Excerpt
THE HISTORY OF TOM THUMB
It is said that in the days of the famed Prince Arthur, who was king of Britain, in the year 516, there lived a great magician, called Merlin, the most learned and skilful enchanter in the world at that time.
This great magician, who could assume any form he pleased, was travelling in the disguise of a poor beggar, and being very much fatigued, he stopped at the cottage of an honest ploughman to rest himself, and asked for some refreshment.
The countryman gave him a hearty welcome, and his wife, who was a very good-hearted, hospital woman, soon brought him some milk in a wooden bowl, an some coarse brown bread on a platter.
Merlin was much pleased with this homely repast and the kindness of the ploughman and his wife; but he could not help seeing that though everything was neat and comfortable in the cottage, they seemed both be sad and much cast down. He therefore questioned them on the cause of their sadness, and learned they were 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; and although he was no bigger than her husband's thumb, she would be satisfied.
Merlin was so much amused with the idea of a boy no bigger than a man's thumb, that he made up his mind to pay a visit to the queen of the fairies, and ask her to grant the poor woman's wish. The droll fancy of such a little person among the human race pleased the fairy queen too, greatly, and she promised Merlin that the wish should be granted. Accordingly, a short time after, the ploughman's wife had a son, who, wonderful to relate! was not bigger than his father's thumb.
The fairy queen, wishing to see the little fellow thus born into the world, came in at the window while the mother was sitting up in 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 favorite as she bade them.
"An oak-leaf hat he had for his crown;His shirt of web by spiders spun;With jacket wove of thistle's down;His trowsers were of feathers done.His stockings, of apple-rind they tieWith eyelash from his mother's eye:His shoes were made of mouse's skinTann'd with the downy hair within."It is remarkable that Tom never grew any larger than his father's thumb, which was only of an ordinary size; but as he got older he became very cunning and full of tricks. When he was old enough to play with the boys, and had lost all his own cherry-stones, he used to creep into the bags of his playfellows, fill his pockets, and, getting out unseen, would again join in the game.
One day, however, as he was coming out of a bag of cherrystones, where he had been pilfering as usual, the boy to whom it belonged chanced to see him. "Ah, ha! my little Tommy," said the boy, "so I have caught you stealing my cherrystones at last, and you shall be rewarded for your thievish tricks." On saying this, he drew the string tight around his neck, and gave the bag such a hearty shake, that poor little Tom's legs, thighs, and body were sadly bruised....