Thumbelina
Once upon a time there was a very lonely lady
She had always dreamed of having a child of her own
So she traveled far far away to meet with a great wizard and ask him for help
The wizard gave her one seed from a magic flower
Watch over this seed and nourish it with your love
When it grows you will have a child
The lady thanked him and gently held the seed to her heart
When she returned home she carefully planted the seed in a pot and tended it every day
She placed the pot on a windowsill so it would get plenty of warm sunlight and watered it often so it wouldn't get thirsty
As the days went on the seed sprouted
Green leaves emerged from the soil and soon a lovely flower appeared spreading its soft petals
Oh the flower has blossomed at last
It is even more beautiful than I imagined
She leaned closer to smell its sweet fragrance
Suddenly something wonderful happened
Oh my oh my goodness how tiny she is and how beautiful
You will be my child and I will call you Thumbelina because you are as small as my thumb
The lady was delighted that the flower had given her the daughter she dreamed of
Thumbelina and her mother were very happy together
But then something terrible happened
A toad who had seen Thumbelina by the pond fell in love with her
One night when everyone was asleep he snuck into the house
Ah there she is
The toad approached Thumbelina
Hahaha I will make Thumbelina my wife
Grabbing the sleeping Thumbelina in his mouth he hopped away back to his pond
The next morning the toad left Thumbelina on a lotus leaf in the middle of the pond
He went to bring his friends so he could show off his new bride
Thumbelina was very frightened and began to cry
Help Is anyone there Please help me
A fish who had been swimming past heard Thumbelina's call and came to her aid
I cannot let that ugly toad marry that lovely tiny girl
The fish chewed through the lotus stem so Thumbelina could float away
Thank you so much for rescuing me
I am glad I am free of that awful toad but I hope I will not get swept away by the current
The lotus leaf drifted slowly down the stream and Thumbelina grew more and more nervous
Just as the lotus leaf approached the edge of a roaring waterfall
A beetle descended from the sky and snatched Thumbelina away to safety
Please Mr.Beetle where are you taking me
Oh my lovely I want to show you to my friends
The beetle thought Thumbelina was very pretty and wanted to introduce her to the other beetles
The beetle's friends were not impressed and laughed at Thumbelina
What's that It's so tiny and it doesn't even have wings oh my
She's so ugly Definitely nothing to brag about
Their taunts made the beetle angry and embarrassed
He decided to abandon her in the forest
But oh I don't even know where I am
Frightened and lost Thumbelina wandered through the forest trying to find the way home
I will never see my home or my mother again
As she trudged through the forest Thumbelina came upon a lovely little cottage
The cottage belongs to Mrs.Mouse
Mrs.Mouse could see that Thumbelina was tired and scared and felt sorry for her
Oh my you poor thing oh you poor girl
She invited Thumbelina to come inside
Please come in and rest
Thank you
Mrs.Mouse lived all alone so she was glad to have Thumbelina there to keep her company
She took care of Thumbelina as she would her own daughter
She fed her delicious food and they played fun games together
One day Mrs.Mouse's rich neighbor Mr.Mole came to visit
Good morning Mrs.Mouse
He fell in love with Thumbelina the moment he saw her and decided to marry her
I will give you a big portion of my crop in exchange for Thumbelina's hand in marriage
Oh no what oh no
Mrs.Mouse felt uneasy about giving Thumbelina away to the old mole but she gave him her promise anyway
I will come back for her later
When Mr.Mole left Mrs.Mouse tried to console Thumbelina and persuade her that this was the only way
Honey Mr.Mole is very rich He will take care of you and give you good things to eat
But I like it here I want to stay with you I don't want to go
I am so sorry but I don't have enough food left to feed both of us anymore I can't take care of you
Thumbelina felt miserable and alone again and she cried and cried
Oh no oh I'm sorry
The following morning Thumbelina was wandering through the garden thinking about her sorrows
When she came upon an injured swallow lying on the ground
Oh Ms.Swallow are you hurt Are you okay
Yes I have hurt my ankle and now I can't fly
I can help you Wait for me
Thumbelina ran back into the house
Thumbelina soon returned bringing some ointments and bandages for the swallow's leg
Oh thank you How how can I ever repay you
Thumbelina was silent and sad and the swallow could see that something was troubling her
Oh please tell me why you are unhappy I will help you
Thumbelina told the swallow all about her adventures and troubles and about how she didn't want to marry the rich old mole
Don't be frightened Just climb on my back and we will fly far away from here
Thumbelina climbed onto the swallow's back and flew away with her
Ms.Swallow where are you taking me
I am taking you to a place where you will be very happy
Oh that sounds wonderful Where is it
It's on the other side of that hill It is a very special place for kind little people like you
Thank you Ms.Swallow Good-bye
The place the swallow had brought Thumbelina to was called Flowerland
Oh this land is so beautiful and the flowers smell so sweet
She fell in love with Flowerland and finally felt like she belonged to
At that moment the Prince of Flowerland landed beside her
Tell me beautiful maiden What is your name
Ah I am Thumbelina Who are you
I am the Prince of the Flowerland Will you marry me Thumbelina
Thumbelina suddenly felt bashful but she smiled and nodded
Thumbelina and the Prince of the Flower Land got married and lived happily ever after