The Mother of Day [Bilbo, Estel] G
Sep. 28th, 2004 10:48 pmTitle: The Mother of Day
By: HF
Work: Lord of the Rings, references to Silmarillion
Rating/Warnings: This may be the most gen. thing I've ever written.
Pairings: None
Disclaimer: The genius is Tolkien's.
Notes: While doing research for a presentation on Latin enigmas, I came across an absolutely fascinating 19th-century verse riddle, The Tree Riddle, which requires the guesser to know 65 different types of trees to solve the poem in its entirety. I usually don't need much encouragement to write more riddle-type things, so this came on pretty quickly.
(NB: according to the dates given in The Tale of Years and The Hobbit, Aragorn was around ten or so when Bilbo first came to Rivendell.)
THE MOTHER OF DAY
“What are you doing, Master Baggins?”
“Composing, Master Estel.”
“What?” The boy looked around for evidence of work, but saw nothing. “How?”
Bilbo smiled and swung his legs back and forth.
“A riddle.” He tapped his forehead. “And with my own thought, you know.”
“Let’s hear it,” the boy said, impatient.
What’s the gold-crownéd tree, and the door-keeping tree,
And the tree ‘round which revelers sway;
The shepherding tree and the Seafarers’ tree;
And the tree that’s the mother of day?
Estel stared at him. “I’ll never guess the answer to that!”
“You will some day,” said the hobbit.
END
There are answers to these :)
By: HF
Work: Lord of the Rings, references to Silmarillion
Rating/Warnings: This may be the most gen. thing I've ever written.
Pairings: None
Disclaimer: The genius is Tolkien's.
Notes: While doing research for a presentation on Latin enigmas, I came across an absolutely fascinating 19th-century verse riddle, The Tree Riddle, which requires the guesser to know 65 different types of trees to solve the poem in its entirety. I usually don't need much encouragement to write more riddle-type things, so this came on pretty quickly.
(NB: according to the dates given in The Tale of Years and The Hobbit, Aragorn was around ten or so when Bilbo first came to Rivendell.)
THE MOTHER OF DAY
“What are you doing, Master Baggins?”
“Composing, Master Estel.”
“What?” The boy looked around for evidence of work, but saw nothing. “How?”
Bilbo smiled and swung his legs back and forth.
“A riddle.” He tapped his forehead. “And with my own thought, you know.”
“Let’s hear it,” the boy said, impatient.
What’s the gold-crownéd tree, and the door-keeping tree,
And the tree ‘round which revelers sway;
The shepherding tree and the Seafarers’ tree;
And the tree that’s the mother of day?
Estel stared at him. “I’ll never guess the answer to that!”
“You will some day,” said the hobbit.
END
There are answers to these :)
no subject
Date: 2004-09-28 08:38 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2004-09-28 09:06 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2004-09-28 09:42 pm (UTC)But I love this anyway.^_~
no subject
Date: 2004-09-29 01:39 am (UTC)i am SO too tired right now to figure out that riddle... will have to come back to this thing
living for inspiration,
ophelia
no subject
Date: 2004-09-29 02:01 am (UTC)the gold-crownéd tree - Mallorn
the tree ‘round which revelers sway - the party tree in Hobbiton - only a Hobbit would write that, but only a Hobbit was guess it!
The shepherding tree - An Ent - although not technically a tree.
the tree that’s the mother of day - I would have to guess Laurelin, who's flower was the Sun, making her the 'mother of day'.
The others I'm not sure about. I can't remember what wood the Numenoreans favoured for their shipbuilding.
Are any of those guesses right?
And baby Aragorn was very cute.
no subject
Date: 2004-09-29 06:10 am (UTC)Bilbo and little Estel are so cute together!
no subject
Date: 2004-09-29 06:11 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2004-09-29 06:48 am (UTC)And I haven't had my tea yet, so I can't possibly solve these... mind, I'm not sure tea will help. *grin* And as
*hugs*
~Kris
no subject
Date: 2004-09-29 08:07 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2004-09-29 08:09 am (UTC)You can!
Aragorn is one of those people I can't imagine ever having been a kid, for some reason. Even though Tolkien explicitly says Aragorn was a toddler when Arathorn died, I honestly can't envision him as such.
