Leaf by Niggle

"Leaf by Niggle" is one of Tolkien’s lesser-known works, a short work which Tolkien noted in a letter to Stanley Unwin “cost me no pains at all” (Letters of JRR Tolkien 98). This was a rarity, because Tolkien notoriously plodded through his writings and revised extensively.

“Leaf by Niggle” introduces us to Niggle, a painter “who had a long journey to make” but “did not want to go, indeed the whole idea was distasteful to him”. 

Instead of planning for his journey, he consumed himself with his painting and “a good many odd jobs for his neighbor” which he saw as an annoyance and a waste of time but because “he was kindhearted, in a way” could not turn down.