The Hobbit - Summary

Summary

          One April morning Bilbo Baggins, a hobbit in his middle years, is smoking his pipe. He married into the Took family, but unlike the other members of the family Bilbo wasn't really fond of travelling. That very morning Bilbo is visited by an old man, Gandalf, the good wizard, who has come to invite Bilbo to accompany him on an adventurous journey.

          Bilbo is a little frightened by the idea and asks Gandalf to come back the following day. But then suddenly thirteen dwarves walk in, one of them is Thorin Oakenshield, the leader. Gandalf comes in after them. Thorin talkes about a coming adventure and Bilbo realizes that he is in fact already considered one of the party. He discovers that Gandalf has scratched a mark on his door, by which the dwarves could tell that he was looking for a job as a burglar. In the end Bilbo agrees to accompany them on their perilous journey. They examine the map of the Mountain, the former dwelling-place of the dwarves, from which they have been driven by Smaug, a dragon, who has come from the north, greedy for the rich treasures in the mountain. The idea is to travel to the Mountain and to defeat the dragon, thereby regaining the treasure.

          The next morning Bilbo finds the house empty and is convinced that he can continue his lazy, comfortable way of life, but Gandalf returns to get him: the others have already left and are waiting for him, they should hurry. He joins them just in time and they travel into the Lone-lands on ponies. The world becomes all wet and cold and one night they can't find a dry place to camp. Moreover, Gandalf has left them and they lose some of their luggage. They all feel miserable and everyone is in a bad mood. Bilbo discovers three trolls sitting around a fire. They catch him when he tries to steal the purse from the troll named William. The trolls also catch the dwarves and start argueing about how to eat the dwarves and Bilbo. But Gandalf returns just in time and makes the trolls forget to go underground again before dawn, so they turn into stone.

          The dwarves and Bilbo are saved and they all spend a night in the troll's cave, where they find plenty of plunder. Gandalf leads them to Rivendell, a hidden valley just before the Misty Mountains. Rivendell is the last Homely House of the West and after a long and dangerous journey they arrive in the valley, and the house of Elrond, the king of the elves. Here they rest and let Elrond study the map, he then explains some rune letters to them. The party continues its journey to the Misty Mountains, a dangerous trip through a land of storms. During a very stormy night they find shelter in a cave, but they are attacked and captured by goblins, all except Gandalf. Thorin is then questioned by the Great Goblin about his sword, to the goblins better known as the Goblin-Cleaver. Suddenly all the light go out and the Great Goblin is killed by the stroke of a sword flashing out of nowhere. It is Gandalf who comes to the rescue (with his sword Glamdring). He and Thorin fence off the pursueing goblins. Bilbo, not able to run as fast as the dwarves, is carried by the dwarves. The moment a goblin grabs him, he bumps his head against the stone wall.. and loses consciousness. When he comes to he finds himself alone in a tunnel. As he is groping to find his way, he notices something on the floor... he has found a ring. He also has a sword that glows in the dark when goblins are near, and he still has it. He follows the tunnel and comes to a cave where he sees Old Gollum, a slimy creature who eats goblin. When Gollum sees Bilbo he rows up to him and suggests a riddle-competition. Gollum is fond of riddles and if Bilbo loses he will be eaten. After a great many riddles Gollum fails to guess what Bilbo has in his pocket and he rows back to get his ring which would make him invisible. When he finds out that the ring is missing, he screeches terribly and starts to chase Bilbo. Just when Gollum is about to grab him, Bilbo slips on the ring and... is invisible. He now follows Gollum to the exit of the cave, but Gollum blocks it, in that way Bilbo can't escape him. But Bilbo jumps over him and escapes. Outside an army of goblins is awaiting him, and he can barely slip on the ring in time. Bilbo soon finds the dwarves, he tells them about his escape but not of the ring. The dwarves on the watch are startled by Bilbo's ability to sneak by them unnoticed, they now think he really is a proffesional burglar. They are now on the other side of the mountains.

          The company travels on quickly until they come to an open place in the woods, but there they suddenly hear the howling of wolves and they have only just time to climb into the trees before a pack of Warg wolves reaches the clearing, which is a meeting place for wolves, as they later discover. The wolves are awaiting the goblins in order to start a raid on some villages. Gandalf tries to set the wolves on fire by throwing down burning cones, but then the goblins arrive and they set the trees on fire. The moment the situation seems hopeless, the Lord of the Eagles, an enemy of the Wargs and the goblins, leads his eagles down to the trees where they pick up the company and take them to a high rock, where they eat and rest. The following day they are all carried to the land below. Here Gandalf tells them that he has to leave them for a while. They have no provisions left, so Gandalf tells them of Beorn, a creature who is sometimes a man and sometimes a bear. He is the sworn enemy of the dragon and the goblins who have driven them off the mountain. When Beorn hears that they have been fighting the goblins he receives them kindly and gives them a good meal. During the night there is a meeting of bears and Beorn tells the company the next morning that goblins and Wargs are trying very hard to find them. Beorn loves the idea of fighting the enemies, but while he is waiting for them he provides Bilbo and the dwarves with food and ponies and tells them how to get to Mirkwood. There they will send the ponies back to Beorn.

