At the Sign of the Prancing Pony
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|---|---|
| At the Sign of the Prancing Pony | |
| Chapter of The Fellowship of the Ring | |
| Number | 9 |
| Synopsis | |
| Event | Frodo comes to the Prancing Pony; he meets Strider and Barliman Butterbur. |
| Date | 29 September 3018 |
| Location | The Prancing Pony |
| Navigation | |
| < Fog on the Barrow-downs | |
| Strider (chapter) > | |
At the Sign of the Prancing Pony is the ninth chapter of the first book in The Fellowship of the Ring.
Summary
Tom Bombadil escorted the Hobbits to the town of Bree, the chief village of Bree-land, a small inhabited region. Both Hobbits and "big people" lived in Bree. They were the original descendants of the first men that ever wandered into the west of Middle-earth. In the wild lands beyond Bree, mysterious wanderers called Rangers roamed the lands as far as the misty mountains. The Rangers had special powers.
When the Hobbits reached Bree they went to the Prancing Pony, an inn recommended by Tom. The innkeeper was Barliman Butterbur. A ranger, a man named Strider, was also in the Prancing Pony. During the revelry in the Inn, Frodo accidentally put on the ring and his sudden invisibility shocked everyone around.
When he reappeared, he tried to explain away his sudden disappearance, but Strider approached him, saying that he needed to talk to Frodo. The innkeeper, told Frodo not to cause any more trouble; he also told Frodo that he would come up to his room because he had something of interest to say to him. Frodo suspected the innkeeper and Strider, as he had become increasingly paranoid of discovery.
