Tom Thumb[42]

      In the days of the great King Arthur[43] there lived a magician called Merlin.[44] He was the most wonderful magician in the world. This famous magician, who could take any form he wanted, was once travelling about as a poor beggar. One day he got very tired and stopped to rest at the house of a farmer. He knocked at the door and begged for some food.

      The countryman invited him to come in, and his wife, who was a very kind woman, soon brought him some milk in a wooden bowl, and some brown bread on a plate.

      Merlin was much pleased with the kindness of the farmer and his wife, but he noticed that though everything was tidy and comfortable in the house, they both looked unhappy. He asked them why they were so sad, and learned that they were unhappy because they had no children.

      The poor woman said, with tears in her eyes, “I should be the happiest woman in the world if I had a son. Even if he was no bigger than my husband’s thumb, I would be pleased.”

      Merlin was so much amused with the idea of a boy[45] no bigger than a man’s thumb, that he decided to carry out the poor woman’s wish.[46] Some time after, the farmer’s wife had a son, who was not bigger than his father’s thumb.

      The queen of the fairies wished to see the little boy. She came in at the window while the happy mother was sitting up in the bed looking at the boy. The queen kissed the child, gave it the name of Tom Thumb, and sent for some of the fairies. She gave orders to the fairies to dress the little boy, and the fairies dressed him very well.

      Tom did not grow any bigger than his father’s thumb, which was an ordinary finger. But as he got older, he became very cunning and full of tricks. When he was old enough to play with other boys and had lost all his own cherry-stones[47] for playing the games he usually crept into the bags of his friends and filled his pockets. No one noticed him. Then he joined in the game again.

      One day as he was getting out of a bag of cherry-stones, the boy to whom it belonged saw him. “Ah, ah! You little thief!” said the boy, “you’ve stolen my cherry-stones. I’ve caught you at last.” And the boy gave the bag such a shake that poor little Tom’s legs and body were badly hurt, and Tom screamed with pain,[48] and promised never to steal again.

      A short time afterwards his mother was making a batter pudding, Tommy wanted to see how it was made and climbed up to the edge of the bowl. But his foot slipped, and he fell into the batter. His mother didn’t notice him, and put the batter into the pudding-bag. Then she put it in the pot to boil.

      The batter filled Tom’s mouth, and he could not cry. But when he felt the hot water, he began to struggle so much in the pot that his mother thought that the pudding was magic. So she pulled it out of the pot and threw it outside the door. A poor worker, who was passing by, lifted up the pudding, and walked off. As Tom had now cleared his mouth of the batter, he began to scream. The worker was so frightened that he threw down the pudding and ran away. The pudding was broken to pieces, Tom crept out with the batter all over him, and walked home. His mother put him into a teacup, and soon washed off the batter. After that she kissed him, and put him to bed.

      Soon after the adventure of the pudding, Tom’s mother went to milk her cow in the meadow, and she took the boy along with her. As the wind was very strong, she tied him to a thistle with a piece of thread. The cow soon saw Tom’s oak-leaf hat, and at once poor Tom and the thistle were in her mouth. Tom was afraid of her great teeth, and he roared out as loud as he could, “Mother! Mother!”

      “Where are you, my son, my dear little son?” Tom’s mother asked.

      “Here, Mother,” he answered, “in the red cow’s mouth.”

      His mother began to cry; but the cow, surprised at the strange noise in her mouth, opened it and dropped Tom. His mother caught him in her apron as he was falling to the ground. Then she took Tom in her hand and ran home with him.

      Tom’s father made him a whip of a barley straw[49] to drive the cattle with.[50] One day Tom went into the fields, but his foot slipped and befell down. A bird, which was flying over the field, picked him up, and flew with him over the sea, and then dropped him.

      A large fish swallowed Tom the moment he fell into the sea. The fish was soon caught and bought for the round table of King Arthur. When the cook opened the fish to cook it, everybody in the kitchen was surprised to find a little boy inside the fish, and Tom was happy to be free again. They carried him to the king, who was delighted with him and let him live in the palace. And soon he became a great favourite at court for his tricks and jokes. He amused not only the king and queen, but also all the Knights of the Round Table.[51]

      When the king rode out on horseback, he often took Tom along with him. If it rained, Tom usually crept into the king’s pocket, where he slept till the rain was over.

      One day King Arthur asked Tom about the parents, he wished to know if they were as small as Tom was, and if they were poor or rich. Tom told the king that his father and mother were as tall as anybody in the court, but they were not rich. When he heard this, the king carried Tom to the treasury, the place where he kept all his money, and told him to take as much money as he could carry home to his parents.

      The poor little boy was very happy and at once he went to get a purse. He returned to the treasury with a purse which was made of a soap-bubble.[52] He received a silver coin and put it into his purse.

      It was very difficult for the little boy to lift the purse and put it upon his back. But at last he went on his journey. More than a hundred times he rested by the way, and in two days and two nights he finally reached his father’s house safely.

      Tom had travelled many hours with a great heavy silver coin on his back. He was almost tired to death,[53] when his mother ran out to meet him and carried him into the house. She was very glad to see her son, but Tom soon returned to the king’s court.

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