A journey through the past
A bandage over his eyes, hands guiding him and some laughs echoing behind him.
He was being pushed with practically all his body tied with a rope that was pressing hard on him, leaving only his feet so he could handle himself free enough to walk like a penguin.
That had to be a joke, being kidnapped exactly on his birthday and he wasn't even able to say anything due to the masking tape that held his beak tightly closed. It was one more thing that showed him that he had bad luck.
How was that he had ended up in this situation? Well, it all had been very strange indeed.
Flashback…
For the first time this year he left his bed with a well-painted smile on his face, those that showed his teeth perfectly. He jumped out of bed, had breakfast almost choking with the food, and started to get to the studio as soon as possible, setting fire to the tires on his not-so-new car. Once he arrived, he ran towards the studio entrance.
He slammed the door open, waiting to hear his fellows starting his party with congratulations, expecting a huge cake with pretty girls coming out of the top of it and big bright letters forming his name...
But yet, all he could find were the cleaning men, sweeping all over the place, looking bored and tired. There was not any soul in this, none of his teammates, none of the directors...
- Hello... – He muttered, looking around. - HELLO! SOMEONE! – He cried, this time running all over the place, going from door to door of every dressing room of each set, looking for someone. - I'm here! Everyone can come out, I'm here, I know this is a joke birthday, hahaha, but I already discovered it, you can all come out! -
He let out a laugh again, this time louder as he walked through the halls.
- Very funny, very funny. You do this to trick the birthday boy, you all feel so smart dontcha? – He said while reviewing several dumpsters. - But I remind you that I'm Daffy Duck, no one and I mean, NO ONE can fool me, so come out now! Porky, Sylvester, Baldie, Pepe, Melisa... Bugsy? Robert! Chuck, Tex, Bob, Friz... Who is it?! -
He ran through the place once again, shouting the names of each of his teammates and directors responsible for it. But there was no response, the place was empty.
He stopped suddenly, trying to catch his breath, breathing noisily.
- Where is everyone?! How dare them to treat their biggest star like that! – He yelled.
One of the cleaning men stepped near him, sweeping close to his flat legs and suddenly, the poor man's jacket was pulled by the duck, who raised him slightly to look him in the eyes furiously.
- What an insolence! But if it was about that stupid rabbit, that second-hand comedian that everybody prefer, they wouldn't do him any of this, isn't it Buster? -
- Well... I… I don't know sir... I... – he said with a kind yet nervous voice, swallowing hard as he could feel the duck's eyes fixated on his.
- Oh, no! That despicable rabbit deserves everything! He is "the star of the show!" well no! – he shook the man. - I'm a star too; I deserve more ovations, praises and recognition... than... than that carrot-eating fool-
He released the man, letting him fall to the ground and turning around, Daffy walked to the door, with heavy steps, so heavy that almost made the floor crack.
- Treating Daffy Duck that way, treat your best duck that way, after all I've done for them, after firmly serving my contract, after all these years, and I'm not worthy to have a well-deserved holiday for ME! -
He said this while walking, moving his hands furiously as he spoke on his own.
It was at that moment when a postman came out of nowhere, arriving with a small motorized scooter that eventually slowed sharply against the duck, making it stop suddenly, leaving a wheel mark on the floor.
- Daffy Duck? – The man asked, holding a package.
- The one and only – he said with a poetic tone to the strange looking man with a gray mustache, his cap of the same color of the suit where the company name was written.
- I have a package for you Mr. Duck - said the man, giving him the box.
- A package? But I haven't ordered anything – he said without even taking it, just looking at him with disdain.
- I'm pretty sure it's for you, Mr. Duck – the postman insisted, bringing it even closer to the duck.
He looked suspiciously at the postman, looking straight into his eyes, as if trying to find out who was actually the postman.
- Something tells me it's for your birthday~ - said the man with a singsong voice.
Immediately, the duck reacted and a wide smile appeared on his face.
