Rocko's Modern Life is not my property. The show and its characters belong to Joe Murray and Nickelodeon.
Filburt's Birthday Party
It was a nice sunny morning in O-Town. Rocko was having his breakfast.
"Ah, what a beautiful day," said Rocko. "The sun is shining, the birds are singing and I'm having a nice meal."
By the time Rocko finished his breakfast, there was a knock at the door. Rocko went to answer it. It was Heffer.
"Hey, Rocko," an excited Heffer cried. "I've got great news!"
"What is it, Heff?" asked Rocko.
"Today's Filburt's birthday and he's having a party at his and Dr. Hutchison's house!" he explained.
"Wow, that's great, Heffer!" said Rocko, happy by the news.
"And there's more!" Heffer continued. "The invitations are gonna be given out to everyone in O-Town!"
Rocko and Heffer squeal with delight.
"I really can't wait!" Rocko cried.
"Me neither!" Heffer cheered.
Meanwhile, Filburt is doing the party invitations. His kids enter the room.
"Happy Birthday, Daddy!" the kids cried all at once. "Happy Birthday!"
"Hey, kids!" said Filburt. "What do you think of the invitations?"
"They look great!" cried Norbert.
"I agree with Norbert!" said Missy.
"Me too!" Gilbert and Shelbert cheered in unison.
"You kids are so kind!" said Filburt.
Moments later, Filburt has finished the invitations.
"Paula!" called Filburt.
Filburt's wife Dr. Hutchison enters the room.
"Yes, Filburt?" answered Dr. Hutchison.
"Do you want to post those invitations to every O-Town resident?" asked Filburt.
"Sure, leave it to me!" giggled Dr. Hutchison.
Filburt puts the invitations into a bag and gives it to Hutch. Hutch went out to deliver the invitations. She arrives at Heffer's house.
"Heffer's going to be so happy when he sees this!" squeaked Dr. Hutchison.
She puts Heffer's invitation in the mailbox.
Meanwhile, Rocko is thinking of something to do with Heffer.
"OK, Heffer," said Rocko. "What should we make for Filburt?"
"Lemme think," said Heffer. Heffer thought until he had an idea.
"I know!" Heffer cried. "How about birthday money?"
"Good idea, Heffer!" agreed Rocko.
"OK," said Heffer. "Let's go money hunting!"
They search through the whole house and Heffer finds it.
"Rocko," called Heffer. "I found the money!"
"Great, Heffer!" cried Rocko. "Now all with have to do is make a birthday card and put the money in it."
"But we need to give Filburt a present," said Heffer.
"You're right, Heffer!" Rocko exclaimed. "Let's go and find one."
Meanwhile, Hutch arrives at the Bigheads' house. She puts the Ed and Bev's invitations in the mailbox.
"One for Ed, and one for Bev." said Dr. Hutchison.
Hutch starts to leave but trips over something. The invitations go everywhere.
"Ouch," groaned Dr. Hutchison. "What did I trip on?"
She gets up and notices she tripped over the Bigheads' dog Earl.
"Oh, I'm so sorry, little dog," apologized Dr. Hutchison. "I didn't mean to hurt you!"
Earl just stared with a bewildered look, then he walked away. Hutch looks at the mess she made.
"Oh, fiddlesticks!" cried Dr. Hutchison. "They're everywhere."
Hutch picked up all the invitations and walks off. But she didn't notice that on the ground was something she accidentally left behind: Rocko's invitation! A gust of wind blows the invitation straight for Rocko's house.
Meanwhile, Rocko and Heffer are getting in Rocko's car. Rocko has Filburt's birthday card on his lap. Inside the card is the birthday money. However, Rocko and Heffer didn't notice the lost invitation flying into the car onto the birthday card.
"Here we come with the card and present, Filburt!" exclaimed Heffer.
Rocko drives to Filburt's trailer and puts the card and present into the mailbox. However, he doesn't notice he's putting his invitation in as well.
"Heffer, I'll drop you off to your house so you can find you've got an invitation yet." said Rocko. "I'll go home and see if I've got an invitation."
"OK!" agreed Heffer.
They got into the car and drove off. Hutch comes back to the house, opens the mailbox and sees the card and present. She takes them out and goes inside. She didn't notice the invitation was with it.
"I'm back!" called Dr. Hutchison.
"Welcome back, Mommy!" cried the kids.
"Filburt, I found a present and card in the mailbox!" exclaimed Dr. Hutchison.
"Wow! That's great!" cried Filburt. "How did your trip go?"
"It went really well!" giggled Dr. Hutchison.
"That's good because we didn't want something to go wrong during your trip," said Filburt, realising the news.
As Filburt and the kids went about with stuff, Hutch began thinking about what her husband said and began to have a strange feeling about something.
For some reason, I have a feeling that I am forgetting something, but I can't quite put my finger on it, thought Hutch.
Meanwhile, Rocko is in his house with his dog, Spunky.
"Spunky!" an excited Rocko cried. "My friend's having a birthday party and I'm so excited! Wanna come?"
Spunky barks happily.
"Oh, good!" he cried. "I'm going to check if my invitation has arrived. Stay there, boy."
