Bilbo began to recall his life, including the excitement of catching earthworms with wet feet by the river as a child; the excitement of climbing trees and digging out bird's nests as a boy; the joy of making trouble as a youth; and going to the grain forest to search for food as an adult. The rebellion of the elves; then Bilbo's memory was fixed on the night at Bag End, where a tall figure bent over and looked in with a smile.
"Lord Turka, if you don't come, I will go to see old Bango and Belladonna first!"
The hobbit was hiding behind a huge pillar with a pale face and weak hands and feet, thinking desperately.
In the magnificent dwarf hall outside, a behemoth that is more than 140 meters long from head to tail is roaring angrily, trying insidiously to find the little thief who dares to break into its treasure house. .
It has strong jaws, teeth like steel swords, claws like spears, a wagging of its tail is like thunder, a flap of its wings is like a strong wind, black smoke is constantly coming out of its nostrils, and steam is rising from its mouth!
"I can smell you, I can hear you breathing, I can feel your presence! Thief! If you think you can just steal great old Smaug's treasure, all I can say is : Your dwarf friends are so naive! They asked you to die! But you are hiding in a dark corner, snickering humbly! You have been fooled, poor little guy, dwarves are greedier and more insidious than you think. A lot! They thought they could fool old Smaug by sending a little thief like you!"
The terrifying voice of the dragon Smaug is like a life-threatening spell, constantly echoing in the vast dwarf hall; and like a turbulent stream, pouring into your ears without you realizing it, Flow into your heart and make you unable to help but listen.
"But I am familiar with the smell of dwarves and know their despicable hearts! The dwarves I have eaten can cover the ground here. You can't fool me, thief!"
"Ah, you have a strange power in your body. What are you carrying? Well, it is made of gold, but it is more valuable than gold! Come out, don't be shy, don't you want old Smaug's treasure? , come out, maybe I will be kind and let you pick up one or two!"
Smaug is like a snake, constantly wandering between pillars, looking for the little guy that makes it hate and curious; and like a huge bat, in the maze-like hall of the dwarves. Gliding in.
Mountain-like gold and silver treasures, precious portraits, swords, armors, spears, axes and hammers were scratched under his belly covered with extremely hard dragon scales, triggering a spectacular scene like a landslide.
"Where are you? Show yourself now! I swear, regarding treasure, Smaug has a lot, and it doesn't matter if I share it with you!"
But Bilbo didn't dare move, let alone make a sound. Hearing that Smaug could feel his breath made him so scared that he even covered his mouth and nose.
But even so, Smaug still relied on his keen hearing and intuition to stop at the pillar where the hobbit was hiding.
The hobbit's little heart almost stopped with fear.
At this moment, a huge golden vertical pupil suddenly met Bilbo's frightened eyes.
We have said that the dragon's eyes and voice contain magic. Maybe Smaug failed to see through the invisibility trick of the Supreme Ring, but it did not prevent it from feeling the presence of its prey.
Looking at the huge vertical pupils that were almost exactly the same as the majestic eyes of the silver-white king, Bilbo's eyes blurred for a while. The power of the dragon and the power of the Supreme Ring clashed in his heart. In a trance, Bilbo seemed to see a handsome man. silhouette.
But then, the handsome figure turned into a huge flaming evil eye!
Inexplicably, Bilbo was startled. He couldn't help but take off the magic ring on his finger.
"Ah, you are here."
I saw a small figure magically appear in front of Smaug out of nowhere.
The golden-red fire-breathing dragon smiled evilly, and a burst of hot steam emerged from its mouth and nose: "Hello, thief, we finally meet."
Bilbo was so frightened that he almost screamed.
few days ago.
To be precise: a week and six days.
The enthusiasm of the people in Changhu Town exceeded everyone's expectations. They sang songs or played harps and violins every day, praising the King Under the Mountain and his kingdom.
The mayor was also very generous and entertained the dwarves and hobbits with fine wine and delicious food. His purpose is clear, and if Thorin does regain his kingdom, he hopes to profit from it.
If not, it will just be a waste of wine, meat and weapons, and it will be regarded as a failed investment.
In fact, even the oldest man in the town had never seen such a carnival scene in his lifetime memory. The young people sang a newly composed ballad, which confidently predicted the sudden death of the evil dragon and batches of treasures flowing down the river to Changhu Town.
Most of these songs were compiled under the instruction of the mayor. The dwarves were not very happy to hear them, but their lives were still quite satisfactory during this period, and everyone quickly regained their previous weight and energy.
