Once upon a time there was a hobbit called Bobberry.
Bobberry Oddtoes, to be precise.
Or to be more precise, he was of the family Hardtoes
But he was always considered a bit odd, and so folk called him Oddtoes instead
He lived on the edge of Bindbole wood, away from other hobbits
Which suited the hobbits in Overhill fine
As Bobbery seemed to like running through the woods
Making strange hooting noses, shouting "I'm an oliphant!"
Now, one day, Bobbery came down into Overhill
He went to the timber yard and asked to buy lots of wood
When asked why he wanted so much wood, Bobbery said he wanted to make a new house
But not just any house
He said he wanted to make it in the shape of a large oliphant!
The timber workers all raised an eyebrow at this
But Bobbery had the coin, and so they provided the wood he needed
And for the next few weeks, the sound of hammering and sawing could be heard
Folk in Overhill were unsure what to expect
One day, they woke up, and above the line of trees, they could see a figure
And indeed it was wooden oliphant
On top of which was Bobbery standing, making funny noises, and doing a dance
Folk decided to stay even further away from Bobbery then
And little children were scared to go play near his home
For fear the oliphant would come to life and swallow them up!
Now this was in Autumn, and it just so happened it was a particular wet Autumn
The clouds were grey in the sky all day
There were claps of thunders, flashes of lightening
And the rain fell heavy day and night for all of the week
It was so heavy in fact, the rivers burst their banks
Now, this was problem in Overhill which is nestled in a valley
The waters roses, and started flooding the valley
The Overhill shirriff gathered folk together
"We must find high-ground! But it must be sheltered from the rain too"
It was at that moment, they heard a strange hooting in the woods
It was Bobbery, wading through the water, waving his hands
As he approached, he stopped his babbling and started talking properly instead
"Folks", he said, "Don't fear! Come to my home"
"The oliphant house is high off the ground"
"The feet may be in water, but the body is high up"
"You will be dry there until the rains pass"
Reluctantly, with little else to choose from, most of the folk followed Bobbery to his home
They climbed the ladders in the oliphant's legs to the main home the body
It was a bit cramped, but they squeezed in, and sheltered for the rest of the day
The next day, the storm had passed, and the waters eased
The folk returned to their burrows to clean up
But they didn't forget the kindness that Bobbery had shown
And little children were no longer scared to play there
Indeed, Bobbery would let them climb on the Oliphant and slide down the trunk
And that is when folk realised there is nothing wrong with being a bit odd
For being odd is not the same thing as being unpleasant
And so Bobbery lived oddly ever after!
The End!
