Chapter 4. "A Short Cut to Mushrooms" & Chapter 5. "A Conspiracy Unmasked"

Matthias's risotto with boletus and roasted peppers

Our road today has taken up two chapters, from the woods in which the Elves left the hobbits sleeping to Crickhollow, stopping on the way at Farmer Maggot's farm, much to Frodo's chagrin. Knowing that I was going to be reading about his famous mushrooms, I've been craving them since this morning, so Matthias has been kind enough to make a risotto with boletus, much better, undoubtedly, than the mushrooms with bacon that the hobbits have for supper, since no animal was harmed to cook ours. 



The Black Riders follow hard on the hobbits' heels; in fact, they almost crossed the one who had been asking Farmer Maggot about "Baggins". We know that they are servants of the Enemy because Gildor told Frodo so; their piercing cry may chill the air and the heart, but Farmer Maggot stands no nonsense and soon dismisses him. 

This illustration may be a bit juvenile, but I like the autumnal colours and, in any case, this part of The Lord of the Rings is still very juvenile in tone.

However, even the farmer sounds a bit afraid when, on the road to the Ferry, he hears the clip-clop of hooves that end up being those of Merry's pony. In this part of the narrative, any serious tension is soon over, the narrative strategies to build the plot are still very much those of The Hobbit, and there is a predominance of a mood of conviviality that takes the form of good food and drink, good company, songs, and warm baths.  

This is the life that Frodo is giving away, embracing instead an unknown road that will surely bring him too much suffering. As far as he knows, Sam will accompany him, but at Crickhollow, the conspiracy is unmasked and Merry and Pippin announce that they will join him, while Fatty will remain at Crickhollow, pretending for a time to be Frodo. Tolkien celebrates that kind of friendship in which those who partake of it know the others so well that they know how and what they're feeling even before they open their mouths. This is the type of company Gildor advised Frodo to take with him, and these are the friends he's taking without even asking. Frodo is grateful but afraid for his friends. Tonight he has the first of his visionary dreams: the smell of the sea, a white tower. 





Let me close the day by introducing you to Mía, whom you may know from another blog of mine (, since I take care of her when her human companions, my friends Nacho and Laura are away. She's grown a bit distrustful since returning from her two-year stay in Vienna, but I will gain her confidence again.