Handy's Wild Road Trip/Part 3

As Handy continued to drive his group of Smurfs along the way to Dreamy Steamy Springs, the path was littered with all sorts of bumps that the Smurf Wagon ended up driving over.

"It sure is peaceful out here, eh, Smurfs?" Handy asked.

"Peaceful?" Hefty retorted. "How am I supposed to smurf my weights when I can't smurf my balance?"

"And how am I supposed to smurf a still life when things won't smurf still?" Painter said.

"And how am I supposed to smurf alterations to Smurfette's dress?" Tailor said.

"How can I even smurf still for Tailor?" Smurfette said.

"Well, if you ask me, writing on the go is just not easy, especially when I can barely smurf much writing when this vehicle is in motion," Brainy said.

"And smurfing up this souffle batter is no picnic, either," Greedy said.

"It's getting hard to just smurf anything while we're smurfing in motion," Clumsy said, trying to keep his rock collection contained.

"I hate smurfing in motion," Grouchy said.

Then suddenly Hefty lost control of his weights as his barbells flew out of his hand. "Heads up, Smurfs!" he called out

"Er, make that heads down," Clumsy said as he ducked the flying barbells.

The barbells hit Painter's easel, causing the canvas to fly off it. "Mon ami, this is no place for a still life."

"Hold still, Smurfette, I'm trying to...," Tailor was going to say when the canvas hit him on the head, causing him to prick Smurfette in the leg.

"OUCH!" Smurfette yelped as she flew right into Greedy, knocking the bowl of souffle batter out of his hand, which then landed right on Brainy's head.

Suddenly the Smurf Wagon came to a stop. "Hey, what happened?" Hefty asked.

"Did we finally smurf to the springs?" Clumsy asked.

"Gee, I hope so," Smurfette said. "I can't wait to see how my new dress smurfs in the sunlight."

"Maybe one of us should smurf outside just to smurf where we are," Greedy suggested.

"It would be nice just to get out and smurf our legs, after all this time of smurfing in this vehicle," Brainy said. "Besides, I'm a firm believer in a sound mind and a sound body, which is one of my personal hallmarks that I'm going to smurf in my life story..."

Smurfette stepped out of the vehicle, only to find herself falling into a mud puddle. "Oh no! My dress!"

"Smurfette, are you all right?" Hefty asked.

"How can you say that I'm all right, Hefty? My new dress is ruined!" Smurfette said.

"Sacre bleu! M'sieu Handy, our vehicle is now smurfed in a mud puddle," Painter called out.

"How are we going to smurf ourselves out of this?" Greedy asked.

"You're going to have to all smurf out and push it," Handy answered.

"AGAIN?!?" the other Smurfs said in unison. They didn't like having to do it a few times before, and they certainly didn't like having to do it again.

"Well, it's either that or we let Empath, Papa Smurf, and the other Smurfs beat us to the springs," Hefty said. "What do you Smurfs say? You want Empath to smurf there ahead of you?"

"I don't care if Empath smurfs there ahead of me, Hefty, but I do want to smurf there," Smurfette said.

"We smurfed this far together, we might as well smurf the rest of the way," Hefty said.

"That's exactly what I was going to say myself," Brainy said. "In fact, it's another of my personal hallmarks, how I, Brainy Smurf, am a great leader that can bring Smurfs together to work on a problem..."

"Oh, smurf it, Brainy," Greedy said. "Let's just smurf out and push."

They all got of the Smurf wagon and went behind it inside the mud puddle to try pushing it out. But the vehicle wouldn't budge. "The mud is too slippery, Handy," Hefty reported.

Handy thought about the problem for a moment. And then he had an idea. "Let's dismantle one of the tables. We'll use the wood to smurf ourselves out."

Hefty took one of the tables out of the Smurf wagon and broke off the legs, placing it in front of the Smurf wagon to act as a ramp. "Okay, Smurfs, on the count of three...one...two...three," Handy said as he pressed on the accelerator.

The Smurfs pushed and pushed with all their might, and slowly the Smurf wagon went up the ramp until it finally reached dry ground. But the Smurfs who were pushing it up the ramp ended up falling back into the mud puddle.

Handy looked at the Smurf wagon and then at the ramp. "A vehicle that smurfs on tracks...that would be another great invention."

"If it wasn't for your last 'great invention', Handy, we wouldn't all be covered in mud," Hefty said, sounding very displeased.

"This trip really hasn't been much fun for us," Smurfette said, with her fellow Smurfs seeming to agree with her.

