The High Cost Of Smurfing/Part 2

Around dinnertime, the Smurfs have all gathered together around the dining commons to eat the evening meal prepared by Greedy and his crew. Everybody, that is, except for Snappy, who was left eating vegetable broth because he was still having stomach problems.

"Oh, man, why do I have to eat vegetable broth while everybody else gets to eat the good smurf tonight?" Snappy complained.

"Papa Smurf wants to make sure that your stomach is all better before you can eat the harder stuff, Snap," Nat said.

"Yeah, what you smurfed out there with those glowberries was really stupid," Sassette said. "What were you thinking?"

"I don't know what Snappy was thinking, but if glowberries could smurf me the same problems he's having, I don't want to bother smurfing around with them," Slouchy said.

"Look, it was just one big mistake that I smurfed," Snappy said. "I heard about what glowberries could smurf, and I just wanted to smurf for myself. Is there anything wrong with that?"

"You're lucky that stomach cramps and smurfarrhea was all that it smurfed you, Snap," Nat said. "I don't want to think about what a whole bush of them might smurf to you."

"Pappy thinks we're too young to be smurfing that kind of stuff anyway, and even if we're old enough, I still wouldn't want to be smurfing that just to make me sick," Sassette said.

"That is what I'm going to agree with Papa Smurf about," Slouchy said.

"You know, I'm not really hungry for food anyway," Snappy said, pushing himself away from the table and getting up from his seat. "If I have to smurf to sleep tonight without eating anything, I'd be happy to smurf that if it would stop me from feeling really sick."

"Snappy!" Nat, Slouchy, and Sassette said together as they watched Snappy head away from the dining commons to go back to the tree stump playhouse.

Empath and Smurfette watched as Snappy walked away. "Papa Smurf, should I smurf after him?" Smurfette asked.

"No, Smurfette," Papa Smurf said. "Just let him smurf back home if he feels that he doesn't want to eat tonight. Greedy will take care of his dinner."

"This smurf hates seeing anybody in the village being sick, but hopefully he will learn his lesson not to eat food that will make him sick," Empath said.

"What about you, Vanity?" Smurfette asked, noticing that he was hardly eating his food tonight. "Aren't you the least bit hungry?"

"I'm sorry, Smurfette," Vanity said. "I guess I'm just so full of creative energy that I can't even think about food right now."

"I'm sure that you'll feel hungry in the morning, Vanity," Papa Smurf said. "By the way, I'm curious to know how King Goldenrod is doing in his kingdom right now."

"King Goldenrod?" Vanity said, taking a moment to realize who Papa Smurf was referring to. "Oh, yes, he's doing fine, Papa Smurf. He smurfs to be in good health, and his subjects don't seem to have a problem with him."

"Vanity, is there something going on with you that we need to be aware of?" Papa Smurf asked. "I would be happy to smurf a private discussion with you after dinner, with or without Empath present."

"Oh, please, Papa Smurf, you don't have to worry about me," Vanity said. "Nothing could be farther from the truth. I just got a lot of things on my mind about my new beauty projects."

"Oh, well, I'll be available to talk you if you feel you need to smurf me something you're ashamed to smurf anybody else, Vanity," Papa Smurf said. "I just want you to know about because I care about you."

"Well, thank you, Papa Smurf," Vanity said. "As a matter of fact, I think I might as well smurf in early for the night. There's nothing like a good night's smurf to get me ready for the brand new day ahead."

"Don't worry about your plate there, Vanity," Greedy said. "I'd be happy to eat whatever you have left on it. Or if worse smurfs to worst, I can have my brother Nabby help finish it off."

"I hear my name being smurfed here," Nabby said from across another table, licking his lips and rubbing his stomach in anticipation.

Tapper and Duncan McSmurf both watched Vanity get up and leave the dining commons. "Well, I guess the little peacock needs to smurf a fast tonight in order to smurf himself at his best," Duncan said.

"I find it rude to refer to Vanity as a peacock, my fellow Duncan, but I am feeling rather concerned for him," Tapper said. "There's something that I'm sensing in my spirit that he's hiding from us."

"But what do you suppose someone like Vanity could be hiding from us, other than possibly an infatuation for another male Smurf?" Duncan asked.

"I really don't know, but I'm going to pray for him nonetheless," Tapper said. "If what he's hiding from us is a dangerous secret, I would surely like to have it exposed before it smurfs any harm to anyone, including Vanity himself."

To be expanded on.