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Treebeard

Meanwhile the hobbits ith asthe line of the running stream, ard and up towards the slopes of the orn Slowly their fear of the Orcs died away, and their pace slackened A queer stifling feeling came over the

At last Merry halted &039;We can&039;t go on like this,&039; he panted &039;I want some air&039;

&039;Let&039;s have a drink at any rate,&039; said Pippin &039;I&039;reat tree-root that wound down into the strea drew up some water in his cupped hands It was clear and cold, and he took hts Merry followed him The water refreshed theether on the brink of the strea round at the trees that stood silently about theht in every direction

&039;I suppose you haven&039;t lost us already?&039; said Pippin, leaning back against a great tree-trunk &039;We can at least follow the course of this streaain the e cas would do it,&039; said Merry; &039;and if we could breathe properly&039;

&039;Yes, it is all very dim, and stuffy, in here,&039; said Pippin &039;It reminds me, somehow, of the old room in the Great Place of the Tooks away back in the Se place, where the furniture has never been enerations They say the Old Took lived in it year after year, while he and the rooed since he died, a century ago And Old Gerontius was randfather: that puts it back a bit But that is nothing to the old feeling of this wood Look at all those weeping, trailing, beards and whiskers of lichen! And ed dry leaves that have never fallen Untidy I can&039;t i would look like here, if it ever co&039;

&039;But the Sun at any rate must peep in sometimes&039; said Merry &039;It does not look or feel at all like Bilbo&039;s description of Mirkwood That was all dark and black, and the hohtfully tree-ish You can&039;t i&039;

&039;No, nor hobbits,&039; said Pippin &039;And I don&039;t like the thought of trying to get through it either Nothing to eat for a hundred uess How are our supplies?&039;

&039;Low,&039; said Merry &039;We ran off with nothing but a couple of spare packets of le else behind&039; They looked at what rere days, that was all &039;And not a wrap or a blanket,&039; said Merry &039;We shall be cold tonight, whichever e go&039;

&039;Well, we&039;d better decide on the way now,&039; said Pippin &039;Theon&039;

Just then they becaht that had appeared, soht seemed suddenly to have pierced the forest-roof

&039;Hullo!&039; said Merry &039;The Sun must have run into a cloud while we&039;ve been under these trees, and now she has run out again; or else she has cli It isn&039;t far �C let&039;s go and investigate!&039;

They found it was further than they thought The ground was rising steeply still, and it was becorew broader as they went on, and soon they saw that there was a rock-wall before the root thrust out by the distantfull on its stony face The twigs of the trees at its foot were stretched out stiff and still, as if reaching out to the warrey before, the wood now gleareys of bark like polished leather The boles of the trees gloith a soft green like young grass: early spring or a fleeting vision of it was about them

In the face of the stony wall there was so like a stair: natural perhaps, andof the rock, for it was rough and uneven High up, almost level with the tops of forest-trees, there was a shelf under a cliff Nothing grew there but a few grasses and weeds at its edge, and one old stump of a tree with only two bent branches left: it looked al there, blinking in the o!&039; said Merry joyfully &039;Now for a breath of air, and a sight of the land!&039;

They climbed and scraer feet and longer legs than theirs They were too eager to be surprised at the remarkable way in which the cuts and sores of their captivity had healed and their vigour had returned They cae of the shelf al up and turned round with their backs to the hill, breathing deep, and looking out eastward They saw that they had only come some three or four miles into the forest: the heads of the trees marched down the slopes towards the plain There, near the fringe of the forest, tall spires of curling black s towards the,&039; said Merry &039;It&039;s turned east again It feels cool up here&039;

&039;Yes,&039; said Pippin &039;I&039;rey again What a pity! This shaggy old forest looked so different in the sunlight I almost felt I liked the place&039;

