221-225:

One night while they were talking over at a fire, Strider heard something.

“Hey did you guys hear that?” asked Strider.

“Yeah. I did. Hey, there it was again!” replied Pippin.

“Guys, grab your swords just in case of danger.” said Strider.

Having the swords close to their bodies, they waited to hear the noise again. They did. But what they also saw was this: dark figures

Up on a hill in the distance were three dark figures which appeared to be wearing hoods.

It was a frightening sight, but it got worse. One figure pulled out two objects. It was now holding a sword in one hand and a knife in the other.

Frodo, wanting the creatures to leave him alone ran towards the figures and tried to attack them. But was that the biggest mistake of his life.

When trying to attack the figures, he lurged at one of the figure’s legs. This gave the figure a huge advantage to attack back. When lurging towards the figure, Frodo dropped his sword. So what did the figure do? Dropped its weapons, picked up Frodo’s sword, and stabbed Frodo with his own sword in his right shoulder. It left a huge wound.

Strider ended up avenging Frodo by killing the figures. Then, he came to help Frodo.

“Frodo, Frodo, are you alright? Speak to me!!” said Strider.

“It hurts…it hurts..” said Frodo.

Frodo had major damage. Strider looked at the damage. Though Frodo had lost a lot of blood, no bones were broken.

“Hey, I know what can help you with the pain.” said Strider.

He pulled out some herbs out of his pocket. The he said to Frodo:

“These are magical herbs. They are known to help give away any pain that any creature experiences.”

He mixed the herbs in with boiling water until the herbs had turned to a liquid substance. Then he poured the medicine into a needle. After cleaning the wound, he injected the medicine into Frodo’s wound. Frodo felt instant relief from the pain.

Strider then found Frodo’s sword.

“Frodo, I think I know exactly why you were experiencing so much pain. This isn’t any ordinary sword.” said Strider.

He was right. He looked at the sword. The tip was melted to the point. When Strider picked the sword, it melted in his hands and turned to liquid.

Clarifying- The reason that Frodo was experiencing so much pain that the sword was cursed. When stabbed by the sword, Frodo was injected with poison from the sword. However, the magical herbs had now been fighting the poison which is why Frodo is now relieved the pain. As for it melting, when touched by the body who owns a pure heart, it melts because the sword can’t stand the pureness of the heart. 

226-230:

For the next few days, nothing much happened. They hadn’t seen any sign of the Black Riders. Frodo’s pain was returning and had to be treated again. Other than that, nothing much happened.

However, they had been talking about the country coming up soon. They were now heading up to Loudwater (a country that is part of Rivendell) after that, they would be heading up to Elrond.

“You know, Elrond is a great town. I even grew up there.” said Strider.

During the next few days, Frodo’s pain had gotten much worse. He was getting very weak and had to sit down and rest to regain energy  which had slowed down their journey.

Eventually, his pain got very bad. Strider had run out of the magical herbs to help battle off the poison that came from the sword.

However, it eventually came down to this:

“Okay. We can’t be going like this.” said Strider.

Frodo knew exactly what he was talking about.

“I’m fine.” he said in a weak voice.

“No you’re not. Look at you. You’re getting weaker by the minute. I HAVE to find something the fight off the poison.” replied Strider.

Then to everyone else Strider said:

“From this point, we are not going any further until we find a cure that will take the poison away from Frodo for good.”

231-235:

“I know a place that may be able to cure Frodo.” said Merry.

“And where’s that?” asked Strider.

“It’s a town called Ford. I know someone there. They really know their stuff. He’s good at potions and studies pharmacology.” answered Merry.

Clarifying- It’s the study of medicine. If you couldn’t tell already, it has PHARMA in it. Like, PHARMAcy.

“Well then, we shall head there at once!” said Strider.

They headed to Ford as fast as they could. Strider managed to find more of the magical herbs to help Frodo with the poison. It wouldn’t cure him entirely, but it would give them more time to find a cure or else Frodo would probably…yeah…

On the way though they found something amazing:

“Hey, look at this!” said Pippin.

“Huh, well what do you know, it’s a troll hole! And a large one too!” said Strider.

“Do you think that there are any trolls down there?” asked Sam.

“I wouldn’t think so. But just to make sure, let’s go see.” answered Strider.

“Oh my..” said Merry.

“What?” asked Pippin.

“I just saw two trolls down in a clearing! They’re HUGE!!” answered Merry.

“No way! Could this be? Frodo, we’ve just found a part of your uncle Bilbo’s history!”

Inferring- At first, I had no idea what Pippin meant by that, but I figured it out! Remember how in the Hobbit Bilbo and the dwarves were attacked by trolls and were thrown into a large hole? Guess what? It’s the exact same trolls and the exact same hole! I find that very cool. 

236-240:

Suddenly in the distance, they heard the sound of a horse. Only, no shrieking noises like the Black Riders make. No, it was much different than that. Just a horse. What they saw was this:

A man with a white hood. Yet since it was daylight, they could see his face. The man had long blonde hair and was riding on a black horse.

Strider said to himself:

“No! I’m not going to let him hurt us! I mean, a black horse? It must be a Black Rider in disguise! Leave us alone!!!”

With that, Strider ran as fast as he could towards the man. But when he tried to attack, the man shouted saying:

“Please don’t hurt me! I don’t wish to harm you!”

Strider stopped running.

“Please, I only came to look for you. I was sent by Gandalf from Rivendell.”

Predicting- Yeah right. I should’ve mentioned this before, but the figure that stabbed Frodo also had blonde hair. He was even riding a horse. This makes me think that this man stabbed Frodo.

