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Poems and Tales of Middle-Earth:
(illustration by John Howe) |
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Men's welcome song:
"The King beneath the mountains,
The King of carven stone,
The Lord of silver fountains
Shall come into his own!
His crown shall be upholden,
His harp shall be restrung,
His halls shall echo golden
To songs of yore re-sung.
The woods shall wave on mountains
And grass beneath the sun;
His wealth shall flow in fountains
And the rivers golden run.
The streams shall run in gladness,
The lakes shall shine and burn,
All sorrow fail and sadness
At the Mountain-King return!"
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The Lord of the Rings
Prelude. The Hobbit
Quotes from Tolkien's Novel
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| There: Smaug, the Dragon's Lair. |
"To say that Bilbo's breath was taken away is no description at all. There is no
words left to express his staggerment, since Men changed the language that they learned of elves in the days when all
the world was wonderful." |
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"It does not do to leave a live dragon out of your calculations, if you live near
him. [...] His rage passes description - the sort of rage that is only seen when rich folk that have more than they
can enjoy suddenly lose something that they have long had but have never before used or wanted. His fire belched
forth, the hall smoked, he shook the mountain-roots. [...] He issued from the Gate, the waters rose in fierce whistling
steam, and up he soared blazing into the air and settled on the mountain-top in a spout of green and scarlet flame." |
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"They debated long on what was to be done, but they could think of no way of
getting rid of Smaug - which had always been a weak point in their plans, as Bilbo felt inclined to point out." |
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" 'I come from under the hill, and under the hills and over the hills my paths
led. And through the air. I am he that walks unseen. [...] I am the clue-finder, the web-cutter, the stinging fly.
I was chosen for the lucky number. [...] I am he that buries his friends alive and drown them and draws them alive
again from the water. I came from the end of a bag, but no bag went over me. [...] I am the friend of bears and
the guest of eagles. I am Ringwinner and Luckwearer; and I am Barrel-rider,' went on Bilbo beginning to be pleased
with his riddling. [...]
This of course is the way to talk to dragons, if you don't want to reveal your proper name
(which is wise), and don't want to infuriate them with a flat refusal (which is also very wise). No dragon can resist
the fascination of riddling talk and of wasting time trying to understand it." |
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"Bilbo was now beginning to feel really uncomfortable. Whenever Smaug's roving eye,
seeking for him in the shadows, flashed across him, he trembled, and an accountable desire seized hold of him to
rush out and reveal himself and tell all the truth to Smaug. In fact he was in grievous danger of coming under the
dragon-spell." |
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" 'We came over hill and under hill, by wave and wind, for Revenge.'
Then Smaug really did laugh - a devastating sound which shook Bilbo to the floor [...]
'Revenge!' he snorted; and the light in his eyes lit the hall from floor to ceiling like
scarlet lightning. 'Revenge! [...] I kill where I wish and none dare resist. I laid low the warriors of old and their
like is not in the world today." |
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" 'Never laugh at live dragons, Bilbo you fool!' he said to himself, and it became
a favourite saying of his later, and passed into a proverb." |
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"As Thorin carefully explained, Mr Baggins was still officially their expert burglar
and investigator. If he liked to risk a light, that was his affair. They would wait in the tunnel for his report." |
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"A misty sun sent its pale light between the arms of the Mountain, and beams of
gold fell on the pavement at the threshold." |
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"Fire leaped from the dragon's jaws. He circled for a while high in the air above
them lighting all the lake; the trees by the shores shone like copper and like blood with leaping shadows of dense
black at their feet." |
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