After The Rain Goes, There Are Rainbows... (*Will WE*) Find (*Our*) Rainbow Soon??? (Or, The Adventures of Pinocchio and Thumbelina and Dorothy [-And Snow White])

"How's she comin'??"

"Smooth enough, I think- hey, hey, WHOA! *Take it easy, guys*...!"

"OW!! *Agh*- yougotmyfinger!"

"Well, Hunk hun- why dontcha *get your finger outta th' way*? (Sorry for that, by th' way- didn't MEAN TO!)"

Heave-ho- HEAVE-HO- *HEAVE-O*!! *Ohh-wee-yuh- yoooo-uh*...!!

"*Ugn*!! *HELP, you guys*! You're stronger than me!"

"*Eep*!!! That was SCARY- *I thought it was gonna FOLLOW ME*...! Follow *US*!"

"Unnngh...!! *COME ON, you two*- give it A SHOVE! Hammer and ax at the ready...! *Shoulders and thighs*-!"

"*Heavens above*! G-Gee, it looks MIGHTY UNSTEADY... How does this *WORK*, anyway??"

"I'll show you and Hunk, Zeke dear... once we *get it fixed*, that is. -Where's the oilcan??"

"Riiiiight- HERE! There ya go, Tinman."

"*MUCH OBLIGED, Scarecrow sweetheart*!"

"Now you *be CAREFUL*, Hickory honey...!"

"RELAX, will you, darling Lion? I've got this- *WE'VE got this*! Have *a little courage*, that's all...!"

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With great effort, Pinocchio bit back and swallowed down a wistful sigh as he watched from a safe distance- though today, not really at the sight of *BIG TALL STRONG menboysguys* being perfectly able to do greasy dirty heavy work around the farm (even skinny lanky light Hunk | 'Scarecrow'); not like his younger elder sister Dorothy, or their *ELDER-elder* sister Thumbelina, had *she* been watching -which she wasn't, today-. No- it was more due to hearing the affectionate open pet/heart-names for each other. More due to every now and then seeing a kiss or three be 'stolen'- and not just on the lips, either...

But surely- SURELY, 'Lina moped enough for *all three* of them- and so he did his very best not to let especially awful sensitive 'Tinman' see or hear, as did 'Dottie' (as Mr. Zeke often called her when not using her full name).

-Still, *they DID* hear. Thankfully, they had just finished fixing up the precarious unwieldy wind-machine (and with no further catching of fingers, to boot- *phew*!!!) and so weren't dangerously distracted.

"Hey- what is it, honey??" inquired Zeke, addressing both the other Gale girl and her brother.

"Yes- whatever is the matter, dears?" Hickory also wanted to know.

"Why *so GLUMS*, chums?" asked Hunk both lightly and sincerely. "'Sweets to the sweet', and all that...!"

(For all that Hickory | Tinman was the out-and-out romantic of the triad/throuple, *Hunk | Scarecrow* was something of a Closet Bard, with an especial interest in Messer Shakespeare.)

Pinocchio's lips twitched at that, and Dorothy just barely muffled a snicker into her hands. Then they both tried and failed to bite back another heavy sigh while thinking of-

"*Ohhhh*... *It's TINY SWEET LITTLE THUMB* who feels glum! About- well, *you know*. And therefore YOU TWO feel awful sad and worried and concerned. *For HER*."

'Scarecrow' might occasionally call himself either 'brainless' or a 'fool', but really truly, even if pretty goofy and slightly absent-minded at times, *he WASN'T*.

"Mm-hm," hummed Dorothy.

"Uh- Uh-huh," Pinocchio nodded, both he and his other sister not able to help pouting a little.

"And you wanna help her feel at least *a little bit* better."

The younger two of the sudden surprise Gale siblings nodded again.

"Hmm..."

'Scarecrow' thought this over along with 'Tinman' and 'Cowardly Lion'- to the point where if the very former had had been LITERALLY sharp as a pin, they would have been sticking right out of the top of his straw-stuffed cloth-covered 'skull'. Finally, both his eyes and face brightened as he straightened and snapped his long thin callused fingers before practically crowing, "AH-HA! *EUREKA*! *'Voila'*! Ihaveit!
"'Lina really likes singin' an' dancin'- just like you two, right?? -Well, what about if we...???"

Here, he leaned down, beckoned them plus Hickory and Zeke closer to him, and whispered his idea/plan in their ears. Once he was finished, he didn't even have to ask, 'Well?? What d' you think?' Thumbelina's brother and sister excitedly happily bounced on their heels, clapped their hands together, and squeaked with delightglee with their own big blue eyes sparkling and even rosier faces shining/beaming. *Their whole literally 'petite' bodies* were alight and aglow, in fact!

%"That's a *WONDERFUL* idea, Scarecrow/'Spaventessari'!"%

Zeke clapped his own big paws of hands together and tossed back his longish mane of soft shining golden-brown curls that was kind of at odds with his much shorter stiffer slightly scratchy 'whiskers'. "Well, then- *what are we waitin' for*??! Let's go cheer 'Lina up!"

