ATU 700

“The Hazel-nut Child.” The Yellow Fairy Book, edited by Andrew Lang, London, New York, Bombay: Longmans, Green, and Co., 1906, pp. 222-224.

Anonymous — Sun, 28 May 2023 20:27:56 +0000

“The Hazel-nut Child.” The Yellow Fairy Book, edited by Andrew Lang, London, New York, Bombay: Longmans, Green, and Co., 1906, pp. 222-224. Anonymous (not verified) Sun, 05/28/2023 - 14:27

Tale Summary

There was once a couple who prayed to Heaven for a child, saying that they wanted one so bad they wouldn't even care if it were the size of a hazel-nut. Their prayer was answered, and given to them was a child of exactly that size. They took care of him tenderly, and realized that he was very clever. At fifteen years old, his mother asked him what he intended to be, and the Hazel-nut child replied that he would like to be a messenger. His mother laughed, but the child insisted, and asked his mother to give him a message to deliver. She asked him to go to his aunt in the neighboring village and bring her back a comb. The child set off and found a man on horseback setting out for that same village, and climbed up under the saddle and pinched the horse. The horse went into a hard gallop and reached the village, where the child stopped his pinching and climbed off the horse. He grabbed the comb from his aunt and returned home the same way, and surprised his mother. One day his father took the Hazel-nut child with him as he brought his horse to graze in the fields, and left him there to watch the animal as he went home to talk to his wife. Soon after, a robber tried to steal the horse thinking it was unattended, but the child stopped him when he climbed onto the animal’s back and bit it, sending it galloping home. The Hazel-nut child explained everything to his father, who had the man arrested. When the child reached twenty years of age, he bid his parents farewell and promised to come home to them as soon as he became rich. He flew to the south on the back of a stork, where he came to Africa, where the people were much astonished by him. The king there grew fond of the Hazel-nut child and gave him a diamond four times his size, which he carried back north to his parents on the stork as soon as the weather warmed. He lived with his parents in happiness and prosperity until they died.

Fairy Tale Title

The Hazel-nut Child

Fairy Tale Author(s)/Editor(s)

Andrew Lang

Fairy Tale Illustrator(s)

Henry Justice Ford

Common Tale Type

Thumbling and Thumbling's Travels

Tale Classification

ATU 700

Page Range of Tale

pp. 222-224

Full Citation of Tale

“The Hazel-nut Child.” The Yellow Fairy Book, edited by Andrew Lang, London, New York, Bombay: Longmans, Green, and Co., 1906, pp. 222-224.

Original Source of the Tale

From the Bukowniaer, by Von Wliolocki

Tale Notes

AV��ʪ and Curation

Kaeli Waggener, 2023

Book Title

The Yellow Fairy Book

Book Author/Editor(s)

Andrew Lang

Illustrator(s)

Henry Justice Ford

Publisher

Longmans, Green, and Co.

Date Published

1906

Decade Published

1900-1909

Publisher City

London
New York
Bombay

Publisher Country

United Kingdom
United States
India

Language

English

Rights

Public Domain

Digital Copy

Available at the Internet Archive

Book Notes

Though this book is written in prose with more difficult language than other books of fairy tales in the collection, the Preface says this book is written for children.

Traditional

White

“Thumbelina.” The Yellow Fairy Book, edited by Andrew Lang, London, New York, Bombay: Longmans, Green, and Co., 1906, pp. 279-290.

Anonymous — Sat, 13 May 2023 21:29:48 +0000

“Thumbelina.” The Yellow Fairy Book, edited by Andrew Lang, London, New York, Bombay: Longmans, Green, and Co., 1906, pp. 279-290. Anonymous (not verified) Sat, 05/13/2023 - 15:29

Andrew Lang

Tale Summary

Once upon a time a woman visited an old witch to ask her for a tiny child. The witch sold her a barley-corn and instructed the woman to place it in a pot. When she had done this a large and beautiful tulip grew, and when the woman kissed its petals, it opened to reveal a tiny girl no bigger than half a thumb and height. She was named Thumbelina and had a walnut shell as a cradle and flower petals as a mattress. One night, a toad came in through the window and found the girl, who she thought would make the perfect wife for her son, and so she stole her in the walnut shell. To prevent the girl from running away, she placed Thumbelina on a water lily leaf in a stream, and went to ready the girl’s new chambers. When Thumbelina awoke she was horrified, and when the toad came to present her son to her as a husband, she was even more so. Some little fish saw her weeping and, to save her, nibbled the green stock which supported the leaf and the girl sailed down the stream. She left her native land, and on her way met a beautiful little white butterfly whom she tied to the leaf to pull it faster. A cockchafer spotted her and took her to a tree thinking she was very pretty, but when all the other beetles thought she was ugly, he placed her on a daisy and left her. Thumbelina lived here for a whole summer alone, and then came a harsh winter. She was cold and hungry and after searching, found where a mouse was living in a cornfield. The field mouse took pity on her and offered her room for the winter, as long as the girl tidied up and told her stories. The mouse also said that she was expecting a visitor, a rich mole who she thought perfect for Thumbelina. When the mole came to visit, Thumbelina sang him songs, and he soon fell in love with her. He granted her and her hostess permission to walk along a passage through the ground from his house to that of the mouse, and told them not to be afraid of a bird that lay dead there in the hole. He led the two through the tunnel and pointed out the body, and while the two rodents thought it was funny, Thumbelina felt very sad for the creature. That night Thumbelina placed a blanket of straw on the dead bird and laid her head against the bird's heart. She found that the bird was not dead, he had only been frozen, but now that she had warmed him, he came to life again. Thumbelina took care of this bird until spring came, when the bird was ready to leave. Thumbelina felt obligated to her Mouse host, and decided to stay with her instead of flying away with the bird. She was very sad, and even more so when she learned that she was to be married to the mole. This would mean that she would be stuck underground without seeing the sun. Just before the wedding, the swallow returned, and this time Thumbelina gladly went with him as he flew to warmer lands. He brought her to a nice place and told her to find a suitable home in the flowers. There was a patch of beautiful white blossoms that the bird set her down in, and to their amazement, they found a tiny man who was the spirit of the flower, he was transparent as if he were made of glass, with a pretty golden crown on his head, and beautiful wings. He took his crown off of his head and put it on hers, and asked if she would be his wife. She said yes, and out of each flower came a lady and gentleman, and each brought Thumbelina a present, one of them being a pair of wings that she fastened to her back. The spirit of the flower told her that her new name was May Blossom, and the bird wished her farewell and flew back to Denmark where he had a nest with his wife.

