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Author
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Topic: "Where The Wind Carries You" -- the full story
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Vic George The ND Guy
Super Smurf
Member # 300
Member Rated:
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posted 10-16-2023 05:53 AM
Here is my EMPATH: The Luckiest Smurf adaptation of the 1980s cartoon show episode "Never Smurf Till Tomorrow". Enjoy!
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Chapter 1
It was a day in the Smurf Village following a hurricane that had swept into the forest, causing some level of damage but not anything that required major fixes. The village looked like a mess when the Smurfs got up that morning to see what effect the storm had, and as much as they didn't like the idea of having to clean up after a storm, the Smurfs immediately sprang forth into action to start the cleanup and repair work.
Empath went throughout the village to observe and inspect the work that was taking place after the hurricane, with Polaris Psyche walking beside him. "It looks like we came through this hurricane with hardly a problem, Polaris," Empath said. "We should have everything back to normal within a day."
"It is quite fortunate that the village has survived with minimal damage, given the construction materials for your residences, Empath," Polaris said. "Perhaps a remodeling to use materials and design features similar to those for the construction of Psychelia would be something to discuss with Papa Smurf and your fellow Smurfs."
"This smurf appreciates your ideas, Polaris, but this smurf feels that the other Smurfs would not be interested in turning the Smurf Village into yet another Psychelia as far as form and function," Empath said.
"But wouldn't that make a whole lot more sense to do so if the Smurf Village wishes to survive more storms like this in the future?" Polaris asked. "This one does not understand why apart from camouflaging it from humans that the village must be constructed to resemble mushrooms."
"It's simply because mushrooms are a part of Smurf culture, Polaris, that we just can't call ourselves Smurfs without them being part of what we eat and what we use for shelter," Empath said. "It's our connection to the world that we live in in the forest that make us as Smurfs feel like we belong here among the animals that also call this forest their home."
"That is a concept that this one is finding difficulty trying to integrate into this one's thinking, Empath," Polaris said. "This one still finds his identity being connected to the world of Psychelia and its creator, the Psyche Master, who believes that we can be the masters of our world and that nature is something that must be brought under our dominion as masters."
"That's what makes this smurf feel so out of place living in that kind of world, Polaris," Empath said. "Everything in Psychelia just feels so cold and impersonal, like it really isn't connected to its surrounding world."
"Nevertheless, it may be worth the consideration of your people to construct such a city that would withstand the various elements that would beset it, Empath," Polaris said. "This one would not want to see the day in which the Smurfs do not have a village that they could permanently remain settled in."
"Neither would this smurf, Polaris, but all the same, this smurf would rather not have the Smurf Village turn into another Psychelia," Empath said.
They soon appeared outside Tapper's Tavern, where its proprietor was busy doing cleanup and repair work around the premises. "Smurf o' the morning to you, lads," Tapper greeted. "I see that the village has fared well for the storm that has smurfed through the forest last night, has it not?"
"This smurf can see how fortunate we are in surviving through the hurricane, Tapper," Empath said. "How are things looking inside your tavern?"
"Oh, just some broken mugs and a few fallen pictures and some mementos and family heirlooms that are in need of repair, my fellow Empath," Tapper said. "But overall, it should be smurfing back in business very soon. I wager that your house hasn't smurfed much worse for wear for the both of you."
"Things inside our residence have remained stable for the most part, fellow Tapper, which this one appreciates your concern about," Polaris said. "This one senses that you have a story to tell about a storm like this in which you were in a rather dire situation with your fellow Smurfs."
"Indeed I have, my good Polaris, indeed I have," Tapper said. "You know my fellow Smurf Lazy was a major part of that story, and you know how he normally is when it comes to work, even during preparations of storms like this."
"This one is very aware that Lazy Smurf is not inherently productive in his work with his fellow Smurfs, that most of the time he would rather be sleeping than doing any work," Polaris said.
"Aye, and that's something that I'm always praying to the Almighty about, Polaris," Tapper said. "Nonetheless, he is a very important part of the story, which I would be happy to tell you and Empath all about, since this happened about two years before Empath smurfed home for good. Some of the details of this story were provided to me from Lazy himself and also from Narrator, but anyway here is how it happened..."
As Tapper's story began, Empath and Polaris both saw in his recollections the village preparing for a hurricane similar to the one they have just recently survived through. Hefty was with Painter helping to seal up the shutters of his house's windows, and Handy was with Smurfette helping to protect her garden with a wooden box to place down over it.
"Great Smurfness, Handy, do you think Tracker is right that a hurricane is coming?" Smurfette asked as she watered her garden before Handy lowered the box over it.
"If Tracker Smurf told me that the animals told him a hurricane is coming, then a hurricane is coming," Handy said as he lowered the box using his crane.
Meanwhile, Tracker was with a family of birds, trying to secure its nest with some rope to make sure they don't get blown away with their home. "Okay, Mrs. Sparrow, now pull," Tracker said.
The mother sparrow pulled on the rope at the same time that Tracker was pulling on it to make sure it was tied tightly to the branches. "There you are," Tracker said. "It's a good thing Weaver smurfed me enough rope to make sure your home won't get lost in the storm."
The birds chirped gratefully for Tracker's assistance in protecting them.
"My pleasure, my fellow friends," Tracker said, before he started hearing a rumbling in the distance and saw clouds advancing toward them overheard. "You're right that this hurricane can't be a few hours away, Mrs. Sparrow."
Back in the village, Handy was watching Greedy caulking up the windows of his house. "Gosh, Greedy, that caulking smurfs just like vanilla icing," Handy commented.
"Vanilla icing? Don't be silly, Handy," Greedy said, as they both shared a laugh together. Then after Handy walked away from Greedy's house, the village cook took a lick of the caulking to taste it. "It's actually butter pecan," he said to himself.
Handy then approached Vanity's house, which was boarded up for the coming storm. "Don't worry, my precious darlings, you'll be perfectly safe," he heard Vanity say from inside his house.
Handy knocked on the door. "Everything smurfed nice and secure in there, Vanity?" Handy asked.
"Absosmurfly, Handy," Vanity called out. He was looking at all the mirrors inside his house. "Oh, Daddy won't let anything happen to his precious babies, now won't he? Because Daddy loves his babies, doesn't he?"
Handy listened to Vanity speak to all his mirrors and kiss them to make sure they are all safe. He wasn't sure what to think about Vanity's obsessive concern for his mirrors, but he checked Vanity's house down as being secure on his checklist.
He then moved on to the harbor where the S.S. Smurf II was being docked. Dreamy was there with a crew of Smurfs working together to make sure the ship was secure in the harbor. "Batten down the hatches! Lower the mainsails!" Dreamy called out to his crew. "Stow that rigging, mates! Tie all those stern lines! We're in for a bit of a flow!"
Hefty pulled on a rope tied to a stake driven deep in the ground to make sure it was nice and tight.
"Hurry, mates, hurry!" Dreamy called out.
"Are you just about finished, Dreamy?" Handy asked as he was standing before the S.S. Smurf II.
"Aye, aye, Handy," Dreamy said. "Everything will be shipshape in no time."
Handy marked down the S.S. Smurf II as being secure on his checklist. "I love the way that sailors talk," he said to himself as he moved on from the harbor back into the village. "Has anyone seen Lazy?" he asked the Smurfs who were busy trying to secure the village well.
"I saw him over at the village windmill, Handy," Brainy said, as he was so distracted to answer Handy's question that he let go of the cover he and Clumsy were going to put over the well. Clumsy fell with the cover down into the well and sprayed Brainy's face with water as soon as he reached the bottom.
"Thanks, Brainy, I'll go and check the windmill," Handy said as he headed in that direction. He called out Lazy's name as soon as he entered the windmill and started looking for him, but he couldn't see him anywhere that he looked. And then he heard snoring coming from outside the windmill. Handy looked out from a door near the top of the mill and saw Lazy resting on one of the sails.
"Lazy!" Handy shouted, grabbing him from the sail he was resting on.
Lazy woke up and found himself standing next to Handy. "Oh, hi, Handy...what's smurfing on?"
"Lazy, Miller asked you to secure the windmill because there's a hurricane coming," Handy said sternly.
"Oh, right...hurricane...secure the windmill...I got ya, Handy," Lazy said as he laid himself back down to sleep.
Handy got a bucket of water to throw onto Lazy to wake him up again. "Lazy, this is no time to be resting! Now shutter all the windows, bar all the doors, and hurry! And the most important of all, make sure that you smurf down this machinery good and smurf, because if the sails should ever smurf loose, who knows what could happen. And whatever you do, don't fall asleep! This could be a matter of life and smurf!"
