How It All Goes Down
The Last Stage
- When Bilbo and Gandalf ride into Rivendell, the elves are singing a song of welcome.
- Gandalf tells Elrond all about their adventures in the North.
- Bilbo has a grand old time at Elrond's house: "Weariness fell from him soon [...] and he had many a merry jest and dance, early and late, with the elves of the valley" (19.11).
- But before long, Bilbo and Gandalf ride out to Hobbiton.
- On the way, they stop to pick up the bags of troll treasure they left buried at the side of the road over a year before.
- When Bilbo arrives at Bag-End, he finds that his relatives (the Sackville-Bagginses, but of course) have declared him dead and are selling off all of his stuff!
- Bilbo manages to prove that he is still alive.
- But he has lost his reputation for being a totally respectable, ordinary hobbit.
- Everyone in The Hill thinks he's a bit weird now.
- But Bilbo doesn't mind: he's happy to be at home, with his trusty dagger little sword hanging over the mantelpiece.
- Some years later, Gandalf and Balin happen to be passing by.
- Balin tells Bilbo the good news that the area around the Lonely Mountain has grown rich and peaceful.
- The men around the area sing songs that "the rivers run with gold" (19.34).
- Bilbo laughs: "Then the prophecies of the old songs have turned out to be true after a fashion!" (19.35).
- Gandalf points out that Bilbo shouldn't doubt prophecies just because he had a part in making them come true.
- It's not like everything that happened in these adventures were solely for Bilbo's own good!
- After all, Bilbo is "only quite a little fellow in a wide world" (19.36).
- Bilbo replies, "Thank goodness!" (19.37), and passes the tobacco.