Chapter 2 The second section roast leg of lamb

Bilbo jumped out of bed, and in his dressing-gown he ran into the dining-room, which was deserted save for the traces of a hasty and hearty breakfast.It was messy everywhere, and the kitchen was full of all kinds of greasy utensils, and almost all his pots and pans were used.The cleaning work that followed was even more tiring, making him think yesterday was a nightmare.However, he was relieved when he found that everyone had left him without even waking him up. (These guys don't even say thank you! He thought.) But somewhere in the back of his mind, there seemed to be a sense of loss that took him by surprise.

"Don't be a fool, Bilbo Baggins!" he said to himself, "you're old enough to dream of dragons and adventures far away!" So he put on his apron and lit the fire to cook Boil water and give everything a good clean.Then he also had a good breakfast in the kitchen before going into the dining room.By the time he finished eating, the sun was high and a warm spring breeze was blowing in through the open front door.Bilbo began to whistle loudly, forgetting all about last night.In fact, he was sitting in the dining-room, looking out of the window, when Gandalf came in, preparing for another second fine breakfast.

"My dear friend," said Gandalf, "when on earth are you going to start? 'How about getting up early in the morning?' You said that yesterday. Look at you. It's half past ten and you're still here." Eat breakfast! Because they can't wait, they left a note for you." "What note?" asked poor Mr. Baggins, dazedly. "My God!" said Gandalf, "you have been behaving very strangely--you have not cleaned the fireplace!" "What does this have to do with notes? Just cleaning the dishes for fourteen people makes me exhausted!"

"If you've cleaned out the fireplace, you'll find this thing under the clock on the shelf..." Gandalf handed Bilbo a note, which read (written on his own note-paper, of course) of: Thorin and all say hello to Bilbo the Snitch!We would like to express our sincerest thanks for your kind hospitality, and it is a great honor to accept your professional assistance.The conditions are as follows: cash, up to a fourteenth of the net profit (if any), including all expenses on the trip.If events do not go as expected, funeral expenses will be provided by us or our representatives.

Since we believe that your important sleep should not be disturbed, we have prepared everything for you in advance and will be waiting for you at the Green Dragon Hotel on Linshui Road.Please arrive on time at eleven o'clock, we trust you will be punctual. Your most loyal friend, Sincerely, Sorin and friends "You have but ten minutes to run," said Gandalf. "But—" said Bilbo. "There is no time," said the wizard. "But—" said Bilbo again. "No time to discuss that! Come on!" All his life Bilbo hadn't been quite sure how he had accomplished this amazing feat: he had nothing, no money, no hat, no crutches, nothing he would normally take with him when he went out, and nothing for his second breakfast. He hadn't eaten, let alone washed the dishes; and when he came to his senses he found himself thrusting the key into Gandalf's hand, and running as fast as he could, down the street, past the mill, and across the creek. , ran another full mile.

He managed to rush to Linshui Road out of breath when the clock struck eleven, but unexpectedly found that he forgot to bring his handkerchief! "Get there in time!" shouted Balin, who was waiting for him at the door of the hotel. At the same time, everyone else popped up from the village.They all rode ponies, each carrying an assortment of luggage, packs, packages and gear on their backs.They also led a very short pony, apparently for Bilbo's use. "Get on your horses, both of you, and we'll set off at once!" Thorin said. "I'm really sorry," said Bilbo, "but I forgot my hat, and I left my handkerchief at home, and I don't have a dime on me. In fact, to be precise, I didn't arrive until ten forty-five." Received your message."

"Don't be so precise," said Devlin. "Don't worry, you can do without handkerchiefs, and many other things, for this journey. As for hats! I have a spare set of cloaks and hoods in my luggage." And so, one cool morning before May, they set off.Bilbo rode on a heavily packed pony, and wore a dark green hood (somewhat battered) and a dark green cloak he had borrowed from Dwalin's.Both of those clothes were too big, and he looked really funny, and I can't imagine what his daddy Bungo would say if he saw how good he was.The only thing he could be proud of was that at least he wouldn't be mistaken for a dwarf because he didn't grow a beard.