"I won't let you or Miller down, Handy, I promise!" Lazy said, sounding more alert.
"Attasmurf, Lazy," Handy said, sounding pleased. "I'll smurf back on you later."
After Handy left the windmill, Lazy found himself going back to sleep again, but he didn't rest for long before he remembered how important it was to shut down the windmill's machinery. "Oh, I can't smurf to sleep on the job," he said, getting up from his resting place to throw all the switches he could to shut down the machinery. "This could be a matter of life and smurf."
But there was one switch that was out of his reach. He leaped up as high as he could to try throwing the switch, but he just wasn't high enough. He saw a ladder nearby and raced over to grab it, but after he climbed it and tried to throw the switch, he found that it was jammed to the point where it ended up breaking off.
Lazy was thrown off the ladder after pulling so hard on the switch that it broke off, landing beneath one of the mechanical arms that bonked him on the head and caused him to become unconscious.
The wind started to pick up and the waves of the sea started getting higher as the hurricane came closer and closer inland. The animals of the forest scurried for safety into their holes and dens to escape the fierceness of the storm that was coming.
Back in the village, Handy was with Papa Smurf, making sure everything on the checklist was marked off. "Everything in the village so far is secured, Papa Smurf," Handy reported. "Brainy and Clumsy are still trying to secure the well, but they should have it secured soon enough."
"That leaves only the windmill," Papa Smurf said.
"It should be secured by now, Papa Smurf," Handy said. "I smurfed Lazy in charge of that."
"Lazy? You allowed Lazy to batten down the windmill?" Brainy said as he approached both Handy and Papa Smurf.
"Well, how else will he ever learn how to be responsible, Brainy?" Handy asked. "Besides, he wouldn't let us down when it's a matter of life and smurf."
"Mark my smurfs, Handy Smurf, Lazy will never learn to be responsible for anything important," Brainy said. "How many times do we have to smurf him to do something before he actually does it? How many times does he just smurf on the job and leave other Smurfs having to smurf his end? It's only a wonder that Papa Smurf even tolerates such behavior smurfing from him when..."
"Brainy Smurf, every one of us here has their own faults, including me," Papa Smurf said. "Just because you know better than your fellow Smurfs doesn't make you perfect. What matters is that we smurf the same care for each other despite our own faults."
"Oh, sure, Papa Smurf...I understand that completely," Brainy said.
"Well, if you two will excuse me, I have to make sure that the windmill is shut down," Handy said as he left Brainy and Papa Smurf.
As Handy approached the windmill, Miller intercepted him. "Handy, why haven't you got the windmill smurfed down yet?" he asked, sounding worried.
"I smurfed Lazy in charge of smurfing that job, Miller," Handy said. "Why are you so worried?"
"Take a smurf at the windmill and you tell me," Miller said, pointing to the windmill sails still moving.
"Oh no!" Handy said. He quickly went inside the windmill calling for Lazy and found him still lying on one of the big cogs. "Lazy, what have you done? What have you done?" he cried out, shaking him awake.
Lazy looked at Handy feeling rather groggy. "Handy? What happened? I was trying to..."
"Trying to what?" Handy scolded. "You told me that you wouldn't smurf off to sleep! You told me that you wouldn't let me down! Now I have to get some Smurfs in here to smurf the job that you wouldn't smurf and fast!"
As Handy went out to get some Smurfs to help shut down the windmill, Lazy felt a bump on the back of his head. He wanted to tell Handy so much that he wasn't trying to fail him, but Handy wasn't at the point of listening to him...not when there was a hurricane coming.
Hefty and Tapper were both working together to secure equipment in the Smurf Village to keep it from being blown away when they heard Handy coming. "Hefty! Tapper! I need your help at the windmill!" he called out.
"Great Smurfiny Crickets, my fellow Hefty, this sounds urgent," Tapper said.
"We might as well smurf Handy a hand with the windmill, Tapper," Hefty said as they both went to join Handy.
Smurfette and Duncan McSmurf were both pounding stakes in the ground to secure the box placed over her garden when Handy came. "Smurfette! Smurfette! We need your help at the windmill! Lazy fell asleep!" he called out.
"Oh dear," Smurfette moaned. "Duncan, I've got to help him!"
"Don't worry about your garden, lassie," Duncan said. "You go help your friends while I make sure this gets smurfed down good and tight."
Brainy and Clumsy were still struggling with trying to get the cover over the well when Handy and the Smurfs he gathered passed by them. "Brainy! I need your help and fast!" Handy called out.
Brainy let go of the cover, leaving Clumsy to fall down into the well again, and joined the other four Smurfs. "Handy, what's going on?" Brainy asked as he followed along.
"It's the windmill, Brainy," Handy called out. "We have to smurf it down before the storm smurfs it to pieces!"
"Oh, I knew that Lazy wasn't going to be up to the task of smurfing down the windmill by himself, Handy Smurf...I just knew it!" Brainy said.
"Let's just worry about smurfing down the windmill first, and then we can worry about blaming anybody for this later," Tapper suggested as the five Smurfs entered the windmill.
The wind got stronger and stronger as the hurricane came closer and closer inland, making the windmill's sails spin even faster. Lazy was staggering around, trying to recover from the bump on his head, while his fellow Smurfs were busy trying to secure the windmill. "Smurfette! The windows!" Handy called out. "Brainy, Tapper! The doors! Hefty! Help me with the machinery!"
Smurfette got to each of the windows and bolted them closed. "There!"
Brainy and Tapper worked together to close the doors, struggling against the fierce wind. Soon they both got the doors closed, with Brainy pulling as hard as he could to keep them closed. "Hurry, Tapper, the important thing is to get the job done," Brainy said as Tapper carried over the beam to bolt the doors closed.
Tapper dropped the beam into its holders, causing Brainy to scream as the beam pinched his fingers. "Sorry about that, Brainy," he said as Brainy removed his hands from the holders.
Meanwhile, the other Smurfs were dealing with the fierceness of the storm as the hurricane was blowing around things, causing ropes holding down things to snap, and making things made of breakable materials inside every Smurf's house to shake. Papa Smurf was with Baby Smurf inside his laboratory, trying to calm down the infant's crying while trying to keep his vials, tubes, and bottles from shattering. Vanity was trying to keep his mirrors from shattering inside his own house, and Slugger was busy minding Tapper's Tavern, trying to keep the glass mugs and Tapper's precious family heirlooms from breaking.
"Well, this storm is rough, but what's really rough is not having any topping for this pudding," Greedy said as he was hiding underneath the table in his kitchen to eat his pudding.
Suddenly Clumsy came flying out of the well that he fell into and crash-landed through the roof of Greedy's house, right on top of his pudding. "Uh, hi, Greedy," Clumsy said.
"Clumsy Smurf," Greedy said with some restrained anger. "You're not quite what I had in mind for a topping."
Inside the windmill, Handy and Hefty were both struggling with a giant wrench. "Hefty, we've got to stop this axle! It's out of control!" Handy said.
"I know, Handy, I know!" Hefty said. "This is one of the times that I wish Gutsy and Tuffy were in here with me."
"Handy, Hefty, do any of you need my help?" Lazy asked as he approached the two Smurfs struggling with the wrench.
"No, Lazy," Handy said angrily. "This is your fault that we're in this mess!"
"But I didn't mean to, Handy," Lazy said apologetically. "Honestly, I didn't..."
"Not now, Lazy, we've got work to do," Handy said. And Lazy just simply stood there crying, realizing that Handy wasn't going to listen.
Meanwhile, Brainy was struggling with another set of doors, and the wind was making one of the doors open and close, constantly hitting Brainy as he was trying to keep it closed. Tapper was carrying another beam, hoping to get the other set of doors bolted and closed. "Hurry, Tapper, we need to smurf this door..."
Suddenly the door was ripped from its hinges and blown straight into the machinery room, where friction from the spinning axle was causing the head of the giant wrench to heat up. It destroyed part of the machinery as well as the giant wrench. "Handy, Hefty, are you all right?" Smurfette asked as the other Smurfs joined around them.
"We're all right, Smurfette, but there's no way to stop the sails now," Handy said.
Suddenly they could feel themselves being lifted off the ground as the wind now pulled the windmill straight up from the ground and being carried away, rising higher and higher as they are being taken away from the village, the windmill sails acting as propellers to lift them airborne.
