Here’s a brief, hopefully sweet little Hobbit tale about a very young Samwise.

Sam Gamgee, age five, stared at the dust the other Hobbit children made as they ran down the road in the light of a late summer afternoon, headed for Berley’s Wood.

He had been trying to catch up with them as they swept down the dusty road playing dragon and knights (Rosie Cotton was the dragon). Little Sam had wanted to be a knight. He had his apple stick elven sword all ready and a scrap of old blanket as a brave cape dragging in the road.

But the older children had just run on, leaving Sam gasping in the dust.

Finally, the sounds of the others growing thin, Sam went and sat on a border stone of the road and drew a picture in the dirt of a fire-breathing dragon. He knew what they looked like because Mr. Bilbo had told all the children about dragons, and trolls and magic.

Sam dearly wished to see an actual dragon. Or an elf.

A shadow crossed little Sam’s face and he looked up at the tall figure before him.

“Gandalf!” The wizard bent down with a smile and picked up the tiny Hobbit child, holding him easily and comfortably in one arm.

“Well Master Gamgee, what are you about on this fine day, hmm?”

“I wanted to play knights and dragons. But the others have run off without me.”

“Oh I dare say they’ll be back soon. It is almost time for tea.”
“Tea time! Momma is making strawberry biscuits! I must go now sir wizard!”

Gandalf set the child down carefully. “I shall be visiting with Bilbo for a few days Master Gamgee. I suspect I shall see you tomorrow.”

“Good-bye Gandalf sir!”

And Sam ran home delighted he had news the others wouldn’t know. It would be great fun to have the wizard about. You never knew what he would do! Why on his last visit he had made a circle of dancing fireflies go around Frodo Baggins’ head and sent a glittering firework down the road, just to frighten ol Ted Sandyman! He was a great one to have around!

Of course, by the next day, everyone knew Gandalf was visiting Bilbo and there was a great deal of traffic around his door.

Once again, poor Sam couldn’t get close. The other Hobbit children were pleading for fireworks or tricks, but Sam couldn’t get close enough to see and decided with a sigh, he’d better just go see if there were any ripe apples left in Berley’s Wood. That is, if all the others hadn’t eaten them first.

He scampered off, singing a song he’d heard Bilbo sing in the evenings while gardening and soon, he was deep in the shade of Berley’s Wood, his favorite place.
Humming the song he was singing earlier under his breath, little Sam waded through the deep green grass that grew between the old apple trees on the edge of the Wood hunting for fallen fruit. Or a mushroom or two.

It was an hour later, when Sam looked around and realized he
was in a part of the wood he didn’t recognize. He took a deep breath and climbed the nearest tree. Ah, what a view! He could see everywhere, but all he could see were more trees.

He climbed down carefully and continued on his way, completely unconcerned that he was not only lost, but headed into the old trees beyond Berley’s Wood and their ancient groves.

“Master Gandalf?” Bell Gamgee came up and pulled on the wizard’s long sleeve, as he bent to listen to one of the children tell him about their puppy.

“Hm? Oh yes, Mistress Gamgee. Just a moment.”
“I think your puppy just got scared Master Dolgins. Why don’t you try taking him on a walk when the sheep are not coming through the town square. It will be easier to train him, I think.”

The little one nodded and looked down at the mixed breed dog in his arms. Kissing the puppy he wandered off.

The wizard stood and looked down at Bell with a smile. “Yes Mistress Gamgee, what can I do for you?”

“Master Gandalf, my Sam has gone missing!” Gandalf immediately straightened and looked serious. “He hasn’t been home since elevenses. And that’s not like my Sam at all. He has a great appetite.”

“Who does he usually play with?”

“Why Rosie and some of the Brandybucks, but they’re all home and accounted for. Except my Sam! No one’s seen him today!”

“There, there Bell, I shall just go have a look see, shall I? I will let you know what I discover. Does he have any favorite place to go?”

“Well, there’s Sandyman’s Mill, the duck pond, the marsh by the bridge and oh, Berley’s Wood.”

“That narrows it down some.” Smiling, he put a hand on her shoulder and gave it a little squeeze. “ I shall find him, never you fear Bell.”

Nodding, Bell wiped her eyes and watched the wizard stride off, her hands wrapped in her apron nervously.

