拇指姑娘｜Thumbelina

原著作者｜汉斯·克里斯汀·安徒生

• An old woman had lived alone for many long years.
• She planted a single grain of wheat and watered it every day.
• The grain sprouted and bloomed into a beautiful flower.
• In the center of the petals lay a tiny girl no bigger than a thumb.
• The old woman bent down softly and said, "I shall call you Thumbelina".
• One starry night a toad hopped by.
• It caught sight of the little girl resting on the petal.
• "What beauty," it thought, "she would make a perfect bride for my son".
• Gently the toad lifted the petal with the girl still lying on it.
• It carried the petal and jumped into a pond, sinking deep below.
• Thumbelina woke to find water everywhere around her.
• The toad guarded the jar lid and said to its son, "This is your bride".
• It covered the jar with a great lotus leaf.
• The leaf's edge rested on the water but left only a tiny gap.
• Thumbelina stretched her arm high but could not reach the leaf.
• Fish came swimming by and heard her crying.
• One fish said, "She should not be locked up in here".
• Another fish opened wide and bit into the lotus stem.
• It bit for a very long time until the stem nearly broke.
• The jar loosened and tilted to one side.
• A thin layer of ice formed and froze the stem in place.
• The toad felt cold and went to find another place to stay.
• Thumbelina curled in the corner of the jar waiting for the ice to melt.
• One day the ice cracked open.
• A swallow flew over the pond.
• It was so cold that it paced on the ice to warm its feet.
• The swallow looked down and saw the open jar.
• It flew inside and landed on the bottom of the jar.
• Thumbelina looked up softly and asked, "Who are you"?.
• The swallow flapped its wings and answered, "I am just passing by".
• Thumbelina reached out her hand and said, "Please take me with you".
• The swallow lowered its head and let her climb onto its back.
• The swallow carried her flying over the fields.
• Thumbelina trembled all over from the cold wind.
• She grew weaker and weaker and could not hold on any longer.
• The swallow landed at the edge of a field.
• It gently set Thumbelina down on a single grain of wheat.
• The swallow said, "I can only bring you this far".
• Then it flew away and vanished into the sky.
• Thumbelina lay on the wheat grain, cold and hungry and all alone.
• A field mouse came out from its burrow one day.
• It spotted Thumbelina and picked her up in its little hands.
• The mouse carried her into its warm cozy burrow.
• It gave her a seed to eat and said, "Have something first".
• Thumbelina ate it all up and felt much better.
• The mouse had been living alone for a very long time.
• It was lonely and its house was dark and quiet.
• Thumbelina sang songs for it and wove cloth for it.
• Listening to the songs the mouse's eyes grew bright.
• It said, "Stay here, I need you".
• Thumbelina nodded and decided to stay.
• Winter came and snow covered everything.
• Thumbelina sat by the window gazing outside.
• She thought of the pond and the swallow and the fields she had flown over.
• She let out a sigh and quietly planted a flower seed by the windowsill.
• The long cold winter finally passed away.
• Spring arrived and sunlight poured into the burrow.
• Thumbelina stepped out of the mouse's house.
• She came to the windowsill and stood there stunned.
• The seed had sprouted and grown into a flower.
• The flower was bigger than any other, its petals glowing with soft light.
• The petals slowly opened and standing inside was a Flower Prince.
• He wore a golden crown on his head and a robe of green leaves down to his feet.
• The Flower Prince looked at Thumbelina and reached out his hand.
• He said, "I have waited for so long, and now you are here at last".
• Thumbelina did not speak, she simply took his hand.
• The Flower Prince led her flying far away.
• They flew over forests and over the wide sea.
• At last they landed on a small island covered in flowers.
• There were no toads, no ice, no winter at all.
• Thumbelina stood among the blossoms and lifted her head.
• The sunlight fell on her face and the wind blew softly.
• She smiled and tears of joy rolled down her cheeks.
• She was finally free.