It doesn't take a lifetime in banking to know that gold is more valuable than silver. Anyone that's ever bought jewelry knows it. Hasn't Bilbo ever been to the Hobbiton Zales Jewellers to pick up a few mathoms?
True, gold weighs about twice as much as silver (Bilbo's pony couldn't have liked that) but it doesn't tarnish. Also, (and this is important) it's worth sixty times more than silver. Was the precious metal market that much different in Middle Earth than it is here and now? Plus, the weight differance would have been hard to balance for the previously mentioned pony.
Who talked Bilbo into this deal? I would have suspected Thorin, cheapskate as he was, but he was dead by the time the treasure was divided up. The Master of Laketown would have been a good suspect, too, but he was already embezzling and on the run. Gandalf had nothing to gain from the deal, since he didn't take any of Smaug's loot. That leaves Balin, with his "sharp eyes." He must have seen an easy way of bilking Bilbo with those sharp eyes. Shame on you, Balin!
Birthday Observance Idea
Make a bad financial decision. In today's market, it's easy. Contact Bernie Madoff and see if he's accepting new clients. Put all your savings into the stock market. Change your 401k allocation so that all your money is in your employer's stock. For that matter, just go to a restaurant, pay with a credit card and tell your server to write in whatever tip they'd like. If you're as rich as Bilbo, it won't matter!
To read my loving, insightful, full-length parody of The Hobbit, order a copy of my eBook The Wobbit on Amazon: http://www.amazon.com/dp/B004ZR9ELK
To visit The Wobbit website: http://www.thewobbitaparody.com
No comments:
Post a Comment