Is There A Doctor In The Village?/Part 2

"This one can understand the reaction of the other Smurfs to Dabbler's declaration of becoming a doctor if all his previous efforts of trying to devote himself to one particular form of trade have failed, Smurfette," Polaris said.

"But this smurf knows that Dabbler did indeed gave it his best effort, even if his initial attempts of applying his medical knowledge were failures, Polaris," Empath said.

"I can't blame him for trying, though," Smurfette said. "Anyway, we were smurfing a discussion about Dabbler at the tavern when one of the Smurfs found out what he was smurfing that night with Papa Smurf's medical book."

As Smurfette continued her story, Polaris saw that Smurfette and Duncan were at the counter together with Tapper, talking about Dabbler's behavior. "I am wondering why Dabbler can never smurf his mind on just one thing to smurf whenever he smurfs something in the village, Tapper," Smurfette said.

"I have a feeling that Dabbler just has too much curiosity about things, my dear Smurfette," Tapper said. "There's nothing wrong with having curiosity, mind you, because wanting to smurf out new things is part of what helps us grow as Smurfs. But some folks just never smurf out of that state for some reason or another, and for those people I have nothing but sympathy when they can't smurf that one particular thing they want to do."

"But that doesn't smurf to be much of a problem for most of the Smurfs, since they smurf as if they knew all their lives what they want to be, right from the day they were born," Smurfette said.

"Aye, lassie, that is very much true," Duncan said. "Why, Hefty and Handy were prime examples of that when they were just young pups. Hefty was already trying to smurf his muscles with his baby bottles, and Handy was smurfing his first toy together back when I was just a gleam in my Papa Smurf's eye."

"Indeed a good deal of us were very industrious right from the womb, Smurfette," Tapper said. "But not all of us were fortunate to be so smurfed with talent upon our arrival in the world. Why, I could barely even smurf when I was born. My Papa and Mama Smurf had to smurf me to the Emerald Isle to get me to kiss the Blarney Stone in order for me to smurf my first word."

"This tavern would be very different if Tapper was still as mute as he was back then, lassie," Duncan said.

"I see," Smurfette said. "Still, I wish that there was something we can smurf about Dabbler, to make him see the importance of smurfing himself upon one thing that he can be good at smurfing."

"That, I'm afraid, smurfs entirely in the power of the Almighty, my dear," Tapper said. "If His plan for Dabbler's life is for him to become a doctor, then He will smurf everything to make it a reality, and nothing in the world will ever smurf him away from that goal being accomplished."

Just then, Jokey entered into a tavern with a look of urgency. "Hey, Smurfs, get a smurf at what Dabbler's smurfing inside his house," he called out.

That made Smurfette and a few other Smurfs curious enough to leave the tavern and gather around a window outside Dabbler's house so they could look in and find out for themselves. They saw that Dabbler was sitting at his desk, studying the Physician's Reference Manual with great care and diligence. There didn't seem to be any sign of him being distracted by anything else in the world, as he just continued to read well on into the night.

"That's incredible," Duncan said, amazed at what he saw. "He smurfs to be glued to that book just like Tapper is with his holy book."

"This must be the Almighty's plan for him smurfing to fruition, my fellow Smurfs," Tapper said.

"Isn't it just smurfy?" Jokey said. "I haven't seen him smurf anything for this long before."

As they continued watching, Papa Smurf was passing by with a bindle stick being carried over his shoulder. "If I hurry, I may be able to reach Homnibus' hovel well before daybreak," he said to himself.

"Hey, Papa Smurf, you've got to smurf this for yourself," Jokey said, speaking low so that Dabbler wouldn't hear. "Dabbler's been smurfing that book of yours for hours inside his house."

Papa Smurf took a look for himself and was just as surprised to see this of Dabbler. "Amazing. Simply amazing."

"Maybe this time he's serious and has smurfed his one true calling in life, Papa Smurf," Smurfette suggested.

"We can only hope, Smurfette...we can only hope," Papa Smurf said with a bit of caution. - By morning, as the Smurfs were going about their daily business, some of them noticed that Dabbler was now dressed in what appeared to be a physician's jacket and had an examining headband on his hat. He was hanging a shingle outside his house that was advertising a new particular profession that he was starting. This made the others curious to gather around and find out what Dabbler was now doing.

