“Thumbelina.” The Yellow Fairy Book, edited by Andrew Lang, London, New York, Bombay: Longmans, Green, and Co., 1906, pp. 279-290.

Tale Summary

Once upon a time a woman visited an old witch to ask her for a tiny child. The witch sold her a barley-corn and instructed the woman to place it in a pot. When she had done this a large and beautiful tulip grew, and when the woman kissed its petals, it opened to reveal a tiny girl no bigger than half a thumb and height. She was named Thumbelina and had a walnut shell as a cradle and flower petals as a mattress. One night, a toad came in through the window and found the girl, who she thought would make the perfect wife for her son, and so she stole her in the walnut shell. To prevent the girl from running away, she placed Thumbelina on a water lily leaf in a stream, and went to ready the girl’s new chambers. When Thumbelina awoke she was horrified, and when the toad came to present her son to her as a husband, she was even more so. Some little fish saw her weeping and, to save her, nibbled the green stock which supported the leaf and the girl sailed down the stream. She left her native land, and on her way met a beautiful little white butterfly whom she tied to the leaf to pull it faster. A cockchafer  spotted her and took her to a tree thinking she was very pretty, but when all the other beetles thought she was ugly, he placed her on a daisy and left her. Thumbelina lived here for a whole summer alone, and then came a harsh winter. She was cold and hungry and after searching, found where a mouse was living in a cornfield. The field mouse took pity on her and offered her room for the winter, as long as the girl tidied up and told her stories. The mouse also said that she was expecting a visitor, a rich mole who she thought perfect for Thumbelina. When the mole came to visit, Thumbelina sang him songs, and he soon fell in love with her. He granted her and her hostess permission to walk along a passage through the ground from his house to that of the mouse, and told them not to be afraid of a bird that lay dead there in the hole. He led the two through the tunnel and pointed out the body, and while the two rodents thought it was funny, Thumbelina felt very sad for the creature. That night Thumbelina placed a blanket of straw on the dead bird and laid her head against the bird's heart. She found that the bird was not dead, he had only been frozen, but now that she had warmed him, he came to life again. Thumbelina  took care of this bird until spring came, when the bird was ready to leave. Thumbelina felt obligated to her Mouse host, and decided to stay with her instead of flying away with the bird. She was very sad, and even more so when she learned that she was to be married to the mole. This would mean that she would be stuck underground without seeing the sun. Just before the wedding, the swallow returned, and this time Thumbelina gladly went with him as he flew to warmer lands. He brought her to a nice place and told her to find a suitable home in the flowers. There was a patch of beautiful white blossoms that the bird set her down in, and to their amazement, they found a tiny man who was the spirit of the flower, he was transparent as if he were made of glass, with a pretty golden crown on his head, and beautiful wings. He took his crown off of his head and put it on hers, and asked if she would be his wife. She said yes, and out of each flower came a lady and gentleman, and each brought Thumbelina a present, one of them being a pair of wings that she fastened to her back. The spirit of the flower told her that her new name was May Blossom, and the bird wished her farewell and flew back to Denmark where he had a nest with his wife.