——Third Age, 3001, September 22——
Shire.
"[September 22, 1400, Shire Year,]"
"[Bag End, Bag Lower Road, Hobbiton, West End, Shire, Middle-earth,]"
"["An Unexpected Journey, The Hobbit Story".]"
"[By Bilbo Baggins.]"
"Okay, where to start?"
With a warm campfire, piles of firewood, a wide variety of books and ancient and exquisite furniture, the low hobbit dwelling is bright and cozy.
Bilbo Baggins put down his pen and thought about the work he had just begun.
"Ah, right."
He dipped his quill in ink and continued writing on the parchment.
"[About The Hobbit,]"
"[Hobbits have been working in the four districts of the Shire for hundreds of thousands of years,]"
"[I have always been content with being irrelevant to the world of Bigfolk,]"
"[After all, Middle-earth is full of countless strange creatures, and Hobbits must be insignificant,]"
"[Neither can he be considered a heroic warrior, nor can he be ranked at all in terms of intelligence.]"
"Hehehe..." The old hobbit laughed stupidly after mocking his own people in the pen.
Boom, boom, boom—there was a knock on the door of Bag End,
"Frodo! There's a knock at the door -" he greeted without looking back, and continued to write while soaking in ink.
"[Indeed, some have pointed out,]"
"[The only thing that can make hobbits passionate is food,]"
"[This may not be a fair view, since we also love drinking ale and smoking pipeweed,]"
"[But what we really yearn for is peace and tranquility, and good soil suitable for farming,]"
"[Because hobbits love growing things.]"
"[It cannot be denied that in the eyes of outsiders, our way of doing things is very strange,]"
"[But at the moment, especially today, in my opinion,]"
“[It’s not bad to enjoy a simple life.]”
Dong-dong-dong—the door was knocked again.
"Frodo? Answer the door—" Bilbo called again, but still no one answered.
Boom, boom, boom!
"Really, where is the child?" the old hobbit muttered, standing up.
"No! Thank you. Visitors, polite visitors, and distant relatives, please don't come!" Bilbo shouted to the door: "Didn't you see the sign I put up? No guests allowed! Only for banquet matters. !”
"...Oh, I just want to wish you a happy 111th birthday." A certain hobbit outside the door muttered and left.
Bilbo shook his head and returned to the desk, took a deep breath, and picked up the pen again:
"[Just like this, life in the Shire flows quietly, just like the time in the past of this era.]"
"[There are always little things like this and that, and changes come very slowly, if there are any changes at all.]"
"[After all, everything in the Shire seems to be eternal and unchanged, passed down from one generation to the next.]"
"[There have always been Baggins people living under the hill, in Bag End,]"
"[There will always be in the future.]"
——
At the edge of Hobbiton, a hobbit boy with curly brown hair, extremely handsome appearance, a pair of gray-blue eyes, and wearing green suspenders was leaning under a tree, looking at the book in his hand calmly.
"Outside the gate, from now on...the journey will never end...even though the road ahead is long...but we have to move quickly~"
There was the sound of sparkling wheels, and at the same time, an old song came from the same direction.
"..." The hobbit boy closed the book, stood up slowly, and looked towards the direction where the sound came from.
It was a small two-wheeled carriage pulled by brown horses. Its carriage was covered with gray cloth and seemed to be carrying something. The driver was a white-haired man wearing a gray robe and a pointed hat of the same color. elder.
"You're late." The hobbit said condescendingly, standing on the hillside beside the road with his arms crossed.
"A wizard never arrives early or late, Frodo Baggins." Gandalf held up his hat and looked at the hobbit standing on the hillside: "He only arrives at the right time."
"How are you sure you are not late? Maybe we have already celebrated at noon. After all, hobbits eat six meals a day." Frodo continued.
"..." Gandalf raised his gray eyebrows and glanced at the book Frodo was holding: "'A Treatise on Logic'? I don't think you can find anyone in the peaceful Shire who can argue with you. ”
"Then do you want to admit defeat?" Frodo stared at the wizard with gray-blue eyes.
"Okay, okay," Gandalf raised his cane and pointed to the celebration venue in the center of Hobbiton, where a banner "Celebrating Bilbo Baggins's 111th Birthday" was flying: "Although your uncle's birthday party did not I’m sure it’s noon or night, but people who have farm work to do in the afternoon are not allowed to drink, and he also specially asked me to bring beautiful fireworks that can’t be set off during the day.”
"You win," Frodo nodded, jumped into the chariot and said, "Give me a ride."
"Well," Gandalf knocked on the horse pulling the cart and let it continue to move forward: "How is the old guy doing?"
"You know, he gets all excited when he goes out." Frodo lifted up the gray cloth on the carriage and inspected its contents.
"It seems that he is still very energetic," Gandalf looked at the low Hobbit houses around him: "Maybe he can live for another twenty years."
"The Sackvilles are going to be very angry. They changed their surname to Baggins in order to divide their uncle's property." After Frodo inspected them, he lost interest in them and sat down next to Gandalf: "Now The first few who came here have died of old age, but my uncle can still work in the fields."
"Oh, my God," Gandalf said casually.
"You can continue to pretend. Everyone in the Shire knows that you have something to do with your uncle being so naughty." Frodo shook his calf: "You have been officially awarded the title of 'Troublemaker in the Shire'."
"Indeed." Gandalf nodded.
"Before I met you, our Baggins family had a very good reputation." Frodo looked at Gandalf with a look that said, "He actually admitted it." "We have never taken risks or done anything extraordinary. .”
"If you are talking about the dragon, I was not there, and I don't know how your uncle could reach an agreement with Smaug when he was clearly going to steal the Arken Stone." Gandalf narrowed his eyes: "Stop it with my own power. During the Battle of the Five Armies, he helped Thorin and his friends establish the 'Lonely Mountain-Iron Hills' dwarf federation in the north of Mordor to fight against them. Maybe the hobbits don't care about this, but his name will definitely be in Middle-earth. It will be recorded in the history books with great ink and color."
"But I heard that the evil dragon is still robbing treasures everywhere?" Frodo scratched his head.
"That may be..." Gandalf looked at the Hobbit longhouse with a "No Visitors" sign in front of him, pulled the reins and stopped the carriage: "A necessary sacrifice."
