Perrault, Charles. “Hop-o’-my-Thumb.” Old French Fairy Tales, Boston: Little, Brown, and Company, 1899, pp. 342-358.
Tale Summary
Seven siblings are born no more than three years apart into a poor family in which the youngest boy, named Hop-O’-My-Thumb, is deemed a weakly little fellow, but in fact, is actually the smartest in the group. His woodcutting parents are too poor to keep all of the children, so they leave them lost in the woods. Hop-O’-My-Thumb leads the children out of the cold, dark woods to a child-eating Ogre’s house. The Ogre’s wife tries to hide the children inside, but the Ogre finds them and allows them to sleep one night before being eaten. Afraid of being slaughtered by the Ogre during the night, Hop-O’-My-Thumb switches the caps of the seven siblings with the crowns of the seven Ogresses. The Ogre mistakenly cuts the throats of the Ogresses and goes on a hunt in magical seven-league boots to kill the children. Hop-O’-My-Thumb steals the boots off of the Ogre when he is sleeping in the woods and tricks the Ogre’s wife into believing that the Ogre had been taken hostage and he needed all of her riches to save her husband. Hop-O’-My-Thumb brought home the wealth and lived happily ever after with a nobleman’s daughter.
Fairy Tale Title
Hop-o'-my-Thumb
Fairy Tale Author(s)/Editor(s)
Charles Perrault
Fairy Tale Illustrator(s)
None listed
Common Tale Type
The Children and the Ogre/Brothers and the Ogre
Tale Classification
ATU 327/ATU 327B
Page Range of Tale
pp. 342-358
Full Citation of Tale
Perrault, Charles. “Hop-o’-my-Thumb.” Old French Fairy Tales, Boston: Little, Brown, and Company, 1899, pp. 342-358.
Original Source of the Tale
Charles Perrault
Tale Notes
This richly illustrated edition of Hop-O’-My-Thumb includes six black and white images. The text is directed towards younger children. In the preface, Mary Howitt writes that “The gist of every fairy tale is the triumph of the weak over the strong—an overruling principle of justice and mercy, which will, in the end, set all things right; and so far they are full of truth .” In this version, Hop-O’-My-Thumb uses his wits to trick a hungry and angry Ogre into killing his daughters, seven Ogresses. Hop-O’-My-Thumb steals magical seven league boots from the Ogre and uses them to bring riches to his poor family.
Research and Curation
RJ McLennan, 2020
Book Title
Old French Fairy Tales
Book Author/Editor(s)
Charles Perrault, Madame D'Aulnoy, etc.
Illustrator(s)
"Two hundred illustrations by the most celebrated French artists"
Publisher
Little, Brown, and Company
Date Published
1899
Decade Published
1890-1899
Publisher City
Boston
Publisher Country
United States
Language
English
Rights
Public Domain
Digital Copy
Available at the CU Digital Library
Book Notes
None