          The road to Mirkwood is dark and gloomy, and the party is constantly hungry and thirsty, for they have rationed the provisions. When they cross a stream, they would have drunk from it save for Beorn's warning. One of the dwarves (Bombur) falls into the stream and at once is struck by a deep enchanted sleep. Then one day they eat the last of their provisions and even from high in a treetop they cannot see the end of the wood (they had to carry Bombur along all the way). That night they see elves having a feast, but when they go near the light disappears and they see another light in the distance. Again the light disappears when they get closer and it even happens a third time. Then the dwarves find that Bilbo is missing and calling out his name they move on further and further away from him. Bilbo falls asleep and when he awakes he is bound by a huge spider. He cuts himself loose and he kills the spider with his magic sword. Full of pride he gives the sword the name Sting. Further down in the wood he overhears a conversation between spiders who are discussing what to do with their captives, the dwarves. The spiders do not detect Bilbo, as he is wearing the ring. He starts throwing stones at the spiders and lures them away from the dwarves. Then he goes back and cuts his friends loose, and together they defeat the spiders. Bilbo has to tell the dwarves about the ring now, but suddenly he is struck by a thought: Thorin is not with them. He has been captured by the wood-elves, who live in a cave just within the borders of Mirkwood and who are suspicious of strangers and especially dislike dwarves. The next day Bilbo and the others are also captured by the elves, but Bilbo escapes, again by using his magic ring. He follows them and hangs around miserably for a week, until he discovers a way out of the cave via an underground stream, which the elves use to bring in supplies. They also use the stream to float empty barrels down the river, where they are picked up at Lake-Town.

          Bilbo sets the dwarves free and hides them in empty barrels which are bound for Lake-Town, they are thrown into the river. Bilbo joins them and once outside the cave, they tie the barrels together so as to make a raft of them. At Lake-Town they're hauled out of the water. The party is led before the Master of the Town, who is suspicious at first, but comes to when Thorin tells these people who he is, they believe him and start celebrating. A fortnight later the company is sufficiently recovered to continue their journey and now they set out on the last stage, well provided. They are rowed across the lake and horses are waiting for them on the other side. But there they quickly lose heart because of the depressing atmosphere hanging about the Mountain. They have to make a path through a desolate wasteland. The place is called The Desolation of the Dragon. They soon find the entrance to the cave where the dragon is lurking. Bilbo urges the party on and makes them look for the secret entrance. When they find it, it is impossible to open it.

          When the sun sets, Bilbo hears a thrush and he remembers the rune-letters. Just at nightfall Thorin can open the magic door with his key. Bilbo is asked to lead the way and the dwarves are unwilling to follow. Soon Bilbo sees a light in the distance, indicating the place where Smaug is hoarding his treasure. The dragon is fast asleep and all around him Bilbo sees the gold and jewels piling up. He steals a gold cup and takes it to the dwarves.When Smaug awakes he notices at once that there is something missing and he shakes the mountain with the roar of his anger. He finds the ponies and burns them instantly. The company is hiding behind the secret door. Bilbo volunteers to find out about the movements of Smaug, but although Bilbo is wearing the ring, Smaug senses him and they talk. Smaug is not afraid of them, but Bilbo discovers a weak spot in the armour of the dragon. Back again with his companions, Bilbo urges them to close the door, which they do just in time. Smaug batters the outside of the mountain and then flies off to Lake-Town to take his revenge. With Smaug gone, the dwarves follow Bilbo into the lair, where they take whatever treasure they can carry. Bilbo finds the Arkenstone, a huge diamond, stolen from the dwarves. Then they leave the mountain and hasten to Ravenhill, where they spend the night on a small plateau.

          In the mean time Smaug has started his retaliation on Lake-Town. Soon the town is on fire and many inhabitants flee, including the Master. Only Bard with a group of archers remains. A thrush tells him of Smaug's weakness and with his last arrow he kills the monster. Smaug crashes onto Lake-Town, destroying it completely. The people hail Bard as their new master, cause the old master proved himself a coward. The wood-elves help Bard to rebuild the town before the winter and men set out to recover the treasure in the Mountain. Bilbo and the dwarves are told about Smaug's death by a raven, but they also hear that elves and men are after the treasure. Thorin sends out ravens to tell all the dwarves to come to the Mountain, especially his cousin Dain. The dwarves fortify the stronghold and Bard and the Elvenking can only claim part of the treasure, that had been stolen from the city of Dale, Bard's home. Moreover, Bard has slain the dragon, so he is entitled to at least a part of the treasure. Thorin, however, has come under the spell of the gold and is not willing to give it all up. Then the elves and men begin a siege. Bilbo, who is fed up with the whole affair, and knows that the elves will fight the approaching Dain and his army, puts on the ring and slips into the enemy camp. He talks to Bard and offers him the Arkenstone in order to give him a strong bargaining position.

          All the time Thorin has been eagerly looking for that very Arkenstone, to crown jewel of the treasure. When Bard and the Elvenking return to negotiate, Thorin finds out that Bilbo has handed over the Arkenstone to them. He is furious and sends the hobbit away. With Dain in the neighborhood, war is certain to break out, but then information reaches them that an army of goblins and Wargs is approaching. Since he left the company Gandalf has been trying to fend them off. Now elves, men and dwarves join forces in a terrible battle and the odds are against them, when numerous squadrons of Eagles descend from the sky to come to their aid. Bilbo sees this just before he loses consciousness. When he comes to he hears that the battle of the Five Armies has been won. All the party members are wounded, but Thorin is dying. Thorin praises Bilbo, and Biblo also learns that the coming of the Eagles and the help of Beorn had turned the tide. Dain becomes king of the dwarves ond gives a part of the treasure to Bard, the Elvenking and Bilbo.

          Then Bilbo leaves for his return journey, accompanied by Gandalf and Beorn. He spends part of the winter with Beorn and later he stays at Rivendell with the elves. When Bilbo arrives home, after collecting the pot of gold they burried on the trip to the mountain near the cave of the trolls, he is just in time to prevent his belongings from being auctioned off. The hobbits thought he was dead. Everything returns to normal, although in the eyes of the other hobbits Bilbo remains strange.

          Years later Gandalf visits him together with Balin and tells him that the area of the Mountain has become prosperous and peaceful...