Holiday Tribble... or Trabble, or whatever you call 300 words!

[rabidsamfan]

rubynye asked for this one, adding that she thought of the idea in a conversation with febobe.


Bell Gamgee’s Pans”

Treyson Goodchild had had the pans made for himself to take on fishing excursions. and kept using them when his children grew old enough to come along. There was a third pan, fit with legs, but it went north with Will Goodchild while the other two stayed in Overhill with Dan. Bell was Dan’s youngest child, and by the time she was born the pans had been shoved to the back of a cupboard in favor of larger skillets, fit to feed more than a hobbit or two. She found them while she was still a fauntling, and played drum on them with her spoon. Later she made mudpies in them, pretending to cook like her mother did.

It took a hard scrubbing and a good bit of sand to get the rust out when she wanted the pans for picnics with Ham Gamgee. He liked her cooking and he liked her too, and she and her pans came to Bagshot Row, and stayed a while. Their honeymoon meals were cooked with them, until time and Mr. Bilbo equipped the kitchen with good cast iron. But her daughters did their first cooking in the small pans, and her sons too, and thought no more about where they had come from than they thought about the moon.

Bell died, and the children grew and moved on, except for Sam, who found the pans useful for an egg or two and a bit of bacon to be shared with his aging father. And when at last he was packing to leave home as well, he hesitated over the nestled pans until Hamfast asked him why he was dithering over carrying a pound or two of tin when he was sure to want a bite to eat on the long walk to Crickhollow.

Comments

[allisona.livejournal.com]

Ah, this story helps you understand so well why it broke Sam's heart to choose to throw the pans away in Mordor. A lovely bit of history.

[rabidsamfan.livejournal.com]

Thank you. I'm glad you enjoyed it!

[rubynye.livejournal.com]

You're going to get two replies to this, because one will come from a Ruby who isn't exhausted and maudlin. But right now that's the Ruby you have, and she's delighted to have been right; you wrote this far, far better than I would have. Thank you.

:)

[rubynye.livejournal.com]

Except, though I'm cheerfuller, I can't think of a comment worthy of this story. It's just so perfect.

[rabidsamfan.livejournal.com]

Another comment was still a good thing though! I think it's one of my better pieces, but it didn't get much attention. Too much competition with the turkeys I guess...

[lame-pegasus.livejournal.com]

Ohhh... some history about Bell and the pans! Wonderful, as always.

*moves it to her nomination list for next year*

[rabidsamfan.livejournal.com]

I'm glad you enjoyed it -- and that rubynye lent me the bunny too!