There once lived a woodman and his wife who had no children.
How I wish we had children to enjoy our evenings with.
Yes, I really wish we had a child who would bring us joy, even if it was a tiny thing as big as my thumb.
And lo, the wife’s wish was fulfilled!
She got a little boy who was only as high as her thumb!
How tiny he is!
But he is our child and we shall love him dearly.
And we shall name him Thomas.
Though the woodman and his wife fed Tom plenty of healthy food, he did not grow higher than his father’s thumb
and everyone called him Tom Thumb.
But he was one smart little fellow who was always happy and loved his parents .
I have to go to the woods to chop wood, and I am late.
If I wait to get the cart ready, I will be even more late.
But then how will I get the wood back without the cart?
Don’t you worry dad, I will bring the cart.
Ha ha ha!
And how will you do that son?
You can’t even reach the bridle of the horse!
Oh, that is not a worry!
Mama will harness the horse, and I will get into its ear and tell it where to go.
I don’t think…
Oh, come on dad, at least give me a chance to prove myself.
I know I can do it.
Well, if you are sure..
Sure I’m sure.
The cart will reach you when you want it, trust me.
And so Tom set out to take the cart to his father.
He sat right near the horse’s ear and guided it to the woods.
On the way, two men passed near the cart.
I say, I hear a voice from somewhere near that cart, but I can’t see anyone!
Am I imagining things?
No, no, you’re right, even I can hear a voice but can’t see anyone.
Let’s follow that cart.
And so the two men kept following the cart till it reached the woodman.
Hey dad, I’’m here.
See, I told you I could do it.
Now take me down.
The two men could not believe their eyes when they saw the woodman gently pick up a tiny boy from the horse’s ear!
Holy cow! Is that guy for real?
If we can get hold of him, we will make a fortune by just showing him around!
Let’s go and ask that woodman how much he will sell him for.
Hey, old man, how much would you take for this little chap?
How dare you! This is my son, and I wouldn’t part with him for anything!
Get lost from here!
Now Tom was a very smart fellow, and quietly whispered into his father’s ear.
Dad, just take a good amount from them.
Don’t worry, I will come back to you in no time.
Er, okay.
If you really want him, I will give him to you, but you must pay me a good sum.
After deciding the price, the two men paid the woodman and took Tom away with them.
Where do you want to sit, little fellow?
Oh, just put me on the brim of your hat, I’ll have a fine view from there.
So Tom perched himself on the hat and off they went.
After some time, they decided to rest awhile at a field, and this was the opportunity Tom was waiting for.
As soon as he was put on the ground, he ran fast on his tiny legs along the plowed field
till he saw a hole and quickly scampered down.
Hey! Hey you, get back up here if you know what’s good for you.
Ha ha ha! First, see if you can catch me!
The two men tried poking and prodding with a stick to get Tom out, but all in vain.
Finally, they went away in a huff.
Tom looked around, and seeing a snail shell close by, crept into it and fell fast asleep.
When he woke up after a while, he heard the
voices of two robbers who were making plans to rob the house of the parson.
Hey, I could help you do that!
Who is there?
Hey, Look down here, mister.
Oh ho, it is a little fellow of 2 inches!
Or is it 3 inches?
Forget how many inches I am and listen to me.
I can easily sneak into the parson’s house and throw out whatever you want.
The two robbers whispered between themselves.
Okay, if we agree, what would you want?
I will tell you that later.
Let’s go now.
On reaching the parson’s house, Tom went in through the window bars, and started yelling.
Shall I throw out the money now?
What else do you want me to throw out?
You silly fellow, stop shouting, stop shouting.
But it was too late!
The parson’s cook woke up and rushed to see what was happening, and on seeing her,
the robbers ran away.
Ha ha ha!
Taught those robbers a lesson they will never forget.
I’m really tired now.
Ah, that hay looks to be comforatble enough to sleep on.
Tom was soon fast asleep.
Alas!
The next morning, the cook came out early and threw the hay for the cow to eat.
When Tom woke up, it was very,very dark.
Why is it so dark?
It surely can’t be night still.
And where am I?
I remember I fell asleep on the hay.
Just then Tom heard the cook.
Here Daisy dear, have some more hay and then give me some lovely creamy milk.
Oh my God!
The cow has eaten the hay I was lying on!
Hey! Hey! Don’t give any more hay
there is no more place for me here!
It is getting all stuffy and I am getting squeezed tight!
The cook started yelling oh my good Lord!
The cow is talking!
Master, master, come fast, the cow is bewitched!
Have you gone mad woman?
Stop talking nonsense.
The cow talking!
Indeed!
But then the parson also heard Tom’s voice.
Stop the hay, I am getting suffocated in here!
Quick, get the axe and kill the cow!
The cow was killed and its stomach split open and thrown away.
Phew!
Finally I’m out!
Feeling bad the poor cow had to get killed.
Ah well!
Nice to see the sun shining brightly.
But Tom’s adventure was not yet over.
As he was walking along, a wicked wolf saw him and quickly pounced on him and gulped him down.
That was a tasty morsel, but I am still hungry.
So now I am in the stomach of a wolf!
Tasty morsel, eh?
I will show him.
Yoo hoo, Mr. Wolf, you want some really, really good food?
Mr. Wolf, you want some really, really good food?
Eh? Who is this?
It is the tasty morsel Mr. Wolf.
If you want more, I can lead you to a place where you can eat a whole lot of goodies.
You know, apple tarts, cold chicken, yummy slices of ham…
Where, where, tell me where!
Tom, the smart lad that he was, gave directions to the wolf that led to his own house!
When they reached there, he told the wolf how to make its way to the kitchen through
the drain outside the house.
The wolf squeezed and squeezed and squeezed itself till it finally reached the kitchen.
Ooooh!
That was a real tight squeeze, thought I would get stuck in there for ever!
When the wolf looked around, he saw all the tasty food that Tom had told him about..
Ah!
Look at these goodies!
Worth the trouble getting here.
The wolf sat down and quickly started gobbling down all the food.
Belch!
That was a wonderful meal.
But I seem to have eaten too much, I am not able to move now.
Now you’ve had it, Mr. Bad, Bad Wolf!
Suddenly, Tom started kicking and shouting in the wolf’s stomach.
Ouch, ouch!
Hey you, stop it, will you?
But Tom continued with the kicking and shouting.
He made so much noise that his father and mother came running to the kitchen to see what the matter was
Good Heavens! How did this wolf get into the kitchen?
The woodman dashes to the shed to get an axe to kill the wolf, when suddenly he hears a voice.
Dad, dad!
Be careful when you kill this fellow.
I am in his stomach!
What!!
Don’t you worry Tom, I’ll get you out.
This glutton has eaten so much he won’t be able to run.
So saying, the woodman hit the wolf hard on the head.
When the wolf fell over, he quickly cut open his stomach and took out Tom.
My child! Where did you go?
I missed you so much.
Never again will I let you out of my sight.
Hello mom, hello dad, nice to see you both again.
Right now I just want to have a bath, change out of these filthy clothes, and then have a good meal.
But where have you been, my child?
That is a very, very long story, and right now I just want to eat and then have a nice long sleep.
The story will have to wait for another time.