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fright and fell on Bilbo s toes.
 Ugh! he said,  it is cold and clammy!  and so he guessed.  Fish! fish! he cried.  It is
fish!
Gollum was dreadfully disappointed; but Bilbo asked another riddle as quick as ever he
could, so that Gollum had to get back into his boat and think.
No-legs lay on one-leg, two-legs sat near on three-legs, four-legs got some.
It was not really the right time for this riddle, but Bilbo was in a hurry. Gollum might have
had some trouble guessing it, if he had asked it at another time. As it was, talking of fish,  no-
legs was not so very difficult, and after that the rest was easy.  Fish on a little table, man at
table sitting on a stool, the cat has the bones that of course is the answer, and Gollum soon
gave it. Then he thought the time had come to ask something hard and horrible. This is what
he said:
This thing all things devours:Birds, beasts, trees, flowers;Gnaws iron, bites steel;Grinds
hard stones to meal;Slays king, ruins town,And beats high mountain down.
Poor Bilbo sat in the dark thinking of all the horrible names of all the giants and ogres he
had ever heard told of in tales, but not one of them had done all these things. He had a feel-
ing that the answer was quite different and that he ought to know it, but he could not think of
it. He began to get frightened, and that is bad for thinking. Gollum began to get out of his
boat. He flapped into the water and paddled to the bank; Bilbo could see his eyes coming to-
wards him. His tongue seemed to stick in his mouth; he wanted to shout out:  Give me more
time! Give me time! But all that came out with a sudden squeal was:
 Time! Time!
Bilbo was saved by pure luck. For that of course was the answer.
Gollum was disappointed once more; and now he was getting angry, and also tired of the
game. It had made him very hungry indeed. This time he did not go back to the boat. He sat
down in the dark by Bilbo. That made the hobbit most dreadfully uncomfortable and scattered
his wits.
 It s got to ask uss a quesstion, my preciouss, yes, yess, yesss. Jusst one more question
to guess, yes, yess, said Gollum.
But Bilbo simply could not think of any question with that nasty wet cold thing sitting next
to him, and pawing and poking him. He scratched himself, he pinched himself; still he could
not think of anything.
 Ask us! ask us! said Gollum.
Bilbo pinched himself and slapped himself; he gripped on his little sword; he even felt in
his pocket with his other hand. There he found the ring he had picked up in the passage and
forgotten about.
 What have I got in my pocket? he said aloud. He was talking to himself, but Gollum
thought it was a riddle, and he was frightfully upset.
 Not fair! not fair! he hissed.  It isn t fair, my precious, is it, to ask us what it s got in its
nassty little pocketses?
Bilbo seeing what had happened and having nothing better to ask stuck to his question,
 What have I got in my pocket? he said louder.
 S-s-s-s-s, hissed Gollum.  It must give us three guesseses, my preciouss, three
guesseses.
 Very well! Guess away! said Bilbo.
 Handses! said Gollum.
 Wrong, said Bilbo, who had luckily just taken his hand out again.  Guess again!
 S-s-s-s-s, said Gollum more upset than ever. He thought of all the things he kept in his
own pockets: fish-bones, goblins teeth, wet shells, a bit of bat-wing, a sharp stone to sharpen
his fangs on, and other nasty things. He tried to think what other people kept in their pockets.
 Knife! he said at last.
 Wrong! said Bilbo, who had lost his some time ago.  Last guess!
Now Gollum was in a much worse state than when Bilbo had asked him the egg-question.
He hissed and spluttered and rocked himself backwards and forwards, and slapped his feet
on the floor, and wriggled and squirmed; but still he did not dare to waste his last guess.
 Come on! said Bilbo.  I am waiting! He tried to sound bold and cheerful, but he did not
feel at all sure how the game was going to end, whether Gollum guessed right or not.
 Time s up! he said.
 String, or nothing! shrieked Gollum, which was not quite fair working in two guesses at
once.
 Both wrong, cried Bilbo very much relieved; and he jumped at once to his feet, put his
back to the nearest wall, and held out his little sword. He knew, of course, that the riddle-
game was sacred and of immense antiquity, and even wicked creatures were afraid to cheat
when they played at it. But he felt he could not trust this slimy thing to keep any promise at a
pinch. Any excuse would do for him to slide out of it. And after all that last question had not
been a genuine riddle according to the ancient laws.
But at any rate Gollum did not at once attack him. He could see the sword in Bilbo s hand.
He sat still, shivering and whispering. At last Bilbo could wait no longer.
 Well? he said.  What about your promise? I want to go. You must show me the way.
 Did we say so, precious? Show the nassty little Baggins the way out, yes, yes. But what
has it got in its pocketses, eh? Not string, precious, but not nothing. Oh no! gollum!
 Never you mind, said Bilbo.  A promise is a promise. [ Pobierz całość w formacie PDF ]

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