“My name is Glorfindel. I came here to help.” said Glorfindel.

“Please help our friend here. He is very sick after being stabbed with a sword.” said Sam.

“Let me see the wound.” said Glorfindel.

He looked at the wound.

“Oh my…there’s only one thing I can do. I’ll have to take you to Ford by myself.” said Glorfindel.

“No way! I’m not going to leave my friends behind!” shouted Frodo in a very weak voice.

201-210:

Evaluating- I know that I do this one a lot, but: 1. Be prepared for the most boring first ten pages ever!!! 2. Be prepared for lots of grumbling and complaining from the characters. You know if you really wanted to, you could just skip these first ten pages. Ah, then again, don’t. I had to sit here and type this and spend time on this so just read it. 

“Well, I suppose we should be on our way.” said Strider.

They on and on throughout their journey, until they arrived to a country called Midgewater.

“Hey guys, we are now in Midgewater!”

“*Sigh* Really? It just had to be Midgewater?I hate midges! They bite at you at your skin and they just hurt like crazy! I’ve even heard that one man was eaten alive by them once.” said Pippin.

“Don’t complain! We shouldn’t be here long.” said Strider.

Questioning- Okay, can someone tell me what midges are?

Answering- : a very small flying insect that bites people and animals

The very first night, it was terrible. For one, their camping site was really wet and moist. Because of this, (may I mentioned that it also rained?) they couldn’t make a fire because the wood was wet. While they were trying to get some sleep, the midges came out and starting biting them all night, so they couldn’t get any sleep. It was like this for about 4 days.

“OMG, when are we going to get out of here!!!! It stinks here!!! I haven’t gotten any sleep here in the last 4 days!! I swear, I hate those midges, I hate Midgewater, and I hate you Strider for having us go though this darn country!!!” yelled Frodo.

“You know, it could have been worse you know!!! You could have been caught by the Dark Riders!!! You wanna complain so bad, maybe I should just let you die out here then!!” yelled Strider.

15 minutes later…

“Fine!” said Frodo.

“Okay then. Well, I suppose we could go through through a shortcut if you can’t stand it here.” said Strider.

“No way!! Every single time that we’ve been told to go on shortcuts by people along our journey, we’ve always ended up into trouble! I’ve had it!!!!!”

Evaluating- Uggh….didn’t I tell you that this just going to be grumbling and complaining?

211-220: 

Well, after following Strider shortcut, they did not get into trouble. Instead, they found something else. They found that the town had been destroyed. There was ash everywhere, which indicated that the town had burned to the ground.

“Well, I guess Gandalf’s not here.” said Merry.

“Not so fast. Gandalf in that letter sounded like he was behind us. Like he was catching up with us. I think he was here, but something tells me that this fire kept him from staying and waiting for us.”

“Hey, what’s the glow?” asked Pippin.

There was glow in the very center of the town. It a faint glow, but visible. When they went to see what it was, they found that it was a rock.

“Oh c’mon. It’s just a rock!” said Pippin.

“Look! It has marking on it! Very fine ones! I think it says: G3”. said Strider

“G3? Do you think it was from…” said Pippin.

“Gandalf. But what does it mean?” asked Frodo.

“Well, it definitely means that he was here. I think I have a feeling what the 3 means too. You see, today’s October the 3rd. I think that the 3 indicates how many days ago he arrived here. Here’s what we’re gonna do. We’re gonna go through this town. And once we get through here, we should be able to find Gandalf.” said Strider.

What is Important- For the rest of the five pages, it was pretty boring. However, here is something important. Frodo asked Strider how the Black Riders are able to find them so quickly. Strider’s answer was that they can’t see. However, they are able to use their other senses. Also they seem to have a rather connection with their horses. The Black Riders can understand what their horses are telling them. They can ask people along the way about Frodo just to get information about where he might be headed.

181-185:

Frodo said, “Well, hey. They have a buffet downstairs. I think I’m gonna go check it out.”

Pippin answered, “See you in a little bit, then.”

When Frodo got down to the buffet. He saw a strange man underneath a gray hood and cloak.

“Who’s that?” asked Frodo to Butterbur.

“I don’t exactly know. However, when he checked in, he called himself Strider.”

Frodo walked up to the man and asked, “Hello. What’s your name?”

“My name is Strider. Hey, I have something to tell you.” said Strider in a deep voice.

“Oh, what is it?” asked Frodo.

Strider looked over his shoulder. It was like someone was watching him.

“Not now. Now is not the right time. Maybe later?” asked Strider.

“Sure…see you.” said Frodo.

Later, Pippin came up to Strider.

“Hey, my friend said you wanted to talk to him?” asked Pippin.

“Hey, what’s going on over here?” asked Frodo.

Scared, Pippin turned out saying, “Frodo!”

“Good, Frodo’s here.” said Strider.”Look, here’s the deal. There are these men in dark hoods riding horses. They’re after you. I’ve been looking for you Frodo. I’ve been wanting to be part of your team for a while now. I’m good at spying and hiding from enemies, which I think is a great key factor for on your journey.”

“Sounds great!” said Frodo.

186-190:

“Well then,”replied Strider,” We must be on our way. The Dark Riders are coming for you. I think I even saw one in this town looking for you. Listen, we have to leave soon. We must go on to Rivendell. But, you’ll never make it alive without me. I know Rivendell very well.”

“Who are you?” asked Pippin. He sensed something fishy about Strider.

“I’m telling the truth. If you wanna make it alive, you’re gonna have to trust me.” said Strider.

