In Chapter XII of The Hobbit, Bilbo
and the dwarves finally have found a passage inside the Lonely Mountain where Smaug the
Dragon lives in his underground lair. Thorin, who is seeking revenge for Smaug's murder
of his ancestors and theft of all their gold and jewels, declares Bilbo should be the
one to confront Smaug. Bilbo ventures in, gapes at the sleeping dragon and his
magnificient treasures, and grabs one gold vessel.
The
dwarves are thrilled to see the goblet, but Smaug soons awakens to find it missing.
After some debate, Bilbo offers to revisit the lair because he had Gollum's ring, which
makes him invinsible.
Bilbo and Smaug begin chatting in
riddles, and Bilbo continually compliments the dragon his appearance. Smaug repeatedly
accuses him of being a thief.
Bilbo finally decides to
leave after he has seen Smaug's unprotected underbelly--his weakness, but his ego gets
the better of him.
"Well, I really must not detain Your
Magnificence any longer," he said, "of keep you from needed rest. Ponies take some
catching, I believe, after a long start. And so do burglars," he added as a parting
shot, as he darted back and fled up the tunnel."
(227)
Bilbo's acknowledgement
that he was the burglar infuriates Smaug, who nostrils shoot flames and vapor at
Bilbo.
The hobbit realizes he blundered at the end of the
conversation with Smaug.
"Never laugh at live dragons, Bilbo you fool!"
he said to himself, and it became a favourite saying of his later, and passed into a
proverb. "You aren't nearly through this adventure yet," he added, and that was pretty
true as well. (227)
Bilbo
faints as he leaves the passageway and is revived by the dwarves. They fix his burns,
but it will take time for his hair to regrow.
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