Memories of Boom Boom Mountain (4 page)

Finn’s thoughts were interrupted by a pair of mushroom creatures. They hopped over and looked up at Finn earnestly.

‘Excuse me,’ one mushroom creature said.

‘Huh?’ replied Finn, confused.

‘We need your help,’ the mushroom creatures explained. ‘There’s no music playing and we desperately want to dance.’

‘Oh, uh…hold on just a second, you guys,’ said Finn anxiously. ‘I’ll help you out in one minute, okay?’

‘Hey!’ Coal Guy shouted from the other side of the village. ‘Pipe down over there! I want some peace and quiet!’

‘Uh…let me just,’ Finn stammered.

Another small voice chimed in.

‘And I need to be pollinated,’ said Cactus Creature.

‘Everybody, please,’ Finn said. ‘One problem at a time.’

Suddenly, the ground quaked as an enormous fire-breathing dragon landed in the town square.

‘My butt’s itchy, but I can’t scratch it,’ the dragon whined.

Finn held his head, unsure of what to do. The problems seemed never-ending!

‘This water’s too cold,’ complained Ice Guy.

‘That guy stole our triangle,’ said the Electroids accusingly.

‘They swiped my plum,’ croaked Plum Toad. ‘We want to rough-house! We want to rough-house!’ chanted the marauders.

‘What’s happening?’ Mountain Man cried, boulders streaming down his face.

‘AAAAGGGGHHHH!!!’
Finn howled.
‘EVERYBODY WANTS DIFFERENT THINGS!!!’

He looked around at all the petitioners and sighed.

‘And some of them want stuff that’s exactly the thing the others don’t want,’ he continued.

‘Whoa, dude, hold on,’ Jake said, trying to calm Finn down. ‘So this guy wants this, and that guy wants that. But man, what do you want?’

Jake’s words triggered a memory in Finn’s mind. He returned once again to the scene in the field, when he had been just a helpless baby on a leaf.

A hat-wearing dog, who looked remarkably like Jake, had approached and picked up Baby Finn.

What do you want, baby?’ the dog, named Joshua, asked. ‘Why are you crying?’

Baby Finn couldn’t speak yet, so he just cried and cried and cried.

‘Margaret, this baby won’t tell me what’s wrong with it, and it’s stuck to a leaf, and it stinks,’ Joshua said matter-of-factly.

‘Give it here, Joshua,’ said his wife. ‘This baby just needs some love and kisses to be happy.’

The caring dog with the flower-covered hat knew just what to do. Margaret cradled Baby Finn in her warm arms and kissed his head over and over until he giggled with glee.

‘There,’ she said. ‘See? Now it’s happy.’

‘You just kissed a boom-boom baby,’ noted Joshua. ‘So don’t expect any more sugar from me, sweetheart, until we wash your dirty face.’

Finn snapped out of the flashback with a renewed passion for his mission. He hadn’t been left all alone in the forest to fend for himself when he was a baby. There were creatures who helped him, and he needed to return that help to others who needed it now.

‘Jake, what I want is to help anyone in need so everyone is happy,’ he said.

‘Wow, that’s pretty corny, man,’ Jake snickered. ‘But let’s do it, dude.
WHOO-HOO!

’ It took a lot of planning on Finn’s part. Luckily, Jake was eager to help, even if he thought Mountain Man should just get over himself already. In any case, Jake would do anything for his best buddy.

It took a lot of time, too, but when everyone and everything was finally in place, Finn picked up a bullhorn and began to direct.

‘Ready over there, Mushroom Gang?’ he called.

‘Ready, Finn,’ the Mushrooms replied.

‘Ready, Dragon?’ asked Finn.

‘Yes, sir!’ Dragon answered.

‘Ready, Mountain Man?’ Finn shouted.

‘I’m ready!’ Mountain Man coughed.

Finn looked around excitedly. If this worked, it would make his dream of making everyone happy a reality. He would pay back the kindness that had been shown to him when he was a little baby in need.

‘GO!!!’
Finn shouted.

The band of marauders began to jump and tug frantically as they pulled a set of strings that were part of an enormous pulley system that included a huge log. This activity was almost as much fun as rough-housing!