The woman took the seed and went home.
She planted the seed in a flower-pot.
The seed immediately grew up into a beautiful flower.
A graceful little maiden was sitting in the flower.
She was half as long as a thumb, so they gave her the name Thumbelina, or Tiny.
At night, she slept in a walnut-shell, and during the day, she played on the table.
She could also sing soft and sweet songs.
One night, however, an ugly toad saw Tiny and took her away.
The toad kept her in a water-lily in a stream so that she wouldn’t be able to run away.
“You’ll be the wife of my son” said the old toad.
Tiny cried sadly.
She did not want to marry an ugly toad.
Some fish in the stream saw what was happening.
They did not want this beautiful girl marry an ugly toad either.
They cut the stalk, and Tiny floated down the stream on the leaf.
Tiny floated farther and farther.
A large cockchafer saw beautiful Tiny and seized her to a tree.
However, other cockchafers didn’t like her.
They thought she looked strange.
So they let her go.
Tiny lived in the forest through the summer.
She used grass blades to weave herself a bed.
She sucked honey and dew from the flowers and leaves.
Winter came.
She felt very cold and hungry.
She had no place to stay.
At last, she came to the door of a field-mouse and asked for some food.
The old field-mouse gave her some food and allowed her to stay till spring.
But in exchange, she should tell stories to the mouse.
One day, Tiny found a swallow lying in an underground passage.
The swallow was still alive, but he was very weak.
Although frightened, Tiny decided to take care of the bird.
She brought food and water, and used hay to make the bird warm.
When spring came, the swallow got well again.
The field-mouse had a neighbor.
The neighbor was a blind mole and he wanted Tiny to marry him.
Tiny did not want to marry a mole and live in the dark underground.
She told the swallow about this.
The swallow said, “Go with me and fly away from the ugly mole.”
Tiny agreed.
Tiny sat on the back of the bird and they set off.
At length, they reached the warm countries.
There, the sun shone brightly and the sky looked higher.
They came to a blue lake and the swallow took her to a large white flower.
There, she saw a handsome little man.
He had a gold crown on his head, and delicate wings at his shoulders.
He was the king of the angels of the flower.
They fell in love with each other at their first look.
The flower angels held a ceremonious wedding.
Tiny received a pair of beautiful wings and she could fly like the others.
“Farewell, farewell,” said the swallow.
He left the warm countries to fly back into Denmark.
There he had a nest over the window of a house.
The swallow sang, “Tweet, tweet,” and from his song came this moving story.
The End
