When Mr. Bilbo Baggins of Bag End announced that a feast would be held to celebrate his 111th birthday soon, residents and neighbors throughout the Shire were surprised.

In a short period of time, the news of Bilbo's 111th birthday celebration spread throughout the Shire, and even tended to spread to surrounding human and dwarf towns.

After learning that Bilbo had almost surpassed his countless long-lived Hobbit ancestors and lived to be 111 years old, he was still so healthy and active. Apart from being a little lonely and eccentric, he had no serious health problems at all. Many people who had ever wondered about his adventurous adventures

The magical experience once again became a hot topic in the surrounding areas.

Speaking of Bilbo, even though he has been living at home for decades and rarely goes out, and rarely communicates with hobbits other than his neighbors, there are still many people who are interested in his magical experience and his legendary ability.

I felt curious and longing for the amount of gold and silver treasures piled up in the entire underground granary of the Shire.

And these curiosity and envy about Bilbo's wealth are increasing as time goes by. Ever since he mysteriously disappeared to participate in the adventure of Thorin Oakenshield, the dwarf king under the mountain, and returned home quietly without a trace, what happened after that

For sixty years he had been a hot topic of conversation around the fireside in this part of the Shire.

According to rumors, as a reward for Bilbo's participation in the Lonely Mountain expedition, which was full of legends and myths, Kang's dwarf king had promised to share with him the massive treasures that had been buried deep under the Lonely Mountain for hundreds of years.

wealth.

Even in this slightly remote Shire, not everyone is an isolated farmer. There are also many smart people who often communicate with outsiders such as humans, elves, dwarves and other races because of their small business.

Perhaps it was through the rumors when he went out to do business that there was a legend that the gold and silver wealth obtained by Bilbo's adventure was enough to fill the underground grain warehouses of the entire Shire region. For these people who are good at talking behind others' backs,

Naturally, Bilbo, who lived in the same village as his neighbors, stayed at home every day without going out, and rarely interacted with hobbits other than relatives and friends, had no way of knowing.

In other words, even if he knew about it, the older he got, the more he didn't bother to pay attention to these nonsense rumors that were just nonsense at first sight.

In short, whether it is a coincidence or people's vanity of longing for massive wealth, the news that Bilbo possesses massive gold and silver treasures has been spreading around the Shire area like a haunting ghost story.

In addition to having countless rumors of wealth, as he gets older, Bilbo himself, as the legendary owner of massive wealth, has gradually become an object of curiosity for Hobbits.

In other words, it is Bilbo's appearance that has not changed over the years that makes him look a little special compared to other people of his generation who are aging or dying early.

To put it more intuitively, when Bilbo was 90 years old, he looked almost exactly the same as when he was 50 years old. When he was 100 years old, there were only a few subtle invisible wrinkles on his face. Until he was 111 years old, his face

My hair turned completely pale.

When many people think about this, they feel that God is too unfair. How can someone have a golden mountain and the ability to live forever at the same time?

"This is not normal? Apart from those high and omnipotent gods, who else in the world can hold vast amounts of wealth and live forever at the same time? Bilbo may have paid something terrible and ulterior motives behind his back.

There’s no telling what the price will be!”

Similar words appeared in the mouths of many Hobbit neighbors who already had problems with Bilbo.

However, despite saying that, so far, Bilbo has not encountered any trouble in all these years.

Since Mr. Baggins has always been kind to people, generous and compassionate in dealing with others, everyone is willing to understand his sometimes eccentric, sometimes withdrawn and idiosyncratic behavior and words.

At the same time, Bilbo's prominent surname also helped him a lot. Whether it was the maternal family of Took or the paternal family of Baggins, they were both famous families in the Shire region.

Over the years, the descendants of the prosperous Took and Baggins families have also produced many outstanding people. Since Bilbo has always been generous when he came back from his adventure to visit his younger cousins, the gifts he gave were all hard to find.

A common extravagant gift, these younger cousins ​​who are growing up naturally show more love and care to this eccentric but generous family elder.

In fact, even though Bilbo's actual wealth is not as much as the rumors in the market, with the two large boxes of gold and silver he gained from the adventure and the rich family property inherited from his parents, he has not forgotten to use it for decades.

Do some good things with the wealth that he can never use up in his lifetime.

Over time, countless poor families who were often helped by Bilbo have not forgotten his kindness at all.

Many factors have been added together. Although Bilbo has lived a somewhat lonely life at home for the past few decades, it is also very humane and warm at times.

The only drawback is that Bilbo never had any close hobbit friends.

The problem of having no friends did not change until his cousin and nephew Frodo got a little older.

Frodo Baggins can be said to be Bilbo's most favored descendant among all the cousins ​​in the Baggins family.

When Bilbo was ninety-nine years old, he adopted Frodo as his adopted son and took him to live in Bag End. This finally broke the Sackville family's long-awaited hope of inheriting Bag End.

Perhaps it is a coincidence, or perhaps it is destiny. Bilbo and Frodo happened to be born on the same day - their birthdays are both September 22nd.

This autumn is destined to be an unusual time.

You know, Bilbo will celebrate his 111th birthday this year, and this birthday number itself is quite special; even for hobbits, this is a rare age for longevity.

In contrast, Frodo, whose birthday is on the same month as Bilbo, will be 33 years old this year, which is a very important number. 33 years old means that he has become an adult!

Let’s go back to the news that Bilbo is about to hold a birthday party.

Ever since he announced the plan to hold the birthday celebration, residents in the Shire area began to discuss the matter, and the news about this upcoming big event spread throughout the Shire.

Many people brought up the old story again and recalled the magical legend that was circulated in the streets and alleys in the past about Bilbo Baggins and the dwarf King Under the Mountain who went on an adventure to slay the dragon and expedition to the Lonely Mountain.

