Tom Thumb

English Fairy Tales collected by Joseph Jacobs.

Chapter twenty-five, The History of Tom Thumb.

In the days of the great Prince Arthur there lived a mighty magician called Merlin, the most learned and skillful enchanter the world has ever seen.

This famous magician, who could take any form he pleased, was traveling about as a poor beggar, and being very tired he stopped at the cottage of a plowman to rest himself and asked for some food.

Accordingly, in a short time after, the plowman's wife had a son who, wonderful to relate, was not a bit bigger than his father's thumb.

The queen of the fairies, wishing to see the little fellow, came in at the window while the mother was sitting up in the bed admiring him.

The queen kissed the child and, giving it the name of Tom Thumb, sent for some of the fairies who dressed her little godson according to her orders.

An oak leaf hat he had for his crown, his shirt of web by spiders spun, with jacket wove of thistles down, his trousers were of feathers done, his stockings of apple rind they tie, with eyelash from his mother's eye, his shoes were made of mouse's skin, tanned with the downy hair within.

That man drove her, and was showing how it happened.

Show the gentleman, Tom." The man, who wore a rough dark dress, stepped back to his former place at the mouth of the tunnel.

"'Coming round the curve in the tunnel, sir,' he said.

I saw him at the end, like as if I saw him down a perspective glass.

I will not say that everything was utterly commonplace, because I doubt if anything can be that, except to utterly commonplace people.

And there my vanity steps in." but i will take it on myself to say that anybody might see the house as i saw it any fine autumn morning the manner of my lighting on it was this i was travelling towards london out of the north intending to stop by the way to look at the house my health required a temporary residence in the country and a friend of mine who knew that and who had happened to drive past the house had written to me to suggest it as a likely place I had got into the train at midnight, and had fallen asleep, and had woke up, and had sat looking out of the window at the brilliant northern lights in the sky, and had fallen asleep again, and had woke up again to find the night gone, with the usual discontented conviction on me that I hadn't been to sleep at all, upon which question, in the first imbecility of that condition, I am ashamed to believe that I would have done wager by battle with the man who sat opposite me.

that opposite man had had through the night as that opposite man always has several legs too many and all of them too long in addition to this unreasonable conduct which was only to be expected of him he had had a pencil and a pocket-book and had been perpetually listening and taking notes it had appeared to me that these aggravating notes related to the jolts and bumps of the carriage and i should have resigned myself to his taking them under a general supposition that he was in the civil engineering way of life if he had not sat staring straight over my head whenever he listened He was a goggle-eyed gentleman of a perplexed aspect, and his demeanour became unbearable.

It was a cold, dead morning, the sun not being up yet, and when I had out-watched the paling light of the fires of the iron country, and the curtain of heavy smoke that hung at once between me and the stars and between me and the day, I turned to my fellow traveller and said, I beg your pardon, sir, but do you observe anything particular in me? For really he appeared to be taking down either my travelling cap or my hair, with a minuteness that was a liberty.

And the little pig put on the cover again in an instant, boiled him up, and ate him for supper, and lived happily ever after.

CHAPTER FOUR TOM THUMB Long ago in the merry days of good King Arthur there lived a ploughman and his wife.

They were very poor, but would have been contented and happy if only they could have had a little child.

One day, having heard of the great fame of the magician Merlin who was living at the court of King Arthur, the wife persuaded her husband to go and tell him of their trouble.

The parents were now very happy, and the christening of the little fellow took place with great ceremony.

The fairy queen, attended by all her company of elves, was present at the feast.

She kissed the little child, and, giving it the name of Tom Thumb, told her fairies to fetch the tailors of her court, who dressed her little godson according to her orders.

His hat was made of a beautiful oak leaf, his shirt of a fine spider's web, and his hose and doublet were of thistledown, his stockings were made with the rind of a delicate green apple, and the garters were two of the finest little hairs imaginable, plucked from his mother's eyebrows, while his shoes were made of the skin of a little mouse.

That is, if he wants to travel up high mountains and cross rivers and visit castles and dungeons.

So Puss Junior said goodbye to the kind circus people and to little Tom Thumb too, for the little fellow was making so much money he wished to stay with the circus until he had a million dollars, and then he was going to retire.

So once more, Puss Junior was traveling alone.

But he was used to it, for had he not gone all through Mother Goose Land till he had found his famous father, Puss in Boots? And was he not now seeking adventures in New Mother Goose Land? Well, on he tramped till by and by he came to a village, and as he walked down the main street, little Jack Horner sat in the corner of his father's candy shop.

But when this was done little, kind-hearted Puss Jr. placed the eggs in the nest again, and the yellow hen was so pleased that she crowed like a rooster, and this woke up the farmer's daughter so rosy and fair, and pretty soon she came downstairs and ran out to pick some daffy down dillies, and then breakfast was ready.

And after that Puss said goodbye and continued his journey through New Mother Goose Land.

Well, after he had walked for many miles, he came to a wood where he sat down to eat the lunch which the farmer's wife had put out for him, and then he fell asleep and had a lovely dream, and he dreamed about all the pleasant comrades who had traveled with him, his good gray horse, little Tom Thumb, the curious clown, Goosey, Goosey Gander, and others whom I forget for a moment, but perhaps you will remember them.

And while he was dreaming, who should woke up but his good gray steed and when he saw his little master fast asleep, he stood very still, and then he tiptoed off a little way to eat some tender grass until Puss should open his eyes.