THE HISTORY OF TOM THUMB
AND OTHER STORIES

THE HISTORY OF TOM THUMB

In the days of King Arthur, Merlin, the famous enchanter, was out on a journey,and stopped one day at the cottage of an honest ploughman to ask forrefreshment. The ploughman’s wife brought him some milk in a wooden bowl,and some brown bread on a wooden platter.

Merlin could not help observing that, although everything within the cottagewas particularly neat and in good order, the ploughman and his wife had themost sorrowful air, so he questioned them about the cause of their distress,and learned that they were miserable because they had no children. The poorwoman declared that she would be the happiest creature in the world if she hadbut a son, although he were no bigger than his father’s thumb. Merlin wasvery much amused at the thought of a boy no bigger than a man’s thumb;and as soon as he returned home he sent for the Queen of the Fairies andrelated to her the desire of the ploughman and his wife to have a son the sizeof his father’s thumb.

The Queen of the Fairies promised that their wish should be granted. And so ithappened one day that the ploughman’s wife had a son exactly of the sizeof his father’s thumb. While the mother was sitting up in bed, admiringthe child, the Queen of the Fairies appeared, and kissed the infant, giving itthe name of Tom Thumb, and summoned several fairies to clothe her littlefavorite.

Tom never grew any bigger; but, as he grew older, he became very cunning andsly, which his mother did not sufficiently correct him for; so that, when hewas old enough to play with the boys for cherry-stones, and had lost all hisown, he used to creep into the other boys’ bags, fill his pockets, andcome out again to play. But one day, as he was getting out of a bag ofcherry-stones, the boy to whom it belonged chanced to see him.

“Ah, ah! my little Tom Thumb,” said the boy, “have I caughtyou at your bad tricks at last? Now I will pay you off well forthieving.”

Then drawing the string tight round his neck, and shaking the bag heartily, thecherry stones bruised Tom’s limbs and body sadly, which made him beg tobe let out, and promise never to be guilty of such doings any more.

Shortly afterwards Tom’s mother was ma

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