Thumbelina Fairy Tales

 

Once upon a time a woman lived by herself in a far away village . 

She was very lonely after her husband had died . She always wanted to have a child but alas, she didn’t have any. One day , she went to her friend who was a witch . The witch gave her a grain of barley and told her to go back home and plant it . 

The woman did as she was told . 

The next morning a beautiful plant had grown from the seed . It had a lovely flower that looked like a tulip . The woman had never seen a flower like that and was mesmerized by its beauty .

She gently kissed one of its petals 

As she did that the flower blossomed open. Inside it was a beautiful little girl no bigger than the size of the woman’s thumb . The woman instantly fell in love with her and called her Thumbelina . Thumbelina took away the woman’s loneliness . In the day she would tell her stories and talk to her Sometimes she would make Thumbelina a boat out of a tulip petal which she could row in a plate full of water .

At night Thumbelina would sleep in a bed out of a walnut shell 

with a blanket made of a rose petal . One night as she was sleeping, a frog came to her window and saw her . He thought to himself, what a beautiful girl! She will make a lovely bride for my son And so he grabbed Thumbelina and hopped away to his home . When his son saw his bride-to-be, he was very happy. She is beautiful father. I will marry her But before that I want to build her a beautiful house.

Okay, son

I will put her on the water lily in the middle of the pond till then . 

This way, she will not be able to escape And so the frog put Thumbelina in the middle of the pond on a water lily leaf. Thumbelina tried to escape from her new home but when she couldn’t, she broke down crying Two minnows were sitting under the same leaf and they heard her cry . They asked her about her troubles and when she told them, they decided to help her .

They nibbled away the lily stem 

Soon it broke and floated away with Thumbelina. Just when Thumbelina thought she was free a beetle came down and took her away to his home . He called over his friends to introduce them to his pretty prisoner But the beetle’s friends told him that she was too different than them and she didn’t belong with them. I agree. I think I should let her go And so he dropped her in the long grass and flower . Thumbelina was very happy that she was free from her captors .

However, she still did not know where her home was. 

She spent many days in the grass and between the flowers . She would eat the pollen of the flowers and drink the dew from the their leaves .

One day 

as she was walking she stumbled upon a small house made of mud It had a strange round entrance . She went up to it and knocked on the door. A mouse opened the door . Oh, hello there! Isn’t it could out there for you today? come in please , Thank you so much .

Once Thumbelina was settled comfortably in the mouse’s house 

he asked her about who she was Thumbelina told him her entire story . Do not worry. You can stay here as long as you like So, Thumbelina started staying in her new found home To make herself useful in the house .

she would cook for the mouse and tell him stories 

After a few days the mouse said he had invited a guest over . He is the richest mouse in all the land. He is a very good friend of mine . That night, the mouse’s friend came over for dinner . They all talked and had a very good time During the course of dinner, the friend fell in love with Thumbelina and declared that he would marry her Thumbelina had no choice but to go along with what was happening . When the friend offered to show her his home, she agreed to visit his house And the three of them set off together .

On the way, they entered a tunnel 

There they found an injured swallow lying on the ground . The mouse’s friend kicked it and rudely said , Serves her right! What is she doing in the tunnels? He should have stayed in the air Thumbelina was shocked to see that someone could treat another like this Unseen by the mice she ran away from there . Once she was sure that the mice had left . she came back and attended to the swallow.

She took great care of her 

till she was fit to fly again . It became spring by the time the swallow could fly again she told Thumbelina . I have to go join my family and friends . They have flown away to a warmer place I can not stay here. Come with me  But Thumbelina had had enough adventure and did not want to go anywhere else And so the swallow flew away . A few months had passed when the love-struck friend of the mouse found Thumbelina again Oh my beloved!

I have been looking for you everywhere 

Now I have found you and must marry you. Thumbelina knew there was no way out of it for her So she asked him if she could spend one last day out in the open air before she was confined to living the rest of her life underground with him . As she roamed the open fields for one last time . she heard a familiar voice Come, come away with me where your spirit will always be free. Thumbelina saw her old friend who had returned for her . This time around she agreed and hopped on the back of the swallow and they took off . They flew over land and water and fields of green . When they reached the land of the flowers the swallow landed Thumbelina on a beautiful flower petal. This is the kingdom of the flowers. And that is their King Thumbelina saw a handsome young King with beautiful wings .

He was surrounded by lovely flowers 

As soon as she saw him, she knew she wanted to call this place home . Her presence attracted the Kings attention he too fell in love with her immediately Will you marry me? Yes! As happiness spread across her face . she grew a beautiful pair of wings and became the Flower Queen  .