by Chris Colfer
Unfortunately, while the widow and Thumbelina were walking about through town, the small girl caught the attention of a large and ugly toad. The toad just so happened to be looking for someone like Thumbelina. One night, while the widow and Thumbelina were sleeping, the toad snuck into the house through a hole in the wall. She shut the jewelry box, trapping Thumbelina inside, and took off with it.
“Help!” Thumbelina cried. “Mother, help me!”
The girl’s pleas were muffled by the box. The toad dragged it outside and down the path to a muddy patch that sat beside a stream. The area was home to many toads, frogs, and other creatures. Each one was nastier than the one before.
“Son, oh, son!” the toad croaked. “Mother’s returned!”
Her son was just as large and ugly as his mother, and when they squatted side by side, it was hard to tell them apart.
“Mother, what are you carrying?” the toad asked.
“I’ve found you a wife!” his mother said. “I’ve been looking all over for a suitable match, and she’s the prettiest creature I’ve seen. You two will make beautiful children!”
The mother toad opened the jewelry box so her son could see Thumbelina for himself. His wide mouth became even wider at the sight of her.
“Mama, she’s beautiful!” the toad said and went in for a kiss.
“Don’t touch me!” Thumbelina said and pushed his slimy face away from her. “Take me back to my mother at once!”
“Come now, little one,” the mother toad said. “You don’t belong with a human. You belong right here with creatures your own size!”
“I may be your size, but I don’t belong with you!” Thumbelina said. “I’m not an amphibian!”
“Then what are you?” the son asked.
Thumbelina didn’t answer, because she didn’t know. She climbed out of the jewelry box and tried running back home to her mother. Before she got far, the mother toad’s tongue wrapped around her waist and pulled her right back.
“No more talk of this nonsense,” the toad croaked. “It doesn’t matter what you are, because you will live in the mud with us and marry my son.”
The mother toad placed Thumbelina on top of a lily pad floating in the stream. The lily pad was too far away from the banks for Thumbelina to jump, and the stream moved too fast for her to swim, so she was stuck.
“Now I must prepare for the wedding!” the mother toad said. “What a wonderful celebration we will have!”
Thumbelina sat on the lily pad and cried. Spending the rest of her life as the wife of a slimy frog was the worst fate she could think of. Luckily for her, two fish in the stream had witnessed the entire thing and felt sorry for her.
“Don’t worry,” one of the fish whispered to her. “We’ll chew at the lily pad’s stem underwater, and you’ll be free!”
“Oh, please!” Thumbelina said.
The fish dived beneath the water and chewed on the lily pad’s stem until it detached. Thumbelina floated down the stream before the toads noticed she was gone.
She was happy to escape them, but she started to worry as the lily pad drifted faster and faster downstream. Up ahead, she saw that the stream flowed into a waterfall, and Thumbelina began to panic. It was only a small drop, but it was a terrifying distance for someone her size.
“Oh no!” she said. “Help me! Someone, please help me!”
A large beetle happened to be flying over the stream at that very moment. When he looked down and saw the small girl, he figured she was a strange insect. He flew down and lifted Thumbelina off the lily pad just as it reached the edge of the waterfall.
“Thank you so much for rescuing me!” Thumbelina said to the beetle.
“You’re very welcome,” the beetle said. “The stream can be a dangerous place for bugs like us. Let me take you home, where you’ll be safe until morning.”
The beetle flew Thumbelina to the branches of a tree where he and many other insects and critters lived. There were butterflies and dragonflies, ladybugs and stinkbugs, mantises and spiders. They all came out to see the strange creature the beetle had brought.
“Hello,” Thumbelina said to the bugs. “My name is Thumbelina.”
“What kind of insect is she?” said a butterfly.
“She doesn’t have any wings or antennas!” said a mantis.
“And only two eyes and two legs!” said a spider.
“Oh, I’m not an insect,” Thumbelina said.
“If you’re not a bug, then what are you?” asked the stinkbug.
Thumbelina didn’t answer, for she still didn’t know.
“Whatever she is, she’s the ugliest thing I’ve ever seen!” said the ladybug.
The bugs all began insulting Thumbelina for being different from them. She was called so many horrible things, it brought tears to her eyes.
“I’m sorry to bring you all the way up here for nothing, but our tree is for insects only,” the beetle said. “I’m afraid I’m going to have to ask you to leave.”
The beetle took Thumbelina to the ground, and she was banished from the tree. She looked at the landscape around her and tried to find her way back home to the widow, but she didn’t recognize anything.
Thumbelina wandered through the grass, the flowers, and the trees but couldn’t find her mother’s home. She was lost for so long, the seasons started changing. All the leaves in the trees fell off their branches, and snow began to fall.
Thumbelina had to keep an eye on the sky at all times to make sure nothing fell on her. She wrapped a shriveled leaf around herself to stay warm.
Along the way, she found a sparrow with beautiful blue feathers lying on the ground. He shivered in the cold and moaned in pain.
“Poor bird, what’s wrong?” Thumbelina asked.
“I broke my wing and couldn’t fly south for the winter with my family,” the bird said and raised his wing to show her that the tip was bent. “Now I will surely freeze to death.”