- Oh, brother. It was about time something appeared for me! – He said it excitedly, snatching the package immediately as he jumped from one foot to another, eager to see what was inside.
- Wait, you have to sign this – said the postman, taking the duck by his shoulder.
Daffy looked at him, still smiling and saw the man putting on the floor what it seemed to be a pile of papers as tall as him.
- All right, sign here first, doc. – the man said handing him a pen and pointing at the blank space of the paper sheet.
After signing it, the postman passed quickly to another, then another, to another, to another, to another, and seemed like 530 other more sheets.
Eventually, the duck ended sprawled on the floor with his arm and hand almost cramped for signing all those papers.
- That's it then. Thanks for your time, Mr. Duck, enjoy your package, have a nice... -
- Yeah yeah, leave for once! - He turned his anxious look to the package again.
But his attempts to open it were interrupted by the appearance of a hand before his eyes.
He looked to the hand and by the signal he could easily tell it was the mailman waiting for a tip for the delivery. He grimaced when he saw the insistent hand in front of him and letting out a snort of anger, put his hand in the hidden pocked of his plumage, looking for some money. The sound of the coins bumping against each other could easily be heard, but the feathery fingers managed to avoid them and opted to take a clip and a fluff.
- Here you go, good man – he said quickly putting the clip and the fluff in the postman's hand and then closed his hand and force him to ride his scooter again. – You must have many deliveries so I won't distract you more in your his duty, you can go – he turned on the scooter for the postman and the speeding caused by the small motorcycle rose up abruptly, taking the postman away from him.
He impatiently put the package on the floor and kneeling before it, he got rid of the entire envelope, revealing a medium white box.
- What could it be? Jewelry, cake, ice cream, money ... yeah! Gold coins, precious money, diamonds… what is it? -
He opened the box for once and all, and just as he did so, a boxing glove hit him on the face, immediately knocking the duck out.
End of flashback
And so, everything had gone dark for the duck and had woken up with his eyes covered and been forced to walk to an unknown place.
With clumsy steps and trying to talk through the masking tape that held his beak tightly sealed, the duck ended being guided to a strange place that seemed to have many plants, only low grass, and he suddenly found himself with the water up to his knees. He got altered as he felt it, but due to the rope wrapped around his body, he was unable to do more than shivering.
Daffy let his imagination deepen his fear and he thought that it would be his end, that he would be the first cartoon in dying drowned.
And as he said a goodbye in his mind, in a second he could feel the rope being removed from his body and quickly spinning around thanks to someone who had pulled that rope, untangling him.
Dizzy and unable to control his steps, he ended falling in the water just as it seemed to him.
- No, don't kill me! – He tried to say, kicking in the water.
But after a few seconds of waiting, the duck realized he was out of danger, so he removed the bandage from his eyes and the tape from his beak.
His jaw dropped to the bottom of that lake where I was, everything was in black and white, no color whatsoever, no lake blue, any blue sky.
- What happened? What happened to me? Why everything is in black and white?! – He exclaimed, looking at his body and then noticing a difference in him.
He looked at his reflection in the lake and let out a scream that sounded more like a loud quack. Just as he did it, hundreds of bullets flew toward him and had it not been for his reflexes, a bullet would have gone through his head.
He quickly fled away from the fire area, jumping over the water letting out a "woohoo, woohoo" while doing this.
- What happened? What kind of joke is this? -
He exclaimed, looking towards his body now with curvier lines and even his beak looked less flat. It was as if he was suddenly back in 1937, before the colors were painted in his cartoons, when he was smaller in size and had an appearance closer to that of a real mallard.
- The-the-there you are, you crazy d-d-d-duck…! –
He could hear Porky's voice behind him and looking over his shoulder he saw him with a shotgun in his hand, aiming at him. Not only was he and the scenario what had changed, Porky also looked quite different, with those eyes looking slightly bigger, and that body even a little more plump.
- Porky, Cadet, old friend, what are you doing with that gun? – He said, backing slowly.