Papa Smurf saw the shutters of one of his windows being ripped away by the winds, and as he looked out into the storm he saw that the windmill was being carried away. "Amazing, simply amazing," he said to himself.
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VIC GEORGE -- Westfield, MA, USA
"Cat and mouse games really aren't much fun for us mouse types" -- Empath from "Empath The Bandit Smurf"
Posts: 4092 | From: Westfield, MA | Registered: Mar 2003
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Vic George The ND Guy
Super Smurf
Member # 300
Member Rated:
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posted 10-16-2023 06:01 AM
Chapter 2
"Hot acorn brew and croissants! Get your fresh hot acorn brew and croissants!" Biscotti said as he brought a cart around to serve his fellow Smurfs while they were busy with the hurricane cleanup and repair.
Empath, Polaris, and Tapper were distracted from the telling of the story to see Biscotti approaching them. "Well, my fellow Biscotti, it seems like you were up and about for business sooner than Greedy was in his kitchen," Tapper said.
"Neither of us got smurfed really bad from the storm, Tapper, but Greedy's got lunch and dinner to think about, so I might as well smurf my fellow Smurfs a coffee break to give them some energy for the rest of the morning," Biscotti said.
"This smurf appreciates your concern for the welfare of the other Smurfs, Biscotti," Empath said as he grabbed a cup of acorn brew and a croissant from the cart.
"How about you, Polaris? It's going to be a while before Greedy smurfs up your nutrient paste," Biscotti offered.
"This one is functioning normally, thank you," Polaris said. "This one is not in need for any nourishment right now."
"You sure? Because I can smurf you some bread that doesn't have any sugar in it, only the nutrients that you need to smurf you through the day," Biscotti said.
"Some other time, perhaps, this one may require such form of nourishment," Polaris said.
Biscotti sighed as he poured a cup of acorn brew for Tapper. "It's a good thing this storm wasn't like the last one that carried away the windmill, Tapper. I sure wouldn't be in your place when that happened."
"That was what I am currently telling Empath and Polaris about, Biscotti, and indeed I wouldn't want to be in that place either," Tapper said. "But you know, the Almighty sometimes smurfs us in places that we don't want to be for good reasons."
"You believe that this Almighty had a purpose for having you and five other Smurfs being carried away in a windwill to wherever it is in your story you were taken, fellow Tapper," Polaris said.
"Honestly, at the time that it happened, I wasn't sure whether He did smurf me there for His purpose or not, Polaris," Tapper said. "But smurfing back on the situation now, I could see that His hand was in everything that smurfed place, and that in time my fellow Smurfs will see for it themselves when the Almighty illumines that part of their lives to smurf His grace at work."
"This smurf would like to hear where it is that the wind carried you and the other Smurfs in the windmill during the storm, to see for myself how the Almighty might have had a hand in everything that transpired," Empath said, eager to have the story continue.
"It wasn't exactly a place that I would ever want to visit, and neither would my fellow Smurfs, Empath, but it was someplace where things would start to heat up in more than one smurf of the word," Tapper said.
As Tapper continued the story, Empath and Polaris saw the Smurfs in the windmill continue to hang on to the machine arms for dear life, fearing the worst. Empath could see that Tapper had his eyes closed the entire time and his mouth silently moving, speaking what seemed to be a prayer. Empath could understand that is what Tapper would do in such a dire situation that he and his friends would be in together.
After a while, when the shaking within the windmill ceased, Tapper opened his eyes and saw that his fellow Smurfs were still with him. "Great Smurfiny Crickets, is every Smurf all right in here?" he asked.
"I..I think so, Tapper," Smurfette said.
"Well, that was some ride," Hefty said as he let go of the arm he was holding onto and let out a sigh of relief.
"You can sure smurf that again," Smurfette said as she straightened out her hair.
"Indeed it certainly has been some ride, my dear Smurfette," Tapper said.
"I was never so scared in my whole life," Handy said.
And then they heard snoring, and they saw that Lazy was asleep on a pillow. "Apparently some have managed to smurf through this ride without any fear, my fellow Handy," Tapper said as he looked toward Lazy.
"It figures, since he's the one who smurfed us into this," Handy said with some disgust.
"Now let's see if I can smurf where we are," Brainy said as he headed for the only bolted door to remove the beam barring it. "According to my calculations and the estimated time that has elapsed since the windmill has been smurfed from the ground, my best guess is that we will be..."
But as soon as Brainy opened the door, he found himself almost falling out of the windmill. He held onto the door for dear life as he looked down and saw that they were now over the sea. "Help! Some Smurf, save me!"
Hefty reached out and pulled Brainy back inside the windmill.
"My best guess is that we are still airborne," Brainy said as he adjusted his glasses.
"But not for long, my fellow Brainy," Tapper said, looking out of one of the windows. "Look!"
"Oh no!" Smurfette said, also looking. "We're going to smurf right into the ocean."
"I sure hope you all can swim, because it's going to be long smurf home where this thing will smurf down," Hefty said.
"Not entirely true, Hefty," Brainy pointed out. "You see, there is an island that we're smurfing down toward that we'll be safe on until Papa Smurf smurfs a rescue operation for..."
"There's just one problem, Brainy...we're falling toward a volcano that is also on that island," Tapper said.
"And even worse, we're smurfing into the volcano," Handy added.
The Smurfs watched fearfully as the windmill continued its descent toward and into the volcano on the island, tearing itself apart as it fell down the chasm until it landed and broke itself completely into pieces on a ledge.
"Is every Smurf all right?" Tapper asked as five of the six Smurfs crawled from the wreckage.
"I...I think so, Tapper," Smurfette said. "Are you all right, Brainy?"
"No, I am not all right, Smurfette," Brainy said, wildly flailing his arms around. "Everything is so blurry. I must have a brain concussion or..."
"Or I must have your glasses, Brainy," Smurfette said, pulling them off her head and putting them back on Brainy's face. "There! How do you smurf now?"
"Much better now, since I can see you clearly, Smurfette," Brainy said with a chuckle.
"Oh my smurfness!" Handy exclaimed. "Not only is my windmill in pieces, but we're also inside a volcano, and from the smurfs of it, we're inside it pretty deep."
"Now that is certainly a problem, Handy," Hefty said, looking at how far up the opening of the chasm is from where they have landed.
Brainy looked and saw that Lazy was still sleeping. "Did you hear that, Lazy? Did you hear what kind of a mess you smurfed us into? I'm going to make sure that Papa Smurf hears about this...if we ever smurf out of here alive."
But Lazy just continued to sleep on, as if he didn't hear anything that Brainy said.
Handy examined the walls of the chasm and noticed something. "It's a good thing that geology is one of the lessons I smurfed attention to, because judging from the lava formations I would say this volcano erupts only once every 500 years," he said.
"Well, at least that's good news, Handy," Brainy said. "Since this volcano erupts only once every 500 years, I would say that we're absosmurfly in no danger."
"Brainy is right for once," Hefty said. "So let's get a start on climbing. We should be able to smurf out of this volcano in...I don't know...I'd say in a week."
Suddenly they could feel a rumbling underneath their feet. "Oh, and when exactly was the last eruption, Handy, since you're the expert geologist among us?" Brainy asked.
"Well, let me see," Handy said, as he felt the lava formations on the chasm walls and started making calculations in the dirt. He gulped when he realized what the results were. "I don't want to tell you this, Brainy, but according to my calculations, it had erupted exactly 500 years ago...to the day!"
"You mean...this volcano is going to blow today?" Smurfette asked, sounding fearful as another rumble shook the Smurfs on the ledge.
"I'm afraid that's what Handy is telling us, my fellow Smurfs," Tapper said as he looked down at the lava that is bubbling up far below in the chasm and slowly starting to rise.
"Meanwhile, my fellow Empath and Polaris, the Smurfs back in the village were smurfing out of their houses after the storm was over, seeing what kind of damage has been smurfed upon them and checking to see if every Smurf was all right," Tapper said. "It was probably a good thing that my friends Duncan and Tuffy had smurfed behind, because we were going to need their help in smurfing us safely back home, if we could smurf out of the volcano," Tapper said.
"This smurf would be eager to know how the village had fared from that hurricane that took you and your fellow Smurfs away, Tapper," Empath said.
And as Tapper continued to tell the story, Empath and Polaris could see that the Smurf Village was in a mess similar to the one that the hurricane they have recently survived had left the village in. Duncan was with Dreamy and Vanity as they looked around at the damage that was caused.
"Ah, michty me, what a mess this is," Duncan said. "It's going to smurf us a good while to clean everything up and smurf everything back in shape."
