Finally, there is an interesting parallel between Smaug's pretending to be asleep after Bilbo's first visit was heralded in Smaug's contemporaneous dream. Remember Bilbo has also done well in feigning sleep or at least escaping sleep's grip, so that he might defend himself. Power over sleep is a mark of more than a few heroes, and in spite of Smaug's faults, he is a tragic hero. For a dwarf like Bombur, the dream is a symbol of decadence and worthlessness (he's no hero). For Smaug, the dream is fatalism at work, exposing the "weak spot" in his armor. Within an English literary context we can recall the dreams of Caesar's wife in Shakespeare's Julius Caesar as an example that might help to connect some of the larger themes of this chapter. The heroic Smaug exercises his free will but the fact that he must sometimes sleep means that he cannot always guard his treasure, and it is precisely within his dreams that the portent of his doom (not the mere loss of one cup) is delivered. When we find ourselves thinking something along the lines of "....If only Smaug hadn't ever slept, he might've...," then we know Tolkien has finally nailed down the Greek mythology recipes for fated doom (...If only he hadn't ever flown..., ...If only he hadn't ever married..., ...If only he hadn't ever touched anything). Smaug will fall, because Icarus and Oedipus and Midas and all of the others have fallen. But as a final note, Smaug is a villain because the prophecy established at the beginning of the novel mandates this. The other villains and malcontents we find in Tolkien's work are not presented as historic and malingering evils. Our dragon Smaug‹smoky, fiery and mountain-dwelling‹is a metaphorical volcano who has been awakened. The other "evils" are not sought out by maps, so we may want to map Smaug as a destructive force of nature, a symbolic evil perhaps, but not a symbol of evil. Chapter Thirteen: Not at Home

Bilbo and the dwarves cannot simply wait forever on the side of the mountain, waiting for Smaug to find them. What they do, eventually, is decide to enter the cave. Not only is this their end goal, but Bilbo is leading the way. Of course, when they find that Smaug is not there, they enjoy the sight of his treasure and Thorin is quick to reclaim the mountain as his palace. Bilbo has really become an expert burglar by this point and he has claimed for himself the one artifact that Thorin finds most valuable‹the Arkenstone, the Heart of the Mountain.