Parasha: The Hobbit, September 10th reading
So... giants playing around throwing stones during a thunder storm. Totally sounds like it should be all metaphorical!
Grumpy Gandalf is Grumpy! Dude, you're letting your whole "mysterious and omniscient" front slip. Bad wizard!
I've been re-reading Harry Potter recently, so whenever Gandalf lights up his wand, I'm all expecting him to be "Lumos!" n' stuff. Oh wells.
A cave with a secret passage? Srsly? Oh wells, I guess the goblins could always have cunningly crafted it to hide their entrance. Or had dwarven slaves do it.
So the dwarves don't spot this passage, and then are all yammering and fearful at the whip-cracks. Man, thinking less and less of them, here!
And yep, a little white pony for Gandalf. Definitely a thing for white horses! I guess it goes with the whole "the White" thing, except he's still Gandalf the Grey at this point, so wtf?
Man, such an important and powerful ring, that so many mighty people would do so much to gain... and Bilbo just picks it up on the floor of the cave and puts it in his pocket. I mean, I knew that, but just reading it again here baldly seems so... weird.
Miserabler? Oh well, it's a perfectly cromulent word, when you're crawling around hungry in a dark cave alone!
Anyhow, now we reach the chapter that could be different for some of us, although I doubt it. But you never know. It's weird to think of a... somewhat genial Gollum though! Now I'd kind of like to get an unchanged copy, and read it, to see what it's like. Maybe I'll look later to see if the internet has an unaltered copy of the fifth chapter, come to think of it...
I'm wondering how much of Gollum's background Tolkien may have had in mind when he first wrote this - I'm assuming the bits about how he used to live above ground, with his grandmother in a hole in the ground etc. etc., were put in later when he rewrote the chapter.
Also: I always enjoy riddle competitions! More books should have them!
Heh, "teaching his grandmother to suck eggs." Okay then!
So, ancient and important and sacred as the riddle game apparently is, I wonder if Bilbo would have just sat and let himself be eaten? Somehow, one doubts it.
So one would think that Gollum would have tripped over Bilbo, yes? But oh well... I guess we'll overlook that. :p I guess he must have rolled a bit to the side when he fell, that's it.
And yay, Bilbo! Out of the darkness! Woohoo!
And remember, Wednesday it's just Chapter 6.