- S-s-s-stay sti-sti-still-
He pulled the trigger once, and then a couple of times more, continuously loading his shotgun but nothing came of it.
A woohoo escaped from Daffy's mouth without being able to contain it and within seconds he was doing tricks on the surface of the water, jumping like crazy dude as if he could walk on it. With those same crazy jumps, he approached the pig and gave him a small bite on the nose.
- You can't catch me! – He laughed crazily and ran as fast as he could, even jumping in and out of the water repeatedly.
And suddenly in his escape attempt, he heard the sound of another shotgun from other of his retro-looking pursuers.
- Egghead! – He cried more for himself, forming a smile with his beak.
This one was easier to fool than the pig, the guy couldn't hit him even if he was two feet from him.
He stopped abruptly and headed for the hunter, pressing that red nose a few time, making it sound like a clown's nose. The hunter shook his head and put his hands to his nose in confusion, Daffy took the time to lower his hat by introducing his whole head inside of it.
He laughed, running again, a strange sensation took over his body and he suddenly felt like the wild duck he had once been, leaving a large amount of madness run through his veins and he expressed that in each of his movements even in the simplest.
Suddenly, the lake was left behind and now he was in what looked like an operating room to which he had run into and now a white coat was in his body and a nurse cap was on his head.
- SHHHH said the doctor making Daffy suddenly stop in front of him. - I told you to be quiet! So quiet you could hear a pin drop-
A lunatic smile on his face and he took a pin out of nothing, dropping it in front of the doctor, demonstrating him that the whole place was quiet.
Having heard the pin drop, an uncontrollable "Woohoo" came out of Daffy's peak out and he started jumping all over the place.
- Daffy! - Cried the doctor, losing his patience and took the duck by the neck and stretching him, he ended throwing to duck out of the operating room, making him shot out the window as if he were some projectile.
The duck instinctively stretched his wings.
- Hey! The clouds! The sky! – He cried with joy, looking at these and noting that he had regained his color.
And with a smile on his face, he began to fly over that sky wearing a classic aviator hat like the one he had used at that time in which he had to serve his country.
A cannon ball passed near him and he ended up making an emergency landing in a tall old building.
One more bullet and he fell on the roof, making a hole in it and ending in what was now an office.
He rose as he could and instead of his hat, there was a detective hat on his head.
A knock on the door and he wobbly approached it.
- I'm coming, I'm coming! – He cried shaking his head.
He opened the door carefully and right in front of him was...
- Eighty-eight Teeth! – He cried at seeing his enemy in front of him. - Pussy Cat! - He said looking away. - Pickle Puss! Pumpkin Head! Neon Noodle! Duck? Twacy?! I'm in Duck Twacy! I am Duck Twacy! –
He let out another scream and closed the door shut, preventing his enemies from entering, but it didn't last long before they started to push against the door, trying to enter.
He looked around the office looking for a quick way to escape.
- Aha! – He exclaimed at seeing another door on the other side of the office.
He ran towards it and opened it quickly, entering to it and ending in a strangely dark place.
- Now where am I? – He asked himself and the sound of musical notes began to get to him and started to guide him through the darkness.
Within seconds he found out a door drawn on the cover of a book.
He paused to catch his breath and watching his arms, he realized that his appearance had changed again and that his body was being covered by a purple suit, his hands had yellow gloves; a green bow on his neck and a curly blond wig on is head.
He knew the place well and quickly a smile appeared on his face as he walked a couple of steps to catch the light reflector and, breathing deeply, he started singing that melody that quickly began to appear in his head.
"Carolina in the morning"
His voice was soft, singing perfectly in tune and his movements attracted several characters from other books.
But just as the second strophe was coming, a wolf appeared behind him with an axe in his hands and tried to cut his neck, but he managed to duck his head just in time, but even so, he still hadn't been saved from him.
- YIKES! – He exclaimed at seeing the wolf in a granny dress, insistent on wanting to cut his throat.
