Four Days of Summer
by David Welbourn (2017)

In this pleasant and silly game, spend the first four days of July with your friend David, a shameless author insertion character who seems inordinately fond of making interactive fiction references.

action: %
response: "Happy Canada Day!", says your friend David. Oh, that's right. It's Canada's 150th anniversary today. You suppose you should go do something Canadian to mark the occasion.

"Let's go to Tim Hortons for donuts!" suggests David. Sure. That'll do.

Your apartment has all sorts of nice furnishings, but right now you don't care about any of them because they are not donuts. If you want any donuts, yummy yummy donuts, you'll have to leave the apartment to the east.

You can see David and your pet hedgehog here.
action: You look at David
response: Oh, you've known David for years. He's a nice guy and all, but he'll talk about obscure bits of interactive fiction at the slightest excuse. And he's played so much "I. F.", as he calls it, he has lots of excuses.
action: You leave the apartment
response: I only understood you as far as wanting to leave.

> E

David says, "Bah, humbug. First you comb your hair. Then we can go get donuts."
action: You examine the hedgehog
response: You named your hedgehog Kipling because one of his "Just So Stories" involves a hedgehog and a tortoise who turned themselves into armadillos. He's not at all cuddly because of his spikes, but on the other hand, he's pretty laidback and has never given you any trouble.
action: You comb hair
response: What do you want to comb your hair with?
action: You get the Kipling
response: You pick up the spiky critter.
action: You comb the hair with the Kipling
response: You carefully comb your hair, using your hedgehog as a substitute comb. "I can't believe I'm doing this," you say.

"Did you get my 'Humbug' clue?" David asks. "You have to comb your hair with a hedgehog in that game."

You pointedly ignore him.
action: No
response: That was a rhetorical question.
action: You throw Kipling at David
response: You lack the nerve when it comes to the crucial moment.
action: Comb david
response: (with your pet hedgehog)
David doesn't need combing.
action: You look around
response: Your apartment has all sorts of nice furnishings, but right now you don't care about any of them because they are not donuts. If you want any donuts, yummy yummy donuts, you'll have to leave the apartment to the east.

You can see David here.
action: East
response: As you head out the door, you ask "So why did I have to have nice hair to go to Timmy's? Isn't that a bit silly?"

"Not as silly as watching you try to comb your hair with a hedgehog, eh?" says David, grinning.

Soon the two of you are enjoying a nice breakfast of donuts and double-doubles. But alas, breakfast eventually ends and now you're both standing outside the restaurant, thinking about the future.

Loitering outside a Timmy's isn't a habit you want to get into. You might start questioning why there isn't an apostrophe in "Tim Hortons" and such questions lead to madness. Or maybe just to Quebec. Speaking of ways to go, your apartment is back west and an uncertain future is to the east.

David says, "Oh, um, here's a red ketchup I 'borrowed' from the restaurant. You might find it useful later."
action: You look at the ketchup
response: Red ketchup is the best ketchup, but that's not saying much. Ketchup never appealed to you much.
action: You eat the ketchup
response: David stops you from possibly making the game unwinnable.
action: You examine the hair
response: Your hair is all nicely combed. Well done.
action: You look at the furnishings
response: As you try to examine your furnishings like some noob player, David says, "I heard that Timmy's brought Dutchies back."

"Wow, really? I love those things. But I thought they were discontinued."

"They were, but now they're back to celebrate Canada Day."
action: You get the furnishings
response: They're hardly portable.
action: Look around
response: Your apartment has all sorts of nice furnishings, but right now you don't care about any of them because the rest of the game is outside the apartment to the east.

You can see David here.
action: East
response: Loitering outside a Timmy's isn't a habit you want to get into. You might start questioning why there isn't an apostrophe in "Tim Hortons" and such questions lead to madness. Or maybe just to Quebec. Speaking of ways to go, your apartment is back west and an uncertain future is to the east.
action: Go east
response: You step into the future...