"But I guess we were fortunate, Duncan McSmurf," Dreamy said. "That hurricane could have smurfed a lot of damage if we haven't been prepared for it."
"How I know that for a fact," Vanity said as he looked at himself in his reflection. "Too much wind can ruin one's complexion. I wouldn't want to think of the resmurfenation process I'd have to smurf through to make myself handsome again."
"What's more important than your looks, Vanity, is your life," Duncan said. "If you didn't have that, you wouldn't be smurfing your days smurfing at yourself in the mirror and trying to smurf yourself as the most handsome Smurf around."
"Quickly, my little Smurfs!" Papa Smurf cried out as he came rushing toward Duncan, Dreamy, and Vanity. "The windmill...the windmill..."
"What's wrong, Papa Smurf?" Duncan asked. "Was the windmill damaged?"
"It's more than damaged, Duncan...it's been smurfed away by the wind, and what's worse is that I think it took six of my little Smurfs with it," Papa Smurf answered.
"Oh no!" Duncan said, pounding his fist. "Tapper was in the windmill along with Smurfette and the other laddies. I hate to think of what would happen to the poor boy wherever he is."
"But what will we do, Papa Smurf?" Dreamy asked.
"We need to prepare your ship for launch, Dreamy Smurf," Papa Smurf said. "We'll follow that storm to wherever they've been smurfed to. There's a good chance that we'll find them...if they survived that storm at all."
"I'd like to smurf with you to help find Tapper and the others, Papa Smurf," Duncan said.
"No, Duncan, I will need you to smurf here and make sure every Smurf is safe and that things will start to smurf back in order," Papa Smurf said. "I will take Tracker with me since he's got good eyes to see our lost Smurfs with. Marco will be our navigator, and Tuffy will smurf along with me in case we need to handle any danger on the sea."
"Aye, if you say so, Papa Smurf," Duncan said, agreeing with his decision.
Soon Papa Smurf led a group of Smurfs to the harbor where the S.S. Smurf II was docked. Greedy was carrying food supplies with him for the entire crew.
"We'll stow the supplies on board and set sail immediately," Papa Smurf said. "The sooner we smurf out onto the open seas, the better the chance that we will smurf up to and find our missing Smurfs."
"Aye, aye, Papa Smurf," Dreamy said, as he was wearing his captain's sailing hat, following directly behind Papa Smurf.
And then suddenly they stopped as they saw what had happened in the harbor. "Oh no! The storm wrecked my ship!" Dreamy cried out.
The Smurfs got a closer look at the S.S. Smurf II to see what kind of damage was caused. "I'd say the old lassie has smurfed quite a beating there, Dreamy," Duncan said.
"Gosh, Papa Smurf, now we'll never rescue them," Clumsy said as he started weeping.
"Let's face it, those Smurfs are now lost forever," Greedy said, seconding the emotion.
"I hate lost forever," Grouchy said.
"Nonsense, my little Smurfs," Papa Smurf said. "We can fix the ship and still be able to smurf after them."
"But Papa Smurf, it will be impossible to fix the ship without Handy," Dreamy said. "I mean, he's the one who smurfed it in the first place."
"Uh, yeah, he's right, Papa Smurf," Clumsy said, agreeing with Dreamy.
"He may be the one who designed it, Dreamy, but he isn't the only one who smurfed it together," Duncan said. "And he sure isn't the only Smurf around here who has the skills to fix it. Timber can help smurf us the wood we need, Carpenter can help smurf it all into planks, and we certainly can smurf the planks and do everything we can to smurf this ship back into shape, or am I just smurfing my breath here, only imagining that we can smurf this together?"
"Duncan is right, my little Smurfs," Papa Smurf said. "There is no such thing as 'impossible' as long as we are willing to smurf our backs into it together. We have overcome great obstacles as a family before, and we can certainly smurf it again. Those Smurfs need us to show that we won't let a hurricane smurf in the way of showing how much we care for them."
"I hate the word impossible," Grouchy said.
"So what do you say, laddies?" Duncan said. "Are we going to smurf this thing together or not?"
"Well...for our fellow Smurfs...I'm willing to help smurf my ship back together again," Dreamy said, sounding encouraged.
"Yeah, I certainly will for Brainy," Clumsy said.
"And I certainly will for Smurfette," Vanity said.
"And I sure as smurf will for Hefty and Handy," Tuffy said.
"You can count me in for the sake of Tapper," Tracker said.
And eventually the Smurfs that were with Papa Smurf all raised up their voices to agree that they will work together on rebuilding the ship.
"I'm certainly glad that you all have the spirit of the Smurf within you to agree on such a task we have ahead of us," Papa Smurf said, sounding pleased. "Now let's get ourselves started immediately...there isn't any time for us to waste!"
"Yes, Papa Smurf!" all the Smurfs said together enthusiastically, eager to get working.
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VIC GEORGE -- Westfield, MA, USA
"Cat and mouse games really aren't much fun for us mouse types" -- Empath from "Empath The Bandit Smurf"
Posts: 4092 | From: Westfield, MA | Registered: Mar 2003
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Vic George The ND Guy
Super Smurf
Member # 300
Member Rated:
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posted 10-16-2023 06:07 AM
Chapter 3
Tapper's story was interrupted this time by the appearance of Duncan McSmurf. "Greetings, my brother Smurfs and Psyche," he said. "That was quite a storm that we have smurfed through together."
"Salutations, fellow Duncan," Polaris said. "It appears that the village has survived the hurricane with only minimal damage within the premises."
"Oh, Duncan, thank the Almighty that you're still with us," Tapper said as he greeted Duncan with a heartfelt hug. "I wouldn't want to think of what I would do if I lost my dearest elder brother Smurf."
"You're the one that I was worrying about some years ago, laddie," Duncan said. "You would have been smurfed to a crisp if it weren't for Handy's whirlysmurfer invention."
"He designed it, yes, but it was our hands that smurfed it together, my fellow Duncan," Tapper said.
"This smurf would be curious to know what this 'whirlysmurfer' is that Handy invented while this smurf was still in Psychelia," Empath said.
"It was something that we smurfed together from salvaged parts of the windmill, my dear Empath," Tapper said. "It was such a blessed thing that Handy had the ingenuity to design in such a short time that we had to smurf it together in, that I could feel that the Almighty's hand was in this situation. Handy could better explain the principles of how it smurfs, but what mattered the most to us was whether it would smurf long enough for us to escape our predicament."
"Did I hear somebody mention my name?" Handy said as he was just passing by with some wooden planks that he was carrying from Carpenter's workshop.
"Aye, Handy, it was the story of how you, Tapper, and some of our friends escaped the volcano that we're telling those who haven't smurfed there to witness it," Duncan said.
"This one would like to know firsthand everything about your role in the escape of your fellow Smurfs, Handy," Polaris said.
"If you must know, Polaris, then I can smurf you some time to tell my part of the story, even though it's mostly from my perspective," Handy said. "Not that Tapper can't tell the story better, but this is how it happened..."
As Handy told his part of the story, Empath and Polaris saw in his recollections the Smurfs stranded on the ledge deep in the chasm of the volcano, who were now busy working on the invention that Tapper and Duncan had mentioned -- the "whirlysmurfer". Handy had sketched out the plans for building the whirlysmurfer on the wall, which Brainy was spending his time observing and critiquing.
"Come on, Brainy, we need your help," Hefty called out.
"Honestly, Hefty, I'm not so sure about the aerodynamics that are involved here," Brainy said as he continued to study the design plans. "Now if the smurferon is connected to the...uh, well, the important thing is to get the job..."
Hefty grabbed Brainy and carried him away from the design plans. "Why don't we leave the smurfodynamics to Handy, Brainy? He seems to know what he's smurfing better than you right now."
"Fine with me, Hefty...smurf whatever you want," Brainy said with displeasure. "I'm just a lone voice smurfing in an intellectual wilderness, as usual."
Handy was directing Tapper and Smurfette with a piece to place on the invention when Hefty placed Brainy before him. "There you are, Brainy Smurf," Handy said. "You can have the duty of smurfing the forward smurfilizer."
"I assume that it's the most important part of your brilliant invention," Brainy said, picking up a hammer. "A wise decision as usual, Handy. I would be glad to smurf it in its proper place."
As Brainy went forth to do the task, Handy turned to Hefty and whispered, "If worse comes to worst, we can smurf without it."