They rode not long before they met Gandalf, riding a white horse, in high spirits; he had brought a lot of handkerchiefs, and Bilbo's pipe and tobacco.So after that they all set off contentedly, and they spent the whole day happily telling stories and singing, with only an occasional stop for a meal to interrupt their excited conversation.Though the stops to eat were not as frequent as Bilbo was used to, it was barely enough to fill him up and make him feel that taking risks wasn't so bad after all. At first they were still traveling in the land of the Hobbits, a green and beautiful land, inhabited by many honest people, and the roads were very smooth, with a few inns on the way, and occasionally met dwarves or farmers on their way.Then, the group came to a strange and mysterious area in people's minds, and the dwarves sang songs they had never heard before.They have gone deep into the wilderness. There are no residents or hotels here, and the road conditions are getting worse. Not far away, you can see the eerie hills stretching straight into the sky.

It is full of trees, and on some hills there are ruins of ancient castles that look very evil, as if they were built by evil people.Everything looked very gloomy, and even the weather became uncomfortable.Most of the time, it was a fair May day in a fairy tale, but now it was getting wet and cold; in the wilderness area before, although they had to camp, it was at least not so wet. "It's unpleasant to think it's almost June," murmured Bilbo to himself, as he and the others trod along the muddy road.It was past tea time, and it had been raining torrentially all day, and his hat was damp to his eyes, and his cloak was soaked with water.The pony was very tired and rather shambling, and the others were too sullen to talk. "I'm sure the rain has got into the dry clothes and our food bags," thought Bilbo. In his little cave, sitting by the fireplace, listening to the kettle sloshing!" It wouldn't be the last time he'd wished it!

The dwarves walked on without looking back, paying no attention to the hobbit's muttering.The sun behind the gray cloud seemed to have set as it was starting to get dark.The wind gradually became stronger, and the willow trees by the river bent over and swayed, sighing softly.This unknown river, due to the abundance of water in the past few days, has turned into a reddish-brown rapids, rushing all the way from the mountains in front of them. Soon, it was completely dark, and the strong wind blew away the gray clouds, revealing a crescent moon hidden among the clouds.Then the party stopped, and Thorin murmured something about the dinner, "How are we going to find dry ground to sleep?"

