Thumbling

Once upon a time there was a poor farmer who sat by the fire in the evening, poking the coals, while his wife sat spinning. "How sad it is that we have no children!" he said. "Everything is so quiet here, while in other houses it's noisy and lively."

"Yes," replied his wife with a sigh, "if we had just one child, even if it were very tiny, no bigger than my thumb, I would be happy. We would love it with all our hearts."

Not long after, the woman fell ill, and after seven months she gave birth to a child who was perfect in every way, but no bigger than a thumb. "It's just what we wished for," they said, "and it shall be our dear child." And because of its size, they called him Thumbling. They gave him plenty to eat, but the child did not grow any taller—he stayed just as small as he was at first. Still, he looked wise and soon showed himself to be clever and quick. Everything he did turned out well.

One day the farmer was getting ready to go into the forest to cut wood. "How I wish someone could bring the cart to me!" he said almost to himself. "Oh, Father!" cried Thumbling. "I'll bring it! You can count on me; it will be in the forest on time!" The man smiled and said, "How can you do that? You're far too small to lead the horse by the reins." "That doesn't matter, Father. If Mother will harness the horse, I'll sit in its ear and call out directions." "Well," said the man, "we'll try it this once."

When the time came, the mother harnessed the horse and placed Thumbling in its ear. Then the little fellow cried, "Gee up! Gee up!" And the cart went along just as if its master were driving it, straight into the forest.

As Thumbling was calling out "Gee up!" while turning a corner, two strangers came toward him. "Goodness!" said one. "Here comes a cart with a driver shouting, but no one is in sight!" "That can't be right," said the other.

"Let's follow it and see where it stops." The cart drove right into the forest, to the very spot where the wood had been cut. When Thumbling saw his father, he cried, "See, Father? Here I am with the cart!

Now take me down." The father held the horse with his left hand and took his little son out of its ear with his right. Thumbling sat down happily on a straw. But when the two strangers saw him, they were astonished.

One took the other aside and said, "Listen, that little fellow could make our fortune if we showed him in a big town for money. Let's buy him." They went to the farmer and said, "Sell us the little man. We'll treat him well." "No," replied the father.

"He is the apple of my eye. All the money in the world couldn't buy him from me." But Thumbling, who had heard the offer, crept up the folds of his father's coat, stood on his shoulder, and whispered in his ear, "Father, let them have me.

I'll come back soon." So the father sold him to the two men for a good sum of money. "Where will you sit?" they asked. "Oh, just set me on the brim of your hat.

Then I can walk back and forth, look at the countryside, and I won't fall off." They did as he wished. After Thumbling had said goodbye to his father, they went away.

They walked until dusk. Then the little fellow said, "Please take me down. I need to get down." The man took off his hat and set Thumbling on the ground by the road. Thumbling jumped and crept around a little among the grass, then suddenly slipped into a mouse hole he had spotted. "Good evening, gentlemen! Just go home without me!" he called, mocking them. They ran over and poked their sticks into the mouse hole, but it was no use. Thumbling crept deeper inside. As it soon became quite dark, they had to go home angry and with empty purses.

When Thumbling saw they were gone, he crept back out of the underground passage. "It's dangerous to walk on the ground in the dark," he said. "A neck or a leg could easily be broken!" Luckily, he stumbled upon an empty snail shell. "Thank goodness!" he said.

"I can spend the night safely in here." And he crawled inside. Soon, as he was about to fall asleep, he heard two men passing by. One said, "How can we get hold of the rich pastor's silver and gold?" "I could tell you!" cried Thumbling, interrupting them.

"What was that?" said one of the thieves, frightened. "I heard someone speaking." They stopped and listened. Thumbling spoke again: "Take me with you, and I'll help you."

"But where are you?" "Look on the ground and listen for my voice," he replied. At last they found him and lifted him up. "You little imp, how can you help us?" they said. "I can do a lot," said Thumbling.

"I'll creep into the pastor's room through the iron bars and hand out to you whatever you want." "Come on, then," they said. "We'll see what you can do." When they reached the pastor's house, Thumbling crept into the room, but immediately shouted as loud as he could: "Do you want everything that's here?" The thieves were startled.

"Be quiet! Don't wake anyone!" they whispered. But Thumbling acted as if he hadn't heard and shouted again: "What do you want? Do you want everything that's here?" The cook, who slept in the next room, heard this and sat up in bed, listening.