“I’m without a family too,” Thumbelina said. “Don’t worry; I’ll stay with you until you’re feeling better.”
Thumbelina splinted the bird’s broken wing with a twig and wrapped it in a blade of grass. She covered the bird with leaves to keep him warm and rested his head on a mushroom. She cared for him until his wing healed and he was ready to fly again.
“You’re the kindest creature I’ve ever known,” the sparrow said. “What are you, anyway?”
The small girl didn’t answer. Even after all her travels, she still didn’t know.
“You’d better leave; otherwise you’ll never catch up with your family,” Thumbelina said.
The sparrow thanked her again and flew south to find his family.
Unfortunately, the worst of winter was still to come. The snow fell more heavily and the air became even colder. Conditions became so bad that Thumbelina grew worried she wouldn’t survive to see spring. She knocked on the door of the next home she found to ask for shelter. It was the underground home of a sweet little mouse.
“Can I help you?” the mouse asked.
“Please, I’m freezing and I have nowhere to go,” Thumbelina said. “Might I come inside and get warm?”
“You poor dear,” the mouse said. “Of course you can come inside.”
The mouse had a kind soul and took Thumbelina in. She let her stay in her home through the harshest parts of the winter and the two became fast friends. Thumbelina earned her keep by helping the mouse keep her home clean. At night before bed, the mouse enjoyed listening to Thumbelina recite all the stories the widow had told her.
The mouse could tell that Thumbelina missed the widow greatly. But since it seemed unlikely she would ever find the widow, the mouse thought of another solution for her friend’s loneliness.
The following night, the mouse invited the mole who lived next door to dinner. He was gruff and older and spoke of nothing but how much he hated sunlight. Even though Thumbelina disagreed entirely, she was very polite and listened to the mole.
The mole became quite taken with Thumbelina and she caught him whispering into the mouse’s ear whenever she wasn’t looking. Later that evening, once Thumbelina and the mouse were alone, she found out what they were up to.
“The mole would like to marry you,” the mouse said and smiled at the idea.
“That’s very nice, but I can’t marry a mole,” Thumbelina said.
“Why not?” the mouse said. “He’s just as lonely as you and lives in a large hole with plenty of rooms.”
“But I’m not a mole,” Thumbelina said.
“Then what exactly are you?” the mouse asked.
“I don’t know what I am, but it’s definitely not a creature that enjoys living in the dark ground,” she said.
The mouse crossed her arms and glared at her. Although she didn’t mean to, Thumbelina knew she had hurt the mouse’s feelings. She had outworn her welcome, and it was time to leave.
By the time Thumbelina left the mouse’s underground home, winter had ended and the first days of spring had arrived. All the birds had flown back from the south, and Thumbelina saw a familiar face circling above her.
“Thumbelina!” said the sparrow. “I’ve found it—I’ve found your home! I flew past it on my way back from the south!”
Thumbelina’s heart began to race with happiness.
“I miss my mother so much,” Thumbelina said. “Will you please take me there?”
“I would be happy to!” the sparrow said.
The bird landed beside her, and Thumbelina climbed on his back. He flew south for miles and miles. Thumbelina didn’t realize she had traveled so far away from home.
“There it is!” the sparrow said. “Welcome home, Thumbelina.”
The bird did not land at the widow’s house as she had expected. Instead, he descended into an enchanted garden filled with thousands of beautiful flowers.
To Thumbelina’s amazement, in the center of the garden was a tiny kingdom made of homes and buildings the size of birdhouses. It was populated by men, women, and children her exact size. The only difference between them was that everyone in the kingdom had wings.
“What is this place?” Thumbelina asked.
“You mean you’ve never been here before?” the sparrow asked. “As soon as I saw it, I was certain it was where you’re from.”
It was the first time she had ever seen people like her. Learning she was not alone was a dazzling discovery. Just then, a little man came to greet Thumbelina and the sparrow. He was very handsome and wore a crown made of daisy petals.
“Hello,” he said. “May I help you?”
“Yes, can you tell me where we are?” Thumbelina asked.
“You’re in the Fairy Kingdom,” he said.
“So I must be a fairy,” Thumbelina said.
“You mean you didn’t know?” the man asked.
Thumbelina told him how she had been born in the widow’s house and lived there until she was kidnapped. The man was fascinated by her adventures trying to return home. He turned out to be a fairy prince, and he gave her a tour of the kingdom.
“But if I’m a fairy, then where are my wings?” she asked.
“Wings aren’t given; they’re earned,” the prince said. “But after the journey you’ve been through, I think you deserve a pair.”
The prince gave Thumbelina her very own pair of wings. They magically attached to her back, and the prince taught her how to fly. Over time, the two fell in love and the prince asked Thumbelina to marry him.
The two were married in the garden, and Thumbelina was crowned a fairy princess. Even though she was among her own people, the fairy kingdom didn’t feel like home without her mother. So Thumbelina and the prince found the widow and invited her to live with the fairies. The widow moved to the gardens to be closer to her daughter, and neither she nor Thumbelina was ever lonesome again.
