A large marble pillar lay on the ground, which, in falling, had been broken into three pieces. Then she wept and said she would not marry the disagreeable mole. What good fortune for a poor child like you! “This is my house,” said the swallow; “but it would not do for you to live there—you would not be comfortable. “Perhaps this was the one who sang to me so sweetly in the summer,” she said; “and how much pleasure it gave me, you dear, pretty bird.”. I whole- heartedly recomend this lovely book for everyone, for your children and for the child within us all. More somber in tone than Chichester Clark's sunny illustrations, Graston's paintings enhance the old-world nuances of Haugaard's translation and will engage readers. He is in better circumstances than I am, has great, big rooms, and wears a fine black-velvet coat. But the cockroach did not trouble himself at all about the matter. The corn had been cut and only stubby stalks were left in the frozen ground. But during the night Thumbelina could not sleep; so she got out of bed and wove a large, beautiful carpet of hay. Thumbelina - English Short Story for Kids A kind women planted a seed given by a wizard to have children. To make herself useful in the house, she would cook for the mouse and tell him stories. They have a regular visitor, their neighbour, the rich blind mole who asks for Thumbelina’s hand in marriage. More somber in tone than Chichester Clark's sunny illustrations, Graston's paintings enhance the old-world nuances of Haugaard's translation and will engage readers. After a time all the cockroaches who lived in the tree came to pay Thumbelina a visit. The field mouse rounded up a group of spiders to weave the linen for Thumbelina’s wedding dress and other linens for her future life with the mole - all the while ignoring Thumbelina’s protests. “Farewell, farewell,” she repeated, twining her arm around a little red flower that grew just by her side. She looked up, and there was the swallow himself flying close by. Here she slept at night, but during the day she amused herself on a table, where the peasant wife had placed a plate full of water. Doubleday Books for Young Readers; 1st edition (September 8, 1997). An illustration of an open book. “Greet the little swallow from me, if you should see him again.”. One night, while she lay in her pretty bed, a large, ugly, wet toad crept through a broken pane of glass in the window and leaped right upon the table where she lay sleeping under her rose-leaf quilt. In the middle of the floor lay a swallow, his beautiful wings pulled close to his sides, his feet and head drawn up under his feathers—the poor bird had evidently died of the cold. After viewing product detail pages, look here to find an easy way to navigate back to pages you are interested in. Thumbelina did as the kind old field mouse asked and she had a very good time of it. The book begins showing Thumbelina's mother, Anne Marie, who is desperate for a child handing over her life savings to a witch. There was once a woman who wished very much to have a little child. Her name was Thumbelina. She brought the swallow some water in a flower leaf, and after he had drunk, he told her that he had wounded one of his wings in a thornbush and could not fly as fast as the others, who were soon far away on their journey to warm countries. Still, birds are very high bred.”, Thumbelina said nothing, but when the two others had turned their backs upon the bird, she stooped down and stroked aside the soft feathers which covered his head, and kissed the closed eyelids. The books are in good used condition. Near the wood in which she had been living was a large cornfield, but the corn had been cut a long time; nothing remained but the bare, dry stubble, standing up out of the frozen ground. Here, Thumbelina finally meets her prince and discovers she is home. Thumbelina. Oh, how frightened Thumbelina felt when the cockroach flew with her to the tree! Each of them brought Thumbelina a present; but the best gift was a pair of beautiful wings, which had belonged to a large white fly, and they fastened them to Thumbelina’s shoulders, so that she might fly from flower to flower. Reviewed in the United States on August 5, 2013. To calculate the overall star rating and percentage breakdown by star, we don’t use a simple average. Thumbelina by Hans Christian Andersen and illustrated by Robyn Officer. She went to a fairy and said: “I should so very much like to have a little child. However, he came and paid his visit, dressed in his black velvet coat. The illustrations and book are amazing. When they came to the spot where the dead bird lay, the mole pushed his broad nose through the ceiling, so that the earth gave way and the daylight shone into the passage. This is a vintage fairy tale, and may contain violence. The tenth retelling of Thumbelina that I have read and reviewed in the past year - eleventh if you count Daniel Picouly's brilliant Martiniquais version, Thumbelina of Toulaba - this lovely picture-book bids fair to become one of my favorite adaptations of the tale! find ugly and beautiful? Here she sat and rowed herself from side to side, with two oars made of white horsehair. “Her waist is quite slim. But he is blind, so you must tell him some of your prettiest stories.”