The majority of material on Hobbits has come to us through the work of a man of extraordinary assiduousness, one J. R. R. Tolkien. His work in the field of Hobbits draws mainly from writings by such well-known Halflings as Bilbo and Frodo Baggins, Samwise Gamgee, Meriadoc Brandybuck and Peregrin Took. For his attentiveness to these writings and their translations we are eternally grateful.
As for my own delving into Hobbit culture, I must admit it is far less extensive than Mr. Tolkien�s and that I have relied upon him almost exclusively for any knowledge concerning the race. I also must confess my lack of linguistic prowess. For that, as well, I am indebted to Mr. Tolkien. If it were not for the fact that what I discovered had been translated from the old Hobbit language into the common language of Westron, I feel I might have been totally at a loss. But as it happens, the common speech is still alive and so I was able to find a copy of this most rare look into the life of a unique Hobbit.
Having found myself underneath a stack of old manuscripts, which I was told had come from a Hobbit library somewhere, near the Shire (exact location is unknown), I came upon a very old and very interesting piece of literature. Its formal genre could not even be called literature, for it turned out to be a sort of diary, a memoir of the life of a little known Hobbit. What made the find so exciting was its rare glimpse into the earlier years of a race who lives much longer than human beings. For the most part, we have been told the history of Hobbits who were in their maturing years, past the irresponsible tweens. But here in my hands I held the memoir of a young Hobbit, written in those very years! Not only that, but this Hobbit seems to have been a bit odd, a black sheep in many ways, of his own society. However, I would rather not go into that here. I will let him tell you in his own words.
What follows in this manuscript are the words of this young, novel Hobbit himself. I have taken the liberty of arranging his journal under headings so that the modern author will find the layout easily accessible. It would be unfortunate if anyone would decline to read about such an unusual Hobbit because his journal was not user-friendly. With that, I welcome any reader to enter here in and discover for himself the very singular life of the young Hobbit Pady Proudfoot*.
*The pronunciation of the ending of this Hobbit's first name is the same as in the English "daddy."