Thumbelina

Thumbelina

by

Patches the Story Dog

Patches the Story Dog

A story about even the smallest among us can find a place to belong

for your Preschooler

Preschooler Mythical Creatures Classic Characters Fables for Kids

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Thumbelina sits in the center of a large, open tulip bloom inside a terra-cotta flowerpot on a sunlit windowsill, her petal-pink dress glowing in the warm light, her tiny hands resting on the soft petals. In the background, a cozy kitchen with lace curtains and golden morning sunlight streaming through the window.

Once, a kind woman wished for a tiny child. She planted a magic seed in a flowerpot on her windowsill. Pop! A bright flower opened. And inside—oh my!—sat a girl, no bigger than your thumb.

Thumbelina lies cozily inside the walnut-shell bed, tucked under a rose-petal blanket, her eyes closed and a peaceful smile on her face, her tiny pink form nestled snugly. In the background, the terra-cotta flowerpot with the tulip and the warm glow of a candle on the windowsill.

Her name was Thumbelina. She was warm and pink, like a rose petal. She loved to sleep in a walnut-shell bed. She loved to sing. Her voice was soft, like a tiny bell. Ring, ring, ring!

Toad Mother, a large mossy-green toad with bumpy warts and bulging eyes, holds the walnut-shell bed with sleeping Thumbelina inside it, hopping across the wet windowsill in the rain. In the background, the dark rainy night sky and the open kitchen window with lace curtains blowing.

One wet night—splish, splash—a big, bumpy toad hopped to the window. It was Toad Mother! She saw tiny Thumbelina and croaked, "What a pretty wife for my warty son!" She grabbed the walnut-shell bed and hopped away.

Thumbelina stands on a large round lily pad in the middle of the lily-pad pond, her tiny pink figure looking very small, tears on her cheeks, while Toad Mother sits on a neighboring lily pad, croaking at her with a wide mouth. In the background, a misty pond with tall reeds, water lilies, and dragonflies hovering above the still water.

Thumbelina woke up on a big, green lily pad in the middle of a pond. "Where am I?" she cried. The water was cold. The lily pad was slippery. Toad Mother croaked, "Stay here! You will marry my son!" Thumbelina felt scared.

Thumbelina kneels on the lily pad, leaning over the edge and calling out, while three small silver fish nibble at the green stem of the lily pad beneath the water's surface. In the background, Toad Mother growing smaller in the distance on her lily pad, the pond stretching wide with reeds along the far shore.

But Thumbelina was brave. When you feel scared, you can ask for help. And that is just what she did! "Please help me!" she called. Little fish heard her. Nibble, nibble—they chewed the lily-pad stem! The pad floated away, far from Toad Mother.

Thumbelina sits on the drifting lily pad at the edge of a stream that runs beside golden wheat fields, her pink hair blowing gently, golden wheat stalks swaying around her. In the background, vast golden wheat fields stretching to the horizon under a pale autumn sky with scattered orange and brown leaves.

The lily pad floated and floated. Thumbelina drifted past golden wheat fields, tall and swishy. Swish, swish, swish! The wind smelled sweet like bread. But soon it got cold. Leaves turned brown. Winter was coming.

Thumbelina stands at a tiny arched door set into a grassy mound under a large brown leaf, her arms wrapped around herself, shivering, her breath visible in the cold air. In the background, bare trees and frosty ground with the last brown leaves scattered about under a grey winter sky.

Thumbelina shivered. Brr! The flowers were gone. The ground was hard and icy. She found a little door under a leaf. A kind field mouse lived inside. "Come in, little one! You are so cold!" The mouse gave her warm soup.

Thumbelina kneels beside Swallow, who lies on the dirt floor of a dim underground tunnel, his deep blue and white feathers ruffled, Thumbelina pressing her tiny pink body against him in a gentle hug, her eyes full of concern. In the background, the rounded earthen walls of the mouse's tunnel with tiny roots poking through and a faint glow from the mouse's chamber.

One day, in the mouse's tunnel, Thumbelina found a bird lying still on the ground. It was a swallow! His feathers were deep blue and white. He was so cold. "Oh, poor bird," she whispered. She hugged him to keep him warm.

Thumbelina stands beside Swallow, who is now sitting upright with his deep blue and white feathers fluffed and bright, his wings slightly spread, looking down at tiny Thumbelina with warm, grateful eyes as she offers him a small seed. In the background, the cozy interior of the underground tunnel with a small pile of seeds and a thimble of water nearby.

Day after day, Thumbelina brought Swallow seeds and water. She sang him her tiny bell songs. Ring, ring, ring! Slowly, Swallow got better. He fluffed his blue feathers. "Thank you, Thumbelina," he chirped. "You saved me! When someone is kind to you, you never forget."

Thumbelina rides on Swallow's back, holding onto his deep blue feathers, her pink dress and hair fluttering in the wind, both of them soaring upward into a bright blue sky with puffy white clouds. In the background, green fields and a winding silver river far below, with tiny wildflowers dotting the landscape.

Spring came! The sun felt warm again. Swallow spread his wings wide. "Come with me, Thumbelina!" he said. "I fly to a warm, sunny land. You will love it there!" Thumbelina climbed onto his soft back. Up, up, up they flew!

Swallow lands gently in a warm southern meadow bursting with colorful flowers—pink, yellow, orange, and purple—while Thumbelina slides off his back, her face full of wonder and joy, tiny flower doors visible in the open blooms around her. In the background, a sunlit meadow stretching toward gentle green hills under a warm golden sky with a bright sun.

They flew over hills and rivers. They flew over forests and lakes. At last, Swallow landed in a warm southern meadow full of flowers. Can you smell them? Sweet and sunny! Every flower had a tiny door. And inside each one lived a tiny person, just like Thumbelina!

Thumbelina twirls joyfully on a large open flower in the meadow, arms outstretched, her petal-pink dress spinning, while Swallow perches on a flowering branch above her, his deep blue and white feathers gleaming, looking down at her with affection. In the background, the warm southern meadow filled with blooming flowers, gentle sunshine, and tiny winged flower-people peeking from nearby blossoms.

Thumbelina laughed and twirled. The warm petals hugged her feet. She finally felt at home. Swallow chirped from a branch above. He would fly away and come back again, as swallows always do. And every spring, Thumbelina would listen for his song in the sky.

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