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"The Traveler" is a Season 4 episode from the Smurfs cartoon show.

Characters[]

Synopsis[]

A mysterious traveler from the east comes to calm the rage of a magical dragon.

Plot Summary[]

It is on an evening that the Smurf Village is beset with a very powerful wind that rips the roof off of Clumsy's house, splatters pies in Greedy's face, and overall makes the going rather difficult for the Smurfs. Smurfette thinks that it must be a terrible storm, but Farmer thinks it's something else. Soon Papa Smurf sees what that "something else" is that's causing the powerful wind -- it's a dragon that appeared out of nowhere making fearsome noises. The Smurfs watch the dragon until morning when it inexplicably disappears before their eyes. They are left wondering and asking Papa Smurf what they're going to do, and Papa Smurf says that he must consult his books.

In his laboratory, Papa Smurf finds in one of his books the legend of the Chinese dragon, which says that its wandering spirit can only be put to rest when "the eyes of the idol" are put in place. Clumsy asks Papa Smurf where they can find such "eyes" to put into the idol, and Papa Smurf says that a Chinese wizard known only as "the Traveler" will bring the "eyes" to the idol. He also says that the Traveler should have arrived yesterday, and so they must find out what happened to him, or else the Chinese dragon's spirit will haunt the forest every night for 100 years.

Papa Smurf takes a group of Smurfs into the forest to find the Traveler, with Brainy wondering how they're going to find him, and Papa Smurf saying that he will be coming from the east. Soon they hear the sound of a flute playing, and as they carefully peer out from hiding within a bush, they see a strangely robed man kneeling and playing the flute. He stops playing and tells his parrot Shanghai that he has traveled many miles, and after he rolls out a map to see where they are now, he also says that they are a day late. Brainy says that he has never seen a man with strange eyes before, and Papa Smurf tells Brainy that to the stranger, Brainy's eyes would look strange to him.

But soon, the Smurfs see that the man they would know as the Traveler is not alone, for there are now two other men hiding behind a rock and looking at the stranger with evil intentions. They see the Traveler pour out of his bag two hand-sized sparkly gems, which the parrot says are "the eyes of the idol". The Traveler lifts up one of the gems to the light, and it refracts a beam onto the map, showing the exact location of where he needs to go, the tomb of Pan Xiang Chao. The Traveler tells the parrot that they could be there by the following day, and as the two rogues watch the man pack up his things and continue on his way, they say that they will jump him on the trail. After the rogues depart, Papa Smurf tells his little Smurfs that they must follow the Traveler to make sure that the robbers do not stop him, for only he can put to rest the dragon's spirit.

In a narrow canyon, the robbers set up an ambush for the Traveler by preparing to drop a pile of rocks from a ledge onto the stranger so that they can get at the jewels. A smurfberry bird sees what these men are about to do and flies down into the canyon, briefly distracting the parrot as the Traveler just calmly proceeds onward, paying no attention to anything as he is lost in his musical meditation. The smurfberry bird alerts the Smurfs to what he has seen, which makes Papa Smurf realize that he has to get the Traveler's attention before he gets killed. Telling the other Smurfs to stay put, Papa Smurf goes forward to give the Traveler a warning in Chinese before going into hiding, which makes the stranger turn to see a pile of rocks falling down toward him. He quickly runs out of the way to avoid danger, and one of the two robbers is disappointed that they missed, though the other says that they will get him that night.

After night fall, the Smurfs watch the Traveler calmly eat his dinner from a bowl using a pair of chopsticks, which makes Smurfette wonder how he is able to do that. But they quickly go back into hiding as the two robbers show up again with clubs, with one of them saying that they will wait until the stranger is asleep before they get him. Smurfette wonders how they will stop them, and Papa Smurf says that he has a plan. After the Traveler goes to sleep, the two robbers ready themselves to ambush the stranger when they suddenly hear noises coming from nearby of an army approaching, with its captain telling the others to capture the thieves, though it is really only the Smurfs making the noises and shouts. The Traveler wakes up from his sleep startled by the noise, and the two robbers become fearful and end up running for their lives. The Traveler looks around to see what could be causing all the noise but sees nothing as the Smurfs have hidden themselves from his sight. He simply goes back to his rest, telling his parrot that the spirits have been watchful over him that night.

The Smurfs also take the opportunity to rest along with the Traveler, but in the middle of the night, their rest is interrupted by a loud echoing roar and the rush of a mighty wind. Papa Smurf goes to see that the spirit of the Chinese dragon is back again, but he also sees that the Traveler is awake and holding up "the eyes of the idol" toward the dragon while reciting an incantation, that "by tomorrow's nightfall, you shall roam the land no more". The dragon's spirit departs immediately after the incantation is complete.

