Thumbelina

“ When autumn came Thumbelina had her outfit all ready, and the field mouse said to her, “In four weeks the wedding must take place.”
But Thumbelina wept and said she would not marry the disagreeable mole.
“Nonsense,” replied the field mouse. “Now don’t be obstinate or I shall bite you with my white teeth. He is a very fine mole; the Queen herself has not such a beautiful velvet coat His kitchens and cellars are quite full. You ought to be very thankful for such good fortune.” ”

“ In autumn all the swallows fly away to warmer countries; but if one happens to linger it becomes so stiff with cold that it drops down as if it were dead, and then the snow comes and covers it.
Thumbelina trembled very much; she was quite frightened, for the bird was large, a great deal larger than herself,—she was only an inch high. ”

“ Andersen's Thumbelina is a feminine counterpart to Tom Thumb, and in Laboulaye's Poucinet we have a tale of the successful younger brother, similarly diminutive.
There were current many old stories of characters similar to Tom Thumb. A certain man was so thin that he could jump through the eye of a needle. ”

“ Once on a time there was a woman who had an only son, and he was no taller than your thumb; and so they called him Thumbikin.
Now, when he had come to be old enough to know right and wrong, his mother told him to go out and woo him a bride, for now she said it was high tune he thought about getting a wife. When Thumbikin heard that, he was very glad; so they got their driving gear in order and set off, and his mother put him into her bosom. Now they were going to a palace where there was such an awfully big Princess, but when they had gone a bit of the way, Thumbikin was lost and gone. ”

“ The giant hesitated, very much disturbed at what he saw. Meanwhile, Thumbling, who began to be hungry, opened his stout leather bag, and took out his bread and cheese.
“What is that white stuff?” asked the Troll, who had never seen any cheese before.
“That is a stone,” answered Thumbling. He began to eat as eagerly as possible.
“Do you eat stones?” asked the giant.
“O yes,” replied Thumbling, “that is my ordinary food, and that is the reason I am not so big as you, who eat oxen; but it is also the reason why, little as I am, I am ten times as strong as you are. Now take me to your house.” ”

“ One day, as the woodman was getting ready to go into the wood to cut fuel, he said, "I wish I had some one to bring the cart after me, for I want to make haste." "Oh, father!" cried Thumbling, "I will take care of that; the cart shall be in the wood by the time you want it." Then the woodman laughed and said, "How can that be? You cannot reach up to the horse's bridle." "Never mind that, father," said Thumbling; "if my mother will only harness the horse, I will get into his ear, and tell him which way to go." ”

“ At last, lowering his eyes to the ground, he discovered what appeared to be a little child, sitting on a fallen tree, with a stout leather bag between his knees.
“Is it you, pigmy, who woke me up from my nap?” growled the Troll, rolling his great red eyes.
“I am the very one,” replied Thumbling, “I have come to take you into my service.”
“He! he!” laughed the giant, who was as stupid as he was big, “that is a good joke indeed. But I am going to pitch you into that raven's nest I see up there, to teach you not to make a noise in my forest.”
“Your forest!” laughed Thumbling. ”

“ When Florrie used to converse with her from outside, in that curious silent way the two had, it would always be the child that put its hands through the wire, never Thumbeline. I once tried to put her against the roof when I was playing with her. She screamed like a shot hare and would not come out of the kennel all day. There was no doubt at all about her feelings for zinc. All other metals seemed indifferent to her.
"With the advent of spring weather Thumbeline became not only more beautiful, but wilder, and exceedingly restless. ”

“ Thumbling bent his head, and seemed embarrassed; and the Troll whispered to him: “Master, don't be disturbed. If you can't guess it, just make a sign to me, and I will carry off the princess, and make an end of the matter at once.”
“Be silent, slave!” answered Thumbling. “Force alone can do nothing, my poor friend, and no one ought to know it better than you. Let me have my own way.” ”

“ He was therefore about to get in at once, but one of the two sentries who stood before the door, observed him, and said to the other, "What an ugly spider is creeping there; I will kill it." "Let the poor creature alone," said the other; "it has done thee no harm." Then Thumbling got safely through the crevice into the treasure-chamber, opened the window beneath which the robbers were standing, and threw out to them one thaler after another. When the little tailor was in the full swing of his work, he heard the King coming to inspect his treasure-chamber, and crept hastily into a hiding-place. ”

“ Then the pastor himself was alarmed, and thought that an evil spirit had gone into the cow, and ordered her to be killed. She was killed, but the stomach, in which Thumbling was, was thrown on the midden. Thumbling had great difficulty in working his way; however, he succeeded so far as to get some room, but, just as he was going to thrust his head out, a new misfortune occurred. A hungry wolf ran thither, and swallowed the whole stomach at one gulp. Thumbling did not lose courage. ”

“ Among the ancient Greeks, Thyme denoted the graceful elegance of the Attic style; because it covered Mount Hymettus, and gave an aromatic flavour to the honey made there. Those writers who had mastered the Attic style were said “to smell of Thyme.” Flies of all shapes, beetles of all hues, bright butterflies, and vigilant bees for ever surround the flower tufts of Thyme, and they thus seem to teem with life. Activity is a warlike virtue, and is ever associated with true courage. ”