Butterbur came through saying, “Hey, I got a letter here from Gandalf the Wizard for Frodo Baggins.”

“That’s for me.”said Frodo.

“So your name is actually Frodo Baggins?” asked Butterbur.

“Yes.” said Frodo, embarrased.

“Well, I heard your guys’ conversation about these Black Riders. Who are these guys?”

“Listen.”said Strider.” The Black Riders are coming after Frodo here. They want something from him, and willing to kill him to get their hands on it. I need your help. I want you to have Frodo stay here for one more night. In the morning, send him out as quickly as possible. If any Black Rider asks you about Frodo, tell them that you’ve never heard of him. Got it?”

“Yes.” said Butterbur.

Evaluating- Finally, now the story is getting intense. I mean, all these pages before that were a little boring, but now it’s getting interesting!!!

191-195:

Later, Frodo decides to read his letter from Gandalf.

Summarizing- Basically what the letter said was that he wants Frodo to write a message back and give it to Butterbur to send back to Gandalf. Gandalf also said that he is sending a man named Strider to help them along their journey.

Predicting- Okay, this is just a continuation of the summarizing. Gandalf also said that there are many who claim to be Strider. What he warned Frodo was that Strider could be a Dark Rider in diguise. But, Gandalf said that in order to find out, his real name is Aragorn. So, my predicting is that Strider could be the wrong Strider. I say this because, he did seem very fishy and when talking to Frodo, he’d talk in a nervous voice and ocassionally turn his head his over his shoulder. It was like someone was watching him. 

The next morning, they got going out of the inn. Frodo gave his response back to Gandalf to Butterbur and headed on with their journey.

“Hey, I’m thinking that as soon as we get out of this town, we need to go to Weathertrop.” said Strider.

“How come?” asked Sam.

“Well, Gandalf likes to go there a lot. So, he could be there. We need to get back with Gandalf as soon as possible. He’ll be the most help on this journey.”

196-200:

“Man, I hope that the Black Rider’s don’t destroy the inn. I mean, Butterbur. Poor Butterbur. I just hope that he’s alright.”

Responding Emotionally- Personally, I feel the same way. I mean, I would feel bad for Butterbur. And the thing is, if the Black Riders find the letter from Gandalf and to Gandalf, Frodo’s in big trouble.

“I do too.” said Strider. “But for now, all we can do is continue on our journey and hope that the Black Riders don’t find us.”

Pages 161-170:

Then, Bilbo heard a voice start to talk. The voice said:

“I come for you!”

“Leave me and my friends alone!” shouted Frodo.

But that was the wrong things to say. For as soon as he did, the voice came after him. This is because Frodo could the voice coming nearer and nearer to Frodo. Then, all of a sudden, Frodo felt a cold sensation. He fingers and body were becoming freezing, his head felt light, and…

“Uggghhhh…..my head…..Hey…why am I..covered in gold?” answered Frodo.

P.S., Frodo had become unconscious from the voice and had fallen asleep.

Frodo looked down at himself. Instead of having on white clothing, he now on white rags that were sown together into a togan. He had gold rings and chains all over him.

“Guys… where are you?”

He finally found them. They were surprisingly lying very close to him. His friends too had gold rings, white togas, and golden chains all over them.

“Guys, wake up!” Frodo whispered.

No matter how much he tried, they just wouldn’t wake up. Then, Frodo heard the sound of singing. It sounded cold and harsh. Just like the voice from before. Then, he remembered  some advice from Tom.

Clarifying- Before Frodo and the others continued along with their journey, Tom had given them some advice. He told that if they were ever in danger, that they would need to sing a special song. This song is like a cry for help. When they would sing the song, Tom would be there to help them. But, the song would only work in Tom’s part of the forest. 

Frodo sang the song. And guessed what? Tom came to the rescue. Tom kicked the monster’s butt and saved Frodo and the others. However, the others were still asleep. So, Tom and Frodo carried them as far as they could, and then carefully sat them on the ground.

Frodo asked Tom, “Is there any way that you could wake them up?”

Tom answered, “Yes, of course.”

Then turning to Pippin, Merry, and Sam, he said, “By the name of which of which speak to you now, I command you to awaken!”

As soon as he said this, Merry, Pippin, and Sam slowly but surely woke up.  They stretched their arms and rubbed their eyes.

Connecting-  This reminds of the story when Jesus brings the dead girl back to life. Jesus commands the dead girl to wake up. In the end, she does wake up and is alive again. 

Sam asked, “Where in the world are my clothes?”

Tom answered, “I don’t know! But, hey who needs clothes when you could just be naked?”

Merry answered, “Yeah…….no thanks. Oh, wait a minute. Hey look, they may have taken our clothes, but we have our travel bags. Yes! Thank you, God!”

Everyone still had spare clothes in their travel bags. Their shirts were stolen, but they still had pants. They put those on and used the togas as shirts.

“Well, I’m glad that you all have clothes on now,”said Tom, “but I won’t be able to come with you much further. I’m reaching the border of my land. And you know that with magical folk, we can’t be crossing our borders. So, I shall be off.”

“But what about the Black Riders?” asked Sam.

“Well, there’s a town a few miles ahead. In that town is an inn. I’m sure that you could stay there the night.” answered Tom.

“Thanks!” said Frodo.

“You all might need this.” said Tom handing them small swords.

“Why would we need these?” asked Frodo.

“If you think that the enemies that you’ve faced are bad now, trust me, it’s gonna get much worse. But, this is just my advice.”

