{"collection":"myth-cosmogony","full_text_available":true,"graph_url":"https://unchartedknowledge.5gfusion.net/v2/api/page/gutenberg_11092/graph","html_url":"https://unchartedknowledge.5gfusion.net/v2/page/gutenberg_11092","id":"gutenberg_11092","license":"Public Domain (US)","rights_basis":"gutenberg_metadata_copyright_false","source":"gutenberg","source_url":"https://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/11092","summary":null,"tags":["Category: Children & Young Adult Reading","Category: Mythology, Legends & Folklore","Category: Short Stories","Children's Picture Books","Children's stories","Fairy tales"],"text":"[Illustration]\n\n[Illustration]\n\n[Illustration]\n\n[Illustration]\n\n\n\n\nTHE HISTORY OF TOM THUMB\n_AND OTHER STORIES_\n\n[Illustration]\n\n_Profusely Illustrated_\n\nCHICAGO\nM. A. DONOHUE & CO.\n\n\n\n\nTHE HISTORY OF TOM THUMB\n\n\nIn the days of King Arthur, Merlin, the famous enchanter, was out on a\njourney, and stopped one day at the cottage of an honest ploughman to\nask for refreshment. The ploughman\u2019s wife brought him some milk in a\nwooden bowl, and some brown bread on a wooden platter.\n\nMerlin could not help observing that, although everything within the\ncottage was particularly neat and in good order, the ploughman and his\nwife had the most sorrowful air, so he questioned them about the cause\nof their distress, and learned that they were miserable because they\nhad no children. The poor woman declared that she would be the happiest\ncreature in the world if she had but a son, although he were no bigger\nthan his father\u2019s thumb. Merlin was very much amused at the thought of\na boy no bigger than a man\u2019s thumb; and as soon as he returned home he\nsent for the Queen of the Fairies and related to her the desire of the\nploughman and his wife to have a son the size of his father\u2019s thumb.\n\n[Illustration]\n\nThe Queen of the Fairies promised that their wish should be granted.\nAnd so it happened one day that the ploughman\u2019s wife had a son exactly\nof the size of his father\u2019s thumb. While the mother was sitting up in\nbed, admiring the child, the Queen of the Fairies appeared, and kissed\nthe infant, giving it the name of Tom Thumb, and summoned several\nfairies to clothe her little favorite.\n\nTom never grew any bigger; but, as he grew older, he became very\ncunning and sly, which his mother did not sufficiently correct him for;\nso that, when he was old enough to play with the boys for\ncherry-stones, and had lost all his own, he used to creep into the\nother boys\u2019 bags, fill his pockets, and come out again to play. But one\nday, as he was getting out of a bag of cherry-stones, the boy to whom\nit belonged chanced to see him.\n\n[Illustration]\n\n\u201cAh, ah! my little Tom Thumb,\u201d said the boy, \u201chave I caught you at your\nbad tricks at last? Now I will pay you off well for thieving.\u201d\n\nThen drawing the string tight round his neck, and shaking the bag\nheartily, the cherry stones bruised Tom\u2019s limbs and body sadly, which\nmade him beg to be let out, and promise never to be guilty of such\ndoings any more.\n\nShortly afterwards Tom\u2019s mother was making a batter pudding, and, that\nhe might see how she mixed it, he climbed up to the edge of the bowl,\nbut his foot happening to slip he fell over head and ears into the\nbatter, and his mother not observing him, stirred him into the pudding\nand popped it all into the pot to boil. The hot water made Tom kick and\nstruggle; and his mother, seeing the pudding jump up and down, thought\nit was bewitched. A tinker was going by just at the time, so she gave\nhim the pudding, and he put it into his budget and walked away. As soon\nas Tom could get the batter out of his mouth he began to cry aloud;\nthis so frightened the poor tinker that he flung the pudding over the\nhedge. The pudding being broken by the fall Tom was released, and\nwalked home to his mother, who gave him a kiss and put him to bed.\n\nTom Thumb\u2019s mother once took him with her when she went to milk the\ncow; it being a very windy day, she tied him with a needleful of thread\nto a thistle. The cow, liking his oak-leaf hat, took him and the\nthistle up at one mouthful. While the cow was chewing the thistle, Tom,\nterrified at her great teeth, cried out, \u201cMother! mother!\u201d\n\n[Illustration]\n\n\u201cWhere are you, Tommy, my dear Tommy?\u201d said the mother.\n\n\u201cHere, mother; here in the red cow\u2019s mouth.\u201d\n\nThe mother began to cry and wring her hands; but the cow, surprised at\nsuch odd noises in her throat, opened her mouth and let him drop out.\nHis mother clapped him into her apron and ran home with him.