Hop-o’-my-thumb

1.

Hop-o’-my-Thumb was a tiny little fellow about as tall as your thumb.

He and his mother lived in a little hut made of dried leaves.

The little fellow was very fond of pancakes, and on Christmas Eve he

begged his mother to make a dozen.

The latter replied, “Oh, Hop-o’-my-Thumb, my son, I have no butter,

wood, or milk, and we are too poor to buy such things.”

Hop-o’-my-Thumb was very sad and sat down on a stool by the fire, while

his mother went to fetch water from the stream.

Suddenly he heard some one call him, and looking up he espied a little

lady standing at his elbow.

At first he was too much astonished to speak, but after a few seconds he

blurted out, “Who are you, little lady?” She replied, “Hop-o’-my-Thumb,

I am your fairy godmother, and because you are sad, and your mother is

so poor, for this day I grant you the strength to do anything you may

wish.” So saying, she vanished.

At first Hop-o’-my-Thumb thought he had been dreaming, and in order to

determine whether his fairy godmother had really paid him a visit, he

decided to put her words to the test. He seized his cap and ran to the

miller’s.

“Miller,” said Hop-o’-my-Thumb, “my mother would so like to make

pancakes on Christmas Eve, but we have no flour. Won’t you give us a

little?”

“Well, Hop-o’-my-Thumb,” said the miller, “if you can carry this

flour-bin away you can have it.”

“Do you mean that I can have whatever I can carry?” asked

Hop-o’-my-Thumb.

The miller nodded his assent, and Hop-o’-my-Thumb crawled under the mill

and carried it and the entire contents home.

Afterwards he went to the butter merchant. “Boss,” he said, “my mother

would so like to make pancakes, but she has not a scrap of butter.”

“Oh, all right, Hop-o’-my-Thumb,” said the boss, “if you can carry this

keg it is yours.”

“Ah! thank you,” replied Hop-o’-my-Thumb. In a second he was under the

keg, which moved off as if it had two legs.

From thence he went to a wealthy farmer who had been lopping his trees

the day before.

“Farmer,” said Hop-o’-my-Thumb, “can I have a little bundle of wood, my

mother wants to make pancakes.”

“Oh, it is you, little Hop-o’-my-Thumb,” said the farmer. “You can have

the whole stack if you can carry it.”

“I shall be ever grateful,” said Hop-o’-my-Thumb, and sliding under the

stack he carried it home.

They now only lacked milk. Hop-o’-my-Thumb went to the milkman, and

making a like request was given permission to carry away a whole can.

2.

When the pancakes had been fried, and mother and son had enjoyed

themselves to the full, the farmer who had given them the milk came to ask Hop-o’-my-Thumb’s mother if her son could take his

cows to graze the next day.

Next morning Hop-o’-my-Thumb went off to the field, taking a large

pancake with him. On the way he came to a stream which was too wide for

him to jump.

Fortunately some ducks were swimming about. Hop-o’-my-Thumb, who was a

sharp little fellow, threw them some crumbs of pancake, which they

swallowed greedily.

In recognition of his kindness the largest duck took him on his back and

swam towards the opposite bank of the stream. In midstream he let poor

little Hop-o’-my-Thumb fall into the water. However, after giving the

ducks a few more crumbs he was landed safely on the other side on the

back of another duck.

Hop-o’-my-Thumb, tired by his walk and wet through, lay down in the

grass to rest. Presently an ant ran over the back of his hand. This so

annoyed Hop-o’-my-Thumb that he caught it and killed it.

No sooner had he done so than he heard some one calling him. He

recognized the voice of his fairy godmother, and looking up saw her in

the grass.

This time she looked angrily at him. “Oh, Hop-o’-my-Thumb,” she said, “I

am much disappointed in you. Up till now I have protected you because

you are such a little thing, but after your cruelty to the poor little

ant I withdraw my protection, and for one day you must suffer as do

other little things.” She then disappeared into the ground.

Hop-o’-my-Thumb was very ashamed of himself, and, feeling very

miserable, fell asleep.

Soon after a cow which was grazing in the field came up and swallowed

the little fellow.

In the evening when the animals were driven into the shed, and the

milkmaid waited to milk the greedy cow, she heard some one singing:

“This cow swallowed me at dawn,

Here I feel so nice and warm.”

The maid was much frightened and ran to tell the farmer. The latter came

to listen and he heard the same thing.

“This cow swallowed me at dawn,

Here I feel so nice and warm.”

“I bet you ten to one it is Hop-o’-my-Thumb,” said the farmer. “There is

only one thing to be done; we must slaughter the cow in order to rescue

him.”

While the animal was being cut up, a poor woman passed and begged the

farmer to give her a small piece of meat.

As luck would have it she received the very piece in which

Hop-o’-my-Thumb was embedded. She put her present into her basket and

went her way. Suddenly Hop-o’-my-Thumb began to sing:

“This cow swallowed me at dawn,

Here I feel so nice and warm.”

“Lord have mercy, this place is haunted,” cried the poor woman, and,

flinging away the bag, she ran for her life.

Hop-o’-my-Thumb was greatly pleased and crawled out of the piece of

meat.

At that moment he saw a soldier who had had too much to drink staggering

along, so he quickly hid himself in a mole-hole. The soldier fell down

on the hole and went to sleep.

Hop-o’-my-Thumb pulled his knife out of his pocket and stuck the point

into the soldier’s leg. The latter bounded on to his feet, stamped

savagely on the hole, and returned home.

Hop-o’-my-Thumb was now a prisoner; the soldier had stamped the ground

so hard that it was impossible to get out. He heard people coming down

the road, and on overhearing their conversation, concluded they were

robbers. He cried out, “Captain, if you will let me out of this hole, I

will follow you and be your faithful servant.”

“What is this whispering I hear?” said the captain.

Every one listened attentively, and finally they were able to catch what

little Hop-o’-my-Thumb was saying. They scraped the earth away, and

Hop-o’-my-Thumb appeared. He was at once enrolled as a member of the

band.

The same night the robbers went to a provision shop. Hop-o’-my-Thumb was

pushed through the ventilator, and handed a number of cheeses through

this opening. He then went to the cellar where the eggs were stored, but

he made such a noise that the servant jumped out of bed to see what was

happening. Quick as lightning, Hop-o’-my-Thumb crept under an egg. The

servant was about to crush the egg with his foot, when the clock struck

midnight. Hop-o’-my-Thumb felt himself lifted into the air. He was drawn

out through the cellar window, and presently found himself at the door

of his mother’s cottage. He knew that his fairy godmother had saved him,

and from that day forward he never did anything to forfeit her

protection.