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Museum-Quality Matte Paper Print available in two sizes:
12" x 16" (30cm x 40cm): $35.00
24" x 32" (60cm x 80cm): $48.00
 
“'Hobbits!' he thought. 'Well, what next? I have heard of strange doings in this land, but I have seldom heard of a hobbit sleeping out of doors under a tree. Three of them! There's something mighty queer behind this.' He was quite right, but he never found out any more about it.” - The Fellowship of the Ring, Book 1, Chapter 3: Three is Company
 
The fox who talks to himself upon encountering the surprise of three hobbits asleep in the Woody End offers us one of those moments in The Lord of the Rings which prove how J.R.R. Tolkien understood the charms of fairy-stories better than any other author, perhaps, ever has. This is a very momentous night - the very first of Frodo's great adventure, and he and Sam and Pippin will see many wonders on the Road ahead, but the fox suggests that marvels exist in the Shire, too.
 
The fire of fir cones and twigs has almost gone out, and the three hobbits give themselves up to much-needed sleep, but woods at night are always alive with curious creatures. The hobbits never know that the fox was there, and the fox never knows what becomes of these travelers; who knows how often we cross paths with wild animals without ever knowing they are there?
 
Tolkien taught that one of the gifts of fairy-tales was to refresh our sense of vision and possibilities. In his legendarium, ravens and thrushes can communicate with other kindreds, great eagles can speak, and Beorn and his animal companions have their own ways of mutual understanding. I will not be at all surprised if humans one day learn that our fellow creatures have been talking to one another and trying to talk to us all along.
 
Celebrate your love of Tolkien's masterful fairy-stories by hanging a museum-quality print of this original hand-done painting in your home.