One day during Empath's first visit to the Smurf Village, Empath was working with his fellow Smurfs on the village dam. Hefty was overseeing all the activity, and Handy was assisting his fellow Smurfs on their various duties concerning maintenance on the dam to make sure there wouldn't be any structural problems.
Empath was with Clumsy carrying logs from the forest when he noticed that his fellow Smurf had tripped on a rock and collapsed, causing his stack of logs to fall out of his hand. "Oops...well, I should have smurfed where I was going," Clumsy said as he tried to pick himself up, only to notice a pain in his leg.
"You have suffered a sprain in your leg, fellow Clumsy," Empath said after briefly examining him. "Let this smurf heal your injuries." He touched Clumsy's leg for a moment and then soon the pain in his leg went away.
"Oh, now that smurfs much better," Clumsy said. "I think I can smurf my job much better now. Thanks, Empath."
"Here, let this smurf carry your load for you, so that you may allow yourself some time to heal properly before you carry any other loads," Empath said as he picked up the logs that Clumsy had dropped and added it to his pile.
"Uh, thanks again, Empath," Clumsy said. "I guess I owe you one for that."
"You do not need to repay this smurf for anything, Clumsy," Empath said. "You are a fellow Smurf that this smurf is honored to do anything for."
Soon they have reached the dam, and Empath was laying down the stack of logs that he was carrying from the forest when Hefty came over to see the two Smurfs arriving. "Say, what are you two Smurfs doing, with Clumsy not smurfing his share of the work?" he demanded.
"Clumsy suffered a leg injury on his way to bringing the logs to the dam, and though this smurf has healed him of his injuries, this smurf has offered to carry his load to the dam so that his leg can heal properly," Empath explained.
"Well, Clumsy looks well enough to keep smurfing, so he can go smurf something else," Hefty said as he wrote something down on his clipboard. "But I have a few words that I would like to smurf with you, Empath."
After Clumsy had left, Empath said. "This smurf senses that you are rather upset with this smurf, fellow Hefty. What has this smurf done to offend you now?"
"Your being here is one thing, Empath, but now it seems like you're trying to smurf over my job as the assistant leader, telling Smurfs to smurf things that I have not told them to smurf, all because you think that you smurf better than I do about how to smurf my job," Hefty said angrily.
"This smurf is not trying to take over any Smurf's job here unless this smurf deems it necessary, Hefty," Empath said. "This smurf will follow your instructions unless this smurf considers them counterproductive to fulfilling the task."
"You will smurf as I say without questioning anything that I say, star boy," Hefty said, poking Empath in the chest a few times while speaking. "I'm the one who smurfs in charge of these village tasks, not you, and if you smurf a problem with that, you can smurf it up with Papa Smurf, but you're not going to disobey me ever! Do you get that?"
"You will stop touching this smurf right now, Hefty," Empath boldly stated.
"Oh yeah? And how are you going to make me stop smurfing you?" Hefty said, poking Empath in the chest again.
Empath suddenly grabbed Hefty's hand and squeezed it so hard that the Smurfs nearby could hear the bones in Hefty's hand break. Hefty screamed as he felt his hand crushed to the point where he could barely move it.
"You are injured, Hefty," Empath said. "Let this smurf heal you."
"Over my dead smurf, you star-smurfed freak," Hefty spat out before he ran back to the village, cradling his injured hand.
Every Smurf at the dam looked at Empath in amazement and fear, wondering what he had done to Hefty and some dreading that they may be the ones who would suffer the same treatment next. Empath simply sighed as he returned to his work.
Back in the village, Hefty had his hand put in a cast when Papa Smurf paid him a visit in the infirmary where Medic was working. "Great Smurfs Of Fire! What had happened to your hand?" Papa Smurf asked.
"It was that freak you smurfed into the village that smurfed this, Papa Smurf," Hefty said. "I was telling him to smurf his own job instead of mine, and then all of a sudden he smurfed my hand and smurfed every bone in it. I can't even smurf this hand at all, and then Empath has the smurfs to ask if he could heal the very hand that he smurfed."
"I get the feeling that you haven't learned anything from how you were treating Grouchy Smurf, Hefty," Papa Smurf said. "I have smurfed you the position of the assistant leader because I know you were able to get your fellow Smurfs to work together as a team. But the way you keep treating the Smurfs you are in charge of makes me question your methods for getting the Smurfs to work together."
"Well, Empath didn't have to smurf me like this just because he didn't like me smurfing him in the chest, Papa Smurf," Hefty said. "Why don't you talk to him to see why he would smurf my hand?"
"That is what I intend to do, Hefty Smurf," Papa Smurf said. "But if Empath is offering to heal your hand, I would in your smurf consider that offer if you intend to still be smurfing your hand."
