Steve Melisi
New Member
I've been thinking about the discussion of Gandalf's choice of Shadowfax for his horse, and how it's a bit ingracious of him to take the best of the best. We never hear the full dialogue with Theoden over the giving of a horse -- Gandalf choosing that moment to shorten his tale (hmph!) But since he tells Gwaihir he NEEDS a horse, he surely told Theoden the same thing. And the fact that he later says of Shadowfax, "I sent him back to his master" makes me think that surely the arrangement must have been for the LOAN of a horse, rather than an outright gift. Right? Admittedly, even borrowing such a horse as Shadowfax would be a blow, but it seems to me he meant for the horse to come back all along -- which makes him not such a bad fellow after all. What do you think?