Tom is neither man nor hobbit, though in shape he resembles most a man. He is a unique creature and perhaps the oldest of any character in The Lord of the Rings, supposed by Elrond to have existed for as long as middle earth has. He is master of the woods he lives in, the Old Wood near the shire, though they once extended far beyond their present boundaries, meeting the Mirkwood (in fairer days) and Fangorn as one solid forest. Tender, forester, it's not clear; he is simply Master. He is cheerful and hospitable to good folk. He wears bright yellow boots and a blue jacket and sings from sunup to sundown. His wife is the fair river's daughter, Goldberry. He is curiously outside of the world; the One Ring's gift of invisibility does not deceive him.