They put on fresh clothes, their beards were combed and trimmed, and their weapons were also satisfied. Although they were not as sophisticated as Oakcrest, they were still very good swords, axes and hammers.
Even Kili got a small bow again.
Although Bilbo was unsure whether such a weapon would harm Smaug.
But it did make many dwarves show expressions of pride and satisfaction. They spent every day either bragging and drinking, or waving their new weapons while drinking, as if they had really regained their homeland, and the dragon Smaug had long been chopped into pieces.
It was at this time that Thorin promised to share the dwarf treasures with the people of Lake Town if the dwarves regained their home in the mountains.
This made the mayor and people of Changhu Town even more enthusiastic.
There were banquets in the mayor's house every day, people were singing and dancing, barrels of wine were being emptied, and almost no one was awake.
ah.
There is another person.
Bard has more than once discouraged the mayor and people from funding the dwarves' adventures, and preached the horror of dragons, thinking that Thorin and a dozen of them were just giving snacks to Smaug. If the evil dragon becomes angry afterwards, Changhu Town, which funded them, will be plunged into a sea of fire.
But others have been dazzled by the illusory gold and silver. They laugh at Bud and think that he is just unfounded! Dragons and stuff are just scary stories told by old people.
They said, "Bud, we live on the lake, why are we afraid of fire?"
"But the dragon's fire is not an ordinary flame, it can even burn lake water!" Bard said.
As a result, others thought it was nonsense and laughed.
When Bilbo heard about such things, his fear of dragons again surged in his heart. But the journey has reached the last step. If we back down now, all the hardships and adventures ahead will be in vain.
So a week later, he couldn't help but remind Thorin: The end of our journey is not here.
In fact, Thorin has never forgotten the purpose of their trip, but he also has his own considerations.
"I just hope that either Master Turka or Gandalf can come back before Turin Day! But you are right. In any case, this journey has not reached the end yet. We should Let's go," Thorin said.
Only then did Bilbo realize that the dwarf king was much more profound than he thought.
But seeing that Turin Day was approaching, and there was still no trace of the Silver King and the Wizard, Thorin couldn't sit still.
He finally made up his mind.
"It's time." He called everyone and said, "Let us continue. The Lonely Mountain is right in front of us, but if we stay here all the time, we can only watch it forever."
So one day, despite the growing autumn mood, the cold wind and falling leaves, three large ships left Long Lake Town. In addition to the oarsmen, there were also dwarves, Mr. Baggins and many provisions on board.
People stood on the pier or leaned out of the windows to sing farewell to them. The big white oar fell into the water and splashed, and they headed north along the great lake, embarking on the last part of the long journey.
After paddling north along Long Lake for two days, they exited the lake and reached the Running River.
Now they could see the lonely mountain rising grimly before them. Whenever you look up, you can see a huge shadow covering the world.
At the end of the third day, after going up the river for several miles, they landed on the left or west bank. They spent a cold and lonely night here, and a terrible shadow weighed heavily on everyone's hearts. That is the worry and fear of the dragon.
But no one said it.
The next day, they were on the road again. The journey was quite tiring, and they did not dare to speak along the way and could only move forward quietly. There are no more laughter and songs, no more melodious music. The pride and hope aroused in my heart by singing ancient songs by the lake gradually turned into a heavy depression.
The land around them became increasingly desolate. There was almost no grass here, and soon there were no shrubs or trees, except for a few broken and blackened stumps, a reminder of the long-gone lushness of the forest.
But in fact, this was once a beautiful world full of green.
On the fourth day, they arrived at the foot of the mountain, encountering neither danger nor any sign of the dragon along the way, except for the desolation it created near its lair. The lonely mountain stood gloomily, looking taller and taller than before.
They first set up camp on the west side of the massive southern branch, called Raven Ridge. There is an ancient lookout tower above, where the Running River makes a big circle, passes through River Valley City, and continues to flow toward Long Lake.
They stood on the rocks and looked into the distance, across the narrow torrent that foamed among the pebbles, and saw in the broad valley under the shadow of the solitary mountain, the gray ruins of ancient houses, tall buildings and city walls.
"That's the ruins of River Valley City." Balin said, "When the bells still rang in the town, there were lush trees on the hillside, and the life in the valley was rich and peaceful." He looked sad and sad when he said this And dignified: On the day when the evil dragon attacked, he was one of Thorin's companions.