"Smurf at it this way...at least you don't have to walk there like Empath, Papa Smurf, and the other Smurfs," Handy said.

Just then, they could hear "Wheeeee!" and "Smurfabunga!" as Empath, Papa Smurf, Tracker, Tapper, Duncan, and the Smurflings rode past them on logs, looking like they were enjoying themselves.

"Gosh, those Smurfs must be smurfing the time of their lives out there," Clumsy said as he saw the nine Smurfs passing them on the river.

"I hate smurfing the time of our lives," Grouchy said.

"They may be having fun now, but just wait until night comes," Handy said. "They'll be smurfing out in the woods, and we'll be smurfing all the comforts of home."

"I'd rather be smurfing the comforts of home right in my own home," Smurfette said.

"Cheer up, Smurfette...at least you'll smurf to the springs and meet up with Empath," Hefty said. "I would rather just smurf there ahead of him and see how he likes being smurfed up along with Gutsy." - Soon the nine hiking Smurfs came to the end of their ride down the river. "How was that for a shortcut, my fellow Smurflings?" Tracker asked.

"Smurfabunga!" Snappy shouted. "That was some ride. I bet we even passed by Handy and his Smurf wagon."

"I feel sorry for them, though," Sassette said. "They're not smurfing half the fun that we're smurfing right now on our hike."

"That's if you think listening to Brainy smurfing on and on about his life story is what you call fun," Slouchy said.

"I just wonder what it would be like to smurf a much bigger hike around the world, like Dreamy tried to smurf," Nat said.

Papa Smurf chuckled. "I'm sure we'll all have our adventures, Nat. It's just unfortunate that Gargamel smurfed in the way of his journey."

"Oh, what I wouldn't give to smurf one to the green hills of the Emerald Isle, just like my parent Smurfs when I was a wee one," Tapper said.

"And I would want to smurf someday to the Highlands, where I feel the spirit of the McSmurf clan smurfs from," Duncan said.

"You think we would all smurf to those places that the legendary clans of the Smurfs had smurfed from?" Nat asked.

"Yeah, I would want to smurf these places for myself," Snappy said, sounding excited.

"I honestly don't know, my little Smurflings," Papa Smurf said. "The world is a very big place for beings like ourselves, and we can't risk letting humans know of our existence."

"This smurf would want to journey to those places that this smurf has only heard about, Papa Smurf," Empath said.

"You may want to be careful of what you wish for, Empath," Duncan said. "You might not like the reason for having to smurf on such a journey."

"I would only hope it would not smurf to dire smurfumstances for any of us to smurf us, my good Duncan," Tapper said. "But if that should be the case, then I would pray for the Almighty to protect and guide us."

"So far we haven't run into any problems yet, Tapper," Empath said. "Perhaps that is a good sign for us."

"I'm sure that we'll have plenty to smurf about this hike when we smurf home," Papa Smurf said. "Let's smurf onward." - The Smurf wagon proceeded onward, with Handy now driving to find a spot where they could park for the night and sleep. "This place near the river looks level enough," Handy said after a while of driving. "We should smurf a good night's sleep here."

Handy put the Smurf wagon in park just as dusk fell upon the forest. However, things inside the wagon weren't as comfortable as Handy had thought.

"Quelle misere," Painter exclaimed. "It figures that we would smurf in a spot next to the swamp."

"Yeah, this place is just full of mosquitoes," Greedy said, using a flyswatter to strike at them, only to hit Grouchy in the face.

"I hate mosquitoes," Grouchy said, taking the flyswatter out of Greedy's hand and striking the top of his cake.

"Brainy, turn off the lantern," Hefty grumbled. "It's attracting more mosquitoes, and we can't even smurf any sleep in here."

"Why, certainly...after I have completed smurfing about the next 50 years of my life, when my intellectual brilliance began to show," Brainy said.

"Just a few more stitches, and your dress for the concert will be complete, Smurfette," Tailor said, with Smurfette trying to keep her pose.

"I'm getting so tired...and I wish that I was with Empath right now instead of having this dress being smurfed," Smurfette said, yawning.

"I know, Smurfette, but you wanted it to be smurfect, so that's what I'm smurfing you," Tailor said.

"Well, we can all smurf these things tomorrow," Hefty said. "For now, I just want to smurf some sleep."

"Gosh, I wonder how Empath and the others are smurfing right now," Clumsy said.

