Barrels Out of Bond is the ninth chapter of J.R.R Tolkien's The Hobbit.
Plot[]
While trying to escape Mirkwood, the Dwarves are captured by the Elves, but Bilbo avoids capture by wearing the Ring. He secretly follows them to the cave palace of the Elvenking, near the eastern edge of Mirkwood. The Elvenking sends the Dwarves to separate dungeons when they refuse to reveal their intent in the forest. Bilbo remains invisible, hiding in the Elvenking's palace for several weeks, until he finds the Dwarves, including Thorin.
Bilbo carries a message from Thorin to the Dwarves not to reveal their mission to the Elvenking, and Thorin's respect for Bilbo grows. Bilbo discovers that a stream flows underneath the palace out to the river beyond the cave, and empty wine barrels are dropped through trapdoors under the palace to float down the river to nearby Lake-town. He steals keys from a prison guard and frees the Dwarves. He presents them with an escape plan: if they hide in empty barrels, they will be dropped into the underground stream where they'll float down the river to Lake-town. They object to the danger of the plan, but finally agree out of desperation. Bilbo packs the Dwarves in the barrels and they are tossed through the trapdoors into the stream below. Still invisible, Bilbo clings to a barrel and floats with them to where the stream joins the river and washes ashore. The next morning, he sees that the barrels have been bound together as a raft and he hops aboard as they continue to float toward Lake-town.
Appearances & mentions[]
| Characters | Species and creatures | Locations | Factions, groups and titles |
| Events | Objects and artifacts | Miscellanea |
Characters
Species and creatures
Locations
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Factions, groups and titles
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Events
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Objects and artifacts
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Miscellanea
Translations[]
| Foreign Language | Translated name |
| Bulgarian Cyrillic | Своенравните бурета |
| Danish | Drivende tønder |
| Esperanto | Elkarcere perbarele |
| Finnish | Tynnyrikyydillä tyrmästä |
| German | Fässer unverzollt |
| Italian | Barili di contrabbando |
| Latin | Cvpae e Captivitate |
| Polish | Beczki kontrabandy |
| Russian | В бочках — на волю |
| Slovak | Vyslobodené sudy |
| Spanish | Barriles de contrabando |
| Ukrainian Cyrillic | У діжках — на волю |