as he calls himself. The next day Treebeard takes the Hobbits to a meeting of ents at entmoot. After that, they march to Isengard. The ents are angry at Saruman, their neighbor, who cuts down their trees and burns them without reason and who also trains Orcs not to be afraid of Fangorn. Now the story goes back to the three travelers hunting for their lost companions. They follow the Hobbit prints up to Treebeard's rock wall and when they climb up to the top they see an old man. The old man comes to them and reveals himself to be Gandalf. He tells them that their missing Hobbit friends have gone with the ents to Isengard, to fight Saruman. He tells them what happened when he fell into the abyss with Balrog. Gandalf then summons Shadowfax, his horse, which he took from Theoden along with two others. Gandalf sets Gimli on his own horse and they ride off toward the halls of Theoden, Eomer’s king. Now that Gandalf has returned from the dead, he serves as the captain of the hunters. He leads them to Theoden’s halls, and tells the guards that they have come back to return the horse (Shadowfax) that Theoden had lent him. The four companions enter the hall after leaving their weapons behind, but they do not get a warm welcome. Theoden is reluctant to show gratitude; he says this is because Gandalf almost always heralds bad news and asks for help. Actually, it is because Saruman has a secret hold on Theoden in the form of his advisor, Wormtongue. Gandalf frees Theoden from the wicked influence of Wormtongue. Gandalf then asks Theoden to release Eomer, who has been held prisoner of Wormtongue’s counsel. Eomer returns and lays his sword at Theoden’s feet. Theoden realizes his mistake in trusting Wormtongue. Wormtongue is sent away. On the second day of their journey, a messenger who tells them that Saruman has almost won meets the group. Gandalf leaves them with the excuse of having an errand to run. When they reach Helm...
