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Thumbelina
Soon after being born from a fiery red flower, Thumbelina is kidnapped from home and pursued by many suitors, including a horrible toad, a bumbling beetle, and a grumpy mole--until the plucky heroine finds a true love who fits her just right.
Every new generation of children is enthralled by the famous stories in our Well-loved Tales series. Younger ones love to have the story read to them, and to examine each tiny detail of the full colour illustrations. Older children will enjoy the exciting stories in an easy-to-read text.
"Thumbelina" (Danish: Tommelise) is a fairy tale by Hans Christian Andersen. The tale was first printed by C. A. Reitzel on 16 December 1835 in Copenhagen, Denmark.
Every new generation of children is enthralled by the famous stories in our Well-loved Tales series. Younger ones love to have the story read to them, and to examine each tiny detail of the full colour illustrations. Older children will enjoy the exciting stories in an easy-to-read text.
"Thumbelina" (Danish: Tommelise) is a fairy tale by Hans Christian Andersen. The tale was first printed by C. A. Reitzel on 16 December 1835 in Copenhagen, Denmark.
- GenresChildrensPicture Books
51 pages, Hardcover
First published January 1, 1835
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June 15, 2017
Hans Christian Andersen thought up an unusual beginning for 'Thumbelina' for when a lady wanted a little girl she visited a wise old woman who gave her a seed of barley that she was told to plant in a flower pot. This she did and lo and behold it grew into a beautiful flower in the middle of which sat a tiny little girl; she was 'only half as big as a thumb' so the lady called her Thumbelina. And this is her story, so well presented by Berenice Dyer in the Ladybird 'Well-loved Tales series'.
Thumbelina slept in half a walnut as her bed with violet petals as a mattress and a rose petal to cover her. And in the daytime she played on the table and sang happy songs in 'her sweet little voice'.
Sadly an ugly toad hopped by and took her away as she thought the little girl would make a pretty wife for her son. The toad placed Thumbelina in her bed on a water-lily leaf so that she could not run away while she went and got her son. Thumbelina did not like the son and definitely did not want to marry him but the toad took her walnut bed to their own home in the marsh, leaving Thumbelina on the water-lily, so that they could prepare the house for Thumbelina's arrival.
Fish in the pond had overheard the toad discussing her son's prospective new wife and they knew Thumbelina was not enchanted at the thought so they bit under the leaf so that it floated away downstream. Thumbelina was happy and a maybug picked her up and transported her up into a tree where the other maybugs thought she was ugly because she had no feelers and had a tiny waist! The maybug who had discovered her therefore disposed of her by putting her on the ground where Thumbelina made a bed out of grass.
All through the summer she lived by herself in the wood and she was happy. Then winter came and she was cold but fortunately a fieldmouse discovered her and gave her food and a home, which Thumbelina cleaned and kept tidy in return for the hospitality.
Thumbelina then met a mole and in his tunnel she found an injured swallow which she nursed back to health and when it was strong it flew happily away. Meanwhile the mole had decided he wanted to marry Thumbelina but she was far from pleased at the idea as he lived underground and never saw the sun. She was sadly having to resign herself to the fact that she would marry the mole when the swallow that she had nursed back to health came to see her and as he was flying to a warm country he offered to take Thumbelina with him
She agreed and in a new country with beautiful flowers all round she discovered a little man and a little woman as tiny as herself. They did not like to call her Thumbelina so they called her Maia and eventually she married the Prince of the Flower People and they all lived happily thereafter.
Charles Dickens may well have tired of having Hans Christian Andersen overstaying his welcome with him but the Danish writer could certainly tell a good tale ... and this is one of them.
Thumbelina slept in half a walnut as her bed with violet petals as a mattress and a rose petal to cover her. And in the daytime she played on the table and sang happy songs in 'her sweet little voice'.
Sadly an ugly toad hopped by and took her away as she thought the little girl would make a pretty wife for her son. The toad placed Thumbelina in her bed on a water-lily leaf so that she could not run away while she went and got her son. Thumbelina did not like the son and definitely did not want to marry him but the toad took her walnut bed to their own home in the marsh, leaving Thumbelina on the water-lily, so that they could prepare the house for Thumbelina's arrival.
Fish in the pond had overheard the toad discussing her son's prospective new wife and they knew Thumbelina was not enchanted at the thought so they bit under the leaf so that it floated away downstream. Thumbelina was happy and a maybug picked her up and transported her up into a tree where the other maybugs thought she was ugly because she had no feelers and had a tiny waist! The maybug who had discovered her therefore disposed of her by putting her on the ground where Thumbelina made a bed out of grass.
All through the summer she lived by herself in the wood and she was happy. Then winter came and she was cold but fortunately a fieldmouse discovered her and gave her food and a home, which Thumbelina cleaned and kept tidy in return for the hospitality.
Thumbelina then met a mole and in his tunnel she found an injured swallow which she nursed back to health and when it was strong it flew happily away. Meanwhile the mole had decided he wanted to marry Thumbelina but she was far from pleased at the idea as he lived underground and never saw the sun. She was sadly having to resign herself to the fact that she would marry the mole when the swallow that she had nursed back to health came to see her and as he was flying to a warm country he offered to take Thumbelina with him
She agreed and in a new country with beautiful flowers all round she discovered a little man and a little woman as tiny as herself. They did not like to call her Thumbelina so they called her Maia and eventually she married the Prince of the Flower People and they all lived happily thereafter.
Charles Dickens may well have tired of having Hans Christian Andersen overstaying his welcome with him but the Danish writer could certainly tell a good tale ... and this is one of them.
Displaying 1 - 1 of 1 review