\n\n[Illustration]\n\nTom\u2019s father made him a whip of barley-straw to drive the cattle with,\nand one day in the field Tom slipped into a deep furrow. A raven flying\nover picked him up with a grain of corn, and flew with him to the top\nof the giant\u2019s castle by the seaside, where he left him. Old Grumbo,\nthe giant, came out soon afterwards, to walk upon his terrace, and Tom,\nfrightened out of his wits, managed to creep up his sleeve. Tom\u2019s\nmotions made the giant uncomfortable, and with a jerk of his arm, he\nthrew him into the sea. A great fish then swallowed him. The fish was\nsoon after caught, and sent as a present to King Arthur. When it was\ncut open, everybody was delighted with little Tom Thumb, who was found\ninside. He became the favorite of the whole court, and by his merry\npranks often amused the King and Queen.\n\n[Illustration]\n\nThe King, when he rode on horseback, frequently took Tom in his hand;\nand if a shower of rain came on, the tiny dwarf used to creep into the\nKing\u2019s waistcoat pocket and sleep till the rain was over. The King now\nquestioned him concerning his parents; and when Tom informed his\nmajesty they were very poor people, the King led him into his treasury,\nand told him he should pay them a visit and take with him as much money\nas he could carry.\n\n[Illustration]\n\nTom soon got rested at his mother\u2019s house, but could not travel because\nit had rained; his mother therefore took him in her hand and carried\nhim back to King Arthur\u2019s court. There Tom entertained the King and\nQueen and nobility at tilts and tournaments, at which he exerted\nhimself so much that he brought on a fit of sickness. At this juncture\nthe Queen of the Fairies came in a chariot drawn by flying mice, and\nplacing Tom by her side she drove through the air till they arrived at\nher palace. After restoring him to health, the Queen commanded a fair\nwind, and, placing Tom before it, blew him straight back to the court\nof King Arthur. But just as Tom should have alighted in the courtyard,\nthe cook happened to pass with the King\u2019s great bowl of his favorite\ndish, furmenty, and poor Tom fell plump into the middle of it, and\nsplashed the hot furmenty into the cook\u2019s eyes. Down went the bowl.\n\u201cOh, dear,\u201d cried Tom. \u201cMurder! murder!\u201d bellowed the cook; and away\nran the King\u2019s nice furmenty into the kennel. The cook was a cross\nfellow and swore to the King that Tom had done it out of some evil\ndesign; so he was tried for high treason and sentenced to be beheaded.\nWhen the judge delivered this dreadful sentence it happened that a\nmiller was standing by with his mouth wide open, so Tom took a good\nspring and jumped down his throat, unperceived by all, even by the\nmiller himself.\n\nAs Tom could not be found the court broke up, and away went the miller\nto his mill. But Tom did not leave him long at rest, he began to roll\nand tumble about, so that the miller thought himself bewitched, and\nsent for a doctor. When the doctor came, Tom began to dance and sing.\nThe doctor was as much frightened as the miller, and sent in great\nhaste for five more doctors.\n\n[Illustration]\n\nWhile all these were talking the miller began to yawn, and Tom, taking\nthe opportunity, made another bold jump and alighted on his feet in the\nmiddle of the table. The miller, provoked to be thus tormented by such\na little creature, caught hold of Tom and threw him out of the window\ninto the river. A large salmon swimming by snapped him up in a moment.\n\nThe salmon was soon caught and sold in the market to the steward of a\ngreat lord. The grandee, thinking it an uncommonly fine fish, made a\npresent of it to the King, who ordered it to be dressed immediately.\nWhen the cook cut open the salmon he found poor Tom inside, and ran\nwith him directly to the King; but the King being busy, desired that he\nmight be brought another day.\n\n[Illustration]\n\nThe cook was resolved to keep him safely this time, so clapped him into\na mouse-trap. There he was shut up for a whole week, when the King sent\nfor him, forgave him for throwing down the furmenty, and ordered him\nnew clothes, gave him a spirited mouse for a hunter, and knighted him.\n\nThus dressed and mounted, he rode a hunting with the King and nobility.\n\n[Illustration]\n\nAs they were riding by a farmhouse one day, a cat jumped from behind\nthe door, seized the mouse and little Tom, ran off with them both, and\nwas just going to devour the mouse when Tom boldly drew his sword and\nattacked the cat with great spirit. The King and his nobles, seeing Tom\nin danger, went to his assistance, and one of the lords bravely saved\nhim just in time, but poor Tom was sadly scratched by the claws of the\ncat.\n\n[Illustration]\n\nThe Queen of the Fairies came and took him again to Fairyland, where\nshe kept him some years; after which, dressing him in bright green, she\nsent him flying once more through the air to the earth. King Thunstone\nnow reigned in the place of King Arthur. The people flocked far and\nnear to look at Tom Thumb, and the King, before whom he was carried,\nasked him who he was and where he lived. Tom answered:\n\n    \u201cMy name is Tom Thumb,\n    From the fairies I come;\n    When King Arthur shone,\n    This court was my home.