H.R. Pufnstuf Who's your friend when things get rough?
H.R. Pufnstuf Can't do a little, can't do enough
Once upon a summertime Just a dream from yesterday A boy and his magical golden flute Heard a boat from off the bay "Come and play with me, Jimmy,
Come and play with me!
And I will take you on a trip Far across the sea!"
But the boat belonged to a kooky old witch Who had in mind the flute to snitch,
From her Vroom Broom in the sky,
She watched her plan materialize,
She waved her wand The beautiful boat was gone The skies grew dark, the seas grew rough,
And the boat sailed on and on and on and on and on
But Pufnstuf was watching too And knew exactly what to do,
He saw the witch's boat attack And as the boy was fighting back,
He called he Rescue Racer crew As often they'd rehersed,
And off to save the boy they flew,
But who would get their first?
But now the boy had washed ashore,
Puf arrived to save the day,
Which made the witch so mad and sore,
She shook her fist and screamed away
H.R. Pufnstuf Who's your friend when things get rough?
H.R. Pufnstuf Can't do a little, can't do enough
H.R. Pufnstuf Who's your friend when things get rough?
H.R. Pufnstuf Can't do a little, can't do enough
Ten years had been the passage of time on Living Island. Ten long years. For some, however, it seemed no different than any other pssage of time. One afternoon, Mayor H.R. Pufnstuf had made the announcement to all of the other islanders that the upcoming weekend would mark the annual Living Island Horseshoe Tossing Tournament, and the grand prize winner was to receive 5,000 buttons. This excited the islanders, who always looked forward to the annual Living Island Horseshoe Tossing Tournament. As the day had passed, Cling and Clang were in an open area of the woods, each taking turns practicing their horseshoe tossing - neither of them were particularly good at it. Growing frustrated, Cling and Clang began wrestling each other to the ground in a scuffle, just as Mayor Pufnstuf happened to amble by.
"Oh my, oh my, oh my, you boys stop that!" Pufnstuf ordered, as he approached Cling and Clang and pulled them away from each other. "Stop it, Cling and Clang! You two shouldn't be fightin'!"
Cling and Clang turned to each other and offered each other their hand in a truce. This satisified Pufnstuf.
"Very good, I like it when you boys make nice with each other. I see yore warmin' up for the tournament this weekend." Pufnstuf said.
Cling and Clang both clapped and bounced about in excitment. Pufnstuf, however, was noticing something that seemed off.
"Say, where's Jimmy? Have either of you boys seen Jimmy?" He asked them, only for them to shake their heads. "That shore is odd. Jimmy hasn't seemed like himself lately. Maybe he'd feel better if he practiced for the tournament as well."
Cling and Clang nodded enthusiastically.
"Follow me, boys, let's go find Jimmy and tell 'im about the tournament! That might excite him!" Pufnstuf instructed, as he pressed on, with his loyal helpers following behind.
Elsewhere, in a secluded part of the island, a human sat sulking among ring of large rocks nestled into the ground. Emerging from the trees, Pufnstuf, Cling and Clang saw this person off in the distance, and merrily hurried their way over to him.
"Jimmy! Jimmy! There you are, we've been lookin' fer you! Didja hear? The annual Living Island Horseshoe Tossing Tournament is this weekend! Why don't you come practice with Cling and Clang? That might be fun!" Pufnstuf suggested.
The passage of time may have had no affect on the magical inhabitants of Living Island, however Jimmy was not immune to it. Now at age 22, he was a lot taller and lankier. The island tailor would routine make new clothes to accommodate his growth, but the outfits consistantly remained the same - always a yellow buttoned shirt, though now with a smaller collar, and always brown slacks, though now with fitted cuffs instead of bell bottoms. His once long and shaggy hair was now cut considerably shorter and more conservative. Traces of his cockney dialect were less distinct in his now deepened voice. He turned to face his friends, with a look on his face that only confused them.
"My house is a mess, Pufnstuf. When I woke up this morning, there was milked spilled everywhere. And I find Baby Madison lying in a puddle of it. Somebody had knocked her out of her crib and left her there in the puddle of milk." Jimmy told Pufnstuf.
"Gee wilickers, Jimmy, sounds like a hum dinger, if you ask me." Pufnstuf said.
"It gets worse, Pufnstuf. I looked around my house to see if anything had been stolen or was missing. Freddy is gone. My pal, Freddy, is gone. He's missing, Pufnstuf." Jimmy said, his voice turning bitter.
Pufnstuf offered Jimmy a non-helpful non-sequiter, in an attempt to lighten the mood, "Slather your grits in gravy, Jimmy!" The audience laughed.
Jimmy held up a dazzling pearl. It was about the size of a large baseball, and it glistened in the bright sunlight. "I found this pearl inside my house. I know it belongs to Clem. I suspect that he has something to do with all of this, Pufnstuf."