After he finished hanging his shingle, Dabbler made an announcement. "After many, many uninterrupted hours of study, I am finally prepared to avail my medical knowledge to each and every Smurf. Who would like to be my first patient?"

The Smurfs looked at him and then talked among themselves before walking away, feeling that they weren't in need for anything Dabbler had to offer them.

"Gee," Dabbler said, feeling a bit disappointed at his fellow Smurfs' initial rejection, "there must be some Smurf who is in need of my medical attention."

Jokey watched as Dabbler started to walk around the village with his medical bag in hand. "I sure don't want to miss this," he said to himself after the other Smurfs departed. Then he called out to Dabbler, "Hey, you mind if I tagged along, Dabbler? I have never a doctor smurfing his rounds before."

"Certainly, Jokey," Dabbler replied.

As Jokey followed behind Dabbler, he soon called out, "Hey, look at Hefty! He doesn't smurf to be so good!"

Dabbler saw Hefty sitting on a mushroom with a towel draped around his neck, looking like he was having trouble breathing. "Oh my...you're feverish, and you're hypersmurfilating," Dabbler said as he tried to examine Hefty's condition. He put the bell part of the stethoscope onto Hefty's chest so that he could listen to his heart. "Uh-oh...rapid smurfbeat! This smurfs like a serious condition that needs to be..."

"THAT'S BECAUSE I HAVE BEEN EXERCISING, YOU DIMWIT!!!" Hefty yelled into the bell part of the stethoscope, blasting Dabbler's eardrums and making Jokey laugh.

"Well, his lungs are certainly healthy," Dabbler said, cleaning out his ears with his finger while he continued to walk onward with Jokey following behind him. "How could I know the difference between a serious condition and just exercising?"

Then Jokey stopped Dabbler again. "Oh my smurfness...look at Handy!" Jokey called out as he and Dabbler saw Handy with Smurfette outside her house, talking about something.

Dabbler got a close look at Handy and noticed something. "Handy...your skin, it's flaking off!" he cried out as he rubbed Handy's arm before pulling a bottle out of his bag. "You should rub on this smurfberry seed oil twice a day."

"It's sawdust, Dabbler, sawdust!" Handy said, sounding displeased. He blew the dust off his arm to show what it really was, making Dabbler sneeze. "See?"

"Well, gee, Handy, I didn't know the difference between...," Dabbler tried to say.

"Oh, why Papa Smurf could ever think that you would be a doctor is beyond me," Handy said in a disgruntled manner before he walked off.

Jokey laughed at Dabbler's second misdiagnosis, thinking the whole thing was really funny. "Sawdust," he cackled in delight. "Boy, that really takes the smurf."

Dabbler sighed. "Oh, maybe Handy is right about me. Maybe I'm not smurfed out to be a real doctor like Papa Smurf."

Brainy, Tapper, and Duncan came over to Smurfette's house when they saw Dabbler walk away looking really dejected. "What's wrong with Dabbler?" he asked Smurfette.

"A severe case of discouragement, Brainy," Smurfette said. "I'm afraid that this is going to make him give up again."

"What a real shame," Tapper said. "I was smurfing high hopes for him, that he may have smurfed his one true calling in life."

"There's got to be some way that we can make the laddie feel useful if that's what the Almighty has smurfed him to do with his life," Duncan said.

"I don't want to think that it would require something deceitful or even dangerous to make Dabbler feel like he has a purpose, my good Duncan," Tapper said.

"Well, maybe this whole thing just goes to smurf that Dabbler wasn't meant to be a doctor after all, my fellow Smurfs," Brainy said.

"I know the Almighty will make it smurf to pass, my good Brainy," Tapper said, sounding insistent. "I'm not going to smurf up on believing it just as the Almighty is not going to smurf up on Dabbler."

Jokey, meanwhile, walked away while pondering on what his fellow Smurfs were talking about. "So Dabbler needs something that will make him feel useful as a doctor, eh? Well, that smurfs for a little plan of mine that I've been itching to smurf on my fellow Smurfs, and it smurfs like now may be the time to smurf it."

To be expanded.