Lapitch - The Little Shoemaker

Lapitch, Lisa and Pico are planning a surprise party for Brewster. When Brewster gets near the house, he overhears Lisa and Lapitch talking and misinterprets what they say. Thinking that they don't like him any more, and he goes sadly away into the woods. There he meets the Pazinskys, who see Brewster as easy prey - he can help them with their circus act.

Dirty Rat steals Lapitch's Magic Boots. As they refuse to work any magic for him, he decides to search for the Secret Village, where squirrels with magic powers are said to live. He attacks the village and makes its inhabitants his subjects. One squirrel manages to escape and goes to ask Lapitch for help.

Melchior, the Great Shoemaker, organizes a race. The winner is to get one of Melchior's own inventions. Dirty Rat thinks it will be possible to make money with such an invention, and he sends Melvin off to enter the race and win it. Switching the direction arrow around, he lures Lapitch and Lisa into the woods, where they are attacked by a wild boar.

Lapitch and Co. arrive in a land ruled by the Shoe Queen. All her subjects are barefoot, and have to pay a shoe tax to the Queen Guccinski, in the form of shoes. Dirty Rat is in love with the Queen and hopes to impress her with the Magic Boots. Lapitch, Pico and Brewster go to find the Queen and talk to her, while Lisa and Blurbal go in search of the Magic Boots, which have gone missing.

The Mayor orders six pairs of shoes from Lapitch. At the same time, Dirty Rat cooks up a plan to hypnotize Lapitch, so that he can kidnap Melchior to make magic boots for him. Melchior is accordingly "kidnapped" by the Pazinskys and taken off to Dirty Rat. He is ordered to make Magic Boots, but instead manages to get the Pazinskys to make shoes for him.

Yanna is sick: she has a rash all over! And it looks as if she has infected Melchior. Yanna has made fishhead soup, and Melchior bravely tastes it, but after eating it he feels very unwell. The right remedy calls for secret ingredients such as a cobweb of the red spider, etc. But time is running short: Melchior must take the remedy before sunset, or the sickness threatens to be very dangerous.

Lisa is reading the story of Cinderella when someone knocks at the workshop door. She can't believe her eyes: there stands Cinderella herself. It turns out that her visitor is actually the fairytale Cinderella's granddaughter. This Cinderella has a glass slipper too, but the slipper has smashed into a thousand pieces - and the Prince can marry no one but the girl who owns such a slipper.

Melchior has thought up a great invention - a candy making machine! The recipe for the candies is stolen by Dirty Rat, or rather by Melvin on his behalf, but they don't notice that part of it is missing. Dirty Rat, alias Mr. Clean, tries to sell the recipe to the Candy Man, but he doesn't want to buy until he has tried it out himself.

Melchior has invented a shoemaking machine. In just a few seconds Lisa has a new pair of shoes made out of a peculiar gel. Suddenly a hot-air balloon appears in the middle of the market place. Melchior, Yanna, Lapitch and Co. want to retrieve it, but the balloon is a trap devised by Dirty Rat.

Everyone's off to the grand ball in the city hall! Lapitch decides to go to the ball too, although he is embarrassed because he can't dance. In fact he never gets there: he is made unconscious by a person or persons unknown, and sleeps all through the ball. The guests are having fun, but Lisa misses Lapitch. Then she spots an old acquaintance - Dirty Rat.

Melvin is out fishing. He's in luck - he catches a goldfish. But when he lands it he can hardly believe his ears: the fish can talk. Its name is Joshua. And as everyone knows, if you throw a talking fish back in the water, it will grant your wish. Melvin takes the talking fish to Lapitch and Co while he decides what to wish for. Meanwhile, Elmer has told Dirty Rat about the fish and the free wish.

Lapitch and Co. are delivering mended shoes, and offering t heir services on the road. Their last call on this round is at a castle. But where there's a castle there is likely to be treasure, and Dirty Rat and his friends are not far off either. There is a race to get there, and Lapitch and Co. must surpass many obstacles before reaching their destination.

