A Boy Named Nicholas/Part 3

Meanwhile, the Smurfs back in the village were busy making preparations for the Solstice tree decoration when they saw the Empath, Hefty, Duncan, and Timber returning. "Gosh, Empath, you returned," Clumsy said.

"And that's not all they returned with, Clumsy," Brainy said, noting the giant stranger who was with him.

Clumsy saw the giant for himself and became fearful. "Oh my goodness, it's a giant!"

"We should go and tell Papa Smurf!" Brainy said as the two of them ran off together.

The other Smurfs looked fearful as the four Smurfs came into the center of the village with Nicholas following them. "Why are all the Smurfs so fearful of me?" Nicholas asked.

"That's because they never had seen a giant like you enter their village before, Nicholas," Empath answered.

"I wouldn't blame them, though," Hefty said. "Just smurfs to show how cautious we all really are to your kind."

"Hey, I don't see the laddie trying to smurf us yet, laddie, so you smurf your tongue around him," Duncan said.

"Whatever the case, we should still smurf for him," Timber said.

Papa Smurf came out of his laboratory to see what his little Smurfs were acting so panicky about. And then he saw the four Smurfs with Nicholas. "Great Smurfness! What's with smurfing this giant into our village?" he asked.

"The boy's name is Nicholas, and we found him lost in our forest, and he needs help in finding his way back to where he came from, Papa Smurf," Empath explained.

"The laddie's smurfing the truth, Papa," Duncan said.

"Please, Papa Smurf, if you could help me, I would be very grateful," Nicholas said with some honesty.

"Hmmmm," Papa Smurf said, stroking his beard while trying to think. The Smurfs and Nicholas patiently waited for his answer. Then he said, "We will smurf what we can for the young boy, my little Smurfs, but we will still make sure that he doesn't smurf anything to harm us while he's here."

"But Papa Smurf, what if he smurfs back here once he leaves the forest?" Brainy asked.

"Uh, yeah, Papa Smurf, he just might smurf that," Clumsy said.

"There's nothing for us to worry about, my little Smurfs," Papa Smurf said. "No giant who has ever smurfed into our village has ever smurfed his way back here once he left. So I'm sure that once we smurf Nicholas safely back where he belongs, he will not remember how he smurfed here in the first place. Is that understood?"

"YES, PAPA SMURF!!!" all the Smurfs answered.

"That boy smurfs like he could smurf something to eat, Papa Smurf," Greedy said.

"I'll let you and your kitchen crew smurf up the food for him to eat, Greedy," Papa Smurf said. "For now, let's get a team of Smurfs to smurf our Solstice tree back to the village where we can get it smurfed up and ready to decorate."

"YES, PAPA SMURF!!!" all the Smurfs answered.

"We apologize for having to bring this giant into our village, Papa Smurf, but we couldn't just let the boy stay in the forest and freeze to death, being cold and hungry," Empath said.

"You smurfed the right thing, Empath," Papa Smurf said. "Nevertheless, we should still be careful of who we invite into our village for any purpose, because we do not know their ultimate intentions with us."

"This smurf understands and acknowledges, Papa Smurf," Empath said.

To be expanded on.