All page numbers are from the Douglas A Anderson Annotated Hobbit.

Chapter five: Riddles in the Dark

This chapter is probably one of the most heavily revised in the book, if not the most changed one, to fit in with the publication of the Lord of the Rings, as originally Gollum was supposed to give the Ring to Bilbo

He wanders on, and ends up by a lake under the mountain. At the same time, he picks up a small trinket, a ring. This is the point when Bilbo discovers that the dagger he took from the cave was of the same vintage as the two swords and also has the ability to show if there are orcs about. Soon after, he meets a strange creature by the name of Gollum. This creature wishes to eat him, but thanks to the dagger/sword Bilbo picked up in the trolls cave, is persuaded to partake of a riddle contest.

After several exchanges of riddles, Bilbo turns out to be the winner, though his final question is debatable on whether it should have counted, but Gollum is trecherous and intends to eat him anyway. During this encounter, Bilbo discovers that the ring is magical and makes the wearer invisible. Unwittingly, Gollum leads the, now invisible, hobbit up to a little back door. Bilbo is able to escape both Gollum and the orcs. However, he had a near escape when the Ring slipped off his finger for a moment and he was revealed to the orcs. At about the same time we discover that even when the Ring was in use, torches and the like could reveal a shadow of the wearer.

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