"Smith of Wootton Major" is a late work by
J. R. R. Tolkien, about a smith who received, when a young child, a magical star that let him travel in the Land of Faerie.
Tropes included in the tale:
- Acid Reflux Nightmare: Nokes dismisses his meeting with the Faery King as this, which ironically grants his wish of becoming thinner, since he's afraid to eat anything that might bring a recurrence.
- Bittersweet Ending: Smith has to give up the star, but he passes it to a child he loves.
- The Blacksmith: The main character.
- Brutal Honesty: Alf is diplomatic with Nokes during his apprenticeship, but after Nokes retires he tells him what a vain, lazy bastard he thinks he actually is.
- Childhood Friend Romance: Nell. We first meet her sitting next to Smith when they're children at the Twenty-Four Feast; next thing we know they're married.
- Connected All Along: It turns out that the Master Cook who brought Alf into the town is actually Smith's grandfather.
- Dances and Balls: In a vale in Faerie.
- Establishing Character Moment: At age nine, Smith gives the token he found in the Twenty-Four Cake to Nell because he feels sorry for her not finding one. This also probably illustrates why he was chosen for the star.
- Everyone Calls Him "Barkeep": Actually once they called him "Smithson" but then just "Smith".
- The Fair Folk: The Land of Faery is dangerous even to Smith; at one point when he ventures into forbidden territory a storm drives him out. However, the elves that he meets are basically benign.
- Glowing Flora: On one of his visits to the land of Faery, Smith dances with a beautiful maiden who tucks a flower behind his ear. When he returns to Wootton Major he finds that the flower gives off a soft luminescence and never seems to wilt.
'Dear Man', she said, 'where have you been and what have you seen? There is a flower in your hair.' She lifted it gently from his head, and it lay on her hand. It seemed like a thing seen from a great distance, yet there it was, and a light came from it that cast shadows on the walls of the room, now growing dark in the evening... The flower did not wither nor grow dim; and they kept it as a secret and a treasure.
- Happily Married: Smith and Nell, despite his habit of wandering off.
- It Was a Gift: The silver coin.
- King Incognito: Smith meets the queen of Faery once without realizing it. Also, Alf turns out to be the Faery King.
- Land of Faerie: Where the star let him go.
- Meaningful Name: Alf. It's the old Germanic word for elf.
- A Minor Kidroduction: We first meet Smith at age nine, when he acquires the star, but the rest of the story happens in his adulthood.
- Once Upon a Time
- Our Fairies Are Different: Discussed. Nokes has a typical modern view of fairies as fictional little sprites, which, this being Tolkien's verse, is far from the reality. However, the Faery Queen appreciates being remembered in some form.
- Protective Charm: The star allows Smith to wander in the Land of Faery more than most mortals, though there are limits.
