It is incredible how the way you imagine the sound of a voice can change the moment your expectations are thwarted! In the morning, the hobbits left Tom Bombadil and Goldberry, changing the welcoming nature of their home by the hostility of the Barrow-downs. Falling asleep without intending to, engulfed by the fog, Frodo finds himself separated from Merry, Pippin and Sam. To his angry and afraid "Where are you?" a voice responds with a "Here!" which, for a nanosecond, we take to be one of the hobbits' until it is described as "deep and cold," a voice "that seemed to come out of the ground". Its next "I am waiting for you!" sounds ominous. Honestly, it still gives me the creeps. Immediately afterwards, Frodo is trapped by a Barrow-wight and soon has the opportunity to experience how true Gildor's words are: "Courage is found in unlikely places." Merry, Pippin and Sam are laid out as if for a Germanic burial, and a big hand approaches the hilt of the sword that rests on their necks. Frodo feels tempted to use the Ring to run away from a certain death; even if he he knows he would mourn the death of his friends, at least he would be alive! But the courage he was so eager to find was within him all the time: he stabs at the approaching hand and his voice finds the strength to sing the song that calls Tom Bombadil to their rescue, liberating them from the Barrow-wight. For the sleeping hobbits all has been a bad dream, but Frodo has had the opportunity to find his courage and loyalty put to the test and he has passed with flying colours. Now, Bombadil will be riding with them part of their way, and that is truly comforting.
Certainly, this first part of The Lord of the Rings is a bit episodic, but let us not forget that Tolkien himself admitted to being a bit lost as to where to go as he was writing this part.
As for me... still enjoying my morning walks down from the forest of the Alhambra ...
... even if some of the people I come across refuse to pose for me.
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