"Now, now, Jimmy, don't go countin' yore chiklins before they hatch." Pufnstuf said. He took the pearl from Jimmy. "If it'll make you feel any better, I'll go see Clem myself, and see what he knows about all this." Pufnstuf went about his way, while Cling and Clang stayed behind, each taking a seat amongs the rocks on either side of Jimmy.
Pufnstuf, however, was not going to see Clem, as he said to humor Jimmy. Instead, Pufnstuf sought advice from the island's resident medical professional. Both Pufnstuf and Dr. Blinky were very concerned about Jimmy's behavior.
"I'm very concerned about Jimmy's behavior, Mayor Pufnstuf." Dr. Blinky said.
"I know, Dr. Blinky. I can't understand why Jimmy has been actin' so strange lately." Pufnstuf said.
"Remember what happened the last time somebody on Living Island began acting this way? A sweet, innocent little girl she was, but once she began acting stranger and stranger, she grew up to be Witchiepoo!" Dr. Blinky said.
"Golly, Dr. Blinky! We need to do somethin' to help Jimmy before somethin' bad happens to him!" Pufnstuf said.
"We need to consider all of our options... whatever they are... I'm sure we'll think of something! Uh, maybe I'll consult with my books and test tubes." Dr. Blinky said.
"I hope we can think of somethin'!" Pufnstuf said.
Back in the woods, Jimmy still sat atop the rock, with Cling and Clang on either side, the three of them sipping milkshakes that Pop Lolly had brought moments earlier. In between each sip, Jimmy would sadly sigh. "This is the first time I've ever felt sadness ever since I washed ashore on this island."
Cling and Clang stopped sipping their milkshakes, and watched as Jimmy rose to his feet, and began pacing in front of them.
"Nothing is right... everything is all wrong... it shouldn't be like this. Don't you two ever feel like everything around you is in disarray, and there's nothing you can do about it? Don't you two ever feel like a part of you is missing and you can't find it?" Jimmy asked.
Cling and Clang were more confused than ever. They had no response for Jimmy other than puzzled stares. He was getting no help from them, so he decided to go home. After years of unsuccessful attempts to help Jimmy off Living Island, Pufnstuf and the rest of the islanders got together to build Jimmy his own house. The house, which could have easily been any kid's dream club house, with it's brightly painted walls, shag carpeting barn doors with large peepholes, and a fireplace that was actually a periscope, had become nothing more than a containment for Jimmy as he grew older. After he returned home, Jimmy tended to his fallen Baby Madison. Madison was a large, brightly colored Easter Egg with an adorable, happy face painted on and a bright pink ribbon wrapped around the outer shell. Her mouth was a small hole in the shell, and Jimmy fed a spoonful of mashed pineapples into it. He was lamenting over finding her lying in a puddle of spilled milk inside in his ransacked home. He just knew that Clem was the one responisble for the whole mess, but why won't Pufnstuf believe him? Jimmy wanted more answers. Later that afternoon, Pufnstuf was by his Mayoral Cave, practicing tossing horseshoes, using the horseshoes that Horsey was letting him borrow. The practicing had been paying off, and Pufnstuf was greatly improving.
"Another ringer, Mr. Mayor!" Horsey said.
"Thanks to you letting me borrow your shoes, Horsey." Pufnstuf said.
"Aww, it's nothin'." Horsey said.
Jimmy witnessed this from afar. He shook his head in disbelief at the way Pufnstuf seemed to not be concerned about his plight. Nevertheless, Jimmy screwed a smile on his face, and approached them.
"Hey, Pufnstuf! Hey, Horsey!" He greeted them.
"Well, howdy, Jimmy!" Pufnstuf greeted.
"Hey there, Jimmy!" Horsey greeted.
"Are ya ready to practice tossin' horseshoes?" Pufnstuf asked.
"Um, no, actually, I'm not." Jimmy said.
"Oh, I see, so my shoes aren't good enough for you, hmm?" Horsey asked.
"No, I didn't mean anything by that." Jimmy said.
"Sure you didn't. I think I hear Ludacrous Lion calling me. I better leave." Horsey said, as he galloped away.
"Golly, Jimmy, that wasn't very nice of you." Pufnstuf said.
"I really didn't mean anything, I just... say, Pufnstuf, did you happen to speak to Clem yet?" Jimmy asked.
"Oh, Clem wasn't the one who pillaged and plundered your house, Jimmy!" Pufnstuf said.
"Well, did you happen to show him the pearl that I found?" Jimmy asked.
"Oh, that pearl didn't belong to Clem!" Pufnstuf said.
"Then... where is the pearl now?" Jimmy asked.
"Oh, I gave it Clem!" Pufnstuf said.