J.R.R. (for John Ronald Reuel) Tolkien -- you know, the English guy who invented hobbits and Middle Earth and One Ring To Rule Them All and everything else in The Lord Of The Rings, which was voted the most important literary work of the twentieth century, and I won’t even mention the three blockbuster movies based on it that were directed by Peter Jackson and filmed in (hello, Katherine) New Zealand -- also wrote a wonderful little short story called Leaf by Niggle. If you can figure out what it is about from the title alone, you’re a better man than I am, Gunga Din. No, you must actually read the story, and even then you may not know what it is about.
Here it is. I’ll wait.
Leaf by Niggle
So now that you have finished reading it, and without referring to someone else’s ideas somewhere online or in an actual book, tell me in a comment what you -- yes, you -- think Tolkien meant to convey.
I’m hoping for a lively discussion.