He looked at the books that surrounded him and just a few feet from him there was one with the title of "The Window"
Without thinking twice, he ran to it and leaped in, falling through the sky for a moment until it began to disappear until it became totally white.
What is happening? Help! Help! – He cried, entering in panic. – What on earth is going on?!
He tried to flap at the last minute but he eventually fell into a scenario without any color made entirely in pencil, he looked around, everything seemed to be motionless except him.
- What kind of kidnapping is this? Where am I?! I demand to be told! – He screamed his lungs.
He walked a little, frustrated at not having any answers and looking for a way to get out of there, but before he could continue walking the tip of a pencil made him stop.
- This is what I meant! It was about time they responded to my call. What is going on here?! – He raised his voice again into the nothingness with the hope that the owner of the pen did something to fix everything that happened.
But the only thing closer to a response he got was that pencil moving on him and in the blink of an eye, he was with his old Duck Dodgers suit, he hadn't noticed it until now, that scenario seemed to be nothing more than pencil and nothing less than his very ship.
Several brushes appeared out of nowhere and all over the place, adding color and in a second, everything was in motion again.
- Captain! – The Cadet cried, coming up with hurried steps. –
- Cadet! – Dodgers cried, excited to see the pig again and with that space guy suit who was well combined with his own.
- W-w-why are you not d-d-d-driving the ship...? We are g-g-going to cr-cr-crash! –
The cadet tried to get to the steering wheel of the ship but before he could do so, it ended up crashing against one of the many "X" that were on that planet. The ship ended up falling to the ground, taking the "X" with it.
Both stood up, paying no great attention to the damage of the ship (after all, it was rented)
His disintegration pistol in one hand and the cadet came close behind, with a big smile on his face. They waited for the ship door to open, but at doing so, they found that small martian with his disintegration weapon that doubled the size of the one Dodgers held, and that was clearly more efficient.
- Well, I don't know if I'm happy to see my old rival at all – said Dodgers with a tone between friendly and playful.
- Mars is the discoverer of this planet, so it is ours - said Marvin, ignoring the words of the feathered one.
- Wrong as usual! – He said smiling. - You don't think you can scare me with your little toy, this land is... –
He couldn't finish saying it when the disintegration ray struck his body and eventually closed his eyes tightly and made him let out a cry of fear thinking for a second that it would be the end of the famous Duck Dodgers, the day of his birth would be the day of his complete defeat.
- Scarlet Pumpernickel! –
He heard Sylvester's voice, or rather, Grand Duke's. He immediately closed his beak.
- Help! – He could easily hear the cry of milady Melissa, they weren't so far as it seemed.
He held his breath to hear the door shut and opened the small space that was between the doors of the old wardrobe in which he was, he could see the Grand Duke enter with Melissa held by the wrist and saw to the girl's efforts to get free.
- I have to save her - Daffy said to himself.
He looked at the clothes he was wearing, once again his outfit had changed and now instead of being with his Duck Dodgers green space outfit, he was Scarlet Pu…Pu…Pumpernickel with his bandit outfit with a red mask, his broad hat of the same color, his cape, his black trousers, his burgundy colored gloves and of course his outfit had to come with the object his hand eagerly sought.
He placed his hand on the hilt of his sword and when he saw the Grand Duke began to approach, he it drew it out, getting out of the closet.
- Do not worry, I'm here to save you Milady! – he exclaimed as he came out.
The female duck quickly approached him, taking advantage of the Grand Duke's distraction, but as the girl got free, the sword fight began.
- Are you ready to be defeated, Scarlet! - Said the Duke with his defiantly tone while his sword clashed against the feathered one.
- I am the hero here so you, Duke, will lose! – He replied confidently.
The fight between them continued taking them both very close to the window of the tower. A dirty move by the Duke and Scarlet was with his view being obstructed by his hat.
- Hey, who turned the lights off? - Scarlet replied without seeing anything.
He could feel how the Duke dedicated to twist his body with his cape while laughing and savoring the victory by throwing the duck out the window.