. Thumbelina's one claim to fame is her beauty, which readers are never allowed to forget, and Graston's illustrations, technically impressive, fail to give the tale even a breath of fresh air. "Once every week my neighbor comes to see me, and he is even better off than I am. Every morning when the sun rose and every evening when it went down she would creep out at the door, and as the wind blew aside the ears of corn so that she could see the blue sky, she thought how beautiful and bright it seemed out there and wished so much to see her dear friend, the swallow, again. The little maiden pleased him, and she was glad of it, for now the toad could not possibly reach her, and the country through which she sailed was beautiful, and the sun shone upon the water till it glittered like liquid gold. Very nice illustrations. A graceful little white butterfly constantly fluttered round her and at last alighted on the leaf. He had a gold crown on his head, and delicate wings at his shoulders, and was not much larger than was she herself. “Here is a barleycorn; it is not exactly of the same sort as those which grow in the farmers’ fields, and which the chickens eat. Superb illustrations radiate beauty and grace, Reviewed in the United States on April 23, 1999. Then she swam out with her ugly son to the leaf on which she had placed poor Thumbelina. The mouse rescues Thumbelina in the winter from cold. “Farewell, pretty little bird,” said she, “farewell. At last he had fallen to the earth, and could remember nothing more, nor how he came to be where she had found him. Thumbelina trembled very much; she was quite frightened, for the bird was large, a great deal larger than herself (she was only an inch high). “We shall have a visitor soon,” said the field mouse one day; “my neighbor pays me a visit once a week. 1. She wanted to bring the pretty bed, that she might put it in the bridal chamber to be ready for her. She could sit on his back, he said, and he would fly away with her into the green woods. So the toad took up the elegant little bed and swam away with it, leaving Thumbelina all alone on the green leaf, where she sat and wept. Your recently viewed items and featured recommendations, Select the department you want to search in. She did not tell either the mole or the field mouse anything about it, for they did not like swallows. “No, it must never be!” So they gathered together in the water, round the green stalk which held the leaf on which the little maiden stood, and gnawed it away at the root with their teeth. Lovely story, one of our favorites by HCA. I am grateful to Ms. Graston for creating a work which connects us with the healing and transporting joy of beauty. She told him how unwilling she was to marry the ugly mole, and to live always beneath the earth, nevermore to see the bright sun. An Illustrated Treasury of Hans Christian Andersen's Fairy Tales: The Little Mermaid, Thumbelina, The Princess and the Pea and many more classic stories, Kindergarten-Grade 4. . Video An ... Thumbelina by Computer Mice. *"A remarkable, lovely version of one of the author's most beloved tales. His kitchens and cellars are quite full. “Thank you, pretty little maiden,” said the sick swallow; “I have been so nicely warmed that I shall soon regain my strength and be able to fly about again in the warm sunshine.”, “Oh,” said she, “it is cold out of doors now; it snows and freezes. Beautiful children ran along the country lanes, playing with large gay butterflies; and as the swallow flew farther and farther, every place appeared still more lovely. They must be woollen and linen. The tiny creature woke very early in the morning and began to cry bitterly when she found where she was, for she could see nothing but water on every side of the large green leaf, and no way of reaching the land. But how surprised she was to see in the middle of the flower a tiny little man, as white and transparent as if he had been made of crystal! She took off her girdle and tied one end of it round the butterfly, fastening the other end of the ribbon to the leaf, which now glided on much faster than before, taking Thumbelina with it as she stood. So, Thumbelina started staying in her newfound home. https://storyberries.com/fairy-tales-thumbelina-by-Hans-Christian-Andersen Publication date 2016-03-30 Usage Attribution-Noncommercial-No ... English. Wandering about, Thumbelina found herself at last outside the forest, in a cornfi eld. Find all the books, read about the author, and more. How miserable it must be to be born a little bird! But she knew it would grieve the field mouse if she left her in that manner, so she said, “No, I cannot.”