The Love of Two Hobbits- A Frodo Baggins Love Story

Chapter 11

“AH! Merry quick, I’ve got one, I’ve got one! Get the bucket, THE BUCKET!!” I squealed as I desperately tried to contain the wild fish I had at the end of the line. It was thrashing about uncontrollably and was threatening to snap off the line, but I grasped my rod with all the strength I could muster, slipping about on the grassy bank. The fish was probably about as long as my arm, so was quite a weight for my little hobbit arms to hold. Merry soon came to the rescue; he came up behind, wrapping his arms around me and holding my hands on the rod for guidance. He had his head rested on my shoulder and was whispering into my ear, telling me what to do.

“Just hold it here—calm—stay calm and lower it into the bucket,” Merry grasped his soft hands onto mine and guided me around, slowly helping me put the manic fish into the tin bucket. He gently released his hands from mine and crouched over the fish to unhook its lips from the line, it flipped about desperately until Merry released it. We stood staring at the fish, slightly mesmerised as it swam in circles around the inside of its prison.

“Well done your first fish!” exclaimed Merry happily, “he’s quite a big one, salmon I think. Your mother will be pleased he’ll make a good meal; they’re quite hard to catch.”

“Oh thanks Merry, I think I would have fallen in without you!” I flung my arms around his neck, squeezing his shoulders and Merry blushed, grinning.

That whole morning, Merry and I had a fabulous time, catching fish, talking, spending time with each-other, teasing and mucking about. Every now and then we would dive into the icy depths of the river to cool off, it was exciting seeing the fish dart away as we swam. We joked and talked about all the daft problems that we had found ourselves in together, like the time Merry and Pippin managed to get me involved in their plan to go on an adventure using the stolen sheep from Farmer Maggot’s field or the time we had been chased out of the Shire by a wild boar for three days and half.

I found myself appreciating the way Merry would laugh, his eyes would crinkle, his teeth would gleam and he would run his fingers through his curly hair whenever he was concentrating. He was great to be around, when I was with him we could talk endlessly about this and that, laughing about nearly everything was said. We sat together under a large beech tree, watching the time go by and enjoying the beauty of nature.

The sun was sinking lower into the afternoon sky, the rabbits were stirring in their burrows awaking from their daytime slumber and I realized that it must have been getting quite late. The evening was fast approaching and there must have only been a few hours before it became too dark to see. I straightened up next to Merry and looked about.

“Merry, I think it’s getting a bit late, don’t you think it’s time we should be heading back?” I asked, smiling, slowly pulling my line in.

“Oh wow, I’ve completely lost track of time,” he exclaimed as he quickly wound in his bait. “I think we’ve done alright for today, four fish is pretty good…for a beginner.”

I laughed and shoved Merry playfully, “I think I was EXCELLENT, anyway, I see you didn’t catch any yourself!”

“Well, I was making sure there were enough fish in there for you to catch,” he replied, “I didn’t want you missing out.”