The duck had to endure a long fall before reaching its destination, ending up falling on his back, he managed to take off the hat from his face and right now he was in the middle of a forest surrounded by trees with letters in which were written "Rabbit Season". His pupils immediately shrank, he should have thought about it before, he should have suspected that he would end up in that typical scenario so well known to him.
- There you are you cwazy duck! - The cry of Elmer stood up immediately.
- Not again – he muttered before standing.
A couple of shots near his feet and before he could shout a "Yikes", he was already running down that forest to escape the bald character with that shotgun.
- Stop there, cwazy duck and wabbit! – Yelled Elmer, pausing for a second to give a couple of shots to them, who ran not far from him.
- What are you doing here?! - asked Daffy at seeing Bugs join him in his escape attempt.
- Why am I here? You got us into this, Duck! - Bugs said dodging the bullets passing near his head.
- Me!? But it is... wait, of course it is! – He said stopping abruptly, but not before taking the rabbit by the wrist.
He ran over to where Elmer was and quickly put the rabbit against the bald man, taking care to put one hand over the rabbit's mouth to not make the typical attempt to escape the situation with his word play.
- Is rabbit season! Rabbit season! – He moved closer to the rabbit hunter. – Shoot him now, shoot him now! –
He heard the rabbit trying to speak through his hand, but nothing clear came out of his babbling.
- Wabbit Season... - Elmer murmured. - Then I'll shoot the wabbit! –
- Oh Boy, yes shoot him! –
He saw Elmer aim at the rabbit, but before he could even shoot, a hand ended up lifting him by the neck easily, holding him carefully.
- Son, I say son, there you are! - Foghorn mentioned with an enthusiastic smile on his face. - It's your turn to go on the stage, everyone has been waiting for you, son-
- What are you talking about?! Let me go! The rabbit, that silly rabbit, for the first time I was about to win and... Let me go! – He struggle a bit more as he felt how the rooster carried him in his arms.
The duck managed to look not very far away what appeared to be a theater. From a moment to other, thanks by Foghorn, he finally entered by the back door and after being pushed by the rooster, he ended up on the stage.
- Wait, I'm supposed to...! – He didn't get to finish the sentence when a light set on him, illuminating him only while the rest of the theater was almost dark, making it virtually impossible to see the audience that must have been sitting in front of him.
Sweat began to fall down his face, feeling terribly nervous about not knowing what to do with that microphone that he had been given.
- Hello... ammm, is anyone there? – He gave the microphone a couple of tap.
A strange sound came out of it and it was when he saw what appeared to be a white screen and then in the distance he noticed the projector lighting up running a video that was projected at that blank screen.
He went aside to see what was projected, but it all became clear when he heard his own voice that resonated in the theater, it was him, him and none other than him on the screen singing for a variety of monsters that were listening with amusement. He remembered that episode well, one of the most strangely interesting experiences, having to sing to a lot of famous monsters, from both movies and horror tales.
He rubbed his eyes to see how the picture changed to him in his Robin Hood outfit, doing some attacking moves with a stick which ended up hitting him in the face and could hear the audience laugh even when he couldn't see them clearly. But that was only the beginning of a series of short projections, some so old they were not even in color, sometimes so funny that I could hear the audience laughing nonstop.
Daffy dedicated to look at the series of short films that were projected, asking himself what was what had been going on. There was no doubt it was one of his most bizarre birthdays.
And finally, to give an end to this series of shorts concerning that duck who kept watching everything with confused face, appeared an introduction of which seemed to be one of his most famous and well-remembered shorts. The introduction of the series that had put him in the role of a hero, and had given him a more established place among the audience favorites.
The lights came on while listening to the introduction of the Duck Dodgers series, echoing all over the place and loud applauses were heard.
It was at that moment when everything was clear, seeing his teammates applauding standing with a smile on their faces, he understood that this was nothing more and nothing less than part of the celebration of his birthday.