Fairytales of Famous Authors Compared to Disney Cartoons with proper respect etc

Story 52: Thumbelina by Hans Christian Anderson

Published with The Little Mermaid and The Snow Queen also referred to as The Tale of Seven Tales.

You can find a copy of it in the Random House Book of Fairytales along with The Emperor's New Clothes, The Steadfast Tin Soldier and The Snow Queen. I have copied all of them except the Emperor's New Clothes over and it will be last story in the official book collection displayed as the book cover. There won't be anymore stories from Random House after that I am
finished with it now.

Thumbelina

Once there was a woman who wanted a child more than anything in the world. At last in loneliness and sorrow she went to a witch and spoke of her desire.
"That's as easy as winking!" said the witch. "Take this seed and plant it in a flowerpot filled with good, rich earth. Water it carefully and guard it very well."
The woman did as the witch had said. The first time she watered the seed, a large and brilliant flower sprang up. It was still in bud, its petals tightly closed.
The woman bent to kiss the flower. But the moment her lips touched the silky petals, they began to open. The woman could not believe her eyes. There inside sat a tiny little girl. She was perfectly formed, as graceful as the flower from which she'd come. When the woman held her, she discovered that she was not even the size of her thumb.
Though she was a wonderful child in every way, she never grew at all. She was called Thumbelina and was treated with great extravagance and care. Her cradle was a polished walnut shell; each night she slept between fresh flower petals. In the daytime she liked to sit on a table and sing in the sunlight. Her voice was very beautiful high and haunting and silvery.
One night as she lay sleeping, a toad hopped in at the window. "What a lovely wife for my son!" she said. Without even looking around her, she took up the walnut shell and hopped off with it to her home by the edge of a stream.
"Here, look what I brought you, said the toad proudly to her son. But the only sound he could utter was "Koax, koax, brekke-ke-kex."

"Don't talk so loud or you will wake her," complained the toad. "She might still run away from us, for she is light as swan's down."
Holding the walnut shell high, the toad swam out into the stream to an eddy where masses of water lilies grew. On a lear far from shore she put the cradle. Then she went back to build a new room in the mud for the bride.
In the moming Thumbelina woke up and looked all around her at the great arching sky. She felt her cradle rock with the motion of the stream and cried out in terror.
The fish swimming in the water below came to the surface and looked curiously at Thumbelina. "Oh, please help me," she said. "I must get away from here."
And so the fish began to gnaw at the lily stalk with their sharp little teeth.
At last the leaf broke free and floated down the stream.
Away went Thumbelina, gently spinning with the current.
Gradually her fear left her, and she began to enjoy the journey.
Never before had she been outside.
A beautiful butterfly flew near her. Fascinated by its gossamer wings, Thumbelina sat very still to show she meant no harm. The butterfly kept darting toward the sash on her dress, and Thumbelina thought to fasten one end loosely around it. She held on to the other end, and the butterfly flew along, pulling the lily pad behind like a little toy boat.