Hickory GRINNED more than smiled, his heart in his eyes as much as on his sleeve as usual. "Yes, dear(s)- *LET'S*!"

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Of course, the animals on the farm were all eager and ready to join in on The Plan once Dorothy and Pinocchio excitedly told them about it- for they loved tiny sweet pretty little Thumbelina and her younger siblings as much as their mother, the house pets Figaro and Toto, and the farmhands who called each other such funny names when they weren't being sappy and soppy, and had from the very day they'd literally popped out of a magical flower grown from a barley-corn. (Besides, they loved music, too, and fondly remembered the happy happy days when their mistress's husband was alive and the two of them would dance and sing and laugh together with or without a tune already playing...)

There was nothing to get ready, really- they were all just making this up on the spot and singing right from their hearts...!

Thumbelina sighed heavily as she carefully sat on the edge of the water trough and dangled her bare teeny-tiny dainty delicate feet in the water in the same manner as any other normal ordinary girl would have on the edge of a riverbank or a stone by a lake, taking the advantage to do so in the last warm(ish) days of autumn before cold weather began to set in. (She could have SWUM, since the trough was currently empty of any thirsty animals and she was able to despite her feather-lightness and delicate frame as well as smallness [Dorothy and 'Nocchi had insisted on *teaching HER* as well as themselves with help from Hunk, Hickory, and Zeke so that she and they could do SOMETHING that any other 'normal' person could do]- but right then, she didn't feel like it.)

*Winter*- hmm... What would THAT be like, she wondered? *COLD*, for sure and certain- and not just covered but BLANKETED with a thick fluffy pure white carpet of snow, like the pictures in one of Mother's books owing to the fairytale 'The Snow Queen'! And, for sure and certain, even if dressed warmly, slightly sturdier Dorothy and Pinocchio wouldn't be able to play or dance around in it, much less 'Lina', they were all *so SMALL*...
They would probably have to stay indoors practically all the time until the earth thawed and snow melted and the plants started to bud and bloom again...

*WATCHING the snow* could possibly be pretty fun and interesting for a while, 'si'- but ALL THE TIME?? That could probably grow boring pretty quickly, if that was *ALL* you could do rather than run and dance in the snow, make snow angels, and take part in snowball fights until you were not only cold but wet and breathless and red but still laughing merrily as you either ran, limped, or trudged inside (depending on how 'wiped out' you were) for a nice mug of piping hot tea or hot chocolate...
'This must be how chronically sick or disabled children, youths, and adults feel, unless they just plain don't care for the cold,' she thought to herself, both commiserating with aforementioned poor unfortunate persons and her conscience seeming to give her a light rebuking kick for feeling so sorry for herself since even if as fragile and delicate as an expensive foreign porcelain vase or figurine, at least SHE was as healthy as a horse and had been from Day One of her life-! 'Oh, well- at least we can probably make snow-cream with Mother (and Hunk and Hickory and Zeke, of course). That'll be nice...'

And MAYBE- *just MAYBE*... Well, Mother had filled a large bowl with water and Hickory had made a lovely little wooden boat so that Thumbelina, Dorothy, and Pinocchio could go 'sailing' like any other person; so perhaps there could be a walled area of some sort, with snow added, and they could run about and play *THAT way*??? It was certainly something to consider, once Winter came in earnest...

Now Thumbelina's lovely sky-blue eyes cleared and lightened up, and she smiled, making her already-pretty face truly beautiful. She shook her head of almost *RAPUNZEL-long* strawberry-gold hair and said aloud, "How foolish and silly and petty of me to sulk so- *selfish*, even! It's like Mother always says that *Father* always said: POSITIVE THINKING...! (Like what Dory and 'Nocchi say, too.)"

After all, if one could look for a new angle AND *a SILVER LINING* when it came to blustery windy days (it was kinda scary when any of them were briefly blown away, yes- but it was also actually *kind of FUN*, too! Like- Like FLYING, but without wings...), why not *this*, as well???

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Just then, as though her very thoughts had summoned them, her sweet sweet dark-haired 'sibs' appeared right before her along with 'Scarecrow', 'Tinman', and 'Lion'- AKA Hunk, Hickory, and Zeke, smiling big and bright and sparkling themselves, which of course matched both the sparkle in their eyes and that of Dorothy's fit-for-a-princess ruby slippers with silver soles. She smiled back a bit bigger than before and waved, saying 'Hi!' with her eyes even if not with her words at the moment.

They didn't wave back, funny enough... but then, strangely, as merry jaunty music mysteriously filled the crisp slightly-sweet autumn air, they plus the farmyard animals began to SING. Thumbelina fell back a little in surprise (almost toppling over into the trough in the process)- then settled back in order to enjoy the show.

