diff --git a/django/forms/fields.py b/django/forms/fields.py
index ecad857f72..0a0aa12f98 100644
--- a/django/forms/fields.py
+++ b/django/forms/fields.py
@@ -61,7 +61,7 @@ class Field(object):
     creation_counter = 0
 
     def __init__(self, required=True, widget=None, label=None, initial=None,
-                 help_text=None, error_messages=None, show_hidden_initial=False,
+                 help_text='', error_messages=None, show_hidden_initial=False,
                  validators=[], localize=False):
         # required -- Boolean that specifies whether the field is required.
         #             True by default.
@@ -82,14 +82,9 @@ class Field(object):
         #                        hidden widget with initial value after widget.
         # validators -- List of addtional validators to use
         # localize -- Boolean that specifies if the field should be localized.
-        if label is not None:
-            label = smart_text(label)
         self.required, self.label, self.initial = required, label, initial
         self.show_hidden_initial = show_hidden_initial
-        if help_text is None:
-            self.help_text = ''
-        else:
-            self.help_text = smart_text(help_text)
+        self.help_text = help_text
         widget = widget or self.widget
         if isinstance(widget, type):
             widget = widget()
@@ -739,7 +734,7 @@ class ChoiceField(Field):
     }
 
     def __init__(self, choices=(), required=True, widget=None, label=None,
-                 initial=None, help_text=None, *args, **kwargs):
+                 initial=None, help_text='', *args, **kwargs):
         super(ChoiceField, self).__init__(required=required, widget=widget, label=label,
                                         initial=initial, help_text=help_text, *args, **kwargs)
         self.choices = choices
@@ -999,7 +994,7 @@ class MultiValueField(Field):
 class FilePathField(ChoiceField):
     def __init__(self, path, match=None, recursive=False, allow_files=True,
                  allow_folders=False, required=True, widget=None, label=None,
-                 initial=None, help_text=None, *args, **kwargs):
+                 initial=None, help_text='', *args, **kwargs):
         self.path, self.match, self.recursive = path, match, recursive
         self.allow_files, self.allow_folders = allow_files, allow_folders
         super(FilePathField, self).__init__(choices=(), required=required,
diff --git a/django/forms/models.py b/django/forms/models.py
index 39d753b1a6..5185e17c32 100644
--- a/django/forms/models.py
+++ b/django/forms/models.py
@@ -935,7 +935,7 @@ class ModelChoiceField(ChoiceField):
 
     def __init__(self, queryset, empty_label="---------", cache_choices=False,
                  required=True, widget=None, label=None, initial=None,
-                 help_text=None, to_field_name=None, *args, **kwargs):
+                 help_text='', to_field_name=None, *args, **kwargs):
         if required and (initial is not None):
             self.empty_label = None
         else:
@@ -1031,7 +1031,7 @@ class ModelMultipleChoiceField(ModelChoiceField):
 
     def __init__(self, queryset, cache_choices=False, required=True,
                  widget=None, label=None, initial=None,
-                 help_text=None, *args, **kwargs):
+                 help_text='', *args, **kwargs):
         super(ModelMultipleChoiceField, self).__init__(queryset, None,
             cache_choices, required, widget, label, initial, help_text,
             *args, **kwargs)
diff --git a/tests/forms_tests/tests/forms.py b/tests/forms_tests/tests/forms.py
index ff4630b7d6..310525e0a5 100644
--- a/tests/forms_tests/tests/forms.py
+++ b/tests/forms_tests/tests/forms.py
@@ -952,12 +952,12 @@ class FormsTestCase(TestCase):
         class UserRegistration(Form):
             username = CharField(max_length=10, label='Your username')
             password1 = CharField(widget=PasswordInput)
-            password2 = CharField(widget=PasswordInput, label='Password (again)')
+            password2 = CharField(widget=PasswordInput, label='Contraseña (de nuevo)')
 
         p = UserRegistration(auto_id=False)
         self.assertHTMLEqual(p.as_ul(), """<li>Your username: <input type="text" name="username" maxlength="10" /></li>
 <li>Password1: <input type="password" name="password1" /></li>
-<li>Password (again): <input type="password" name="password2" /></li>""")
+<li>Contraseña (de nuevo): <input type="password" name="password2" /></li>""")
 
         # Labels for as_* methods will only end in a colon if they don't end in other
         # punctuation already.
@@ -979,14 +979,6 @@ class FormsTestCase(TestCase):
 <p><label for="id_q4">Answer this question!</label> <input type="text" name="q4" id="id_q4" /></p>
 <p><label for="id_q5">The last question. Period.</label> <input type="text" name="q5" id="id_q5" /></p>""")
 