And with that advice, the hobbits were off to continue their journey.

Pages 171-180:

When they arrived to the town, they looked for an Inn. The only one in town that they could find was an inn called, “The Prancing Pony”.

“Hello?” asked Frodo asked he walked into the inn.

“Yes, I’ll be right with you.” said a man over his shoulder.

“Hello, my name is Frodo Underhill. My friends and I would like to purchase a room to sleep in for the night.”, said Frodo handing the man some of the gold chains from the encounter from the monster before.

“Ah, yes. Well, my name is Barilaban Butterbur. I am manager of this inn. As a matter of fact, I’m the one who even founded this inn.”

“Interesting.” said Frodo  trying to sound interested.

“Well then, I suppose I should get you to your room. Follow me if you would, please and thank you.” said Butterbur.

After following Butterbur for a minute, they got to their room.

“I hope that this will work for you. It’s a little small, but this is one of the only rooms that are available right now. If you need anything, just the ring the bell over there by your beds and I will have an assistant come and fill your needs.” said Butterbur.

“Thanks.” said Frodo.

Clarifying- The reason that Frodo called himself Frodo Underhill was that Gandalf told Frodo, before he ever even set off on his journey, to use a fake middle name when having to address it.

Evaluating- I have to say, Butterbur is very professional with his job. He does a good job showing the hobbits their room and does a nice job addressing them about them to ring the bell if they need anything. Professionalism and all that.

Pages 141-145:

Tom told the hobbits, “Oh, you’ll just have to meet my wife. And if you like, you can stay for the night.”

Frodo answered, “That sounds delightful.”

When they arrived at Tom’s place, they were immediately introduced to Tom’s wife.

“Hello.” said Goldenberry. “My name is Goldenberry. Welcome to my home. Please, come in and take a seat. Oh, dear me. You look tired. I suppose we should carry on to supper then. Honey, is supper almost ready?”

Tom answered, “Yes, supper is all ready. Come sit at the dining table. Supper is ready.”

The hobbits came in at the table and prepared to eat their delicious meal. They imagined that it would be meat with wine of some sort. What they got instead was very surprising. Water. A bowl just filled with water.

“Eat up, or your water might get cold.” said Tom.

Responding Emotionally- I guarantee you that the characters are just confused as to what was just given to them. They’re probably just wondering, “How would our water get cold? You just gave us cold water. They’re probably just a little creeped out. I know I would.

However, though it was water, it did not taste like water. It tasted like fine meats and a fine tasting wine.

Connecting: text-to-text- I can connect this to Jesus’ water to wine miracle. According to the Bible, the water was dirty water. However, when Jesus performed his miracle and had some people give it to another person. The person exclaimed that it was the best wine ever. In the same way, the water that Tom made was just water, but tasted like something way beyond water.

After supper, the hobbits went to bed. During the night, Frodo was certain that he heard the sound of the Black Riders. But, he just shook it off.

In the morning, the hobbits were awoken by the calling of Tom.

“Wake up everyone! It’s time for breakfast! We’re having water and grass!”

 

Pages 146-150:

After breakfast, Tom told great tales about many adventures and about the forest. They told them how he knew of the first tree to when Sauron had come into the world with his evil.

The hobbits were listening intently to what Tom had to tell. Tom’s tales were so interesting, they could do nothing but listen.

Then, Frodo told Tom about the beginning of his journey. He told Tom about the Ring of Power, and his plans of throwing it into Mount Doom.

“Show me this ring!” asked Tom.

Frodo took the ring out of his pocket and gave it to Tom. Tom stood up and placed the ring on his finger. But, he didn’t dissapear.

Questioning- Why didn’t he become invisible when he put on the ring?

Answering- I suppose that he has some sort of magic that makes him not having the power to not become invisible.

 

Pages 151-155: 

Then, he took his hand and hovered it over his hand with the ring on it. When he did the ring was gone.

“Hey, what did you do with the ring?” asked Frodo.

“Check your pocket.” answered Tom.

When Frodo checked his pocket, he found that the ring was there.

Before Frodo and the others went to bed, Tom gave them advice as to which paths to take and which would be a more easier route.

That night, Frodo heard no noises of the Black Riders.

In the morning, Frodo and the others said there goodbyes. They continued on the journey once more.

As they continued on their journey, Frodo talked to the others about his plans on how they should continue on.

“Well, we should be able to get through this forest by sundown. And hopefully by then, we’ll be able to find a camping spot to sleep.”

 

Pages 156-160:

They headed out through the forest in no time. They were now in a valley. As they went down the valley, a light fog appeared. However, as they went down, the fog got heavier and heavier. It got harder for them to see.

“Guys, keep up will you! We’ll need to stay close in order to get through this fog safely.” said Frodo.

No response.

“Hey, this isn’t funny!” yelled Frodo.

Then, Frodo got scared.

“Guys! Guys! Where are you!” Frodo called out as loud as he could.

Then, in the distance, Frodo heard the screaming of Merry.

“Help! HEEEEELLLLLLPPP!!!!!!” screamed Merry.

“Don’t worry Merry! I’m coming for you!” called Frodo.

Character Update–

Frodo: Frodo is now lost and is scared. He is looking for his friends out in the deep fog. Frodo is the holder of the Ring of Power. He wants to destroy its powers before it is used for evil. 

 

Merry/Pippin: friends of Frodo. They have joined Frodo to destroy the Ring of Power. They are lost in the fog trying to find Frodo. Merry called for help. Pippin, I don’t know but I don’t think that things are going to well for him either. 

 

Goldenberry: Tom’s wife.

