As Jackson was dragged to the deck, he saw a group of pirates who were busy doing various tasks. Some were steering the ship, some were cleaning the cannons, some were cooking food, some were playing music, and some were dancing and singing. They all looked happy and cheerful. They wore colorful clothes and accessories. They had tattoos and scars and piercings. They had parrots and monkeys and dogs as pets. They looked like a bunch of clowns.
The captain shouted to the crew, "Ahoy mates! I have a surprise for you. We have a new member of our family. His name is Jackson and he came from a hole in my cabin. Say hello to him!"
The pirates stopped what they were doing and looked at Jackson. They smiled and waved and cheered. They said things like, "Welcome aboard lad!", "Nice to meet you mate!", "You're one lucky fellow!", "You'll have a blast with us!", and "Don't be shy lad, we're all friends here!"
Jackson felt overwhelmed by the pirates' enthusiasm. He felt like he was in a circus. He didn't want to be here. He didn't want to be their friend. He wanted to go back home.
He tried to pull away from the captain and said, "No, no, no! I don't want to be here! I don't want to be a pirate! Let me go!"
The captain smiled and said, "Oh lad, don't be silly. You can't go back home. You're one of us now. You're a Happy Pirate!"
He hugged Jackson and said, "Trust me lad, you'll love it here. We have so much fun and adventure and treasure waiting for you. You'll never be bored or sad or lonely again. You'll be happy like us."
He lifted Jackson up in the air and said, "Come on mates, let's celebrate our new friend! Let's sing our pirate song!"
The pirates cheered and clapped and started to sing a catchy tune:
We are the Happy Pirates
We sail the seven seas
We seek adventure and treasure
And we do it with ease
We are the Happy Pirates
We're nice and kind and good
We don't hurt anyone unless
They're mean or rude or rude
We are the Happy Pirates
We share everything we find
We help each other out
And we leave no one behind
We are the Happy Pirates
We're cheerful all the time
We laugh and dance and sing
And we have a lot of fun
We are the Happy Pirates
We're happy as can be
We love our life and we love our crew
And we love our new friend Jackson!
The pirates sang louder and louder as they danced around Jackson. They threw confetti and balloons at him. They hugged him and kissed him and tickled him. They made him wear a pirate hat and a pirate coat and a pirate sword. They made him drink rum and eat meat and cheese. They made him join their song and dance.
Jackson felt like he was going crazy. He hated everything about this. He hated the pirates. He hated their song. He hated their happiness.
He screamed at the top of his lungs, "Stop it! Stop it! Stop it! I hate you all! I hate this! I hate being a pirate! Let me go!"
But the pirates didn't listen to him. They didn't hear him. They didn't care about him.
They just kept singing and dancing and celebrating.
They were the Happy Pirates. And they were happy.