&039;Alood! That&039;s uncoe voice &039;Turn round and let me have a look at your faces I almost feel that I dislike you both, but do not let us be hasty Turn round!&039; A large knob-knuckled hand was laid on each of their shoulders, and they were twisted round, gently but irresistibly; then two great arms lifted the at a e Man-like, alh, very sturdy, with a tall head, and hardly any neck Whether it was clad in stuff like green and grey bark, or whether that was its hide, was difficult to say At any rate the arms, at a short distance from the trunk, were not wrinkled, but covered with a brown se feet had seven toes each The lower part of the long face was covered with a sweeping grey beard, bushy, aly at the roots, thin and mossy at the ends But at the moment the hobbits noted little but the eyes These deep eyes were now surveying the They were brown, shot with a green light Often afterwards Pippin tried to describe his first impression of them

&039;One felt as if there was an enor, slow, steady thinking; but their surface was sparkling with the present: like sun shi on the outer leaves of a vast tree, or on the ripples of a very deep lake I don&039;t know but it felt as if soht say, or just feeling itself as so between roof-tip and leaf-tip, between deep earth and sky had suddenly waked up, and was considering you with the saiven to its own inside affairs for endless years&039;

&039;Hrum, Hoom,&039; murmured the voice, a deep voice like a very deep ind instrument &039;Very odd indeed! Do not be hasty, that is my motto But if I had seen you, before I heard your voices �C I liked the I cannot remember �C if I had seen you before I heard you, I should have just trodden on you, taking you for little Orcs, and found out , very odd!&039;

Pippin, though still aer felt afraid Under those eyes he felt a curious suspense, but not fear &039;Please,&039; he said, &039;who are you? And what are you?&039;

A queer look came into the old eyes, a kind of wariness; the deep wells were covered over &039;Hrum, now,&039; answered the voice; &039;well, I am an Ent, or that&039;s what they call ht say, in yourto some, Treebeard others make it Treebeard will do&039;

&039;An Ent?&039; said Merry &039;What&039;s that? But what do you call yourself? What&039;s your real name?&039;

&039;Hoo now!&039; replied Treebeard &039;Hoo! Now that would be telling! Not so hasty And I a You are in my country What are you, I wonder? I cannot place you You do not see But that was a long, long tio, and they o?

Learn now the lore of Living Creatures!

First name the four, the free peoples:

Eldest of all, the elf-children;

Dwarf the delver, dark are his houses;

Ent the earthborn, old as mountains;

Man the mortal, master of horses

Hm, hm, hm

Beaver the builder, buck the leaper,

Bear bee-hunter, boar the fighter;

Hound is hungry, hare is fearful

hle in eyrie, ox in pasture,

Hart horn-crowned; hawk is swiftest

Swan the whitest, serpent coldest

Hooo? Roo list But anyway you do not seem to fit in anywhere!&039;

&039;We always seeot left out of the old lists, and the old stories,&039; said Merry &039;Yet we&039;ve been about for quite a long time We&039;re hobbits&039;

&039;Why not rown hobbits, the hole-dwellers&039;

Put us in a People) and you&039;ve got it&039;

&039;Hm! Not bad, not bad,&039; said Treebeard &039;That would do So you live in holes, eh? It sounds very right and proper Who calls you hobbits, though? That does not sound elvish to an it&039;

&039;Nobody else calls us hobbits; we call ourselves that,&039; said Pippin

&039;Hoom, hmm! Come now! Not so hasty! You call yourselves hobbits? But you should not go telling just anybody You&039;ll be letting out your own right names if you&039;re not careful&039;

&039;We aren&039;t careful about that,&039; said Merry &039;As a matter of fact I&039;h most people call me just Merry&039;

&039;And I&039;enerally called Pippin, or even Pip&039;

&039;Hm, but you are hasty folk, I see,&039; said Treebeard &039;I am honoured by your confidence; but you should not be too free all at once There are Ents and Ents, you know; or there are Ents and things that look like Ents but ain&039;t, as you ht say I&039;ll call you Merry and Pippin if you please �C nice na to tell you , half-hureen flicker into his eyes &039;For one thing it would take a long while:all the ti time; so my nas they belong to in ht say It is a lovely language, but it takes a very long ti in it, unless it is worth taking a long time to say, and to listen to