Rocko checks his mailbox to see if it has arrived yet but it's empty.
"That's strange," said a confused Rocko. "It's supposed to come by now."
He goes back inside.
"Spunky," explained Rocko. "My invitation hasn't arrived yet."
Heffer bursts through the front door.
"Rocko, my invitation's arrived!" he called. "Where's yours?"
"Mine hasn't arrived yet," explained Rocko.
"Oh dear. That's bad," replied Heffer.
Rocko expressed sadness. He was starting to get a little worried.
"Honestly, I thought local invitation deliveries are usually quick." said Rocko.
"Aw, don't worry, Rocko." said Heffer. "I'm sure it'll arrive."
"I'm not so sure, Heffer," replied Rocko. "I mean, we gave him a card and a present. I hope something hasn't happened to my invitation."
"Rock, don't get yourself worked up," Heffer reassured. "Your invitation will arrive. It's probably running a little late."
"Yeah, I guess you're right, Heff," said Rocko. "I'll still be on the lookout."
"Good," Heffer smiled. "See you later, Rocko."
"Same with you, Heffer," Rocko answered.
Heffer left the house. Rocko was getting a bad feeling. What if his invitation didn't arrive? Speaking of invitations, what if Filburt forgot to do him one? If Filburt noticed him missing from the party, surely he would call him and ask him where he was. But wait! What if he didn't call him while the party was in full swing? That led him to think of something that he never wanted to think of at all: what if Filburt didn't want to invite him to the party? Hopefully, that wouldn't happen at all.
Meanwhile, Filburt, Hutch and their kids look at the decorations they got.
"Those decorations would go well with the party," said Filburt.
"OK, let's get decorating!" cried Dr. Hutchison. "Missy, Norbert, you do the balloons, Gilbert, Shelbert, you hang the banners, I'll set the table, and Filburt, keep an eye for birthday guests."
"No problem, Paula," replied Filburt.
As Dr. Hutchison and the kids decorate, the first guest arrives. It was Ralph.
"Happy Birthday, Filburt," said Ralph.
"Thanks, Ralph," replied Filburt. "Come in."
Ralph steps into the house.
Meanwhile, Rocko was sadly sitting on his chair. Minutes had turned into nearly an hour and his mailbox still wasn't full.
"My invitation still hasn't arrived," he sighed sadly.
By now, Rocko was getting hit with a lot of bad thoughts. Maybe his invitation had gotten lost. Maybe Filburt had forgotten to do him an invitation. Or worse...maybe Filburt didn't want to invite him to his birthday party. And top it all off...maybe Filburt didn't want to be his best friend anymore! The wallaby's eyes begin to water.
"Oh dear. I can't believe I'm saying this, but I guess Filburt has ended his friendship with me," he said, nearly crying.
Rocko begins to cry. Suddenly, Heffer burst through the front door (again). He was unaware that Rocko was very upset.
"Rocko, has your invitation arrived yet?" Heffer cried. "Also, you should see how many people were invited! The Bigheads are there! Same with the hippo la- Huh?"
Heffer is cut off, however, when he sees Rocko crying. Tears are streaming down his face. Heffer is confused.
"Rocko, what's the matter?" asked Heffer. "Hasn't your invitation arrived yet?"
"Heffer, this may stupid, but...I don't think Filburt wants to be my friend anymore," sniffed Rocko.
"But Filburt is your friend," Heffer said, trying to be reassuring. "He wouldn't stop being your best friend for no reason."
Rocko wipes away some of his tears sadly.
"Don't let your bad thoughts overwhelm you," Heffer continued. "I'm sure your invitation will turn up sooner or later."
But Rocko was even more upset than before.
"No, Heffer," he sobbed. "Maybe I should just face it. I think It's the end of the line for me and Filburt."
A heartbroken Rocko runs upstairs, crying. Heffer just stood there in surprise, not knowing what to do or say.
"Gosh, poor Rocko…" sighed Heffer. "Oh, well..."
Heffer walks out of Rocko's house.
Meanwhile, Filburt's party is all set up.
"Are we ready to start?" Dr. Hutchison cried.
"Yeah!" cheered the birthday guests.
"OK!" cried Filburt. "I'll think I'll start with this card."
Filburt picks up the birthday card made by Rocko and Heffer. He opens it and takes out the birthday card.
"'To Filburt, Happy Birthday, from Rocko and Heffer.'"
Filburt is happy.
"Oh, thanks for the birthday card!" he cried.
Filburt sees his birthday money and takes it out.
"Wow, birthday money!" he cheered. "Thanks for the birthday money too!"
But then, he notices something beneath the card.
"Huh, what's this?" said Filburt.
He picks it up and lets out a horrifying gasp. It's Rocko's invitation! Shock Horror (a) (the "dun, dun, dun" music) plays.
"Oh, my gosh!" exclaimed Filburt.
"What's wrong, Filburt?" said Dr. Hutchison.
"How did Rocko's invitation come with the card?" answered Filburt.
"Oh no, I knew I was forgetting something!" exclaimed Dr. Hutchison. "I forgot to go to Rocko's house and I ended up assuming I delivered everything. Now I know I had accidentally left his invitation on the sidewalk after I tripped over the Bigheads' dog, so the wind must have picked it up and flew it onto the card."
