Chapter 3

Traveler went inside Papa Smurf's house and watched as he put Smurfette into a sleeping trance while she was standing up. Then with another spell, he caused her physical form to revert back into blue clay while her spirit form remained suspended.

"Let's see...the Adam's Rib Spell," Papa Smurf said as he mixed the formula that he found in his books for turning creatures into real Smurfs, "One drop of dew from a morning glory...some ground-up mother-of-pearl...a sprinkle of moon dust...rays of golden starlight...ashes from a lily of the valleys...oil of myrrh...a bit of Smurf essence...and finally, the rib bone of a male Smurf." With the formula mixed together, Papa Smurf poured it onto the blue clay, causing it to glow a bright blue. He then raised up a magic wand and said, "And now with the power of all I command, Smurfette become Smurf, and before me stand."

And with the final incantation, her spirit form was cast back into the blue clay. The clay glowed briefly white for a bit, and then it slowly morphed into a new appearance -- the golden-haired beauty that was the current version of Smurfette.

When she opened her eyes and looked at herself in the mirror, she realized at that point that she was forever changed.  She was now a real Smurf, though she also did feel a bit embarrassed because she now had no clothes.  Papa Smurf cast a final spell that made a simple dress, a hat, and some low-heeled shoes appear on her before he presented the new form of Smurfette.

The other Smurfs who were waiting outside Papa Smurf's house could not believe their eyes when they saw Smurfette as she now appeared before them.  To them, she looked even more beautiful than how she looked when she wasn't a real Smurf.  They felt an unusual stirring within themselves that just couldn't be contained for long.  Traveler and Papa Smurf realized that it must be love, or at least the natural male attraction to a female. Soon every Smurf found themselves fighting each other just to be near Smurfette.  Papa Smurf gallantly decided to escort Smurfette to her house where she would be safe.

"How do you feel now that you are a real Smurf?" he asked.

"I don't know, Papa Smurf," Smurfette answered.  "Somehow I just don't feel any different than how I was!  I know that I am now a real Smurf, but I just don't feel like one!"

Papa Smurf sighed.  "Someday, somehow, you will find it in yoursmurf to know what it feels like to be a real Smurf," he told Smurfette.

Apparently, it didn't take Smurfette long to figure out how being a real Smurf felt like.  She noticed that her magic locket was glowing, though she had no idea why.  She picked it up and opened it, and found herself startled to see the face of an evil wizard that looked vaguely familiar inside the locket.  "Who are you?" she asked.

"Your master, Gargamel, who is wondering why you are taking so long to destroy those wretched little Smurfs," the face answered sternly.

Smurfette seemed to have forgotten that Gargamel was her master, but she had to find some way to respond to him.  "Uh, Papa Smurf had used his magic to smurf a whole new look for me," she told Gargamel as honestly as she could. "Don't you like it?"

"You look more lovely than you did when I first created you, Smurfette," Gargamel commented, masking his sincerity.  "I'm sure you would want to thank Papa Smurf for making you into what you are now.  And I would very much want to give him and all his little Smurfs a present, if you would kindly do the honors of inviting them out into the forest by the great oak tree."

"You would?" Smurfette asked.  Whoever this Gargamel is, he didn't sound like anyone really evil to her.  "Oh, thank you, Gargamel.  I'm sure Papa Smurf and the others would be pleased to smurf your gift."  She closed her magic locket and went outside to tell all the other Smurfs about the wonderful gift she had for them outside the village.

Meanwhile, back in his castle, Gargamel laughed a dark chuckle, for the gift he intended to give all the Smurfs was one of eternal rest, to put it mildly.

Traveler watched as all the Smurfs in the village except for Smurfette rushed out toward the great oak tree, where they saw a sign pointing to an opening inside a bush.  Apparently, whatever this gift was, Smurfette certainly was one for giving surprises.

But after the last Smurf entered the opening, a trap door closed behind them.  They found themselves inside a wooden box.  Papa Smurf had a feeling it was a trick and knew who had trapped them.

"So, my little Smurfs, I see that you have all received the gift that I told Smurfette to give you," a familiar voice said with devilish delight.

"Gargamel!" most of the Smurfs said in unison, fearfully.

At that moment, most of the Smurfs began to suspect that Smurfette was truly up to no good, real Smurf or not.  But Papa Smurf wasn't convinced.  He suspected that Smurfette would still redeem herself.

Smurfette went out into the forest after finding the right dress to wear to greet the other Smurfs where her surprise for them would be.  And then she saw the human wizard and his cat out there by the great oak tree, clutching a wooden box that sounded like it contained all her fellow Smurfs.

"That little blue enchantress worked well, Azrael," Gargamel gloated.  "Even with Papa Smurf's magic, she still helped us capture enough Smurfs for our gold-making formula.  Of course, I do pity what I am going to do next with that little blue trollop, since there aren't any more Smurfs for her to charm!"

Smurfette gasped.  She then realized that not only did she trick every Smurf into believing she had a present for them, but also that she herself had been tricked by Gargamel, the very wizard who created her.  "Oh, dear," she said to herself.  "I have to help rescue my fellow Smurfs...but how?"

It was then she heard Papa Smurf's voice in her head again saying, someday, somehow, you will find it in yoursmurf to know what it feels like to be a real Smurf.

Gargamel and Azrael didn't get far with their captured Smurfs in a box when they ran into a single Smurf wearing a mask and a pants suit.  Gargamel didn't know who that lone masked Smurf was, but he knew that that Smurf wasn't going to be a match for the two of them.  He ordered Azrael to go after that single Smurf.  Azrael gave chase, but that Smurf proved to be very agile and too quick for Azrael to catch.  He eventually led Azrael straight back toward Gargamel, keeping both the wizard and his cat too busy fussing with each other while that lone Smurf let loose every single Smurf from the box.

As every single Smurf ran for safety, the masked Smurf taunted Gargamel and Azrael to follow him up a tree.  Angered for having lost all his little Smurfs, Gargamel went up the tree with Azrael to try capturing him. When the two of them reached the top and thought they had the masked Smurf right where they wanted him, they pounced on what turned out to be nothing. Gargamel and Azrael then fell down the tree, crashing through many branches before landing on the ground, leaving them unconscious for the time being.

When Papa Smurf finished counting heads to see if all his little Smurfs had made it safely away from Gargamel and Azrael, the masked Smurf approached them.  "Well, you won't have any problems from those two for the time smurfing," he told them.

"Whoever you are," Papa Smurf said, "thanks for smurfing us out of there.  You really were a brave Smurf to take on Gargamel and Azrael alone."

"Just one question," Clumsy interjected.  "Just who are you?"

The masked Smurf took off his mask and his hat to reveal the very being no Smurf would ever suspect to be their rescuer.  "Smurfette?!?" everybody exclaimed.

Smurfette giggled as she shook down her hair and slipped out of her pants, shaking down the skirt of her dress.  "Surprise!" she announced. "Papa Smurf said somehow I might find what it is to be a real Smurf.  Well, I think I just found out right then and there!"

Papa Smurf chuckled, as did the other Smurfs.  "Well, Smurfette, you've smurftainly proved that!" the village leader finally said.  "And since you're now one of us, I would like to officially welcome you to your new family!"