he would provide ponies for each of them , and a horse for gandalf , for their journey to the forest , and he would lade them with food to last them for weeks with care , and packed so as to be as easy as possible to carry-nuts , flour , sealed jars of dried fruits , and red earthenware pots of honey , and twice-baked cakes that would keep good a long time , and on a little of which they could march far .