Handy's Wild Road Trip/Part 4

The nine Smurfs eventually went to sleep, and in the morning Empath woke up along with Papa Smurf and Smurflings. "Salutations, Papa Smurf and Smurflings," he greeted.

Papa Smurf stretched and yawned. "Good morning, Empath. Did you sleep well?"

"It's not the best bed in the world, but it's nothing this smurf couldn't handle, Papa Smurf," Empath answered.

"That's why we chose to smurf up here for the night," Tracker said, as he and Duncan awakened from a bird's nest. "It did smurf a little cold for us."

"Aye, and we didn't even awaken the birds until now," Duncan said.

Just then, the mother bird arrived with a worm for her baby's breakfast. "Thanks for the hospitality, but I'm afraid we'll have to skip breakfast," Tracker said as he and Duncan leaped out of the nest.

"I can't wait to get ourselves smurfing to the springs," Snappy said.

"We must be smurfing pretty close to it by now, Pappy Smurf," Sassette said.

"It's not that far now, my little Smurflings," Papa Smurf said. "All we need is Tapper to join us now."

"I'm coming, Papa Smurf," Tapper said, emerging from behind bushes. "Just needed my alone time with the Almighty. Even on journeys like this, there's still times when I need to smurf a chat with Him."

"Does this Almighty actually smurf back to you, Tapper?" Slouchy asked.

"He does, but I hear Him more in my heart than I do an actual voice, my good Slouchy," Tapper said.

"It must be pretty hard to talk to somebody you can't even see or hear," Nat said.

"Just because you can't see or hear the Almighty doesn't mean He is imaginary or not present, my fellow Nat," Tapper said. "He is like the air you breathe...you can't see it, but you know it's there because you can feel it and you can see how it affects things when it blows as wind."

"I'm sure Tapper will want to smurf more about this Almighty of his, but for now we should smurf up camp and get ourselves going," Papa Smurf advised.

"This smurf agrees with that sentiment, Papa Smurf," Empath said as he picked up his backpack and Tapper and the Smurflings rolled up their sleeping bags.

"I do wonder if Handy and his Smurfs have smurfed the springs by now," Tracker said as he and Duncan gathered up their things.

"I'll smurf you anything that they're probably smurfing in, so I doubt it," Duncan said. "Won't Hefty be disappointed when he finds out." - Meanwhile, at the Smurf wagon, Brainy woke up early to find that his fellow Smurfs were still sleeping, including Handy next to the driver's seat. "I must be the first one awake," he said to himself as he looked around at his fellow Smurfs. "We ought to get an early start to the springs, but why wake up the others?"

He got out of the Smurf wagon and cranked up the motor to get it started. Then he climbed into the driver's seat and looked at the steering controls.

"This doesn't look so hard to operate," Brainy said to himself. "The pedal on the floor must be what makes the vehicle smurf forward."

He pressed down on the accelerator and the Smurf wagon moved forward. Brainy remembered his driving lessons from the time Handy had built the smurfmobile and steered the vehicle through the forest, doing his best to make sure that he didn't disturb his fellow Smurfs with his driving.

"What a chapter this is going to smurf in my latest book," Brainy commented, sounding very excited. "Every Smurf can rest easy knowing that they can leave the driving to Brainy Smurf."

The rest of the Smurfs in the wagon continued to sleep, as did Handy beside Brainy near the driver's seat. - A little later on, the nine hiking Smurfs have reached their destination. "This is Dreamy Steamy Springs, my little Smurflings," Tracker announced.

"Smurfabunga!" all four of them shouted.

"I can't wait to smurf on my smurfing suit and smurf in," Sassette said.

"You all earned it, my little Smurflings, for smurfing on such a long hike," Papa Smurf said, smiling as he removed his pants to reveal the shorts he was wearing underneath. "And my feet have earned it as well."

"It must be relaxing to put our feet into its waters and let them soak in all its warmth," Empath said, also removing his pants to reveal the swim briefs he was wearing.

