Fat Bombur.
In the Hobbit, King Thranduil of Mirkwood, the Wood Elves' king, liked his wine from Dorwinion. His wine was also imported by the Elves of Mirkwood in barrels down the Forest River from Long lake.
Before they reached Rivendale, the pony carrying their food fell into a stream. Going over the mountian, the ponies and all their belongings were taken by the goblins. In Mirkwood they ate it all.
Mirkwood is a deep, very large forest. It is populated by nasty creatures that peer out with large eyes at night. There is nothing there that can be eaten. Sunlight does not penetrate through the heavy foliage.
He proves himself useful on several occassions. He rescues them from the spiders in Mirkwood. His warning allowed Gandalf to escape and rescue them in the Goblin Cave. He gets them out of the elf dungeon in Mirkwood. And then he gets them into the Mountain.
The elven king in The Hobbit is the leader of the race of Elves that lived in Mirkwood.
Mirkwood.
Fat Bombur.
Shelob is not mentioned in The Hobbit. Shelob is later explained to have spawned the creatures that lived in Mirkwood. They are the ones that caught the Dwarves and would have eaten them if Bilbo hadn't rescued them.
Legolas was the son of the Elvenking of Mirkwood, King Thranduil, and thus is technically a prince, though he is never titled as such in either book or film.
JRR Tolkien's book The Hobbit starts with that line.
Because
In the Hobbit, King Thranduil of Mirkwood, the Wood Elves' king, liked his wine from Dorwinion. His wine was also imported by the Elves of Mirkwood in barrels down the Forest River from Long lake.
They Went through Mirkwood
The party enters Mirkwood.
Esgaroth is in the Long Lake of the river Running. It is east of Mirkwood and south of Erebor and Dale.
There were no foods, which was part of the problem. The vegetation was mostly lichen and the squirrels tasted terrible.