Stay with Beorn
The stay at Beorn's house marks a decisive turning point in the quest of Thorin and Company, transforming a desperate band of fugitives into a provisioned and advised expedition on the threshold of Mirkwood. After the eagles deposited the company on the Carrock, Gandalf announced that he would soon leave them, but first he led them to the home of Beorn, a skin-changer of immense strength who could shift between the forms of a man and a great black bear. This episode, which occupies the entirety of Chapter VII, "Queer Lodgings," is a masterclass in Gandalf's strategic storytelling, as he gradually introduces the thirteen dwarves and the hobbit to a suspicious and powerful host, securing not only shelter and food but also the essential supplies and warnings that would carry them through the dark forest ahead.
Arrival and the Skin-Changer's Domain
After the eagles set them down on the Carrock, a great rock in the middle of a river, the company bathed and rested before Gandalf led them to find Beorn. The wizard described their host as a "very great person" who could be "appalling when he is angry" and warned them to be extremely polite. Beorn, Gandalf explained, was a skin-changer: sometimes a huge black bear, sometimes a great strong black-haired man with huge arms and a great beard. He lived in an oak-wood in a great wooden house, keeping cattle and horses that were nearly as marvellous as himself, working for him and talking to him. He did not eat animals, living mostly on cream and honey, and kept hives of great fierce bees. As they approached, they passed through vast bee-pastures with clover and bees bigger than hornets, then a belt of ancient oaks and a high thorn-hedge. Gandalf and Bilbo found a wooden gate and entered a courtyard where a huge man with a thick black beard, bare arms and legs with knotted muscles, leaning on a large axe, stood waiting. This was Beorn. He was initially gruff and suspicious, but Gandalf's mention of his cousin Radagast and the tale of their troubles with goblins began to soften him.
Gandalf's Strategic Storytelling and the Gradual Introduction
Gandalf's method of introducing the company was a deliberate and clever performance. He began his tale with only Bilbo present, claiming he was travelling with "a friend or two." When Beorn questioned this, Gandalf whistled, and Thorin and Dori appeared. Beorn was surprised to see dwarves, not hobbits. Gandalf continued his story, and with each interruption from Beorn about the numbers—"Do you call two several?" "Or do you always call six a troop?"—Gandalf would whistle again, producing more dwarves in pairs: Nori and Ori, then Balin and Dwalin, then Fili and Kili, then Oin and Gloin, and finally Bifur, Bofur, and a puffing Bombur. The interruptions, far from derailing the tale, made Beorn more interested, and the story itself kept him from sending the dwarves away as suspicious beggars. By the time the wizard finished, Beorn had fifteen strangers sitting in his porch, a situation he would normally never allow, as he rarely invited more than a couple of friends at a time. Beorn declared it "a very good tale" and, though he suspected it might be made up, said the storyteller deserved a supper.
The Enchanted Hall and Animal Servants
Beorn's hall was a place of wonder, served by intelligent animals. He clapped his hands, and in trotted four beautiful white ponies and several large grey dogs. The dogs, who could stand on their hind-legs and carry things with their fore-feet, lit torches and set up low trestle-tables. Snow-white sheep, led by a coal-black ram, brought trays with bowls, platters, and knives. The ponies rolled in drum-shaped sections of logs for seats. The company enjoyed a supper of mead and food, the best they had had since leaving Rivendell. During the meal, Beorn told tales of the wild lands and especially of the dark and dangerous forest of Mirkwood, which lay before them. The dwarves, in turn, spoke of gold and silver and smith-craft, but Beorn showed little interest in such things, as his hall contained no gold or silver, and few items save knives were made of metal. After dinner, the dwarves sang a song about the wind and the forest, and Bilbo fell asleep to the sound of what seemed like wind in the branches and the hoot of owls. He woke in the night to hear a growling and scuffling at the door, which he feared was Beorn in bear shape come to kill them, but he fell asleep again.
Beorn's Reconnaissance and the Promise of Aid
The next day, Beorn was absent, and Gandalf spent the day following bear-tracks. He discovered that a great many bears of various sizes had danced outside from dark to nearly dawn, coming from all directions except the west, from the Mountains. In that direction, only one set of footprints led away, which Gandalf followed to the Carrock and then towards the pine-woods where the Wargs had attacked. When Beorn returned the following morning, he was in a splendidly good humour. He had been over the river and back up into the mountains, where he had caught a Warg and a goblin. From them, he learned that the goblin patrols were still hunting the dwarves, furious over the death of the Great Goblin and the burning of the chief wolf's nose. Beorn, now convinced of the truth of their story, offered his help. He provided ponies for each of them and a horse for Gandalf, and loaded them with food for weeks: nuts, flour, dried fruits, pots of honey, and twice-baked cakes that would keep good a long time. He also gave them water-skins, bows and arrows, and crucial advice about Mirkwood. He warned them of a black, enchanted stream that crossed the path, which they must neither drink from nor bathe in, as it carried a great drowsiness and forgetfulness. Most importantly, he commanded them never to stray from the path for any reason. He also advised them to take a northern route to a little-known pathway through Mirkwood that led almost straight towards the Lonely Mountain, as the main forest-road was now often used by goblins and led to impassable marshes.
Departure and the Guardian Bear
After a final meal with Beorn, the company rode off, following his advice to go north. As they travelled, Bilbo thought he saw the shadowy form of a great bear prowling along in the same direction, but Gandalf told him to take no notice. When they reached the eaves of Mirkwood, Gandalf revealed that Beorn had been following them each night in bear shape, not only to guard and guide them but also to keep an eye on his beloved ponies. The wizard insisted they send the ponies back, as Beorn had lent them only for the journey to the forest. At the very edge of Mirkwood, Gandalf finally took his leave, reminding them once more not to leave the path. The company, laden with their packs and Beorn's provisions, then plunged into the dark forest, beginning the most dangerous part of their journey. The stay at Beorn's house thus served as a final bastion of safety and civilized comfort before the company entered the unknown perils of Mirkwood, and Beorn himself, a figure of immense power and ambiguous nature, became a crucial ally whose aid and warnings would prove essential for their survival.
