It was a calm day at E.Z Airlines, and Mr E.Z O' Malley was deciding on who should be doing ground duty that night. "Well, Jay Jay did it yesterday." He muttered to himself. "And Herky did the night before. Hmm. I know; I'll get Snuffy to do it. It's been a while since he did it."
So Mr O' Malley went to see Snuffy about doing ground duty. He found him talking to Tracy and Old Oscar. "Ah, excuse me Snuffy, might I have a word with you?" He asked politely.
"Yes sir." Snuffy replied nervously, and he followed E.Z O' Malley to a quiet corner of the airport.
"Listen, Snuffy, I need you to do ground duty tonight, because everyone else has had a turn before you this week."
"Yes sir." Snuffy replied. "I'll do it."
"Good," Mr O' Malley smiled warmly. "I knew I could count on you Snuffy. Oh, but a word of warning; be careful when returning to your hangar. It's going to be very, very dark tonight, and we don't want you to get lost."
"Okay, Mr O' Malley sir, I'll be careful!" The little skywriter replied.
"Good." Mr O'Malley smiled warmly. "Just remember not fly out with the perimeter of the airport, okay?"
"I will. Wait, what's a perimeter?" They curious little plane asked.
"Well, it's a space surrounding a place or an object. Just remember, if you can see the lights, you should be within the range of the airfield." With that, he walked away, leaving Snuffy to wonder what tonight had in store for him.
...
Later, after a long day, Snuffy was about to set off for ground duty. But he was stopped by Jay Jay. "Where are you going, Snuffy?" He asked in concern.
"I'm on ground duty." Snuffy replied. "I thought I told you earlier...oh, oops. Sorry Jay Jay - I was meant to tell you and the others that I'm on ground duty tonight, but I forgot."
"Don't worry, I'll tell them for you." Jay Jay reassured his friend.
"Thanks Jay Jay." Snuffy smiled in relief.
You're welcome. Be careful." Jay Jay cautioned.
"I will. Goodnight Jay Jay!" Snuffy said to his friend.
"Goodnight Snuffy and good luck!" Jay Jay smiled. Snuffy said thank you and the two friends parted ways for the time being.
...
Soon, Snuffy was flying over E.Z Airlines, looking all around him for any sign of anything different, but there was nothing out of the ordinary.
"Everything looks fine." He said to himself. "But I'll do another look round, just in case I missed something." So that is what he did. He flew another lap round the airport- but this turned out to be a gaffe.
Poor Snuffy soon grew very dizzy, and he ended up veering off course by mistake! He decided to land to recover himself from his dizzy spell. But no sooner had he done so, when he realised he was surrounded by total darkness. At first, he was confused and bewildered as he wondered what had happened to the airport.
"It looks like I've lost the airport." The innocent skywriter remarked to the pilot.
"I'm afraid it's the other way round, buddy." The pilot informed, climbing out of Snuffy's cockpit.
Snuffy suddenly remembered Mr O'Malley's words to him from before: 'It's going to be very, very dark tonight, and we don't want you to get lost.'...' Just remember, if you can see the lights, you should be within the range of the airfield.'
The little skywriter's engine turned cold in fright. "We're lost!" He exclaimed, and burst into tears. He was lost, the pilot couldn't see anything and he couldn't waste his fuel supply flying around to find the airport and getting himself lost further.
...
Luckily, the pilot had an idea. "Well, we could find out way back using astro navigation."
"What's that?" Snuffy asked, hiccupping through his tears.
"It means using the stars to find our position and head home. People at sea have done this for a long time." The pilot answered, patting Snuffy's wing. "If we find the North Star, we can get our approximate location, and fly back."
"Okay. Can I help?" Snuffy asked, feeling calmer now that there was a way to get home safely.
"Yes, you can. We find the North Star by finding the Big Dipper. It'll be near there."
"But what if we lose the North Star? What if it moves away? Snuffy asked in a panic.
"It wouldn't. The North Star's always there, no matter what. Now let's find the Big Dipper."
...
Unfortunately, neither of them could find the Big Dipper. "It's no use. I'm sure it's out- I normally see it." The pilot moaned. "I'm sorry Snuffy."
But a strange sight in the sky caught Snuffy's eye. He looked at it, and then looked at his pilot. "Look up there, sir! That group of stars look like an old plough!" He remarked innocently.
"Wait, where?" The pilot asked urgently.
"Up there," The plane answered, wondering why the pilot was so excited.
The pilot gaped when his eyes fell on the constellation. "Snuffy, you've done it! Now there's the Dubhe star, and... yes, I see it! Polaris! The North Star! We're going that way!" He pointed down south.
"Yes, sir," Snuffy replied doubtfully.
"Trust me; we'll be home in no time." The pilot promised, and with that, he climbed back on board Snuffy's cockpit and the two set off for home.
...
At last, after an undetermined amount of time, the two arrived home very late. Snuffy was so exhausted, he wanted to sleep on the runway, but the pilot took him back to the hangar. "Mr O' Malley would be wondering what's become of us." He said. "I'll explain the situation and assure him you're safe, while you get some sleep. Okay?
"Alright..." the young plane said with a yawn "Goodnight sir..."
"Goodnight, Snuffy. Sleep well." The pilot told him, closing the door of the hangar carefully so as not to disturb anyone.
Snuffy sighed with contentment as he fell asleep. He decided to tell his friends about his adventure in the morning, and maybe ask the pilot if they could all learn to 'astro-navigate.' It'd helped him, and he wanted it to help them in future, should they get lost, too.