"What a smurfy thing to have in our village, after a hard day's smurf, Empath," Duncan said, as he and Tracker removed their pants.

"You smurfed it, Duncan," Tracker said. All four of the younger adult Smurfs carefully waded into the water as Papa Smurf just sat by the shore and rested his feet in the water. Soon the four Smurflings joined them by jumping in and swimming.

"Hey, this water's warmer than our smurfing pool back home," Snappy said.

"That's the whole point of the springs, Snappy," Empath said. "Its warm water is supposed to help you relax, like taking a nice warm bath."

"The only thing that's missing in this bath are warm soap bubbles," Slouchy said.

"I wouldn't recommend smurfing soap in a place like this, Slouchy," Nat said.

"Very true, but it's fun to imagine what it would be like for every Smurf to have a place like this in the village that they can smurf to at the end of the day," Tracker said.

"This just feels like heaven," Tapper said as he just closed his eyes and laid back.

"This smurf wonders where the other Smurfs are by now, Papa Smurf," Empath said. "They should have already been here in Handy's new invention."

"Wherever they are, Empath, I'm certain that they will smurf up sooner or later," Papa Smurf said. - At this point, Brainy was driving the Smurf wagon down a winding rocky road beside a cliff. The way was so rough and winding that Brainy was fearing for his life, if not also for that of his fellow Smurfs. "I'm not sure I'm going to like writing this chapter in my story," he muttered to himself.

In the passenger end of the Smurf wagon, the other Smurfs were now awake and wondering where they are and what's going on. "Are we now moving?" Smurfette asked.

"Uh, I'll go smurf outside and look," Clumsy said as he turned towards the door. He opened it and was about to step outside when he saw that not only was the Smurf wagon moving, but also that it was driving along a road that was near a cliff. Clumsy yelped as he was about to fall out of the vehicle.

"Don't worry, Clumsy...I've got you," Hefty said as he grabbed his friend before he fell out.

Clumsy let out a sigh of relief. "Thanks, Hefty. That first step was a real smurfdinger."

"Is Handy crazy to smurf us along this kind of road?" Greedy asked as he looked out the window at where they are now.

Painter looked into the driving seat. "Sacre bleu! It's M'sieu Brainy! He's smurfing the driving!"

"I hate Brainy smurfing the driving," Grouchy said.

"Why isn't Handy smurfing the driving?" Smurfette asked, sounding fearful.

"It's because M'sieu Handy is still asleep, Smurfette," Painter said.

Brainy realized the trouble he had gotten himself and his fellow Smurfs into, that he somehow can't turn off the road he was driving on. "Wake up, Handy...I'm tired of driving," Brainy shouted as he shook his fellow Smurf beside him near the driver's seat. And then he saw that the road was about to end. "But I'm not tired of living."

Brainy pressed his foot on the brake to get the wagon to stop moving, but it only slowed its approach to the end of the road until it finally drove right off the road and off the cliff. At that point, Handy awakened.

"Brainy Smurf! What have you done?" Handy shouted as he saw the predicament he and his fellow Smurfs were now in.

"Thus comes the closing chapter to the story of Brainy Smurf," Brainy said as he covered his eyes, not wanting to see what was going to happen next.

Handy pulled a handle on the dashboard next to the steering wheel. A parachute popped out from the top of the Smurf wagon to slow its descent to the ground. - Meanwhile, the nine hiking Smurfs were still busy enjoying themselves at the springs. "Don't you love how quiet and peaceful everything is out here by the springs," Nat said.

"There's nothing to disturb us out here, my little Smurflings," Tracker said as he was floating on his back. "It's just the sound of the water and the wind through the leaves...the sight of birds smurfing in the sky and a dark shadow smurfing over us..."

"A dark shadow?" Tapper asked, opening his eyes.

Empath realized what it was. "Great Ancestors! It's the Smurf wagon!"

The nine Smurfs watched as the Smurf wagon now landed in the rushing water. Empath and Papa Smurf could see that it was headed for the waterfalls nearby.

