For the beginning, it might be wise to stick to the first four of them; after we warm up, we can spread out and get more complicated!
Here's the first question: Whose daughters danced the Springle-ring?
What a thoroughly excellent idea for a thread (as one might expect, given its originator).
daughters danced the Springle-ring, goodwife did the laughing.
Why thank you, good sir! I hope that we will be joined by others who enjoy these works! Your answer is correct, of course, given the quoter [img]smilies/wink.gif[/img] - please pose the next question!
Well, anyone can strike gold if they dig in the right place. The following question is dedicated to those feeling the seasonal pinch.
Who extended his life with an unplanned diet?
That'd be Old Nokes from Smith of Wooton Major, who attributed his encounter with the King of Faerie to a dream brought on by his pork dinner and hardly dared eat anything thereafter. The pounds dropped off him and "he lived many years longer that he would otherwise have done".
It certainly was 'Old Rag-and-Bones'. Your turn, Saucepan.
Scare Yourself Thin - The King of Faerie Diet is available from all disreputable bookshops, but requires some specialist equipment (Fays and King of Faerie costumes are available from Thomas Rymer of Saville Row). Due to the extremely rapid weight loss and attendant permanent health impairments that this diet induces, it is not recommended for those who might be in a position to take legal action.
Who was provided with pikelets, and by whom?
I should think that pikelets are little pikes - am I right? However, I haven't found the reference yet - it sounds like it should be in Farmer Giles of Ham, with the king providing them for his knights, but I can't locate it so far.
The Lonely Troll provides Perry the Winkle with as many pikelets as he can eat. A pikelet is a small, thin crumpet.
Spot on, untitled occupier. [img]smilies/smile.gif[/img] And you get the bonus point too.
Now please honour us with the next question.
Why, thank you, Sir; although the honour of any of my questions is a dubious one to say the least.
Which three distinguished characters are involved in an ongoing dispute about Greek pronunciation?
That would be Psamathos Psamathides, the Psamathist, who is mocked by a fellow sorceror, Artaxerxes, for insisting that the silent "P"s be pronounced, and the title hero of the story, Roverandom, who never got to know Psamathos well enough to leave out the P.
Close, but no cigar. You've got two of them, but Rover isn't the sort to dispute something so esoteric.
You have correctly identified the Third Man. MI5 will be pleased.
A part of an animal is prized as a great delicacy in two of Tolkien's minor works. What is it and in which stories is it mentioned?
In Farmer Giles of Ham and Roverandom, Dragon's Tail is a royal delicacy.
It was still the custom for Dragon's Tail to be served up at the King's Christmas Feast; and each year a knight was chosen for the duty of hunting.
A long time since, and not until the dragon had flown off to Gwynfa, some time after King Arthur's disappearance, at a time when dragons' tails were esteemed a great delicacy by the Saxon Kings.
Bingo*, Squatter! Please go on with a new one.
What happened by the Sea of Windless Storm?
He stood beside the Sea of Windless Storm where the blue waves like snow-clad hills roll silently out of Unlight to the long strand, bearing the white ships that return from battles on the Dark Marches of which men know nothing. He saw a great ship cast high upon the land, and the waters fell back in foam without a sound. The elven mariners were tall and terrible; their swords shone and their spears glinted and a piercing light was in their eyes. Suddenly they lifted up their voices in a song of triumph, and his heart was shaken with fear, and he fell upon his face, and they passed over him and went away into the echoing hills.
That's well worth quoting: a fine piece of prose. You are, of course, correct.
Two "Men in Black" show up in one story - who are they?
That's them, Squatter - your turn!
Who live in the Merlock Mountains?
I hear and I forget. I see and I remember. I do and I understand.- Confucius.
He seems to sleep, but He is quick.
Ok, an easy one. What was the name of Farmer Giles' dog?
How nice - a question I can answer from memory without having to search my books! The dog is Garm - does anyone know if there's some etymological background to that name? Most of the names in Farmer Giles have some significance.
... does anyone know if there's some etymological background to that name?
Next question: Who was called "the greatest of all the dragon-slayers"?
That's the one, Mariska - go ahead with a new one!
Who came by night , according to the Hobbits, and loosed her, dragged her over weir, and up stream and pushed her?
Hobbits in a minor work? That has to be The Adventures of Tom Bombadil, I thought, and I found it there.
dragged her over weir, and up stream they pushed her.
The "she" referred to is Tom Bombadil's boat.