Only then did they realize that Gandalf was missing.He had come such a distance with them without saying at all that he was adventuring with them, or just keeping them company for a while.He eats the most, talks the most, and laughs the most, but now he is nowhere to be seen! "Just when the wizard was most needed to play, unexpectedly..." Duo Li and Nuo Li wailed. (They also have the same idea about meals as the hobbits: large meals.) The group finally decided to camp nearby.So far they had not camped in the wild, but they had expected that when they came to the uninhabited area before the Misty Mountains, they would have to camp often; only in this wet and cold night. Camping is really not a good start.They came to the thicker bushes. Although the ground was relatively dry, the wind would blow the water droplets off the leaves. The ticking, ticking sound was the most annoying part, and even the fire seemed to be against them.Wind or no wind, the dwarves seemed to be able to make a fire with anything and everything anywhere; but that night, no matter how hard they tried, they couldn't make a fire, not even Oin and Gloin, who were good at making fire. Then a pony, startled suddenly and inexplicably, rushed out; and before they could stop him, he rushed into the river.Just as they pulled it out of the water, Fili and Kili almost drowned in the water again, and all the luggage that the pony was carrying was washed away by the water. What's worse, most of it was food.Now, there's nothing to eat for dinner, let alone breakfast! They were all sitting wet on the ground feeling angry, while Ouyin and Gloyin tried to start the fire again, but they started bickering again.Bilbo was beginning to grieve and regret that this adventure had not been all joyful rides on ponies in the May sun.Balin, who was always acting as a scout, suddenly shouted: "There is light over there!" There was a small hill covered with trees not far away, and the trees seemed to be quite dense.In the darkness, they could clearly see a light shining, a red, warm light, as if a torch or a campfire was burning vigorously. They stared blankly for a moment, then started arguing again.Some people say "no", some people say "yes", some people say you can just go and see, anyway, it's better than eating a pitiful dinner, wearing wet clothes all night, and having to deal with almost Breakfast for nothing, better to come. Others said, "We don't know much about this neighborhood, and it's too close to the mountains for travelers to travel this way these days. The ancient maps are useless, the world is in decline, and the roads are also old and damaged. No one maintains the safety of this area.They have never heard of anything like a king here, and the less curiosity they have, the less trouble they will cause. Some people said again: "Anyway, there are fourteen of us." ’ another asked: ‘Where has Gandalf gone? "Everyone had the same question in their minds. Then, the rain became heavier, and Ou Yin and Ge Luo Yin started to fight each other. This paused the debate. "Anyway, we still have a snitch by our side!" they said reassuringly.So they led the pony, and walked cautiously in the direction of the fire, and they came to the foot of the hill and went into the forest.They climbed up the hill, but could find no trace of a road, and it didn't look like there were any houses or farms nearby.They made a lot of noise and complained as they groped their way through the darkness. Suddenly, a more dazzling red light appeared in the forest not far away than before. "Now it's our snitch's turn," they said, referring to Bilbo. "You must first find out what this light is, and see if everything is safe?" Thorin said to the hobbit: "Go quickly! Come back quickly if everything is all right; If you have any problems, please try to find a way to come back. If you can’t come back, please hoot twice like a barn owl, and hoot once like a long-eared owl, and we will try to save you.” Bilbo was pushed out before he could explain that he couldn't tell the difference between a barn and a long-eared owl.However, the hobbit's natural ability to move silently in the forest did not trouble him for the time being, and they were quite proud of it.So Bilbo started on his way, muttering "these impatient dwarves"; though you and I would not be aware of a whole troop of hobbits muttering past us in this way.As for the sound of Bilbo's footsteps walking towards the fire that day, even the squirrel would not have shaken his whiskers for it.By the time he got to the campfire without disturbing anyone—this was what he saw. Three very tall humanoid creatures, sitting around a large fire, were roasting a leg of lamb on a long stick, licking the juices from their hands, and the taste was really mouth-watering.Moreover, there is a lot of good wine piled up around them, and these guys are proud to drink directly from the jug to their mouths; the terrible thing is that these guys are trolls, just from their appearance.Even the aloof Bilbo could tell: from their big heads, their bodies, and the shape of their legs, not to mention that their language was not at all refined, indeed, not even civilized at all! "Leg of lamb yesterday, leg of lamb today, oh my god, I hope it doesn't look like leg of lamb tomorrow!" said one troll. "It's been a while since I've eaten human flesh," said the second troll. "What the hell is that William