The Magic Flute With Six Holes/Part 5

"And so the Smurfs worked all through the night while Johan and Peewit slept," Narrator said. "It was by morning that the first part of the job was all done."

As Narrator continued the story, Empath and Polaris saw that Peewit was startled by the sound of a large tree faling, causing him to be suddenly awake. "Huh? What was that?" he said, looking around.

"Peewit, look," Johan said. "The Smurfs have worked all night to cut down the whole tree." And sure enough, Peewit saw that the entire tree was cut down.

"Good work, my little Smurfs," Papa Smurf said. "As you can see, my human friends, the importance of cutting down the whole tree is so that we can get to the heart of the tree, which is where we get the wood for making the magic flute. Any other part of the tree just simply wouldn't do."

"So I see," Peewit said, stretching and yawning. "So how long do you think it's going to take to get the wood from the heart of the tree into the shape of a flute?"

"Oh, it should take us a whole day, since this requires a fine skill to make a perfect flute," Papa Smurf said. "But we will try to get the work done sooner, since you need to go after Matthew McCreep."

"Do you need me to do anything to help speed things along?" Peewit asked.

The Smurfs just looked at him with a glare that said that they didn't.

"All right, all right, I get the meaning," Peewit said. "I'll just leave it in your hands."

"Papa Smurf, look! Up in the sky!" one of the Smurfs called out.

Johan and Peewit looked and saw two Smurfs on a crane coming down for a landing in front of Papa Smurf. "Tracker! Dreamy! What's going on?" Papa Smurf asked.

"Bad news, Papa Smurf," Tracker said. "We still haven't smurfed the magic flute from McCreep. Even worse is that he plans to smurf for the coast so that he would ensmurf for foreign lands."

"What is that Smurf saying?" Johan asked.

"My guess is that they haven't gotten the magic flute from McCreep," Peewit answered.

"Indeed that's what he's been saying, Peewit," Papa Smurf said. "And even worse is that McCreep is planning to head for the coast so that he would embark for foreign lands. It will be impossible for us to get the magic flute from him at that point."

"So we've got to be able to stop him before he goes that far, Papa Smurf," Johan said, pounding his fist.

"I'll let the other Smurfs know how urgent this is," Papa Smurf said. "Tracker! Dreamy! Return to the sky and see what else you can smurf from McCreep."

"Yes, Papa Smurf," they both said in unison before hopping back on the crane and flying away. - "And so the Smurfs worked hard to extract enough wood from the heart of the tree to make a new magic flute, and then shaped it in the form of a flute," Narrator said. "The work was still diffcult for the two humans to endure watching, but now they were becoming hopeful that it would be accomplished sooner than they had time to remain in physical form apart from their bodies in Homnibus' hovel."

Then Empath and Polaris saw as Johan and Peewit continued to wait that Peewit was now listening intently on how the Smurfs were talking to each other, how they tend to use the word "smurf" for other things besides who they are. Then he had a flash of brilliance that he had to share with his friend.

"Hey, Johan," Peewit said very excitedly, "I found out the secret to their language. You just simply change the words to 'smurf'."

"Really? It's that simple?" Johan asked.

"Just watch! I'm going to ask that Smurf for a glass of water." Peewit then turned to a nearby Smurf and said, "Hey, Smurf! I would like you to please bring me a smurf."

"Okay," the Smurf said as he went to get the "smurf"

"You see? It's that simple!" Peewit said to Johan.

Johan laughed when he saw that the Smurf brought Peewit an axe. "Here you smurf!"

"No, no. I asked you to bring me a smurf," Peewit said.

"That's what I brought you...a smurf," the Smurf said.

"Not that kind of a smurf. The kind you smurf like this." Peewit tried to make a drinking gesture while the Smurf looked at him all puzzled. "I MEAN A GLASS OF WATER!"

"Oh, a smurf of smurf!" the Smurf said.

"That's what I've been saying, isn't it?" Peewit asked.

"No, no," the Smurf said. "You said you wanted a smurf."

"Of course I did," Peewit said. "I said it right the first time."

"No, you said you wanted a smurf, and so I brought you a smurf," the Smurf said.

"But that wasn't the smurf that I wanted you to smurf," Peewit said.

"Well, if you wanted a smurf, you should have said a smurf and not a smurf," the Smurf said. "A smurf is not the same thing as a smurf. Smurf it?"

Peewit was getting really irritated. "Aaaah...smurfity smurf smurf smurf!"

"Well, there's no need to smurf that kind of language!" the Smurf said before he walked off with his nose in the air.

"It looks like you're better off smurfing to them in your own language, Peewit," Johan said.

"Har har, very funny," Peewit said. "I thought I'm supposed to be the comedian around here." - And so by late afternoon, the Smurfs were finished with the shaping of the magic flute. Papa Smurf let Peewit hold it so he can examine the work. "It's just like the one I had...except lighter in color," Peewit said.

Papa Smurf laughed. "That's because I haven't coated it yet with the mandrake juice solution, which gives it its magical properties. Once I have that done and it's dry, it should be ready for you to take back to wherever it is you came from."

"Oh good," Peewit said. "Once I have this, I can test it out on my friend Johan."

