I am glad that Tillie won the science fair, and that Janice Vickery sounds a fright. Boiled the skin off a cat, did she? What kind of person does that? And I'm still not sure if I support Ruth or not. She turned out better in the second act then the first, but...she still is a puppet for her mother.
And in other headlines this week, Lord of the Rings has started up...again. I just parted ways with Tom Bombadil and am dying to get to Rivendell! I also read ahead a little...okay, a lot, and visited the Caradhras. And then I was reminded why my favourite character is my favourite character. You will find the excerpt below.
The Fellowship of the Ring, consisting of nine persons (Gimli, the dwarf; Gandalf, the wizard and the leader of the group; Aragorn, the Ranger/heir to the throne of Gondor; Boromir, heir of the Steward of Gondor; Frodo Baggins, the star hobbit who bears the One Ring; Samwise (Sam) Gamgee, Frodo's faithful companion/gardener; Meriadoc Brandybuck, or Merry, and Perigrin Took, also called Pippin, are friends/relatives of Frodo and hobbits of the Shire;and Legolas, the elf, son of the king of Mirkwood- yes, that makes him a prince) is travelling on their route to Mordor("where the shadows lie") and are attempting to pass the Caradhras, a large mountain range in the centre of Middle Earth. After being caught in an absolutely giant snowstorm, they are turning back to pass under the mountains at the suggestion of Gimli, who naturally feels safer underground, being a dwarf and all.
Only a few paces from the ashes of their fire the snow lay many feet deep, higher than the heads of the hobbits; in places it had been scooped and piled by the wind into great drifts against the cliff.
"If Gandalf would go before us with a bright flame, he might be able to melt a path for you," said Legolas. The stotrm had troubled him little, and he alone of the Company remained light of heart.
"If Elves could fly over mountains, they might fetch the sun to save us" answered Gandalf. "But I must have something to work on. I cannot burn snow,"
"Well," said Boromir, "when heads are at a loss bodies must serve, as we say in my country. The strongest of us must seek a way. See! Though all is now snow-clad, our path, as we came up, turned about that shoulder of rock down yonder. It was there that the snow first began to burden us. If we could reach that point, maybe it would prove easier beyond. It us no more than a furlough off, I guess,"
"Then let us force a path thither, you and I!" said Aragorn.
Aragorn was the tallest of the Company, but Boromir, little less in height, was broader and heavier in build. He led the way, and Aragorn followed him. Slowly they moved off, and were soon toiling heavily. In places the snow was breast-high, and often Boromir seemed to be swimming or burrowing with his great arms rather than walking.
Legolas watched them for a while with a smile upon his lips, and then he turned to the others. "The strongest must seek a way, say you? But I say: let a ploughman plough, but choose a otter for swimming and for running light over grass and leaf, or over snow- an Elf."
With that he sprang forth nimbly, and then Frodo noticed as if for the first time, though he had long know it, that the Elf had no boots, but wore only light shoes, as he always did, and his feet made little imprint in the snow.
"Farewell!" he said to Gandalf. "I go to find the Sun!" Then swift as a runner over firm sand he shot away, and quickly overtaking the toiling men, with a wave of his had he passed them and sped into the distance, and vanished round the rocky turn.-The Lord Of The Rings Part One: The Fellowship Of The Ring, by J.R.R. Tolkien (copyright 1994)
And now I must go to find the sun, seeing as it's snowing, cold, and dark at 5:30.
-Jenni
