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TOM THUMB N the days of king
Arthur, Merlin, the most learned enchanter of his time, was on a
journey; and,
being very weary, stopped one day at the cottage of an honest ploughman
to ask
for refreshment. The ploughman’s wife, with great civility, immediately
brought
him some milk in a wooden bowl, and some brown bread on a wooden
platter.
Merlin could not help observing, that, although every thing within the
cottage
was particularly neat and clean, and in good order, the ploughman and
his wife
had the most sorrowful air imaginable: so he questioned them on the
cause of
their melancholy, and learned that
they were very miserable because they had no
children. The poor woman declared, with tears in her eyes, that she
should be
the happiest creature in the world, if she had a son, although he were
no
bigger than his father’s thumb. Merlin was much amused with the
thoughts 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 (with whom he was very intimate,) and related
to her
the desire of the ploughman and his wife to have a son the size of his
father’s
thumb. The queen of the fairies liked the plan exceedingly, and
declared their
wish should speedily be granted. Accordingly the ploughman’s wife had a
son,
who in a few minutes, grew as tall as his father’s thumb. The queen of
the
fairies came in at the window as the mother was sitting up in bed
admiring the
child. The queen kissed the infant, and giving it the name of Tom
Thumb,
immediately summoned several fairies from Fairy Land to clothe her
little new
favourite: —
An oak leaf hat he
had for his crown, His shirt it was by spiders spun; With doublet wove of thistle’s down, His trousers up with points were done. His stockings, of apple rind, they tie With eye-lash plucked from his mother’s eye, His shoes were made of a mouse’s skin, Nicely tanned with the hair within. Tom never was
any
bigger than his father’s thumb, which was not a large thumb either;
but, as he
grew older, he became very cunning and sly, for which his mother did
not
sufficiently correct him: so that when he was able to play with the
boys for
cherry stones, and had lost all his own, he used to creep into the
boys’ bags,
fill his pockets, and come out again to play. But one day as he was
getting out
of a bag of cherry-stones, the boy to whom it belonged chanced to see
him. ‘Ah
ha, my little Tom Thumb!’ said the boy, ‘have I caught you at your bad
tricks
at last? Now I will reward you for thieving.’ Then drawing the string
tight
round his neck, and shaking the bag heartily, the cherry stones bruised
Tom’s
legs, thighs, and body sadly; which made him beg to be let out, and
promise
never to be guilty of such things any more. Shortly afterwards, Tom’s
mother
was making a batter pudding, and, that he might see how she mixed it,
he
climbed on the edge of the bowl; but his foot happening to slip, he
fell over
head and ears into the batter, and his mother not observing him,
stirred him
into the pudding, and popped him into the pot to boil. The hot water
made Tom
kick and struggle; and his mother, seeing the pudding jump up and down
in such
a furious manner, thought it was bewitched; and a tinker coming by just
at the
time, she quickly gave him the pudding, who put it into his budget and
walked
on. As soon as Tom
could get the batter out of his mouth, he began to cry aloud; which so
frightened the poor tinker, that he flung the pudding over the hedge,
and ran
away from it as fast as he could run. The pudding being broken to
pieces by the
fall, Tom was released, and walked home to his mother, who gave him a
kiss and
put him to bed. Tom Thumb’s mother once took him with her when she went
to milk
the cow; and it being a very windy day, she tied him with a needleful
of thread
to a thistle, that he might not be blown away. The cow liking his oak
leaf hat
took him and the thistle up at one mouthful. While the cow chewed the
thistle, Tom,
terrified at her great teeth, which seemed ready to crush him to
pieces,
roared, ‘Mother, Mother!’ as loud as he could bawl. ‘Where are you,
Tommy, my
dear Tommy?’ said the mother. ‘Here, mother, here in the red cow’s
mouth.’ The
mother began to cry and wring her hands; but the cow surprised at such
odd
noises in her throat, opened her mouth and let him drop out. His mother clapped
him into her apron, and ran home with him. Tom’s father made him a whip
of a
barley straw to drive the cattle with, and being one day in the field,
he
slipped into a deep furrow. A raven flying over, picked him up with a
grain of
corn, and flew with him to the top of a giant’s castle, by the seaside,
where
he left him; and old Grumbo the giant, coming soon after
to walk upon his
terrace, swallowed Tom like a pill, clothes and all. Tom presently made
the
giant very uncomfortable, and he threw him up into the sea. A great
fish then
swallowed him. This fish was soon after caught, and sent as a present
to king
Arthur. When it was cut open, every body was delighted with little Tom
Thumb.
The king made him his dwarf; he was the favourite of the whole court;
and, by
his merry pranks, often amused the queen and the knights of the Round
Table.
