The Gathering of the Clouds is the fifteenth chapter of The Hobbit.
Synopsis[]
Bilbo and the Dwarves learn of Smaug's death, and of the approaching hosts of the Mirkwood Elves and the Lake-men, from Roäc the Raven. The Dwarves send messages via ravens to Dáin II of the Iron Hills requesting aid, and the Dwarves have the ravens report the movements of any who approach the Lonely Mountain. Bard comes before the front gate of the mountain and requests a parley, but Thorin II refuses. After another attempt at parley, the Elves and men declare the mountain besieged.
Plot[]
The thrush returns to the Company in Ravenhill. Finding that they cannot understand its speech, the thrush brings an old raven that can speak in the common tongue, and the raven informs them of Smaug's death. Their rejoicing is short-lived, as the raven goes on to describe the army of humans and Elves marching toward them, as well as the suffering of Lake-town’s people, who feel they deserve some share of the treasure in the mountain. Thorin regards the treasure as his inheritance and plans to fight for it, regardless of what the people of Lake-town have suffered.
Under Thorin’s orders, the Company retreats to the mountain and fortifies it by building a wall at the main gate. From there, they watch as Bard and representatives of the Elves approach. Bard informs them that he killed Smaug and Lake-town has been destroyed, and asks that the Dwarves be generous in sharing the treasure, since they benefited so much at the expense of the humans. Thorin flatly refuses, and feels that he owes them nothing since the gold belonged to his people originally. Bard gives Thorin time to reconsider, but Thorin will not change his position. The mountain is then declared besieged: no one will be let in or out without being captured or killed. Bilbo, for his part, would gladly share the treasure, and is entirely discouraged by the whole turn of affairs. However, no dwarf questions Thorin, and Bilbo has no say in the matter.
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
Songs and Verses[]
- Far over the Misty Mountains Cold (Second version)
Translations[]
| Foreign Language | Translated name |
| Afrikaans | Die Versameling van die Wolke |
| Albanian | Mbledhja e reve |
| Amharic | ደመናዎች እየሰበሰቡ |
| Arabic | جمع من الغيوم |
| Armenian | Ամպերը հավաքվում են |
| Azerbaijani | Buludlar toplanır |
| Belarusian Cyrillic | Збор аблокаў |
| Bengali | মেঘ সংগ্রহ |
| Bosnian | Okupljanje oblaka |
| Bulgarian Cyrillic | Облаците се сгъстяват |
| Burmese | ယင်းတိမ်များ၏စုရုံးခြင်း |
| Cambodian | ពពកកំពុងតែប្រមូល |
| Catalan | Mar d'Helcar |
| Cebuano | Ang Pagpundok sa mga Panganod |
| Corsican | U assemblea di i nuvuli |
| Croatian | Oblaci se skupljaju |
| Czech | Shromáždění mraky |
| Danish | Skyerne samler sig |
| Dutch | Het Verzamelen van de Wolken |
| Esperanto | La nuboj amasiĝas |
| Estonian | Pilved kokkukorjamine |
| Filipino | Ang mga ulap ay nagtitipon |
| Finnish | Pilvet kerääntyvät |
| French | Le rassemblement des Nuages |
| Georgian | ღრუბლები შეკრებაზე |
| German | Die Wolken sammeln sich |
| Greek | Η συγκέντρωση των σύννεφων |
| Gujarati | વાદળો ભેગી |
| Hebrew | התכנסות העננים |
| Hindi | बादलों की सभा |
| Hungarian | A felhők összegyűjtése |
| Italian | Le nuvole si Addensano |
| Japanese | 雲が集まっている |
| Kannada | ಮೋಡಗಳು ಒಟ್ಟುಗೂಡುತ್ತವೆ |
| Kazakh | Бұлтты жинау (Cyrillic) Bulttı jïnaw (Latin) |
| Korean | 구름의 모임 |
| Kyrgyz Cyrillic | Булуттар чогултуу |
| Latin | Nubes Congregantur |
| Latvian | Mākoņi pulcējas |
| Lithuanian | Debesys renkasi |
| Luxembourgish | D'Versammlung vun de Wolleken |
| Macedonian Cyrillic | Облаците се собираат |
| Malayalam | മേഘങ്ങളുടെ ശേഖരം |
| Mongolian Cyrillic | Үүлний цугларалт |
| Nepalese | बादलहरू भेला हुन्छन् |
| Norwegian | Skyene samler seg |
| Persian | جمع آوری ابرها |
| Polish | Chmury się zbierają |
| Portuguese | O ajuntamento das Nuvens |
| Punjabi | ਬੱਦਲ ਇਕੱਠੇ ਕਰਨੇ |
| Romanian | Strângerea noriilor |
| Russian | Тучи собираются |
| Serbian | Скупљање облака (Cyrillic) Skupljanje oblaka (Latin) |
| Slovak | Sťahujú sa mračná |
| Slovenian | Zbiranje oblakov |
| Spanish | El encuentro en Las Nubes |
| Swahili | Mkusanyiko la mawingu |
| Swedish | Molnets samling |
| Tajik Cyrillic | Ҷамъоварии абрҳо |
| Tamil | மேகங்கள் சேகரிப்பது |
| Telugu | మేఘాలు సేకరించడం |
| Turkish | Bulutlar toplama |
| Ukrainian Cyrillic | Хмари збираються |
| Urdu | بادلوں کا اجتماع |
| Uzbek | Булутларни йиғиш (Cyrillic) Bulutlarni yig'ish (Latin) |
| Vietnamese | Thu thập các đám mây |
| Welsh | Casglu y cymylau |
| Yiddish | דער צונויפקום פון די וואלקנס |