The Tolkien Treasury

"Farmer Giles" did not look like a hero. He was fat and red-bearded and enjoyed a slow, comfortable life. Then one day a rather deaf and short-sighted giant blundered on to his land... "The Adventures of Tom Bombadil" collects hobbit-verses from the 'Red Book' and other poems relating legends and jests of the Shire at the end of the Third Age. "Smith of Wootton Major" tells of the preparation of the Great Cake to mark the Feast of Good Children and the magical events which follow. "Roverandom" is a real dog who is magically transformed into a toy and is forced to seek out the wizard who wronged him in order to be returned to normal. The story was written to console Tolkien's four-year-old son, Michael, who lost a beloved toy dog on the beach.