Posted: June 02, 1998 at 12:43:30: by Matt Datillo
In "The Shadow of the Past," Sam has a chat with Ted Sandyman at the Green Dragon about all the rumors going around of strange creatures being seen in the Shire. In the discussion, Tolkien writes:'All right,' said Sam, laughing with the rest. 'But what about these Tree-men, these giants, as you might call them? They do say that one bigger than a tree was seen up away beyond the North Moors not long back.' Then you jump to Merry and Pippin's discussions with Treebeard about the Entwives, and even Treebeard seems to think that the Shire would be a land that they might migrate to. However, Tolkien never follows up with this as all the hobbits, elves and Gandalf say goodbye to Treebeard towards the end. Am I missing something, or could not Sam's memory have been jogged when Treebeard reminded Merry and Pippin to send word to him if they heard anything of the Entwives? Even Sam's rumor, I feel, would have created quite a stir amongst Treebeard and his brethren. It's such a heartwrenching tale that I wish there was even slight mention of a glimmer of hope for the Ents. Comments? Opinions? MD
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