The Adventures of Tolman Cotton

My name is Tolman Cotton, the son of Tolman Cotton,son of Holman Cotton and distant cousin to Samwise Gamgee. Samwise, Frodo and myself were young hobbits together but our lives were totally different. My Da and Sam's were farmers and gardeners and we were being raised to be the same. Frodo was the adopted nephew of the famous/infamous Bilbo. Frodo was not being raised to do much of anything,just like his cousins, Merridoc Brandybuck and Peregin Took, from the eastern reaches of the Shire. As children we barely noticed the differences in our situations but as we grew older they became clearer and clearer. Samwise and I were apprenticed to our father's to learn the work of farming and gardening while Frodo and his cousins remained free to do anything they wished.
Many an evening after a long day , we would all close down the Green Dragon only to have to rise with the sun to care for the crops and animals. Many an evening as I left to meet my friends my Da would warn me that hanging about with those better than you would lead to trouble. I did not believe him as we were all equal in our eyes. One night as Samwise was waiting for me to be ready for our nightly meeting with our friends, my Da stopped us both and told us a story that I thought was only a fancy that happened long before any of us had been born.
Da said that life in the shire was a predictable thing, the seasons changed, nothing much happened ,at least in the area of the Western Shire known as The Hill. That was until Mr Bungo Baggins married Belladonna Took. The Tooks were not as respected as the Bagginses as they were unpredictable and prone to adventures. They had a fine hobbit hole that Bungo built for Belladonna near the Water,a small river that ran at the foot of The Hill. There they raised their only child Bilbo, who for all appearances was a stolid and predictable as his father. Until the day he disappeared. Hamfast Gamgee,The Gaffer, reported to the Reeve that the day prior to Bilbo's disappearance a strange tall man in a grey cloak and tall pointy hat stopped and spoke to Bilbo. Bilbo shooed him away and slammed his freshly painted door in a huff. Later that same night there was a really loud party at Bag End and then Bilbo was gone. He was gone for almost a year, returning just as his cousin Ortho Sackville-Baggins and his wife Lobelia Bracegridle were clearing his house to claim as their own. They had declared him dead and as Bilbo's only living relative on the Baggins side they were reaping the spoils. Of course, this set up the current resentment between the families that was exacerbated when Bilbo adopted his cousin Drogo's son as his heir instead of making Letho the heir. Frodo was the son of Drogo Baggins and Primula Brandybuck. The Brandybucks had a large holding in the South Eastern Shire near the Brandywine River called b Buckland. They often ventured into the forest across the river and were excellent sailors and swimmers. The Bagginses were the exact opposite and they never went near the water, they never went on adventures even into the tame forests of the shire. Frodo's parents drowned crossing the Brandywine leaving Frodo an orphan so Bilbo having returned from his adventures adopted him.
After his return from his adventure Bilbo was never the same. He had frequent visits from Gandalf and various Dwarves. He often was seen in the forest at night when Fairy lights and song was heard. The Baggins of Bag End were no longer considered respectable. We were to avoid associating with them as much as possible Samwise immediately jumped to the defense of the Bag End Bagginess as His Da, the Gaffer, had been their gardener since the return of Bilbo from his adventure over 60 years ago. I felt that Da was just being a Hobbit and that we would all be fine. It was a few years later when, Frodo turned 33 and Mr .Bilbo 111 that once again things took a strange turn. Bilbo was planning a huge Birthday Party under the large tree in the commons. There were to be 144 guests but the entire shire was involved in the preparations. The day dawned as a beautiful September day. Frodo and Bilbo shared the 22nd day of September as a birthday. Tents were being raised, food delivered and casks of mead and wine being tapped.
Gandalf had arrived with his fireworks . The whole shire was in the clutches of excitement and many uninvited guests were there and stayed for the festivities. As evening fell thousands of lights appeared in the tree. Not candles but Elven lights that glowed and warmed the cooling September air.
My sister, Rosie, was serving drinks and Sam was helping with the food when not sitting with Frodo or mooning over Rosie. The party went on til close to the turn of the day ,that was when a huge cake was brought out and fireworks were displayed, after many starbursts, and other ordinary displays the lights went out in the tree and a tiny Lonely Mountain glowed in the sky from which a tiny Dragon emerged growing larger and larger until it burst over the Bywater. Cake was served and Bilbo began his after dinner speech which most of the guests really wished to avoid.
Much to their surprise Bilbo brought out no Poetry, no old Stories of improbable adventure but simple told all that Frodo was now the owner of Bag End and he was leaving. Goodbye, thus disappearing in a flash of light and smoke. Total confusion reigned for a few minutes , Frodo managed to calm the crowd with more drink and cake.
