Yesterday, I had the pleasure of visiting the Smurf (un Schtroumpf, der Schlumpf) exhibition here in Brussels. It is of course of utmost importance to my host country that the Smurfs are not American but Belgian comic strip figures which appeared for the first time 50 years ago. After this very enlightening experience, I’m now able to answer a few fundamental questions regarding the Smurfs.
What’s the size of a Smurf?
They say 3 apples tall. I think that these would be rather tiny apples.
Do Smurfs live in a democracy?
Definitely, and they all vote for themselves.
What do the Smurfs eat?
Cute little baby dragons. They are vegetarian.
Speak all Smurfs the same language?
It depends. In one story, the Smurfs separate their village along a rather arbitrary linguistic frontier – North/South and nearly start to fight each other. No reference to any existing country…
What does a Smurf look like without his hat?
I know that this is a shocking picture and I apologize for any feelings hurt. Though I’m not sure if it would be a better sight if their heads had the shape of the hat as a friend of mine suggested.
Ca schtroumpf ça!
La puce, die Welt and everything else 