-        # A label can be a Unicode object or a bytestring with special characters.
-        class UserRegistration(Form):
-            username = CharField(max_length=10, label='ŠĐĆŽćžšđ')
-            password = CharField(widget=PasswordInput, label='\u0160\u0110\u0106\u017d\u0107\u017e\u0161\u0111')
-
-        p = UserRegistration(auto_id=False)
-        self.assertHTMLEqual(p.as_ul(), '<li>\u0160\u0110\u0106\u017d\u0107\u017e\u0161\u0111: <input type="text" name="username" maxlength="10" /></li>\n<li>\u0160\u0110\u0106\u017d\u0107\u017e\u0161\u0111: <input type="password" name="password" /></li>')
-
         # If a label is set to the empty string for a field, that field won't get a label.
         class UserRegistration(Form):
             username = CharField(max_length=10, label='')
@@ -1246,20 +1238,20 @@ class FormsTestCase(TestCase):
         # You can specify descriptive text for a field by using the 'help_text' argument)
         class UserRegistration(Form):
             username = CharField(max_length=10, help_text='e.g., user@example.com')
-            password = CharField(widget=PasswordInput, help_text='Choose wisely.')
+            password = CharField(widget=PasswordInput, help_text='Wählen Sie mit Bedacht.')
 
         p = UserRegistration(auto_id=False)
         self.assertHTMLEqual(p.as_ul(), """<li>Username: <input type="text" name="username" maxlength="10" /> <span class="helptext">e.g., user@example.com</span></li>
-<li>Password: <input type="password" name="password" /> <span class="helptext">Choose wisely.</span></li>""")
+<li>Password: <input type="password" name="password" /> <span class="helptext">Wählen Sie mit Bedacht.</span></li>""")
         self.assertHTMLEqual(p.as_p(), """<p>Username: <input type="text" name="username" maxlength="10" /> <span class="helptext">e.g., user@example.com</span></p>
-<p>Password: <input type="password" name="password" /> <span class="helptext">Choose wisely.</span></p>""")
+<p>Password: <input type="password" name="password" /> <span class="helptext">Wählen Sie mit Bedacht.</span></p>""")
         self.assertHTMLEqual(p.as_table(), """<tr><th>Username:</th><td><input type="text" name="username" maxlength="10" /><br /><span class="helptext">e.g., user@example.com</span></td></tr>
-<tr><th>Password:</th><td><input type="password" name="password" /><br /><span class="helptext">Choose wisely.</span></td></tr>""")
+<tr><th>Password:</th><td><input type="password" name="password" /><br /><span class="helptext">Wählen Sie mit Bedacht.</span></td></tr>""")
 
         # The help text is displayed whether or not data is provided for the form.
         p = UserRegistration({'username': 'foo'}, auto_id=False)
         self.assertHTMLEqual(p.as_ul(), """<li>Username: <input type="text" name="username" value="foo" maxlength="10" /> <span class="helptext">e.g., user@example.com</span></li>
-<li><ul class="errorlist"><li>This field is required.</li></ul>Password: <input type="password" name="password" /> <span class="helptext">Choose wisely.</span></li>""")
+<li><ul class="errorlist"><li>This field is required.</li></ul>Password: <input type="password" name="password" /> <span class="helptext">Wählen Sie mit Bedacht.</span></li>""")
 
         # help_text is not displayed for hidden fields. It can be used for documentation
         # purposes, though.
@@ -1272,13 +1264,6 @@ class FormsTestCase(TestCase):
         self.assertHTMLEqual(p.as_ul(), """<li>Username: <input type="text" name="username" maxlength="10" /> <span class="helptext">e.g., user@example.com</span></li>
 <li>Password: <input type="password" name="password" /><input type="hidden" name="next" value="/" /></li>""")
 
-        # Help text can include arbitrary Unicode characters.
-        class UserRegistration(Form):
-            username = CharField(max_length=10, help_text='ŠĐĆŽćžšđ')
-
-        p = UserRegistration(auto_id=False)
-        self.assertHTMLEqual(p.as_ul(), '<li>Username: <input type="text" name="username" maxlength="10" /> <span class="helptext">\u0160\u0110\u0106\u017d\u0107\u017e\u0161\u0111</span></li>')
-
     def test_subclassing_forms(self):
         # You can subclass a Form to add fields. The resulting form subclass will have
         # all of the fields of the parent Form, plus whichever fields you define in the