&039;But now,&039; and the eyes becarow s on? What are you doing in it all? I can see and hear (and sreat deal from this, from this, from this a-lalla-lalla-rumba-kamanda-lind-or-burume Excuse me: that is a part of my nauages: you know, the thing we are on, where I stand and look out on fine rass beyond the wood, and the horses, and the clouds, and the unfolding of the world What is going on? What is Gandalf up to? And these �C burarureat organ �C &039;these Orcs, and young Saruard? I like news But not too quick now&039;

&039;There is quite a lot going on,&039; said Merry: &039;and even if we tried to be quick, it would take a long tiht we to tell you anything so soon? Would you think it rude, if we asked what you are going to do with us, and which side you are on? And did you know Gandalf?&039;

&039;Yes, I do know him: the only wizard that really cares about trees,&039; said Treebeard &039;Do you know him?&039;

&039;Yes,&039; said Pippin sadly, &039;we did He was a great friend, and he was our guide&039;

&039;Then I can answer your other questions,&039; said Treebeard &039;I a with you: not if youto you&039; without your leave We ether I don&039;t know about sides I gowith mine for a while But you speak of Master Gandalf, as if he was in a story that had come to an end&039;

&039;Yes, we do,&039; said Pippin sadly &039;The story see on, but I am afraid Gandalf has fallen out of it&039;

&039;Hoo, come now!&039; said Treebeard &039;Hoo at the hobbits &039;Hoom, ah, well I do not knohat to say Come now!&039;

&039;If you would like to hear more said Merry, &039;ill tell you But it will take some time Wouldn&039;t you like to put us down? Couldn&039;t we sit here together in the sun, while it lasts? Youus up&039;

&039;Het tired And I do not sit down I a in Let us leave this �C did you say what you call it?&039;

&039;Hill?&039; suggested Pippin &039;Shelf? Step?&039; suggested Merry

Treebeard repeated the words thoughtfully &039;Hill Yes, that was it But it is a hasty word for a thing that has stood here ever since this part of the world was shaped Never o&039;

&039;Where shall we go?&039; asked Merry

&039;To my home, or one of my homes,&039; answered Treebeard

&039;Is it far?&039;

&039;I do not know You ht call it far, perhaps But what does that matter?&039;

&039;Well, you see, we have lost all our belongings,&039; said Merry &039;We have only a little food&039;

&039;O! Hm! You need not trouble about that,&039; said Treebeard &039;I can give you a drink that will keep you green and growing for a long, long while And if we decide to part company, I can set you down outside o!&039;

Holding the hobbits gently but firmly, one in the crook of each are foot and then the other, and rasped the rocks Then carefully and solemnly, he stalked down from step to step, and reached the floor of the Forest

At once he set off with long deliberate strides through the trees, deeper and deeper into the wood, never far fro steadily up towards the slopes of the mountains Many of the trees seemed asleep, or as unaware of him as of any other creature that merely passed by; but some quivered, and some raised up their branches above his head as he approached All the while, as he walked, he talked to hi stream of musical sounds

The hobbits were silent for soh, safe and coreat deal to think and wonder about At last Pippin ventured to speak again

&039;Please, Treebeard,&039; he said, &039;could I ask you soainst your forest? He told us not to risk getting entangled in it&039;

&039;Hht have saidthe other way Do not risk getting entangled in the woods of Laurelindorenan! That is what the Elves used to call it, but now they make the naht:Gold, that was it, once upon a time Now it is the Dreamflower Ah well! But it is a queer place, and not for just any one to venture in I aot out, but ot in: that has not happened to strangers for many a year It is a queer land

&039;And so is this Folk have corief Laurelindorenan lindelorendor malinornelion orne rather behind the world in there, I guess,&039; he said &039;Neither this country, nor anything else outside the Golden Wood, is what it hen Celeborn was young Still:

Taurelilomea-tumbalemorna Tumbaletaurea Los have changed, but it is still true in places&039;

&039;What do you mean?&039; said Pippin &039;What is true?&039;

&039;The trees and the Ents,&039; said Treebeard &039;I do not understand all that goes on myself, so I cannot explain it to you Soh in our fashion, but ht say Most of the trees are just trees, of course; but many are half awake So Entish That is going on all the time

