Chapter 4: Smurfette's Makeover
Man, that had been a good pastry. Too bad she wouldn't be able to have it again. She had weaknesses to learn. She walked along the path, going a different route than the one Smiley had used to get to Greedy's house in the first place.
She noticed a group of Smurfs walking the same direction as her, and waved. "Hello there!"
"Oh!" One of the other Smurfs ran over to Smurfette. "New girl! Hi, new girl! Your name's Smurfette right? That's a weird name. I'm Lively Smurf!" They were nearly bouncing with excitement as they talked to Smurfette. Smurfette looked back at the others, and then to Lively.
"It's a pleasure to meet you," she said. Lively Smurf grinned.
"Me too! Your hair looks like mine, you know. See?" Lively held out as much of their short blonde hair as they could.
Another Smurf walked over. "Yo, Lively, c'mon, let's get back to work."
"Oh?" Smurfette said. "What are you all working on?"
"Goin' down to the dam," the Smurf said. "There’s been a lot of rain this summer, so we gotta make sure the dam don't burst."
Burst? What would the dam bursting do, Smurfette wondered. Perhaps this would be how she completed her mission.
"May I come along?"
"Smurfette, right?" The Smurf crossed their arms. "Have you ever smurfed on a dam before?"
"Well, no..."
They nodded. "It's too dangerous today for a first-timer. Maybe some other day you could smurf along, though."
Dangerous? Oh, yes, this would be it. She feigned innocence.
"Dangerous? Why would it be dangerous?"
"Oh," Lively said, before the other Smurf could say anything. "It's 'cause there's a lever on that big platformy-thingy, way up high, and it controls the thingy that controls the dam, and then if you pull it everything floods. Water goes down all bwoosh and it ruins everything."
"Oh, my, my!" Smurfette said, delicately placing a hand on her own chest as if she was a weak and helpless damsel who was stunned by this horrific idea. "That sounds awful!"
"Yeah, so... see you later, Smurfette." The other Smurf said. They started to walk away. "Lively, c'mon, we're goin' down to the dam!"
"Aw man..." Lively sighed. "Coming, Posie!" They ran after the other Smurf- Posie, apparently- and the Smurfs going to work on the dam left. Smurfette noted the direction they were headed in. After they'd walked a significant distance but were still within eyesight, she began to follow them. She'd go to the dam, pull the lever, and flood the Smurfs out. Then she'd claim that she didn't know what the lever did. Everything was coming up Smurfette's...
...Until someone called her name.
"Smurfette!" A Smurf called, and she turned around. It was the Smurf with the flower pinned to his hat, the one from the forest group. "Oh, there you are, Smurfette! I've been looking for you all day!"
"All day?" Smurfette frowned. "It can't be that late."
"Oh, but I need time. You see, I'm going to smurf you... a makeover."
"...You really don't have to do that." Smurfette said.
The flowery Smurf gazed into his mirror. "I know. That's what makes me so nice." He grabbed her hand and pulled her along. "The first thing we have to fix is that hair of yours. And luckily, I know just the Smurf."
"My hair...?" Smurfette reached up her free hand to touch her silken black hair. "What's wrong with my hair?"
"Ei, yi, yi, this is an absolute disaster!"
No longer was Smurfette just with the flower-capped Smurf- who she had learned was named Vanity. Instead, he had brought her to another Smurf, Barber, who specialized in hair- or "'air-a," as Barber herself put it. But even she didn't seem to know what to do with Smurfette's hair.
"It's just my hair," Smurfette said, glaring at Barber.
"...I have dealt with regular 'air-a, thin and fragile 'air-a, curly 'air-a, and coily 'air-a. But this..." Barber ran Smurfette's hair through her fingers. "This is not 'air-a, whatever it is. This is some other material entirely. It is more like silk."
Smurfette gulped. Her hair had been made out of silk, but she hadn't known it kept its texture.
"Can you do anything about it?" Vanity asked.