Fairy Tale Title

Thumbelina

Fairy Tale Author(s)/Editor(s)

Andrew Lang

Fairy Tale Illustrator(s)

Henry Justice Ford

Common Tale Type

Thumbling

Tale Classification

ATU 700

Page Range of Tale

pp. 279-290

Full Citation of Tale

“Thumbelina.” The Yellow Fairy Book, edited by Andrew Lang, London, New York, Bombay: Longmans, Green, and Co., 1906, pp. 279-290.

Original Source of the Tale

Tale Notes

AV��ʪ and Curation

Kaeli Waggener, 2023

Book Title

The Yellow Fairy Book

Book Author/Editor(s)

Andrew Lang

Illustrator(s)

Henry Justice Ford

Publisher

Longmans, Green, and Co.

Date Published

1906

Decade Published

1900-1909

Publisher City

London
New York
Bombay

Publisher Country

United Kingdom
United States
India

Language

English

Rights

Public Domain

Digital Copy

Available at the Internet Archive

Book Notes

Though this book is written in prose with more difficult language than other books of fairy tales in the collection, the Preface says this book is written for children.

Traditional

White

“Tom Thumb.” The Book of Fables and Folk Stories, Horace Elisha Scudder, Boston: Houghton Mifflin; 1919, pp. 72-82.

Anonymous — Sun, 05 Feb 2023 01:14:43 +0000

“Tom Thumb.” The Book of Fables and Folk Stories, Horace Elisha Scudder, Boston: Houghton Mifflin; 1919, pp. 72-82. Anonymous (not verified) Sat, 02/04/2023 - 18:14

Horace Scudder

Tale Summary

Once upon a time, a poor woodman and his wife were so desperate for a child that they claimed they would be happy even with one no bigger than their thumb. This is what happened, and the boy they named Tom Thumb was smart and bright but would not grow any bigger no matter what or how much they fed him. One day, the woodsman wished aloud he had someone to bring the cart in for him, and Tom Thumb asked that if his mother bridled the horse he would climb in its ear and give it directions. Two strangers observed Tom Thumb leading the horse, which looked just like it was leading itself, and thought that he could make them a fortune. The woodsman refused to sell him, but Tom Thumb whispered in his ear to take the money for he would soon return. The men carried him for a ways on the brim of a hat until it was dark and the boy asked to be put down to sleep. Tom Thumb scurried into an old mouse-hole and escaped, and when the two men left angrily, he hopped out and found an empty snail shell for shelter. Just then he overheard two thieves scheming on ways to rob a rich farmer nearby, and so he shouted to them that he could be of help. They agreed, knowing he could sneak in due to his small size, but when they came to the house and Tom Thumb entered the room, he yelled out to the thieves. He asked again and again how much they wanted, until he woke up the cook, who chased the thieves away. Tomb Thumb found a comfortable place to sleep in the hayloft, but early in the morning the cook woke to feed the cows, and gave them a bundle of hay with the boy wrapped up inside. He went to the cow’s stomach and shouted:

“Don’t bring me any more hay! Don’t bring me any more hay!”

And the cook, who was at the moment milking the cow, was so scared that she called the farmer, who was also in a fright to hear the voice and had the cow killed. Just as Tom Thumb had got his head out of the stomach, a wolf came by and ate it. The boy made conversation with the wolf and told him he knew of a place filled with delicious foods, where the wolf could crawl up through the drain into the kitchen. He directed the wolf to his father’s house, and when the animal ate its fill it was too fat to fit back in the drain. Then, Tom Thumb began to shout and awakened the woodman and his wife, and he told them that he was inside. His father struck the wolf on the head and the little boy was rescued. They were all very happy to be together again and got Tom Thumb new clothes.

Fairy Tale Title

Tom Thumb

Fairy Tale Author(s)/Editor(s)

Horace Elisha Scudder

Fairy Tale Illustrator(s)

None listed

Common Tale Type

Thumbling and Thumbling's Travels

Tale Classification

ATU 700

Page Range of Tale

pp. 72-82

Full Citation of Tale

“Tom Thumb.” The Book of Fables and Folk Stories, Horace Elisha Scudder, Boston: Houghton Mifflin; 1919, pp. 72-82.

Original Source of the Tale

Charles Perrault

Tale Notes

This version varies quite a bit from other versions, and does not include a giant/ogre.

AV��ʪ and Curation

Kaeli Waggener, 2023

Book Title

The Book of Fables and Folk Stories

Book Author/Editor(s)

Horace Elisha Scudder

Illustrator(s)

None listed

Publisher

Houghton Mifflin

Date Published

1919

Decade Published

1910-1919

Publisher City

Boston

Publisher Country

United States

Language

English

Rights

Public Domain

Digital Copy

Available at the Internet Archive

Book Notes

Traditional

White