Thumbelina

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The 2002 animated film The Adventures of Tom Thumb and Thumbelina is loosely based on the fairy tale. [13] Mattel's Barbie: Thumbelina from 2009 was also presented as a modern retelling of the story, while its plot has little-to-nothing to do with Andersen's tale. [14] when the beautiful pink flower had sprouted up from the dirt, the old woman kissed its closed petals. Opie, Iona; Opie, Peter (1974). The Classic Fairy Tales. Oxford, UK: Oxford University Press. ISBN 0-19-211559-6.

You shall not be called Thumbelina!" Said the spirit of the flower to her. "That is an ugly name, and you are much too pretty for that. We will call you May Blossom." hungry that she decided to search for shelter and something to eat. She wandered farther than she ever had into the meadow beside a field of corn. There she found a small hole beside a tree. She climbed inside and was surprised to find a field mouse standing in a large room filled with pebbles of corn. Yes, you may well say that, as a clever man,” observed the field-mouse. “Of what use is all this ‘tweet-weet’ to a bird when the winter comes? He must starve and freeze. But they say that’s very grand!” At length they reached the warm countries, where the sun shines brightly, and the sky seems so much higher above the earth. Here, on the hedges, and by the wayside, grew purple, green, and white grapes; lemons and oranges hung from trees in the woods; and the air was fragrant with myrtles and orange blossoms. Beautiful children ran along the country lanes, playing with large gay butterflies; and as the swallow flew farther and farther, every place appeared still more lovely.Thumbelina was very contented. At night she slept under a rose petal in a polished walnut shell. By day she rowed herself across a bowl of water the woman had put out for her. The whole summer poor little Thumbelina lived alone in the great wood. She plaited a bed for herself of blades of grass, and hung it up under a clover leaf, so that she was protected from the rain; she gathered honey from the flowers for food, and drank the dew on the leaves every morning. Thus the summer and autumn passed, but then came winter – the long, cold winter. All the birds who had sung so sweetly about her had flown away; the trees shed their leaves, the flowers died and the great clover leaf under which she had lived curled up, and nothing remained of it but the withered stalk. She was terribly cold, for her clothes were ragged, and she herself was so small and thin. Poor little Thumbelina! She would surely be frozen to death. It began to snow, and every snowflake that fell on her was to her as a whole shovelful thrown on one of us, for we are so big and she was only an inch high. She wrapped herself up in a dead leaf, but it was torn in the middle and gave her no warmth; she was trembling with cold. He is very rich and learned, and his house is twenty times larger than mine," said the field-mouse.

The mole now stopped up the hole through which the daylight shone, and then accompanied the ladies home. But during the night Thumbelina could not sleep; so she got out of bed and wove a large, beautiful carpet of hay. She carried it to the dead bird and spread it over him, with some down from the flowers which she had found in the field mouse’s room. It was as soft as wool, and she spread some of it on each side of the bird, so that he might lie warmly in the cold earth. Farewell, pretty little bird!" She said. "Farewell, and thank you for your beautiful songs in the summer, when the trees were green and the sun shone down warmly on us!" Then she laid her head against the bird’s heart. But the bird was not dead: he had been frozen, but now that she had warmed him, he was coming to life again. Thumbelina stood at the entrance of the hole as she watched him fly away, the sun shining splendidly on her face. Suddenly a beautiful purple butterfly flew next to her, following her path down the river. Thumbelina gazed in surprise at theAt the last minute, Thumbelina escapes the situation by fleeing to a far land with the swallow. In a sunny field of flowers, Thumbelina meets a tiny flower-fairy prince just her size and to her liking; they eventually wed. She receives a pair of wings to accompany her husband on his travels from flower to flower, and a new name, Maia. In the end, the swallow is heartbroken once Thumbelina marries the flower-fairy prince, and flies off eventually arriving at a small house. There, he tells Thumbelina's story to a man who is implied to be Andersen himself, who chronicles the story in a book. [1] Adaptations [ edit ] Animation [ edit ] One of the columns had fallen and lay on the ground, in pieces. In between the broken pieces, beautiful white flowers grew. ‘My nest is high up on a marble column, but you will be better down here, on one of these flowers,’ the swallow told Thumbelina. ‘I should like that,’ Thumbelina said. Fairy Tales Told for Children. First Collection. Second Booklet. 1835. (Eventyr, fortalte for Børn. Første Samling. Andet Hefte. 1835.) There is a bird in the passage,’ he told them. ‘But don’t be afraid, for it is dead.’ When they reached the place where the bird lay, the mole thrust his nose up through the ceiling to let in the daylight.

When autumn arrived, Tiny had her outfit quite ready; and the field-mouse said to her, "In four weeks the wedding must take place." me,” the field mouse said. The field mouse was kind to Thumbelina. She fed her all the corn Thumbelina desired and gave her a warm place to live and sleep. In return, the mouse asked that Well, the wedding day arrived. The mole had come to fetch Thumbelina to live with him deep down under the ground, never to come out into the warm sun again, for that was what he didn’t like. The poor little girl was very sad; for now she must say goodbye to the beautiful sun.befriended many of the birds that nested in the trees above thanks to Thumbelina. During the hot days the butterflies and dragonflies kept Thumbelina cool with their wings and in the evenings, The little prince was at first quite frightened at the bird, who was like a giant, compared to such a delicate little creature as himself; but when he saw Tiny, he was delighted, and thought her the prettiest little maiden he had ever seen. He took the gold crown from his head, and placed it on hers, and asked her name, and if she would be his wife, and queen over all the flowers.