In this story, the fay star has been baked into the cake by Nokes, the ignorant and insensitive Master Cook of the village of Wootton Major, who thinks the star is a mere trinket, and has no understanding of its power.

The Annotated Hobbit · The History of The Hobbit · The Nature of Middle-earth · The Fall of Númenor The book began as an attempt to explain the meaning of Faery by means of a story about a cook and his cake, and Tolkien originally thought to call it The Great Cake. It was intended to be part of a preface by Tolkien to George MacDonald's famous fairy story The Golden Key. [1] Tolkien's story grew to become a tale in its own right. J. R. R. Tolkien was a scholar of English literature, a philologist and medievalist interested in language and poetry from the Middle Ages, especially that of Anglo-Saxon England and Northern Europe. [T 1] [2] These two short stories were very charming to read, I'm a bit surprised no nerds and geeks talk about them; or seem to have read them!But Smith’s curiosity won over time and he again entered Faery. There he met dancing maidens and one of them gave him a flower. Smith somehow managed to take this flower home, where is was kept in a special casket, and it never withered. Soon Smith went to Faery again, and met there the Queen. Their conversation was warm and long, and she asked Smith to pass a message to the King. Smith was surprised as he did not know any King, and the Queen said that he would know. The message was: “The time has come. Let him choose”. a b Hasirci, Baris (2021). "An Examination of Fantasy Illustration and the Illustrations of Pauline Baynes and John Howe Through the Writings of J. R. R. Tolkien" (PDF). Journal of Social Research and Behavioral Sciences. 7 (14): 44. doi: 10.52096/jsrbs.7.14.3. ISSN 2149-178X. He stood before her, and he did not kneel in courtesy, for he was dismayed and felt that for one so lowly all gestures were in vain.”

Carpenter, Humphrey (1977). J. R. R. Tolkien: A Biography. New York: Ballantine Books. ISBN 978-0-04-928037-3. King Incognito: Smith meets the queen of Faery once without realizing it. Also, Alf turns out to be the Faery King. Yet you have given up the star. I hope it may go to someone as worthy. The child should be grateful.’ ‘The child won’t know,’ said the smith. ‘That’s the way with such gifts.’ Farmer Giles- it was just a snortfest for me. From now on, if I were to ever learn Latin or Latin names for things, I'm going to use the phrase, "Or in the vulgar tongue-". That, and I desperately want to commission a Dragon tail cake for my next birthday. The Fair Folk: The Land of Faery is dangerous even to Smith; at one point when he ventures into forbidden territory a storm drives him out. However, the elves that he meets are basically benign.Pictures by J.R.R. Tolkien · J.R.R. Tolkien: Life and Legend · J.R.R. Tolkien: Artist and Illustrator · Smith of Wootton Major began as an attempt to explain the meaning of Faery by means of a story about a cook and his cake, and Tolkien originally thought to call it The Great Cake. [3] It was intended to be part of a preface by Tolkien to George MacDonald's fairy story The Golden Key. [3] Plot summary [ edit ] This expanded edition includes the original illustrations by Pauline Baynes as well as notes concerning the writing and revisions of the original. An excellent companion for "On Fairy Stories"* from The Tolkien Reader, since Smith of Wootton Major is just such a fairy story. The point of the story is that one can see and experience enchantment without needing to understand its reason for being, or else go too far in a realm where there are ‘pitfalls for the unwary’ and ‘dungeons for the overbold’. The nature of Faery Tolkien himself called it “an old man’s book, already weighted with the presage of bereavement”, and taking their cue from him, many have read Smith’s surrender of the star as Tolkien’s farewell to his art.”

