Here's the next chapter of The Prince and the Sponge. Last time, the switch was made and now it's time to see how things are progressing on one side.
See for yourself…
Chapter 3: Prince Out of Water
After a lunch stop, the prince's royal caravan began to leave the Krusty Krab for their long trip back to their kingdom. However, they were unaware that the only thing they were missing was the prince himself. The prince, disguised as his twin, SpongeBob, watched from behind the Krusty Krab as the group leaves. Then when it was safe, he runs out from his hiding spot and cheers in joy.
"I did it!" he cried out while jumping up and down. "I DID IT! The commoner fell for it and now I'm free!"
"SpongeBob!" Patrick called out from a distance as he ran toward the prince.
"Here it is." The prince said quietly as he dusted himself off and gave a wise smile. "My first encounter with the peasantry."
"About time I found you, SpongeBob." Patrick said as he stood in front of the prince. "Why didn't you tell me the prince was coming to the Krusty Krab. I'd have brought my camera."
The prince quickly came to the conclusion that whoever this starfish was, he was an acquaintance of the SpongeBob character he was impersonating. The prince had to think of something and fast before he blew his cover. "Yes, it is I, SpongeBob SquarePants." The prince said in a refined voice. "Now I can be quite forgetful when it comes to names, can you give me yours?"
"What's wrong with the one you already got?" Patrick said in a confused voice. "I thought we agreed not to trade names again since it's too confusing."
The prince narrowed his eyes as he stared dully at the starfish. "Are all commoners as bright as you?" he asked sarcastically.
"Oh, I get it." Patrick responded with a smile. "It's 'Be Sophisticated Day'. Alright, enough of that. Secret handshake!"
Without warning, Patrick slaps the prince's face with his right hand and slaps the prince's face with his left hand, and then slams both his hands on the prince's head. While the prince stood there with a dizzy expression. Patrick obliviously continued on by spitting a wad of saliva on his right hand and grabbing the prince's right hand which gave him a disgusted look as he takes his hand away, leaving a trail of spit connected with Patrick's palm. To top it all off, Patrick body slams the prince, sending him flying into a large boulder.
The prince waddled over dizzily from the rock as he muttered, "That'll do, Sir."
"When do I get to say something fancy next?" Patrick asked, impatiently.
The prince shook his head to snap out of his daze and grew an annoyed frowned. "I am completely unaware if this is some kind of 'greeting ritual' you peasant folk perform, but I will not partake in anymore of your nonsense. Now if you'll excuse me, my good man, I have more important matters I must attend to."
As the prince began to walk away, Mr. Krabs suddenly opened the front doors and spots the prince, "There ya are, SpongeBob, we need you back inside." He grabbed the prince by his arm and pulled him inside the restaurant.
While Patrick was still puzzled by SpongeBob's stuffy behavior, something soon came to mind that interested him, "That'll do, Sir." He chuckled at the funny phrase the prince said and walked away carelessly.
Inside the Krusty Krab, the prince pulled Mr. Krabs's claw off of him and snapped, "What is the meaning of this, crustacean? Are you with the peasantry law enforcements?"
"Don't go speaking to your commanding officer like that, boy." Mr. Krabs scolded. "Just because them royal folk were here doesn't mean you get to act like them. The one good thing about them is they pay a lot of money." He chuckled wickedly at the memory of his last customers.
The prince rolled his eyes and commented, "Are all you peasants concerned about wealth?"
"Anyway, lad, you need to get back to work. Make sure this place is functioning for other not so wealthy customers."
"Work?" the prince questioned with a raised eyebrow. "Isn't that the servants' job?"
But Mr. Krabs ignored him and handed the prince a broom. "Start by cleaning this place up a bit."
When he walked away, the prince held the item in his hands and stared at it in amazement. "Is this a broom?" he asked as he held the item at different angles. "I've never seen this object up close before, let alone held one. Is this what peasants use to keep the palace clean?" he tossed it on the floor, but frowned upon seeing it lie there. "It doesn't even do anything."
"SpongeBob!" Squidward called from the cash register. "Have you finished sweeping this place up yet?"
But suddenly, the prince springs toward him and stares at the cash register. "Is this where folks keep their money?" he asked as he ran a finger across the machine. "How do they even get it out?"
Instead of being concerned by 'SpongeBob's' strange behavior, Squidward just shoved the prince away from him. "Will you quit violating my personal space and just do your job?"
The prince frowned angrily and picked up the discarded broom. Though he had never cleaned before in his life, he ran the straw side across the floor, sweeping the dust off, and noticed he seemed to be making progress. As the prince glared at Squidward, he then noticed the magazine he was carelessly reading.
"Is that Phineas Flippers you're reading about?" the prince asked the octopus.
Squidward looked at the picture of the dancer on the cover of the magazine and he dully answered, "Yes."
"He does have amazing style and grace in his performance, doesn't he?" the prince pointed out fondly.
