Drawn by promises of a night of songs and magical tales, many hobbits (and an elf) went searching for the dark forest glade that matched the description in the announcements. And a good number of them (including the elf) actually found it!

They gathered at the spot, still wondering what would happen next. One of the hobbits,

sporting a peculiar striped outfit, was Miss Sevelda Quickkettle. She tried to put everyone’s

mind at ease and started to tell a wonderful story about a lad who was in love with a beautiful

lass, but did not know how to woo his beloved. This lad, by the name of Richo, looked for

inspiration in the woods, so the story went. Same kind of forest surroundings as the gathered

listeners were in.

Miss Sevelda started to sing, to illustrate her story with music and lyrics. And as she did (with

a lovely voice, it must be said, and great skill on the strings of her lute) a rustling was heard in

the shubbery surrounding the listening audience. This caused a great deal of unrest among

the listeners and their attention diverted from the song and story to the mysterious sounds

from unknown origin.

Then all of a sudden.. shapes appeared, becoming more and more clear. Believe it or not,

dear reader, but they were badgers! The hobbits present and the badgers gazed at one

another for a while, as if checking for signs of hostility in the other. It took some snuffling and

careful offering of pie-morsels (pies containing berries seemed to have the most effect) to set

both groups at ease again. And then the story continued.. but now not told by Miss Sevelda

anymore. Miss Sevelda had somehow blended in with the group of badgers, who were now

ALL holding musical instruments! No, bear with me, dear reader, I know it is hard to believe,

but you can ask all present, who will confirm this really happened!

The badgers started to play and one of them, a nimble-footed dancer as well as a good singer,

continued Miss Sevelda’s tale: the young lad Richo, seeking inspiration in the woods chanced

upon a group of badgers that taught him a song to sing to his beloved Candia, in order to

make her aware of his feelings for her. In several songs the story was told to the amazed

audience.

A short break was taken by the badgers who were obviously hungry and pestered the hobbits for more food: Berries, if you please. Yes, thank you!

There was bonding going on between the badgers and the hobbits and both felt more and more at ease. Until a soft snarling called

the badgers to order again and they resumed their performance.

“You have only one chance!”, the badgers in the story told the lad Richo, only one chance to win her over. And they played yet another enchanting tune.

Being a clever one, Richo drew inspiration from this and the story was about to end happily when suddenly.. all badgers disappeared as quickly as they had come! Just like in the story. After rubbing their eyes, the

audience once more recognised Miss Sevelda who played her lute and let us know that Richo,

inspired by the badgers managed to compose a song that did win him the heart of his beloved

Candia. A sigh of relief came from the audience, but they still wondered where the badgers

had gone so suddenly. Had it been a dream, they wondered, or had it been real? One thing

was beyond doubt: it had been a magical evening with good music and a lovely story!

Another group of hobbits approached the glade: all members of the Grand Order of the Lost

Mathom they were. They probably had had one of their meetings in Songburrow Hall and now

came when the excitement was all over. And ofcourse they would not believe a word of what

the ones who had seen the badgers told them. “Have you eaten spoiled pies or taken too

much of the spirits, like brandy?”. “Yes, the Brandy Badgers!”, they mocked, when told about

the curious adventure with the singing badgers. But those present the entire evening, know for

sure that it all really happened. And the happy ending of the story of Richo and Candia was

subject of many a dream that night: the night the Badgers came out to play... again.