By morning, the Smurfs follow the Traveler as he proceeds toward the tomb of Pan Xiang Chao, but the two robbers are also still pursuing after the same man, saying that they'll trap him in the box canyon that he's entering into. The Traveler then comes to a stop when he can go no further in the canyon and tells Shanghai that the map has led them to that point, that he feels the spirit beckoning them further. The Smurfs see that the Traveler's way to the tomb is blocked by a boulder, with Brainy saying there's no way that he could move such a heavy rock. Surprisingly, though, the Traveler has a brief moment of focused concentration before he just simply lifts the boulder with one hand and tosses it away from the entrance -- a feat which amazes even Papa Smurf.

After the Traveler lays aside his gear and enters the tomb, the Smurfs follow carefully after him, but it is so dark that Clumsy can't see where he is going. Soon a torch is lit, and the Traveler sees that he isn't alone in the tomb as he now notices the Smurfs, asking what manner of creatures they are and who sent them. Papa Smurf speaks to the Traveler in Chinese, telling him that they're friends, and the Traveler realizes that they were the ones who warned him about the landslide and also made the noises of an army. Clumsy tells the Traveler that two humans were going to rob him, and Papa Smurf says that they want to help him stop the dragon's spirit. The Traveler tells the Smurfs that his real purpose isn't to stop the dragon's spirit, but to free it, because it guards the tomb of the good wizard Pan Xiang Chao, and that evil wizards have put a curse on his spirit, condemning him until "the eyes of the idol" are put in place. 

The Traveler and The Smurfs

The Traveler invites the Smurfs to join him on the rest of the journey to the tomb but warns them to be careful because there are many traps that are set up to stop whoever goes in there. Soon one of the traps springs as a barred gate slams down in front of the Traveler, preventing him from going any further. He says that unless he can reach the lever on the other side of the gate, he cannot deactivate the trap. Fortunately, the Smurfs can slip through the bars without any problem (except for Greedy, who needs a push because of his girth), and soon form a chain that can reach the lever, though Papa Smurf says that they could use a little more weight. Greedy grabs the lowest Smurf in the chain, and suddenly the lever goes down, causing the barred gate to rise up.

Soon, the Traveler sees that the room they are now entering is the tomb of Pan Xiang Chao, and in that room is an idol in the form of a dragon. The Traveler says it would please him if the Smurfs were the ones to put "the eyes of the idol" in place, which they must do soon because it is now getting near nightfall. As the Smurfs carry the "eyes" up to the head of the idol, the two robbers sneak in with their clubs raised, ready to let the Traveler have it. But their presence is soon detected by the Traveler, who warns them that they have ventured well beyond their realm. One of the robbers becomes fearful, saying that the stranger has eyes in the back of his head, but the other one says he's going to have black eyes in the back of his head. The Smurfs soon see that the Traveler isn't as defenseless as they have thought, for with one foot stomp he easily crushes one of the robber's clubs into splinters, and though we don't see what else the Traveler does, we hear noises of a struggle going on that soon leads to the two robbers fleeing for their lives, saying that the stranger is a ghost.

But as Brainy mocks the robbers, saying that there's no such thing as a ghost, they could feel the idol rumble, and soon they are surrounded by a whirlwind of evil spirits. The Traveler sees that the spirits have awakened and tells the Smurfs to put the "eyes" in place. As they struggle to get the "eyes" into the sockets of the idol, Brainy falls and grabs onto its tooth just as it is starting to come to life, and then he is blown away until he is caught by the Traveler, who thanks him for being a brave little spirit. With the "eyes" now in the sockets, they glow brightly until the restless spirits dissipate, causing the idol to be inert again.

The Traveler thanks the Smurfs for helping him put the spirit of Pan Xiang Chao back to his restful peace again. After they leave the tomb, the Traveler seals its entrance with the boulder and uses a special bag of magic powder, which Papa Smurf tells Brainy will someday change the course of history, to cause an explosion that would bury the entrance with enough rocks to prevent anyone else from entering. After saying goodbye to the Traveler as he heads back to his homeland, Brainy asks Papa Smurf where he has learned to speak Chinese, and all Papa Smurf can say is that is another story.

Trivia[]

  • A children's book adaption of this episode was released internationally. It is one of few Smurfs Classic books that have not yet been released in the US.
  • Papa Smurf is revealed to speak Chinese in this episode. Mentioned below are the translated phrases he says:
    • "Chow xin, La Shing Sha", which directly translates to "Chow new, lashing what".
      • "Zai jian" directly translates to "Goodbye".

Videos[]

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