Frodo was worried about Sam. He had been pottering around all morning. He seemed terribly preoccupied and was muttering to himself. He had to know what was going on.

Poking his head out the kitchen window he yelled "Sam, time for elevenses. Come in and have a cup of tea."

Once Sam had sat down at the table, the interrogation started.

"Sam, what’s the matter? You seem to be chasing your tail in the garden this morning"

"Nothing’s wrong, Mr Frodo. I’m just trying to get my jobs done. I’ve wrote them down on a list so that I won’t forget what needs doing. But I’m a bit cranky with myself for not thinking about what order I put my jobs in. I’d made a promise to myself that I would work through the list, in order, so I would get everything done."

"Does it really matter if you get to the bottom of the list Sam, you can always do some jobs tomorrow"

Sam pushed his list towards Frodo. "What do you think, Mr Frodo?"

The list lying on the table read : Weed front garden, fill hall lamps, ……. , turn compost heap, sharpen shears, tumble Mr Frodo.