The End
THE GINGERBREAD MAN
ADAPTED FROM THE TRADITIONAL STORY
Once upon a time, there was a talented baker who lived in a small village. He and his wife had their own bakery, which was famous for having the best baked goods in town. Every morning, the villagers would line up outside to purchase his bread, muffins, and sweet rolls when they were fresh from the oven.
Even though he never received a complaint about his selection, the baker thought it was time to give his customers a little variety. He found a recipe to make gingerbread cookies and purchased the needed ingredients. He brought them back to his bakery and mixed them into dough.
The baker cut the dough into the shapes of little men and spread them over a cooking tray. Using frosting, he painted eyes, mouths, vests, buttons, pants, and little shoes on the cookies and put the tray into the oven. Soon the entire town was filled with the sweet scent of freshly baked gingerbread. Before he knew it, there was a line of hungry villagers outside the bakery’s door.
What the baker didn’t know at the time was that he had accidentally purchased flour that had a pinch of magic in it. So when the cookies were finished baking, he opened the oven—and one Gingerbread Man leaped off the tray and ran around the bakery.
“Run, run as fast as you can! You can’t catch me. I’m the Gingerbread Man!” the cookie sang.
The baker made a mess in his bakery trying to seize the enchanted cookie, but it was too fast to catch. The Gingerbread Man ran out the door and through the village, laughing hysterically as he went.
“Run, run as fast as you can! You can’t catch me. I’m the Gingerbread Man!” he sang to taunt the villagers.
The cookie looked delicious, so all the villagers chased after the Gingerbread Man, with the baker leading the charge. The Gingerbread Man was faster than all of them.
He ran through the countryside and passed by several mills and farms. The farm animals smelled him coming a mile away and stared at the cookie with hungry eyes.
“Run, run as fast as you can! You can’t catch me. I’m the Gingerbread Man!” he sang to tease the animals.
The farm animals jumped over their fences and climbed out of their pens and ran after the Gingerbread Man too. They joined the villagers and the baker and created a massive stampede. The cookie still ran much faster than them, and he giggled with joy.
The Gingerbread Man ran by a castle and caught the attention of the king and all the king’s men.
“Run, run as fast as you can! You can’t catch me. I’m the Gingerbread Man!” he sang to torment the king.
The king was insulted by the Gingerbread Man’s taunting song and ordered his soldiers to capture the defiant cookie. The soldiers climbed aboard their horses and joined the stampede of animals and villagers. But alas, the Gingerbread Man was still much faster, and it didn’t seem likely he would ever be caught.
Soon, the Gingerbread Man’s journey came to a pause at the edge of a river flowing through the kingdom. Being made of flour, he knew he would disintegrate if he swam across.
“Oh no! What shall I do now?” he said.
“Don’t worry, little cookie,” said a fox who appeared beside him. “I know what it’s like to be hunted and chased. I’ll swim across the river, and you can ride on my back!”
The Gingerbread Man was delighted by the assistance. He climbed on top of the fox’s back just as all the king’s soldiers, the farm animals, the villagers, and the baker reached the river. They knew they would never catch him now.
The Gingerbread Man sang and danced when he saw all their long faces.
“Run, run as fast as you can! You can’t catch me. I’m the—”
Before he could finish his song, the fox gobbled up the Gingerbread Man.
“My compliments to the baker!” the fox said and licked his lips.
The king’s soldiers returned to the castle, the farm animals returned to the farm, the villagers returned to the village, the baker returned to the bakery, and they all returned to their normal lives.
The baker learned a very valuable business lesson: Always double-check your ingredients when tryin
g new endeavors. If you add legs to something, it might just get up and run away.
The End
THE UGLY DUCKLING
ADAPTED FROM HANS CHRISTIAN ANDERSEN
Once upon a time, there was a duck that became a mother by laying six perfect eggs. She was very protective of her eggs and only left them alone once every morning to get breakfast. However, one day she returned to the coop and found not six, but seven eggs in her nest.
“Oh, I must have miscounted,” the mother duck said and never thought about it again.
A month later, the eggs hatched, and six beautiful ducklings were born. However, the creature that hatched from the seventh egg could only be described as an ugly duckling, and that was putting it nicely.
While the six ducklings had bright yellow, fluffy feathers, the seventh’s feathers were gray and matted. The six ducklings had small orange beaks, but the seventh’s was large and black. At feeding time, the six ducklings quacked cutely up at their mother, but the seventh squawked and hurt his siblings’ ears.
From the minute they were born, the ducklings recognized that their brother was very different from them. And since difference has always frightened small-minded creatures, the Ugly Duckling was teased and tormented mercilessly by his brothers and sisters.
When they went for walks with their mother around the farm, they always made the Ugly Duckling walk a foot behind them. When they went for a swim, they’d trick him into a game of “who can hold their breath underwater the longest” and then abandon him when he dived under the surface. When they were caught in sudden storms, the ducklings would shut the door of their coop before the Ugly Duckling could get inside and make him stand in the rain.
The bullying didn’t just come from his siblings, though. None of the animals on the farm could resist taking a jab at the baby bird.
“Maybe his mother didn’t sit on his egg long enough,” said a cow.