Maybe it's the thought of Aragorn doing something so undignified as spitting up that does it, I don't know. Or maybe it's just that I don't like kids. *grin*
no subject
Date: 2004-09-29 08:10 am (UTC)Must be something in the air.
"The door-keeping tree" brings holly to my mind, but it wouldn't bring it to Bilbo's so I'm stumped.
This calls for another drabble... Aragorn's solution :)
no subject
Date: 2004-09-29 08:11 am (UTC)I love your icon. "It does, however, make for a very strong case," indeed!
no subject
Date: 2004-09-29 08:12 am (UTC)We shall see, we shall see. *whistles* Aragorn's solutions are coming up.
And baby Aragorn was very cute.
Isn't he just? *makes obnoxious drooling, cooing auntie noises*
no subject
Date: 2004-09-29 08:13 am (UTC)I must have been inadvertently cute last night... God knows, I certainly didn't feel it. Excuse me while I go make un-cute hacking noises.
no subject
Date: 2004-09-29 08:16 am (UTC)Oooh, Bilbo and young Estel and riddles, what's not to like?
Heh heh. Like I told Rin, I'm kind of surprised I wrote this, because of the Estel factor. I can't conceive of Aragorn as ever being little and cute, and learning how to ride a bike. He's always been rugged, manly, and dirty in my mind. *grin*
no subject
Date: 2004-09-29 08:29 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2004-09-29 09:33 am (UTC)Well, y'see, I'm a morning person. So I get up at 6 or so, when it's still lovely and quiet (and usually dark), but by 9:30 or 10PM, my brain is completely off-line and I'm ready for bed. I *do* realize that makes me odd *grin*, okay, *odder*, but it's nice to get to work early when no one's there yet.
I can't conceive of Aragorn as ever being little and cute, and learning how to ride a bike.
Funny, because I have this vision of little messy-haired Aragorn running around causing trouble and whacking his brothers with his sword... hmm. But I'll admit to liking the manly, rugged, dirty version (okay, well, maybe not the dirty, so much) better.
~Kris
no subject
Date: 2004-09-29 10:15 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2004-09-29 10:20 am (UTC)*double takes and goes to interesting but not thoroughly unpleasant mental place*
See, I'm allowed to picture that, because it's not really incest - the twins are only foster brothers. Maybe he only married Arwen because Elrond refused to let him marry Elladan.
no subject
Date: 2004-09-29 10:37 am (UTC)I'm not sure whether to beg you to write that or go wash my brain out with soap! *grin* Maybe I'll do both.
But really, splitting up the twins like that, how mean of you! He'd have to marry both of them.
*grin*
~Kris
no subject
Date: 2004-09-29 10:42 am (UTC)Heh. I can picture it now...
Elrond: Look, I'm only letting you marry Arwen because I've spent the last, like, thousand years keeping your stupid, whiny, ungrateful family alive, and I've worked too hard to have the last one of you go waltzing off with one of my boys.
Aragorn: Huff.
Elrond: I hate my brother.
no subject
Date: 2004-09-29 10:44 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2004-09-29 10:47 am (UTC)Oh my God... that's a completely foreign way of life to me. Usually I'm just starting around 10PM. You are strange folk ;)
Funny, because I have this vision of little messy-haired Aragorn running around causing trouble and whacking his brothers with his sword...
Heh heh. Like I said, it might have something to do with never really being a "kid" person myself. Either that, or my imagination is just impaired in that regard.
no subject
Date: 2004-09-29 10:49 am (UTC)This train of thought can lead nowhere good.
Me? Write slash? I never write slash! I occassionally hint that there might be more going on than friendship, or that Aragorn picked a different elf *cough*A/L4eva*cough*, but I don't write about elves and men running around hitting each other with swords. Well, actually I do, but only real swords. With blood. And often death.
Sorry, rambling.
no subject
Date: 2004-09-29 11:00 am (UTC)Elrond: I hate my brother
Harsh. Poor Elros.
True though - Elrond had spent too long ensuring a line of heirs to let Aragorn go a foul it all up just because he's 'not into girls'.
Suddenly reminded of the poster we nearly bought today for our lounge. It read "Boys are evil - throw rocks at them".
no subject
Date: 2004-09-29 03:29 pm (UTC)i KNOW! any time you can combine the goodness that is sirius/remus slash AND velvet goldmine in one icon, you've got yourself a good thing going.
living for inspiration,
Ophelia