The desert island you find yourself on is pretty desolate. The only thing of interest is a lone palm tree.

"Did that say Dessert Island?" you ask. "Shouldn't that be
Desert Island?"

"Yeah, looks like a typo," David agrees.

A small motorboat is parked at the edge of the beach.
action: You look at the tree
response: You know what a palm tree looks like. You suppose you could climb up it if you really wanted to.
action: You examine the motorboat
response: David wanted to go on another adventure, so he rented this boat, and long story short, now you're stuck here. Somehow he "forgot" to bring enough gas for a return trip.
action: You climb the tree
response: You climb up the palm tree...

Goodness there's a lot of large leaves up here.
action: You look at the leaves
response: These large leaves could be hiding anything.
action: You get the leaves
response: They're hardly portable.
action: You eat the leaves
response: They're plainly inedible.
action: You look
response: Goodness there's a lot of large leaves up here.

You can see David here.
action: You give the leaves to David
response: (first taking the large leaves)
They're hardly portable.
action: You jump
response: You jump on the spot.
action: Inventory
response: You are carrying:
a red ketchup
action: Go downward
response: You climb back down the tree.

The desert island you find yourself on is pretty desolate. The only thing of interest is a lone palm tree.

A small motorboat is parked at the edge of the beach.
action: You examine the boat
response: David wanted to go on another adventure, so he rented this boat, and long story short, now you're stuck here. Somehow he "forgot" to bring enough gas for a return trip.
action: You search tree
response: Hidden in the shade of the palm tree, you find a can of gasoline. You take it. Why are things always in the last place you look?
action: Look around
response: The desert island you find yourself on is pretty desolate. The only thing of interest is a lone palm tree.

A small airplane is parked at the edge of the beach.

You can also see David here.
action: You get can
response: You already have that.
action: You look at the airplane
response: David wanted to go on another adventure, so he rented this plane, and long story short, now you're stuck here. Somehow he "forgot" to bring enough gas for a return trip.
action: You enter the boat
response: You hand over the can of gasoline. "Oh, well done," says David. "That's just what we need to get home. Now I can refill the airplane. Er... what's wrong?"

"Wasn't that airplane a motorboat before?"

"Oh, like in Shade, when the potted hyacinth turned into a cactus? That was really spooky!"

Feeling a headache coming on, you follow David into the plane for the trip home.

It's the end of another day. The past is to the west. The future is east.

"Guess what?" David asks. "I found some white chocolate on the plane on the way back. It was in a second hidden compartment inside the first hidden compartment. Here. I think you might need it."

"So what are we doing tomorrow?" you ask, looking east.

"I dunno. We'll think of something."
action: You think
response: What a good idea.
action: You look around
response: It's the end of another day. The past is to the west. The future is east.

You can see David here.
action: Go east
response: You walk into the future...

It seems like you guys decided to do a bit of grocery shopping. There's a lot of different pastas and sauces here. The ends of the aisle are to the north and south.

"Gnocchi," David intones solemnly. "I haven't had any gnocchi since.... Rome."

"Stop that," you say. "Just... just stop."
action: You look at the pasta
response: You peruse the pastas. "Macaroni, spaghetti, spaghettini, bow-ties, egg noodles,... there's no gnocchi here," you tell David.

"Clare isn't here either," he replies.

"Who's Clare?"

"Who do you want her to be?"
action: You look around
response: It seems like you guys decided to do a bit of grocery shopping. There's a lot of different pastas and sauces here. The ends of the aisle are to the north and south.

You can see David here.
action: Inventory
response: You are carrying:
a white chocolate
a red ketchup

"Why did I bring food into a grocery store?" you ask.

"That's what you're worried about?" David asks.

"It's not like I have a receipt for these things you keep giving me."
action: South
response: "So we're not going to buy anything?" you ask.

"Didn't say that," David says. "Aisle meet you outside."

