Thumbelina
Once upon a time, there was a woman who longed for a child of her own. She visited a kind old witch, who gave her a magical barley seed. “Plant this seed,” the witch said, “and your wish will come true.”
The woman planted the seed in a flowerpot and cared for it diligently. Soon, a beautiful flower bloomed, and inside the petals lay a tiny girl, no bigger than a thumb. The woman named her Thumbelina and loved her dearly. She made a walnut shell cradle for Thumbelina and petals for her bed.
One night, as Thumbelina slept, a large toad hopped through the open window. Seeing the tiny girl, the toad thought, “She would make a perfect bride for my son!” She grabbed Thumbelina and carried her away to a lily pad in the middle of a stream.
When Thumbelina woke, she was horrified to find herself surrounded by water, with the toad and her ugly son staring at her. “You will marry my son and live here with us,” the toad croaked.
Thumbelina wept, but the fish in the stream heard her cries and took pity on her. They nibbled at the stem of the lily pad until it broke free and floated downstream. A friendly butterfly tied itself to the lily pad with a ribbon and helped guide it away.
Thumbelina floated for miles, enjoying the beauty of the countryside. But her journey was interrupted when a large beetle swooped down and carried her away. The beetle took her to his tree, where other beetles gathered to admire her. However, they soon decided she was too strange-looking because she only had two legs. The beetle abandoned her, and Thumbelina was left alone in the forest.
Summer turned to autumn, and Thumbelina struggled to survive. She found shelter in a field and lived on dew and flower nectar. One day, she came across a field mouse’s home. The kind mouse invited her in and offered her food and warmth. Thumbelina was grateful and stayed with the mouse through the winter.
The mouse’s neighbour, a wealthy mole, visited often. He took a liking to Thumbelina and proposed marriage. The mouse encouraged the match, as the mole was rich and had a grand underground home. But Thumbelina was unhappy. She didn’t love the mole and dreaded the thought of living underground, never seeing the sun or flowers again.
One day, while walking through the mole’s tunnels, Thumbelina found a swallow lying motionless. Though the mole dismissed the bird as dead, Thumbelina saw that it was still alive. She nursed the swallow back to health, feeding it crumbs and keeping it warm. When spring arrived, the swallow regained its strength and flew away, promising never to forget Thumbelina’s kindness.
As the wedding day approached, Thumbelina grew more despondent. She couldn’t bear the thought of marrying the mole and living in darkness. On the day of the wedding, she stepped outside to say goodbye to the sun, flowers, and sky. As she wept, the swallow returned.
“Come with me,” the swallow said. “I will take you to a land where the sun always shines and the flowers never fade.”
Thumbelina climbed onto the swallow’s back, and they flew far away to a warm, beautiful meadow. There, Thumbelina met a tiny prince who lived among the flowers. He was just her size and had wings like a butterfly. The prince was enchanted by Thumbelina and asked her to marry him.
Thumbelina agreed, for she had finally found someone who understood her. The prince gave her a pair of wings, and she became the princess of the flowers. They lived happily ever after, surrounded by beauty and light.
