Another time he “ found h imself in a wide plain , f ar off there was a great hill of shadow, and out of that shadow, which was its root, he saw the King's Tree springing up, tower upon tower, into the sky, and its light was like the sun at noon; and it bore at once leaves and flowers and fruits uncounted, and not one was the same as any other that grew on the Tree.” He never saw that Tree again, though he often sought for it. He had returned sooner than was expected, but none too soon for those that awaited him. ‘Daddy!’ she cried. ‘Where have you been? Your star is shining bright!’”

Hammond, Wayne G.; Scull, Christina (9 September 2012). "Our Collections: Pauline Baynes". Too Many Books and Never Enough. Archived from the original on 2 June 2015 . Retrieved 25 July 2023. In 2005, an extended edition of Smith of Wootton Major was published, edited by Verlyn Flieger. [2]Fabbro, come dicevamo, rappresenta forse lo stesso Tolkien nell'atto di ritirarsi da Faerie, cioè dai reami della sua immaginazione, e di lasciare la sua pietra scintillante perché qualcun altro possa riceverla. Once upon the time there was a village called Wootton Major. People who lived there were famous for being skillful in many crafts, but most of all in cooking. There was the Kitchen in the village, and the Master Cook, whose responsibility was to cook for all the occasions. One of these occasion was feverishly awaited, and was called The Feast of Good Childred. It was celebrated once in 24 years, and only 24 children were invited to this feast. The most important Cook’s responsibility was to make the Great Cook. Smith of Wootton Major" is my favorite of the two and in it Tolkien gives us a more intimate view of Faery Land than in his other works. Faery remains mysterious, beautiful, and dangerous but we are treated to more interactions with the King and Queen of Fairy than in any other story. It is a story that is both happy and sad, which is fitting for any treatment of Faery Land. Brutal Honesty: Alf is diplomatic with Nokes during his apprenticeship, but after Nokes retires he tells him what a vain, lazy bastard he thinks he actually is.

The Annotated Hobbit · The History of The Hobbit · The Nature of Middle-earth · The Fall of Númenor While reading Smith of Wootton- every time Tolkien would mention the Star, my mind flashed to something along the lines of Paul Stanley.Scull, Christina; Hammond, Wayne G. (2006). The J. R. R. Tolkien Companion and Guide. Vol."Chronology". HarperCollins. p.711. ISBN 978-0-618-39113-4.