"Sì, I can- Weaver Smurf 'as an 'eadpiece just like this one. Smurfetta, would you let me remove this to trim the ends?"
"Remove it?" Smurfette said. "It's attached to my head."
Barber sighed. "Well, I'll do my best."
Barber worked on Smurfette's hair for a while, with Vanity watching over. She cut the split ends, straightened the silk threads and tamped them down with a spray bottle of water, and altogether managed to make it look rather presentable.
"There you go!" Barber said, spinning Smurfette around to look in the mirror. Her hair was... pretty. Barber had actually done well. Smurfette raised her hand up to her hair.
"Wow... it looks amazing," Smurfette said.
"You certainly managed to make her hair look good, Barber. What's your secret?"
Barber smiled. "Practice. Lots and lots of practice."
Next, Vanity brought Smurfette to the house of Tailor Smurf.
"You need a new outfit, Smurfette," Vanity told her. However, the sun was getting low... she looked out the window anxiously. She needed to enact her plan soon.
Smurfette had no excuse to step out. None that wouldn't make the Smurfs suspicious of her, at least. It was the same problem she'd had with Barber- if she left right now, the Smurfs would know when she'd left. And it wouldn't take long for them to figure out where she'd left to.
So she went along with Vanity's makeover. It would make them trust her, after all, if she did what they said.
"Yes, I'd love a new dress!" She said, affecting a vapid demeanor. "A little silk dress, with a bodice here, and a little clip to draw in my waist. Puffy sleeves, of course, and hold in the fullness of the skirt with folds..." She gestured as she spoke. If Tailor would make her a dress like that, she'd at least get something out of this encounter.
Tailor smiled. "I think I know something you'd like much better. Let me get your measurements first, and then we'll get you into something much better than that old shmatte you're wearing."
Truth be told, there was something incredibly awkward and uncomfortable about being measured for clothing. Smurfette felt embarrassed as Tailor measured her waist, bust, neck, hips, etcetera, etcetera. He was very matter-of-fact about it, writing everything down.
"Alright, just one more thing. If I'm gonna measure ya for tights, I gotta get your tail's circumference."
"My what?" Smurfette asked.
"Ya know, the measurement around your tail, ta make the hole in the tights for!"
Tail? Smurfette thought. She didn't have a tail. She hadn't been created with one. A quick cursory check of Vanity and Tailor revealed they both had tails, and thinking back Smurfette realized all the other Smurfs did as well- she just hadn't noticed it. She couldn't let Tailor know she was tailless, that would be it! They'd find out she wasn't a real Smurf! Smurfette quickly diverted the conversation.
"Tights?" She said. "I thought you were making me a pretty dress! A little bodice here, a clip to draw in my waist..."
"A dress? Now that's just impractical. Ya can't run around the forest in a dress, can ya? I think you'll look a lot better with a classic look."
Smurfette lidded her eyes, fluttering her lashes at him. "Come on, Tailor, do you really expect a beautiful lady like me to be running around? I'm just so weak, and helpless, I'd get myself hurt!"
"Ya sure will, if ya insist on runnin' around the forest in a dress." Tailor looked over to Vanity, as if to say Can you believe this? Vanity, however, had gotten distracted by a mirror that was set up against the wall.
"But I-"
A bell rang loudly throughout the village, interrupting Smurfette and causing Vanity to look up from the mirror.
"Oh, that's dinner. You'll have ta get your tail measured tomorrow." Tailor said. Without hesitation, he guided both Smurfette and Vanity out the door, and then closed it behind them.
"How rude!" Vanity said. "Sometimes I think that Smurf just doesn't understand his craft."
Smurfette giggled. "I'd say! Hey, I'm going to go wash up for dinner. Save me a seat!"
Vanity smiled and waved as she left. "I will!"
What Vanity didn't notice was that the direction Smurfette was walking in wouldn't bring her to the well, or the water pump. She was headed to the dam.