Chapter Six:
The Old Forest
Frodo wakes up and finds Merry urging him to get ready to go. The others are already awake and time is of the essence. Soon after six o'clock they are ready to leave and Fatty Bolger accompanies them for a bit, before returning to Crickhollow. Merry leads the company along a Hedge until he reaches the entrance of the Old Forest. At this point, the hobbits enter, intending to take a very direct route that avoids traveling through the center of this rather formidable place. At one point, they find a place called Bonfire Glade and this location affords them a view of the forest, the large tracts of land that they still have to cross - and it is also a respite from the dense thick forest.
Bonfire Glade is also a piece of evidence attesting to the difficult and awkwardly strained relationship between the hobbits and nature. The trees attack the hobbits and the hobbits respond in kind. At one point in their journey, the group encounters some of this hostility first-hand. Trees shift to block the straight-forward route, edging the caravan deeper into the center of the Old Forest. Roots jut out from the ground in order to trip the ponies. Ultimately, an especially aggressive tree called Old Man Willow encircles two of the hobbits and they are trapped inside of the tree. Fortunately, a fellow by the name of Tom Bombadil is passing through the area and he is very well acquainted with the antics of Old Man Willow. He rescues the hobbits and brings them to safety in his own residence. Again, the company has been saved.