 

Tom: A magical being. Apparently, he likes to eat water and grass. Maybe he’s on a diet. Anyway, for some strange reason he did not turn invisible when he put on the Ring of Power. He even managed to mysteriously get the ring back into Frodo’s pocket. 

 

Black Riders: They are still after Frodo and the Ring of Power. Sorry for not telling you this earlier, but the Black Riders are actually the nine elves who created those individual rings. If you remember my personal project. Anyway, they are technically the good guys who just want the ring to destroy it. Hopefully. They haven’t been spying in on Frodo as much, but are still out there.

Pages 121-130:

After a whole day on continuing their journey, they finally fell to sleep. Again. Frodo was sleeping and so were the others. Frodo was getting a good nights’ rest. That is, until Merry woke him up.

“Frodo!” shouted Merry. “Frodo! It’s time to get up!”

Frodo got up angrily yelling “What’s going on?!”

Merry answered, “Well, it’s after 4:00 sir. And not in the morning either. We need to get going back on the road before the Black Riders find us once more!”

And so, that is what they did.

So, after Frodo finally woke up, they got back on the road to continue on their journey. When walking along though, they eventually ran into an old forest.

“No way.” said Merry.

“What? Do you recognize this forest?” asked Frodo.

“Sure do! I’ve heard some strange stories about this forest. People said that they’ve heard messages…from the trees. They say they they’ve heard the trees talk to each other. Talking about plans of evil. There have some cases to where some people say that they were attacked by the trees and were surrounded by them. Some say that even with no wind blowing, the tree branches of the trees move.”answered Merry.

“You don’t believe in this stuff do you?” asked Frodo.

“No, but it might possibly be real. You never know about the places and wonders of Middle Earth.” replied Merry.

“That’s true.” answered Frodo.

“Well, we better look for a path. If we wanna find a path for the next town, we better get looking. This forest is pretty big. It might take us a while to get through here.” said Merry.

Frodo ended up splitting everyone up into finding the path. Pippin ended up finding up by giving off a scream that went something like this.

Frodo was wandering looking around the path. When he heard Pippin scream, “Just let me on the path, will ya?!!!”

Predicting- Oh no, I predict that the trees are attacking Pippin. I say this because, Pippin is screaming. The book described it as though Pippin was being attacked. Also,  it said the the hobbits were scared of the screaming because it sounded like someone being attacked.

However, Pippin was completely okay.

“Oh my, Pippin. Are you okay?” asked Frodo.

“Yeah I’m fine. Some trees just surrounded me and were just blocking the path. They didn’t attack me, but man those things were scary.”

“So, it’s true then. The trees do move.” said Merry.

“Yeah, well hey, now since we’ve found the path, let’s get going.” said Frodo.

They began walking on the path to get out of the forest. They were on the right path. However, over time, it began very hot and the air was very stuffy. The hobbits began to grumble and complain of the heat. Frodo tried keeping them encouraged by singing some songs, but it didn’t work. And just when they thought that things were getting really bad, things got much worse. The trees came back and were surrounding them. However, they did not harm them.  They eventually left the hobbits and the hobbits were able to continue on their mary way.

Evaluating- Okay, well that was wierd. I expected for the trees to attack the hobbits. Not jus stand there and not doing anything. Perhaps they were just spying on the hobbits.  

“Hey look! It’s Withywindle! But, we don’t wanna go to there. That place for this forest area is very harsh. Frodo, I think that we should just try to avoid that as much as possible.”

“Sounds like a plan.” replied Frodo.

 

Pages 131-140:

They kept on walking trying to avoid Wintywindle. However, as they kept walking, it got hotter and hotter. The flies and gnats were flying around their heads. They were grumbling and complaining again. They were complaining and arguing and being tired.

Merry said, “I can’t do this anymore (pant). It’s too hot! I need to rest! Can we please lie under a tree or something? Please!”

Frodo decided that they could lay down and get some sleep. While asleep, Frodo couldn’t help but to just think about water. He kept on dreaming about water falls and just plain water. For, he had a sincere thirst for water.

Connecting- Text-to-me:  Two summers ago, when it was really hot here in Hannibal, like in the 100s, my air conditioning broke in my bedroom. It was so hot, that every night I kept dreaming about water. I dreaming that I was in a fountain. I’d always wake up too in the middle of the night too. I’d have to get a drink of water from downstairs. I was so thirsty. In the same way, Frodo was so hot, that he constantly kept on thinking about water. He was so thristy, that he dreamt about water just like me. 

When Frodo awoke from his sleep, he found only himself. There were cracks inside the tree in which everybody slept. However, they were stuck in there. Only Sam was the only one to get himself free.

“Frodo, what are going to do? Pippin and Merry are stuck in the tree!” asked Sam.

Frodo answered, “I could use a small axe of mine. But with a tree that size, it would take me a while.”

“You could light it with fire.” said Sam.

Frodo relpied, “Yeah, what a grand idea. Here, let me just burn up all of my friends while I’m at it.”

Suddenly, the tree began to sway violently. It began to laugh evilly and kept on swinging its branches until it was really swaying.

Frodo and Sam cried for help. Finally, they saw a man named Tom. Tom was an old man.

“Please help us! Our friends are stuck in a tree!” they told the man.

“Why should I? What kind of tree is it?” asked Tom.

“Our friends are stuck in the tree and we have no way to get them out. We think that the tree is a willow. Just please help us.” answered the two hobbits.

“Ah, well. Perhaps I should sing a song for the tree.” answered Tom.