Percival, a little pig, is new in the village. He's very charming, specially to Lisa, but really he is deceiving everyone. Next day the villagers have a nasty shock: the whole village square has been wrecked. But Percival manages to divert suspicion from himself to the Pazinskys, who are innocent for once.

Lapitch has no key to his workshop! Melchior has invented a key that will open any lock. Unfortunately, no one notices an eavesdropper lurking in the background, overhearing this information. It's Dirty Rat, and he is determined to get hold of that key. Lisa gets Pico to guard the key, but he has been talking so much that he's lost his voice, and can't give warning when the key is stolen.

Melchior sets out for a great meeting of inventors on Diamond Mountain. He is going to give a talk about the secret of making Magic Boots. When he reaches the foot of the mountain, and is about to take an elevator to the top, he hears cries for help. They come from a cave, and the voice seems familiar - sure enough, it's Melvin.

Melchior and Lapitch are observing the night sky. A huge meteor is rumored to fall to earth, and Melchior sets off with Pico and Brewster to investigate it. Lisa and Lapitch hurry off to visit Yanna, who has a mysterious bowl that she believes will protect the town. All the townsfolk are terrified.

It is night. Otis and Elmer are planning to break into Lapitch's workshop, but Lapitch catches them in the act, and they run for it. The next day Lapitch will have a great deal of work to do if a large order he is expecting arrives by post. But Dirty Rat and the Pazinskys could wreck all that. They intend to find out the villagers' plans by reading their letters.

Yanna is cleaning her house. She has far too many books to rearrange. As she works on them, she tells Lapitch and Co. that books are worth more than gold. This is music to the ears of the three Pazinskys, who take it literally. The very next day the villagers find that all their books have disappeared.

Yanna and Melchior are practising the trumpet and tuba for the big music festival. Those famous musicians the Violinskys are expected. The Pazinskys attack the Violinskys, but the musicians can have their violins back in return for giving the Pazinskys some magic butterbeans. Not for long, however - Dirty Rat himself steps in, and steals the violins.

A peaceful day is disturbed by loud yelling from Melchior's workshop - he has hurt his foot. At the same time Lisa is sitting in a coach driven by Melvin, waiting for Melchior and Lapitch. Yanna gives Lisa a golden whistle just in case she gets lost. Lapitch and Melchior finally turn up, but since Melchior can only hobble he can't join the party.

A famous writer, Grimsdale, comes to town to finish his book. Lapitch is to be his personal assistant. Grimsdale is planning to stay in Melchior's house with his dog Poochie, and work on his book there. But the two of them are not easy guests. The Major has to tell the whole town to keep quiet so as not to disturb the great artist.

Yanna gets a letter from her old school. When she opens it, she sees a picture of Esmeralda Rottwart, and falls down in a faint. Suddenly Esmeralda herself appears in front of the friends. She is going to test Yanna's knowledge of herbs and the healing arts. Lapitch think this is rather a peculiar examination.

Lapitch and Co. go for a picnic. Suddenly a loud noise breaks the silence: it is Melchior with his new lawnmower. By mistake, he mows Yanna's weed garden, and there is bad feeling between them. Yanna sows more herbs, and Melchior mows them down again. In revenge, Yanna sows poppies whose pollen makes everyone fall asleep. Lapitch and Yanna have an antidote, and are immune to the pollen.

Melvin brings bad news: someone called the Great Bombasto is selling Magic Boots. When the Great Bombasto comes to Lapitch's town, the friends go to watch his sales pitch. These Magical Magic Boots do seem to be much more powerful than Lapitch's own boots. Lisa buys a pair of the wonderful Magic Boots, but they don't work at all. She has been cheated.

Brewster has kept the whole town awake all night with his howling. Lapitch has to do something. Yanna examines Brewster and discovers that he has bad toothache. He will have to go to the dentist - but he runs away and hides in the belfry. When the bells are rung, they drive him out of his hiding place, but he is still on the run.