"The Smurf's Apprentice" (original French title L'Apprenti Schtroumpf) is a 40-page comic book story created and published by Peyo in 1971. It has been adapted into the cartoon show episode of the same name and has also been currently reprinted in English by Papercutz as "The Smurf Apprentice". It includes two other stories apart from its titular one: Smurftraps and The Smurfs And The Mole (though the original French version included Smurftraps and Romeo and Smurfette). The story was originally sponsored by chocolate company Kwatta.
Characters[]
The Smurf Apprentice[]
- Alchemist Smurf
- Papa Smurf
- Gargamel
- Azrael
- Jokey Smurf
- Farmer Smurf
- Brainy Smurf
- Greedy Smurf
- Dopey Smurf
- Harmony Smurf
- Unnamed Smurfs
Smurftraps[]
The Smurfs And The Mole[]
- Miss Mole
- Papa Smurf
- Jokey Smurf
- Brainy Smurf
- Handy Smurf
- Baker Smurf
- Chef Smurf
- Lazy Smurf
- Gargamel
- Azrael
- Smurfette (Mentioned only)
- Unnamed Smurfs
Plot Summary[]
The Smurf Apprentice[]
A Smurf wants to learn magic and alchemy. After some failed attempts of getting Papa Smurf's magic book, he goes to Gargamel's lab and steals one page of his magic book. However, what the potion written on the page does is written in the following page, so the only way to know what the potion does is testing it. After some failed attempt of giving the potion to the other Smurfs , the Apprentice Smurf drinks it himself and becomes a green lizard-like monster that the other Smurfs (save for Papa Smurf) are afraid of. Not one of Papa Smurf's attempts on an antidote works, so the Apprentice Smurf goes to Gargamel's lab after the antidote but is captured. Papa Smurf leads the other Smurfs to save him, and then they make the antidote that restores the Apprentice to his normal Smurf appearance. At the end of the story, Apprentice appears to be mixing another magic formula, but is revealed to instead be mixing up a recipe for a smurf cake.
Smurftraps[]
Gargamel prepares a series of traps to capture the Smurfs, while they are playing hide-and-seek. Brainy Smurf is trapped by a book, Greedy Smurf is immobilized by a sticky cake, Grouchy Smurf follows a series of directions that lead him to a hole, and so on. But the Smurf who was counting watches when Gargamel catches the last of his playmates and goes to the village to tell Papa Smurf, who then organizes all the remaining Smurfs for a rescue mission. However, Gargamel catches all the rescue party, save for Papa Smurf, with a giant net. Gargamel makes the Smurfs do slave labor on his home, but Papa Smurf arrives at night and leaves a trace of gold coins near Gargamel's bed. When Gargamel awakens, he finds the trace and follows it to a chest where Papa Smurf traps him. Papa Smurf releases the Smurfs, and they leave Gargamel's home.
Romeos And Smurfette []
A series of one-page sketches revolving around Smurfette.
Publication and other media[]
The story "The Smurf's Apprentice" was originally sponsored by Kwatta. The logo of it is at the bottom.
- In the Hanna-Barbera cartoon version of "The Smurf's Apprentice", Clumsy Smurf is the one who becomes the apprentice rather than the then-unnamed Smurf from the comic (who would later be named Alchemist Smurf or Apprentice Smurf).
- Part of "Smurftraps" was used in the cartoon show episode "All That Glitters Isn't Smurf", when Gargamel creates a series of similar traps to capture Smurfs in order to create his formula for making gold.
- Also, the similar traps Gargamel used to trap Jokey, Brainy, and Greedy were also reappeared in the Sega CD intro of the Smurfs 1994 video game.
- "The Smurfs And The Mole" (French title Une taupe chez les Schtroumpfs) originally appeared as one of five stories in the 1991 French comic album "The Strange Awakening Of Lazy Smurf" (Fr. L'étrange réveil du Schtroumpf paresseux).