Once upon a time, there was a woman. She always wished to have a baby. A beautiful fairy heard her wish one day, and gave her a magic seed to plant in a flowerpot.
The next day, the seed bloomed into a pretty flower. The woman was spellbound as inside the flower sat a tiny and cute little girl, no bigger than her thumb. She whispered, “I will name her ‘Thumbelina’!”
The woman was no longer lonely. Thumbelina told her stories. The woman made a boat for her out of a tulip petal which she rowed in a plate of water. At night, Thumbelina slept in a bed of walnut shell.
The woman loved Thumbelina and they were happy together. One night, something terrible happened. An ugly frog saw Thumbelina and fell in love with her. He thought, ‘I will make her my wife.’ So, he carried her to his pond.
He placed Thumbelina on a water lily leaf in the middle of a pond. The poor Thumbelina cried, for she was alone and frightened.
A small fish heard her crying. She thought, ‘I will not let that ugly frog marry this sweet girl!’ So, she nibbled the stem of the lily pad and it floated away.
Just then, a beautiful purple butterfly saw Thumbelina floating down. She threw a long thin creeper to her and drew the leaf along to safety!
But soon, another trouble came up. That evening, a large beetle carried her away to his tree! Though Thumbelina was frightened, the beetle took great care of her.
For many days, the beetle looked after her till he realised that he would not be able to take care of her any more. So, he placed her on a flower in a meadow. Thumbelina became friends with butterflies and bees.
Soon winter came. The birds flew away. Thumbelina started searching for a warm place. She wandered through the fields and met a mouse. The mousen took Thumbelina to his house and she started living with him.
One day, Thumbelina saw a wounded swallow. She gave him food and took great care of him. Slowly, the swallow recovered. He thanked Thumbelina and flew away.
That night, the mouse’s friend came over for dinner. They all had a good time. During this time, the friend fell in love with Thumbelina.
Next morning, the mole asked Thumbelina, “Will you marry me?” Thumbelina didn’t wish to marry the old mole. But she couldn’t refuse.
On the wedding day, Thumbelina saw her old friend, the swallow, flying. He stopped to ask her why she was so sad. Thumbelina told him everything. “Come and sit on my back,” said the swallow. Thumbelina climbed onto the swallow’s back and they flew to a faraway land.
The swallow carefully placed Thumbelina on a flower and she saw a little man in front of her! He said, “I am the Prince of Flower Land.” Both fell in love.
The Prince asked Thumbelina for marriage and she agreed. They married and the Prince gave her silvery wings so that they might fly together!