. Inside the flower was a tiny, exquisite girl no bigger than the woman's thumb. “That will be delightful,” she said, and clapped her little hands for joy. A remarkable, lovely version of one of the author's most beloved tales, this title more than earns its place on the shelf. Artist Arlene Graston has created for THUMBELINA breathtakingly beautiful illustrations full of gentle elegance and poignant sensitivity. Presently a large cockroach flew by. Thumbelina could also sing so softly and sweetly that nothing like her singing had ever before been heard. Enter your mobile number or email address below and we'll send you a link to download the free Kindle App. Thumbelina is about a tiny girl and her adventures with appearance and marriage-minded toads, moles, and cockchafers. She was not allowed to go out into the warm sunshine. “What a pretty little wife this would make for my son,” said the toad, and she took up the walnut shell in which Thumbelina lay asleep, and jumped through the window with it, into the garden. He took the gold crown from his head and placed it on hers, and asked her name and if she would be his wife and queen over all the flowers. There dwelt the field mouse in warmth and comfort, with a whole roomful of corn, a kitchen, and a beautiful dining room. time there was a woman who was sad because she had no children.  One day she planted a magic seed and from the seed grew a flower.  Inside the flower was a tiny, exquisite girl no bigger than the woman's thumb.  Her name was Thumbelina. The mouse thought the mole would make a good husband for Thumbelina because he had lots of food in his kitchen and wore velvets and furs. It is winter and Thumbelina is given shelter by a kind field mouse in . It began to snow, too; and the snowflakes, as they fell upon her, were like a whole shovelful falling upon one of us, for we are tall, but she was only an inch high. A short time before, the mole had dug a long passage under the earth, which led from the dwelling of the field mouse to his own, and here she had permission to walk with Thumbelina whenever she liked. “Oh, she is ugly,” said all the lady cockroaches. “It is an ugly name, and you are so very lovely. Behind it, in a cosy little house, lived a fi eld-mouse. The little fishes who swam about in the water beneath had seen the toad and heard what she said, so now they lifted their heads above the water to look at the little maiden. The next night she again stole out to see him. A walnut shell, elegantly polished, served her for a cradle; her bed was formed of blue violet leaves, with a rose leaf for a counterpane. It was to her like struggling through a large wood. Very good kids book, but I think it would be best read to kids above the age of five. The little prince was at first quite frightened at the bird, who was like a giant compared to such a delicate little creature as himself; but when he saw Thumbelina he was delighted and thought her the prettiest little maiden he had ever seen. Thumbelina is a literary fairy tale by Hans Christian Andersen first published by C. A. Reitzel on 16 December 1835 in Copenhagen, Denmark with The Naughty Boy and The Traveling Companion in the second installment of Fairy Tales Told for Children. Books. She leads a peaceful but dull life in the field mouse’s house under a corn field. If you could only have him for a husband, you would be well provided for indeed. Thumbelina told him her entire story. She sucked the honey from the flowers for food and drank the dew from their leaves every morning. Winter nature. The illustrations are beautifully textured, with a tiled impression in the background and carefully distinguished details: a teapot on the hearth in the field mouse's house; the mole's fur; the swallow's feathers. Between these pieces grew the most beautiful large white flowers, so the swallow flew down with Thumbelina and placed her on one of the broad leaves. “Yes, I will go with you,” said Thumbelina; and she seated herself on the bird’s back, with her feet on his outstretched wings, and tied her girdle to one of his strongest feathers. But especially was she sorry for the beautiful white butterfly which she had fastened to the leaf, for if he could not free himself he would die