The Clouds Burst is the seventeenth chapter of J.R.R Tolkien's The Hobbit.
Synopsis[]
Bard and Thranduil use the Arkenstone of Thráin to try to negotiate with Thorin II. Furious, Thorin acquiesces, but declares Bilbo a betrayer and has him thrown from his walls. Dáin II arrives with his army of Dwarves, and Gandalf warns of the coming of Bolg and his army of Goblins, Wargs, and Bats. The Dwarves, Elves, and Men join forces and the Battle of Five Armies begins. When the battle seems to be lost, Bilbo spots the coming arrival of the Eagles, before becoming knocked out.
Plot[]
In the morning, Bard returns with two messengers to entreat Thorin to accept a peaceable agreement. When the dwarf again refuses, Bard reveals the Arkenstone, the one part of the treasure that Thorin values above all else. Thorin is crushed, and turns to Bilbo in rage when the hobbit reveals that he gave Bard the treasure. Thorin is about to turn violent, but one of the messengers throws off his cloak and reveals himself to be Gandalf.
The wizard commands Thorin to let Bilbo speak. Bilbo claims that, in taking the Arkenstone, he only took his fair share of the treasure, as his contract as burglar had specified. Thorin reluctantly agrees, and he angrily offers to pay a fourteenth part of the treasure to regain the stone, which satisfies the Men and the Elves. Thorin, however, secretly hopes that before they make the exchange, his relatives, who are marching toward the mountain with an army under the leadership of Dain, will be able to capture the stone by force.
The Dwarf army arrives and threaten the Elves and Men, and they are about to engage in battle when darkness takes over the sky from the west. Gandalf tells them that a new danger has come: armies of Goblins and Wargs who intend to take the treasure for themselves. The Dwarves, Elves and Men unite against the goblins and Wargs, and the Battle of Five Armies begins.
The Elves, Men, and Dwarves fight fiercely, but the Goblins and Wargs are just as fierce. Bilbo stays on the mountain, removed from the fighting, and watches as the Elves and Dwarves first send the goblins fleeing but then are forced to retreat from the vicious Wargs. Thorin fights alongside the Men as mightily as any. However, the goblins slowly gain ground, and Bilbo is forced to retreat to the Elves’ camp, which is nearly surrounded. The end seems close at hand when the hobbit’s keen eyes spy something in the distant skies: the Eagles are flying toward the battlefield. At that moment, however, a stone falls from the mountain and hits Bilbo on the head, and he loses consciousness.
Appearances[]
| Characters | Species and creatures | Locations | Factions, groups and titles |
| Events | Objects and artifacts | Miscellanea |
Characters
Dramatis personae
Other characters
|
Species and creatures
Locations
Objects and artifacts
Translations[]
| Foreign Language | Translated name |
| Afrikaans | Die Wolke bars |
| Albanian | Retë ia plasën |
| Amharic | ደመናዎቹ ፈነጠጡ |
| Arabic | انفجر الغيوم |
| Armenian | Ամպերը պայթել են |
| Azerbaijani | Buludlar partlayır |
| Basque | Hodeiak lehertu |
| Belarusian Cyrillic | Аблокі лопнуць |
| Bengali | মেঘগুলো বার্স্ট |
| Bosnian | Oblaci su se rasprsnuli |
| Bulgarian Cyrillic | Облаците се спука |
| Burmese | မိုဃ်းတိမ်တို့သည်ပြင်းစွာတိုက် |
| Cambodian | ពពកបានផ្ទុះ |
| Catalan | L'explosió de núvols |
| Chinese | 云层爆裂了 |
| Croatian | Oblaci eksplodiraju |
| Czech | Mraky praskly |
| Danish | Skyerne samler sig |
| Dutch | De Wolken barsten |
| Esperanto | La nuboj krevas |
| Estonian | Pilved lõhkevad |
| Filipino | Ang mga ulap ay sumabog |
| Finnish | Pilvet repeävät |
| French | Les nuages éclatent |
| Galician | As nubes estouran |
| Georgian | ღრუბლები ადიდებული |
| German | Die Wolken bersten |
| Greek | Τα σύννεφα ξέσπασαν |
| Gujarati | વાદળો વિસ્ફોટ |
| Hebrew | עננים התפוצצו |
| Hindi | बादल फट गया |
| Hungarian | A felhők kitörtek |
| Icelandic | Skýin springa |
| Indonesian | Awan-awan ledakan |
| Irish Gaelic | An Pléasctha na Scamaill |
| Italian | Scoppia il temporale |
| Japanese | 雲がはじけた |
| Kannada | ಮೋಡಗಳು ಸಿಡಿ |
| Kazakh | Бұлттар жарылып кетеді (Cyrillic) Bulttar jarılıp ketedi (Latin) |
| Korean | 구름을 파열 |
| Kyrgyz Cyrillic | булуттар жарылып |
| Latin | Nubes Rumpuntur |
| Latvian | Mākoņi eksplozijas |
| Lithuanian | Debesys sprogo |
| Luxembourgish | De Wolleken platzen |
| Malaysian | Awan-awan pecah |
| Maltese | L-Fqigħ sħab |
| Maori | Kua pakaru nga kapua |
| Marathi | ढगांनी स्फोट केला |
| Nepalese | बादलहरू फटाउँछन् |
| Norwegian | Skyene sprekker |
| Persian | ابرها پشت سر هم |
| Polish | Chmury pękają |
| Portuguese | As nuvens estouraram |
| Punjabi | ਬੱਦਲਾਂ ਦਾ ਵਿਸਥਾਰ |
| Romanian | Norii au izbucnit |
| Russian | Гроза разразилась |
| Scottish Gaelic | Chaidh na sgòthan a bhriseadh |
| Serbian | Облаци су се распрснути (Cyrillic) Oblaci su se rasprsnuti (Latin) |
| Sinhalese | වළාකුළු පුපුරා ගියේය |
| Slovak | Mračná sa trhajú |
| Slovenian | Oblaki eksplodira |
| Somalian | Daruurtu way qarxeen |
| Spanish | Las Nubes estallan |
| Sundanese | Méga peupeus |
| Swahili | Mawingu kupasuka |
| Swedish | Molnen brast |
| Tamil | மேகங்கள் வெடித்து |
| Telugu | మేఘాలు పగిలింది |
| Thai | เมฆกระจาย |
| Turkish | Bulutlar patladı |
| Ukrainian Cyrillic | Грянула гроза |
| Urdu | بادل پھٹ گئے |
| Vietnamese | Những đám mây nổ |
| Welsh | Mae'r cymylau'n byrstio |
| Yiddish | די וואלקנס פּלאַצן |