"Quick, my little Smurfs, jump out of the vehicle," Papa Smurf shouted.

"But what about my invention?" Handy asked.

"And what about my masteurpiesa?" Painter asked.

"And what about my book?" Brainy asked.

"Uh, what about our lives?" Clumsy asked.

"Clumsy is right," Hefty said. "We should abandon the Smurf wagon and smurf for our lives."

They all jumped out of the Smurf wagon just before it was carried over the falls, but the current was too strong for the Smurfs to swim to safety.

"Quick, my fellow Smurfs, let's join hands," Empath said. He and the other eight Smurfs joined hands together as Empath concentrated his mental energies toward rescuing the Smurfs who were now swimming for their lives against the river's current. Just as they were about to go over, the Smurfs from the Smurf wagon were pulled away from the waterfalls and lifted up safely onto the shore.

"It's a good thing we smurfed you all in the smurf of time," Papa Smurf said, smiling at the Smurfs that were rescued.

"I hate being smurfed in the smurf of time," Grouchy said. - A day later, Papa Smurf led all the Smurfs who went to Dreamy Steamy Springs safely back home to the village.

"Smurfabunga! That was an exciting hike we had smurfed on!" Snappy said.

"And we helped rescue Handy and the other Smurfs who smurfed there in his Smurf wagon," Nat said.

"It's too bad we couldn't rescue my new invention, though," Handy said, sounding very sad. "Maybe next time, I'll smurf up one that could fly us all to Dreamy Steamy Springs."

"Ah, no more inventions for me," Painter said, carrying what was left of his easel. "The next time, I'm smurfing to the springs the old-fashioned way."

"You said it, Painter," Hefty said, carrying his weights. "I guess smurfing there is more than enough exercise for me."

"So you'll be joining us the next time we go hiking up to the springs, Hefty," Duncan said. "Just to let you know, we smurfed there before you did."

"Don't break your arm smurfing yourself on the back for that, Gutsy," Hefty said.

"That's Duncan to you, laddie," Duncan said.

"Oh, I can't wait to return to my work after such a long hike, my fellow Smurfs," Tapper said. "I feel so energized that I can smurf almost anything."

Meanwhile, Empath was with Smurfette, who was sobbing the entire time. "I feel so terrible that my new dress for the concert is now ruined, Empath," she said. "What am I going to smurf now?"

"This smurf is certain that you'll have an even better dress made for the concert, Smurfette," Empath said, smiling. "This smurf can already see how it's going to look on you."

"I should have just smurfed home or just smurfed with you on the hike, Empath," Smurfette said. "But I really wanted to smurf with you so badly that I smurfed this terrible mistake."

"You did what you thought was the best idea, Smurfette," Empath said consolingly. "It's just unfortunate how it turned out, though it wasn't as bad as what almost would have happened."

"Just tell me what I did was stupid, Empath...I deserve to hear it," Smurfette said.

"This smurf would never think of you as being stupid, Smurfette," Empath said. "Every Smurf makes mistakes, including this smurf. The best thing about this mistake was how it brought us all together."

Smurfette sighed. "I suppose you're right about that, Empath."

Polaris approached the Smurfs entering the village. "Salutations, fellow Smurfs. This one can see that you have returned safely, though without Handy's invention."

"Fortunately, that's the only thing that we lost on the hiking trip, Polaris," Papa Smurf said. "How were things smurfing in the village while we were gone?"

"Things in the village have been relatively uneventful, Papa Smurf," Polaris reported.

Empath smiled. "Maybe you should come with us on our next hiking trip to the springs, Polaris."

"At least then we won't have to hear Brainy smurfing his new book," Hefty said.

"Fortunately, I have smurfed the whole thing with waterproof ink, so my book is ready to smurf to the press," Brainy said, smiling. "Let me smurf you a sample of my work."

Tracker rolled his eyes while some of the Smurfs just slapped their foreheads. "Who says smurfing there isn't half the fun?"

THE END