The Story Thus Far…
Billy Begroot was a jolly young hobbit from Bree that took his puppet show on the road to the Shire. He faced terrible adversity: from highway men, to an angry widow and puppet thieving doctor! Things were not always so rough, however, such as when he met a kindly butcher and fellow puppet enthusiast who gave Billy an addition to his puppet troupe – the amazing and beautiful Queen of the Dragons, Sausagella. That addition did not sit well with a particular glassy eyed member of the troupe… Mr. Pip. Ever the optimist, despite any mishaps and any nosey Shire shirriffs, Billy continued on his adventure…
Chapter Five: Seeking Comfort in Winter
Winter was not the season for puppet performances. Billy had the hard choice of either heading back to Bree or coming up with a plan to survive the cold. He had saved enough money so he could afford to sleep in an inn, if it were a cheap one, but he needed to make sure more money came in or he would not be able to eat. He was a clever lad and came up with an idea. Everyone knew the folks of the North Farthing of the Shire were not exactly the warmest of hobbits so they rarely got visitors. Billy thought if he visited the villages there they would be so glad of the attention that surely he would be rewarded with enough money to eat.
He was certainly glad when his plan worked! But it took much more from him than he expected. As the cold winter wore on and snow flurries began to fall he found he had to turn to something beyond the usual high jinx of Mister Pip to keep the hobbits entertained. He was ashamed at first, but he felt he had no choice, and so he turned to the dragon puppet of the butcher.
It took him awhile to get used to working with the puppet but once he did he soon had the beast as an important part of the show. It was in the darkest part of winter when Billy came up with an entirely new show, The Gassy Dragon of the North Farthing, that soon became a smash hit. All the hobbits laughed until tears streamed down their cheeks at the antics of the new puppet. Toot went the dragon as she tried to blow fire from her jaws only to blow out the wrong end! It was hilarious for young and old alike.
Oh but there was one problem. There was a certain other puppet that did not like the attention being taken away from him… Mister Pip found himself out of the center of attention and his smile turned sour. Pip did not share any of the joy Billy felt as notes began arriving to whatever inn the hobbit happened to be staying in asking if he would come and visit this village or that to brighten the dark winter nights with his show. So it was that Billy found himself hurrying along a road between village appointments, pulling his handcart as he rushed, thinking how nice it would be in springtime to buy a small pony for the cart. His mind was fully occupied and he did not spare a thought at all for the puppets that jumbled about in the back of the cart.
Mister Pip no longer had the pleasure of traveling in Billy’s pocket. He sat in the cart with the rest. Yet the dragon sat foremost in the cart. Her proud snout pointed ahead into the cold morning air as Billy pulled them all along to their next job. Pip glared at the dragon. Well, how could poor Pip really be blamed when the broom that Billy kept from Polly fell a little loose in the cart? It was a rough road they were going along. It wasn’t only the broom that was bouncing about. Everything was jumping here and there as Billy trotted quickly along, hoping to cut his travel time. The hobbit even broke into song to distract himself from the cold that verily turned the breath from his mouth into clouds.
Pip watched Billy with one eye and the dragon with the other. Neither was looking at him. Neither noticed as Pip bounced against the broom oh so innocently. But the broom sure moved from that touch. It flipped up and smacked the dragon right on the head. She fell to the edge of the cart, holding on with only one clawed hand.
Pip’s eyes glistened in the cold light of the day as he sent the broom whacking the direction of the poor dragon’s claw. If only he still had his own little stick! The dragon held on tight. The cart rumbled on the road and everything flew about inside. One of Billy’s best vests bounced out and into the cold mud of the road. Oh, the hobbit certainly would be unhappy when he found that vest missing! Yet he would be even more unhappy when he realized that the note from Doctor Brindlebottom was still in the pocket of the vest.
Pip’s smile glittered as the broom whacked again at the dragon, finally knocking her claw free from the side of the cart. Both dragon puppet and broom fell over the side and onto the road. But Billy, singing loudly and running swiftly, did not notice a thing. He continued in a rush, hoping to reach Long Cleeve by lunchtime.
The people of Long Cleeve were very excited to have their jolly visitor. But the weather had taken a turn for the worse. It looked like snow would be falling so they asked Billy to set up his puppet tent inside the Three Acorn Inn’s common room. He agreed gladly but asked if he could not have a bite to break his hunger before the show. The innkeeper had already set up a room for Billy to sleep in during his stay in the village and said he would send a tray along with a nice pint of beer. The common room would soon be packed with hobbits that had come to see the performance and they did not want to spoil the fun of the puppets for the little ones by letting them see the puppeteer. Billy laughed and agreed to eat in his room alone. First he would set up his little tent and put all the puppets inside for the performance before heading down the hall to wait for his meal.