of hunger. He would have nothing more to say to her, and told her she might go where she liked. But within the flower, upon the green velvet stamens, sat a very delicate and graceful little maiden. This certainly was a very different sort of husband from the son of the toad, or the mole with his black velvet and fur, so she said Yes to the handsome prince. She paints with the soul of an angel. I would so love to have one.". Far out in the stream grew a number of water lilies with broad green leaves which seemed to float on the top of the water. Graston's watercolor illustrations suit the narrative perfectly. You must choose for yourself one of those lovely flowers, and I will put you down upon it, and then you shall have everything that you can wish to make you happy.”. But he warned them not to be alarmed at the sight of a dead bird which lay in the passage. Take a look at our Hans Christian Andersen books. Brief content visible, double tap to read full content. Crest-fallen and helpless, Thumbelina gives in to the field mouse’s requests to accept the offer. To get the free app, enter your mobile phone number. Your selected delivery location is beyond seller's shipping coverage for this item. “Now don’t be obstinate, or I shall bite you with my white teeth. But Thumbelina, who loved to look at the sky, knew the mole didn’t like the sun, and she would never see the sun again if she married him. The text has an old-fashioned flavor while appealing to modern sensibilities. Was it right for Thumbelina to say no to marrying the mole? "Soon we shall have a visitor," the field mouse said. She was pleased with Thumbelina, so she said, “You are quite welcome to stay with me all the winter, if you like; but you must keep my rooms clean and neat, and tell me stories, for I shall like to hear them very much.” And Thumbelina did all that the field mouse asked her, and found herself very comfortable. ‘Come into my warm room and have some dinner with me.’ As Thumbelina pleased her, she said: ‘As far as I am concerned you may spend the … “He is very rich and learned, and his house is twenty times larger than mine,” said the field mouse. We will call you Maia.”. Then the swallow bade farewell to Thumbelina, and she opened the hole in the ceiling which the mole had made. “Farewell, bright sun,” she cried, stretching out her arm towards it; and then she walked a short distance from the house, for the corn had been cut, and only the dry stubble remained in the fields. An illustration of two cells of a film strip. There he had a nest over the window of a house in which dwelt the writer of fairy tales. You're listening to a sample of the Audible audio edition. She wove herself a bed with blades of grass and hung it up under a broad leaf, to protect herself from the rain. He was uglier even than his mother; and when he saw the pretty little maiden in her elegant bed, he could only cry “Croak, croak, croak.”, “Don’t speak so loud, or she will wake,” said the toad, “and then she might run away, for she is as light as swan’s-down. But Thumbelina was not at all pleased, for she did not like the tiresome mole. One day she planted a magic seed and from the seed grew a flower. Stay in your warm bed; I will take care of you.”. how ugly that looks.” “She has no feelers,” said another. The large shamrock under the shelter of which she had lived was now rolled together and shriveled up; nothing remained but a yellow, withered stalk. Thumbelina did all that the kind old field mouse asked, and did it remarkably well too. Whereas Emma Chichester Clark depicted Thumbelina as a sturdy, feisty child in Falloon's version, Graston's character is dainty and ethereal. In autumn all the swallows fly away into warm countries; but if one happens to linger, the cold seizes it, and it becomes chilled and falls down as if dead. “My neighbor has asked for you. When autumn arrived Thumbelina had her outfit quite ready, and the field mouse said to her, “In four weeks the wedding must take place.”. But Thumbelina’s mother and the sparrow thought she was beautiful. As soon as he spied Thumbelina he was delighted. Then there was much rejoicing, and the little swallow, who sat above them in his nest, was asked to sing a wedding song, which he did as well as he could; but in his heart he felt sad, for he was very fond of Thumbelina and would have liked never to part from her again. Please choose a different delivery location or purchase from another seller. ‘Please, may I have a piece of barleycorn to eat,’ Thumbelina begged the fi eld-mouse.

90s Hats Mens, Clark Restaurants Nj, Waffles And Mochi Sia Tomato, Kahalagahan Ng Produksyon Sa Ekonomiya, Swiss Gin Brands, Clothing By Kate, Todd Bosley Wife, Japanese Avocado Dessert,