The Smurf King

The Smurf King originally came out in Belgium in the 1960s and was written in French by Pierre Culliford who wrote under the name of Peyo. When Pierre died in 1992, his son, Thierry Culliford, took on the pen name Peyo and continued writing the Smurf books. The Smurfs are little blue creatures who have a village in the woods and recognize Papa Smurf as their leader. Other than Papa Smurf, they all look identical, but the reader starts to learn to differentiate the Smurfs from each other by their personality characteristics. They also have their own Smurf language in which the word “Smurf” is inserted into the sentence as a verb; this leaves the reader humorously interpreting what is meant. In The Smurf King, Papa Smurf leaves the village in search of an herb for an experiment that he is conducting. He has hardly left the village when the Smurfs begin to argue about who should be in charge during Papa Smurf’s absence. They cast a vote, but everyone votes for themselves and so they hold another election. This time, one Smurf makes his rounds convincing all the others to vote for him, through bribes and false promises that appeal to each individual Smurf. He wins almost every single vote during the election the next day, but he does not keep his promises and forces everyone to call him “King Smurf” and do his bidding or suffer punishment and imprisonment. War breaks out among the Smurfs, when a rebellion rises and they all choose different sides. Read The Smurf King to find out what happens and if the Smurf village can be reunited!