<h2><SPAN name="TOM_THUMB" id="TOM_THUMB"></SPAN>TOM THUMB.</h2>
<p>In the days of good king Arthur there lived a countryman and his wife
who, though they had plenty to eat and to drink, and a very comfortable
cottage to live in, were not at all happy.</p>
<p>They had no children, and they both wished very much for a baby. The
wife was often in tears when her husband was out at work and she was all
alone, because she had not an infant to take care of and nurse. One day,
as she sat weeping by herself, more than usually sad, she said aloud,
"If I only had a dear little baby, I should not care what it was like. I
should be thankful for one if it were <i>no bigger than my husband's
thumb</i>."</p>
<p>Now it happened that the Queen of the Fairies was passing by, though the
poor woman could not see her, and as she knew the farmer's wife was kind
to the poor and likely to be a good mother, she thought she would grant
her wish.</p>
<div class="figcenter"> <ANTIMG src="images/i-088.jpg" width-obs="424" height-obs="650" alt="THE FARMER'S WIFE CRYING BECAUSE SHE HAS NO BABY." title="" /> <span class="caption">THE FARMER'S WIFE CRYING BECAUSE SHE HAS NO BABY.</span></div>
<p>So about an hour or two afterwards the woman was much surprised to see
standing by the table a very beautiful lady, dressed splendidly, with a
glittering star on her forehead and a wand in her right hand, with a
gem of great brilliancy at the top of it. But what delighted the woman
most of all was a tiny cradle, made of a walnut shell, lined with
velvet, in which lay the prettiest baby ever seen, but it was only just
as large as a man's thumb. “See,” said the fairy, "your wish is granted.
Here is a baby for you. Take care of it; it is your own." The woman did
not know how to thank the fairy enough; she was so delighted, and the
queen went away quite pleased at having given so much happiness.</p>
<div class="figcenter"> <ANTIMG src="images/i-089.jpg" width-obs="434" height-obs="650" alt="THE FAIRY QUEEN BRINGING TOM THUMB TO HIS MOTHER." title="" /> <span class="caption">THE FAIRY QUEEN BRINGING TOM THUMB TO HIS MOTHER.</span></div>
<p>Before the fairy went away, however, she gave the woman a little shirt
of spider's web and a doublet of thistle-down for the baby.</p>
<p>When the farmer came home he was very much pleased. He invited all his
friends to the christening, and the child was named “Tom,” after him,
and “Thumb,” because he was no bigger than one.</p>
<p>The baby was very well, and merry, and grew, of course; but still it was
very small.</p>
<p>However, at last Tom thought himself quite a great boy, and begged his
mother to make him a little suit of clothes, and she made him one; but
with a great deal of trouble, they were so small.</p>
<p>Tom was very often in mischief. He was so small that his mother used to
put him on the table to play; and once she found him in the salt-box.</p>
<div class="figcenter"> <ANTIMG src="images/i-092.jpg" width-obs="437" height-obs="650" alt="TOM FALLS INTO THE PUDDING." title="" /> <span class="caption">TOM FALLS INTO THE PUDDING.</span></div>
<p>One day she was making a plum-pudding, and Tom stood by the side of the
basin, and peeped over the edge; but he could not see into it very well,
and while his mother was gone for some more flour, he drew himself up on
the edge of the basin. Alas! he fell in and disappeared in the wet
pudding, which for poor Tom was a huge morass.</p>
<div class="figcenter"> <ANTIMG src="images/i-093.jpg" width-obs="430" height-obs="650" alt="THE FALL OF THE PUDDING." title="" /> <span class="caption">THE FALL OF THE PUDDING.</span></div>
<p>Tom would have cried out, but the pudding stuck his lips together, and
his mother not missing him, stirred him up in the mixture, and put it
and him into the pot. Tom no sooner felt the hot water than he danced
about like mad; the woman was nearly frightened out of her wits to see
the pudding come out of the pot and jump about, and she was glad to give
it to a tinker who was passing that way. The tinker took the pudding and
put it into a cloth, to carry it home to his family, who seldom tasted
such a good dish.</p>
<p>But by-and-by, as he was climbing over a stile, he happened to squeeze
it, and Tom, who had made quite an arch over his own head in the dry
pudding by this time, cried out from the middle of it, "Hallo, Pickens!"