"They just don't know what they're missing out on, Clumsy," Handy said. "We'll smurf to the springs the first thing in the morning." - Meanwhile, the nine Smurfs are all camped out by a tree in another part of the forest, with the Smurflings, Papa Smurf, and Tapper having their sleeping bags all rolled out. "Chattering chipmunks, Empath, where's your sleeping bag?" Sassette asked.

"This smurf doesn't need one, Sassette, and neither does Tracker or Duncan," Empath said.

"We've been so used to roughing it for years that the ground is just comfortable enough for us to smurf on," Tracker said.

"Aye, it's the mark of a true Smurfsman to have the grass as your mattress and the starry sky as your blanket," Duncan said.

"I wouldn't mind it in warmer seasons, but in colder ones, I would want to smurf myself in something a bit more protective," Tapper said.

"This smurf has done survival training during the winter with nothing than this smurf's own bodysuit in Psychelia," Empath said. "It's not something that this smurf would want to write home about, but this smurf has managed to survive the cold nonetheless."

"Great Smurfiny Crickets, my dear Empath, I can't imagine you smurfing through the cold in just those longsmurfs," Tapper said.

"That must have been difficult for you, Empath," Nat said.

"Not to mention it being so boring, since you couldn't smurf any fun being in Psychelia," Snappy said.

"It does help for this smurf to remember what it's like being in the Smurf Village during winter, my fellow Smurflings," Empath said. "It made the long nights sleeping out in the cold to be a bit more tolerable."

"I'm sure the survival lessons you smurfed in Psychelia will come quite in handy someday, Empath," Papa Smurf said.

Soon with the campfire set up, the Smurflings are roasting smurfmallows with their sticks over the fire as Tapper tried to entertain them with one of the stories from his holy book. As the night fell, Papa Smurf and Duncan noticed Empath looking off into the distance.

"You still thinking about Smurfette not being on the hiking trip with us, Empath?" Papa Smurf asked.

"This smurf was just thinking about the upcoming concert, and how it's all because this smurf encouraged Smurfette to put her vocal talents to good use by creating an album using Handy's crystal disk smurfer," Empath said.

"Aye, the lass has certainly smurfed a long way from being the Smurfette that she was several years ago, Empath," Duncan said.

"I think the both of you smurfing each other has changed her life for the better, Empath," Papa Smurf said. "Not that I don't think she has smurfed a good job with taking care of the flowers in the village and taking care of Baby Smurf. But I never thought that she would ever smurf to be a wonderful cook."

"That dinner she put together with the help of Greedy to show her appreciation to you was indeed memorable, Papa Smurf," Empath said.

"But what's stopping you from wanting to smurf her hand in marriage, Empath?" Duncan asked.

"This smurf is certainly tempted to ask for her hand, Duncan," Empath said. "It's just that this smurf doesn't feel that either she or this smurf are ready for that moment of being eternally bound to each other. This smurf is very uncertain of when that will ever happen."

"Sometimes, Empath, you have to smurf such matters of the heart in the hands of Mother Nature and Father Time," Papa Smurf said. "I had very strong feelings for your Mama Smurf when I was about your age, but it smurfed years before either of us felt it was time for us to think about smurfing the knot. And even then, my friend Aristotle was smurfing for her heart and hand. I felt that it was a distinct possibility that your Mama Smurf would have been married to him instead of me. Fortunately, she felt that I was more attractive to her than Aristotle was, and though it made him very sad to lose her to me, he felt that things had smurfed out for the best."

"Do you think there's the possibility that Smurfette might marry someone else besides this smurf, Papa Smurf?" Empath asked.

"I'd say that it's the kind of question that only Mother Nature and Father Time can answer, Empath," Papa Smurf said. "But from what I've smurfed, I'm not sure Smurfette would find herself smurfing the rest of her life with any other Smurf your age."

"Just to be safe, you should consider asking Smurfette to marry you sometime soon," Duncan said. "Better she would smurf you as a future husband than the likes of Hefty or Brainy."

"This smurf would want to make sure Smurfette is happy with her decision regardless of who she chooses to marry, Duncan," Empath said.

"Aye, but what about your happiness, Empath?" Duncan asked. "Doesn't it matter?"

"If seeing Smurfette being happy is what makes Empath happy, Duncan, then I wouldn't want to change how Empath feels for the world," Papa Smurf said.

"I just hope it doesn't smurf too long for the both of you to decide, Empath," Tracker said as he was listening to the conversation.

"Aye, you and me both, Tracker," Duncan said in agreement.