Fifteen birds in five fir trees

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Fifteen birds in five fir trees is a poem found within the chapter "Out of the Frying-Pan into the Fire" of The Hobbit. It was sung by the Goblins to taunt Gandalf, Bilbo, and the thirteen Dwarves while the Goblins are setting fire to the trees in which they had taken refuge from the wild wolves.

Text

Fifteen birds in five firtrees,
their feathers were fanned in a fiery breeze!
But, funny little birds, they had no wings!
O what shall we do with the funny little things?
Roast 'em alive, or stew them in a pot;
fry them, boil them and eat them hot?

Burn, burn tree and fern!
Shrivel and scorch! A fizzling torch
To light the night for our delight,
        Ya hey!

Bake and toast 'em, fry and roast ’em
till beards blaze, and eyes glaze;
till hair smells and skins crack,
fat melts, and bones black
         in cinders lie
         beneath the sky!

         So dwarves shall die,
and light the night for our delight,
         Ya hey!
         Ya-harri-hey!
         Ya hoy!

See also

• Poems in The Hobbit