Gandalf the Distracted?

[the phantom]

Had the Hobbits not become bound up with the Ring

Had the Ring not been found by Bilbo

Ah, but the Hobbits did become bound up with the Ring.

It was very smart of Gandalf to invest his time in Hobbits. They were a new people. Elves, Men, Dwarves, Ents, and Eagles- they had been around since the first age. But out of nowhere this brand new race pops up! Who are these guys? A third kind of Eru's children? Manwe didn't say anything about this. They obviously weren't made by evil, so they must've been created by Eru, but why are they just now showing up? What is their purpose?

I think these were the thoughts chasing round Gandalf's head. Through the years he nabbed many a young hobbit and sent them off into the world for an adventure. He knew they had to serve some special purpose, so he got them involved in Middle Earth whenever he could. And sure enough, a hobbit finds Sauron's Ring and hides with it. And then another hobbit gets the Ring and brings it to the light of day. And yet another hobbit comes along, and this one carries the Ring to Mt Doom, with the help of another hobbit of course.

Distracted by hobbits? No way.

Distracted by the halfling's leaf? Er....