Thumbelina

A Girl as Small as a Thumb

Once upon a time, a kind woman wished for a tiny child of her very own. A wise old fairy gave her a magic seed. The woman planted it, and up grew a beautiful flower.

When the flower opened its soft petals — there sat a little girl, no bigger than a thumb! The woman called her Thumbelina.

Thumbelina slept in a walnut shell. She drank from a flower cup. And she sang the sweetest songs you ever heard.

Carried Away

One night, while Thumbelina slept, a big old toad hopped through the window.

"What a pretty little wife she will make!" croaked the toad. She carried Thumbelina down to the river and left her on a lily pad.

Poor Thumbelina did not want to live with the toad. She cried until the little fish in the river heard her. The kind fish nibbled the lily pad free, and it floated away, carrying Thumbelina downstream to safety.

A friendly butterfly tied a thread to the leaf and pulled her along, faster and faster, until she was far from the toad.

A Long, Cold Winter

Summer turned to autumn, and autumn turned to cold, white winter. Thumbelina had no warm home. She shivered among the dry leaves.

At last she found the burrow of a kind field mouse. "Come in, little one," said the mouse. "You may stay warm with me."

One day, in a tunnel near the burrow, Thumbelina found a swallow lying very still. He was cold and hurt and could not fly.

"Oh, you poor bird," she whispered. She covered him with soft grass and brought him seeds and water every day. Slowly, the swallow grew warm and strong again.

A Friend Returns

When spring came, the swallow was ready to fly.

"Thank you for saving my life," he sang. "Climb on my back, and I will carry you somewhere wonderful!"

Thumbelina climbed onto the swallow's soft feathers. Up, up they flew, over fields and rivers, all the way to a warm and sunny land full of flowers.

And there, sitting in the blossoms, were tiny people just like her — no bigger than a thumb!

They welcomed Thumbelina with happy smiles. At last, she had found a place where she belonged.

She had been brave and small and kind, and now she was home. And there she lived happily ever after, with the swallow visiting whenever he could.

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The moral: Being small does not mean being weak, and the kindness you give to others often comes back to you when you need it most.

Want more read-along tales? Try The Ugly Duckling or Cinderella next.