which so terrified the tinker that he let the pudding drop in the field
and scampered off as fast as he could. The pudding fell to pieces in the
fall, and Tom, creeping out, went home to his mother, whom he found in
great trouble, because she could not find him.</p>
<p>After this accident, Tom's mother never let him stay near her while she
was cooking, but she was obliged to take him with her when she went out
milking, for she dared not trust the little man in the house alone.</p>
<p>A few days after his escape from the pudding, Tom went, with his mother,
into the fields to milk the cows, and for fear he should be blown away
by the wind, she tied him to a thistle with a small piece of thread.</p>
<div class="figcenter"> <ANTIMG src="images/i-096.jpg" width-obs="430" height-obs="650" alt="THE COW EATS TOM." title="" /> <span class="caption">THE COW EATS TOM.</span></div>
<p>Very soon after, a cow eat up the thistle and swallowed Tom Thumb. His
mother was in sad grief again; but Tom scratched and kicked in the cow's
throat till she was glad to throw him out of her mouth again, and he was
not at all hurt; but his mother became very anxious about her small son,
who now gave her a great deal of trouble. Sometimes he fell into the
milk-pail and was nearly drowned in the milk; once he was nearly killed
by an angry chicken, and another time had a narrow escape from a cat.</p>
<div class="figcenter"> <ANTIMG src="images/i-097.jpg" width-obs="436" height-obs="650" alt="THE EAGLE FLIES AWAY WITH TOM." title="" /> <span class="caption">THE EAGLE FLIES AWAY WITH TOM.</span></div>
<p>One day Tom went ploughing with his father, who gave him a whip made of
a barley straw, to drive the oxen with; but an eagle, flying by, caught
him up in his beak, and carried him to the top of a great giant's
castle, and dropped him on the leads. The giant was walking on the
battlements and thought at first that it was a foreign bird which lay at
his feet, but soon seeing that it was a small man, he picked Tom up with
his finger and thumb, and put the poor little creature into his great
mouth, but the fairy dwarf scratched the roof of the giant's mouth, and
bit his great tongue, and held on by his teeth till the ogre, in a
passion, took him out again and threw him over into the sea, which ran
beneath the castle walls. Here a very large fish swallowed him up
directly.</p>
<p>Tom did not at all like swimming about in the fish, but by-and-by he
felt it drawn upwards, and guessed at once that it was caught. And so it
was; and being a very large fish, the fisherman thought it would make a
good present for his beloved King Arthur. So he took it to the palace
and begged the king to accept it.</p>
<p>King Arthur was pleased with the poor man's affection, and ordered the
fish to be carried to the kitchen and cooked for his own dinner. The
fisherman took it to the cook, who admired it very much, but said it was
very heavy. Then he laid it on a table and began to cut it open. You may
imagine how he jumped with fear and wonder when Tom Thumb slipped out of
the fish!</p>
<p>The cook's cries brought the other servants, and soon everybody near ran
to behold this wonder—the tiny man who came out of the fish.</p>
<p>Tom begged for some water to wash himself, and when he was clean, the
courtiers thought him so pretty and such a marvel that they ran to tell
the king about him.</p>
<div class="figcenter"> <ANTIMG src="images/i-100.jpg" width-obs="437" height-obs="650" alt="TOM COMES OUT OF THE FISH." title="" /> <span class="caption">TOM COMES OUT OF THE FISH.</span></div>
<p>Arthur was very much surprised; but he desired them to send the little
man up after dinner to see him, and the Court tailor made haste at once
to get ready a Court suit for Tom, which did not take him long to
make; there were so few stitches in it!</p>
<div class="figcenter"> <ANTIMG src="images/i-101.jpg" width-obs="440" height-obs="650" alt="KING ARTHUR RECEIVING TOM THUMB." title="" /> <span class="caption">KING ARTHUR RECEIVING TOM THUMB.</span></div>
<p>As soon as the king's great punch-bowl was set on the royal table, Tom
Thumb was carried to see the monarch, who was delighted with the little
man. Tom walked on the King's hand, and danced on the Queen's. He became
a great favourite with Arthur, who made him a knight. Such is the
wonderful history of Tom Thumb, who did much good when he grew older,
and thus proved that however small people are, they may be of use in the
world. He was good and kind to his parents, and to everybody; and the
old ballad says,—</p>
<div class="cpoem">
<p><span style="margin-left: 1.5em;">"Such were his deeds and noble acts</span><br/>
<span style="margin-left: 2.5em;">In Arthur's court there shone,</span><br/>
<span style="margin-left: 1.5em;">As like in all the world beside</span><br/>
<span style="margin-left: 2.5em;">Was hardly seen or known.”</span><br/></p>
</div>
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