“ The Troll was conquered; and, marching before Thumbling like a dog before a little child, he led him to his monstrous cabin.
“Now listen,” said Thumbling to the giant, after they were fairly seated, “one of us has got to be the master, and the other the servant. Let us make this bargain: if I can't do whatever you do, I am to be your slave; if you are not able to do whatever I do, you are to be mine.” ”

“ In a Tyrolese story, Zingerle, p. 138, as here, the boy who is imprisoned reaches out a bit of stick to the man-eater, instead of his finger; but in a Swedish story his captor is a giant (Cavallius, 31) . Hänsel is connected with Thumbling (No. 37 and 45) , and thus appears in the German stories. There are six children; he is the seventh. When they are in the forest with the man-eater, they have to comb his hair, but Thumbling springs in among it, pulls it, and always comes back again. ”

“ Paul Hoch: “Lost, lost!”—falls over the cow in a swoon and is handcuffed. Gretchen: “Saved!” Falls over the calf in a swoon of joy, but is caught in the arms of Hans Schmidt, who springs in at that moment. Old Huss: “What, you here, varlet? Unhand the maid and quit the place.” Hans (still supporting the insensible girl) : “Never! Cruel old man, know that I come with claims which even you cannot despise."
Huss: “What? Name them.”
Hans: “Listen then. The world has forsaken me, I forsook the world, I wandered in the solitude of the forest, longing for death but finding none. ”

“ Well, we were all away except Thumbie, and he was asleep in the doorway, and the old goat saw him and brought a paint pot and painted his back so it looked like a big fat face lying there. So when we came home we didn't know what it was, and we were scared, but Thumbie woke up and began to get up, and Ringling she squeaked, 'Run! run! Big face is after us,' so we all began to run. Thumbie he saw us all running, so he got scared too, and he ran after us, and the faster we ran the faster he ran. ”

“ The robbers paid him great compliments. "Thou art a valiant hero," said they; "wilt thou be our captain?"
Thumbling, however, declined, and said he wanted to see the world first. They now divided the booty, but the little tailor only asked for a kreuzer because he could not carry more. ”

“ On hearing these decisive words from Agnelette, Thibault again became fierce and morose.
“Do you not know, Agnelette, that it is very imprudent of you to speak to me here like that?”
“And why, Thibault?” asked the young woman.
“We are alone here together; it is dark, and not a man of the open would dare to come into the forest at this hour; and know, the King is not more master in his kingdom than I am here?” ”

“ And the good man pointed to the oak tree in which Thibault had taken refuge on hearing the huntsmen approach. He had climbed up from branch to branch and had finally hoisted himself on to the topmost one.
The Baron shaded his eyes with his hand, and, looking up, caught sight of Thibault.
“Well, here’s something mighty queer!” he cried, “It seems that in the forest of Villers-Cotterets the deer burrow like foxes, and men perch on trees like crows. However,” continued the worthy Baron, “we will see what sort of creature we have to deal with.” ”

“ I take thee to be Hugh Hendon," said Miles, sharply.
The other continued, in the same soft tone—
"And whom dost thou imagine thyself to be?"
"Imagination hath nought to do with it! Dost thou pretend thou knowest me not for thy brother Miles Hendon?"
An expression of pleased surprise flitted across Hugh's face, and he exclaimed—
"What! thou art not jesting? can the dead come to life? God be praised if it be so! Our poor lost boy restored to our arms after all these cruel years! Ah, it seems too good to be true, it is too good to be true—I charge thee, have pity, do not trifle with me! ”

“ With my powers I can even do much more.”
A frightened cry burst out everywhere. “Oh, my God, he is possessed!” and there was a tumultuous rush for the door which swiftly emptied the house of all who did not belong in it except us boys and Meidling. We boys knew the secret, and would have told it if we could, but we couldn't. We were very thankful to Satan for furnishing that good help at the needful time.
Marget was pale, and crying; Meidling looked kind of petrified; Ursula the same; but Gottfried was the worst—he couldn't stand, he was so weak and scared. ”

“ Seventy years, he said again, is "the time of life when you arrive at a new and awful dignity; when you may throw aside the decent reserves which have oppressed you for a generation, and stand unafraid and unabashed upon your seven-terraced summit and look down and teach unrebuked." Huck Finn, escaping from an unusually long and disagreeable session with Aunt Polly—that is the posture of Mark Twain, seventy years young, in this moment of release, of relief, of an abandon which, with time, has become filled with sober thoughts. ”

“ It was obvious, too, their presence had been discovered already, perhaps detected after Rald's betraying merriment.
Thwaine, with his quick perception, noticed certain distinctive curves and swore: "By the Seven, a woman in fighting-mail!"
"Hold!" came the regulation challenge. Indubitably, it was a woman, but her tone was stern and war-like. "Throw down your arms and advance!"
Astonished, Thwaine whispered hastily: "Maybe a demon in woman's form...succubus–"
"I'll talk!" warned Rald. "Slip along the shadows there and strike the steel from her hand. ”