The thieves had run away in fright, but after a while they took courage and thought, "The little rascal is mocking us." They came back and whispered, "Come on, be serious! Hand something out to us." Then Thumbling shouted as loud as he could: "I'll give you everything!

Just reach in!" The maid, who was listening, heard that clearly. She jumped out of bed and rushed to the door. The thieves fled as if the Wild Huntsman were after them. But when the maid didn't see anyone, she went to light a lamp.

As she came with the light, Thumbling slipped away unnoticed to the barn. The maid checked every corner, found nothing, and went back to bed, thinking she had been dreaming with her eyes and ears open.

Thumbling had climbed up into the hay and found a nice place to sleep. He planned to rest there until daybreak, then go home to his parents. But he had other adventures ahead. Truly, there is much trouble and misery in this world!

When dawn came, the maid got up to feed the cows. Her first stop was the barn, where she grabbed an armful of hay—the very one in which poor Thumbling lay sleeping. He was sleeping so soundly that he didn't wake up until he was in the cow's mouth, picked up with the hay.

"Oh, heavens!" he cried. "How did I end up in a mill?" But he soon realized where he was. He had to be careful not to get caught between the teeth and crushed. Still, he was forced to slide down into the cow's stomach with the hay.

"In this little room, they forgot the windows," he said. "No sun shines in, and no candle is brought." The place was very unpleasant, and worst of all, more and more hay kept coming in, and the space grew smaller and smaller.

Finally, in his distress, he shouted as loud as he could: "No more hay! No more hay!" The maid was just milking the cow. When she heard someone speaking and saw no one, and realized it was the same voice she had heard at night, she was so terrified that she fell off her stool and spilled the milk.

She ran in great haste to her master. "Oh, heavens, Pastor!" she cried. "The cow has spoken!" "You're mad," replied the pastor. But he went to the barn to see for himself. As soon as he stepped inside, Thumbling shouted again: "No more hay!

No more hay!" Now the pastor was frightened too. He thought an evil spirit had entered the cow and ordered her to be killed. She was killed, but the stomach—with Thumbling inside—was thrown onto the dung heap. Thumbling struggled hard to make some room.

Just as he was about to stick out his head, a new disaster struck. A hungry wolf ran up and swallowed the whole stomach in one gulp. Thumbling didn't lose courage. "Perhaps," he thought, "the wolf will listen to what I have to say." So he called out from inside the wolf's belly: "Dear wolf, I know where you can find a splendid feast."

"Where?" asked the wolf.

"In such-and-such a house," said Thumbling. "You must creep in through the kitchen sink. There you'll find cakes, bacon, and sausages—as much as you can eat." He described his own parents' house exactly. The wolf didn't need to be told twice.

That night he squeezed in through the sink and ate to his heart's content in the pantry. When he had eaten his fill, he tried to leave, but he had grown so fat that he couldn't get out the same way. Thumbling had counted on that.

Now he began to make a terrible noise inside the wolf, shouting and screaming as loudly as he could. "Be quiet!" said the wolf. "You'll wake the people!" "Oh, is that so?" replied Thumbling. "You've had your fill, and now I'm going to have fun!" And he screamed even louder.

At last his father and mother were awakened. They ran to the room and peered through the crack in the door. When they saw a wolf inside, they ran away. The husband fetched his axe, and the wife fetched the scythe. "Stay behind me," said the man as they entered.

"When I strike him, if he isn't killed, you must cut him down and chop him to pieces." Then Thumbling heard his parents' voices and cried, "Dear Father, I'm here! I'm inside the wolf!" The father cried out with joy, "Thank God, our dear child is found!" He told his wife to put away the scythe so Thumbling wouldn't be hurt.

Then he raised his arm and struck the wolf such a blow on its head that it fell dead. They got knives and scissors, cut open the wolf's body, and pulled out Thumbling. "Ah," said the father, "what sorrow we have suffered for you!" "Yes, Father," said Thumbling, "I've traveled all over the world.

Thank heaven I can breathe fresh air again!" "Where have you been?" "Ah, Father, I've been in a mouse hole, in a cow's stomach, and then in a wolf's. Now I'll stay with you." "And we will never sell you again—not for all the riches in the world!" said his parents.

They hugged and kissed their dear Thumbling. They gave him food and drink, and had new clothes made for him, because his old ones were ruined on his journey.