thinking about bringing us here to suffer? I can't figure it out. Besides, there's not enough wine," he elbowed He bumped into William who was drinking heavily. William took a sip of his drink, "Shut your mother's mouth!" When he regained his breath, he immediately said, "You guys, Lee, do you think someone will stay here just to feed Lee and Bert? Since we After going down the mountain, our two pig heads have already eaten a half of the village. What else do we want? Our dog luck is already good, and we should say, 'Bill Li Bill!' Help us get fat and tender goats. He took a hard bite of the freshly roasted goat leg and wiped his mouth with his sleeve. Yes, that's generally true of trolls, even those with only one head.Bilbo should have done something at once, after hearing all this, and he could go back quietly and warn his friends that there were three tall trolls here, who were in a rather bad mood, and probably wouldn't mind roasting dwarves or ponies for a change. For a change; or he could at least do something a Snitch would do, a real, first-rate Snitch, trying to get at troll stuff at this point, which always pays off pretty handsomely if you can manage it.You can snatch a leg of lamb from a fire, push a keg of beer away from their sight, and the dull fools probably won't notice you at all.As for those snitches who are more practical and don't care about professional dignity, they will kill each of the three trolls before the other party is alert, and then everyone can spend the night happily. Bilbo knew it all.He has read many stories, and the plots and behaviors in them are all things he has never done or seen in his life.He felt very worried, he felt a pang of evil in his heart, he wished he was hundreds of miles away, but, but for some reason, he felt that he couldn't just go back to his friends empty-handed.So he hesitated for a moment in the shadows, for picking something from a troll's pocket seemed the easiest job of a snitch in the stories he had heard; so he slipped quietly to the tree behind William. Bert and Tom walked over to the cask, and William was drinking another bottle of wine.Bilbo took courage, and put his little hand into William's oversized pocket.There was indeed a purse in it, which was as big as a knapsack for Bilbo. "Ha!" he thought as he carefully pulled out his wallet just when he thought he was at home with the job, "this is just the beginning!" This is really just the beginning!Trolls have certain tricks in their wallets, and this one is no exception. "Uh, who are you?" As soon as the wallet was out of the pocket, he asked automatically.William turned immediately, and grabbed Bilbo by the neck before he had time to hide behind a tree. "Holy shit, Bert, look what I've caught!" said William. "What is this?" Another person rushed over and asked. "Stupid, how would I know! What is Li?" "Bilbo Baggins, I'm a flying-er-hobbit," said poor Bilbo, trembling, his little head spinning wildly, hoping to figure out how to be an owl before he was strangled Call. "Not a hungry hobbit?" they said with some surprise.Trolls are rather slow to respond, and anything new seems to them extremely suspicious. "What the hell have non-starving hobbits got to do with my pocket?" William asked. "Can Lee cook them?" Tom said. "Lee can try it!" Bert said impatiently, picking up the pot. "He doesn't even have enough space between his teeth," William said, already full of wine and food. "When the time comes to peel off the skin and remove the bones, there may only be enough meat to fill the space between his teeth." "Maybe there is his companion nearby, we can use it for fun!" Burt said. "Hey, does Li Li have any companions running around in the forest? Li, the nasty Abby..." He was looking at the hobbit's hairy feet, lifting him head to toe. "Yes, and many more," slipped Bilbo, before remembering that he shouldn't have betrayed his friend. "No, no, not one!" he added immediately. "Lee, what does that mean?" Bert asked, this time grabbing his hair. "What I just said--" said Bilbo, breathlessly, "good sir, don't cook me! I'm a good cook myself, and cook far better than myself. I can Cook you a great meal, a great breakfast, as long as you don't have me for dinner!" "Poor little fellow," said William.His stomach was almost bursting, and he drank a lot of beer. "Poor little thing! Let him go!" Burt said, "No, have to figure out how he just said a lot and then didn't talk about anything. I don't want my throat slit in my sleep! Push his toes into the fire, Let's see if he says it or not!" "I won't let you do that!" said William. "I caught him." "William, you're a fat idiot," Burt said. "I said so before today." "You are an idiot!" "You have no right to say that about me, Bill Hudgens!" Burt punched William in the eye. Then it became a melee.Bilbo had the last shred of quick wit, and when Bert threw him to the ground, he was out of the way of the two fellows' big feet; and then they snapped at each other like wild dogs, and began Such lively swear words insult each other.Soon, they hugged each other, kicked and hit each other and almost rolled into the fire; Tom started to attack with clubs, hoping that the two could calm down, but of course it didn't work, and they became more irritable Like thunder. Bilbo had enough time to go away, but his poor little feet were bloody blocked by Bert's big hands, his chest was so tight that he couldn't