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. First published in 1967, Smith of Wootton Major was the last of Tolkien’s stories to appear in his lifetime, and is of all his shorter works the most difficult to categorize. It is neither a story for ‘children’ nor ‘adults’, but rather for any reader of any age who enjoys fairy tales and can surrender to enchantment, since of all his works Smith comes closest to the spirit of a traditional fairy story. Smith of Wootton Major has been republished many times since 1967, and included in several anthologies of Tolkien’s shorter works. The second was definitely my favorite. The dragon is literally named Gold-guarder the Rich which is pretty great. It features exactly the sort of dragon riddling I love. I'd recommend this to the Tolkien fans out there who also enjoy some more folktale-inspired light fantasy and want a lighter read. It's super short so it's not a huge time commitment either. I wouldn't just throw it out though, it's worth a look. Plus, this edition has these wonderful drawings. I love the cover! Chrysophylax and Giles are right in the middle of riddling! Giles seems to say, "I ENT HAVIN NONE O THAT SHENANIGANS FIREWURMLING." And Cyrsophylax seems to reply, "Oh simpering human let I, mighty fire drake that I am, consider your words (WHILE I WAIT FOR A LAPSE IN YOUR JUDGMENT AND SLAY YOU WHERE YOU STAND MWAHAHA)." "For dragons always have such evil thoughts in their hearts." On the other hand, "Farmer Giles of Ham" is a witty piece that showcases Tolkien's play with language, names, and place names. It pays homage to classic English literature while subverting narrative expectations. The kings men are killed, the dragon isn’t slain, and the peasant becomes the king. While "Farmer Giles" may be less self-reflective than "Smith," it shouldn’t be viewed as anti-intellectual. The work pokes fun at the academy and invites the reader to ask “where do stories come from, and how are they passed down through language?So this is a pretty fun little volume. Not related to Middle-Earth at all, but the fairies of the first tale have a kinship to Tolkien's elves and the dragon of the second is dragony like Smaug. This was one of Tolkien’s tales trying to explain the meaning of faery, or at least whatever that meant to him. It was apparently supposed to be part of a preface he was writing for George MacDonald’s ‘The Golden Key’, but became its own thing. (I’m no expert, I looked it up) Tolkien’s most popular works, The Hobbit and The Lord of the Rings are set in Middle-earth, an imagined world with strangely familiar settings inhabited by ancient and extraordinary peoples. Through this secondary world Tolkien writes perceptively of universal human concerns – love and loss, courage and betrayal, humility and pride – giving his books a wide and enduring appeal.

John Ronald Reuel Tolkien: writer, artist, scholar, linguist. Known to millions around the world as the author of The Lord of the Rings, Tolkien spent most of his life teaching at the University of Oxford where he was a distinguished academic in the fields of Old and Middle English and Old Norse. His creativity, confined to his spare time, found its outlet in fantasy works, stories for children, poetry, illustration and invented languages and alphabets. Shippey, Tom (2005) [1982]. The Road to Middle-Earth (Thirded.). HarperCollins. ISBN 978-0261102750. Roger Lancelyn Green, who noted in the Sunday Telegraph for 3 December 1967 that, “To seek for the meaning is to cut open the ball in search of its bounce.” Tolkien treasured the comment, and wrote Green to thank him.” Un commento all'edizione: Il fabbro di Wootton Major è inserito anche nella raccolta Albero e foglia, ed è di quella che consiglio l'acquisto. Le pagine di quest'edizione in particolare - dal costo spropositato giustificato solo in parte dalla bellezza delle edizioni deluxe Bompiani - sono quasi interamente dedicate ad appunti di Tolkien, correzioni, apparati critici, tanto che la fiaba in sé occupa solo quaranta delle sue centoquaranta pagine, illustrazioni (di Pauline Baynes, le stesse dell'edizione originale) comprese. Tolkien was a professor at the Universities of Leeds and Oxford for almost forty years, teaching Old and Middle English, as well as Old Norse and Gothic. His illuminating lectures on works such as the Old English epic poem, Beowulf, illustrate his deep knowledge of ancient languages and at the same time provide new insights into peoples and legends from a remote past.

Tropes included in the tale:

This tale is magical and enchanting but for me it seemed incomplete. Well, a little unresolved. A young boy gets to enter the wonderful world of Fay; he is chosen especially for it, but when he gets there he doesn’t do a great deal. I mean, talk about a wasted opportunity! I would have done so much more over there. Smith of Wootton Major was first published in the United States by Houghton Mifflin the same year. [T 3] It was reprinted in 1969 by Ballantine together with Farmer Giles of Ham. [T 4]