&039;When that happens to a tree, you find that so to do with their wood: I do not ood old n the Entwash, gone long ago, alas! They were quite hollow, indeed they were falling all to pieces, but as quiet and sweet-spoken as a young leaf And then there are some trees in the valleys under the h That sort of thing seeerous parts in this country There are still some very black patches&039;

&039;Like the Old Forest away to the north, do you mean?&039; asked Merry

&039;Aye, aye, so like, but much worse I do not doubt there is so there still away north; and bad memories are handed down But there are hollow dales in this land where the Darkness has never been lifted, and the trees are older than I aers and the foolhardy; and we train and we teach, alk and eed

&039;We are tree-herds, we old Ents Few enough of us are left now Sheep get like shepherd, and shepherds like sheep, it is said; but slowly, and neither have long in the world It is quicker and closer with trees and Ents, and they walk down the ages together For Ents are more like Elves: less interested in thes And yet again Ents are eable than Elves are, and quicker at taking the colour of the outside, you ht say Or better than both: for they are steadier and keep their er &039;Soreat to rouse them; and they speak only in whispers But some of an it, of course, waking trees up and teaching the their tree-talk They alished to talk to everything, the old Elves did But then the Great Darkness came, and they passed away over the Sea, or fled into far valleys, and hid theain Never again Aye, aye, there was all one wood once upon a time: from here to the Mountains of Lune, and this was just the East End

&039;Those were the broad days! Ti all day and hear no more than the echo of my own voice in the hollow hills The woods were like the woods of Lothlorien, only thicker stronger, younger And the s&039;

Treebeard fell silent, striding along, and yet an to hu chant Gradually the hobbits beca to them:

In the -

Ah! the sight and the s in Nan-tasarion!

And I said that was good

I wandered in Suht and the music in the Suht that was best

To the beeches of Neldoreth I caold and the red and the sighing of leaves in the Autumn in Taur-na-neldor!

It was more than hland of Dorthonion I climbed in the Winter

Ah! the wind and the whiteness and the black branches of Winter upon Orod-na-Thon!

My voice went up and sang in the sky

And now all those lands lie under the wave

And I walk in Ambarona, in Tauremorna, in Aldaloorn,

Where the roots are long,

And the years lie thicker than the leaves

In Tauremornalome

He ended, and strode on silently, and in all the wood, as far as ear could reach, there was not a sound

The day waned, and dusk ined about the boles of the trees At last the hobbits saw, rising dimly before them, a steep dark land: they had coreen roots of tall Methedras Down the hillside the young Entwash, leaping froh above, ran noisily froht of the strearey in the twilight No trees grew there and it was open to the sky; stars were shining already in lakes between shores of cloud

Treebeard strode up the slope, hardly slackening his pace Suddenly before thereat trees stood there, one on either side, like living gate-posts; but there was no gate save their crossing and interwoven boughs As the old Ent approached, the trees lifted up their branches, and all their leaves quivered and rustled For they were evergreen trees, and their leaves were dark and polished, and gleaht Beyond thereat hall had been cut in the side of the hill On either hand the walls sloped upwards, until they were fifty feet high oreach wall stood an aisle of trees that also increased in height as they marched inwards

At the far end the rock-as sheer, but at the bottom it had been hollowed back into a shallow bay with an arched roof: the only roof of the hall, save the branches of the trees, which at the inner end overshadowed all the ground leaving only a broad open path in the s above, and leaving thedown the sheer face of the wall, pouring in silver drops, like a fine curtain in front of the arched bay The water was gathered again into a stone basin in the floor between the trees, and thence it spilled and floay beside the open path, out to rejoin the Entwash in its journey through the forest

&039;H silence &039;I have brought you about seventy thousand ent-strides, but what that comes to in the measurement of your land I do not know Anyhoe are near the roots of the Last Mountain Part of the nahall, if it were turned into your language I like it We will stay here tonight&039; He set therass between the aisles of the trees, and they followed hireat arch The hobbits now noticed that as he walked his knees hardly bent, but his legs opened in a great stride He planted his big toes (and they were indeed big, and very broad) on the ground first, before any other part of his feet

