Somewhere Over The Rainbow/Part 5

Soon the four Smurflings returned to the chamber of the Wizard of Odds. "Here is the broomstick you have smurfed for, and the Wicked Witch is all dead," Sassette said, presenting the broomstick before the vision of the Wizard.

"So you liquidated her...how very resourceful," the Wizard said. "Very well...come back tomorrow and you shall have your reward."

"Tomorrow?!?" all four Smurflings said together.

"We didn't bust our smurfs to get your crummy broomstick just so we can smurf back tomorrow and get our reward," Snappy said. "We want you to smurf it to us right now."

"I said come back tomorrow!" the Wizard boomed. "The great and powerful Wizard of Odds has spoken!"

Suddenly Puppy saw something moving behind a curtain, and then ran over and yanked on it until it fell down. Behind the curtain, the Smurflings saw a Smurf that almost resembled Empath wearing a dress suit operating a machine.

"Pay no attention to the Smurf behind the curtain," the Wizard said. "The great and powerful Wizard of Odds has spoken!"

But none of them turned away from the Smurf they now saw was behind the curtain. "Okay, just who the smurf are you, really?" Snappy asked.

"Yeah, and why are you pretending to be a wizard when you're not?" Sassette asked.

The Smurf behind the curtain turned to face the Smurflings. "The truth is is that you're not really in the land of Odds, and I am not really Empath or the Wizard of Odds, and none of the characters you have met here really exist at all," the Smurf answered.

"They're not? Then where are we really in...a dream?" Nat asked.

"I'm afraid so, and one that Gargamel the evil wizard had cast you in with the help of the dream spirit Morphio," the Smurf answered. "He wanted to have one last attempt to get even with the Smurfs, and so he bargained with Morphio that if he could keep you trapped within one of your favorite bedtime stories, then none of you would ever escape from it."

"That was Gargamel's plan...to trap us in the land of Odds?" Slouchy said.

"It didn't matter to him which story it was...what Morphio was after was the smurfberry red heels, which were the only way out for all of you, for if Morphio had gotten his hands on the heels through the Wicked Witch, then none of you would be able to escape this dream," the Smurf said.

"Well, that was certainly a lousy plan," Snappy said. "Gargamel should have known that we smurfed this story so many times before that we'd be able to figure our way out of this."

"You mean...the smurfberry red heels can smurf me and my fellow Smurflings out of this dream that we're in together?" Sassette asked.

"Anytime the four of you are ready to do so," the Smurf answered. "All you have to do is click your heels three times and say 'there is no place like home'."

"So what are we waiting for?" Nat said. "Come on, let's join hands while Sassette clicks her heels together."

The four Smurflings joined hands together as Sassette clicked her heels, and the four of them said, "There is no place like home...there is no place like home...there is no place like home..." - And as the world of the land of Odds faded, the Smurflings found themselves back home in the Smurf Village lying in their beds, awakening to find out that it was now morning, and with them inside their playhouse was Empath, Smurfette, and Papa Smurf.

"Good morning, my little Smurflings," Papa Smurf greeted. "I was wondering when you were going to wake up."

"Papa Smurf," Snappy shouted as he jumped out of bed into Papa Smurf's arms.

"Smurfette," Sassette shouted as she jumped out of bed into Smurfette's arms.

"Empath," Nat and Slouchy shouted as they jumped out of bed to hug Empath.

"Salutations, my fellow Smurflings," Empath said, smiling. "You seem pretty happy to see us being in your house when we were wondering why you didn't show up for breakfast."

"All four of us have been smurfed in a dream, Pappy Smurf," Sassette said. "It was like we were in the land of Odds together. I was Dorothy, and Nat was the Scarecrow, and Slouchy was the Tin Woodsmurf, and Snappy was the Cowardly Lion."

"You should have been there, Empath," Snappy said. "It was the most exciting story that any of us have ever lived, and it was so real that none of us ever thought that we were really dreaming it."

"This smurf believes you, Snappy," Empath said. "What happened in your dream must have been really remarkable to have left such an impression on you and your fellow Smurflings."

"You had us all worried there, Sassette," Smurfette said. "When Empath sensed that there was some sort of magic spell that was smurfed upon you, we didn't think you would ever awaken."

"It wasn't the kind of dream that we wouldn't know how to smurf ourselves out of, Smurfette, given how many times we smurfed the same bedtime story," Slouchy said.

"Then it was fortunate that through the dream you found each other and worked together to smurf yourselves awake," Papa Smurf said.

"I still can't help feeling that everything in it was so real, Empath," Sassette said. "I really felt that I was in the land of Odds, and it was so beautiful that I wish that it was a real place that I can smurf back to again."

"Perhaps someday you shall, when Handy gets the Imaginarium up and running again, Sassette," Empath said.

THE END