"The Flute Smurfers" (original French title Les schtroumpfeurs de flûte) is a comic book story that was created and published on October 23, 2008 by Studio Peyo. It is the prequel to "The Smurfs And The Magic Flute" that was published to celebrate the Smurfs' 50th anniversary. It was mostly available in non-English comic book formats until its release in 2015 by Papercutz as part of The Smurfs and Friends Volume 1. It is also released in two parts, the first part as the secondary story of "The Smurf Reporter" and the second as that of "The Gambling Smurfs".
Plot Summary[]
The sorcerer Alderic seeks the aid of his old friend Papa Smurf to cure a peasant of an unfortunate condition called "Monotone Melancholy". Only the music of the magic flute made by the Smurfs can cure him of this condition. So the Smurfs work tirelessly to make a magic flute. Once completed, Papa Smurf and three other Smurfs fly by stork to Alderic's home.
To avoid accusations of sorcery, the Smurfs and Alderic wait until nightfall to take the flute over to the peasant's house. Alderic plays the flute and cures the peasant. Unfortunately, the village doctor happens to be passing by and witnesses the effects of the flute. Despising Alderic for being able to cure what he could not and fearing the village will lose faith in his ability to cure other ailments, the doctor hatches a plan to use the flute to get rid of Alderic by convincing the villagers that Alderic is using witchcraft to curse their animals.
As Alderic and the Smurfs are getting ready to leave the peasant's house, the doctor is able to snatch the flute away from Papa Smurf. The doctor returns to the village and plays the flute to cause the village animals to dance around wildly. Meanwhile, Papa and his Smurfs sneak into the village in search for the shadowy figure who stole their flute.
The villagers are all talking about how their animals are acting odd, when the doctor comes along and points them towards the sorcerer. The Smurfs are soon able to capture the doctor and retrieve the flute, but they realize that the villagers are on their way to Alderic's with torches, pitchforks, and sticks. The Smurfs ride on a stork to get to Alderic's house before the villagers. But they do not have enough time to get Alderic and escape. The villagers set the house on fire and break down the door. During the commotion, Papa Smurf is knocked out and the three other Smurfs have to carry him from the burning building.
By the time Papa wakes up, the villagers are carrying Alderic off. Fortunately for Alderic, Johan and Peewit happen to be traveling by and save him from the angry mob. With Alderic safe, the Smurfs head home, leaving the flute at the burned house. At the story's end, the traveling merchant finds the flute still intact and takes it with him on his travels to find a customer.
Notes[]
- In the French version of the book, the main story is accompanied by an article about the Smurfs which was titled as "Les Schtroumpfs Sans Effort" and was originally published on Spirou.
- The story shows a bit of a retcon as the Smurf Village is now located in the Smurf Forest instead of the Cursed Land as in "The Smurfs And The Magic Flute".