Grumpy Old Toons
"Mister Wabbit? Oh, mister wabbit (Cough, hack)"
Bugs Bunny slowly lifted his head out of the hole by the lake. It had been decades, but he'd know that voice anywhere.
"Elmer? Elmer Fudd? That you, sonny?" he said with a slight lisp.
"Yep, it's me, old fwiend," the hunter replied as he slowly crept-more like staggered, in Bug's opinion-out of the nearby forest. He didn't look well, Bugs thought sadly, the years had taken their toll. He'd always been bald as long as he'd known him, but now he had a white moustache and wrinkles on his forehead, and was wearing spectacles that looked more suitable for reading than hunting. But he held a firm grip on his rifle and at least was walking on both legs.
"I came out one wast time for old time's sake," Elmer explained. "My goodness, it's been a wong time. How are you holding up?"
"Can't complain, Doc, 'cept my arthritis has been acting up." To demonstrate, Bugs crawled out of the hole, supporting himself with a metal walking cane. "So, you wanna go one more round?"
"Elmer sighed. "Not weawwy, but I feel wike we should." He looked around, suspiciously peering at the trees. "That scwewbaw duck wouldn't be hanging awound, would he?"
"Did somebody mention my name?" Daffy came out of the woods, using a walker and pulling a small portable oxygen tank with him. "Good to see you guys again, hoo-cough!"
"Daffy!" Bugs reprimanded him. "I thought I told you to stay at the home and get some rest. I can take care of Elmer here, even at my age."
"Fiddlesticks," Daffy said, wheezing slightly. "If anyone can still outsmart this old geezer, it's this old geezer!"
"Oh for goodness sakes," Elmer said. "Can't e have at weast one normal hunt without all this arguwing?"
"It's not arguing, it's a fact," Daffy retorted, before coughing again.
"You'd better come down in the hole and take a rest, doc," Bugs said.
"I think he's wight, Daffy," Elmer added. "Here, let me help you."
However, as he came to help Daffy, they both picked him up (although with effort) and unceremoniously tossed him down the hole. In the old days he might have landed down there with a thud, but out of consideration for Elmer's age, they both heard him land on a pair of mattresses that Bugs had put down there earlier.
"Ooh, you cwazy wabbit and duck! I'll get you for this!" they heard Elmer say. Then, he added, "Wight after I take a nap. These mattwesses weawwy are vewy comfortable…" in a few seconds they heard him snoring, with a slight wheeze.
"That oughta hold him until we can get him back home," Bugs commented. "Thanks again for the help, Daffy."
"Eh, no problemo," Daffy said. "It really was like old times for a inute there, wasn't it?" He started chuckling. "Remember when we were at that TV studio..was there, then?"
"Nah, that was jut the two of us. But I remember the last three times we pulled a fast one on him, like with that baseball…"
They both started laughing, then coughing, and paused to catch their breaths. The old days were a long time ago. But thinking about them didn't stop them from feeling years younger, at least on the inside.
As they prepared to say their goodbyes to each other, they heard a humming sound from overhead. They both looked up to see a familiar saucer shape coming down. A loudspeaker came out of its belly as it hovered overhead.
"Attention, Earthlings!" an all too familiar voice said. "Many of your years ago, one of you stole my "Illudium Q-36 Explosive Space Modulator. I haven't been able to make a new one since. I am here to demand that you help me make a new one, or I shall vaporize you! Isn't that lovely?" Then they heard the voice cough a few times.
Bugs and Daffy looked at each other. "Oh, brother! Here we go again!" they both said.
THE END