The War of the Ring by J. R. R. Tolkien, Christopher Tolkien

Merry says:
 
    '... I do not know who was most surprised at their meeting, Gandalf or Treebeard. Gandalf, I think, for once. For from a look he gave us when we first met I have a fancy Treebeard had spotted Gandalf in Fangorn; but would not say anything even to comfort us. He has very much to heart the elvish saw of Gildor's: Do not meddle in the affairs of wizards; for they are subtle and quick to wrath.' (18)

    'But Gandalf knew Treebeard was on the move,' said Gimli.
    'He knew there was going to be an explosion.'
    'But not even Gandalf could guess what that was going to be like,' said [Merry >] Pippin. 'It has never happened before. And even wizards know little about Ents. But talking about surprise - we were the surprised ones: coming on top of the astonishing rage of the Ents, Gandalf's arrival was like a thunderclap. We had very little to do, except try and trot round after Treebeard (when he was too busy to carry us) and see the fun. We had a high time for a moment, when we got left alone, and came in front of a rush of some terrified wolves, and we had a brush with two or three stray orcs. [But when Gandalf arrived, I just stood staring with my mouth open, and then I sat down and laughed. >] But when Gandalf's horse came striding up the road, like a flash of silver in the dusk, well, I just gasped, and then I sat down and laughed, and then I wept. And did he say pleased to see you again? No, indeed. He said "Get up, you tom-fool of a Took. Where in the name of wonder in all this mess is Treebeard? Hurry, hurry, hurry, my lad! Don't let your toes grow whiskers." But later he was a bit gentler, after he had seen the old Ent: he seemed very pleased and relieved. He gave us a few minutes of concentrated news, a pat on the head, a sort of hasty blessing, and vanished away south again. We got some more news out of Treebeard after he had gone. But there must be much more to tell. We should have been far more worried and anxious about you, I expect, only it was difficult what with Treebeard and Gandalf to really believe you would come to grief.'

    'Yet we nearly did,' said Aragorn. 'Gandalf's plans are risky, and they lead often to a knife-edge. There is great wisdom, forethought and courage in them - but no certainty. You have to do your part as it comes to you; or they would not work.'
    'After that, said Merry, 'the Ents just went on and carefully and neatly finished the drowning of Isengard. I don't know what else, do you?'
    'Yes,' said Aragorn, 'some went to the Fords to bury the men of Rohan who had fallen there; and to gather all the - what did you say they were called - the Ornómi, the moving woods, to the Deeping Coomb. Aye, that was a wonder and a victory as great as the one here. No orc is left. It was a long night, but the dawn was fair.'
    'Well, let us hope that it is the beginning of better things,' said Gimli. 'Gandalf said the tide was turning.'

    'Yes,' said Aragorn, 'but he also said that the great storm was coming.'

    'Oh,' said Merry, 'I forgot. Not long before Gandalf, about sunset, a tired horse came up the valley with a pack of wolf-riders round it. (19) The Ents soon settled them, though one of Quickbeam's folk, a rowan-ent, got a bad axe-stroke, and that enraged the Ents mightily. On the horse there was a queer twisted sort of man: I disliked him at sight. It says a great deal about Treebeard and Ents generally, if you think about it - in spite of their rage, and the battle, and the wounding of Bregalad's friend Carandrian, that the fellow was not killed out of hand. He was miserable in his fear and amazement. He said he was a man called Frána, and was sent with urgent messages from Théoden and Gandalf to Saruman, and had been captured by orcs on the way (I caught him squinting at Treebeard to see how it went, especially the mention of Gandalf). Treebeard looked at him in his long slow way for many minutes. Then he said: "Hoom, ha, well, you can go to Saruman! I guess somehow that you know pretty