Sam was a bit worried as he noticed in was in a part of the woods he hadn’t been in before. And he hadn’t found any mushrooms, and the two apples he’d had were hours ago. But he perked up when he heard the sound of running water! It must be the Tolobrook, which ran into the Fergar’s duck pond. He went towards the sound of the water and pushed the tall water reeds aside and carefully cupped his hands into the water and drank until he was full.

Moving back out of the reeds, he looked around and noticed with a frown, it was getting darker, and he with no supper! But which way was home?

A bit nervous at the sounds of unseen animals snuffling about looking for their suppers, Sam decide he need an elven sword to defend himself. He went off, back under the trees and picked up several likely prospects until he found the right stick: not too long and not too curved. A perfect elven sword! He brandished it a couple of times, cutting off the heads of grass stems.

“All right Mr. Dragon the Terrible!!! Off with your head!!”

Sam advanced into the grass, slashing and chopping, completely engrossed in his playacting.

Gandalf, having searched all the places in and around Hobbiton, broadened his search and went towards Berley’s Wood as he recalled Sam having mentioned it to him yesterday.

Tiring of his swordplay, Sam dropped his arm, as his sword was getting too heavy to wield. And besides, he had killed all the dragons around.

He marched on into the lowering dark, hoping he was getting closer to home and not further away. The trees seemed to crowd close and there were still rustlings and scrabblings in the underbrush which now, even though he had his sword, were making him frightened.

Finally, little Sam could walk no further and he plopped down at the base of a large oak and leaned against it, trying to see up through the branches for the first stars. Where were they?

Sam yawned and suddenly tears sprang to his eyes, he was hungry and tired and why couldn’t he find the twinkling lights of Hobbition?

Brushing his tears away, he sighed heavily and decided he would just take a little nap.

Just as he was nodding off, he thought he saw sparkling lights ahead of him. Maybe they were the fairy-flies he chased in his garden?? He perked up at this. Maybe he wasn’t as far from home as he thought!

Sam got up and toddled off towards the lights, ignoring the snufflings behind him, which were getting louder and closer.

The fairy-flies led Sam on a merry hunt through the woods. He forgot all about his hunger and tiredness. Just as he thought he was close enough to catch a fairy light, it would dance out of reach.

The snuffling behind him became a growl and while Sam stood in a small clearing, watching the fairy-flies, the warg stepped out behind him, his eyes glowing, jaws slobbering.

Sam, intent on the lights dancing around him, made a jump for the closest light when the warg sprang towards him. And right behind him, leapt Gandalf, his wizard’s staff raised, light blazing forth. Just as Sam reached for the fairy fly, the warg hit him and Gandalf’s hastily cast spell reduced the warg to a creature no smaller than mouse.

Thrown to the ground by the weight of the heavy creature, Sam had the wind knocked out of him. The fairy-fly lights stopped their dancing. The warg, once changed into a tiny creature, was scooped up by Gandalf and plopped into a pouch on his belt. Why and how a warg had gotten so close to Hobbiton, he needed to discover.

In the meantime, Sam lay gasping hard, trying to get his wind back. He rolled over and found himself staring at Gandalf’s concerned face. The wizard put a hand on his chest and Sam felt his breathing slow down. In a moment, he got up and forgetting all about the fairy-flies, was about to jump up and fling himself into Gandalf’s arms, when his left ankle gave out beneath him and he sank back to the ground, burning pain shooting up his leg.

The fairy-flies, having stopped their merry dance went dark and suddenly, six elves stepped into the clearing with Gandalf and Sam.

Gandalf, ignoring the elves for a moment, bent and picked up little Sam who was shivering.

“Did you hurt yourself, my lad?”

“I-I, owww, my leg it’s burning sir Gandalf! Like I got stung by nettles! Owwww!” Sam, having had enough adventuring for one day succumbed to tired tears and cried in earnest.

Gandalf held the Hobbit child close and patted him on the back, letting him have his cry. As he settled into hiccups, one of the dark-haired elves spoke up,

“Well met Mithrandir. I and my companions were trying to entrap the warg and did not realize the hafling child had been intrigued by our lights. I am Calador.” He bowed slightly and came to look at the tiny child. “Has he injured himself?”

Gandalf, frowning, looked closer at the child, the tip of his staff shedding soft light over his form. He then noticed the long thin scratch on Sam’s leg. “Ah, the warg has scratched him!”

