Thumbelina

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At length they reached the warm countries, where the sun shines brightly, and the sky seems so much higher above the earth. Here, on the hedges, and by the wayside, grew purple, green, and white grapes; lemons and oranges hung from trees in the woods; and the air was fragrant with myrtles and orange blossoms. Beautiful children ran along the country lanes, playing with large gay butterflies; and as the swallow flew farther and farther, every place appeared still more lovely. The old woman did what the witch asked: she planted the seed in a small pot with the finest soil; she watered the seed with fresh rainwater; and one day, Just outside the wood she came to a great cornfield, but the corn was gone long ago, only the naked dry stubble stood up out of the frozen ground. This was just like a great forest for her to struggle through. Oh, how she shivered with cold! Then she came to the door of a field-mouse. This was a little hole under the stubble. There the field-mouse lived, warm and comfortable, and had a whole roomful of corn, and a fine kitchen and larder. Poor Thumbelina stood at the door just like a poor beggar girl, and begged for a little bit of barley-corn, for she had not had the smallest morsel to eat for two days. Then she brought him water in a petal, which he drank, after which he related to her how he had torn one of his wings on a bramble, so that he could not fly as fast as the other swallows, who had flown far away to warmer lands. So at last he had dropped down exhausted, and then he could remember no more. The whole winter he remained down there, and Thumbelina looked after him and nursed him tenderly. Neither the mole nor the field mouse learned anything of this, for they could not bear the poor swallow. Farewell, dear good little girl!" said the swallow, and flew off into the sunshine. Thumbelina gazed after him with the tears standing in her eyes, for she was very fond of the swallow.

After hearing Thumbelina’s lovely voice one warm summer night, a large toad hopped up to a window. Hop! Hop! Hop! The tiny little creature woke very early in the morning, and began to cry bitterly when she found where she was, for she could see nothing but water on every side of the large green leaf, and no way of reaching the land. A great chaffinch came flying past. He caught sight of Thumbelina, and in a moment had put his arms around her slender waist, and had flown off with her to a tree. The green leaf floated away down the stream, and the butterfly with it, for he was fastened to the leaf and could not get loose from it. Oh, dear! How terrified poor little Thumbelina was when the chaffinch flew off with her to the tree! But she was especially distressed on the beautiful white butterfly’s account, as she had tied him fast, so that if he could not get away he must starve to death. But the chaffinch did not trouble himself about that; he sat down with her on a large green leaf, gave her the honey out of the flowers to eat, and told her that she was very pretty, although she wasn’t in the least like a chaffinch. Later on, all the other chaffinches who lived in the same tree came to pay calls. They examined Thumbelina closely, and remarked, "How very miserable!" became very cold and even more alone. She could only warm herself with the dried leaves that had fallen off the trees during autumn. As she was pleased with Thumbelina, she said, “If you like you may stay with me through the winter, but you must keep my room clean and neat, and tell me stories, for I am very fond of them.”Andersen, Hans Christian (2000) [1871]. The Fairy Tale of My Life. New York, NY: Cooper Square Press. ISBN 0-8154-1105-7. One night, while she lay in her pretty bed, a large, ugly, wet toad crept through a broken pane of glass in the window and leaped right upon the table where she lay sleeping under her rose-leaf quilt.

A beautiful little white butterfly fluttered above her, and at last settled on the leaf. Thumbelina pleased him, and she too was delighted, for now the toads could not reach her, and it was so beautiful where she was travelling; the sun shone on the water and made it sparkle like the brightest silver. She took off her sash, and tied one end around the butterfly; the other end she fastened to the leaf so that now it glided along with her faster than ever. That is my house,” said the swallow; “but if you will choose for yourself one of the lovely flowers that are growing there I will put you into it, and you shall be as happy as you could wish.”Nonsense," replied the field-mouse. "Now don't be obstinate, or I shall bite you with my white teeth. He is a very handsome mole; the queen herself does not wear more beautiful velvets and furs. His kitchen and cellars are quite full. You ought to be very thankful for such good fortune."

Thumbelina was very sad as she watched it fly away. She had grown very fond of the bird. And the sight of the sun saddened her, for she rarely saw it now. ‘You are to marry the mole,’ the field-mouse told her one day. Thumbelina felt very sad. She did not like the mole at all. He did not care for the things she did. He liked the dark and she liked the sun. She did not want to live under the ground in the dark. So the wedding was to take place. The mole had already come to fetch Thumbelina; she was to live with him deep under the ground, and never to come out into the warm sunshine, for he did not like it. The poor little child was very sorrowful; she had now to say farewell to the beautiful sun, which at least she had been allowed by the field-mouse to see from the threshold of the door. Thumbelina didn’t care how rich and clever he was. She didn’t want to marry a mole. But when the mole came to visit, she sang so sweetly that the mole fell in love with her.

Then she brought the swallow some water in a flower-leaf, and after he had drank, he told her that he had wounded one of his wings in a thorn-bush, and could not fly as fast as the others, who were soon far away on their journey to warm countries. Then at last he had fallen to the earth, and could remember no more, nor how he came to be where she had found him. Don’t talk so loud, or you’ll wake her," said the old toad. "She might escape us even now; she is as light as a feather. We will put her at once on a broad water lily leaf in the stream. That will be quite an island for her; she is so small and light. She can’t run away from us there, whilst we are preparing the guest-chamber under the marsh where she shall live." He had only 14 years when he came to Copenhagen. He lived in an attic and worked a lot to make it. He even danced for a short time. When he was 17, he decided to go to school, so he sat in school with 12-years old. He even went to a university. knit for her out of corn leaves and soft down, and ran through the tunnel to the bird. She covered the meek animal as much she could. She wept quietly and hugged the bird. Suddenly she could hear