“How long is that?” Piper asked.
“I need a hobbit runtime,” she said, breathless. “The old pass is guarded by a troll who only falls asleep for eleven minutes every century. The journey to the pass takes twelve.”
One afternoon, a young adventurer named Piper burst through his door, trailing the scent of rain and distant mountains. She slapped a crumpled map onto the counter.
Bilbo smiled. “Long enough to lose your handkerchief, find your courage, and still be home for second breakfast.”
He led her to the back room, where a shelf held a single, unassuming timepiece. Its face was engraved with a hobbit-hole door, round and green. The hands were made of two tiny, hairy feet.