In the light of Bilbo's legendary experience, the older generation of hobbits suddenly found themselves becoming very popular figures fueled by this nostalgia trend.

Ham Gamgee, known as "Old Guy", is the leader among them.

As one of Bilbo's few close neighbors, the old hobbit gardener had tended the gardens at Bag End for forty years.

Due to his old age, the care of Bilbo's garden is now taken over by his youngest son, Sam Gamgee.

After so many years of employment and daily dealings, both father and son were very friendly with Bilbo and Frodo.

"I have long said that Mr. Bilbo is a very good hobbit," the old gardener seemed to agree very much with Bilbo's character.

"But what about Frodo who lives with him?" asked old Knock of the Waterfront. "He's also called Baggins, but he's also half Brandybuck. I don't know.

Why would the Baggins family in the Shire want to marry a weird guy from Bucksland?"

"You can't blame them for being unreasonable," said the old guy's next-door neighbor, Father Tuvolt. "They live on the other side of the Liquor River, near the old forest. It's a cursed and ominous place."

"You're right, dad!" said the old fellow. "Although the Brandybucks of Buckland don't live in the old woods, their behavior is really strange. Anyway, Frodo

Both gentlemen are good young men. His biological father is a good gentleman who is willing to help others."

....

"Don't always dream about things that are not there. We are hobbits, and greed for money and excessive curiosity are not your traditions. Don't always be too ambitious and want to deal with people hundreds of times more noble than us, otherwise you will

You'll get into big trouble. That's what I've always thought and done. I hope you can learn this too." The old gardener looked deeply at the stranger and the miller.

However, the old fellow's warning failed to convince his audience. Bilbo's legendary wealth was a legend ingrained in the hearts of the young hobbits and could not be shaken.

"Who knows what Bilbo is still pursuing after he has so much wealth?" The mill owner's tone was obviously different. "He often leaves home to travel. Look at the outsiders who visit him: the dwarves who appear at night.

, that old wizard Gandalf and so on. Old guy, you can stick to your stubborn opinions, but let me tell you, Bag End is just as weird as its weird owner and a bit too much!"

"I said Sandiman, it doesn't matter what you want to say. Anyway, everyone knows that your knowledge is limited, just like you don't know how to row a boat." The old guy hated the mill owner even more than usual this time.

"If that's called weird, then I wish there were more and more weird ones. The misers in other places wouldn't treat their friends to a beer even if they had gold in their hands. But Mr. Baggins in Bag End, that's not the case.

He is famous for being generous to others. Our Sam said that everyone will be invited to the banquet this time, and every guest who participates in the birthday banquet will also receive a valuable gift in return!"

The weather in the Shire area in September is naturally excellent, and the weather can be called warm and warm. A day or two later, a rumor began to spread everywhere: There will be a fireworks show at Bilbo's birthday party!

It is said that this fireworks display will be the first and unprecedented one in the Shire in a century.

You know, since the last time Old Tuke passed away, no one here has seen the legendary magical fireworks show again.

.....

Time flies, the days pass, and the date for Bilbo's birthday celebration gradually approaches.

Perhaps the news of Bilbo's 111th birthday celebration is spreading more and more widely. Many relatives, friends and travelers who are curious about this legendary figure have traveled thousands of miles to experience the beautiful scenery of the Shire in their own unique ways.

place.

One evening, a carriage with a very strange shape and way of traveling creaked into the Shire area.

Finally, the carriage stopped in front of Bag End.

The coachman responsible for driving the carriage, or the owner of this carriage, looks very strange. To some extent, he even looks like the legendary wizard.

He wore a tall, pointed blue hat and a long gray robe. His beard was also white and stretched very long.

A large group of children followed the carriage, running through the entire Shire area and up the hill. Their guess was indeed correct, the carriage contained fireworks. The old man began to unload the goods in front of Bilbo's door. There were all kinds of things inside.

of fireworks, each marked with a large red "Gan" and elven text.

This is Gandalf's emblem, and the one with extremely distinctive appearance is naturally Bilbo's old friend, the gray robe wizard Gandalf.

Gandalf is most famous in the Shire for his outstanding magical fireworks displays. Although many old hobbits who had watched his fireworks displays passed away one after another, his name gradually became a magical and magical one.

A strange legend that only few people have seen with their own eyes, he is still regarded as a strange man who can control fireworks and fireworks in the eyes of many old people and children.

After the old man finished unloading the goods with the help of Bilbo and several dwarves, Bilbo gave the children some change. However, the children were disappointed to find that Uncle Bilbo had no cookies or snacks to give them today.

"Go home quickly!" Gandalf said. "When the time comes, you will have more to eat than you can eat." Then he and Bilbo walked into the house and closed the door.

The disappointed hobbit children stared blankly at Bilbo's door for a long time, and finally dragged their feet reluctantly and left, feeling as if the banquet would never come.

In Bag End, Bilbo and Gandalf sat under the window overlooking the garden. They just sat quietly, admiring the wonderful scenery inside the house and the garden outside.

"Your garden looks so beautiful!" said Gandalf.

"Thank you for the compliment." Bilbo replied. "I like this garden very much, and the Shire is equally dear to me. But no matter how beautiful the scenery is, there comes a time when I have seen enough. Maybe it is time for me to leave."

"Are you determined to go as planned?"

"Of course, maybe I should have made up my mind a few years ago."

"Very good. Then we don't need to say more. I believe that the choice deep in your heart is the most correct choice. Bilbo, I have trusted you in the past, present and future to make the right choice." Gandalf

Wan blinked thoughtfully.

Bilbo seemed to have made up his mind. He lowered his head and looked at the Lord of the Rings on his finger.
Chapter completed!