Brainy was whistling the Smurf song while carrying the hammer until he tripped over a small crack in the ledge, causing him to fall and drop the hammer. It fell down into the lava that was bubbling down below at the bottom of the chasm and was instantly burned up.
"Smurfs like things are really heating up around here," Hefty said, as he and a few other Smurfs took a break from their work and looked at the lava that was slowly rising.
"I don't like this, Hefty," Handy said. "A few more hours and this place is going to smurf."
"Oh, Handy, do you think this whirlysmurfer is going to get us out of here in time?" Smurfette asked, sounding worried.
"Sure it will, Smurfette," Handy said, sounding a bit confident, only to add, "I hope."
"Smurf a little faith in your abilities, my good Handy," Tapper said. "You haven't smurfed us down before, and I doubt that you will smurf us down now. Just smurf the word, and we shall have it smurfed in no time."
"Thanks for your smurf of confidence, Tapper," Handy said. "I only hope it will be enough."
Then Lazy came rushing toward them carrying an armful of tools. "What do you want me to smurf, Handy? What can I do?" he asked, sounding eager to help.
"Well, gee, Lazy, I guess you should, uh...," Handy tried to speak.
"We don't need your help, Lazy," Brainy scolded. "We don't even want your help. We wouldn't even be here if it weren't for your help. And if we all the smurf the bucket in this volcano, it will be your fault. And furthermore, if you..."
Brainy's speech was cut short by some rocks that fell down into the chasm that hit Brainy from behind, knocking him off the whirlysmurfer and causing some damage to the craft still being built.
Brainy managed to dig himself out of the rubble, with his glasses knocked askew. "I think that my point has been well made," he said as he straightened his glasses.
"What do you smurf, Handy?" Lazy asked. "Do you think that this is all my fault?"
"Well, Lazy, I, uh,..." Handy tried to speak.
"Oh, never mind," Lazy said, dropping the tools on the ground. "I guess Brainy is right. This whole thing was my fault, and I would be better off not helping anybody."
"Oh, Brainy, that was just a mean thing to say to Lazy, especially when you don't know what even happened," Smurfette scolded, sounding upset with him.
"Don't worry about me, Smurfette," Lazy said as he walked off into a cave. "I'll just smurf out of the way until it's finished."
Brainy looked at Tapper, as if he was expecting him to understand, but Tapper just looked away and focused mostly on his task. "Honestly, Tapper, what have I smurfed wrong here?" he asked.
Tapper heaved a heavy sigh. "I don't want to get upset with you, Brainy, but I honestly feel that you shouldn't be kicking a Smurf when he's down. Whether Lazy is responsible for this situation or not, you should at least encourage him to smurf his best when he's trying to smurf an effort to make up for past mistakes."
"And you're not the least bit mad at him for smurfing this to you?" Brainy asked. "I just don't understand how you would be this forgiving toward Lazy."
"I am that way because the Almighty has been that forgiving towards me, my fellow Brainy," Tapper said. "I haven't smurfed anything to deserve His forgiveness, but He offers it anyway because He loves me as one of His own. I want Lazy to know that, whatever his faults and mistakes, that he is still loved by his fellow Smurfs, and that most of all, he is loved by the same Almighty who loves him through me."
"I feel the same love for Lazy as I do for all my fellow Smurfs, Tapper," Smurfette said. "It may be difficult, but I'm not going to treat him or Brainy or Jokey or any of the Smurfs that I don't like as if they don't matter to me, that we're not part of the same family."
"As Papa Smurf has said, my dear Smurfette, our love for each other is what makes us Smurfs," Tapper said. "We don't have to like each other, but we must be willing to love each other as one big family...the same kind of family that the Almighty wants to have with His creation."
"In the meantime, though, me and the laddies in the Smurf Village were smurfing the old S.S. Smurf II back into shape," Duncan said, throwing in his two cents to the story. "Tailor and Showoff were both busy smurfing up the masts, Weaver smurfed some new ropes, Carpenter smurfed some new planks, and the rest of us were smurfing it all in place so we would be ready for launch. We were all amazed at what we were able to accomplish in such a short time that even Papa Smurf was pleased with the results, and so was the ship's captain."
And as Duncan told his part of the story, Empath and Polaris saw in his recollections the S.S. Smurf II being refurbished and ready to set sail. Papa Smurf, Dreamy, and their crew were now standing on the deck of the ship as soon as the repairs were finished.
"You were right, Papa Smurf," Dreamy said. "I didn't think that we would be able to complete this sooner than I expected."
"Sometimes love will bring about in you things that you would never expect to smurf about yourself, Dreamy," Papa Smurf said. He then called out, "Okay, Farmer, cut us loose."
Farmer readied his ax and cut the mooring rope. The S.S. Smurf II slowly drifted into the waters, where all the Smurfs saw that it was completely seaworthy. They all cheered at their accomplishment together.
"Well, Captain Dreamy, set sail for the ocean while I plot our course," Papa Smurf said.
"Aye, aye, Papa Smurf," Dreamy said with a salute. He then called out to the crew, "Avast, ye sea dogs! Set the mainsail! Hoist the mizzenmast!"
The crew worked together to unfurl the mainsail and the mizzenmast until the ship caught the wind and it started to move across the water toward the distant horizon on the sea.
"Join with me in singing the song, maties," Marco said. And so the Smurfs on board the ship sang:
Aye, the Smurf II, the places you've been to,
The things that you've smurfed us, the stories you tell,
Aye, the Smurf II, I sing to your spirit,
The Smurfs who have served you so long and so well.
Ah dee ah, dee, dee dee dee dee.
Oh dee oh, dee, dee dee dee dee.
Ah dee ah, dee, dee dee dee dee.
Oh dee oh, dee, dee.
Duncan heard the song being sung from the shore and felt a longing in his heart that he could be there with the crew to sing it with them. "May the spirits of the McSmurf clan be with you, laddies," he said silently.
Vanity and Painter were also at the shore watching the ship depart. "Oh, I hope that the crew would find them, Painter," Vanity said.
"Well, que sera, sera, M'sieu Vanity," Painter said with a shrug.
"What does that even mean, Painter?" Vanity asked, sounding confused.
"How should I know?" Painter said. "It's something that I only hear Zipper speak, and it's not even my native language."
"Oh, what a tiresome day this is becoming," a familiar voice broke in. Tapper, Empath, Polaris, Duncan, and Handy turned to see that Lazy was approaching, carrying a wheelbarrow full of junk that he picked up from the debris strewn about by the hurricane.
"Great Smurfiny Crickets, my fellow Lazy, I didn't expect to see you up and about actually doing any cleanup work," Tapper said as Lazy stopped at the tavern with his load to let out a yawn.
"Normally I wouldn't be awake, Tapper, but somehow I couldn't keep myself asleep this morning, not even with the herbs that I've been smurfing in my pipe," Lazy said. "I just felt like I needed to smurf something else so I could become tired enough to sleep."
"You haven't been trying to smurf a private stash of smurfnip in your house now, have you?" Duncan asked, looking at Lazy rather suspiciously.
"What, me with smurfnip? I haven't smurfed it in years since it was banned, Duncan," Lazy said. "Mostly it's just those relaxing herbs, like wild lettuce, catnip, chamomile, mugwort...Chatty and Nosey have smurfed me some damiana, and it makes me feel really mellow. You sure that you don't want to try some of that yourself?"
"Just don't breathe any of what you've been smurfing in my face, Lazy," Handy said, taking a step backward from him. "I have a feeling that I'm going to smurf high just by being near you all day."
"No thank you, Lazy," Tapper said. "Me and Duncan are not interested in smurfing up our lungs with smoke, nor do we want to see the Smurf Village in nice bright beautiful colors with rainbows and smiley faces everywhere."
"Neither is this smurf or Polaris interested, Lazy, but we would like to hear from you your part in the story about your escape from the volcano," Empath said.
"Oh, that," Lazy said. "Well, it's not something that I really feel proud about because I still blame myself for having smurfed us into that situation in the first place, even if the whole thing really wasn't my fault and the other Smurfs have forgiven me for it. Tapper was there the whole time with me and I feel so bad for having smurfed him there with us in the volcano, and if there was one Smurf who shouldn't forgive me for it, I felt that it was him."
"I'm sorry that you felt that way about me then, my fellow Lazy, but if you really knew me then like you know me now, you'd know that I'd be willing to smurf through Hades just for you," Tapper said.
