Knjigice
Fairy tale · Classic fairy tales
Tom Thumb
The story of the boy no bigger than a thumb
Also in: Palček (Slovenian) · Palčík (Slovak)
At the edge of the village lived a man and his wife who had everything a home needs — except a child. "Ah," sighed the wife, "how happy I would be if we had a little one, even no bigger than a thumb!" And what do you know: that very year a boy was born to them, healthy and smiling, and truly no bigger than a thumb. "Our Tom Thumb!" they laughed for joy. And Tom stayed small — but his heart was big.
1
Tom Thumb slept in a walnut shell, sat on a thimble at the table; his mother's button was a wheel to him, his father's boot a whole castle. But no one in the house was braver. "I may be small," he said, "but I can get in anywhere — even through the keyhole!" And through it he slipped, till his mother laughed to tears and his father shook his head with pride.
2
One morning his father sighed: "Who will drive the horse to the field, when my own hands are full?" — "I will!" called Tom. His father set him in the horse's ear, and Tom cried: "Gee up, my good horse, gee up!" The horse obeyed his every word. People stopped along the road and blinked: the horse walked all by itself, the cart rolling behind — and no driver anywhere!
3
"Whose horse is this, walking all alone?" the villagers asked. Then the father took Tom out of the horse's ear and set him on his palm. "My son is driving it!" he said proudly. Everyone clapped, and Tom bowed so deeply that his green cap slipped over his eyes. That evening he fell asleep in his father's warm pocket, tired and happy.
4
Next day Tom sat on the windowsill, crumbling a bit of bread. All at once — a rush of wings! A big grey crow took him for a crumb, snatched him up in her beak and flew off with him high over the rooftops. "Hey, I'm not bread!" cried Tom. Below him floated meadows and rivers, small as toys. He was a little afraid — but truly only a little.
5
The crow let him drop in the middle of a wide meadow. "Oof!" said Tom, landing in soft grass as tall as a forest. While he wondered which way home might be, a big spotted cow came by. She munched the grass, tuft by tuft — and before Tom could shout, she swallowed him, grass and all. And inside the cow it was as dark as an oven.
6
"Hey! No more grass down here!" shouted Tom at the top of his voice. The cow was astonished: who could be talking in her belly? Her nose began to tickle and — achoo! — she sneezed so hard that Tom flew in a high arc straight into the brook. He had barely poked his head out of the water when — gulp! — a great silver fish swallowed him.
7
The fish, with Tom in its belly, swam down the river all the way to the king's town. There the royal fisherman was just hauling his net from the water. "What a fine fish!" he rejoiced. "This one is for the king's table!" And he carried it straight to the castle kitchen, where pots were bubbling and the air smelled of fresh bread.
8
The cook opened the fish with his great knife — and froze, mouth wide open. Out stepped a tiny boy, who straightened his green cap and bowed politely: "Good day to you! Tom Thumb is my name." The cook sat down flat on the floor, and the kitchen maids ran through the castle: "A wonder! There was a boy in the fish, no bigger than a thumb!"
9
The king set Tom on his palm and laughed with delight. "Never has so brave a hero come to my court!" He named him the smallest knight in the land. Tom was given a sword made from a sewing needle, and he rode a grey mouse he had trained himself. Whenever he galloped down the long table, past bowls and goblets, the whole court cheered and clapped.
10
But one evening Tom sighed: "Good king, I have everything — except my mother and father." The king nodded: "A faithful knight who loves his home is worth the most." He gave him a gold coin bigger than Tom himself, and a tiny coach drawn by his mouse. "Come back whenever you wish," said the king. And Tom rode away toward home.
11
Before the house sat his father and mother, gazing into the quiet evening. All at once — ting, ting! — up drove the mouse with the tiny coach, and out jumped Tom: "Mother! Father! I'm home!" They hugged him as much as so small a son can be hugged. The king's gold coin brought them plenty for all their days. And unless he has died, our Tom Thumb rides his grey mouse still.
12The End
