Over in Koalatown, Bumpy, Humpy and Dumpy had finally finished setting everything up for Tama. They had moved two large tables to the clearing, along with several chairs, and a number of crates of eucalyptus liquor. Tama then appeared, and was pleased with what he saw.
'I see you've got things all ready. Looks like you've done a good job.'
'Thanks,' Bumpy replied as he turned to greet him. 'Ouch, my back! I must have pulled something when I was carrying those crates. Ooooh, it really hurts!'
'Oh, no!' Tama looked worried. 'Maybe I should call a doctor.'
'Oh, that can wait till we go back to Koalaville tomorrow,' Bumpy answered. 'I wouldn't trust anybody but our Doctor Koala anyway. He's the best around.'
'Yes, I know him myself. He comes over here to Koalatown every couple of weeks to help treat the more serious cases we have.'
'Oooh, the pain! I guess I should take a rest before the party. Maybe a swig of liquor would help,' said Bumpy.
'Oh, yes, the liquor,' Tama remembered, and began to open a crate. 'Here are the two bottles you have earned. Oh, and Bumpy, here's an extra one for you. As much as you've strained your back, you certainly deserve it!'
'Why, thank you kindly, Tama. I'm sure this will help dull the pain. I'll drink a bit, and then take a short nap before the celebration. I should be well by then.'
'There are a few empty trees just north of here,' Tama suggested, pointing out the way, 'You should be able to sleep just fine there.'
'Well, thanks again. I guess we'll be off then. See you tonight, Tama!' Bumpy replied.
As they walked away, Dumpy was concerned for his friend. 'Uuh, gee Bumpy, that's a shame about your back. Maybe you won't be able to go to the party.'
'Sure I will. No problem,' Bumpy seemed unconcerned.
'But if the pain gets worse?' Humpy asked.
'What pain? My back is fine!' Bumpy laughed.
'Huh?' both Humpy and Dumpy grunted.
'Don't you see? I wanted to make him sympathetic, just to see if he'd cough up a little extra liquor, and it worked. Now, between the bottle we bought, and the three he gave us, we've got four bottles!'
'Hey, that was pretty clever!' Humpy complimented him. 'I don't know why I didn't think of that.'
'Huh uh huh, gee Bumpy, that was a really good trick. Imagine, if your back really did hurt, he might have given you two extra bottles instead of just one!' Dumpy remarked, as his two friends looked at him, a bit perplexed.
'Before we take that nap, let's go a bit farther north, and see if we can find those girls,'
Humpy suggested. They walked for a while, and when they got to the northernmost section of central Koalatown, they did in fact see someone they knew.
'Look, there's Meppy!' Humpy pointed.
Meppy was sitting next to a tree, apparently sewing something. She was easy to spot, even at a distance, for she was one of the first females in Koalatown to adopt the newest fad: she dyed her fur four different colors. The upper left part of her body had purple fur, the right part was pink, her ankles, which showed just below the cuffs of her beige overalls, were yellow, and some of the fur on the top of her head was green. Though some of the older koalas in Koalatown criticized this new fashion, making biting and somewhat politically incorrect remarks about the trouble to which females would go to satisfy their incurable natural vanity, the younger males saw no reason to protest, for they found the multi-color look rather attractive.
'Look at that fur of hers!' Humpy raved. 'She's a living rainbow! One hot babe, no doubt about it. Let's go talk to her, and see if she can round up some of her beautiful friends for tonight.'
'Heh hmm,' Bumpy cleared his throat as they approached her, trying to catch her attention. Meppy looked up, and was delighted to see them.
'Oh! Why, I wasn't expecting to see you three here! It's been at least a month since you were here last, hasn't it?' she asked.
'Yes, we've been engaged in important business back in Koalaville, and haven't had much time for travel,' Humpy lied. The truth was, they had been to Koalatown at least twice in the last month, but had been cavorting with other females, something Humpy preferred not to tell Meppy.
'Oh, I guess you are pretty important koalas over in your grove, aren't you?'
'Well, I don't like to brag,' Bumpy feigned modesty, 'but just the other day, our Judge Grandaddy said that he had never seen our likes for as long as he can remember – and he's one of the oldest koalas in the grove, you know.'
'My, that is impressive!' Meppy replied. 'And it's a coincidence that we've met today.
Why, just last evening I was saying to my friend Milly, 'Milly', I said, 'I wonder when Blumpy, Gumpy and Dumpy will show up again?' and she said…'
'Heh hmm… that's Bumpy and Humpy,' Bumpy corrected her.
'Oh, right Dumpy, I mean...'
'No, I'm Bumpy, not Dumpy, and these two are Humpy and Dumpy.'
'Oh, but I thought you just said they were Bumpy and Humpy?' Meppy looked confused.
'No, I mean we're not Blumpy and Gumpy. I'm Bumpy, this is Humpy, and he's Dumpy,' he explained, pointing to each of them as he spoke.