For a , and took a deep breath; then he laughed, and passed inside A great stone table stood there, but no chairs At the back of the bay it was already quite dark Treebeard lifted two great vessels and stood them on the table They seemed to be filled ater; but he held his hands over theolden and the other with a rich green light; and the blending of the two lights lit the bay; as if the sun of su back, the hobbits saw that the trees in the court had also begun to glow, faintly at first, but steadily quickening, until every leaf was edged with light: soold, some red as copper; while the tree-trunks looked like pillars moulded out of luminous stone

&039;Well, well, noe can talk again,&039; said Treebeard &039;You are thirsty I expect Perhaps you are also tired Drink this!&039; He went to the back of the bay, and then they saw that several tall stone jars stood there, with heavy lids He rereat ladle, and with it filled three bowls, one very large bowl, and two smaller ones

&039;This is an ent-house,&039; he said, &039;and there are no seats, I fear But youup the hobbits he set theround, and there they sat dangling their legs, and drinking in sips

The drink was like water, indeed very like the taste of the draughts they had drunk from the Entwash near, the borders of the forest, and yet there was some scent or savour in it which they could not describe: it was faint, but it reminded them of the sht The effect of the draught began at the toes, and rose steadily through every liht to the tips of the hair Indeed the hobbits felt that the hair on their heads was actually standing up, waving and curling and growing As for Treebeard, he first laved his feet in the basin beyond the arch, and then he drained his bowl at one draught, one long, slow draught The hobbits thought he would never stop

At last he set the bon again &039;Ah �C ah,&039; he sighed &039;Hm, hoom, noe can talk easier You can sit on the floor, and I will lie down; that will prevent this drink fro ht side of the bay there was a great bed on low legs; not rass and bracken Treebeard lowered hin of bending at his th, with his arhts were flickering, like the play of leaves in the sunshine Merry and Pippin sat beside hirass

&039;Now tell me your tale, and do not hurry!&039; said Treebeard

The hobbits began to tell him the story of their adventures ever since they left Hobbiton They followed no very clear order, for they interrupted one another continually, and Treebeard often stopped the speaker, and went back to so questions about later events They said nothing whatever about the Ring, and did not tell hi to; and he did not ask for any reasons

He was i: in the Black Riders, in Elrond, and Rivendell, in the Old Forest, and Tom Bombadil, in the Mines of Moria, and in Lothlorien and Galadriel He ain He said an odd thing at this point &039;You never see any, hm, any Ents round there do you?&039; he asked &039;Well, not Ents, Entwives I should really say&039;

&039;Entwives?&039; said Pippin &039;Are they like you at all?&039;

&039;Yes, hm, well no: I do not really kno,&039; said Treebeard thoughtfully &039;But they would like your country, so I just wondered&039;

Treebeard was however especially interested in everything that concerned Gandalf; and s The hobbits regretted very ue report by Sam of what Gandalf had told the Council But they were clear at any rate that Ugluk and his troop caard, and spoke of Saruman as their master

&039;Hm, hoom!&039; said Treebeard, when at last their story had wound and wandered down to the battle of the Orcs and the Riders of Rohan &039;Well, well! That is a bundle of news and noway But I do not doubt that you are doing as Gandalf would wish There is so on, that I can see, and what it is ood tie business: up sprout a little folk that are not in the old lists, and behold the Nine forgotten Riders reappear to hunt thereat journey, and Galadriel harbours theues of Wilderland: indeed they seereat storm I hope they weather it!&039;

&039;And what about yourself?&039; asked Merry

&039;Hoom, hm, I have not troubled about the Great Wars,&039; said Treebeard, &039;they mostly concern Elves and Men That is the business of Wizards: Wizards are always troubled about the future I do not like worrying about the future I aether on anybody&039;s side, because nobody is altogether on my side, if you understand me: nobody cares for the woods as I care for them, not even Elves nowadays Still, I take more kindly to Elves than to others: it was the Elves that cured us of duotten, though our ways have parted since And there are soether not on; I aain ust) &039;�C these Orcs, and their masters

&039;I used to be anxious when the shadow lay on Mirkwood, but when it removed to Mordor, I did not trouble for a while: Mordor is a long ay But it see of all woods ht that an old Ent can do to hold back that storm: he must weather it or crack