Alas, as he set out the puppets in the tent for the show he realized that the dragon was missing. He searched in every box he had and in every bag. There was no sign of the dragon. Billy was aghast. What was he going to do? One could not perform The Gassy Dragon without a dragon! He was going to have to do his old show with Mister Pip. He guessed the dragon must have fallen out along the road somewhere and he planned on going back to search for her after the afternoon performance. But he just had to have a bite of food first, then the show, then the search. He mumbled to himself as he closed the flap on the little tent, catching a look from Mister Pip just before the fabric fell in place. Billy grumbled all the way down the hall to his room and sat eating what would otherwise have been a wonderful meal with little enjoyment. If it snowed, he might never find the dragon puppet. She could be buried in a snowdrift and not be visible until springtime. He looked out the window to gauge the menacing clouds.
That was when he saw the three shirriffs hurrying to the inn along the road he had taken. Such a sight should not have worried him. After all many hobbits were hurrying to the inn to see his show. But one of these hobbits was wearing a green hat with a tall white feather that looked very familiar. That particular hobbit was carrying Billy’s vest. That particular hobbit was reading a scrap of white paper that Billy knew just had to have come from his vest. And the other two shirriffs were no more comforting as one carried Polly’s broom and the other the butcher’s dragon.
Billy was horrified.
What could he do?
Without thinking he ran to the common room and to his little puppet tent. He looked inside at all his friends. His heart broke to think what they would all do without him. But he knew he was in big trouble.
“Oh Mister Pip, what am I to do?” he asked as he picked up the puppet with his funny little hat, his hunched little shoulders, his glittering crossed eyes, and his fat little belly.
That was when Billy heard a small voice in his mind that said run…
And so Billy did run. He hastened out of the room with Pip in his pocket, down the hallway of the inn, through the back kitchen, and out into the woods that were just then receiving a light dusting of snow. Billy ran and ran until the afternoon turned and began to fall into darkness.
But as much as he ran the shirriffs ran faster. By nightfall they had caught up with Billy. The hobbit cried for pity but they tied his hands and feet with rope.
“You two go back for help. Send a cart if you can get someone to spare one. I don’t want to risk losing our murderer here. I will stay and guard him,” said the hobbit with the hat and feather.
So the other two shirriffs went back to Long Cleeve and left Billy with their boss.
The shirriff built a fire to warm himself but did not bring Billy close enough to benefit from the flames. “You were cold enough to your victims, my lad,” said the shirriff.
“But I will freeze before they can get back here with a cart.”
“Oh no you won’t.”
“Oh yes I will.”
“Oh no you won’t, for I have other plans for you.” The hobbit stood up and began studying the nearby trees, looking for one with a low branch.
“What do you mean? It is much too cold; I might die if you don’t bring me closer to the fire.”
“My sister nearly lost my nephew to you when you tried to kidnap him, and you did not take any mercy on her. You remember Polly Sprat, don’t you? Thank goodness she caught you. But poor Doctor Brindlebottom and the butcher of Michel Delving weren’t so lucky, were they? You didn’t show them much mercy.”
Billy did not know what to say. He looked down at the ground where Mister Pip had fallen in the snow. The little fiend stared up at Billy. “It wasn’t me, it was the puppet,” Billy said, instantly knowing he sounded like a fool.
“Oh you are a clever fellow, aren’t you? Well, I could care less what you say in your defense. I’m going to hang you here and now. So no, you won’t have to worry about freezing to death.”
Billy was horrified as he watched the shirriff make a noose with some more rope and throw it up over the tree branch he eventually found favor with. Billy stuttered his innocence as the hobbit shirriff forced him up from the ground and toward the rope.
“Now just put your head in here and it will be all over with,” said the shirriff. “You might say I am showing you mercy. It will all be over soon.” He looked at Billy and there was something different about him. There was something very strange, for the hobbit was smiling at the shirriff.
It was not, however, just any smile. It was huge, showing all Billy’s teeth. One of Billy’s eyes twisted sideways and looked down at the puppet laying in the snow while the other remained on the shirriff. “Surely you are merciful,” Billy said in a strange squeaky voice as he tried to shove his head into the noose clumsily. He darted his head left then right, missing the rope hole both times.
“Don’t be daft; stick your neck in there properly.”
Billy continued to clown about missing the noose as the shirriff grew more and more angry. Then Billy said, “You will just have to show me how it is done.”
“You are an idiot,” the shirriff said and he put his own neck in the noose. “Just do this,” he said.
Billy kicked the legs out from under the shirriff and the fellow fell over, his neck caught in the rope. Billy fell over on top of him, weighing him down and tangling him further in the rope. The poor shirriff did not stand a chance and his neck snapped like a chicken’s. He died before he even knew what had happened.
Billy lay still and silent on the ground for a moment. The snow continued to fall as the forest filled with silence. No one had seen what had happened. No one but Mister Pip. The snow fell heavier and the stars spun in the sky. When the other two shirriffs tried to find their way back with the cart the snow had buried all tracks and they could not return to their friend. Well, not until it was far too late the next morning.
By then Billy and Mister Pip were long gone.
Concluded in Fan Fiction 3
posted 10-30-2020
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