'Oh, didn't Blumpy and Gumpy want to come along with you?' Meppy asked.
'I don't believe I know any koalas by that name,' Bumpy answered, offended. 'I guess you just got our names messed up a bit.'
'Oh, I do that all the time!' Meppy laughed. 'But then, what's in a name? Especially where three handsome koalas such as yourselves are concerned,' she smiled coyly.
'Yeah, who cares about names anyway?' Bumpy, whose pride had been hurt by her not remembering his name, suddenly seemed quite content.
'Uh, gee, Meppy, what are you sewin' there?' Dumpy asked her.
'Oh, this is a new pair of overalls that I'm going to wear to the party tonight. It's a little big for me around the waist, so I'm taking it in.'
'Oh, of course, I suppose it's hard to find just the right fit for a figure as delightfully slender as your own,' Bumpy complimented her.
'Hee hee,' she tittered, 'you're such a gentlekoala! You really know how to make a girl feel good!'
'Meppy, speaking of that party tonight, we heard that it's the big Spring Celebration,' Humpy said, 'and we were wondering whether you and two of your friends might like to accompany us to the dance.'
'Oh, I'd love to, but I can't,' she said with a slightly sad smile. 'My friends Milly, Silly and I have already made a date with three other koalas.'
'Oh?' Humpy tried to hide his disappointment.
'Yes, we're going with Chuppy, Guppy and Moldy. They asked us last week.'
'Chuppy, Guppy and Moldy!' Bumpy blurted out. 'Why would three fine girls such as yourselves wanna be seen with a trio of mangy creatures like them? They are beneath your dignity, if you don't mind me saying so.'
'Oh, that's so sweet of you! But we really wanted to go to the dance, and they were the only ones to ask us, and we thought…'
'What!' Humpy exclaimed. 'Nobody else asked you? I never knew there were so many blind koalas here in Koalatown. Must be some kind of strange epidemic.'
'Oh, you're so charming!' Meppy blushed, though her fur hid her rosy cheeks.
'Well, we'd be the last to try to make you break your dates. That wouldn't be decent, I suppose. But we will say that if you did come with us instead of them, we could guarantee that you'd enjoy yourselves a lot more,' Bumpy promised.
'Well,' Meppy pondered, 'I guess I could talk to Silly and Milly, and see what they think.
I wouldn't be surprised if they'd rather go out with you. The truth is, I would, too!'
'Why, we appreciate your honesty, Meppy,' Humpy said, 'and we'll certainly do our best to prove worthy of your confidence.'
'Oh, you could turn a girl's head with that dandy talk!' Meppy giggled. 'You really are koalas of the world, aren't you?'
'Well, we do get around, I suppose you could say,' Bumpy answered. 'Now, how about if you go talk to your friends, then get back to us. We'll be takin' a little nap in that tree over there, but don't hesitate to wake us up to give us the news.'
'Okay, I'll do just that. I should be back in an hour or so,' Meppy said, collecting her sewing supplies and putting them into her pocket. Then, picking up the pair of overalls she was altering and standing up: 'I'll see you fellows later. Bye!'
'Bye, Meppy. See you in an hour!' Humpy called, as the three of them waved.
'Wow, we've got it made!' Bumpy rejoiced. 'Her friends are no doubt going to prefer us to those three slobs!'
'Huh uh huh, gee Bumpy, ya think so?' Dumpy asked.
'I know so. After all, she said we were handsome, didn't she? And she also said that we are 'koalas of the world'. No doubt about it, she really likes us, and I'm sure her friends do, too!'
'Are you sure that the Milly and Silly she mentioned are the same girls we were with last month?' Humpy tried to remember.
'I'm not sure, but no matter. We'll impress them, too, even if we've never met 'em before.'
'Huh uh, I remember Silly,' Dumpy recalled. 'She called me 'cute' when we were here last month, huh uh huh.'
'Then I guess they are the same ones,' Humpy figured. 'Well, let's go get that nap before she gets back. My friends, I do believe we're gonna have one fine evening!'
'Yes, indeed,' Bumpy agreed. 'Tonight will be somethin' we'll remember for a long time to come.' The three then walked over to the vacant tree and climbed up. Each one selecting a sturdy limb, they made themselves comfortable, and had soon fallen fast asleep.
***
Hi everybody! My name's Bumpy. You might recognize me from seein' me on somebody's computer screen. Disgustin' story that is, I tell ya! Some human photographer took my picture without even askin', then went away without givin' Yours Truly a red cent, and then had the gall to give it away as a free screen saver...the nerve! Anyway, I wanted to ask you for a little favor, if you don't mind. If you've liked what you've read so far in our story, maybe you could go to the place you got it - Amazon, Smashwords, B&N, or wherever - and give our book a nice review. We koalas would sure appreciate it. Thanks a lot! And now, back to our tale...