Disclaimer: I do not own Camp Lazlo in anyway. All rights are reserved for Cartoon Network and the other companies that involve Camp Lazlo. I DO, however, own the characters I made up for this story.

This is the story of how a new Bean Scout changed Scoutmaster Lumpus' life for the better. It all begins with a letter.

How Lumpus Got His Groove Back

by DisneyBlue02

It was Sunday morning at Camp Kidney. Scoutmaster Lumpus was sitting at his desk in his office, looking through his mail.

"Junk, bill, junk, bill, junk," he said as he flipped letter after letter. "Junk, junk, bill, junk, bill, bill, letter from my brother, junk, bill, bill, ju-"

Lumpus stopped. He took a minute to think. "Letter from my brother?" he shouted excitedly as he dropped all but one of his letters on the floor. Lumpus loved his little brother. They always got along very well when they were kids. His name was Stuart Q. Lumpus. He was happily married to a lovely caribou named Karen and had three well-behaved children. Scoutmaster Lumpus always loved to visit them after Camp Kidney was closed for the rest of the year. Somehow, their company always gave him a positive look on life. It was like he was under a spell, and he liked it. He was so happy to get another letter from him. He opened the envelope and excitedly read the letter.

"My Dearest Brother Algonquin,

I've got some exciting news for you. Alan is finally old enough to go to camp. He was thinking of going to Camp Kidney since you're the scoutmaster and he loves having you around. He says he really misses you while you're working at Camp Kidney and wants to see you more. We'll be sure to pack everything he needs for Summer Camp. Karen and I hope you and all the others at Camp Kidney will be hospitable with Alan once he's there. We're counting on you to be there for him whenever he needs you. Have fun with Alan.

With love,

Stuart"

This made Scoutmaster Lumpus' heart sink. When he was a kid, he had a hard time at Camp Kidney, and he was afraid it would be the same for Alan. Just then, Slinkman walked in.

"Good morning, sir," he said with a smile.

"Oh," said Lumpus as he turned his attention to his assistant, "Good morning, Slinkman. I didn't see you come in."

"What's the matter?" he asked. "Oh, nothing," Lumpus said sadly, "I just got another letter from my brother."

Slinkman was puzzled. "Sir, you love getting letters from Stuart," he said, "You've been close to each other since you were kids. Why would a letter from him get you to be so sad?"

Lumpus gave a long, sad sigh. "Stuart said that Alan's old enough to come here to Camp Kidney and be a bean scout," he said quietly.

"What's wrong with that?" asked Slinkman, "You should be happy to hear that your nephew's at an eligible age to come here."

"I know, Slinkman, I know," said the scoutmaster, "But do you remember how hard it was for me to be a bean scout?"

Slinkman just nodded slowly, remembering how the other scouts used to pick on him, annoy him, and call him names.

"I'm just afraid it'll be the same for Alan," continued Scoutmaster Lumpus, "I don't want him to go through the same treatments I did."

Slinkman walked up to Lumpus and patted him on the shoulder. "Hey, don't worry about it," he said, "You're his favorite uncle, and I'm sure you'll do fine."

Lumpus' eyes widened a little. "You really think so, Slinkman?" he asked, thoughtfully.

"I know so, sir," said Slinkman, "Besides, if Alan ever does get in a tough spot, you'll be there to help him, won't you?"

Lumpus thought for a while. He loved his nephew like the son he never had, and he wanted what was best for him. If that was ever going to happen, Lumpus would have to stay by his side the whole time he was there. But then again, Alan was very mature for his age, so he'd know what to do if anyone hurt his feelings. Even so, he knew when to ask an adult for help, so Lumpus didn't need to worry anymore.

"Yeah," said Lumpus, happily, "I'll be there to help Alan with anything he needs. He's a big kid, and he'll know when he'll need my help."

"That's the spirit, sir," said Slinkman, "Now let's go get everything ready for Alan!"

"Right!" said Scoutmaster Lumpus, triumphantly, "Slinkman, call all the scouts and gather them by the flagpole. We've got a camp to spruce up!"

"Aye-aye, Sir," said Slinkman as he turned on the loud-speaker, "Attention, campers. Attention, campers: please report to the flagpole. Again, all campers please report to the flagpole. We have a special announcement today."

Meanwhile, in Jelly Bean Cabin, Lazlo, Raj and Clam were playing a card game when suddenly, they heard Slinkman's announcement.

"A special announcement?" thought Lazlo, "Wow, neat! I wonder what's going on?"

"Maybe we'll be roasting marshmallows by a big campfire tonight," Raj thought, hopefully. He visioned himself with all the other scouts, sitting by a campfire, eating toasted marshmallows. "So... heavenly," he said, dreamily.

"Or night picnic," said Clam.

"Well, there's only one way to find out," said Lazlo, "Let's head up to the flagpole."

"Flagpole," repeated Clam. You see, as you all know, Clam doesn't really talk too much, duh! Anyway, so off they set, running up to the flagpole to see what was so special about the announcement.

Okay, well I hope you liked the first chapter of my Camp Lazlo story. If anyone has any ideas on how I can make the story even better, by all means, let me know. By the way, I guess I didn't need to type in that thing about Clam being speech impediment, did I? LOL, I didn't think so.