No one deliberately goes to a parking lot for itself. A parking lot isn't a destination. It's an in-between place between where you were and where you're going. Which would be west and east, respectively.

"Here ya go," says David, handing you some blue berries.

"And these will be useful when?"

"Tomorrow", he says, pointing east.
action: You look at the berries
response: You find blueberries very appealing.
action: East
response: One more step into the future...

I gotta say, the United States has some weird tourist traps. Take this "Tater Island", a weird potato museum in... well, you're not really sure which state you're in. But it's different, you gotta give it points for originality. The exit is to the west.

A potato peeler is just lying on the ground here!

You can also see a lunar map here.
action: You take the peeler
response: Wow. You've never found a potato peeler before. "I don't have to shave a yak with this thing, do I?" you ask.

"Of course not, you peel things with it," David says, as if
this ought to be obvious.
action: You take the peeler
response: You already have that.
action: You peel the chocolate with the peeler
response: You peel the "white" off the white chocolate!

David asks, "That's neat. Can you put the colour back on it too?"
action: You look at the white
response: It's the essence of whiteness that you peeled off the chocolate.
action: Peel berries
response: You peel the "blue" off the blue berries!
action: Inventory
response: You are carrying:
a blue peel
a white peel
a potato peeler
some plain berries
a plain chocolate
a red ketchup
action: You peel ketchup with peeler
response: You peel the "red" off the red ketchup!
action: You put the blue on the ketchup
response: Neat. You now have a blue ketchup.
action: You examine the blue ketchup
response: Blue ketchup? Oh, that's just wrong.
action: You peel the ketchup with the peeler
response: You peel the "blue" off the blue ketchup!
action: You put the blue on the ketchup
response: Cool. You now have a blue ketchup.
action: Inventory
response: You are carrying:
a red peel
a white peel
a potato peeler
some plain berries
a plain chocolate
a blue ketchup
action: You put white on the ketchup
response: But the blue ketchup is already blue!
action: You put the red on the chocolate
response: Huh. You now have a red chocolate.
action: You examine the red chocolate
response: It's like red velvet cake but without the cake part.
action: Look around
response: I gotta say, the United States has some weird tourist traps. Take this "Tater Island", a weird potato museum in... well, you're not really sure which state you're in. But it's different, you gotta give it points for originality. The exit is to the west.

You can see David and a lunar map here.
action: You put the white on the berries
response: Cool. You now have a white berries.
action: You look at white berries
response: Careful. If these white berries are from mistletoe, they'll be very poisonous.
action: You look at the map
response: The centerpiece of the musuem is a relief map of the Moon's surface, lovingly rendered in mashed potatoes. You fancy you can hear those musical notes from Close Encounters of the Third Kind in the background.

In the middle of the map, in the Sea of Tranquility, there is a faded colourless flag.
action: Peel ketchup
response: You peel the "blue" off the blue ketchup!
action: Peel chocolate
response: You peel the "red" off the red chocolate!
action: You put the red on the flag
response: You add the red peel to the faded flag, restoring some of its old glory.
action: Peel berries
response: You peel the "white" off the white berries!
action: You put the white on the flag
response: You add the white peel to the faded flag, restoring some of its old glory.
action: You put the Blue on the flag
response: You add the blue peel to the faded flag, restoring some of its old glory.

The flag, fully restored to its old glory, proudly displays the Red, White, and Blue for everyone to see. You hear fireworks explode in the sky above.

"Filfre: gratuitous fireworks," David whispers in your ear.

