Thumbelina

Plot

A woman yearning for a child asks a witch for advice and is presented with a barleycorn, which she is told to go home and plant. (In the first English translation of 1847 by Mary Howitt, the tale opens with a beggar woman giving a peasant's wife a barleycorn in exchange for food). After the barleycorn is planted and sprouts, a tiny girl named Thumbelina (Tommelise) emerges from its flower.

One night, Thumbelina, asleep in her walnut-shell cradle, is carried off by a toad who wants her as a bride for her son. With the help of a friendly fish and a butterfly, Thumbelina escapes the toad and her son. She drifts on a lily pad until she is captured by a beetle who later discards her when his friends reject her company.

Thumbelina tries to protect herself from the elements. When winter comes, she is in desperate straits. She is finally given shelter by an old field mouse, whose dwelling she tends to in gratitude. Thumbelina sees a swallow who is injured while visiting a mole, a neighbor of the field mouse. She meets the swallow one night and finds out what happened to him. She keeps on visiting the swallow at midnight without telling the field mouse and tries to help him gain strength. She frequently spends time with him by singing songs, telling him stories and listening to his stories in the winter until spring arrives. The swallow, after becoming healthy, promises that he will come to that spot again and flies away, saying goodbye to Thumbelina.

At the end of winter, the mouse suggests Thumbelina marry the mole, but Thumbelina finds the prospect of being married to such a creature repulsive; he spends all his days underground and never sees the sun or sky, although he is impressive with his knowledge of ancient history and lots of other topics. The field mouse insists the mole is a good match for her. Eventually, Thumbelina sees little choice but to agree.

At 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. Their wedding leaves the swallow heartbroken and he flies off, eventually arriving at a small house. There, he tells Thumbelina's story to a man (implied to be Andersen himself) who chronicles the story in a book.