Wasn't Old Tom a childhood toy of the Tolkienses?
If so I guess this personalises the story for the Prof's own children, which I think nobody can complain about. Also this part of the story seems to be the transition between the 'kid's story' of the Hobbit and the darker world of LoTR. By the Weathertop encounter things get considerably more serious!
I seem to remember an old thread on this part of the book...
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Rumil of Coedhirion
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