Animals have such an easy life Tia!
No school, no rules, no homework!
What do they have to worry about?
Everybody has their troubles Tofu.
Let me tell you the story of Thumbelina.
Once upon a time a woman lived by herself in a far away village
She was very lonely after her husband had died
She always wanted to have a child but alas, she didn’t have any.
One day
she went to her friend
who was a witch
The witch gave her a grain of barley
and told her to go back home and plant it
The woman did as she was told
The next morning a beautiful plant had grown from the seed
It had a lovely flower that looked like a tulip
The woman had never seen a flower like that
and was mesmerized by its beauty
She gently kissed one of its petals
As she did that the flower blossomed open.
Inside it was a beautiful little girl
no bigger than the size of the woman’s thumb
The woman instantly fell in love with her
and called her Thumbelina
Thumbelina took away the woman’s loneliness
In the day she would tell her stories and talk to her
Sometimes she would make Thumbelina a boat out of a tulip petal
which she could row in a plate full of water
At night Thumbelina would sleep in a bed out of a walnut shell
with a blanket made of a rose petal
One night as she was sleeping, a frog came to her window and saw her
He thought to himself, what a beautiful girl!
She will make a lovely bride for my son
And so he grabbed Thumbelina and hopped away to his home
When his son saw his bride-to-be, he was very happy.
She is beautiful father. I will marry her
But before that I want to build her a beautiful house.
Okay, son
I will put her on the water lily in the middle of the pond till then
This way, she will not be able to escape
And so the frog put Thumbelina in the middle of the pond
on a water lily leaf.
Thumbelina tried to escape from her new home
but when she couldn’t, she broke down crying
Two minnows were sitting under the same leaf and they heard her cry
They asked her about her troubles
and when she told them, they decided to help her
They nibbled away the lily stem
Soon it broke and floated away with Thumbelina.
Just when Thumbelina thought she was free
a beetle came down and took her away to his home
He called over his friends to introduce them to his pretty prisoner
But the beetle’s friends told him that she was too different than them
and she didn’t belong with them.
I agree. I think I should let her go
And so he dropped her in the long grass and flower
Thumbelina was very happy that she was free from her captors
However, she still did not know where her home was.
She spent many days in the grass and between the flowers
She would eat the pollen of the flowers
and drink the dew from the their leaves
One day
as she was walking
she stumbled upon a small house made of mud
It had a strange round entrance
She went up to it and knocked on the door.
A mouse opened the door
Oh, hello there!
Isn’t it could out there for you today?
come in please
Thank you so much
Once Thumbelina was settled comfortably in the mouse’s house
he asked her about who she was
Thumbelina told him her entire story
Do not worry. You can stay here as long as you like
So, Thumbelina started staying in her new found home
To make herself useful in the house
she would cook for the mouse and tell him stories
After a few days the mouse said he had invited a guest over
He is the richest mouse in all the land.
He is a very good friend of mine
That night, the mouse’s friend came over for dinner
They all talked and had a very good time
During the course of dinner, the friend fell in love with Thumbelina
and declared that he would marry her
Thumbelina had no choice but to go along with what was happening
When the friend offered to show her his home, she agreed to visit his house
And the three of them set off together
On the way, they entered a tunnel
There they found an injured swallow lying on the ground
The mouse’s friend kicked it and rudely said
Serves her right!
What is she doing in the tunnels?
He should have stayed in the air
Thumbelina was shocked to see that someone could treat another like this
Unseen by the mice she ran away from there
Once she was sure that the mice had left
she came back and attended to the swallow.
She took great care of her
till she was fit to fly again
It became spring by the time the swallow could fly again
she told Thumbelina
I have to go join my family and friends
They have flown away to a warmer place
I can not stay here.
Come with me
But Thumbelina had had enough adventure
and did not want to go anywhere else
And so the swallow flew away
A few months had passed
when the love-struck friend of the mouse found Thumbelina again
Oh my beloved!
I have been looking for you everywhere
Now I have found you and must marry you.
Thumbelina knew there was no way out of it for her
So she asked him
if she could spend one last day out in the open air
before she was confined to living the rest of her life underground with him
As she roamed the open fields for one last time
she heard a familiar voice
Come, come away with me where your spirit will always be free.
Thumbelina saw her old friend who had returned for her
This time around she agreed and hopped on the back of the swallow
and they took off
They flew over land and water and fields of green
When they reached the land of the flowers
the swallow landed Thumbelina on a beautiful flower petal.
This is the kingdom of the flowers. And that is their King
Thumbelina saw a handsome young King with beautiful wings
He was surrounded by lovely flowers
As soon as she saw him, she knew she wanted to call this place home
Her presence attracted the Kings attention
he too fell in love with her immediately
Will you marry me?
Yes!
As happiness spread across her face
she grew a beautiful pair of wings and became the Flower Queen
Oh wow, Tia!
I don’t know what I would do, if I would land in such a strange world
I think I am happy where I am