“Wait?” replied both Frodo and Sam.

Tom began to sing a song. As Tom sang the song, the tree began to stop swaying. The cracks in the tree slowly opened up, allowing Pippin and Merry to be freed.

Clarifying- For willows, willows will harm strangers that they do not recognize because they think that the stranger is evil and wants to harm them. The reason that the willow stopped trapping Pippin and Merry from its trap was because Tom’s song calmed it down, assuring the willow that everything was alright. 

After Pippin and Merry were freed, Tom asked:

“Hey, wanna come to my place for dinner?”

Pages 81-90:

Frodo woke up to the terrifying noise of what sounded like hooves. The hooves of horses. But that wasn’t the only thing that Frodo had heard of. He heard of shrill voices. They sounded like they were elves. But they sounded so creepy and high-shrilled that it sounded like a scream.

Frodo listened carefully for them. They sounded so scary, it gave Frodo the chills. Yet, eventually the sound of hooves and “screams” ended. Frodo figured that whatever the noises were were gone and would leave Frodo alone. Frodo soon fell back asleep.

In the morning, Frodo woke up the others. He told them, “Wake up! It’s time that we get back on our journey! But not without a good breakfast and a hot bath!”

“Sam, get going on the breakfast. Pippin, you get out the water bottles out and begin heating it up. I’d like to have clean water you know!”

Pippin asked Sam, ” What does he think this is? A grand hotel?”

Well, they ended up fixing a breakfast and made a hot bath. Afterwards, they got back on their journey. They walked for a quite a while. Frodo ended up telling them about the hooves and the screams that he heard last night.

One of his friends ending up knowing a thing about what Frodo

was talking about. His friend, Sam, ended up telling him that they may be Black Riders.

Until finally, the sun began to set down once more. They sat down by a tree and began to hit the hay.

That is, until Frodo and his friends heard the hooves and the screams.

Questioning: Why are these Black Riders following Frodo and his friends? I mean, what is their purpose of following Frodo and the others? 

Answering: Honestly, I think that the Black Riders are the creatures are going after Frodo and the Ring of Power. But why exactly? If only they knew what exactly Frodo was planning to do with that ring. 

Suddenly, the sound of hooves had stopped. Just before they started up right again. When they stopped, they heard the singing elves. It was a very cheerful song. They were elves. The elves were approaching them singing their joyful song.

“Elves!” said Sam.

“Yes, they are elves.” said Frodo. “However, they could just be those black riders. Let’s just keep a look out and make sure that they aren’t going to kill us, alright?”

“Okay.” said the others.

They watched as the elves kept on approaching. It turned out they weren’t Black Riders at all, or were they?

“Greetings, young Frodo!” said one elf.

“Greetings!” replied Frodo.

“Are you lost? You appear to be going the wrong direction to Hobbiton.” said another elf.

“Oh, no not at all. We’re actually heading to Rivendell. Would you like to come along?” asked Frodo.

“Oh no.” said an elf.

“Say, how did you know my name?” asked Frodo.

“We’ve known about you and everyone else in existence forever. Even before they had come into this world.”

“Okay…” replied Frodo.

Compare- Text-to-world: This greatly reminds me of God. I mean, God knows everything that is and will be. He knows everything. EVERYTHING. In the same way, the elves apparently know about everything here too. Perhaps, they were granted to live in Middle Earth for eternity?

 

Pages 91-100:

“Do you think that you would know anything about Black Riders?” asked Frodo.

“Why do you ask?” said the elves in nervous voices.

“Well, we think we heard a Black Rider earlier. Do you know why exactly they’re after us?” asked Pippin.

The elves began to whisper to other very quietly to eachother. Then they answered to the hobbits:

“Say, do you want to come to our place for dinner?”

“But you didn’t answer our questi-” said the hobbits.

“Come to our place for dinner. You must be very hungry.” said the elves.

Questioning: Yeah. Why didn’t the elves answer Frodo’s question? I mean, they were sounding nervous. Secondly, they didn’t even answer Frodo’s question. 

Answering: I think they aren’t who they say they are. I think that they’re the Black Riders. But, this is just my opinion. 

Either way, the hobbits followed the elves. When, they arrived an elf told them:

“Please… take a seat. We have a nice, open fire here. if you’re hungry now, we can go ahead and start the feast.”

They were very hungry, the hobbits were. They ate and drank. They talked about lots of things and stuff. Finally, Frodo said:

“Thank you for the feast. But, I wish you’d tell me who the Black Riders are.”

“Stop! Don’t say their name ever again!” yelled an elf.

“But what can I do to defeat them?” asked Frodo.

“Find courage.” answered an elf.

“Fine. If you aren’t gonna help me defeat these Black Riders, then that’s fine! I’m going to bed!”

And so he did. In the morning, Frodo told the others about the elves had told him. Then Frodo said:

“I’m going to take walk.”

“During breakfast?” asked Pippin.

“Yeah. Something very fishy is going on here. I need some time to think it out.” answered Frodo.

“Okay then.” replied Pippin.

When Frodo went outside, he began thinking about his friends. He thought that it was wrong of him to bring his friends along. I mean, what if they got hurt or died? It would be Frodo’s fault that he didn’t save them.

When Frodo came back inside, he told his friends about how he wasn’t for sure about them coming with him the rest of the way.

“Now way!” said Sam.

“Dude, we’re not gonna leave you behind. We’re coming with you. No matter what. We’re not gonna let you die. Even if we have to die for you.”

“Thanks guys.” answered Frodo.

Later that day, they continued their journey.

