Legendarium [ Tolkien One-Shots ]

Wisdom of a Child

As the sun began to set over the valley of Imloth Melui, a young girl of nine sat under an alder tree. Her nondescript blue dress had become wrinkled and dirty, but she didn't care. In her small, gentle hands she held sunflower seeds. There deep within Lossarnach, sunflowers grew strong and tall, though not as numerous as the rose bushes. A small tune that she hummed floated through the trees and bushes. She hoped it would bring happiness to some creature somewhere in the woods.

A moment later, a small brown rabbit tiptoed out from hiding beneath a rose bush. It gingerly stepped forward. The girl smiled. Her tune halted for barely a moment as she introduced herself.

"Hello there. I'm Ioreth. What's your name, my friend?" she asked calmly. Ioreth didn't move, instead she waited for the rabbit to come to her. But she noticed it struggling. "My dear rabbit, what is wrong with your paw?"

Sitting taller, pulling her back from against the tree trunk, she slowly moved to give the rabbit a sunflower seed. At first the rabbit backed away, struggling. But as Ioreth soothed it gently with her voice, it moved closer.

"That's a good bunny," Ioreth murmured. "Have you ever heard the song of Lebennin? It speaks of the river we can hear, the River Erui!" She continued to talk as the rabbit inched closer. She began to sing the song of Lebennin. "Silver flow the streams from Celos to Erui in the green lands of Lebennin! Tall grows the grass there. In the wind from the Sea the white lilies sway, and the golden bells are shaken of mallos and alfirin in the green fields of Lebennin, in the wind from the Sea!"

By the time she finished her song, the rabbit had reached her. It sat beside her lap and chewed at the seeds. Ioreth grinned. "Now, dear rabbit, let us see what is wrong with your paw!"

Ioreth started by gently touching the rabbit on the side. It froze, but the more she murmured to it, the more it accepted her presence. She finally worked up the courage to reach for its paw. As soon as Ioreth had lifted the rabbit, it began to scramble.

"Please, please, please don't bite me Miss Rabbit!" she said.

Ioreth managed to hold the rabbit still enough to see the problem. Two thick thorns had lodged themselves in the rabbit's paw, between the toes. She dislodged them as quickly as she could manage. Thankfully they only bled a little.

Ioreth set the rabbit on the ground and watched as it bolted away. She called after it, "Never hesitate to ask for help again!"

By now the sun had dipped low. Ioreth watched the tree shadows dance in the twilight. Closing her eyes, she listened to the river rushing not far from her, the largest in Lossarnach, clear and cold and life-giving. She flashed a small smile as she could hear the approaching footsteps likely of her mother. She knew it was time to go home, no matter how much she preferred the solace of the trees to the teasing of the other village girls. They seemed to find it incredibly amusing that her name meant "old woman."

Ioreth scrambled up. A scarlet rose bush grew not far from this place, her playing place. She picked a bloom for her mother. As she did so, she made a point to avoid the thorns. A thorn in the finger certainly didn't feel very nice.

"Ioreth!"

"Coming, mother!"

The girl's mousy brown hair whipped across her face as she turned rapidly. With the rose in hand, she scurried towards her mother not far away.

"Mother! I helped a rabbit that had a thorn in its paw," she said. "I told you I'm good at healing things!"

"Yes, Ioreth," replied her mother. The woman smiled. "Yes I dare say you are."