"I believe you, Tapper, I honestly do," Lazy said. "Anyway, as much as I didn't want to be lazy when we had our lives at smurf, there wasn't anything my fellow Smurfs wanted me to smurf as far as helping them build the whirlysmurfer, so I just smurfed off into a cave to rest for a bit. While I was resting in the cave, I have smurfed this really weird dream, the kind of dream that you would smurf from eating too many mushrooms before bedtime."
"This smurf would like to hear of your dream, Lazy, whether it is one caused by any substance intoxication or not," Empath said.
"As this one would also be curious to know what it is that you have dreamed, given the strangeness of this phenomenon among you Smurfs," Polaris said.
"Well, if you must know, this is what happened in my dream," Lazy began.
As Lazy told of his dream, Empath and Polaris saw into his mind Lazy sleeping on the ground on a bright sunny day in the Smurf Village when Smurfette approached him. "Lazy, Lazy, the Smurfs need your incredible strength, your legendary bravery, your unbelievably clear thinking," Smurfette cried out.
Lazy opened his eyes to see who was talking to him before closing them again.
"But, of course, if you're too sleepy...," Smurfette continued to speak.
Lazy found himself awakening. "Oh no, Smurfette," he said with a yawn. "Although sleeping is very smurfy, it's not nearly as smurfy as helping my fellow Smurfs at a time of need. How may I help you, Smurfette?"
"You can help by smurfing rid of that terrible monster that's attacking the village," Smurfette said, pointing to a hideous tentacled creature looming high overhead, causing the Smurfs to run for their lives in fear.
"Oh, one of those creatures," Lazy said, not sounding afraid. "Well, all I need is a Smurf catapult and an onion."
"Oh, Lazy, you're so brave," Smurfette said, sounding enamored by him. "You're so smart. You're so...an onion?"
The hideous creature continued to menace the Smurfs as Handy and some other Smurfs wheeled out the catapult, readying it into position. "Have no fear, my fellow Smurfs," Lazy said confidently as he approached the catapult. "I will save this village from this monster, and we shall all sleep easier tonight."
"Here's your onion," Handy said as he handed Lazy the onion while the other Smurfs cheered.
"Now place me on the catapult and let's get this over with," Lazy said as he started eating the onion.
As soon as he was finished with the onion, Lazy placed himself on the catapult, and Handy launched him into the air. Lazy got himself into a sleeping position and hovered near the creature's face while snoring potent onion breaths. The creature smelled Lazy's breath and collapsed in a faint after a few puffs while the other Smurfs cheered.
Soon Lazy was back on the ground again, alone with Smurfette. "Oh, Lazy, you're so brave, so strong, and so handsome," she said with a grateful smile. "I would like to smurf you a great big kiss."
"Thanks, Smurfette," Lazy said as he laid himself back on the ground to sleep. "But right now, my kisses are so deadly."
And as Lazy drifted off to sleep in his dream, the last thing he could hear Smurfette say is, "Oh, Lazy, you're so...so...so...selfish..."
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VIC GEORGE -- Westfield, MA, USA
"Cat and mouse games really aren't much fun for us mouse types" -- Empath from "Empath The Bandit Smurf"
Posts: 4092 | From: Westfield, MA | Registered: Mar 2003
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Vic George The ND Guy
Super Smurf
Member # 300
Member Rated:
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posted 10-16-2023 06:09 AM
Chapter 4
"It's just what I thought...this dream does sound like you've smurfed too many mushrooms before bedtime, Lazy," Handy said.
"But that was the dream that I had when I was smurfing in the volcano, waiting for you Smurfs to finish with the whirlysmurfer," Lazy said. "I had weirder dreams than that, but that was the weirdest dream that I had when I wasn't smurfing anything."
"This smurf believes you, Lazy," Empath said. "Your mind was trying to deal with an emergency situation the best way it knew how, along with the guilt you felt about possibly letting your fellow Smurfs down in a crisis."
"I only wish I could sleep in a situation like that, Empath," Handy said. "But being blessed with the kind of skills that I have doesn't smurf me that kind of luxury, not when I have his life and the lives of other Smurfs at stake."
"I'd still be asking Lazy to smurf his weight if I were there in the volcano with you laddies, Handy," Duncan said. "I'd feel better if we could all smurf a good night's sleep once everybody's smurfed to safety and not a moment before then."
"This one would also expect Lazy to be productive in that situation, Duncan, even if his desire to do so is to atone for his misdeeds in regards to his fellow Smurfs," Polaris said.
"Hello, boys," Smurfette said as she approached the tavern and saw the Smurfs gathered around it. "How are things smurfing with you since we had the hurricane?"
"Oh, my dear Smurfette, it's so good to smurf your beautiful face again," Tapper said. "We couldn't be more pleased to know that we smurfed through this storm in one piece, more or less."
"I only wish the same can be smurfed about my garden this time around," Smurfette said. "We were so well-prepared for the hurricane we smurfed a few years ago, but now even with Duncan and Farmer's help, it smurfs like I'm going to have to smurf up my garden and start anew."
"That's unfortunate to hear, Smurfette, but this smurf is certain that your new garden will look better than it was before if you have anything to do with making it look better," Empath said.
"So what were you Smurfs talking about here?" Smurfette asked.
"It's just the story we're telling Empath and Polaris of how we escaped the volcano, Smurfette," Lazy said. "You were there with us, remember?"
Smurfette sighed. "How can I forget? Handy and Brainy were upset with you, Lazy, but I was worried about you, and so was Tapper. Hefty, he was so worried about smurfing us all out of there, I guess he didn't care whose fault it was."
"If you must know, Smurfette, I actually did care whose fault it was," Hefty said as he overheard the conversation while he was passing by and stopped to see what was going on. "But I was just too busy with making sure all of us smurfed out of there alive to even say anything about Lazy."
"At least you have your reasons for not saying anything, Hefty," Empath said. "Anyway, this smurf would love to hear from you, Smurfette, about how you finally managed to escape the volcano."
"Well, if you must know, Empath, we were just getting finished smurfing the whirlysmurfer together when the lava smurfed high enough that we were going to get swallowed up by it really soon if we didn't smurf out of there," Smurfette began to speak.
As Smurfette told her part of the story, Empath and Polaris saw in her recollections the group of Smurfs in the volcano putting the windmill sails on top of the whirlysmurfer to act as its propeller, making sure that it was firmly set in place. They have finished with that task around the same time that the lava was about an inch or so away from reaching the ledge.
"Now if it can only fly as good as it smurfs, Handy," Brainy said, sounding worried.
"There's only one way to find out," Handy said. "Smurf your stations, everybody. This volcano's about to smurf any second."
"I'm going to get Lazy," Smurfette said. "Don't smurf off without us."
"Hurry, Smurfette," Handy said as he, Brainy, Hefty, and Tapper got inside the whirlysmurfer and took their places at the controls, which were a series of seats with pedals attached. "Prepare for smurfoff in one minute."
"Let's get smurfing right now, Handy," Brainy said as he strapped himself into his seat. "This place is going to blow any second."
"We're waiting for Smurfette to get Lazy," Handy said as he strapped himself in at the topmost seat.
"Oh no," Brainy groaned as he unstrapped himself. "Lazy's going to do us in yet. If we all have to go smurf for him, we're all going to get smurfed." He went to the door of the whirlysmurfer and called out, "Smurfette, forget about Lazy! We'll smurf back for Lazy after the eruption! How hot can it get?"
Hefty grabbed Brainy and tossed him back into his seat. "Just strap yourself in, Brainy. They'll get here."
Meanwhile, Smurfette was racing through the cave she entered as fast as she could, calling out Lazy's name and hoping to find him as soon as possible. "Lazy! Lazy! It's time to..."
She stopped when she saw Lazy sleeping on the ground next to a flow of lava that was slowly pouring down toward him. "Lazy, Lazy, you have to wake up," Smurfette said as she approached him. "We have to..."
"I'm not asleep, Smurfette...I'm staying right here," Lazy said, sounding a bit angry.
"What?!?" Smurfette exclaimed, not believing what she was hearing.
"I don't deserve to live," Lazy said, sounding defeated and helpless. "I let my friends down...I fell asleep. They ended up in a volcano."
"Oh, don't be ridiculous, Lazy," Smurfette said, grabbing Lazy by the arm. "We're not leaving you here."
Back at the whirlysmurfer, Brainy was getting more nervous by the second, and Tapper found himself praying for enough time that they could get Lazy and then get themselves out alive soon. Then Handy saw through the window Smurfette leaving the cave with Lazy. "She's got Lazy," Handy said. "Okay, every Smurf, start smurfing the pedals. It's time to get this thing smurfing."
