Charming gripped the hilt of the sword in the stone. He stood still for a moment, before a bright spark erupted from under his hands and shot him off. Charming flew through the air. Three flying monkeys caught him and slowed his fall, gently onto the rocks of the lake. "What was that?" Artie asked.

"His intentions weren't true," Jiminy stated.

"Weren't true?" Donkey asked. "Is that the 'true of heart and intentions' you keep talking about?"

"Right," Jiminy said. "Your intentions and heart must be true to wield Excalibur."

"And how am I supposed to do that?" Artie cried.

"You have to touch the sword to find out, Your-err-Artie," Jiminy said. "I can't help you further but I can cover you as you get the sword."

"Cover him?" Shrek asked. "You're just a bug!"

"I can do my best!" Jiminy argued.

"How about we all cover him?" Donkey asked.

"How about you shut up and let Prince Charming get the sword?" one of the flying monkeys said, shoving Artie's head down. Shrek glanced around and stopped at a tree. He looked back at Artie, who finally gave up struggling against the monkeys, then looked at Donkey and Puss, in the back. Another monkey is holding Jiminy like a firefly.

"Psst," Shrek called. "Psst, Artie." Artie glanced at him. "What?"

"I know how to get out of here," Shrek said. "We can get you out and at that sword."

"What is it?" Artie whispered.

"Hey, enough whispering down there!" the monkey holding Shrek down said. The monkeys helped Charming stand on the rocks, and he dusted himself off.

"You see that branch?" Shrek asked, motioning towards it with his head.

"Yeah?" Artie asked, confused. "What about it?"

"If we can somehow get Puss over there..." Shrek said.

"Ah, I get it," Artie said. Artie raised his voice back to it's normal volume. "Hey, Puss, didn't you groom yourself recently?"

"Uh, si?" Puss asked.

"Well, don't cats spit out hairballs?" Artie asked. "I haven't seen you spit out a hairball in a while. Isn't one due?"

Puss seemed confused for just a moment, not long enough for the monkeys to catch on. Puss began gagging. "Oh geez!" the monkey holding Puss cried. "Don't spit it out on me!" He let go of Puss, who continued to gag on the ground. "On you?" the monkey holding Shrek cried. "He's facing the ground, you idiot!"

"Haven't you ever seen a cat spit a hairball?" the first monkey cried. "They can have distance on it!"

"No they can't!" the second monkey cried. "They spit it on the floor!" Puss stopped gagging and actually spat up a hairball. "I guess he actually had one," Artie said.

"Oh, gross!" Donkey cried. The monkeys continued fighting. "Hey, monkeys," Puss said, his hands behind his back. "You mean like this?" Puss threw the hairball at the first monkey, the one who held him, who screamed. The second monkey let go of Shrek to help the first. "Quit moving!" he yelled.

Shrek motioned Puss towards the tree. Artie had whispered something to him, who nodded, and ran towards the tree. Jiminy hopped from the monkey's hand from all the commotion and followed Puss, the monkey unaware.

"Hey, hey, you guys!" Artie said. "You know we are in a area with swamp monsters?"

"No we aren't!" the second monkey said, removing the hairball from his comrade's face and tossing it to the floor. "There's no swamp monsters here!"

"Are you sure?" Artie asked. "Shrek said he heard one."

"It's right over there," Shrek said, motioning towards the tree branch.

"Why else would it be covered in so much seaweed?" Artie asked.

"'Cause it's a tree by the water," the first monkey said.

"Well, if you want to keep Charming safe," Shrek motioned towards Charming, who had just found Artie's crown and replaced it on his own head, "you might want to check it out."

"Plus, it might be another challenge for the sword," Artie said. "Maybe it's guarding it."

"He makes a point," the first monkey said.

"No he doesn't!" the second monkey said. "He's just lying."

"I'm going to check it out," the first monkey said. "We are by a magic lake after all."

The first monkey floated, hesitantly, to the tree, while the second monkey skeptically followed him. The first monkey touched the slimy branch of the tree. Nothing happened. "See?" the second monkey said, proudly. "I told you there was nothing-"

His sentence was cut short as the tree rumbled. The monkeys' gaze slowly went up to meet the trees in its hallowed eyes. Its eyes glew yellow. They turned down to the monkeys. "Who dares disturb my slumber?" the tree asked, his voice thundering.

"S-s-s-sorry, s-s-s-sir!" the second monkey stuttered. "We d-d-d-didn't mean to w-w-w-wake you!"

The tree didn't accept the apology and stood, the ground rumbling. Moss ripped from the ground and fell from his legs and rocks tumbled out of the way. "You and your people will pay for waking me!" The monkeys flew as fast as their wings could take them. A group of them crashed into Charming, fumbling apologies. "Get back here you cowards!" the Wicked Witch of the West cried, waving her fist in the air.

The monkeys holding the party let them go, dropping Donkey on the ground, and flew after the others. "Aha!" Donkey cheered. "Freedom!"

Puss and Jiminy rejoined them. "Nice job, guys!" Artie cheered. "Whatever you did, it looks accurate!"

"It is accurate," Puss said.

"Apparently, there actually is a tree swamp monster here," Jiminy said.

"He's really nice though," Puss said. "I accidentally tickled him when I climbed up his body, waking him."

"Puss then apologized and asked if he could do us a favor," Jiminy continued.

"I asked him to scare the monkeys, and he agreed," Puss finished.

"That's great!" Artie said.

"Get the sword!" Shrek urged, pushing Artie forward a little.

"Oh, right!" Artie exclaimed. He trudged through the water, ending before the sword. He inhaled deeply and placed his hands on the hilt.

Author's Note

Happy World Donkey Day! Today, we celebrate Donkey! And in the morning...we make waffles!