Be The Hero,Charlie Brown
A Peanuts One-Shot/Song-Fic
"Well it's good to know that we don't have that big of a crowd this time." Charlie Brown gave a sigh of relief and happily remarked as he poked his head out of the school auditorium's curtain to see a rather small crowd of kids in the seats before Ashlynn joined him and cheerfully added in agreement "You said it,it's nice to have a little bit of a more mellow crowd every once in a while." to which Linus calmly retorted in response while the two kids retracted themselves "Well it is just the kids from the orphanage this time. I'd say that more than explains our rather small crowd."
"You know speaking of which,can someone tell me exactly what we're doing here?" The voice of Lucy suddenly asked from behind as she, Rattler and Cobra came walking by to which James politely explained in response "We're here to give these kids a bit of a motivational uprising as per request by the school,they don't exactly have the most promising futures if they continue to be orphans like this." before Christine firmly added in agreement with a nod of her head "Believe me,staying like that for a long time can really depress a kid and make them not want to do anything,they need this like they need a wake up call via slap in the face."
"Also the school said that we'd get extra credit if we do it too." added Franklin in a mostly nonchalant tone of voice before Cobra folded her arms and couldn't help but admit while she looked up at a nearby clock "Well,I guess it's good to skip a little bit of class and not get in trouble for it." to which Lucy sighed and smugly added in agreement as she pushed up her hair "And I guess it's good to give some kids less fortunate than us a chance to see my natural beauty and talent."
"You know this reminds me of the time we all did that Sound Of Music show for our families,that was a long time ago." mentioned Eudora when she caught onto the similarity of both situations before Peppermint Patty enthusiastically wondered when she saw Ed and Rebecca walking by "Hey Ed,do you recognize anyone from this crowd?" to which the hermit prompted peeped his head out of the curtain and got a good look at the kids,only for him to shake his head and regretfully answer as he retracted himself "Nope,it seems all my "friends" have already flown the coop,good on them for finally getting some homes at least."
"Yeah,it's an entirely new ballgame now from what I remember." added Christine in agreement as she nodded her head before Ox politely suggested while he looked out the curtain himself "I think we should hurry up and get this thing over with,they're looking pretty restless out there." to which Marcie couldn't help you agree with the suggestion "I'm feeling that we should too,I don't like performing on stage unless I know about it quite some time beforehand."
"I can s-sorta understand that f-feeling,it s-sneaks up on you out of n-nowhere." sympathetically related Claudia as she and Skylar messed around with some of the backstage instruments before Snoopy, Woodstock, Gracie, Andy, Olaf and Roger walked by with their trademark instruments to which PigPen wondered out of curiosity when he noticed that Herman wasn't present "Hey Ed,where's Herman at?" which prompted the hermit to nonchalantly answer "He's been off truffle hunting in Monte Woods ever since this morning,he thinks he'll be able to find one before them beagles do because of his nose."
"Do y'all think he's really gonna find one?" asked Olaf as he turned to face the other beagles only for Gracie to shake her head and deny that he would "Nah,unless he catches a leprechaun and finds one in his pot of gold,we're finding one first." to which Andy chuckled and lightly joked in response "That's also assuming he doesn't eat the leprechaun,but he's also not that kind of wolf." before Snoopy nodded his head and added in agreement "Yeah,he's perfectly harmless,the odds of him eating a leprechaun are thinner than Spike."
Pretty soon afterwards it was finally starting to look like the gang's little show was about to start as Charlie Brown stepped out onto the stage and enthusiastically greeted the orphans "Good afternoon orphans,thank you for giving Sparkyville Middle School the opportunity to lift up your spirits in dark times such as yours. It must not be easy being an orphan,it must really be hard isn't it?" to which the audience nodded their heads in agreement before the boy continued while the curtain slowly began to lift up to reveal the rest of the gang "You're all feeling like you're gonna get nowhere in life because of the lack of a family,but that simply isn't true at all,there are still many great things you can do right now or even look forward to,think of it like this."
Charlie Brown:
What if I told you you could change the world with just one thought?
What if I told you you could be a king?
Anything you desired boys?
Anything on a plate?
All within your power to create?
I know somewhere in the darkness there's a story meant for me.
Where I always know exactly what to say.
I know somewhere some surprising ending waits for me to tell it….my own way.
Be the hero of your story if you can.
Be the champion in the fight,not just the man.
Don't depend on other people to put paper next to pen.
Be the hero of your story boys and then you can rise to be the hero once again.
"Now the best part of an adventure is the people you meet." happily remarked Charlie Brown as PigPen and more of the gang stepped forward while the round headed boy stepped aside.
PigPen:
What if I said we met a witch when we were very young?
*Audience gasps.*
What if I said she showed us how we died?
Boy:
No way!
Linus:
Powerless in the face of it.
Terrified in the wood.
That was where our lives were changed for good.
Ed:
Hey! What if I said I met a giant wasting in a cave?
Audience:
Oooooh.
Ox:
What if I claimed I rose to be far braver than the brave?
Girl:
Shut up!
