Tom Thumb
"Tom Thumb" by The Brothers Grimm
Once upon a time, a woodsman and his wife lived together in a little cottage in a big forest. They were very happy together, but they had no children. They both longed for the joy that could only be brought by the laughter of little children.
One day the woodsman said to his wife, "I wish we had children... even just one child would be enough... even if he was no bigger than the size of my thumb. I would love him so dearly..."
Soon his wish came true. The woodsman and his wife had a son, and he was no bigger than his father's thumb.
The woodsman and his wife were amazed at the size of their son. They fed him and fed him but he never got any bigger than his father's thumb, and so they named the boy Tom Thumb.
Despite the fact that he was unusual, they cared for him and loved him dearly, and when he laughed, his parents knew he was filled with the life and joy of a child one thousand times his size.
Yet although Tom loved his parents very much, as he got older he began to realize that he did not lead the life of a normal child. Because he was so small, he could not go to school or go play with other children. He longed to see the world outside of his parents' cottage and outside of the forest.
When Tom became sixteen, he asked his father if he could go into the forest and help him cut some wood and bring it into the town.
Tom's father laughed, and said that Tom was too little to cut wood or carry wood.
"But I want to help," said Tom eagerly. "If you put me in your wood-cart, I can tell the horse which way to go while you gather wood."
Although Tom's parents were worried that Tom might get lost or hurt outside of the cottage, they could see that he wanted to leave the cottage very much, and finally they agreed.
And so, they carefully placed Tom into the ear of the horse, where he could easily tell it which way to ride, yelling "stop" and "go" and "right" and "left."
Tom guided the horse to trees that were ready to be cut, so his father could cut them down and gather the wood into the cart.
But Tom was so excited to see all the new parts of the forest, and all of the new plants and animals that he had never seen before, that he led the horse faster and faster, further and further away from his father.
Soon, two strangers passed the cart and heard Tom speaking to the horse.
"What an odd thing that is!" said one. "There is a cart going along, and I can hear someone talking to the horse, but I cannot see anyone driving. Let's follow it and see where it goes."
Just then the woodsman called to his son, "Tom, be careful. Don't stray too far away from me!"
It was then that the two strangers noticed little Tom Thumb in the horse's ear, and began to get excited, because they were circus masters. One said to the other, "That little fellow could make us a fortune if we could take him from town to town to perform in our circus."
So when the woodsman was not looking, the two strangers quickly ran up to the cart and snatched Tom from the horse's ear.
Tom tried to cry out his father, but the circus master put his finger onto Tom's mouth. Tom bit the circus master's finger as hard as he could, and the circus master dropped him onto the ground. Tom ran away so quickly that the two strangers could not see where he went, and he hid inside a small hole, where he breathed a sigh of relief.
Tom was very scared to be away from his father, but he knew he had to wait inside the hole until the two strangers gave up and left. Just when Tom thought he was safe, he realized he was not alone. He had crawled into a mouse's hole, and the mouse, having just woken up from a nap, was hungry.
The mouse spotted Tom inside his hole, and mistook him for a juicy worm. Tom scrambled away and ran out of the hole, with the mouse bounding after him. But just as the mouse was about to spring upon Tom, a hawk swooped down from the trees to catch the mouse.
The mouse saw the hawk and turned away in fear, but the hawk missed the mouse, and instead scooped Tom up in her talons. The hawk then rose high up into the air, above all of the trees and into the clouds.
Though Tom was very frightened, he was amazed to see lakes and rivers and mountains for the first time in his life. Soon the hawk headed back down to the forest to go find her nest, where she planned to feed Tom Thumb to her own children.
As the hawk got closer and closer to the trees, Tom saw the hawks nest, but there were no birdies in it. Then Tom saw that the nest had been attacked, and the birdies were gone.
The hawk became very angry and sad, because her children had been attacked by an animal, and were forced to run away from the nest. She feared that they were too small to take care of themselves.
Tom Thumb sensed the hawk's sadness, and said to her: "Noble hawk, I am sorry for the loss of your children. But I too am someone's child."
He told the hawk the story of how he became lost in the woods, and she thought of her own children who may be lost in the woods as well.
Tom said, "though I am no bigger than my father's thumb, I know my parents would love to see me returned to their home safely."
And then the hawk swiftly scooped Tom back up in her talons, and carried him high up above the forest again, where he could see the rivers and the lakes and the mountains. And then he saw the smoke rising from the chimney of his parents' cottage.
"There's my parents' house!" he shouted in excitement.
And so the hawk swooped down towards the cottage, and placed Tom right onto the doorstep. With a loud caw, the hawk soared off again, to search for her own children.
The woodsman and his wife heard the commotion, rushed to the door. When they found their dear son Tom Thumb at their doorstep, they both cried out in joy.
"Tom, we were so worried about you!" said the woodsman. "I am sorry I let you get lost in the woods. Where have you been?"
Tom thought about all the new and exciting things he had seen, and his adventures with the circus masters and the mouse and the hawk. But when he finally opened his mouth to speak, the only thing he could say was
"It's good to be home."