breathe, and his head was in a mess.Therefore, he hid in a place out of the light of the fire, panting. In this chaos, Bahrain rushed over.The dwarves heard the quarrel not far away, and after waiting a while, hoping that Bilbo would return, or owl hoot, they began to creep up one by one.Tom uttered a terrified cry as soon as he saw Barrin walking into the firelight!Trolls hate dwarves (especially undercooked ones) and Bert and Bill immediately stop fighting each other, yelling "Come on, Tom, get a bag!" Stepping into this mess in Bahrain , Before he figured out what was going on, he was wrapped in a bag and pushed to the ground. "Looks like there's going to be a lot more," said Tom, "or else I was mistaken, and that means many and none." .It really is like this!" "I think you're right," said Bert. "We'd better get out of the fire." So they did.The three trolls waited patiently in the shadows, holding in their hands the pouches that had once held mutton and other treasures.When every dwarf walked over to look at the firelight, the overturned flagon and the gnawed leg of lamb, with a bang, he would fall to the ground with a smelly bag over his head.Soon Dwalin was lying next to Balin, Fili and Kili were packed together in the same bag, Doli, Nouri and Oli were piled up in a pile, Ouyin, Gloin, Bifur, Bofur and Bombur were thrown by the campfire. "That should teach them a lesson!" said Tom, for Bofur and Bombur had given them a lot of trouble; they fought like dwarves in a corner. Thorin was the last to arrive, and he hadn't been as careless as his previous victims.He had expected danger when he arrived, and didn't need to see his friend's feet sticking out of the bag to know something was wrong.He stood in the shadows not far away, "What's going on? Who put my people in the bag?" "It's a Troll!" cried Bilbo from behind a tree.Everyone has forgotten that this little guy exists. "They were hiding behind trees with bags!" he said. "Oh! Really?" Thorin leaped to the campfire before the troll had time to move. He picked up a burning firewood and started to swing it. Bert was poked in the eye and temporarily unable to stand up. Bilbo did his part too, and grabbed Tom's stump-like foot, when Tom, kicking the ashes of the campfire at Thorin, fell off balance and Bilbo kicked up the treetops. Tom's teeth were also bitten because of this, and one of his front teeth fell out, and the guy let out an earth-shattering scream.At that moment, though, William swooped in from behind, bagged Thorin from head to toe, and the fight was over.These dwarves were packed into bags and piled up by the campfire, and three angry trolls (two guys still had burns on their faces or wounds where their front teeth fell, reminding them of the hatred just now) sat next to them, Debating what to do with them, whether to roast them alive, chop them up and simmer them, or crush them one by one into a gravy?Bilbo, on the other hand, hid in the bushes in tatters. He was still in shock, and he didn't dare to move around, for fear of being seen by them. Just then Gandalf came back, but no one noticed him.The trolls had just come to the conclusion that they would roast the dwarves first and eat them later.It was Bert's idea, and after arguing, they all agreed. "It's no use roasting them now, it'll take all night," said a voice Bert thought was William's. "Bill, don't fight any more," he said, "or it'll be all night." "Who-who's arguing?" William thought it was Bert who had just spoken. "It's you," Burt said. "You lied," William said, and the argument started all over again.At last they decided to chop up the dwarves and cook them slowly.Therefore, they brought a black pot, and drew out their knives to work. "Why boil them! We have no water, and we have to go a long way to find it," said a voice.Bert and William thought it was Tom's voice. "Shut up!" they said, "or we won't be able to eat for the rest of our lives. If Li continues to talk nonsense, he will get water himself." "Lees shut up!" Tom thought it was William's voice. "Who else is arguing besides you?" "You fool," William said. "Lee's a fool!" said Tom. So they started arguing all over again, this time much more heatedly than before.With some difficulty, they all agreed to take turns sitting on the bag, crushing them one by one, and coming back to cook them next time. "Who should we sit on first?" said the voice. "Better sit on the last guy first," said Bert, whose eye had just been hurt by Thorin.He thought it was Tom who spoke. "Don't talk to yourself, please!" said Tom. "If you want to crush the last man, go ahead. Where is he?" "The guy in the yellow socks," Burt said. "Nonsense, it's the guy in the gray socks," said a voice that looked like William. "I'm sure it's yellow," Burt said. "Yeah, it's yellow," William said. "So what did Lee say about the gray shit?" Burt said. "I didn't say it. Tom did." "I didn't!" said Tom. "It's you." "Two votes to one, shut your mouth!" Burt said. "Who are you talking to?" William asked. "Shut up!" said Tom and Bert together. "It's almost daylight. It's going to be daylight soon. Let's hurry up!" "The dawn will swallow them all up and turn them into rocks!" said a voice that looked like Willem, but it was not Willem's, for at that moment the daylight was over the hills and there was a loud creaking in the treetops.William never had a chance to speak again, for he remained in that