Calador reached out and placed his hand on Sam’s leg and the pain faded somewhat. “Come, bring him to our camp.”

Gandalf nodded. Wrapping Sam in the edge of his cloak, he followed after Calador and his companions.

Though shivering and in pain, Sam was entranced. He had met an elf!! How pretty and tall they were!

When Gandalf unwrapped the wide-eyed child, Calador lifted him and placed him on a spread cloak upon the ground. Sam couldn’t take his eyes off the slightly shimmering form. He watched and listened as the elf spoke in his own tongue and one of the other elves brought over a steaming cup of water filled with the smell of herbs. The elf dipped a cloth in it and then pressed it to the scratch. Sam cried out as the burn seemed to get worse. Gandalf knelt on the other side of him and lay a hand on him to still his thrashing.
“Ow Gandalf sir! It hurts!!” Sam tried to brush away the elf holding the cloth, but Gandalf held him tighter.

“Just wait a bit Sam, he’s getting rid of the poison.”

“Po-poison? From what?”

“The warg that attacked you, left a scratch on your leg. See, I have captured him and made him small.” Gandalf trying to distract him, let the Hobbit child look into his pouch to see the tiny agitated warg trying to get out. Gulping, Sam lay back and bit his lip.

“Oh-oh, Momma will be mad! And I am out too late now and she will worry!”

“Shhh, Sam. All is well and you shall get home soon. You have wandered quite far today, little one.”

“May I take the warg home with me to show my friends?” Gandalf laughed and shook his head. “No no, Calador and I need to find out from this creature what it was doing here so far from the Misty Mountains.”

Sam continued as the pain began to recede. “There was no one to play with today and I just wanted some apples. I am sorry I got momma and you worried.”

Sam began to feel sleepy. He yawned and turned to smile at the elf, who lifted his hand and dipped the cloth again into the cup of steaming herbs. “Thank you sir Calador! I have always wanted to meet the elves! Almost as much as a dragon!” His eyes fluttered close and soon he was deeply asleep.

Calador wrapped the tiny ankle with the cloth and tied it neatly. “He should be fine by tomorrow Mithrandir, as we dealt with the poison quickly enough.”

Gandalf lifted his pouch from his side and rattled the warg about. “Yes, we need to get to the bottom of this and why the creature was here.” He rummaged in the big rucksack he had slung over his shoulder. “I will need to write a note to his mother first.”

Calador looked down at the sleeping Sam. “Lamanal can carry the hafling back to his parents, while the rest of us deal with the warg.”

An hour and a half later and little Sam was tucked up in his bed. The elf Lamanal had tirelessly run back to Hobbiton with the child. Laying him on the doorstep of the house wrapped in a cloak and sleep, he knocked quickly and left, making sure the child was taken inside.

Bell, a bit confused at finding her child asleep and swaddled on her doorstep, brought her hands to her face and looked about. But seeing no one, she hastily picked up Sam and took him to his bed. Hamfast and the other children all crowded around the sleeping Hobbit, while Bell unwrapped him. Seeing his bandaged ankle she touched it softly. She then found a note:

“Mistress Gamgee: As you can see Samwise is fine except for a small scratch on his ankle which the elves saw to. I have business with them at the moment. I discovered him quite beyond Berley’s Wood. Look for me in a few days.”

————————-G———————–

The next morning, Samwise was up early and ran into the kitchen where he found his mother making the first meal of the day. “Momma! Momma!” He ran to her outstretched arms. She placed a kiss on his curly head, closing her eyes in happiness.

“Momma! I met the elves!! I got a little scratch from a warg, but Gandalf made it tiny and the elves wrapped up my ankle and they are so pretty and tall! My ankle is fine. See?” He wiggled it at her.

“Yes, yes my dear! I am just glad you are back, safe and whole!! Do not do that again Samwise Gamgee! Or you’ll have trouble sitting for a week!”
“No, no momma. No more ‘ventures in the woods.”

As Bell handed him a mug of milk, Sam said kicking his feet, “Momma you should have seen what sir Gandalf did! He made it so tiny!”

“What was tiny?” Bell just grateful that her baby was back, had not paid a great deal of attention to his stream of words.

And Sam not hearing her question, laughed to himself. “It was so tiny, wiggling like a polliwog. It was a polli-warg!!!” He laughed so hard, he choked on his milk, spewing all down his shirt.

Bell was not amused.