Every Smurf on board the whirlysmurfer -- Handy, Brainy, Hefty, Tapper, and soon Smurfette -- started to work the pedals in their seats, which started making the propeller on top of the invention spin. "Strap yourself in, Lazy," Handy said. "We're about to take off."
Lazy looked at his seat and noticed something. "But my seat doesn't have any pedals on it, Handy," he commented.
"That's right, Lazy," Brainy said in a condescending tone. "We don't want your help. You're just too unreliable."
"Brainy Smurf, stop with your bickering right this instant," Tapper barked.
"It's only a five-Smurf design, Lazy," Handy said. "Sorry."
"Let's go, Handy," Hefty said, feeling the rumbling outside getting worse. "We've got to smurf out of here."
Handy adjusted the flaps with the controls to prepare the craft for liftoff. "Full smurf ahead!"
"Oh sure, Lazy, sleep easy, while the rest of us are smurfing for our lives," Brainy continued to speak in the same manner while looking at Lazy just sitting there, feeling sorry for himself.
"Here we smurf!" Handy said, and soon the whirlysmurfer started to lift off from the ledge, slowly ascending its way toward the opening at the top of the chasm. The Smurfs continued to pedal as hard as they could to keep the propeller moving while the craft continued its ascent until it was all the way out of the chasm.
"Keep smurfing, my fellow Smurfs," Handy said as he adjusted the controls to the steering flaps. "We're not out of the clear yet."
The whirlysmurfer then started to move away from the top of the volcano, but it didn't get too far when the force of an explosion from the eruption caused the craft to lose control, with Handy bumping his head on the controls, knocking him out.
Lazy realized that it was time for him to do something. "Hang on, fellow Smurfs," he said, unstrapping himself from his seat and climbing up the ladder into Handy's seat to take over with the pedaling. "I'll get it! Hang on!"
The whirlysmurfer started to take a sharp dive toward the ocean as Lazy reached Handy's seat and started pedaling like crazy. "Keep smurfing, Smurfs! Keep smurfing!" he cried out.
"We're all going to be killed," Brainy yelled as he saw they were quickly approaching the ocean at the speed they're going in.
"Not exactly," Lazy said as he adjusted the controls for the steering flaps. Suddenly the whirlysmurfer made a turn as it straightened itself out and was now flying straight over the ocean.
"You did it, Lazy, you did it," Smurfette said, sounding grateful.
"I did, didn't I?" Lazy said, not believing what he had done. He then saw that the whole island was now covered in lava flowing from the volcano. "Keep smurfing the pedals...we can't land here."
Brainy soon found himself panting. "Oh...oh...I can't smurf this much more."
"Me neither," Smurfette said, also feeling exhausted.
"Lazy, there's got to be someplace we can land and soon," Tapper said between breaths, feeling his legs getting tired.
"There isn't any place where we can land," Lazy said as he looked out the window. "All there is is just water."
"Then we have no choice," Hefty said, his strength slowly giving out. "All Smurfs, prepare for landing."
The whirlysmurfer started to lose altitude as the Smurfs became worn out from all the pedaling and the propeller slowed down until they found themselves landing in the water. Suddenly the craft began to fill with water, and Lazy took Handy with him as all the Smurfs evacuated from the whirlysmurfer as it started to sink.
Lazy and the four other Smurfs with him found pieces of flotsam to hang onto as Handy started to awaken. "Oh, my head," he groaned as he also clung to a piece of floating wreckage. He felt his head and noticed that there was a bump.
"That was close," Hefty said with a sigh of relief as the six Smurfs watched the whirlysmurfer sink into the ocean. "For a moment there I thought we were goners."
"Well, don't be disappointed, Hefty...we may be goners yet," Brainy said.
"Let's try to think positive here, Brainy," Tapper said. "So far we escaped a volcano and we also escaped a sinking aircraft. We may yet also escape being in the ocean for who knows how long, but I feel that as long as the Almighty is with me, He will not allow for any of us to perish."
"Imaginary God or not, it's going to take a miracle for us to be rescued, Tapper," Hefty said.
Then Brainy saw a fin swimming through the ocean, joined by a few more that would soon circle around them. "I think I see a miracle right now, Tapper...look! We've been saved! We're being surrounded by a school of porpoises! They obviously want to smurf us a ride home!"
Then suddenly the creature attached to one of the fins emerged from the ocean right behind Brainy, baring its jaws, ready to devour him.
"Great Smurfiny Crickets, my dear Brainy, that isn't a porpoise," Tapper said. "That is a shark."
"A...a shark?" Brainy said, struggling to keep the shark's jaws from closing in on him. "You sure smurfed a fine time to tell me!" He managed to leap out of the shark's jaws and jump back into the water before he became its meal.
"Oh dear," Smurfette moaned as she saw the sharks circling around them. "What are we going to do?"
"Let me try this, Smurfette," Tapper offered. He then spoke to the sharks. "I have come in the name and the authority of the Almighty, the Lord of heaven and earth, to declare that you are under His dominion and that of His Son Jesus Christ, to whom you will have to answer for all that you have smurfed. You will leave this place at once, for it has been smurfed with the blood of His only begotten Son, who has died for His creation, and by His holy angels."
The instant Tapper spoke those words, a red ring of blood surrounded the Smurfs, acting as a barrier between them and the sharks. Soon the five Smurfs saw that the sharks began to swim away from them. "Tapper, you are truly beginning to amaze me," Brainy said after seeing the sharks leave.
"Who'd thought that Tapper's words would even have the power to smurf off a bunch of sharks?" Hefty said, also perplexed by what he saw happen.
"It's surprising that you've been a witness to the power of Tapper's faith, and still you wouldn't believe in the Almighty that he claims is real, Hefty," Empath said.
"So Tapper is a powerful speaker...so what?" Hefty said. "He speaks of this Jesus Christ and people and creatures obey him. It's not like it's different from Papa Smurf and other sorcerers using magic words to make others smurf their bidding."
"That's because it isn't magic, my fellow Hefty...it's just simply faith," Tapper said. "You continue to claim that this Almighty is an imaginary being, but you still refuse to believe even when there's evidence to prove that He is real. I'm afraid that what you're really showing me is rebellion, and it's going to harden your heart to the point where no amount of evidence will ever convince you to repent."
"Look, you want to be afraid of this God of yours, that's your business, Tapper," Hefty said. "But nobody's going to make me be afraid of something that I can't even see, hear, or touch. And that little stunt of yours out in the ocean isn't going to make me believe that this imaginary God is truly behind it smurfing the sharks away. This is totally ridiculous."
"Well, I wouldn't want to be smurfing in your place if you have to bow the knee to the Almighty and confess that He is Lord and all that, laddie," Duncan said.
"As long as I'm not bowing down to you either, Gutsy," Hefty said.
"That's Duncan to you, Hefty," Duncan said.
"If you would please, my fellow Smurfs, this one would like to hear the rest of the story, how the Smurfs who escaped the volcano were finally rescued out in the ocean," Polaris requested.
"We were smurfing a night out in the ocean after the sharks have smurfed away from us, my fellow Polaris," Tapper said. "It was an uneventful night, but none of us could smurf any sleep because it was just so cold, and besides that Hefty was complaining about being so wet and Brainy was complaining about being so starved for intellectual stimulation. All I could think of smurfing was to entertain my fellow Smurfs with the entire book of Psalms that I have memorized over the years, and that seemed to help still our souls during the long night."
"The only one I can still remember is the one that smurfs like this: 'The Lord is my Shepherd, I shall not want. He makes me to lie down in green pastures. He leads me beside the still waters. He restores my soul. He leads me in paths of righteousness for His Name's sake'," Smurfette recited.
"'Yea, though I walk through the valley in the shadow of death, I will fear no evil, for You are with Me; Your rod and Your staff, they comfort me'," Duncan added. "'You prepare a table for me in the midst of my enemies. You anoint my head with oil; my cup runs over. Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life, and I shall dwell in the house of the Lord forever'."
"That is one of this smurf's favorite psalms, Tapper," Empath said. "This smurf wishes to have been there to hear you say that to your fellow Smurfs in their hour of need."
"If you were there, Empath, I doubt that any of us would still be in the ocean," Tapper said with a chuckle. "Now, then, it was the following morning when we discovered two things with our fellow Smurfs."
"Do you mind if I smurfed that part of the story to these star-faced smurfs?" Hefty asked. "I was there with you Smurfs when it happened, you know, so..."
"By all means, my fellow Hefty, the smurf is all yours," Tapper said.
