December 2, 2023

 

 

Time for our second surprise: a tale called A Wintry Spirit. It will be published in two parts. First part is here, and the second part will be published later. Then you will also find out who is the mysterious person behind this story! The story also seems to feature my pie shop, and other hobbit burrows. Is one of them yours?

 

A Wintry Spirit (part 1)

Maybe you have seen them already somewhere in the Shire, maybe not, but seasonal spirits dwell around the fields, rivers and forest. So was also the case for this Wintry Spirit who woke up a bit too early while autumn was still going on.

Now that he was awakened, he thought it was time to play the Snow calling music to introduce the winter season. So he took his lute and started playing in the dreary rain, hoping it would stop soon. He kept playing and playing, but nothing changed. The longer he stayed in the rain, the more miserable he felt. Then suddenly his stomach made some rumbling noises and made him remember his last meal. He did some complicated calculations but gave up and came to the conclusion that it was still not time for Winter. So, he decided to go on a quest for some heartwarming food.

So he arrived in Hobbiton-Bywater and his curiosity was awakened by Holly Hornblower. She offered him one of her remarkable pies. But after seeing the pies on the table outside in the rain, next to the rotten berries, the Wintry Spirit decided wisely to pass on this one and continued on his quest.

Suddenly he noticed many folks coming from the south entering a building with a green dragon hanging outside, making lots of merry sounds, but it just seemed too crowded for him, so he went in the opposite direction making sure not to disturb these merry folks.

And there he found a little village with the first traces that winter was going to come. This made the Wintry Spirit really happy, although with an empty belly he was feeling cold, so he went on exploring the village. He checked his clothes again to realize he was completely soaked. Maybe he should try to go inside one of these houses to warm himself up.

So he moved around and saw suddenly an older person, seemingly somewhat grumpy going into an outhouse and the Spirit saw this as a good opportunity to sneak into the burrow. So he ran to the door and tried to open it, but ... the door was locked!!! The Spirit left the garden and went looking for other burrows.

Finally, he found a door that was not locked. It was nicely warm in there, but... that painting he saw there gave him chills. No wonder that the owner needed so much liquor next to that painting. No, he couldn't stay there any longer.

Up to the next house he went, it was pretty warm again, and he felt at ease here, and so he peeked around. Soon he also found a really comfortable chair. Finally, some rest! He tried to sit on it, but... yikes!!! There must be needles or such in it! No way that he could sit comfortable on it. And there he goes, off to the next house.

Arriving there, same story as before. The fireplace was lit, and this time there was even a table full of food. Oh, he was almost going to cheer till he approached the table. He realized that there was barely anything special on it, not which he was hoping for. Hmm... if this house has food, then the others might have better dishes. Hop, on the road again!

Some locked doors later, he arrived at a burrow where a dog was keeping watch. Luckily, he could hide in time behind a small construction. Hmm, if there is a guard, there must be some decent food or chair inside. He managed to keep the dog distracted and sneaked into the house quickly, but... he regretted that very fast! More dogs were inside. Away, not staying there any second longer! These folks should put a warning sign!!!

As fast as his feet could carry him, he ran away, getting more and more hungry and tired! So he tried a few more burrows. The food already started to look more appealing, although... why putting an apple in the mouth of a roasted boar? That is something he couldn't understand. But also he noticed more and more Yule decoration, which made him happy. There must be a house somewhere that is just perfect, as we are already having these nice results. Let's go complete the quest!

And there it was!!!! The ultimate burrow! Cozy, warm, decorated, pastry trees and marvelous looking pies! He had no choice as these looked so delicious. He grabbed a pie, took a seat and let the smell of the pie seduce him, and then he started munching. Furthermore, he munched and munched till he was completely stuffed. Never ever had he eaten such delicious pies before. He must find the recipes for these, so he started searching for them, but did he manage to find it?

 

To be continued...