[Child of the 7th Age]

Cami had outdone herself in packing a picnic lunch for the children with numerous sweets and delicacies. The five boys gathered round, tasting a little of this and that, arguing about what was the best, and the dishes they could do without. There were so many simple pleasures they'd never had the chance to sample that it was a joy for Cami to fuss over them. She'd invited Phura and Azraph to join their group as well as Gamba. Azraph kept asking questions about what was in the different dishes, and how she had made them, and which ones had come from her home. Gamba sat on the edge of the gathering, eating little and saying less.

Then Phura turned to her and asked a serious question. "Where you come from, what sort of lore do your children learn? Do they have songs like Master Lindo wrote, or perhaps more like the poetry of Loremaster?"

Cami opened her mouth and closed it again. She had no idea what to say. She'd learned enough about the hobbit culture of the First and Second Age to be familiar with many of their works. Truthfully, most of them were nothing like the ones that her own people recited. There were a few like Lindo's poems on Piosenniel or the one on snowhobbits which were lighthearted, but most seemed quite different.

For one moment, she thought of wildly exaggerating and passing off one of Bilbo's lays as a typical product of the Shire. But that would be a horrible lie. Better not pretend something that wasn't even close to the truth.

She cleared her throat and tried to explain, "Your songs are more like the poetry of the Elves. Hobbit verses are quite different than that. They are about everyday things, plus lots of nonsense. There are poems about big oliphaunts, the fat cat on the mat, trolls that try to outwit you, different things like that." She shrugged her shoulders, and continued setting out dishes for the children to sample.

Phura looked frankly puzzled. Gamba came over to listen more closely. "What's your favorite?" he demanded.

"My favorite? My favorite is a song about taking a bath. You can sing it in the tub." Cami blushed and put her head down.

"A song that can be sung in the tub?" Gamba laughed and then whistled. "I'd love to hear that."

"Well, perhaps you will, but not today."

"Excuse me, Mistress Nitir, but there's something I wonder about," Phura broke in hesitently. "Master Maura, was he like that? Did he like these nonsense songs?"

"Maura, oh yes, he was very much like that. He and I shared a love of history as well as a love of a great deal of nonsense. That's one reason I felt so comfortable with him. Neither of us were great poets or songmasters. We left that to Lindo."

"But then how could he have been a great master?" Phura abruptly closed his mouth and looked embarassed, ashamed of what had slipped out. "I'm sorry. I shouldn't have asked that."

"Don't worry, Phura. Everyone's different. Maura was a master as much as Lindo, only they were not the same. Lindo loved poetry and song. And Maura. Maura could see into the heart. He understood why hobbits did things, what made them afraid, and how to bring hope. That's why he was such a wonderful teacher. He could take a child who was afraid to learn and teach him that there was no reason to be afraid. I learned a lot from him. About being a teacher I mean."

Gamba came over and sat next to Cami. "I would like a teacher like that."

She said nothing for a moment, then touched him on the shoulder, "Perhaps someday, you shall have one."

[ November 09, 2002: Message edited by: Child of the 7th Age ]