Roast Mutton

2009-11-03T20:01:50Z

131.91.18.53: /* Synopsis */

{{hchapters}}
'''Roast Mutton''' is the second chapter of ''[[The Hobbit]]''.

==Synopsis==
[[Bilbo]] wakes up rather late the morning after [[Gandalf]]'s visit. He is surprised—and a little relieved—to see that the dwarves have left without him. He is just sitting down to a quiet breakfast when Gandalf enters and rushes him off to the [[Green Dragon Inn]], in [[Bywater]], where [[Thorin Oakenshield|Thorin]] and the rest of the [[Thorin and Company|dwarves]] have been waiting to begin their journey. As they head east on the main road, Bilbo sulks at having to leave without finishing his second breakfast or making proper preparations. It begins to rain. By the time dusk approaches, the whole company is tired, hungry, ready to camp, and annoyed at Gandalf's mysterious disappearance earlier in the day.

Suddenly they see what looks like the light of a fire in the distance. They move closer to investigate it, and Bilbo is sent ahead in his first official task as burglar. As he approaches a clearing in the woods, Bilbo sees three huge [[trolls]] sitting around a fire, eating mutton. Bilbo tries to make off with one of the trolls’ money purses, but they hear the noise and grab him. Trolls will eat just about anything, but they are also short-tempered and dull-witted. They proceed to fight about how to interrogate Bilbo.

[[Image:J.R.R. Tolkien - The Three Trolls are turned to Stone (Colored by H.E. Riddett).jpg|thumb|left|300px|Image by [[J.R.R. Tolkien]] and colored by [[H.E. Riddett]].]]
The commotion attracts the dwarves, who come to the clearing one at a time. The trolls stop fighting just long enough to hide in the trees and throw a sack over each approaching dwarf. Soon, they have everyone tied up except Bilbo, who they’ve forgotten. The trolls decide to cook the dwarves immediately, but then a voice, which sounds like one of the trolls, starts an argument, and the three trolls start fighting again. This fighting goes on for quite some time until the trolls notice that it is almost dawn. The sun peeks over the horizon and the trolls all freeze—sunlight turns trolls to stone.

Gandalf then steps triumphantly into the clearing. He had been throwing his voice to mislead the dwarves and to keep the trolls arguing until morning. He and Bilbo release the dwarves, who are shaken but otherwise unharmed. Searching nearby, they find the trolls' cave and a number of well-wrought weapons, which they take as payment for their pains. Gandalf, Thorin, and Bilbo each take a sword, and Gandalf remarks about the strange runes enscribed on them. After they bury the gold found inside the trolls' cave and take what fresh provisions they can get, they sleep until the afternoon, and when they set out again, Thorin asks where Gandalf had been. He says that he had met some of Elrond's folk warning him about trolls that had come down from the mountains. Guessing what might happen, Gandalf hurried back and came to the trolls' settlement just in time to rescue the dwarves.

[[Category:The Hobbit chapters]]

Talk:Riddle-game

2009-11-03T19:57:44Z

131.91.18.53: /* Individual Riddles */ new section

It's pretty late where I'm at, and I was about to crash, when I clicked Random Page, and this pulled up. Shouldn't it state the little bit in the 'Hobbit' about the ambiguity of the creator of the riddle game? Or am I thinking of something else? Correct me if I am mistaken.--[[User:Quidon88|Quidon88]] 02:31, 10 April 2007 (EDT)

== Individual Riddles ==

Should the individual riddles used in the game between Bilbo and Gollum and their answers be put down as examples?

Tolkien Gateway - User contributions [en]

Roast Mutton

Talk:Riddle-game