"Only if Empath apologizes for smurfing my hand, and only then," Hefty said.
Later on, Empath was called into Papa Smurf's laboratory where the village leader would have a personal chat with him.
"Hefty has smurfed me that you have smurfed his hand while he was talking to you about smurfing your own job," Papa Smurf said. "Would you care to explain why?"
"This smurf has sensed that Hefty was being abusive, Papa Smurf," Empath said. "He kept touching this smurf in a very intimidating manner, and this smurf has told him to stop touching this smurf, but he refused to listen, and so this smurf has grabbed his hand and crushed it. He will not be able to use that hand unless he allows this smurf to heal it."
"Empath, you can't go around injuring your fellow Smurfs simply because you don't like to be touched," Papa Smurf said.
"This smurf is still trying to get accustomed to living in the manner of a Smurf, Papa Smurf," Empath said. "This smurf still does not want to be touched by any Smurf in any manner because it makes this smurf feel...uncomfortable."
"We'll try our best not to smurf you in ways that make you feel uncomfortable, Empath," Papa Smurf said. "In the meantime, Hefty requests that you smurf an apology to him before he lets you heal your hand."
"This smurf will offer to heal his hand, Papa Smurf, but this smurf has nothing to apologize to him for," Empath said. "He received exactly what his actions deserved, and if he is not willing to accept responsibility for his actions and allow this smurf to heal him, then there is nothing this smurf can or will do for him."
"You don't feel the least bit sorry for what you have smurfed to Hefty?" Papa Smurf asked, not believing what he was hearing from his own son.
"This smurf only regrets that it has caused him pain, but as for the intent, he should be learning a lesson from the injury he received instead of lamenting the result of his own stupidity and expecting others to sympathize with his current situation," Empath said.
Papa Smurf realized that he had a situation on his hands: Hefty would not allow Empath to heal his hand without an apology, and Empath was willing to heal Hefty's hand but will not offer an apology for what he saw was a justified action. Tapper talked with both Empath and Hefty to see if there was a way that they could come to a peaceful solution, understanding Empath's need to not be touched and Hefty's need to not be disrespected. The result of the talking with both Smurfs was what Tapper suggested to Papa Smurf: a treaty between Empath and Hefty that neither of them would touch each other in a way that would bring any desired harm to each other. Papa Smurf read the treaty that Tapper had devised, and though he didn't like the idea of a treaty where Empath had no sorrow for what he had done to Hefty, it seemed to him like the only reasonable solution.
Empath and Hefty were brought together by Papa Smurf to read the treaty that Tapper had written up for the both of them to sign. "This seems like a fair solution that would prevent future situations like this from happening," Empath said after reading the treaty.
"Well, if that's all I'm going to smurf from Empath, then it's better than nothing," Hefty said. "If I could only smurf my broken hand, I would be signing it by now."
"We will sign it together once your hand is healed, Hefty," Empath said. "This is what this smurf promises."
"Let's smurf this part over and smurfed with, already," Hefty said.
"Just give this smurf your broken hand and relax," Empath said. Hefty held out the hand that was in a cast, and Empath held it in both of his hands as he focused his abilities on healing it. Soon Hefty could feel his hand getting stronger as the bones miraculously knit themselves together, and after the cast was removed, Hefty could flex the fingers in his hand without feeling any pain.
"Now this smurfs better than new," Hefty said, smiling slightly as he looked as his hand and held it up to his face. Then he took the quill and signed his name on the line on the treaty before handing the quill to Empath, who signed his name next to Hefty's on the same line.
Papa Smurf then took the quill and wrote below their names: "I, Papa Smurf, am a witness to this treaty being signed, that the parties have agreed to honor it."
Hefty nodded silently to Empath before he left.
"Hopefully someday, Empath, you and Hefty will learn to understand each other better and that you won't need a treaty like this to resmurf your differences," Papa Smurf said.
Years later, after Empath returned home for good, he found the original copy of the treaty he and Hefty had signed together when they were both looking for an important book together for Papa Smurf.
"It's incredible that Papa Smurf would still have this after all these years, Hefty," Empath commented as they both looked at the treaty.
"I remember it, all right...just as I remember the day that you smurfed my hand like it was a bundle of twigs," Hefty said. "But all that matters to me is that you're upsmurfing your part of the treaty."
"Hefty, you are my Smurf brother and you are my friend, even if you never consider this smurf your friend," Empath said. "This smurf would never think of violating that treaty no matter how much you may annoy and harass this smurf."
"Well, at the very least, I don't have to worry about offending you anymore by simply touching you, unless you haven't outsmurfed that yet," Hefty said.
"This smurf isn't the same Smurf who is afraid of letting anyone touch this smurf anymore, Hefty, which you can count on," Empath said, smiling.