And as Hefty now told his part of the story, Empath and Polaris saw in his mind the six Smurfs still out in the ocean clinging to flotsam when the morning arose. They were now talking about something else than their immediate situation.
"Are you sure, Handy?" Smurfette asked.
"Absosmurfly sure, Smurfette," Hefty said, feeling the purple substance that was now on his fingers. "It's my special axle grease. I got it on me when I bumped my head."
"But look," Smurfette said, pointing to the back of Lazy's head where she also saw a bump rising. "Lazy's got it on the back of his head, too."
"Then it's true that Lazy didn't fall asleep on the job," Hefty realized.
"That's right, Hefty," Smurfette said. "He just bumped his head trying to smurf his job."
"Oh, that just brings such relief to my spirit, knowing that Lazy has been vindicated of any negligence that any of us thought he had smurfed," Tapper said with a sigh.
"Smurfs, I think that we all owe a Lazy an apology," Smurfette said. "Isn't that right, Brainy?"
"Oh, of course, Smurfette," Brainy said. "I knew all along that Lazy would never be the type of Smurf who would be smurfing on the job when there's a major catasmurphe taking place, and furthermore..."
Hefty bumped Brainy on the back of his head with his fist to get him to stop talking. "We're sorry we smurfed the worst of you, Lazy," Hefty said.
"Uh, yeah," Brainy added, feeling a little dazed. "Any one of us could smurf that kind of mistake about you."
"When it smurfed down to it, Lazy, you really proved yourself to be a hero after all," Handy said sincerely.
"Indeed you have, my fellow Lazy," Tapper said. "If you haven't smurfed over the controls of the whirlysmurfer, we wouldn't have made it this far."
"Oh, thanks, my fellow Smurfs," Lazy said gratefully. "You really don't know much this means to me, especially when I..." The rest of his speech had trailed off when Lazy found himself falling asleep.
"Everybody, look," Smurfette called out, seeing something approaching them in the distance. "It's Dreamy's ship!"
"Oh, praise be to the Almighty, we're saved," Tapper said joyfully.
On board the S.S. Smurf II, Tracker was at the front of the ship when he noticed the Smurfs floating on the sea, waving their arms and calling out for help. "Papa Smurf! Captain Dreamy! I see them!"
"I knew I would find them, just by calculating the direction of the speed and the wind," Papa Smurf said. "Full smurf ahead, Dreamy."
"Aye, aye, Papa Smurf," Dreamy said, as he directed Grouchy to steer the ship in the direction that the shipwrecked Smurfs were in.
The six Smurfs in the sea cheered as the S.S. Smurf II steered towards them and came close enough for the crew to drop a ladder for them to climb aboard on.
"You're going home, my little Smurfs, you're going home," Papa Smurf said as he greeted the survivors.
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VIC GEORGE -- Westfield, MA, USA
"Cat and mouse games really aren't much fun for us mouse types" -- Empath from "Empath The Bandit Smurf"
Posts: 4092 | From: Westfield, MA | Registered: Mar 2003
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Vic George The ND Guy
Super Smurf
Member # 300
Member Rated:
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posted 10-16-2023 06:17 AM
Chapter 5
"This smurf is pleased to know that this story has a happy ending, and that you all have made it home alive and making amends for how you treated Lazy in that situation," Empath said, smiling.
"I'm just glad we made it home, Empath," Hefty said. "I sure didn't want to smurf another moment listening to Tapper smurfing from his holy book anytime soon."
"At least Brainy didn't smurf you any of his words of wisdom from his Quotations books there, laddie," Duncan said.
"Still the same thing to me, Gutsy," Hefty said.
"Oh, that isn't the whole complete story yet, my fellow Empath," Tapper said. "If Handy would kindly smurf us the honors of smurfing this tale to a close..."
"Thank you, Tapper, I appreciate it," Handy said. "When we made it home, we started work on building a new windmill to smurf it stronger than ever, and Papa Smurf was there to see how the work was progressing."
And as Handy told the rest of the story, Empath and Polaris saw in his mind Handy speaking with Papa Smurf as he was overseeing the work details being done. "The new windmill's going to be real smurfy, Papa Smurf," Handy said. "We should have the whole thing completed in a day or two."
"Excellent work, Handy," Papa Smurf said. "Is Lazy being much help?"
"Oh, absosmurfly, Papa Smurf," Handy said. "I trust Lazy with any job now."
"I'm very happy to hear that, Handy," Papa Smurf said, sounding pleased until he heard Lazy snoring. He then looked at Handy rather strangely, as if expecting an explanation.
"Let me show you, Papa Smurf," Handy said, as they both approached the structure being built and looked inside. There they saw Lazy sleeping away on a table, with his snoring powering up an automatic painting machine that Handy created for him.
"Of course, Lazy's good for smurfing some jobs better than others," Handy said with a chuckle.
Papa Smurf also had to laugh at the sight. "At least you're smurfing good use of him, Handy."
"All right, my little Smurfs, what's going on here?" Papa Smurf asked as he approached Tapper's Tavern and saw the Smurfs gathered there to tell Tapper's story.
"Oh, nothing, Papa Smurf," Handy said. "We were just telling Empath and Polaris about the time that the six of us were smurfed in a volcano and how we managed to smurf ourselves out with my whirlysmurfer."
"Yeah, and how we managed to escape being smurfed by sharks out in the ocean," Hefty added.
"I'm sure that must be a very important story to tell, but we still have the rest of the village to clean up and fix, so I suggest that we would all smurf back to our tasks and make sure they are done before we smurf anymore stories," Papa Smurf said. "Is that understood?"
"Yes, Papa Smurf," the Smurfs gathered at Tapper's Tavern said before they headed off in separate directions.
After the other Smurfs left, Tapper spoke to Papa Smurf. "It was all my doing, Papa Smurf. Empath and Polaris were curious to know about what happened to me in the volcano, and so I just simply started smurfing the story that attracted a bit of attention from my fellow Smurfs. I wasn't trying to be disruptive or anything."
"This one can assure you, Papa Smurf, that Tapper's intentions for telling the story were purely for informative and educational reasons," Polaris said.
"I understand, Polaris," Papa Smurf said. "What's important about these stories is that they are smurfed with a purpose in mind so that we will learn something that can be useful to be in the future. But however entertaining these stories may be, we can't let them be smurfed as distractions from smurfing important village tasks, especially when dealing with emergency situations like the one we have smurfed through."
"This smurf understands and acknowledges, Papa Smurf," Empath said. "This smurf only hopes that we will not have to go through such an experience like the one Tapper and his fellow Smurfs had went through in that instance."
"But if I had to smurf through it again just to see my fellow Smurfs come to the knowledge of the truth, Empath, then I would gladly smurf whatever it takes to do so," Tapper said.
Just then Brainy had approached the tavern and saw Papa Smurf with Empath, Tapper, and Polaris. "I heard that there was something important smurfing here just a few minutes ago, Papa Smurf," Brainy said. "What was it all about?"
"Oh, it was just a story being told, that was all," Papa Smurf replied while slipping a wink at Tapper.
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VIC GEORGE -- Westfield, MA, USA
"Cat and mouse games really aren't much fun for us mouse types" -- Empath from "Empath The Bandit Smurf"
Posts: 4092 | From: Westfield, MA | Registered: Mar 2003
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Vic George The ND Guy
Super Smurf
Member # 300
Member Rated:
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posted 10-16-2023 06:29 AM
For the original episode:
Never Smurf Off 'Til Tomorrow [Cropped to 16:9]
A fierce wind carries the Smurfs' windmill away, with several Smurfs inside. Is Lazy Smurf really at fault or is an injustice being committed? Are the captive Smurfs going to be saved from the volcano's crater? Is Brainy going to smurf up his mouth for a moment?
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VIC GEORGE -- Westfield, MA, USA
"Cat and mouse games really aren't much fun for us mouse types" -- Empath from "Empath The Bandit Smurf"
Posts: 4092 | From: Westfield, MA | Registered: Mar 2003
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Vic George The ND Guy
Super Smurf
Member # 300
Member Rated:
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posted 10-20-2023 03:49 AM
NOTE:
This is the first time in the series that Tapper Smurf "pleads the blood of Christ" to protect his fellow Smurfs, which is a practice done in Pentecostal and Charismatic circles.
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VIC GEORGE -- Westfield, MA, USA
"Cat and mouse games really aren't much fun for us mouse types" -- Empath from "Empath The Bandit Smurf"
Posts: 4092 | From: Westfield, MA | Registered: Mar 2003
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