Squidward raised an eyebrow at the prince's accurate description. "And how would you know this?"
The prince chuckled and responded, "Why, I had met the chap last summer when I took a trip to Flounderdale during one of his performances."
"No way." Squidward said in disbelief and amazement.
"Oh yes." The prince said as he continued sweeping. "He's quite a remarkable gentleman. Quite sophisticated and quite the dancer."
While Squidward was still impressed by the story the prince was telling, he soon shook it off in disbelief. After all, this was SpongeBob he was speaking to. There was no way he took a trip like that all the way out of town just to see sophisticated ballet performance. But before he could ponder about SpongeBob's sudden knowledge of the arts, a customer suddenly approached the counter, "One krabby patty please."
"SpongeBob!" Squidward called out. "You got an order: One krabby patty."
"Krabby what?" the prince questioned. "What is this krabby patty you speak of?"
He then sees a krabby patty on a customer's table and snatches it without question. "Hey!" the man snapped. "I wasn't finished yet."
But the prince ignored him and stared at the sandwich curiously. "Is this what you call food?" then he took a bite out of it and chewed with an unimpressed expression. "I don't see the big deal." But then his eyes widen and begin to sparkle as he savors the taste in his mouth. He swallows and smiles widely. "Good heavens, this is delectable."
"SpongeBob!" Mr. Krabs yelled as he marched toward him, looking disappointed. "What in blazes makes you think you can eat me profits?"
But the prince interrupted him and said, "Quick, sir. You must tell me. Who is the maker of this delightfully delicious treat?"
While Mr. Krabs seemed weirded out by SpongeBob's behavior, he instead handed the prince a spatula and answered, "He's you. Now get cooking on those patties."
The prince stared at the cooking utensil with fascination. "What is this object? A sword?" but Mr. Krabs just shoved him into the kitchen. "Get to work!"
"Work?" the prince questioned as he looked around and then ran his finger across the dirty grill. "I have chefs at the palace who do all the cooking for me." He then called to the window. "You sir, tentacled one!"
Squidward turned his head toward the window to look at the prince. "Are you talking to me?" he asked, looking annoyed.
"Are you expecting me to be the one to cook the food?"
While Squidward seemed surprised by this question, he merely took it as the fry cook acting lazy- he would know what that was like. "Well, it's not my job to do it, and it ain't gonna cook itself. Now quit whining and fill these orders." He finished by tossing a bunch order slips in the prince's face and turning back to the cash register.
The prince looked at one of the slips and then casually tossed it over his shoulder. "If the commoner folk can do it, so can a prince." He boldly pointed the spatula into the air. "I shall make the food!"
Soon, the prince began to fry cook, using whatever ingredients he could find to make the krabby patties. However, because he was a spoiled prince who has never cooked a day in his life, things were about to get ugly.
When Squidward was on his third break, he began to smell smoke coming from behind. He turned his head back and wondered, "What is that smell?" suddenly he gasped and noticed a trail of smoke above him, coming from inside the kitchen. He screamed at the top of his voice and jumped out from behind the counter and crawled on the floor while the customers screamed and panicked as they made to the exits.
Hearing all the commotion, Mr. Krabs emerged from his office and saw the fire coming from in the kitchen and all the customers gone. "Me profits!" he shrieked in panic.
Mr. Krabs bursts into the burning kitchen with a fire extinguisher and sprayed foam everywhere until the smoke began to disappear. Once the fire was out, Mr. Krabs sees the burned grill with charred patties on it, a bunch of ingredients on the floor, and the prince sitting in a corner of the kitchen, looking all blackened from the smoke and holding a spatula as he coughed. "That'll do, sir." He said, wheezy.
"What is the meaning of this, boy?" Mr. Krabs asked, demanding an explanation from his star employee for almost burning down his restaurant.
The prince cleared his throat and spoke in a refined tone, "While I do apologize, sir, for setting you eatery ablaze, I must point that cooking is something of a foreign art to me. Never have I've been expected to cook food others- not even myself." He shuddered at the thought.
Mr. Krabs raised an eyebrow at his fry cook and asked, "SpongeBob, what has gotten into you, boy-o. You're actin' strange…well, more than usual."
The prince chuckled and responded, "While I apologize again that I am normally supposed to be this terrific fry cooker of yours, I'm afraid I must be off to explore of this lovely town. And doing hours of labor doesn't fit into my schedule." He took off his uniform hat and dropped it on the grill. "So long, my good man, and good luck with your business."
After the prince walked out of the Krusty Krab, Mr. Krabs started at him flabbergasted at his employee's behavior. "Something tells me that ain't me fry cook." But then he carelessly shrugged. "Aw well. Knowing SpongeBob, he'll be back."
They all come back! Do you wonder how SpongeBob is doing? You will find out soon enough. Hope you review what you think so far and stick around for the next chapter.