Character Evaluation: You know, I think that was very nice of Frodo’s friends to do that for him. Though, I’m surprised that they would actually risk their lives to save Frodo. That was very kind of them. 

Pages 61-70:

“Frodo,” said Gandalf.”I don’t know if you have realized this or not, but you see, this ring is not meant for you. It is meant for someone even powerful than you. The creator of the ring is the one who is truly meant for this ring. When a person puts on the ring, they first are one with it. But over time, the ring betrays them. It leaves the bearer behind.

“You see, Frodo, the ring longs for the power of its master. Its creator. And when the ring finally comes under the power of its master, terrible things will happen.”

“But how exactly did you find out about this being the Ring of Power?” asked Frodo.

“Why, right here in this room. You see, Frodo, I did a little research about it. I thought that I was for sure that this was the Ring of Power. But again, I could have been wron. But now after this simple test, I see now that this truly is the Ring of Power.” answered Gandalf.

“So, have you seen Gollum?” asked Frodo.

“Why, yes I have. I actually had a conversation with him. But, Frodo, it was very hard to get the truth out of him. You see, Gollum is a big fat liar. Everything that he says is pretty much a lie. If you would want to get the truth out of him, you have to think the opposite of what he says.”

“Frodo, I’m going to tell you this very seriously. You need to get out of Hobbiton. You need to get out of here. And fast. You see, when Bilbo had taken the ring from Gollum back at the mines of Moria, Gollum had swore that he would get revenge on Bilbo for taking his ring. And he did get revenge.

“Frodo, he ended up telling the creator about how Bilbo had the ring. Sauron (the creator of the ring) is angry that Bilbo has it. He sent out people to kill him. But now, since you have it, they’re coming after you. You need to leave Hobbiton before they find you.” said Gandalf.

“Oh my, why is this happening to me?” shouted Frodo.

“I mean, first I thought this was a really cool present from Bilbo. But now you’re telling me that I’m going to get killed for it? Gosh! I wish I had never gotten this ring! I just want to destroy it!” said Frodo.

“You can destroy it. Go ahead, try to do it.” said Gandalf.

Frodo grabbed a hammer and pulled out the ring. But before Frodo even put thought into hitting it, he looked at it. It was such a pretty golden color. It was so pretty looking. And, c’mon! It makes you invisible! I mean, who’d want to give that up?

All these thoughts were going through Frodo’s mind. He ended up putting the ring back into his pocket.

Claryfying- Why did he put the ring back into his pocket?  Well, he did this because the ring was made out of dark magic. Remember how I said that if wearing the ring for too long will make you go crazy? Well, it’s starting to do that to Frodo. The ring is tempting Frodo into keeping it. 

“Ah, see?” said Gandalf.” I see that the powers of the ring are getting to you too. Sad to say, even if you hit it with that hammer, you wouldn’t even make a dent. The power of the ring is truly powerful. It cannot be destroyed. Except for one way. The only way that you can destroy the ring is to throw into the volcano of Mount Doom.”

“Ah, that sounds interesting.” said Sam.

Sam is a servant of Frodo. He works out in his garden and cuts the grass, plants flowers, and tends the vegetables.

“You!” said Gandalf.”What have you heard?”

“Oh, I heard about the ring, Mount Doom, and all that stuff.” aid Sam.

“How dare you! Do you not know the power of this ring? How dangerous it is! And then for you to be eavesdropping on us?” asked Gandalf.

“Please, sir! Please! I’m sorry!” said Sam.

“You better be sorry! If you think that you can handle the stress of this powerful ring, then you will come with us to destroy it! Now go on and scram! And if I hear one peep from anyone in this town about this ring, I’ll find you and turn you into a toad!” yelled Gandalf.

And with that, Sam ran away from Frodo’s house as fast as he could, crying.

Character Evaluation- If I were Sam, I’d be scared to death. I mean jeesh Gandalf! Can’t even have mercy on the hobbit! Though, I must say, that was extremely rude of Sam.

Pages 71-80:

“Frodo, are you going to leave anytime time soon out of Hobbiton? Again, those hunters that I warned you about are coming out for you.” asked Gandalf.

Frodo answered,” Yes I will. I’m sorry that I haven’t made haste about getting out of here fast. It’s just that I’d like to get an idea of how I want this adventure to go. I mean, if I’m gonna go out on this adventure, I might as well have some fun when doing it.”

“Say, would you have any idea as to what path I should take?”

“Well, if I were you,” answered Gandalf. “I’d want to head out for Rivendell. It’s a town not to far from here. It may be a little dangerous, but I’d think that for a great adventurer’s nephew, it shouldn’t be too bad.”

And then finally, after two months of Frodo planning, the day had come that they set off for their adventure to the volcano Mount Doom to destroy the Ring Of Power.

Frodo ended up telling four of his friends too about the Ring of Power and how Sam was coming on an adventure with them to destroy it. They thought it sounded like fun, so they too came along with Frodo.

Their names are Fredegar, Pippin, Folco, and Merry.

Anyway, after telling them about it, they too packed up their bags and got everything that thought that they would need. That very day, they left and started on their journey.

To start off on their journey, they kept things very simple. They walked, talked to each other, ate lunch, and talked about how much fun that they were gonna have. Frodo even shared his plans with them about what he wanted to see while on their journey.

Questioning- Man, Frodo? How easy do you think that this is going to be? Do you not realize that this is going to be hard task? Gosh, may you see eventually the dangers that are involved within this journey. 

