There and Back Again
And as the years go by, I understand more and more how it happened that I entrusted you with the Ring.
I couldn't say that at the time I already clearly knew what awaited you.
My thoughts were very unclear.
But I knew that there would be four of you. Four hobbits who would stand in the way of the Ring and change its intentions. And each of you will have a different task.
Yes, you have thought about what would have happened if I had chosen you to destroy the Ring. I know, my dear friend.
For a long time, it seemed to me that I would indeed entrust you with the second journey, to Mordor.
But then I decided that your role would be quieter and more peaceful, but much greater. .
I decided that you would have to do what no one else could.
You would have to give up the Ring for a free mind.
Of course, I took into account your character and the fact that you are devilishly stubborn, as a hobbit and twice as much as a Baggins.
There was not much time and the times were dark. So, please don't think that your going to the elves was some kind of deserved rest or an undervaluation on my part in front of Frodo.
I still continue to write to him. But he doesn't answer.
You see, I needed, very much needed, someone to refuse the ring. Not from the thought of the Ring, but from the Ring itself.
To refuse from the thought is not so difficult. Standing on a flat surface is not the same as on a bridge that rushes through a wild river.
You stood your ground. Both that time when I sent you to the dragon and then in The Shire.
You did not go to Mordor, because I needed someone to stand up to it.
Today is my hundred and thirty-second birthday. I feel good and do not plan to give up writing. Only a little forgetful. I go somewhere and then realize that I forgot why I came.
So, I walk there and there and then back again. Just like you).
Eternally loving John Ronald Reuel Tolkien.
Tolkien wrote thousands of letters in his life and "The Hobbit, or There and Back Again" he wrote for his children.
Happy Birthday!