"You tripped over their dog?!" cried Filburt.
"It was an accident," replied Dr. Hutchison. "I'm really sorry, Filburt. I never meant to cause all this."
"It's okay, honey, I know you didn't mean it," said Filburt. "However, this means I have one thing to do."
Filburt turns to the birthday guests.
"Attention, guests," he called.
The guests stare at him.
"We'll have to hold the party up for a bit," he explained. "There's someone special I've got to see."
"Aw!" groaned the birthday guests.
"I'll be right back!" continued Filburt. "Don't you worry."
Filburt runs out of the house.
"Mommy," asked Missy. "Where's daddy going?"
"He's gone to see his friend," answered Dr. Hutchison. "He's forgotten about him."
Heffer arrives in the house.
"Hey, Hutch," called Heffer. "Did Filburt go out to see Rocko?"
"To be honest, Heffer. Yes," answered Dr. Hutchison.
Meanwhile, Filburt was running on the pavement all the way to Rocko's house with his invitation in his hand. Many thoughts were running through his mind. He hoped this whole invitation incident wouldn't damage their friendship.
"Oh, why did I forget about you, Rocko?" panted Filburt. "I'm really, really sorry. Please don't be mad when I come to your door."
Filburt carries on running.
At Rocko's house, Rocko is in his bedroom, crying heavily into his pillow on his bed. Spunky comes in and comforts him.
"Oh, Spunky," muffled an upset Rocko. "I'm the only O-Town resident who hasn't got an invitation to the party. Why did my own best friend betray me?"
Suddenly, he hears knocking on his front door. He lifts his head from his pillow.
"I'm coming," said Rocko, crying.
He goes downstairs and opens the door. It was Filburt.
"Oh. Hi, Filburt," said Rocko tearfully, looking down.
"Rocko..." said an out of breath Filburt. "I was wondering where you were."
"Really?" replied Rocko, starting to express anger. "I thought you decided to stop being my best friend and celebrate your birthday without me."
"Why would I stop being your best friend or celebrate my birthday without you? Besides, I've got something important to tell you," answered Filburt.
"What is it you want to tell me?" asked a uneasy Rocko, wiping his tears.
"I'm really sorry about what happened today," explained Filburt. "Paula accidentally lost your invitation while she was doing the delivery. If you think I didn't want you to be your friend anymore and not invite to my birthday party, it wasn't like that. It was all a big misunderstanding that you had. I hope you're not mad or anything."
"What? You mean...?" Rocko began.
"Yes," Filburt answered back, handing out Rocko's invitation. "You're invited."
Rocko took the invitation, took a look at it and let out a gasp, then began shedding more tears happily. Filburt was right! It had all been a misunderstanding! Filburt would always be his best friend no matter what!
"Filburt!" cried Rocko, as he runs into Filburt's arms.
Now Rocko was more emotional than before. Happiness and relief flowed through him. But he also felt a little regret because he had been upset for nothing!
"Oh, Filburt!" he cried. "What a relief! I thought you didn't want to be friends with me anymore or want me to come to your party!"
Rocko starts crying heavily again, but this time with tears of joy. Filburt happily hugged Rocko back.
"I would never stop being your best friend for no reason, and I would never have a party without you, Rocko!" said Filburt.
"I'm sorry, Filburt! I didn't know what I was thinking! I was having all those bad thoughts for nothing!" Rocko sobbed.
"Don't be, everything has all been cleared up now."
Rocko calmed down a bit, faced Filburt and give a smile.
"Thanks...best friend..." Rocko managed to say between hiccups.
"Don't mention it," Filburt replied, his smile growing wider.
Spunky watched happily as Rocko lay his head on Filburt, who comforted him.
"Come on, Rock," Filburt said a few minutes later. Rocko had fully calmed down by this point. "No more tears. There's a birthday party we need to go to."
"You're right, Filburt," Rocko agreed, wiping away more of this tears. "Let's go. Come on, Spunky!"
Rocko, Filburt and Spunky all left the house straight for Filburt's trailer home.
At Filburt's trailer, Rocko, now fully composed, steps into the house with Spunky and Filburt.
"Attention, guests," called Filburt. "I've have my forgotten friend with me, so we're going to take the party off hold."
"Yay!" cheered the birthday guests.
Heffer is delighted to see Rocko.
"Rocko, you're here!" exclaimed Heffer.
"Of course I am, Heff," replied Rocko. "Filburt cleared up everything about what happened today, didn't you, Filb?"
"I sure did," replied Filburt.
"Cool!" cried Heffer. "So, let's celebrate your birthday!"
"Yeah!" exclaimed Filburt.
"Oh, and by the way, Filburt," said Rocko.
"What?" said Filburt.
"I love having a best friend like you," replied Rocko.
"Me too," Filburt answered back, smiling.
And so, everybody celebrated until the end of the day. And Rocko knew that his best friends will always be there for him when he's down, especially Filburt of course. In fact, Rocko, Heffer and Filburt will always be best friends no matter what happens.
THE END