Answer:
Merry leads the other three hobbits to Crickhollow, where Frodo has bought a small house under the pretense of moving there permanently, in order to disguise his departure from the Shire. Crickhollow is in Buckland, which, though populated by Hobbits, is very different from Hobbiton or Bag End. Buckland is surrounded by the Brandywine River and the Old Forest, both of which are somewhat perilous. Hobbits from Hobbiton fear water, as none of them can swim, and the Old Forest is strange and frightening, its trees seeming almost predatory. To protect against these dangers, the Bucklanders built a hedge and keep their doors locked at night, which is unheard of in Hobbiton.
The weary travelers are given a bath and supper. Frodo decides that he must finally tell Merry and Pippin that he is, in fact, leaving the Shire for good—a fact that Frodo thought was a complete secret thus far. Frodo is highly surprised when Merry reveals that they have known for some time—not only about Frodo’s plans to leave, but also about the Ring and the great peril. With Sam as eavesdropper, the other hobbits have pieced together a good bit of Frodo’s situation. Frodo does not want to subject his friends to such dangerous circumstances, but Merry and Pippin both insist on coming along. They are his friends and they understand the danger at least as well as he does—which is to say, not very well at all.
Despite his surprise, Frodo is happy to hear that his friends wish to join him. Because of the Black Riders, Frodo decides that the next day they must set out away from the road, cutting through the Old Forest that borders on Buckland. Though the Forest is ominous, at the moment it seems safer than an encounter with the Riders. The other hobbits agree to Frodo’s plan. Their friend Fatty Bolger will stay behind to keep up the pretense that Frodo is living at Crickhollow.
That night, Frodo dreams he is looking out a window over a dark forest, in which he hears the sounds of animals sniffing around, looking for him. Then he is on a barren field. He hears the sound of the Great Sea, which he has never heard in real life, and he smells the smell of salt. He sees a tall white tower before him and he struggles toward it to climb it. Then there is a light in the sky and the sound of thunder.
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