'SCARECROW' AND 'NOCCHI: ~"Who is the girl
No bigger than *a BUMBLEBEE*??"~

DOROTHY AND 'LION': ~"Who is the angel
With a funny name???"~

'TINMAN', COW, AND GOAT: ~"We don't know WHERE SHE'S FROM
Or *how she came to be*..."~

ALL: ~"But *HAPPY* was
The day she came...!"~

'NOCCHI AND DOROTHY: ~"Thumbelina...!"~

'SCARECROW', GOAT, AND DUCK: "*She's a FUNNY LITTLE SQUIRT*!"~

FARM ANIMALS: ~"*Thumbelina*...!"~

'TINMAN', 'LION', AND COW: ~"Tiny angel in a skirt..."~

'SCARECROW', 'TINMAN', AND 'LION': ~"Thumbelina...!"~

ALL: ~"First she's MENDING,
Then *baking*-
*PRETENDING*;
*She's MAKING THINGS UP*...!

Thumbelina...!"~

#brief instrumental#

'NOCCHI: ~"Who would *EVER* b'lieve
*Th' WONDER* of the world she sees??"~

DOROTHY: ~"Each an' every little minute
Brings a *new s'prise*...!"~

'NOCCHI AND DOROTHY: ~"There's only *one PECULIAR THING*
That bothers her-
Seems she's th' only one *HER size*...

*Thumbelina*...!"~

'SCARECROW' AND GOAT: ~"Think of
*All you'll save on meals*!"~

FARM ANIMALS: ~"Thumbelina...!"~

'LION' AND ONE OF THE CHICKENS: ~"-Maybe if you
Had HIGH HEELS..."~

'SCARECROW', 'TINMAN', AND 'LION': ~"Thumbelina...!"~

ALL: ~"If you stay here FOREVER,
You'll know that
You'll *NEVER* be glum-
*By gum*...!

Thumbelina...!
She's *a whisper on the wing*-
Thumbelina...!
She's as HOPEFUL
As *the SPRING*;
Thumbelina...!

First she's mending- then baking;
*Pretending*-
She's MAKING THINGS UP...!

Thumbelina...!"~

'SCARECROW', 'TINMAN', AND 'LION': ~"She's *ALWAYS*
In the thick...!"~

ALL: ~"Thumbelina...!"~

'NOCCHI AND DOROTHY: ~"But she *gets out
IN THE NICK*...!"~

ALL: ~"Thumbelina...!"

For us, sometimes, *it's SICKNESS*-
But *this time*, it's BIGNESS...!"~

'LINA'S SIBS AND 'THE GOLDEN TRIO': ~"Ohh, a PLUM'S so big,
And *a FIG'S* so big-
And they call it a 'twig',
But a twig's *SO BIG*...!"~

ALL: ~"It's *a BIG BIG* world...!"~

'GOLDEN TRIO': ~"Thumbelina...!"~

'NOCCHI AND DOROTHY: ~"Thumbelina...!"~

ALL: ~"*Thumbelina*...!"~

'LINA HERSELF: "*That's ME*!! (giggle)...!"

Hunk's plan had worked (of course). Thumbelina was *VERY cheered up* indeed- so much so that she not only gave everyone a *BIG* round of applause but *a hug and kiss* as well! (Well, as best as she could, when it came to the giants of hers', Dory's, and 'Nocchi's family/family of friends, *but SE-MAN-TICS* right now!)

"Ohhhh- thank you all SO MUCH!" she chirruped/trilled. "That was- It was *so SWEET* and unexpected of you! You're all- Oh, you're *THE BEST* friends and family anybody ever had...!"

"Awww, shucks- it was nothin'," mumbled Zeke, a big dumb goofy grin on his face as his face flushed bright red-to-pink as a result of 'Lina's kiss right on his nose and he shuffled his big booted feet. "We just didn't like seein' ya so down an' out, is all! -Your not-so-pesky little brother an' sissy, 'specially, though."

"B'sides, you're always entertainin' US, -so *whyever not* do th' same for you??" Pinocchio added with one of his brightest sweetest smiles that made him look even more like a 'piccolino' wooden marionette puppet come to life with its' strings removed- hence Mother's own special name of 'Little Woodenhead' for him. "Sp- Especially if it cheered ya up in th' process?"

THAT earned him plus Dorothy another big big hug and kiss plus an affectionate tousle of his long thick dark dark hair and her pretty auburn braids, which of course they more than gladly returned while Hickory and Zeke wiped away a happy tear or two and everyone including a watching-from-the-window Mother softly go %"*Awwww*...!"% to themselves.

(Thumbelina didn't tell her 'triplet siblings' her own plans for the coming 'dreaded' winter, though. She wanted THAT to be a surprise- and a *BIG* one, at that...! [She'd let Mother, 'Scarecrow', 'Tinman', 'Lion', Figgy, and 'Big T' in on the secret once it was Time, though. OF COURSE she would! She would need *help* setting everything up, after all...!])