I just spent 5 minutes or so finding this quote from The Two Towers. I got so excited at this part of the book, where Gollum actually, briefly, mentions the Riddles on the Dark scene from The Hobbit! :D Thought I'd just share it with you here ... it's from The Passage of the Marshes.
He [Gollum] seemed greatly delighted to feel the water, and chuckled to himself, sometimes even croaking in a sort of song. The cold hard lands, they bites our hands, they gnaws our feet. The rocks and stones are like old bones all bare of meat. But stream and pool is wet and cool: so nice for feet! And now we wish -- 'Ha! ha! What does we wish?' he said, looking sidelong at the hobbits. 'We'll tell you.' he croaked. 'He guessed it long ago, Baggins guessed it.' A glint came into his eyes, and Sam catching the gleam in the darkness thought it far from pleasant. Alive without breath; as cold as death; never thirsting, ever drinking; clad in mail, never clinking. Drowns on dry land, thinks an island is a mountain; thinks a fountain is a puff of air. So sleek, so fair! What a joy to meet! We only wish to catch a fish, so juicy-sweet!'
Did anyone else love this reference? :) I just love that, "He guessed it long ago, Baggins guessed it." ... Gollum must have an extremely good memory (even if that was the first exciting thing that had most likely happened in his cave in years :P) to remember the riddles game so well :) It just gave me a little thrill, to have a reference to one of my favourite scenes in The Hobbit :)
He [Gollum] seemed greatly delighted to feel the water, and chuckled to himself, sometimes even croaking in a sort of song.
The cold hard lands,
they bites our hands,
they gnaws our feet.
The rocks and stones
are like old bones
all bare of meat.
But stream and pool
is wet and cool:
so nice for feet!
And now we wish --
'Ha! ha! What does we wish?' he said, looking sidelong at the hobbits. 'We'll tell you.' he croaked. 'He guessed it long ago, Baggins guessed it.' A glint came into his eyes, and Sam catching the gleam in the darkness thought it far from pleasant.
Alive without breath;
as cold as death;
never thirsting, ever drinking;
clad in mail, never clinking.
Drowns on dry land,
thinks an island
is a mountain;
thinks a fountain
is a puff of air.
So sleek, so fair!
What a joy to meet!
We only wish
to catch a fish,
so juicy-sweet!'
Did anyone else love this reference? :) I just love that, "He guessed it long ago, Baggins guessed it." ... Gollum must have an extremely good memory (even if that was the first exciting thing that had most likely happened in his cave in years :P) to remember the riddles game so well :) It just gave me a little thrill, to have a reference to one of my favourite scenes in The Hobbit :)