"Shh," you whisper back.
action: Xyzzy
response: David says, "I'm sorry. Would you like some tea? Here you go." He hands you a green tea.
action: Peel tea
response: You peel the "green" off the green tea!
action: You put the green on the tea
response: Huh. You now have a green tea.
action: You examine the tea
response: Green tea, eh? How distressingly healthy. Did they flavour this with lawn clippings?
action: You put the green on the chocolate
response: Neat. You now have a green chocolate.
action: You examine the green chocolate
response: Huh. Green chocolate smells like pistachio nuts.
action: You check your inventory
response: You are carrying:
a plain tea
a blue peel
a potato peeler
some plain berries
a green chocolate
a plain ketchup
action: Peel chocolate
response: You peel the "green" off the green chocolate!
action: You put the green on the ketchup
response: Cool. You now have a green ketchup.
action: You examine ketchup
response: Is green ketchup made from green tomatoes?
action: Peel ketchup
response: You peel the "green" off the green ketchup!
action: You put the green on the berries
response: Huh. You now have a green berries.
action: Yes
response: cheapglulxe quit with exit status: 0
action: %
response: "Happy Canada Day!", says your friend David. Oh, that's right. It's Canada's 150th anniversary today. You suppose you should go do something Canadian to mark the occasion.

"Let's go to Tim Hortons for donuts!" suggests David. Sure. That'll do.

Your apartment has all sorts of nice furnishings, but right now you don't care about any of them because they are not donuts. If you want any donuts, yummy yummy donuts, you'll have to leave the apartment to the east.

You can see David and your pet hedgehog here.
action: You look at the hair
response: Your hair is a maze of twisty little protein strands.
action: You take the pet
response: You pick up the spiky critter.
action: You comb hair
response: (with your pet hedgehog)
You carefully comb your hair, using your hedgehog as a substitute comb. "I can't believe I'm doing this," you say.

"Did you get my 'Humbug' clue?" David asks. "You have to comb your hair with a hedgehog in that game."

You pointedly ignore him.
action: You go east
response: As you head out the door, you ask "So why did I have to have nice hair to go to Timmy's? Isn't that a bit silly?"

"Not as silly as watching you try to comb your hair with a hedgehog, eh?" says David, grinning.

Soon the two of you are enjoying a nice breakfast of donuts and double-doubles. But alas, breakfast eventually ends and now you're both standing outside the restaurant, thinking about the future.

Loitering outside a Timmy's isn't a habit you want to get into. You might start questioning why there isn't an apostrophe in "Tim Hortons" and such questions lead to madness. Or maybe just to Quebec. Speaking of ways to go, your apartment is back west and an uncertain future is to the east.

David says, "Oh, um, here's a red ketchup I 'borrowed' from the restaurant. You might find it useful later."
action: Go west
response: "You can't just walk off the island," says David impatiently.

"I don't see why not. We walked east from Tim Hortons to get here, didn't we?"

"No, no, that was yesterday. All sorts of things happened
between then and now. And we rented a boat to get here, remember?"
action: You go east
response: "Look, see if you can find some fuel around here. Search everything. There's bound to be something that can help us," David says.
action: Go upwards
response: You climb up the palm tree...

Goodness there's a lot of large leaves up here.
action: Search leaves
response: Behind a cluster of particularly large leaves, you find a can of gasoline. You take it. Why are things always in the last place you look?
action: Go down
response: You climb back down the tree.

The desert island you find yourself on is pretty desolate. The only thing of interest is a lone palm tree.

A small airplane is parked at the edge of the beach.
action: You give the can to David
response: You hand over the can of gasoline. "Oh, well done," says David. "That's just what we need to get home. Now I can refill the airplane. Er... what's wrong?"

"Wasn't that airplane a motorboat before?"

"Oh, like in Shade, when the potted hyacinth turned into a cactus? That was really spooky!"

Feeling a headache coming on, you follow David into the plane for the trip home.

It's the end of another day. The past is to the west. The future is east.

"Guess what?" David asks. "I found some white chocolate on the plane on the way back. It was in a second hidden compartment inside the first hidden compartment. Here. I think you might need it."

"So what are we doing tomorrow?" you ask, looking east.

"I dunno. We'll think of something."
action: You go to the west
response: You step into the past...

