Under The Cat's Paw/Part 1

One day Empath was taking a walk out into the forest with Tapper and the Smurflings, enjoying the bright sunny day and the peaceful scenery. "Smurfabunga! It sure is nice to be smurfing out here without having to worry about Gargamel and Azrael all the time," Snappy said.

"It is indeed a rare blessing from the Almighty, my fellow Snappy, though I do worry about where Gargamel is headed with his eternal destiny at smurf," Tapper said.

"Why are you so worried about that, Tapper?" Slouchy asked, sounding curious. "Isn't he the enemy of the Smurfs and deserves whatever he gets smurfed upon him for smurfing that?"

"Truth to tell, Slouchy, we all deserve the worst from the Almighty because we were all born as sinners in the world," Tapper said. "None of us deserve the grace that He so freely smurfs to us and all creation in the sacrifice of His only begotten Son."

"You believe that this human named Jesus died for everyone on this planet, Tapper?" Sassette asked.

"Jesus died for the sins of the world, not just for the sins of humans, Sassette," Tapper said. "When the first man the Almighty had created smurfed into sin, all of the world was affected by it, including all the animals that He had smurfed man to have dominion over. That's the reason that there's constant wars and fighting in this world, even among the creatures that were created to honor and worship the Almighty in everything that they do."

"But if this Jesus died for all the sins of the world, why is there still all this death and fighting that smurfs on in it, Tapper?" Nat asked.

"Because we still live in a fallen world, my fellow Nat," Tapper said. "Not everyone will believe that there is a single God that exists and that truly cares for them like a father does his child. Sadly, many will die before they would ever admit that they need the Almighty in their lives, and for that they will suffer greatly and needlessly for all eternity."

"That seems pretty harsh for the Almighty to make people suffer for all eternity for not believing in Him, Tapper," Sassette said.

"As the Good Book says, my dear Sassette, He doesn't delight in the death of the wicked, but that the wicked should turn from his way and live," Tapper said. "He doesn't want to make people suffer for all eternity, but He has to make sure that justice is met and that all sins have been paid for...whether it's with the blood of His Son or through the everlasting fire that never smurfs out."

"Nevertheless, it's great that you can put aside working in your tavern for one day of the week so you can relax and enjoy yourself, though the other Smurfs may not like you doing that on a regular basis, Tapper," Empath said.

"It's all part of the Almighty's commandment, my fellow Empath, that for six days I shall smurf my work, but on the seventh day I shall rest and smurf no work, for it is a Sabbath unto Him that shall be honored for all generations," Tapper said.

"Well, I can't smurf of a better place to rest than to smurf out here on a day like this, Tapper," Nat said, sounding like he was in agreement.

Suddenly the six of them could hear the sound of a kitten crying pitifully for help. "Great Smurfiny Crickets! It sounds like a kitten is in desperate need of a rescue!" Tapper said.

"A kitten in the forest? Papa Smurf warned us that cats are very dangerous to Smurfs, Tapper," Snappy said.

"It's just a kitten, Snap," Slouchy said. "What harm could a kitten do to any of us?"

"We might as well go and smurf if we can rescue the kitten from whatever it is he's so afraid of," Sassette said.

"This smurf agrees with you, Sassette," Empath said. "This smurf will direct us to the exact location of where the cry is coming from."

And so the five Smurfs followed Empath as he led them toward the sound of the kitten, until they stopped at a tree where they saw the kitten was perched high on a branch that he couldn't get down from.

"This doesn't look like much of a problem, my fellow Smurfs," Empath said as he saw the kitten on the branch, looking rather fearful. "Let this smurf handle trying to bring him down from the tree, and then we can try finding where it is that he came from."

"May the luck of the Smurfish be with you, Empath," Tapper said as he watched Empath leap into the air and hover near the branch where the kitten was perched. The kitten backed away somewhat fearfully, not liking having a mouse-sized creature being able to fly near him.

"Don't be afraid, little one," Empath said soothingly. "Everything will be all right. You're with friends who will help you find where it is you came from and will help you return home."

The kitten cautiously looked at Empath and saw that he was no threat. Empath then used his minds-eye abilities to lift the cat gently off the branch and lower him down to the ground next to the other five Smurfs.

The kitten mewed gratefully for his rescue, playfully licking Tapper's face. "I'm pleased to smurf you as well, my furry little friend," Tapper said with a laugh. "Now we just need to find your home and see if there's anybody that will come smurfing for you."

"It's too bad Azrael can't be anything like this kitten, Tapper," Sassette said as she watched the kitten roll around on the ground, looking happy again.

"I know how you feel, Sassette, but that doesn't mean that we should stop caring for all creatures just because some of them may smurf to be dangerous to us," Tapper said.

"Tapper is correct, Sassette," Empath said as soon as he joined them on the ground. "Whatever made Azrael become the creature that he was toward the Smurfs, we can't assume that all cats will become like him when they grow from being kittens, even though cats are helpful to humans because they can help get rid of mice."

"And it doesn't please me in the slightest that cats may smurf us as being nothing more than mice, my fellow Empath, but I would gladly smurf my life to save a creature like Azrael, as I'm sure that young Nat here would smurf the same," Tapper said.

"This smurf senses that you have a story to tell about a time that you had to rescue Azrael despite what your fellow Smurfs felt of him, Tapper," Empath said.

"Indeed I have, Empath," Tapper said. "This smurfed place a few years before you returned home for good, and some of the details of this story were smurfed from Narrator, who I will never know how he even smurfs them, but for the sake of smurfing you the complete story, here is how it happened."

To be expanded on.