Peppermint Patty:
All our lives of stories,kids and every one is true.
James:
So believe us as we're telling you.
Charlie Brown:
To be the hero of your story while you may.
Thibault:
Be the guy who gets the girl and saves the day.
Skylar:
You don't need a book of Greeks to teach you how to stay alive.
Shermy:
Be the hero of each story you derive.
Linus And Scheroder:
Then forever you're the hero who'll survive.
Freida:
Every tale that you invent becomes a life that you make real.
Claudia:
Where each character you meet becomes your friend.
Lucy:
You don't need to be a novelist to make believe what's waiting-
Lucy, Cobra, Rattler, Christine and Rebecca:
Round the bend!
Peanuts Gang:
Be the hero of your story till it's done.
Why go promenade when you were born to run?
Charlie Brown:
If you understand this premise you will never be alone.
Peanuts Gang:
You can concur every challenge.
You can face each stepping stone.
Be the hero of your story.
Franklin:
What if I swore I saw a mermaid swimming in the mist?
What if I told you she would be the first girl that I kissed?
Audience:
Eww!
Franklin:
Out there in the water filled with eagerness and fear.
Here is what she whispered in my ear.
Boys:
Be the hero of your story.
Girls:
Be the hero of your story.
Boys:
Be the hero of your hero.
Peanuts Gang:
Your story!
Now it was at this point that Ed stepped forth to the center of the stage and happily told the audience "Now listen kids,now one day I met this fisherman see." before he continued in a much more imitative tone of voice "Oh you gotta help me,if I don't catch a fish,my family's gonna starve." which was followed by the hermit continuing in his normal manner of speaking "Mmm-hmm,well the fish are sleeping,you gotta get them moving. Try the Alabama stomp."
"The Alabama stomp? What's that?" questioned the rest of the gang as well as the audience to which Ed calmly responded as he began to tap dance on the stage "Let's see if I can remember this little dance here. Oh yeah it's coming back,yeah it's just like riding a bike. Mmm-hmm,works every time kid I can't explain it,yeah something about this rhythm really gets their fins moving." and as the hermit continued to dance on the stage,the orphans in the audience were starting to get very into it due to an increasing amount of exciting looks on their faces.
Pretty soon it looked like Ed was done with his dancing as the audience promptly gasped and laughed in awe before the boy pointed at Charlie Brown and happily suggested "All right,let's see what you got now come on." to which the boy smiled and attempted to tap dance as well,and he actually ended up doing pretty decent as Ed grinned and cheerfully remarked "Wooh,that's it,something tells me you've done this before now." and once it looked liked Charlie Brown had finished,Ed sighed and nonchalantly stated "Kids,listen you give a man a fish,you feed him for a day,you teach a man to fish,you feed him for a lifetime,you teach a man the Alabama stomp,you feed his soul! Come on y'all!"
And just before they knew it,the rest of the gang started to promptly tap dance on the stage as the audience started cheering at the sight of it while Ed happily exclaimed at the display "Oh I love that sound! Y'all watching us well?" and it seemed that was something that prompted the audience to get out of their seats and start dancing on the floor which the hermit was quick to notice as he playfully asked "I bet you didn't know you kids could do this now huh? Here we go y'all,come on,come on,y'all hear that sound? I hear something down there! Woo!"
Pretty soon the entire auditorium was filled with nothing but dancing kids,beagles and birds since the audience eventually decided to climb up on the stage and happily join the gang in their act,much to their own glee.
Charlie Brown:
I know somewhere in the future there's adventure weights for me.
Filled with mystery and people I can love.
I know out there on the road of life I'll live the story I've been dreaming of.
Peanuts Gang:
(Live the story I've been dreaming of.)
Be the hero every time you get the chance.
If the music stops continue with the dance.
Charlie Brown:
On a wing or on a prayer you'll get there only with your voice.
Peanuts Gang and Audience:
Be attentive.
Be inventive.
Be the first one to rejoice.
With the story in your heart you won't need any other choice.
You're a hero fighting dragons.
Winning wars.
Be the hero and the world will soon be yours!
DAYS LATER
Charlie Brown was leaning on the brick wall he and the others would talk at sometimes,and he couldn't help but think about the motivational performance that he and everyone else did for the orphans as he thought to himself with a small smile "You know,that actually ain't too bad of a lesson to live by,we all have only one life and we're not gonna be getting it back,so what's the harm of trying to be the hero of your own story if you can?" before the boy got off the wall and proceeded to walk through the neighborhood with a new life lesson to live by.
Charlie Brown:
Be the hero of your story if you can.
Be the champion in the fight,not just the man.
On a wing or on a prayer you'll get there only with your voice.
With the story in your heart you won't need any other choice.
You're the hero fighting dragons.
Winning wars.
Be the hero and the world will soon be yours!
The End
"Be The Hero" and "Be The Hero Reprise." Written by Andrew Lippa.
©️Broadway Records
Fun Fact: Andrew Lippa actually did three extra songs for the late 90's revival of You're A Good Man,Charlie Brown. Kinda neat if you ask me.