The New Smurfs On The Block/Part 5

As the story continued, Empath and Polaris saw that one day after the Smurfstock Festival that the male adult Smurfs were gathered around outside Tapper's Tavern for an arm-wrestling match. They were watching Handy and Hefty struggling in the match to push the other's arm down, and the match was going either way for both contestants. Some of the Smurfs were rooting for Handy, while some were rooting for Hefty.

Meanwhile, the three boy Smurflings were sitting on the back of Puppy trying to get a better view of the match when Tapper came out with a tray of drinks for the watchers and participants. "So how goes the wrestling match for the lads, my fellow Smurflings?" Tapper asked.

"I couldn't tell which of the two is going to win...either Handy or Hefty," Slouchy said.

"Well, I'm betting that Hefty's going to win this match, Tapper," Snappy said.

"And I'm betting that Handy's going to win it," Nat said.

"Hefty's the stronger of the two, Nat," Snappy said. "He's going to win this no matter what."

"That's what you think, Snap," Nat said.

And soon, Hefty pushed Handy's arm down onto the table, and the Smurfs in the crowd rooting for Hefty cheered when they saw that their champion won. Soon Duncan took Handy's place on the table and locked hands with Hefty.

"Now this match is going to smurf a while, lads, because Hefty's now going against my friend Duncan," Tapper said.

"Why does Hefty keep calling him Gutsy, Tapper?" Slouchy asked.

"Oh, it's because Hefty doesn't like my friend smurfing up to him whenever he smurfs something bullheaded, my fellow Slouchy," Tapper said. "I would not dare call him Gutsy, but I do see how that nickname fits him quite well."

"Yeah, well, he's got to have a lot of guts to keep smurfing up to Hefty in anything, Tapper," Snappy said.

"Hey, there's Smurfette, you Smurfs," Nat said as he noticed Smurfette just passing by, looking rather downhearted. "I wonder what's wrong with her."

"And why doesn't she want to talk to her fellow Smurfs?" Snappy asked.

"I feel in my spirit that there's something bothering her that she doesn't feel comfortable telling her fellow Smurfs for whatever reason," Tapper said, feeling his heart going out to her.

"Maybe she might feel better if she smurfed her problem with us," Slouchy said.

"I would be careful with asking her about her problems if I were you, my fellow Smurflings," Tapper said. "There are just some things that a Smurfette might not want to smurf with a male Smurf, no matter what the age."

The Smurflings followed Smurfette until she was near the edge of the forest, where she just hung her head and stared out into the wilderness with a longing look on her face. "Excuse me, Smurfette," Nat politely said.

"What?" Smurfette said as she turned and saw that it was just the Smurflings. "Oh, it's you three. I thought that it might be Tapper or Papa Smurf."

"We just want to know why you're smurfing so down today, Smurfette," Snappy said. "Is there something wrong with you?"

"I don't know if you can fully understand how I feel, Smurflings, but the truth is that I'm rather lonely for another female Smurf to be my friend...someone that I can share all my favorite smurfy things to do as a female Smurf," Smurfette said. "I feel so jealous that the male Smurfs all have other male Smurfs to be their friend, but there isn't anything that can be done about it."

"I'm sorry to hear that, Smurfette," Slouchy said. "I just wish that there was something we can do to make you feel smurfy."

Smurfette sighed. "It's something that I'll have to get used to in time. Right now I just need to be alone with myself."

The Smurflings decided to give Smurfette her space and left her alone. As they walked on together, Snappy said, "I don't get it. Why is she the only female Smurf in this village?"

"If I knew the answer to that question, Snap, I would have smurfed you," Slouchy said.

"But someone here does know," Nat said. "We should ask Papa Smurf that question." - And so the Smurflings went to Papa Smurf, who was busy looking at the things in his laboratory that needed straightening out. "Why, hello there, my little Smurflings," Papa Smurf greeted. "What smurfs to be on your mind today?"

"Papa Smurf, we just need to know why there's only one female Smurf in the village," Nat said.

"Oh, that question," Papa Smurf said. "You see, Smurfette is a very special Smurf who was originally created by Gargamel the wizard about four years before you smurfed here."

"Gargamel created her?" Snappy asked. "And you don't know what the formula was that he used to smurf her?"

"No, Snappy, I don't," Papa Smurf said. "Is there a reason you're asking me this question?"

"We were curious, that's all, Papa Smurf," Slouchy said. "Come on, Smurflings, let's smurf somewhere else."

Papa Smurf looked at the Smurflings in wonder about their question. He had a feeling that there was more than just curiosity that made them interested in asking such a question, but he had no idea of what other reason there may be for the question. - Meanwhile, outside the village, Miner was busy with Smithy working on digging for some important metals that the village blacksmith needed for his daily craft.

"Have you noticed how upset Smurfette's been smurfing lately, Miner?" Smithy asked.

"Aye, the poor lassie's got something on her mind, but why she isn't telling any Smurf about it, I don't have a single clue," Miner said.

"Don't smurf me wrong, Miner...I do love Smurfette, and I think she's a smurfy friend and all, but it smurfs like she's expecting something of us Smurfs that we can't give her," Smithy said.

"If you're smurfing about marriage, trust me, she's still looking for the right Smurf to come along to make her smurfy," Miner said.

"I don't think it's marriage that she's looking for this time, Miner," Smithy said. "It may be that she's smurfing for a female friend, but the only female friends she has are Laconia, Mother Nature, the Pussywillow Pixies..."

"You mean that she wants a female Smurf friend," Miner said. "Aye, we would have to be smurfing into Gargamel's lair in order to be smurfing up another..."

Suddenly there was a crack in the wall that Miner had struck his pickaxe at, and the crack opened to reveal a crystal with someone trapped inside it. "Smurfin' Begorra...what do you smurf inside that crystal, Smithy?" he asked.

Smithy looked and saw someone in the crystal that he recognized. "It can't be...after all these years...that girl Smurfling that smurfed away from home..."

"Sassette," Miner said. "Somehow she's been trapped in this crystal for a hundred years, and it's kept her smurfing like this ever since. We've got to smurf her out of there and bring her to Papa Smurf."

"Be careful, Miner," Smithy said. "I'm not sure what this crystal is smurfed of."

"Stand back, laddie," Miner said as he got himself ready to swing the pickaxe into the crystal that held the orange-haired female Smurfling. But the instant the point of the pickaxe struck the crystal, it caused such an energy discharge that it disintegrated the pickaxe entirely and knocked Miner on his back.

"Miner, are you all right?" Smithy asked.

"I'm feeling okay, but I'm going to be needing another pickaxe," Miner said, picking himself up. "Whatever kind of crystal that is, no ordinary tool is going to smurf through it. We'd better dig it out of there and smurf it to Papa Smurf. Maybe he will know of some way to make the crystal smurf into pieces."

"I can only wonder who was it that smurfed Sassette into this crystal years ago, Miner," Smithy said.

"I'm not sure if I'd want to be satisfying my curiosity smurfing for the answer to that question, Smithy," Miner said.

To be expanded on.