Finally, they come to a stopping spot. To see why they stopped, read my visualization: (This is through Frodo’s perspective)

Today was a good day. We talked about my plans for my journey. I also told them about the Ring of Power. Man, I hope they don’t tell anyone else about this ring. I mean having five hobbits is enough to take care of. Anyway, I feel so tired. My knees are feeling very wobbily. And I can feel my eyelids getting droopy. The others complain about being tired, so we decide to lie down under a tree and get some sleep. 

When asleep, I have pleasant dreams. I see myself flying in the sky, having a fun time. It was probably one of the best times I’ve ever had. Then, I remember getting hungry. In the dream, there’s a huge feast. It’s like an all-you-can-eat buffet. I take one of everything. It tasted so good, I wish I had the food sitting in front of me while being awake. Heck, even if I had a scent of it, I’d be happy. 

Then, I hear a noise. I wake up, feel terrified. It’s not a sound that I’ve ever heard of before.

Pages 41-50: 

When Frodo had tried on the ring, he heard on knock on the door. Frodo quickly took of the ring and answered the door. It was Gandalf.

“Frodo! I wish to tell you once more, happy birthday! Say, do you think that I could see that ring of yours? There was something that I forgot to tell you about that ring.” said Gandalf.

“Why of course!” said Frodo. “Hey, did you know that this ring can make you invisible I was-”

“Frodo! I daresay, you must use that ring more carefully! For, it possesses powers that you and me both cannot comprehend!” said Gandalf.

“So, what a minute. What’s so special about this ring?” asked Frodo.

“Well, I’m not exactly for sure if this is the exact type of ring that I’m describing here. For, there are many more rings like this one.” said Gandalf.

“Wait, what kind of ring are you talking about here?” Frodo tried to ask.

“But, there could be a chance that this could be the one ring to possess them all. Eh, I’ll do some research on it just to be sure. Well, I’ll be back soon Frodo! Hopefully, then I’ll find out if this is the one ring!” Gandalf said.

“Yeah, okay…..what in the world just happened here?” said Frodo.

But by the time Frodo had the words right out of his mouth, Gandalf was gone.

Evaluation: I have to say, this was very random. First of all, Gandalf was completely ignoring Gandalf. Secondly, Frodo was trying to figure out what Gandalf was even talking about. But before Frodo even got the chance, Gandalf just left. I have to say, if I was Frodo, I’d be very confused as to what was going on. 

A year had passed. Bilbo had now turned 112 years old. During this time, people had still been talking about Bilbo’s party from last year. People were still talking about how great his last party.

10 more years had passed. Frodo was now 54, or to hobbits, in his mid 30s. Frodo was now having thoughts about traveling around the world and such. He still hadn’t seen Gandalf at all during these past 21 years.

Frodo became very worried about Gandalf. He knew something in his heart was going on with Gandalf. So, Frodo was trying to figure out what might have happened to Gandalf.

Frodo looked at maps of Gandalf’s adventures, trying to figure out where Gandalf might have gone to. He talked to people about Gandalf, but no one that Frodo asked had seen Gandalf.

However, there have been rumors going on and about saying that strange things are happening. Even dwarves knew of these strange things, but hobbits are just simply laughing at them.

And then, one day, Gandalf returns.

He comes up to Frodo’s place. When Frodo answers the door, Frodo says:

“Gandalf how has it been? Say, what have you been up too lately?”

Gandalf told Frodo about all his adventures. And also told Frodo about the Ring of Power.

Pages 51-60:

All night, Gandalf told Frodo about the powers of the ring and how very dangerous they were. After a while though, Gandalf and Frodo got tired of talking about the ring. In the morning however, Frodo picked the conversation right back up by asking:

“Gandalf, you told me last night that this ‘Ring of Power’ is dangerous? How are you for sure that this ring that you gave me from Bilbo is the Ring of Power?”

“Well, they say that the Ring of Power has engravings in the ring. They say that in order to see the letters clearly, you must put it over a fire and until heated.” answered Gandalf.

And that’s exactly what he did. When the ring got heated by the fire, the engravings became clear. They read, “This is the Ring of Power”.

“So this truly is the ring of power.” said Frodo.” So, tell me, what has happened to the people who wore this ring?”

Claryfying: Okay, before I go on any further, here’s a little history of the ring. This will be very important, so please keep this mind. You see, long ago, there were nine elves. Each of them created a magical ring. Each having their own power. Then there was a man named Sauron. Sauron was jealous of how much power the elves had. So, he made his own. He called it, “the Ring of Power”. It’s a very powerful ring, made from evil magic. If wearing the ring for too long, the evil will possess the bearer of the ring. It will make them go crazy. 

Sauron wanted to use the ring for evil. He wanted to use it to destroy all. However, he ended up losing the ring.

Gandalf answered, “Well, though who wear it will end up going crazy for power. You see, there was even a man named Deagol who found the ring and went crazy. What happened was once a man named Deagol, and his friend, Seagol, were fishing in a lake. Seagol found a magic ring while they were fishing in the lake. Deagol ended up getting jealous, because the ring made Seagol invisible. Deagol ended up getting so jealous though, that he ended up killing Seagol.

The town got angry at Deagol for what he had done. In return, the town ended up giving Deagol a nasty name: Gollum. Gollum stood for ‘murder’.

Conecting: This story reminds me of Cain and Abel. This is because just like Cain, Deagol gets so jealous of Seagol, that he kills him. In the end, both Cain and Deagol  get their punishment.  

What is Important: It is important to know that Sauron created this Ring of Power because, he will be mentioned many times and will play a big role in this series. No, I did not read this series before, I just read ahead.