No one deliberately goes to a parking lot for itself. A parking lot isn't a destination. It's an in-between place between where you were and where you're going. Which would be west and east, respectively.
action: Go west
response: You step into the past...

It's the end of another day. The past is to the west. The future is east.
action: Go west
response: You walk into the past...

Loitering outside a Timmy's isn't a habit you want to get into. You might start questioning why there isn't an apostrophe in "Tim Hortons" and such questions lead to madness. Or maybe just to Quebec. Speaking of ways to go, your apartment is back west and an uncertain future is to the east.
action: Go west
response: Your apartment has all sorts of nice furnishings, but right now you don't care about any of them because the rest of the game is outside the apartment to the east.

You can see your pet hedgehog here.
action: You go to the east
response: You step into the future...

It's the end of another day. The past is to the west. The future is east.
action: Go east
response: You walk into the future...

No one deliberately goes to a parking lot for itself. A parking lot isn't a destination. It's an in-between place between where you were and where you're going. Which would be west and east, respectively.
action: You go to the east
response: One more step into the future...

I gotta say, the United States has some weird tourist traps. Take this "Tater Island", a weird potato museum in... well, you're not really sure which state you're in. But it's different, you gotta give it points for originality. The exit is to the west.

You can see a lunar map here.
action: You put the pet on the map
response: Putting things on the lunar map would achieve nothing.

> PEEL HEDGEHOG

You can't peel your pet hedgehog.
action: Peel ketchup
response: You peel the "red" off the red ketchup!

David asks, "That's neat. Can you put the colour back on it too?"
action: Peel chocolate
response: You peel the "white" off the white chocolate!
action: Peel berries
response: You peel the "blue" off the blue berries!
action: Peel tea
response: You peel the "green" off the green tea!
action: You put Red on the tea
response: Neat. You now have a red tea.
action: You look at the tea
response: Looks like hibiscus tea. Very herbal.
action: You look at the tea
response: You peel the "red" off the red tea!

Amazing. You now have a white tea.

Oh nice. You've never had white tea before.
action: You examine the tea
response: You peel the "white" off the white tea!

Huh. You now have a blue tea.

You frown. The blue tea smells like elderberries.
action: You examine ketchup
response: You peel the "blue" off the blue tea!

Cool. You now have a white ketchup.

Whoever heard of white ketchup? Is this ranch dressing now?
action: You examine the chocolate
response: You peel the "white" off the white ketchup!

Huh. You now have a blue chocolate.

You look at the blue chocolate with horror.
action: You put red on the berries
response: Cool. You now have a red berries.
action: You examine the berries
response: They're not strawberries or raspberries. They're some other sort of red berries that you don't recognize.
action: Xyzzy
response: David says, "Hm. You've already got tea, so I'll have to give you no tea." He then somehow hands you no tea which makes the tea you were carrying vanish.

"You wouldn't believe how useful a lack of common sense can be, sometimes," David remarks as if quoting a guide book.
action: Inventory
response: You are carrying:
a white peel
a green peel
your pet hedgehog
a potato peeler
some red berries
a blue chocolate
a plain ketchup
action: Xyzzy
response: David says, "I'm sorry. Would you like some tea? Here you go." He hands you a green tea.
action: Inventory
response: You are carrying:
a plain tea
a white peel
a green peel
your pet hedgehog
a potato peeler
some red berries
a blue chocolate
a plain ketchup
action: You drop the tea
response: Dropped.
action: You go east
response: Loitering outside a Timmy's isn't a habit you want to get into. You might start questioning why there isn't an apostrophe in "Tim Hortons" and such questions lead to madness. Or maybe just to Quebec. Speaking of ways to go, your apartment is back west and an uncertain future is to the east.
action: You pull the hair
response: Nothing obvious happens.
action: You get the hair
response: That seems to be a part of yourself.
action: Yes
response: cheapglulxe quit with exit status: 0