stooped position and turned into rock, while Tom and Bert watched him motionless, unable to move again; to this day, the three trolls are alone The land is over there, and only birds occasionally build nests on their heads.Because, you know, if the trolls don't hide in caves or underground at dawn, they will be transformed into the raw material they were originally made--rock, and this is what happened to Bert, Tom and William. "Excellent!" Gandalf came out from behind the tree, and helped Bilbo up from the thornbush.Only then did Bilbo realize that it was the wizard's voice that made the trolls quarrel with each other until the sun finally reached them. The second thing to do is to untie the bag and free all the dwarves.They were almost suffocating, and their tempers were quite hot.They didn't like lying there at all, listening to the trolls discuss how to cook them, or crush and chop them up; and they were only slightly satisfied when they forced Bilbo to explain their encounters twice. . "This is the wrong time to practice touching people's things," Bomber said. "All we want is a campfire and food!" "Anyway, they're not going to give you either," said Gandalf. "You're wasting your time now, don't you think, these trolls must have caves or burrows dug nearby, so that Can they hide from the sun? We'll have to see!" Searching around, they soon spotted the tracks of these trolls leading to the bushes.They climbed up the mountain along the footprints, and at last they found a huge stone door leading to a cave among the trees. Even though they all pushed with all their strength, Gandalf was chanting various spells beside it. , but to no avail. "Could this come in handy?" asked Bilbo, when they were tired and angry. "I found this thing where the trolls were fighting." He produced a large key, but William must have thought the key It was small and hard to find, because he didn't even know it fell out of his pocket.It must have fallen out before he turned to stone. "Why didn't you say it earlier?" they shouted in unison.Gandalf took the key and inserted it into the keyhole. The stone door was pushed open by everyone, and everyone rushed in.There were many bones on the floor, there was a rotten smell in the air, and there was a lot of food strewn about on the floor and shelves, mixed with a lot of looted property, ranging from brass buttons to jars full of gold coins. .There are still many clothes hanging on the wall, obviously too small for the trolls, most of which belong to the victims.Among these garments were swords of all shapes and sizes, but two particularly attracted their attention because of their beautiful scabbards and hilts studded with precious stones. Gandalf and Thorin each took one, and Bilbo found a knife in a leather sheath.It was probably no more than a nail-picking knife to a troll, but it was good enough to be used as a short sword to a hobbit. "This looks like a pretty good weapon." The wizard pulled out the sword and looked at it curiously: "This is not something made by trolls, nor is it a sword that humans in this area can make now. If you read the runes above, you should be able to know more about their origins." "Let's find a way to avoid this stench!" Fili said.So they carried out the jars containing the gold coins, and at the same time plundered the food that had not been spoiled, and there was only one barrel of beer left.By the time they figured it was time to eat breakfast, everyone was too hungry to care about the stink.Their rations, which had been so scant for their share, were now unexpectedly given bread and cheese, a cask of ale, and a ham to roast in the embers of the campfire. After eating and drinking, they slept comfortably to replenish their strength from the previous night's disturbance.No one woke up until afternoon.Then they took the ponies, and carried the jars of gold coins down to the river, and buried them in great secrecy near there, and cast many spells to protect them, in the hope of returning some day to claim these treasures.When all was done, they all mounted their horses again, and continued on their way to the east. "My lord, where have you been?" Thorin asked Gandalf as he rode forward. "Go ahead and check," he said. "How did you come back just when we almost died?" "Come back and check," he said. "It's so clear!" Thorin said, "But can you make it more clear?" "I went to scout the road ahead, because the road ahead would soon become dangerous and difficult to walk, and I was also worried that the supplies we were carrying were too small to feed and drink for our group. Fortunately, I couldn't go very far , I met a few friends from Rivendell." "Where is that?" asked Bilbo. "Don't interrupt!" said Gandalf. "If we are successful, we will be there in a few days, and you will know. As I said before, I met two of Elrond's children, They were hurrying on their way, fearing that the trolls would come out and cause trouble. They told me that three trolls had run down from the hills and settled in the forest not far from the road, and almost scared the people of the district away, and , They will also attack strange travelers. I immediately realized that I must come back immediately. When I looked back, I found a light of flames not far away, so I rushed over, and you will know what happened afterwards. Please, Be careful next time, or we won't be able to go anywhere!" "Thank you!" Thorin said.