a b Flieger, Verlyn; Shippey, Tom (2001). "Allegory Versus Bounce: Tolkien's 'Smith of Wootton Major' ". Journal of the Fantastic in the Arts. 12 (2 (46)): 186–200. JSTOR 43308514. Possession of the star also enables Smith to make journeys into Fairyland in a magically suspended time-warp that does not count as the ‘real’ time of the village. Only his family is aware of his absences, and even they do not know where he has wandered. In the perilous land that Tolkien called Faery, Smith sees events transpire to which he has no key, sees wonders unfold that he does not understand, and stumbles into dangers of which he is unaware. Trespassing on the dangerous Lake of Tears, he arouses the Wild Wind, but is sheltered from its wrath by a weeping birch. The tree warns him to go away, telling him outright that the Wind is hunting him and that he does not belong in the Faery land. On one such journey climbing into the Outer Mountains he came to “ a deep dale among them, and at its bottom lay a lake, calm and unruffled though a breeze stirred the woods that surrounded it”. In that dale “ the light was like a red sunset, but the light came up from the lake”. Then from nowhere a wild Wind rose to him, and “ it swept him up and h ung him on the shore, and it drove him up the slopes whirling and falling like a dead leaf”. Pictures by J.R.R. Tolkien · J.R.R. Tolkien: Life and Legend · J.R.R. Tolkien: Artist and Illustrator · Carpenter, Humphrey, ed. (1981). The Letters of J. R. R. Tolkien. Boston: Houghton Mifflin. ISBN 978-0-395-31555-2.

This expanded edition includes the original illustrations by Pauline Baynes as well as notes concerning the writing and revisions of the original. An excellent companion for "On Fairy Stories"* from The Tolkien Reader, since Smith of Wootton Major is just such a fairy story. i. The Book of Lost Tales: Part One · ii. The Book of Lost Tales: Part Two · iii. The Lays of Beleriand · iv. The Shaping of Middle-earth · v. The Lost Road and Other Writings · vi. The Return of the Shadow · vii. The Treason of Isengard · viii. The War of the Ring · ix. Sauron Defeated · x. Morgoth's Ring · xi. The War of the Jewels · xii. The Peoples of Middle-earth · Index) · The Cook let Smith decide who would receive the star the next, and Smith chose a boy named Tim. At the Feast Smith saw Tim swallow his piece of cake, and noticed how the boy changed – became merrier and radiant. Thus, the journey of the star and its new owner began. Update this section!

Tropes included in the tale:

Long presents his own religious interpretation, likening the story's Faery Queen to the Virgin Mary, with the lilies "near the lawn" as her symbol; Alf as Christ; the Great Cake perhaps as a Twelfth-cake for Epiphany; Nokes as a fool or "a kind of anti-Tolkien"; Smith, a " lay Christian". [9] Although the author himself called Smith of Wootton Major‘an old man’s book, already weighted with the presage of bereavement’, the story has much more to offer its readers than J.R.R. Tolkien’s farewell to his art. It follows admirably the criteria he established for fairy tales in his important essay On Fairy-stories, perhaps his clearest statement of the principles that informed his creativity. Here he reminded readers that while fairy stories are stories about ‘the realm or state in which fairies have their being’, they are not primarily concerned with fairies, but with ‘the aventures of men in the Perilous Realm or upon its shadowy marches’. Smith of Wootton Major" is a late work by J. R. R. Tolkien, about a smith who received, when a young child, a magical star that let him travel in the Land of Faerie.

But Smith’s curiosity won over time and he again entered Faery. There he met dancing maidens and one of them gave him a flower. Smith somehow managed to take this flower home, where is was kept in a special casket, and it never withered. Soon Smith went to Faery again, and met there the Queen. Their conversation was warm and long, and she asked Smith to pass a message to the King. Smith was surprised as he did not know any King, and the Queen said that he would know. The message was: “The time has come. Let him choose”. Tolkien’s most popular works, The Hobbit and The Lord of the Rings are set in Middle-earth, an imagined world with strangely familiar settings inhabited by ancient and extraordinary peoples. Through this secondary world Tolkien writes perceptively of universal human concerns – love and loss, courage and betrayal, humility and pride – giving his books a wide and enduring appeal.Few years passed, and the Master Cook went on another vocation, but said that he would never return. All the villagers felt indignation at his leave, as the Cook had not appointed a cook who would take after him. Though the young apprentice had learned to cook effectively, he was still too young to take the position of the cook. The villagers chose the cook among themselves, and it was Nokes. Nokes had helped the Master Cook for several times and eagerly took the position. In seven years next Great Cake should be cooked, so he was sure he would learn everything within these years. Because of the star upon his forehead Smith had access to the land of Faery. He went there when he could as a learner and explorer. Smith journeyed far and saw the Sea of Windless Storm, the King's Tree, the Outer and Inner Mountains, and the Vale of Evermorn where he was allowed to dance with the Elven maidens. One of the Elven maidens and the Queen of Faery called Smith " Starbrow" for the star they plainly saw upon his forehead. He had returned sooner than was expected, but none too soon for those that awaited him. ‘Daddy!’ she cried. ‘Where have you been? Your star is shining bright!’”