From: davideml@bellsouth.net   
      
   6-19     Many Happy Returns   
      
      
      
   First aired on May 14, 2001.   
      
   The story starts out with Xena and Gabrielle walking through the woods.   
   Gabrielle is trying to   
   guess what Xena has gotten for her for her birthday -- the next day. Xena   
   hints that before the   
   birthday surprise, there will be practical jokes. But when she promises there   
   will be no jokes, she   
   has her fingers crossed behind her.   
      
   Xena is carrying a large bag with a shoulder strap with the helmet of Hermes   
   inside. They are   
   taking it to King Thez (?) for his coronation in Thebes. Xena thinks she hears   
   something and takes   
   out a collapsible telescope to see, but she puts the large end to her eye.   
   Gabrielle takes it away   
   from her and looks through it the right way. She doesn't see anything, but   
   when she takes it down   
   from her eye, there is black ring around it.   
      
             Then they do hear something. Zealots have a young girl on a platform   
   and start rolling it   
   out over a cliff overlooking the sea. She is to be sacrificed. The head Zealot   
   starts to cut the   
   rope to release the platform but Xena's Chakram breaks his sword. They all   
   fight. The head Zealot   
   and another one pull up the stake holding the rope and the girl starts   
   falling. Xena, with the   
   helmet, dives off the cliff and catches the girl just in time. They fly off   
   leaving Gabrielle   
   behind. A young warrior is watching.   
      
             Xena flies the girl to the woods. She thinks she is dead and Xena is   
   a god. Xena takes   
   off the helmet and the girl is upset Xena spoiled her sacrifice. Gabrielle   
   runs up and as the girl   
   is berating Xena, she is distracted by the ring around Gabrielle's eye.   
   Gabrielle realizes she's   
   been tricked. She asks the girl that if Xena was a god would she be able to   
   tweak Xena's nose or   
   pinch her butt?   
      
             They decide to introduce her to Aphrodite.   
      
             Cut to the cave of Ferragus, a warlord. His son, Frankus reports   
   that the sacrifice was   
   interrupted. When he describes Xena, Ferragus recognizes her, and realizes she   
   has the helmet of   
   Hermes.   
      
             X&G and the girl, named Genia, come to a lake with a waterfall. They   
   decide to camp for   
   the night. While Genia is laying out furs to sleep on, X&G have set up camp   
   and have a fire going.   
   They are at the edge of the lake and dive in for a swim. Genia is too shy to   
   strip naked and join   
   them.   
      
             After dark they have fish for supper and Genia is upset she's eaten   
   a god's creatures and   
   decides to sleep on the cold hard ground. Gabrielle throws her a blanket.   
   Later after they are   
   asleep Gabrielle thinks Xena has her cold feet on her, but it is a black eel.   
   Gabrielle hits Xena   
   with her blanket and declares war.   
      
             The next morning Gabrielle is sitting by the fire and Xena is having   
   a morning swim.   
   Gabrielle tells Genia to never interrupt Xena's morning swim. Xena looks for   
   her clothes. They are   
   connected to a bucket of fish guts in a tree and they fall on Xena's head.   
   Gabrielle is now   
   worried, she thought Xena could catch the bucket. Xena wishes her a happy   
   birthday.   
      
             X&G and Genia enter one of Aphrodite's temples. When Xena calls for   
   her she appears with   
   two half naked men. One is rubbing her feet. Aphrodite says she thought   
   virgins were extinct. Genia   
   says Aphrodite is a myth to rob women of their virtue and strip men of their   
   pride. Aphrodite   
   agrees with the second part.   
      
             Aphrodite wishes Gabrielle a happy birthday. When Xena invites   
   Aphrodite to travel to   
   Thebes with them, Aphrodite spoils Xena's birthday surprise that Sappho is   
   appearing there. On the   
   road Aphrodite tries to convince Genia she IS a god by doing tricks, like   
   making a replica of the   
   bag that carries the helmet. Genia still doesn't believer her.   
      
             Once they get to Thebes, Genia is impressed by the city. Xena tells   
   them they have a show   
   to catch. But later in a tavern, Xena apologizes for getting the times wrong   
   for the show. She has   
   Gabrielle hold the bag while she gets food. Aphrodite tells her they switched   
   bags in the   
   marketplace and she has the one with the helmet. Xena says they were being   
   followed in the   
   marketplace and it may be the zealots.   
      
             Ferragus and his men go into tavern to get the helmet. Xena tells   
   Aphrodite to get Genia   
   to safety. She teleports them outside and Genia is now convinced she is a   
   goddess. Everyone fights   
   and the bag is thrown around some. It lands in front of Ferragus and he runs   
   off with it. When   
   Gabrielle tells Xena, she tells her she switched the bags, but Gabrielle says   
   she switched them   
   back.   
      
             When Xena calls for Aphrodite, she and Genia appear. Genia is   
   dressed much like Aphrodite   
   and says she is her new disciple. Xena says they have to go after the helmet   
   and she and Gabrielle   
   leave. Genia asks how can she worship the goddess of love if she's never   
   experienced it. Aphrodite   
   tells her to pick a man. She looks around and chooses Frankus, who's been   
   following them. Aphrodite   
   does a spell to make them fall in love. He asks her to marry him and they run   
   off together. The   
   head zealot sees them.   
      
             In Ferragus' cave, he is wearing the helmet and flying around   
   hitting his men with a   
   mace. Xena and Gabrielle are watching and just before she throws her Chakram,   
   Frankus and Genia run   
   in and Frankus says they are getting married. Aphrodite appears behind X&G and   
   realizes what she's   
   done. Xena has a plan and they leave.   
      
             The door bell to the cave rings and Frankus answers it. It is Xena   
   dressed as Genia's   
   father Anthrax, and Aphrodite is dressed as her mother Spitoonia. They have   
   brought a wedding   
   planner (Gabrielle) named Belle. While Belle distracts Ferragus, Anthrax and   
   Spitoonia take Genia   
   aside. Aphrodite takes the spell off of her and tell her stay hidden.   
      
             Belle has redressed Ferragus into wedding clothes, but when she   
   tries to take the helmet   
   off, he won't let her.  Anthrax starts talking about him being a warlord and   
   he starts showing off   
   his scars. When Anthrax blows them off, he takes off the helmet and puts it   
   back in the bag to show   
   off the scar on his head Xena put there. They switch the bags and Aphrodite   
   takes it to Genia, then   
   teleports her back to the market place, right in front of the zealots, who   
   drag her off. Anthrax,   
   Spitoonia and Belle leave.   
      
             Ferragus looks into the bag and the helmet is missing. Then the head   
   zealot comes in and   
   throws him the other bag, which is empty. He says he will give Ferragus the   
   helmet if they can make   
   a deal.   
      
      
   [continued in next message]   
      
   --- SoupGate-Win32 v1.05   
    * Origin: you cannot sedate... all the things you hate (1:229/2)