longer calm.
I saw three vicious dogs chasing a child. They looked extremely ferocious and it seemed that they would not go back until they bit the child.
The most important thing is that the person they are chasing is none other than their lovely nephew - Frodo!
"Child, come this way!"
Bilbo ran across the bridge on the spot, heading for Frodo's position on the other side of the river.
When Frodo heard the voice, he ran over as if he had seen a savior, and grabbed Bilbo's clothes tightly.
"Uncle, hurry up, let's run!"
"Don't be afraid, kid!"
Bilbo protected Frodo behind him, raised his stick, and shouted at the three big dogs in front of him: "Ha! You bad dogs, get out of here! I have even faced dragons before, I am not afraid of you. If you don't want to tuck your tail between your legs like a dog, then wait, you seem to be dogs. Anyway, stay away from me!"
Believe it or not, maybe it was because Bilbo really had a certain temperament, the three ferocious dogs were actually a little afraid. They barked and slowly retreated. After a stalemate for a while, they turned around and ran back the same way.
"Humph, a few puppies. Any enemy I faced back then would be able to scare you to death!"
Muttering something, Bilbo made sure that the three dogs had left before he squatted down and checked on Frodo.
As Bilbo watched, he felt a little distressed.
The child's feet were covered in mud, his clothes were torn at one corner, and his face was covered in dirt. He looked very disheveled.
At this moment he was so frightened that he was shaking all over and could hardly stand.
"It's okay, kid, it's okay, tell uncle, what happened?"
With Bilbo's comfort, Frodo finally came to his senses. He stretched out his hand and opened his palm.
There are two mushrooms inside.
"hiss--"
Bilbo frowned, realizing that things were not that simple.
“Isn’t this the delicious mushroom produced in Douyuanzhuang?”
"You went to Maggot's house to steal mushrooms?"
Frodo nodded.
"You kid!"
Bilbo nodded his head, looking helpless.
The mushrooms produced in Bean Garden are very delicious and famous throughout the Shire. Maggot is the owner of the farm. In order to protect the mushrooms, he raised three ferocious big dogs to deal with uninvited intruders.
Although it was a bit unkind for a child to do this, it was not Maggot's fault.
I'm in the wrong.
"Why…"
Seeing Frodo trembling and crying, Bilbo finally couldn't bear to continue talking. He sighed, turned his back and squatted down.
"Come on, kid, I'm just going to visit your house, let's go on the way."
So old Bilbo carried little Frodo on his back and walked eastward.
"Uncle, you just said that you faced a dragon. Is that true?"
After walking for a while, perhaps to slow down, little Frodo asked curiously from behind.
This question set old Bilbo on talking non-stop.
"Of course. Back in Erebor, the lost kingdom of the dwarves, Levi, Thorin, and I faced the dragon that stood taller than a windmill..."
Bilbo was talking in front and Frodo was listening in the back. As he listened, he became fascinated and began to imagine the scenes.
"Do you know Levi?" He suddenly grasped a key point.
"Yes, didn't your parents tell you? You two met on the day you were born. That day was also my birthday. Levi came all the way from Roadside Castle to visit me."
"Roadside Castle, I know it—it's where the two rangers who saved my father and mother live!"
Frodo stopped trembling at the mention of this, and began to feel excited.
His parents certainly hadn't told him these things, and today was the first time he knew about the relationship between Bilbo and Levi.
"Can you tell me more of your story, uncle?"
"Maybe next time."
Seeing Drogo's house right in front of him, Bilbo put Frodo down and took a breath.
"Oh - Frodo, dear Frodo, where have you been? We were so worried about you!"
As soon as we got here, we heard a voice approaching quickly from afar.
Mr. and Mrs. Drogo came running up and hugged Frodo.
"Your family!"
Bilbo said this in a disappointed tone.
"Come in, I want to discuss with you what you have done recently!"
(End of this chapter)
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