The king, when he rode on horseback, frequently took Tom in his hand;
and, if a
shower of rain came on, he used to creep into the king’s waistcoat
pocket, and
sleep till the rain was over. The king also, sometimes questioned Tom
concerning his parents; and when Tom informed his majesty they were
very poor
people, the king led him into his treasury, and told him he should pay
his
friends a visit, and take with him as much money as he could carry. Tom
procured a little purse, and putting a three penny piece into it, with
much
labour and difficulty got it upon his back; and, after travelling two
days and
nights, arrived at his father’s house. His mother met him
at the door, almost tired to death, having in forty-eight hours
travelled
almost half a mile with a huge silver threepence upon his back. His
parents
were glad to see him, especially when he had brought such an amazing
sum of
money with him. They placed him in a walnut shell by the fire side, and
feasted
him for three days upon a hazelnut, which made him sick, for a whole
nut
usually served him a month. Tom got well, but could not travel because
it had
rained; therefore his mother took him in her hand, and with one puff
blew him
into king Arthur’s court; where Tom entertained the king, queen, and
nobility
at tilts and tournaments, at which he exerted himself so much that he
brought
on a fit of sickness, and his life was despaired of. At this juncture
the queen
of the fairies came in a chariot drawn by flying mice, placed Tom by
her side,
and drove through the air, without stopping till they arrived at her
palace;
when, after restoring him to health, and permitting him to enjoy all
the gay
diversions of Fairy Land, the queen commanded a fair wind, and, placing
Tom
before it, blew him straight to the court of king Arthur. But just as
Tom
should have alighted in the courtyard of the palace, the cook happened
to pass
along with the king’s great bowl of firmity, (king Arthur loved
firmity) and
poor Tom Thumb fell plump into the middle of it and splashed the hot
firmity
into the cook’s eyes. Down went the bowl. ‘Oh dear; oh dear!’ cried
Tom;
‘Murder! murder!’ bellowed the cook! and away ran the king’s nice
firmity into
the kennel. The cook was a red-faced, cross fellow, and swore to the
king, that
Tom had done it out of mere mischief; so he Was taken up, tried, and
sentenced
to be beheaded. Tom hearing this dreadful sentence, and seeing a miller
stand
by with his mouth Wide open, he took a good spring, and jumped down the
miller’s throat, unperceived by all, even by the miller himself. Tom being lost, the
court broke up, and away went the miller to his mill. But Tom did not
leave him
long at rest, he began to roll and tumble about, so that the miller
thought
himself bewitched, and sent for a doctor. When the doctor came, Tom
began to
dance and sing; the doctor was as much frightened as the miller, and
sent in
great haste for five more doctors, and twenty learned men. While all
these were
debating upon the affair, the miller, (for they were very tedious)
happened to
yawn, and Tom, taking the opportunity, made another jump, and alighted
on his
feet in the middle of the table. The miller, provoked to be thus
tormented by
such a little creature, fell into a great passion, caught hold of Tom,
and
threw him out of the window, into the river. A large salmon swimming
by,
snapped him up in a minute. The salmon was soon caught and sold in the
market
to the steward of a lord. The lord, thinking it an uncommon fine fish,
made a
present of it to the king, who ordered it to be dressed immediately.
When the
cook cut open the salmon, he found poor Tom, and ran with him directly
to the
king; but the king being busy with state affairs, desired that he might
be
brought another day. The cook resolving to keep him safely this time,
as he had
so lately given him the slip, clapped him into a mouse-trap, and left
him to
amuse himself by peeping through the wires for a whole week; when the
king sent
for him, he forgave him for throwing down the firmity, ordered him new
clothes
and knighted him. His boots were made of chicken skins; His coat and breeches were made with pride; A tailor’s needle hung by his side; A mouse for a horse he used to ride. Thus
dressed and
mounted, he rode a hunting with the king and nobility, who all laughed
heartily
at Tom and his fine prancing steed. As they rode by a farm house one
day, a cat
jumped from behind the door, seized the mouse and little Tom, and began
to
devour the mouse: however, Tom boldly drew his sword and attacked the
cat, who
then let him fall. The king and his nobles seeing Tom falling, went to
his
assistance, and one of the lords caught him in his hat; but poor Tom
was sadly
scratched, and his clothes were torn by the claws of the cat. In this
condition
he was carried home, when a bed of down was made for him in a little
ivory
cabinet. The queen of the fairies came, and took him again to Fairy
Land, where
she kept him for some years; and then, dressing him in bright green,
sent him
flying once more through the air to the earth, in the days of king
Thunstone.
The people flocked far and near to look at him; and the king, before
whom he
was carried, asked him who he was, whence he came, and where he lived?
Tom
answered: — From the Fairies I come; When king Arthur shone, This court was my home. In me he delighted, By him I was knighted, Did you never hear of Sir Thomas Thumb?’ The king
was so
charmed with this address, that he ordered a little chair to be made,
in order
that Tom might sit on his table, and also a palace of gold a span high,
with a
door an inch wide, for little Tom to live in. He also gave him a coach
drawn by
six small mice. This made the queen angry, because she had not a new
coach too:
therefore, resolving to ruin Tom, she complained to the king that he
had
behaved very insolently to her. The king sent for him in a rage. Tom,
to escape
his fury, crept into an empty snail-shell, and there lay till he was
almost
starved; when peeping out of the shell, he saw a fine butterfly settled
on the
ground: he now ventured out, and getting astride, the butterfly took
wing, and
mounted into the air with little Tom on his back. Away he flew from
field to
field, from tree to tree, till at last he flew to the king’s court. The
king,
queen, and nobles, all strove to catch the butterfly, but could not. At
length
poor Tom, having neither bridle nor saddle, slipped from his seat, and
fell
into a white pot, where he was found almost drowned. The queen vowed he
should
be guillotined: but while the guillotine was getting ready, he was
secured once
more in a mouse-trap; when the cat seeing something stir, and supposing
it to
be a mouse, patted the trap about till she broke it, and set Tom at
liberty.
Soon afterwards a spider, taking him for a fly, made at him. Tom drew
his sword
and fought valiantly, but the spider’s poisonous breath overcame him: —
And the spider sucked up the last drop of his blood. King
Thunstone and
his whole court went into mourning for little Tom Thumb. They buried
him under
a rosebush, and raised a nice white marble monument over his grave,
with the
following epitaph: — Who died by spider’s cruel bite. He was well known in Arthur’s court, Where he afforded gallant sport; He rode at tilt and tournament, And on a mouse a hunting went; Alive he filled the court with mirth, His death to sorrow soon gave birth. Wipe, wipe your eyes, and shake your head And cry, ‘Alas! Tom Thumb is dead.’ |