\n    In me he delighted,\n    By him I was knighted.\n    Did you ever hear of\n    Sir Thomas Thumb?\n\nThe King was so charmed with this address that he ordered a little\nchair to be made, and also a palace of gold a span high, with a door an\ninch wide, for little Tom to live in. He also gave him a coach, drawn\nby six small mice. This made the Queen angry, because she had not a new\ncoach too; therefore, resolving to ruin Tom, she complained to the King\nthat he had behaved very insolently to her. The King sent for him in a\nrage. Tom, to escape his fury, crept into a large, empty snail-shell,\nand there lay for some time, when, peeping out of the shell, he saw a\nfine butterfly on the ground. He ventured forth and got astride the\nbutterfly, which took wing, and mounted into the air with little Tom on\nhis back. Away he flew straight to the King\u2019s court.\n\n[Illustration]\n\nThe King, Queen, and nobles all strove to catch the butterfly. At\nlength poor Tom slipped from his seat, and fell into a sweet dish\ncalled white-pot, where he was found, almost drowned. The Queen vowed\nhe should be punished, and he was secured once more in a mouse-trap,\nwhen the cat, seeing something stir, and supposing it to be a mouse,\npatted the trap about till she broke it and set Tom at liberty.\n\n[Illustration]\n\nSoon afterwards a spider, taking poor Tom for a big fly, made a spring\nat him. Tom drew his sword and fought valiantly, but the spider\u2019s\npoisonous breath overcame him.\n\nKing Thunstone and his whole court went into mourning for little Tom\nThumb. They buried him under a rose-bush, and raised a nice, white\nmarble monument over his grave.\n\n\n\n\n[Illustration] THE LION AND THE FOX\n\nTHE LION AND THE FOX\n\n\nThere was once a fox who had never seen a lion; and so, when he saw a\nlion for the first time, this fox was so scared that he did not know\nwhat to do.\n\nThe lion did him no harm: and the fox crept off out of the way, and ran\nto his hole, and there hid. He stayed in his hole a long while, until\nhe found he must go in search of food, and then he crept out.\n\n\n\n\n[Illustration]\n\n\nElla and May are the girls you see on this page. Ella is older than\nMay, and can read, but May cannot.\n\nBut Ella is kind, and will read to May a long time, if May will do as\nshe is bid, and sit still on her lap.\n\nAnd Ella will show May how to read herself.\n\n\n\n\n[Illustration]\n\n\nIn a country called Holland, storks are very kindly treated, for so\nmany frogs live in the marshes there, that if the storks did not eat\nthem, the people would hardly know what to do. The storks are very\nclever at catching the poor froggies; they snatch them up in their long\nbills, and go flying off, with their great wings spread and their long\nlegs stretched out behind them, carrying off two or three at once.\n\n\n\n\nCATCHING BLACKBIRDS.\n\n\nTwo little boys were running through the meadows as hard as they could\ngo. \u201cWhat are you doing there?\u201d said a man who was passing along.\n\n[Illustration]\n\n\u201cCatching blackbirds?\u201d said Willie. \u201cHave you caught any?\u201d said the\nman.\n\n\u201cNo, not yet,\u201d said Willie. \u201cBut grandpa is going to give me five\ndollars when I catch one. He wants one.\u201d\n\nWillie\u2019s grandpa did happen to say to him that morning, \u201cYou catch me a\nblackbird, and I will give you five dollars.\u201d He said it just out of\nfun. He did not think that Willie would ever try to do it.\n\n\n\n\n[Illustration]\n\nTHE DOG.\n\n\nDo you see the dog and the hen? The dog bit the hen, and she was mad.\nMy dog bit a fox on the hip. One day the fox bit the dog on the lip and\nran off. Tom and I had a gun, and we set off to get the fox; but the\nsun was so hot we did not go far, but sat on the hay, and had fun.\n\n\n\n\nA LETTER TO FRANK.\n\n\n[Illustration]\n\nDEAR FRANK,\u2014One day a rabbit came out of the woods to see if he could\nfind any clover. Some boys saw him, and tried to catch him. He ran\nunder the barn; then came out, sprang through the fence, and so got\nclear.\n\n[Illustration]\n\nI will tell you of a smart thing that my red cow does. When she goes\nfor a drink and finds the trough empty, she takes hold of the handle\nwith her horns, and pumps the water.\n\n[Illustration]\n\nWhile I was waiting for a train at the station, the other day, a boy\nwith a little dog came in to wait also. The poor dog was afraid, and\ntried very hard to get away; but the boy held him fast by a stout\nstring.\n\n[Illustration]\n\nThere is one very selfish little chicken in my barn. When the other\nchickens are just going to sleep, this selfish little chick pecks them,\nand drives them down from the roost. He is very naughty, and wants the\nroost all to himself.\n\n[Illustration]\n\n[Illustration]\n\n[Illustration]","title":"The History of Tom Thumb and Other Stories.","tradition":"myth-cosmogony","translated_text":null,"word_count":2575}