Scarecrow's Birthday Surprise

"Scarecrow's Birthday Surprise" is a episode of the "Magic Adventures of Mumfie" Series.

Plot
After being inspired by Pinkey's birthday celebration, Mumfie and Pinkey plan a surprise birthday party for Scarecrow after he says he doesn't have one. But there's one small problem: because the party is a surprise, Scarecrow thinks his friends are just ignoring him! Will Scarecrow soon understand why Mumfie's been ignoring him?

Episode Recap
Mumfie and Scarecrow are picking flowers for Mumfie's home. Scarecrow points to a flower that Mumfie does not want, since it is not pretty or fresh. Not wanting to make Scarecrow upset, Mumfie says the flower is quite different. But then, he sees another flower, which turns out to be a balloon with a flower imprint on it held by Pinkey. Pinkey then thinks Mumfie is upset, and asks him if there's anything wrong. Mumfie says that there's nothing wrong, and points to Pinkey's balloon, and asks who it's for. Pinkey says it's her birthday balloon. Scarecrow wonders what a birthday is, and Pinkey tells him it's something you have once every year on the same day where you get lots of presents and balloons, and you eat cake-basically a party. Mumfie wonders why birthdays are celebrated, and Pinkey says it's a celebration of the good things you did in the past year and good luck in the next year to come, according to her mother. Mumfie says it's a good idea, since it celebrates being alive. Scarecrow says he's never had a birthday because he was just stuffed and stuck in his field. Pinkey says it's unusual, and this makes Scarecrow upset. Mumfie then asks Scarecrow to pick the flowers he didn't like earlier for him, so he can talk to Pinkey. Mumfie tells Pinkey that he wants to have a birthday party for Scarecrow. They will choose a day for him to have one. Pinkey says that it will be fun, as well as a big surprise. Mumfie suggests telling the idea to Scarecrow, but Pinkey says that her mother told her it's always more fun when a party is a surprise. Mumfie agrees with this, stating it's a good idea. He tells everything he plans to do. Scarecrow eavesdropped on the last part of the conversation, and wondered if they were inviting someone somewhere. Mumfie said yes, but Pinkey said no, and lies, but Mumfie tells her not to. Mumfie gives Scarecrow flowers to take back to the cottage while he plans for the party. Scarecrow wonders what Mumfie and Pinkey are up to, and has a "what-iffer" moment, most of the "what-ifs" being about Mumfie ignoring him. We see two crows talking about the party being a good idea, and saying that Scarecrow is shy for a "retiring type" of person, and then they tell each other to be quiet, since he might know. Then, a beaver and a skunk laugh at Scarecrow. Scarecrow thinks they hate either his hat, or shoes, or himself.

The next day, Mumfie wakes up and runs out the door because he has a lot of errands to do today. Scarecrow wants him to have breakfast, and tells the viewer that Mumfie and him always have tea in the morning, and wonders if he doesn't want to have tea anymore with him. Scarecrow then takes a walk, and encounters Pinkey and a bird sitting on a tree branch. Mumfie is finishing a talk with Napoleon Jones, who then agrees to come and leaves. Scarecrow then tries to ask Mumfie a question, but he walks away, making Scarecrow very unhappy. Mumfie says it will be a wonderful party, and encounters The Black Cat, and asks she if he'd like to come to Scarecrow's surprise party, which is at tea time in the afternoon. The Black Cat says that friendship can't be taken for granted, and Mumfie says he never said that, and asks him to come to the party. The Black Cat says she is going to come to the party and vanishes again. Scarecrow thinks Mumfie does not want to be his friend anymore, so he goes back home to his field, and watches the clouds, and wonders if this is all he's good for.

We cut to Mumfie's house, where some of the pirates, Napoleon and the Admirals are at the house. Mumfie says it is just lovely. Pinkey says it was a good thing Scarecrow went out for a walk while they put up decorations, and Mumfie says that he has to wait for teatime, because Scarecrow always comes for teatime. Scarecrow says that if he were in a better mood, the clouds he's seeing would be shaped like a duck and a horse. Thinking tea will cheer him up, he heads back to the cottage. We cut to the cottage, where Mrs. Admiral wonders if Mumfie said Scarecrow was coming for tea. Mumfie says he can't imagine where Scarecrow is, but he's right outside the cottage. He looks in,and sees the party. Thinking Mumfie did not invite him, he leaves. The crows say that it was odd for Scarecrow to leave at this moment, and say that he'll miss his own party. Mumfie wonders who they are talking about, and the crows explain what happened. The Black Cat appears and Mumfie gets worried about Scarecrow, so he runs off to find him. Scarecrow said if he was in a better mood, one cloud would look like a bowling pin or a dragon. Mumfie asks Scarecrow if he would like some tea, but Scarecrow says he wants to be in a better mood in order to drink tea. Mumfie apologizes for not paying attention to him, and invites him for tea. Scarecrow says he would like that very much, and wonders why there were people inside Mumfie's cottage. Mumfie then walks with him there, and a crow tells the guests to hide. The guests then surprise Scarecrow and wish him a happy birthday. Even Mumfie wishes him a happy birthday. Scarecrow says he doesn't have a birthday, and Pinkey says he does now. Everyone at the party plays games, and Scarecrow gets presents from everyone. Scarecrow apologies for doubting his best friend, and the black cat comments that the best tensions can go astray, before she vanishes. Scarecrow then talks about the clouds, and thanks Mumfie for caring about him, and for the birthday party. Mumfie then tells him "You're welcome. That's what friends are for."

Trivia

 * First appearance of the forest animals.
 * When Scarecrow is looking at the clouds, an instrumental arrangement of a segment of "Gotta Dance, Gotta Whistle, Gotta Sing" is played in the background.
 * This was the first Mumfie segment on Storytime with Thomas on Fox Family.
 * When this episode aired on Fox Family, it was paired with "Captain Jellybean's Treasure".
 * Not counting Mumfie's Quest, this is the only episode to be released on home video more than once.

Home video releases

 * Mumfie's Friendship Tales (2001, United States and Canada)
 * A Fishy Tale (BMG VHS) (US and Canada) (1999)
 * Magic Adventures of Mumfie, Volume 1 (Germany) (2001)