Read LotR Aloud: TT, Chapter 10, "The Voice of Saruman"

[dreamflower]

I apologize for the roughness of my voice and my coughing. I tried and tried to do it without coughing; this one came out the best.

Transcript behind the cut:

They returned now to the ruins of the gate. Hardly had they passed out under the arch, when, from among the shadows of the piled stones where they had stood, Treebeard and a dozen other Ents came striding up. Aragorn, Gimli and Legolas gazed at them in wonder.
‘Here are three of my companions, Treebeard,’ said Gandalf. ‘I have spoken of them, but you have not yet seen them.’ He named them one by one.
The Old Ent looked at them long and searchingly, and spoke to them in turn. Last he turned to Legolas. ‘So you have come all the way from Mirkwood, my good Elf? A very great forest it used to be!’
‘And still is,’ said Legolas. ‘But not so great that we who dwell there ever tire of seeing new trees. I should dearly love to journey in Fangorn’s Wood. I scarcely passed beyond the eaves of it, and I did not wish to turn back.’
Treebeard’s eyes gleamed with pleasure. ‘I hope you may have your wish, ere the hills be much older,’ he said.
‘I will come, if I have the fortune,’ said Legolas. ‘I have made a bargain with my friend that, if all goes well, we will visit Fangorn together – by your leave.’
‘Any Elf that comes with you will be welcome,’ said Treebeard.
‘The friend I speak of is not an Elf,’ said Legolas; ‘I mean Gimli, Glóin’s son here.’ Gimli bowed low, and the axe slipped from his belt and clattered on the ground.
‘Hoom, hm! Ah now,’ said Treebeard, looking dark-eyed at him. ‘A dwarf and an axe-bearer! Hoom! I have good will to Elves; but you ask much. This is a strange friendship!’
‘Strange it may seem,’ said Legolas; ‘but while Gimli lives I shall not come to Fangorn alone. His axe is not for trees, but for orc-necks, O Fangorn, Master of Fangorn’s Wood. Forty-two he hewed in the battle.’
‘Hoo! Come now!’ said Treebeard. ‘That is a better story! Well, well, things will go as they will; and there is no need to hurry to meet them. But now we must part for a while. Day is drawing to an end, yet Gandalf says you must go ere nightfall, and the Lord of the Mark is eager for his own house.’
‘Yes, we must go, and go now,’ said Gandalf. ‘I fear that I must take your gatekeepers from you. But you will manage well enough without them.’
‘Maybe I shall,’ said Treebeard. ‘But I shall miss them. We have become friends in so short a while that I think I must be getting hasty – growing backwards towards youth, perhaps. But there, they are the first new thing under Sun or Moon that I have seen for many a long, long day. I shall not forget them. I have put their names into the Long List. Ents will remember it.
Ents the earthborn, old as mountains,
the wide-walkers, water drinking;
and hungry as hunters, the Hobbit children,
the laughing-folk, the little people,
they shall remain friends as long as leaves are renewed. Fare you well! But if you hear news up in your pleasant land, in the Shire, send me word! You know what I mean: word or sight of the Entwives. Come yourselves if you can!’
‘We will!’ said Merry and Pippin together, and they turned away hastily. Treebeard looked at them, and was silent for a while, shaking his head thoughtfully. Then he turned to Gandalf.
‘So Saruman would not leave?’ he said. ‘I did not think he would. His heart is as rotten as a black Huorn’s. Still, if I were overcome and all my trees destroyed, I would not come while I had one dark hole left to hide in.’
‘No,’ said Gandalf. ‘But you have not plotted to cover all the world with your trees and choke all other living things. But there it is, Saruman remains to nurse his hatred and weave again such webs as he can. He has the Key of Orthanc. But he must not be allowed to escape.’
‘Indeed no! Ents will see to that,’ said Treebeard. ‘Saruman shall not set foot beyond the rock, without my leave. Ents will watch over him.’
‘Good!’ said Gandalf. ‘That is what I hoped. Now I can go and turn to other matters with one care the less. But you must be wary. The waters have gone down. It will not be enough to put sentinels round the tower, I fear. I do not doubt that there were deep ways delved under Orthanc, and that Saruman hopes to go and come unmarked, before long. If you will undertake the labour, I beg you to pour in the waters again; and do so, until Isengard remains a standing pool, or you discover the outlets. When all the underground places are drowned, and the outlets blocked, then Saruman must stay upstairs and look out of the windows.’
‘Leave it to the Ents!’ said Treebeard. ‘We shall search the valley from head to foot and peer under every pebble. Trees are coming back to live here, old trees, wild trees. The Watchwood we will call it. Not a squirrel will go here, but I shall know of it. Leave it to Ents! Until seven times the years in which he tormented us have passed, we shall not tire of watching him.

Comments

[grey-wonderer.livejournal.com]

At the moment, I can't listen or read. My computer died and my IPad LJ app will not allow me to hear the audio posts. I hate missing out on the read LOTR aloud but when my computer is fixed or replaced, I will be back.

[the-winterwitch.livejournal.com]

I'm just reading this now, how frustrating for you! And we're also missing you, of course. Can you just not listen to the voice posts, or not listen to any of the readings?

[hhimring]

Well read! Thank you!
I hope your cough gets better soon.

[claudia603.livejournal.com]

I always love your reading voice!

[shirebound]

You have such a great reading voice.

LOL, I rarely can get through a voicepost without coughing at least once.

[marta-bee.livejournal.com]

Oh, it was really nice to listen to this selection and in your voice as well. Thanks for sharing this.

[rhymer23.livejournal.com]

Nicely done! I'm always in awe of anyone who can read aloud on tape (or the modern equivalent thereof) without breaking down into embarrassed giggles. I'm a children's librarian: reading stories out loud is my job, and people often tell me I do it well. But stick a microphone in front of me, and I can't get through a sentence without breaking down into giggles. Our Tolkien Society at university did a dramatic reading of the entire book over several years of weekly recordings, and I feature in all of two lines of the entire multi-tape epic, due to terminal giggling. The only way it could ever work for me would be if a stealthy ninja snuck up on me from behind and lurked there with a stealthy microphone while I was happily reading away to an audience of children. :-D

[the-winterwitch.livejournal.com]

Or you just need to read for yourself with a recording software and cut the giggling parts out later! ;o) At my first readings I needed to stop all the time because I was forever clearing my throat, and while I'm not doing this any longer, I just continue with the recording and cut all superfluous parts out, some additional sound effects by cats included. *g*

[vaysh]

You have a wonderful reading voice (and I hope you recovered swiftly from your cough). This has been a joy to listen to.

[the-winterwitch.livejournal.com]

I love all the parts with Ents, and this one was so delightfully read by you. I love your Treebeard voice and how you read the dialoge and the whole part.

(I also hope your cough is much better now!)

[tanis2014.livejournal.com]

LOL - Treebeard is great in this passage, eying up Gimli's axe as Legolas garners an invite for both of them to visit Fangorn.

I think I would hate to make an enemy of an Ent; how very biblical is the punishment he seeks to mete out - until seven times the years in which Saruman tormented them have passed.

You really made this come alive with your reading, Dreamflower. Listening to these has been such a pleasure, it's been especially wonderful to put voices with the names I've come to know out here in this fandom!