Lord Of The Rings Movies Cut A Key Book Scene Where Sam Totally Changes The Shire

While there are plenty of heroic individuals in "The Lord of the Rings," Tolkien himself has confirmed what we all suspected about Samwise's role: He's the true hero (despite the solid argument that Frodo is the greatest hero of the story). In the cinematic adaptation, Sam (Sean Astin) sticks by Frodo's (Elijah Wood) side from the Shire to Mount Doom and back again. He stops the One Ring from being captured by Orcs, fights off Shelob, and protects his master from the machinations of the treacherous Gollum (Andy Serkis). Heck, the dehydrated and starved Hobbit even carries Frodo halfway up Mount Doom.

Sam does even more important things in the source material, especially in the Shire. As soon as he returns, he helps save his home region from an invasion of ruffians. After "The Lord of the Rings" ends, Sam settles down to serve as its mayor for half a century. But with so much already on his résumé, it's easy to overlook one of his greatest accomplishments of all: He transforms his homeland through one of the most effective gardening initiatives ever witnessed in fantasy literature. In fact, when he's done with the natural reclamation project, the Shire isn't just growing greenery at hyperspeed. It also possesses one of the most unique and splendiferous botanical wonders this side of the Misty Mountains.

Sam's transformation of the Shire begins in Lothlórien on his way to Mount Doom, when Galadriel gives each of the members of the Fellowship a gift as they prepare to leave. In the scene depicting this in the extended edition of Peter Jackson's adaptation, Sam is given a coil of Elven rope. But while the Hobbit does get his hands on some in the source material, that isn't his gift from Galadriel. No, Sam's gift is very different and utterly unique.

In the "Fellowship of the Ring" book, the exchange starts with the Lady of Lórien saying, "For you little gardener and lover of trees, I have only a small gift." She then gives Sam a tiny box of plain gray wood with a single "G" rune on its lid, which she says cleverly stands for both "Galadriel" and "garden."

Telling the Hobbit hero what's inside, she continues, "In this box there is earth from my orchard, and such blessing as Galadriel has still to bestow is upon it. It will not keep you on your road, nor defend you against any peril; but if you keep it and see your home again at last, then perhaps it may reward you."

She adds that Sam can expect big botanical things to happen, teasing, "Though you should find all barren and laid waste, there will be few gardens in Middle-earth that will bloom like your garden, if you sprinkle this earth there. Then you may remember Galadriel, and catch a glimpse far off of Lórien, that you have seen only in our winter."

Galadriel's gift to Sam is a special treasure, but let's be honest: It's a bit of an awkward one. A box with magical dirt? What if it spills? Eventually, he and Frodo shed most of their gear in an attempt to lighten the load in the final days of their trek to Mount Doom, but even then, and against all odds, he hangs on to the box, along with the clothes they're wearing, rope, food, water, the Phial of Galadriel, and Sting. Meanwhile, "the clatter of his precious pans as they fell down into the dark was like a death-knell to his heart," the "Return of the King" book says.

Despite all the dangers, Sam manages to get his gift through his journey intact. After escaping from the calamitous ruin of Mount Doom via Eagle, he and Frodo wake up outside of Mordor, and Gandalf quickly gives them back their belongings, saying, "Yes, I have brought your two treasures. They were found on Sam when you were rescued; the Lady Galadriel's gifts: your glass, Frodo; and your box, Sam. You will be glad to have these safe again."

By the end of the main story, Sam's box has served no purpose other than to be another thing he has to protect. It isn't until the Hobbit gardener gets back to the Shire that he realizes the true potential of what he's been given — and even then, it takes him a minute to put two and two together.

When the Hobbits first return home, they find the entire region overrun with violent ruffians whom Saruman had sent in to cause trouble while they were away on their quest. It soon becomes a mini-war as the four Halfling adventurers rally their fellow Hobbits and help them expel the invaders in the Battle of Bywater.

In the aftermath of the battle, Sam finally remembers his little box, which still hasn't been opened or explained apart from Galadriel's brief description when giving it to him. At long last, the "Return of the King" book reveals, "Inside it was filled with a grey dust, soft and fine, in the middle of which was a seed, like a small nut with a silver shale."

When Sam finally opens his gift, he's unsure what to do with it. When Pippin suggests throwing it in the air on a breezy day and seeing what happens, though, he empathetically replies, "I'm sure the Lady would not like me to keep it all for my own garden, now so many folk have suffered." So rather than test the Elven dirt on his own plot of land, he travels all over the Shire, planting saplings wherever Saruman's servants had destroyed beloved trees, leaving a single grain of dust with each one, and then waits to see what will happen.

After an impatient winter, "Spring surpassed his wildest hopes. His trees began to sprout and grow, as if time was in a hurry and wished to make one year do for twenty." In this selfless, compassionate way, Sam manages to use the Elven magic resident in his little box of dirt to help the Shire's flora make an epic comeback in a single year. When Galadriel visits the Shire on her way to the Grey Havens, she greets him with, "Well, Master Samwise. I hear and see that you have used my gift well. The Shire shall now be more than ever blessed and beloved."

One particularly painful loss in the Battle of Bywater is the Party Tree. This is the tree where Bilbo gives his farewell speech on his 111th birthday, and when Sam sees that it's been felled, he breaks down in tears. It's no wonder, then, that this ends up being the very spot where he chooses to plant the small silver nut that came in his gift.

When spring comes and the Shire bursts into Elf-magic-powered bloom, the "Return of the King" book describes, "In the Party Field a beautiful young sapling leaped up: it had silver bark and long leaves and burst into golden flowers in April. It was indeed a mallorn, and it was the wonder of the neighborhood."

Mellyrn, the silver and gold trees that give Lothlórien the nickname "the Golden Wood," are uniquely magical. These utterly Elven edifices only grow in select areas of Tolkien's world. They're extremely rare in Middle-earth, and Sam ends up with one in his yard.

The book adds, "In after years, as it grew in grace and beauty, it was known far and wide and people would come long journeys to see it: the only mallorn west of the Mountains and east of the Sea, and one of the finest in the world." Between the mallorn and the dirt, Sam's garden work utterly transforms the Shire, turning it into a botanical paradise in the process.