The next day there was no sign of Bilbo. Frodo was kept busy passing out gifts left for the guests. It is a tradition of the Hobbits that the birthday person gives gifts to their guests. Samwise, The Gaffer and I supervised the clean up of the commons . After a long day we all met at the Green Dragon to relax, no one asked after Bilbo .
There were rumors of Dwarves sighted heading to the bridge over the Brandywine with a smaller companion but no one could confirm it. Gandalf stayed A COUPLE MORE DAYS THEN LEFT, TOO. As time past we all fell back into our old routines, Sam took over more and more the care of the gardens at Bag End, as the Gaffer was started to show his 90 years. my Da TOO WAS GETTING ALONG IN AGE SO MY BROTHERS AND I WERE ALSO SLOWLY ASSUMING MORE OF THE FARM WORK. Sam was still trying to get the courage to court Rosie and I was courting Marigold. Sam's younger sister. We all still met at the Green Dragon a couple times a week. Mr Frodo seemed preoccupied most of the time when we all met but never gave any indication of what was wrong. I assumed that the sudden disappearance of Bilbo had upset him more than we all knew. The oldsters of the group all swore that Frodo like Bilbo was cracking and he would soon go running off into the wilds, too. Fall and winter past and then in early April ,Gandalf was sighted going along the road to Bag End.
Gandalf stayed several days, always in deep discussions with Frodo. At our green dragon meetings Frodo disclosed nothing.
One morning in April as Sam was cutting the grass and clearing the flower beds for spring planting, Gandalf and Frodo sat near an open window discussing a ring. Frodo seemed upset by whatever Gandalf was saying and eventually Sam saw Frodo pass a gold ring on a chain to Gandalf. They walked deeper into the room,Sam lost the conversation til a cry of dismay was heard from Frodo. Fearing that Frodo had received bad news about Bilbo Sam crept closer. and heard Gandalf tell Frodo the story of a ring of tremendous power. Suddenly, a hand reach down and grabbed Sam by the collar pulling him into the window. That was how Sam became the companion of Frodo on an adventure that would change the entire world. I knew nothing of this til several years later. When Sam returned from the journey that began when Bilbo returned to the Shire from the Battle of 5 Armies. The next thing I knew was that Frodo was selling Bag End to Lobelia and Ortho, and moving to a cottage in Buckland. Sam was going as his gardener and The Gaffer with the help of my brother was going to stay at Bag End. Much was made of the move by the locals. My sister, Rosie, was upset at the prospect of Sam's moving to the other end of the shire but he promised to visit often.
Strange happenings and sightings were occurring all over the Shire. As his birthday approached things were ready for the move. Frodo and Sam loaded the furniture he was taking to the cottage on a wagon that Frodo's cousin Fredegar was to drive to Buckland and set up. That night after a quick drink at the Green Dragon, Frodo, Sam, Merridoc and Pippin left with full packs to trek to Buckland, saying a last good bye to the Hill. The Key was left under the mat for Lobelia and Ortho the next morning. Their trek was uneventful until they reached the edge of our farm. I spotted them crossing the fields and hailed them. I think those sneaky brats Pippin and Merry might of had some of our summer corn in their sack because the started to run til Sam saw it was I . They stopped and we spoke for a while as it was growing dark I asked them to supper. Frodo and Sam accepted readily but Pippin and Merry a little more reluctant.
As we settled down to supper, Sam mentioned to my Ma that The gaffer would be alone and could she look in on him occasionally . He did not feel the Sackville-Bagginses would take as good care of his Da as Frodo or Bilbo had. A sumptuous meal of fresh corn , stewed mushrooms and pork was served much to the unease of both Pippin and Merry. My Da laughed and said he remembered how much they loved the Cotton Farm Mushrooms. Suddenly the dogs set up a ruckus at the door as Da opened it they rushed out toward the gate but returned almost immediately with tails between their legs in fear. Da and I went to the gate and there was a tall black figure on a tall black horse at the gate. There was an unearthly odor about the figure and the horse seemed to shimmer with liquid. In hissing voice it asked for Bagginses. My Da said they lived over by the By Water on the hill, he was answered with a hiss. The figure seemed about to charge our gate when another appeared, with an awful screech and they both thundered off in the direction of The Hill. When we returned to the house , the 4 were putting on their packs to leave, but Da said stay the night in the barn and leave in the morning. Morning comes early on farms and ,Ma packed them a lunch of leftovers and we said our good byes. We would not see them for almost 2 years and in that time my story gets very exciting and dangerous. I have an adventure with out leaving the shire.