Chapter 3: Teething Tots
"WHAAAAAA" Sassette and Nat cried out together in great discomfort, waking up their friends (besides Sorcerer that is. He wore earmuffs to bed every night.)
Snappy and Slouchy looked at them very concerned.
"I wonder what's wrong." Slouchy thought out loud.
"Well whatever it is, it's sure causing them a lot of discomfort. I think we should take them to Papa Smurf." Snappy said to his equally worried friend.
"Agreed" Slouchy immediately seconded as they picked up the crying infants and headed out the door.
As they walked through the village that cold January night, though they did try to soothe them, the infants crying woke everysmurf up. Everysmurf walked out of their mushrooms, curious as to why the twins were crying so loudly. When Papa Smurf heard the crying he quickly got out of his house.
"Snappy, what's wrong with Nat and Sassette?" he quickly asked with great concern for the two infants.
"We don't know Papa Smurf. We checked their dideys. We tried to feed them but they wouldn't eat. We are really worried." Slouchy answered for him.
"Hmmm… Would you mind if I looked in their mouths?" Papa Smurf asked after thinking for a moment.
"No, not at all" Snappy said as he handed him Sassette.
After carefully observing her gums he handed her back to Snappy. Then Slouchy gave Nat to his elder and Papa Smurf did the same as before.
"There's no doubt about it, Nat and Sassette are teething just like Sorcerer did many years ago." Papa Smurf said confirming that it was nothing serious.
Snappy and Slouchy let out a sigh of relief now knowing that their friends were fine.
"Is there anything we can do to make them feel less discomfort?" Snappy asked still worried that his very young friends were feeling discomfort.
He and Slouchy didn't think the word pain was quite right is this scenario. They knew what real pain was. Pain was seeing their friend know she has only five minutes to live and not stop being happy even though the fear of death was torturing her. Pain was being strong for her though it was actually killing them inside to see her go through this. Pain was seeing her lifeless in Nat's arms and not being able to help.
"No, not really, but I can contact the tooth fairy tomorrow and ask if she can help relieve their pain." Papa Smurf told them reassuringly, "I suggest you try to get them to use their teething rings but as for now I think all of us should go back to bed."
They all did as Papa Smurf instructed and went back to their beds to catch some Zs. Well that is everysmurf except the twins who were in too much discomfort to fall asleep, Snappy who was trying to soothe them and Slouchy who was doing the same as Snappy. They tried everything from singing a lullaby to distracting them their discomfort with a puppet show but nothing soothed them. By the time morning came around all four were exhausted. The twins were now finally starting to close their eyes for a nap. Snappy and Slouchy let out a sigh of great relief that the babies were now asleep. This slumber was not long, however, for just then Harmony sounded his trumpet as he did every morning and with that the infants were once again crying. Snappy and Slouchy took a deep breath as they then started back at square one. Sorcerer was now starting to wake up to his personal body alarm clock that wakes him up at precisely the right time every morning.
"Umm….Why are they crying?" Sorcerer asked after taking off his earmuffs to hear their ear crinkling cries.
"They're teething, we've been up all night trying to soothe them but nothing is working." Snappy explained to their well-rested friend.
"How 'bout you take a break and get some rest and I watch over them and try to calm them down?" the teenager smurf told his slightly older friends, noticing the bags under their eyes.
They nodded and went back to bed for a rest seeing that the babies were now once again falling asleep and that this time Sorcerer was smart enough to poof some earmuffs on them so they wouldn't be woken up by any loud noises.
About two hours later Snappy and Slouchy woke up and thanked Sorcerer for watching the infants for them. Papa Smurf then knocked quietly on the door. He was then let in by Snappy.
"Can one of you bring Sassette and Nat come outside? The tooth fairy is here and didn't want to barge in on you in the middle of the day."
"No problem" Snappy, Slouchy and Sorcerer all said in unison as Sorcerer quickly made the earmuffs disappear.
Then Snappy picked Sassette and Slouchy did the same with Nat as they headed out the door. Once they were in the center of the village with the tooth fairy they were asked to wake the twins. Though they protested saying that might not be the best idea, she got her way for it wouldn't be safe to do unless they were awake. Once woken the dynamic duo started their sobbing once again but this did not seem to bother the fairy.
"Now, now, no need to cry." She said as she magically soothed their tears with her kind words but not their discomfort.
"May your teeth be wise and strong, and your lives be happy and long." She said just as she did for Sorcerer many years ago and with that the smurflings were feeling much more comfortable.