"The Smurfs And The Book That Tells Everything" (original French title Les Schtroumpfs et le livre qui dit tout) is a comic book story that was created and published by Studio Peyo in 2008.
Characters[]
- Brainy Smurf
- Papa Smurf
- Hefty Smurf
- Handy Smurf
- Smurfette
- Chef Smurf
- Greedy Smurf
- Dopey Smurf
- Farmer Smurf
- Vanity Smurf
- Poet Smurf
- Jokey Smurf
- Lazy Smurf
- Grouchy Smurf
- Tailor Smurf
- Potter Smurf
- Painter Smurf
- Flighty Smurf
- Baby Smurf
- Homnibus (Mentioned only)
- Unnamed Smurfs
Plot Summary[]
Papa Smurf leaves the Smurf Village to visit Homnibus, and Brainy Smurf decides to clean Papa Smurf's lab to surprise him, but then he finds a book with the pages blank save for the page number. Suddenly, as Brainy turns to the title page, the book says "hello", which scares Brainy Smurf. The book then says it can answer any question, so Brainy Smurf asks Papa Smurf's age, to test the book. The book tells Brainy Smurf to check page 36, which isn't blank anymore, and says Papa Smurf is 542 years old, which Brainy Smurf recognizes is right.
After further confirming the book's knowledge, Brainy Smurf jumps happily, which calls Hefty Smurf's attention. Brainy Smurf tells him about the book, so Hefty Smurf asks the book how to become stronger, so the book sends him to page 13 where there is a recipe for an ointment. Chef Smurf and Greedy Smurf hear about the book from Hefty Smurf, so Chef Smurf asks the recipe for a souffle, then Smurfette and Vanity Smurf hear Chef Smurf talking about the book, and so on, as word is spread around the Smurf Village.
Everybody goes to Brainy Smurf in order to ask questions to the book, until it depletes its energy and needs a rest before answering more questions. When Brainy Smurf takes the book to his house, the other Smurfs try to take it away from him, but he asks the book for a way to avert others from using it, and the book sends him to page 88 where there is a voice identification spell; now Brainy Smurf is the book's guardian and nobody can ask a question without his approval (not even Jokey Smurf wearing glasses can manage to trick the book).
Brainy Smurf asks the book for a quiet place where he could attend the Smurfs' questions in an ordered way, and the book guides him to The Old Tower. It needs some repairs, so Brainy Smurf asks Handy Smurf for help, and the other Smurfs help Handy Smurf in order to get into Brainy Smurf's good graces. Brainy Smurf names Dopey Smurf as his assistant, since he's obedient and lacks malice. Handy Smurf and Hefty Smurf move Brainy Smurf's stuff to the tower.
The following day, there's a long line of Smurfs at the tower's door. Each Smurf is guided by Dopey Smurf, one at a time, through a long staircase, and Brainy Smurf awaits upstairs, in a new costume (see cover image), where he allows the corresponding Smurf to ask a question to the book.
After some time, dependence towards the book escalates to a point where nobody does anything without asking the book first, and the Smurfs do anything the book says; Potter Smurf digs another Smurf's garden because the book told him there was the best clay, and Vanity Smurf cuts flowers from Smurfette's garden because they are needed for a formula told by the book, for an ointment that erases wrinkles around the eyes.
Flighty Smurf doesn't know what to ask to the book, until he leaves the tower and remembers he wanted to ask for a method to improve his memory. Another Smurf asks for a way to have Smurfette love him, and the book tells him Smurfette will love him if he gathers the qualities of all the Smurfs, and this makes Brainy Smurf notice that he should ban certain questions (because Smurfette should love HIM). Dopey Smurf asks the book for a way to rest from his job guiding Smurfs through the stairs, and the book suggests he should exchange places with Brainy Smurf from time to time, which Brainy Smurf dismisses this as a joke, but at least offers to finish for that day after seeing one more Smurf. Then Jokey Smurf asks the book how could he make questions to it without Brainy Smurf being involved, so Brainy Smurf angrily closes the book and the tower is closed for the rest of the day. Chef Smurf makes lentil soup for all the Smurfs, while Brainy Smurf gets a puff pastry with morel mushrooms, and Dopey Smurf (who, as the assistant, also has privileges), asks for a piece of melon for dessert, but the "melon" is actually a pumpkin.
Papa Smurf returns to the Smurf Village and finds the Smurfs have been using the Book That Tells Everything, and explains to Smurfette and Vanity Smurf that the book answers every question, yet does not warn about the consequences of the solutions used (for example, Vanity Smurf's ointment did what the book said, but also gave him horrible button-shaped marks, so he's wearing a shopping bag on his head, and the one that made Hefty Smurf stronger, now causes him so much pain that he needs crutches to walk).
Papa Smurf goes to the Old Tower to explain Brainy Smurf that the book is causing catastrophe and sowing discord, but Brainy Smurf believes he's just jealous. Papa Smurf is then ejected from the tower, and after he throws a terrible fit, he collapses and is brought home to his house where he drinks a smurfonade laced with a solution the book gave Lazy to cure insomnia, only to wake up later and find that he is sealed inside his house.
Papa Smurf recognizes that he cannot convince the Smurfs that their dependence on the book is wrong, so he leaves the Smurf Village until they understand by themselves. Hefty Smurf, Smurfette, and Vanity Smurf help Papa Smurf move into the cave of Mount Smurf. Smurfette returns to the cave from time to time to bring Papa Smurf some food.
Another Smurf arrives to the cave with a sick Painter Smurf, who got intoxicated making paint of a new color recommended by the book. This Smurf decides to remain in the cave with Papa Smurf, not only to help attending Painter Smurf, but also because he asked the book for a deodorant to eliminate a strange odor from his house, but the deodorant's odor was giving him nausea.
A rain causes the dam to overflow. Papa Smurf finds out and goes to the Old Tower to warn the Smurfs, but Brainy Smurf tells them that he will ask the book for a solution for the upcoming flood. However, the book needs a rest and everybody awaits for it to recharge, much to Papa Smurf's chagrin. Then the dam breaks and everybody runs away, except for Brainy Smurf who gets caught by the flood. Smurfette tells Papa Smurf that she couldn't find Baby Smurf. Brainy Smurf, swimming while carrying the book, finds Baby Smurf on a little sliver of land in the torrent. Brainy Smurf doesn't know how to carry both Baby Smurf and book to safety, so he asks the book for help and it responds by telling him that it's too important and that he should give up Baby. Enraged by that prospect, Brainy tosses the book into the river before grabbing Baby Smurf and swimming to the shore.
After everybody is safe, Papa Smurf talks to Brainy Smurf about how the book can have one losing his head, but at the end Brainy Smurf took the right decision. When another Smurf adds that it was convenient to have a book with every answer anyways, Brainy Smurf gets the idea of writing a wide ensmurfopedia encompassing all the knowledge of the Smurfs.
Notes[]
- The Old Tower looks different than the one shown in "The Smurfs And the Howlibird", but it's seemingly intended to be the same place.
- The first of two appearances of Potter Smurf (the second being in "Smurf & Turf") and the first comic book in which Flighty Smurf appears named (his first appearance is in "King Smurf").
- A veiled reference to how Peyo came up with the idea of the Smurf language appears in the original French version and the Papercutz edition.
- This is the first comic story where Brainy Smurf is the central character. He was the central character in several episodes of the cartoon series.
In Other Media[]
- Sassette comes across a magic book with no writing unless it magically appears in the cartoon show episode "Bookworm Smurf", with which she makes all the books in the world disappear.