Tom Thumb

During the time of the great King Arthur, there lived a mighty wizard named Merlin—the most skilled and powerful sorcerer the world had ever seen. This famous wizard could take on any form, even that of a beast or a bird. One day, he decided to travel disguised as a simple beggar. When he grew very tired, he stopped at the house of a plowman and asked for some food.

The peasant welcomed the wizard warmly, and his wife, a very kind woman, immediately brought a wooden pitcher of milk and a plate of coarse, dark bread. Merlin was touched by the kindness of the plowman and his wife. But he noticed that, although everything in their home looked welcoming and cozy, and there seemed to be plenty of food, there was no happiness in the house. He asked them why this was, and the hosts replied:

"We have no children, and that is why we grieve."

The woman added with tears in her eyes:

"I would be the happiest woman in the world if only I had a son. Even if he were no taller than his father's thumb, I would be content!"

Merlin imagined a boy the size of a thumb, and it amused him so much that he decided to grant the kind woman's wish. Indeed, soon the plowman's wife gave birth to a son, but he was no taller than his father's thumb!

The Queen of the Fairies herself wished to see the tiny boy. She flew in through the window as the mother sat on the bed, admiring her little one. The fairy kissed him and named him Tom—Tom Thumb. Then she called other fairies and ordered them to dress her godson. They made him a shirt from fine spiderwebs, a doublet from thistle leaves, and trousers from the feathers of songbirds. His red stockings were made from the skin of ripe apples, his shoes from soft mouse leather, and the bows on them were tied from long eyelashes. Instead of a hat, they placed an oak leaf on his head. Wasn't that splendid? Winter and summer, on holidays and weekdays—Tom was always dressed so finely! His mother and all the neighbors couldn't get enough of him.

Tom remained the size of his father's thumb, and his father's thumb was quite ordinary. But as the years passed, he became a cunning little boy and learned all sorts of tricks. He loved playing with other boys, especially at dice. And when he happened to lose all his cherry stones, he would quietly climb into his opponents' bags, fill his pockets with their stones, and then sneak out unnoticed to continue playing as if nothing had happened.

But one day, as he was sneaking out of someone's bag with stolen cherry stones, he was caught red-handed.

"Aha, little Tommy!" cried the owner of the bag. "Now I know who's been stealing my cherry stones. Well, you'll pay for your thieving tricks!"

With that, he stuffed Tom into the bag with the cherry stones and shook it so hard that the poor boy was battered by the stones.

"Let me out!" wailed Tom. "I won't steal anymore, just let me out!"

The boy opened the bag, and Tom was free. True enough, for a while after that, he stopped stealing cherry stones altogether.

Tom was so small that his mother often lost sight of him, especially when she was busy with something. One day, she was preparing a pudding, and Tom wanted to see how she did it. He climbed onto the edge of the wooden bowl but slipped and tumbled headfirst into the dough. His mother didn't notice and scooped Tom up with the pudding into a cloth, then dropped it into a pot of boiling water.

The dough clogged Tom's mouth, and he couldn't scream. But the water was hot, and he kicked and squirmed so much that his mother thought, "Someone must have bewitched my pudding. A demon must have gotten into it!"

She dumped the half-cooked pudding out the door. Just then, a poor tinker was passing by. He picked up the pudding, stuffed it into his bag, and walked on. But Tom finally spat out the dough and started shouting so loudly that the tinker was terrified. He dropped the pudding and ran away. The pudding fell and broke into pieces, and Tom crawled out, covered in dough, and ran home.

His mother was very upset to see her treasure in such a sorry state. She placed Tom in a teacup and washed off the dough, then kissed him and put him to bed.

Not long after the pudding incident, Tom's mother went to the meadow to milk the cow and took Tom with her. A strong wind was blowing, and she was afraid he might be blown away, so she tied him with a thin string to a thistle. The cow saw the oak leaf hat on Tom's head and wanted to nibble on it, so she ate the hat, along with Tom and the thistle. Tom saw the cow's terrible teeth and shouted at the top of his lungs:

"Mom, Mom!"

"Where are you, Tommy, my little Tommy?" called his mother.

"Here, Mom!" he replied. "In the cow's mouth!" The cow was very surprised: who was making noise in her mouth? She opened her mouth in astonishment and dropped Tom. Fortunately, his mother caught him in her apron, or he would have been badly hurt.

A few days later, Tom's father made him a whip from a barley straw to drive the cattle. Tom ran into the field with the whip but slipped and fell into a furrow. A raven flew by, picked up Tom, and carried him over the sea, but then suddenly dropped him from its beak.

At that very moment, a huge fish swallowed Tom. But soon the fish was caught and sold to King Arthur's kitchen. When it was gutted, they found the tiny boy inside. Everyone was amazed, and Tom was glad to be free again.

Tom Thumb was brought before King Arthur himself and placed on the table. But even then, he kept his wits about him: he took off his oak leaf hat and bowed low to the king, queen, court ladies, and the Knights of the Round Table. The king was so delighted that he immediately appointed Tom as his court dwarf. They say that when the king went riding, he often took Tom with him. And if it started to rain, Tom would hide in the king's vest pocket and sleep there until the rain stopped.

One day, the king asked Tom:

"Who are your parents? Are they as tiny as you?"

"Oh no, Your Majesty!" replied Tom. "My father and mother are ordinary people, like your peasants. They're no shorter than any of your courtiers. But their lives are much harder!"

"Well then," said the king (he was a generous lord and very fond of his tiny court dwarf), "you may go to my treasury—where all my money is kept—and take as many coins as you can carry to your father's house."

Foolish Tom even jumped for joy. He brought a purse made from a soap bubble, and the king dropped a silver threepenny piece into it!

It was no easy task for our hero to carry such a burden! But finally, he managed it and set off on his journey. After encountering no obstacles and resting no more than a hundred times along the way, he safely reached his father's house in two days and two nights. His mother ran out to meet him and carried him inside.

But soon, Tom returned to the court.

It must be said that Tom's clothes had suffered greatly—both from the dough when he fell into the pudding and from the fish's stomach. So His Majesty ordered a new suit to be made for Tom, and instead of a horse, he was given a mouse to ride, as befitted a knight.

The court tailors made him a doublet from green dragonfly wings. The court cobblers shod him in boots made from chicken skin. And a golden pin served as the sword for the noble knight Tom. His steed was a white mouse.

Of course, it was very amusing to see Tom in such attire, riding on a mouse, when he went hunting with the king and the nobility. Everyone burst out laughing whenever he appeared on his spirited steed.

Tom knew how to carry himself well, and the king liked that very much. The king ordered a small chair to be made for Tom, and he was allowed to sit in it on the king's table. The king also commissioned a golden palace for Tom, as tall as a hand, with a door two fingers wide, and gave him a carriage drawn by six tiny mice. He knighted Tom and ordered him to be addressed as Sir Thomas.

But then the queen grew angry that such honors were being bestowed on Tom Thumb and decided to destroy him. She told the king that the little knight was plotting against him.

The king immediately sent for Tom, and the poor boy was locked in a mousetrap. But luckily, a cat noticed something moving in the mousetrap and began pawing at it, breaking the latch and setting Tom free. Then he saw a beautiful butterfly on the ground, crept up quietly, and jumped onto its back. The butterfly carried him into the air, flitting from bush to bush, from tree to tree, from one field to another, until finally, it brought him to his parents' house.

How overjoyed his father and mother were to see their Tom Thumb again! They begged him never to leave them. But Tom, as we know, had no desire to return to King Arthur's court, and he gladly agreed to stay in his parents' home forever.

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Tom Thumb

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