"You think I'm going to let you test that flute out on me, Peewit, you have another thing coming," Johan said.

"Oh yeah?" Peewit said. "And how are you going to stop me? With this flute I can keep you dancing until you drop."

"Please, Peewit, if you're going to use the flute at all, use it on Matthew McCreep," Papa Smurf said. "But once you get the flute from him, I will have to ask you to make a promise to return both flutes to us."

"Return both flutes?" Peewit said. "You can't just let me have one of the flutes?"

"No, we can't, if Matthew McCreep's use of the flute has taught you anything," Papa Smurf said.

"Papa Smurf is right, Peewit," Johan said. "We will promise that whatever happens, we will give both of the flutes back to the Smurfs. Is that right, Peewit?"

Peewit groaned at the thought of having to make that kind of promise. "Oh...sure, Johan, I promise."

Then Festive Smurf approached Papa Smurf to tell him something. "Papa Smurf, before Johan and Peewit leave with the magic flute, I was just wondering..."

"Yes, Festive Smurf, what is it?" Papa Smurf asked.

"Well, it's just that we've been smurfing all night and all day to make a magic flute, and so for all the hard work that we smurfed, I was wondering if we would have a little farewell party for our guests," Festive said.

Papa Smurf looked at all his little Smurfs and noticed how tired they became from the work on the magic flute. They all looked like they were in agreement with what Festive was suggesting.

Papa Smurf sighed. "All right, Festive, I will make the announcement." He then turned to the rest of the other Smurfs and said, "My little Smurfs! Because of all the work that you have smurfed into making the magic flute, I declare that tonight there shall be a party in honor of our guests Johan and Peewit before they leave."

"HURRAY!" all the Smurfs shouted with glee.

"I hate hurrays!" Grouchy said.

"Oh boy, there's going to be a farewell party," Clumsy said. "Gosh, it makes me wonder what I'm going to wear."

"Oh Clumsy, you know that Smurfs don't need to wear anything except the clothes on their smurfs for any reason," Brainy said.

"So what are we waiting for?" Greedy said. "Let's smurf back to the village and help smurf this party ready!"

"Last Smurf there is a rotten Smurf!" Hefty said, and so all the Smurfs except for Papa Smurf and Tapper rushed back to the village.

"Is this common among you Smurfs to always have parties, Tapper?" Peewit asked.

"Not all the time, no, my fellow Peewit, but it is part of what makes us Smurfs, that we all like to celebrate our achievements together," Tapper answered.

"We'd better get back to the village so I can get the mandrake juice solution ready for coating," Papa Smurf said. "Hopefully it won't take too long for it to dry because I don't want to keep you waiting."

"A party sure sounds like fun, even if it's with a group of people no more than three apples tall," Peewit said.

Johan sighed. "The sooner we can get our hands on the new flute, the better." - By early evening, the farewell party was underway. Greedy made all the cakes and goodies for his fellow Smurfs, including himself most of all, to enjoy. Tapper supplied the drinks. Festive supplied the lanterns and decorations. A few Smurfs supplied the music. Jokey supplied the fireworks which they saw going off in the air in spectacular displays. And the rest of the Smurfs supplied the dancing and games that they played with each other.

Johan just sat near the outskirts of the village, waiting for the magic flute to be ready, while Peewit was with Greedy testing out the food. "I've never tasted these kind of berries before, Greedy," Peewit said as he ate one of the cakes. "What are these called?"

"They are called smurfberries, and they are the most smurfiest things you have ever tasted," Greedy said. "Of course, I have never seen a human before who likes to eat smurfberries."

"Yeah, well, I think I'm becoming a smurfberry addict right now," Peewit said. "So you're the biggest eater in the village, am I correct?"

"Me and my brother Nabby are the biggest eaters, Peewit, but I like to think that I can eat him under the table any day of the week," Greedy said.

"Really?" Peewit said as he looked at the other Smurf eating cakes from another table and constantly stuffing himself full.

"Of course, the thing my brother likes to do is sneak away with food when I'm not smurfing," Greedy said, looking at Nabby with disgust.

"You know, I think me and Nabby may have something in common when it comes to sneaking food from the kitchen," Peewit said. "Have you told you of the time that I have..."

"Look!" one of the Smurfs shouted. "Papa Smurf is bringing out the magic flute!"

Every Smurf stopped what they were doing, and Johan and Peewit turned to see Papa Smurf arriving at the scene of the party with the magic flute. They all gave applause for the work that was completed.

"The magic flute is now ready to use, my little Smurfs," Papa Smurf said. "I shall now let Peewit have the honors of holding the flute so he and Johan can take it back with them."

"It shall be my pleasure, Papa Smurf," Peewit said. He reached out to grab the flute from Papa Smurf's hands, but then he noticed something strange. "My hand! It just passed through the flute! I can't grab it!"

Johan felt something strange. "Peewit...I'm starting to feel really tired..."

Peewit also felt the same sensation. "Papa Smurf...I can't...keep my eyes open..."

"Johan, Peewit, what's going on?" Papa Smurf asked. "Why are the both of you fading away?"