They did not dare to continue walking along the river to the main entrance of the mountain, but they walked to the other side of the end of the southern branch until they were hiding behind rocks and could clearly see the dark cave entrance on a large cliff between the two branches. The water of the rushing river flows out of the cave, and at the same time, steam and a wisp of black smoke float out.
"Perhaps we should wait here for Lord Turka and Gandalf!" Bilbo said pessimistically and fearfully: "Those black smokes scare me, the dragon is not dead yet! We go now, it's just a snack delivered to your door!"
But Thorin was completely fascinated by the mountains in front of him. Moreover, Turin Day was getting closer and closer. He didn't want to waste any more time and at least found the secret door first.
"If there is no one to rely on, then let us use the swords in our hands to carve out a passage! Don't forget, this is the dwarves' own business! Home is around the corner, who wants to give up?"
Bilbo was speechless.
So at Thorin's insistence, the dwarves began a very dangerous search on the western slope to find the secret door. As a result, they actually found an upward stone step carved with an artificial ax in a valley to the south.
After climbing up, the dwarves found an open-air space above, with a flat stone wall standing at the end. The lower end near the ground was smooth and straight, as if it had been made by a stonemason, but there was nothing visible on it. Traces of carving and processing.
Although there were no traces of doorposts, hinges, or thresholds, nor doorrails, bolts, or keyholes, they had no doubt that they had finally found the secret door into the cave.
Many people know the rest.
As Turin Day approaches, Bilbo happens to see a thrush pecking at the wall, and successfully deciphers that "the last ray of light" actually refers to the moon!
No one can understand how Bilbo, Thorin, Balin and even the other dwarves felt when the secret door containing everyone's hopes and expectations was pushed open.
Except themselves.
"It took many months of hardship, being hunted and persecuted by orcs, being placed under house arrest by shameless elves, having my forehead and knees smashed by barrels, bumping in the river, making me dizzy and vomiting!" Thorin's voice was trembling, he was excited. said: "Erebor, we are back!"
"Two hundred years have passed, and I still remember these walls. The hometown in my dreams reappears in front of me today. I have no regrets in this life." Balin's eyes were red, and he rubbed the wall of this dark passage that was "five feet high, three people abreast." Feel the temperature of your homeland.
The other dwarves also looked uncontrollably excited, and they all sobbed in the moonlight in despair.
It is estimated that many people did not expect that this seemingly unreliable adventure was actually close to success. Yes, although the dwarves were very excited, they never forgot that their purpose was not just to break into a The secret door is enough.
"Arken Stone?" Bilbo looked at the thirteen pairs of shining eyes and took a step back reflexively.
"Yes, the heart of the mountain! The king's treasure! White, huge diamond!" Bahrain said: "As long as you see it, you can recognize it at a glance, it is unique!"
"Master Baggins!" Thorin also calmed down from his excitement. He said: "We paid you just for this moment! Sneak in! Take a look! Then take out the gem by the way, that's it! It's that simple! I don’t think it’s difficult for Master Snitch, right?”
"It's not difficult! But only if you don't have a real dragon standing in front of you!"
Bilbo Baggins' thoughts returned to the behemoth in front of him, and he couldn't figure out why he agreed so quickly. Was it just out of pure pride? The results were awesome. Because Bilbo found that he would soon have to pay for his ridiculous pride.
"What?"
Smaug exhaled a stomach-churning stench, and the temperature was almost like boiling steam! In just an instant, Bilbo's exposed hands, feet and face were horribly burned: "Listen to what you said, have you ever seen a fake dragon? Thief!"
The hobbit's heart was beating like a drum, as if it would jump out of his chest in the next moment.
But a strong will supported him, and Bilbo said tremblingly: "Ah, the giant Smaug! Smaug, the dragon of the north! Please forgive me, your majestic body is even more majestic than described in poems and legends! You! Your eyes are full of majesty! Your teeth are terrifying! Your claws are sharp, your scales are thick, and your wings can cover the sky! You are extremely rich and powerful! You are the most sacred and terrifying creature I have ever seen! "
"But you're not afraid of me!"
Smaug has always been more aware of people's hearts than anyone thought. He stared at the little thief in front of him with cold eyes, and said curiously and vigilantly: "No, you are afraid, but there is a figure in your heart! He is better than I make you respect me even more! He fills you with courage! When you face the dragon Smaug, you still dare to talk glibly to me! Who! Whose glory is more dazzling than the dragon Smaug!"
Smaug spread his sky-shielding wings and shouted majestically and angrily, his voice booming and echoing in the mountains.
It was heard from far away.
