The Mother Night banquet had been a joyous affair, and now the Lord and Lady of Eryn Carantaur, together with their guests, were merrily eating Yule cake, candied fruit, and nuts, drinking wassail, telling tall tales and posing riddles.

“I know one,” said Eomer, “that Gamling told me—though it is a little salty.”

“Well, we are all adults,” said Hentmirë (who had drunk rather more than she realised).

Legolas patted her hand. “Tell us, Eomer, if you think it fit.”

“Though it promises much,” said Eomer, “in the end it is perfectly innocent.”

“I am a strange creature, for I satisfy women.
I grow very tall, erect in a bed,
I’m hairy underneath. From time to time,
A beautiful girl dares to hold me,
Grips my reddish skin, robs me of my head,
Puts me in the pantry.
But that girl who has confined me
Remembers our meeting—her eye moistens.”

“Whatever could that be about?” said Hentmirë.