Once upon a time, a woodsman and his wife lived together in a little cottage in a big forest. They were very happy together, but they had no children. They both longed for the joy that could only be brought by the laughter of little children.
One day the woodsman said to his wife, "I wish we had children... even just one child would be enough... even if he was no bigger than the size of my thumb. I would love him so dearly..."
Soon his wish came true. The woodsman and his wife had a son, and he was no bigger than his father's thumb.
The woodsman and his wife were amazed at the size of their son. They fed him and fed him but he never got any bigger than his father's thumb, and so they named the boy Tom Thumb.
Despite the fact that he was unusual, they cared for him and loved him dearly, and when he laughed, his parents knew he was filled with the life and joy of a child one thousand times his size.
Yet although Tom loved his parents very much, as he got older he began to realize that he did not lead the life of a normal child. Because he was so small, he could not go to school or go play with other children. He longed to see the world outside of his parents' cottage and outside of the forest.
When Tom became sixteen, he asked his father if he could go into the forest and help him cut some wood and bring it into the town.
Tom's father laughed, and said that Tom was too little to cut wood or carry wood.
"But I want to help," said Tom eagerly. "If you put me in your wood-cart, I can tell the horse which way to go while you gather wood."
Although Tom's parents were worried that Tom might get lost or hurt outside of the cottage, they could see that he wanted to leave the cottage very much, and finally they agreed.
And so, they carefully placed Tom into the ear of the horse, where he could easily tell it which way to ride, yelling "stop" and "go" and "right" and "left."
Tom guided the horse to trees that were ready to be cut, so his father could cut them down and gather the wood into the cart.
But Tom was so excited to see all the new parts of the forest, and all of the new plants and animals that he had never seen before, that he led the horse faster and faster, further and further away from his father.
Soon, two strangers passed the cart and heard Tom speaking to the horse.
"What an odd thing that is!" said one. "There is a cart going along, and I can hear someone talking to the horse, but I cannot see anyone driving. Let's follow it and see where it goes."
Just then the woodsman called to his son, "Tom, be careful. Don't stray too far away from me!"
It was then that the two strangers noticed little Tom Thumb in the horse's ear, and began to get excited, because they were circus masters. One said to the other, "That little fellow could make us a fortune if we could take him from town to town to perform in our circus."
So when the woodsman was not looking, the two strangers quickly ran up to the cart and snatched Tom from the horse's ear.
Tom tried to cry out his father, but the circus master put his finger onto Tom's mouth. Tom bit the circus master's finger as hard as he could, and the circus master dropped him onto the ground. Tom ran away so quickly that the two strangers could not see where he went, and he hid inside a small hole, where he breathed a sigh of relief.
Tom was very scared to be away from his father, but he knew he had to wait inside the hole until the two strangers gave up and left. Just when Tom thought he was safe, he realized he was not alone. He had crawled into a mouse's hole, and the mouse, having just woken up from a nap, was hungry.
The mouse spotted Tom inside his hole, and mistook him for a juicy worm. Tom scrambled away and ran out of the hole, with the mouse bounding after him. But just as the mouse was about to spring upon Tom, a hawk swooped down from the trees to catch the mouse.
The mouse saw the hawk and turned away in fear, but the hawk missed the mouse, and instead scooped Tom up in her talons. The hawk then rose high up into the air, above all of the trees and into the clouds.
Though Tom was very frightened, he was amazed to see lakes and rivers and mountains for the first time in his life. Soon the hawk headed back down to the forest to go find her nest, where she planned to feed Tom Thumb to her own children.
As the hawk got closer and closer to the trees, Tom saw the hawks nest, but there were no birdies in it. Then Tom saw that the nest had been attacked, and the birdies were gone.
The hawk became very angry and sad, because her children had been attacked by an animal, and were forced to run away from the nest. She feared that they were too small to take care of themselves.
Tom Thumb sensed the hawk's sadness, and said to her: "Noble hawk, I am sorry for the loss of your children. But I too am someone's child."
He told the hawk the story of how he became lost in the woods, and she thought of her own children who may be lost in the woods as well.
Tom said, "though I am no bigger than my father's thumb, I know my parents would love to see me returned to their home safely."
And then the hawk swiftly scooped Tom back up in her talons, and carried him high up above the forest again, where he could see the rivers and the lakes and the mountains. And then he saw the smoke rising from the chimney of his parents' cottage.
"There's my parents' house!" he shouted in excitement.
And so the hawk swooped down towards the cottage, and placed Tom right onto the doorstep. With a loud caw, the hawk soared off again, to search for her own children.
The woodsman and his wife heard the commotion, rushed to the door. When they found their dear son Tom Thumb at their doorstep, they both cried out in joy.
"Tom, we were so worried about you!" said the woodsman. "I am sorry I let you get lost in the woods. Where have you been?"
Tom thought about all the new and exciting things he had seen, and his adventures with the circus masters and the mouse and the hawk. But when he finally opened his mouth to speak, the only thing he could say was
"It's good to be home."