"Johan...Peewit...you must return...," a voice called out that only the two humans can hear.

And instantly Johan and Peewit fell asleep and disappeared from the Smurf Village. "Papa Smurf, Papa Smurf, what are we going to do? How will we smurf the flute to the two humans now?" Brainy asked as he watched the humans disappear.

"This looks like somebody was smurfing a spell of hypnokinesis, Brainy," Papa Smurf said. "We will track down the origin of where the spell was originally smurfed. With any luck, we may be able to find Johan and Peewit, wherever it is they have smurfed from."

"I hate wherever it is they have smurfed from," Grouchy said. - "Johan! Peewit! Wake up!" a familiar voice called out in the blackness.

Johan and Peewit woke up and found themselves in the chamber of Homnibus' hovel where they fell asleep. "Huh? What are we doing back here?" Johan asked.

"Why did you pull us back?" Peewit asked Homnibus.

"I have been worried that you have been gone for too long outside your bodies," Homnibus answered. "I had to pull you back or else your spirits would remain trapped outside your bodies, and you would have perished."

"You pulled us back too soon, Homnibus," Johan said.

"Yeah, we were just ready to get our hands on another magic flute from the Smurfs," Peewit said.

"I'm terribly sorry that I did that, my young friends," Homnibus said. "However, now that I have pulled you back, I cannot send you both back to the Smurf Village right away. The effort would be tiresome, and there's a greater risk that I would lose you both."

"You can't send us back?" Johan said, sounding very surprised. "Then how are we going to get the flute now?"

"Can't you at least try to send one of us back?" Peewit asked. "I'll be the one you can send back there."

Homnibus sighed. "It's a risky venture, but I could summon enough strength to send at least one of you there. Please sit down and I will give it a try." Peewit sat down again. "Now look deep into my eyes...you are getting sleepy...you are no longer...in your body..."

But as Peewit stared into Homnibus' eyes, the enchanter's own eyes were getting heavy until he himself was falling to the floor. Johan caught Homnibus before he hit the floor.

"Great, Peewit, now you've caused Homnibus to fall asleep," Johan said with some disgust.

Homnibus' servant came into the room and noticed that his master is unconscious. "Johan, Peewit, what has happened to Master Homnibus?" he asked, sounding concerned.

"He was trying to recast the spell of hypnokinesis, and he fell asleep," Peewit answered. "I swear to you that I didn't mean for this to happen."

"We must get him to his bed so he can rest," the servant said as he helped Johan carry Homnibus to his bedroom.

Peewit looked plenty worried. "Oh, how are we going to get our hands on the magic flute now? And where has that thief gone this time with mine?" - "As for Matthew McCreep, he was heading for an old associate that he used to work with," Narrator said. "His name was originally Lord Mumford, but in recent years he was going by the name of Earl Flatbroke because of his unsmurfy wasteful lifestyle."

As Narrator continued the story, Empath and Polaris saw Earl Flatbroke talking to one of his servants in a demanding tone. "I don't give a flying fig for what they'll say...let the taxes be increased! Have those who refuse to pay their taxes be thrown into prison and have all their belongings seized!"

"You're playing a dangerous game, my lord," the servant said. "The serfs have already been taxed enough as it is. If you keep increasing the taxes, they will complain to King Audric, who will launch an expedition against you and dispossess you of your fief."

"King Audric! Oh, why doesn't that old man ever mind his own business? I swear that if I were king, Audric would be in the dungeon as my servant!" Earl Flatbroke said as he paced around the room trying to think. "I need money!"

"You do?" a voice broke in, as a bag of money was tossed at the earl's feet. "Catch!"

Earl Flatbroke turned to see who was at the door and recognized the person. "Matthew McCreep!" He told his servant to leave him alone so he could have a private talk, and after his servant left, he grabbed Matthew by the collar of his tunic. "You crook! I told you never to set your foot here again!"

"Why?" McCreep said. "Are you afraid that I'll talk about the things we've done together...like how three months ago I attacked a caravan of rich merchants crossing your lands, and that you, the once noble Lord Mumford, got your share of the spoils from me?"

"Shhhh...not a word about it from you," Earl Flatbroke said, letting go of McCreep, fearful that anybody else would hear. "So what is it you want now?"

"Oh, just to propose a deal," McCreep said as he helped himself to a drink. "You're a fighting man, Flatbroke, but you can't start any wars because you're ruined, burdened with debts, and you can only afford a few poorly equipped soldiers. On the other hand, if you had a good enough army, you could attack the lords in the vicinity and your little fief will become a powerful province...powerful enough to even overthrow King Audric."

"To have that kind of an army, McCreep, I will need gold to pay for soldiers and equipment," Flatbroke said.

"Exactly," McCreep said. "And it just so happens that I have some...a whole lot of gold, actually. So here's what I propose to you: I'll give you the money necessary for you to get that army up and running. You invade the country and we'll share the lands that you conquer. What do you think of that?"

Flatbroke stroked his beard while thinking. "Intriguing, but I need to see for myself the amount of money that you have before I will commit myself to this deal."

"Of course," McCreep said. "The money is hidden in a nearby forest. I will show you just where it is."