Once upon a time there lived a young hobbit called Jonty
But this young hobbit was a bit different
For he had the blondest, curliest hair and he wore the very fanciest clothes
And he told everyone that he was a prince
"I am a prince!", he would say, "of a far away land"
"Where the rivers are gold, and trees are decked with the finest jewels"
"Music fills the air, and fairies dance in the field!"
But the other children would just scoff at him
"There is no such place!", they would laugh, "It's all in your mind!"
But Jonty would not listen, and persisted with his story
Now, when Jonty came of age, everyone expected him to have a party
But no! When the day arrived, his friends visited his burrow and they found he was gone
A note pinned to his door explained he had left the Shire
He had gone in search of the land of the fairies where he would reign as a prince
And indeed that it what he had done
With pack on back he made his way along far and distant roads
The first place he came to was a large town, and he heard music playing in the streets
But it was full of talk folk, shouting and drinking, and being rowdy
And after staying there for a time, he knew it was not the place he sought
He travelled on, catching sight of a village in some golden hills
But when he got close he saw it was not gold, just grass dried in the sun
The folk there were pleasant, and treated him will, but he knew it was not the land
He walked through woods, into forests.
In a clearing he found some huts, next to a stream and a waterfall
The waterfall seemed to be wild and alive
But the huts were empty, with no sign of life
He stayed a while, but no-one came, and he moved on
He continued searching until mountains came into view
They seemed to be covered in sparkling diamonds
But it was cold, and all he found was the bitter wind and snow
After many more years travelling, Jonty came to a land that looked very familiar
Walking down some a path, he saw hobbit burrows everywhere
And he realised he had returned to the place of his birth; The Shire!
He continued along the path until he came to a village green
Where three old hobbits sat together on a bench, overlooking a stream
Jonty recognised them as he childhood friends
He looked down at his hands, and saw he was an old man too now
But he was then distracted by the sound of music
One of the old hobbits started playing a lute, and another started to sing
At the moment the sun broke through the clouds
Jonty saw its golden rays sparkling in the water of the stream
He saw the cherry blossoms and berries line the nearby trees
And he saw the village green covered with pure white daisies, swaying gently in the breeze
Jonty knew then that he was not a prince,
But he had found the land of his dreams that he was looking for
((OOC: This story was inspired by the short story "The Quest of Iranon", by H.P. Lovecraft))
