Tom Thumb

Once upon a time, there was a man who had a wife and seven children. One of these children was  very short, when he was a baby. The child began to grow bigger and fatter everyday, but he never grew taller than his father's thumb. That is why his name is Tom Thumb.

Tom's parents were very poor. His father earn less money. Their mother could not give her children much food. They often hungry. Their mother was very sad. She often cried because her children very hungry. She love her children very much. She was always kind to them.

One evening, when the children were in bed, their father said: "We are very poor. We have no bread for our seven children. Tomorrow I shall take them to the wood. They must stay there. The must not stay again."

"Oh no, do not do that." Said their mother. "In the wood there are very many wild animals. The wild beasts will come and eat them all up." Little Tom Thumb heard what his father said.

When his parents were asleep, he jump out of bed quickly. He ran to the door , open it quietly, shut it again behind him went into the garden. What did he do there? He put a great many white stones in his pocket. Then he went to bed again.

The next day when the children were in the wood, their father said: "We shall cut down this big tree. You must help me." The children worked hard. At last the big tree fell down. The children were very tired. Their father said to them: "You have worked hard. You have cut down the tree. You may rest now. In my bag there are some bottles of tea and some slices of bread. Drink the tea and eat the bread."

When the children were eating and drinking, their father went home. The children waited their father. But he did not come back. Night come and the boys were very uneasy. They began to cry. Then Tom Thumb said: "Do not cry! I shall show you the way home."

"How could you do that?" His brother asked.

Tom said: "I have dropped little white stone this morning. They will show us the way home. Follow me. "

In the moon light, they saw the white stones on the ground and found the way home. Their mother was very glad when she saw her children coming home. And the children were very glad too.

After some day, the father went to the wood again with his children. Tom Thumb had no stones. That is why he dropped bread-crumbs on the ground. But the bird came ate all the crumbs.

Night came and the children were afraid. They said: "There is no place near this place. Where shall we stay tonight. We can not stay here. The wild beast will eat us." But Tom Thumb was not afraid. He climb a tree and saw a light. The light came from a window of a big castle. The children ran to the castle.

Tom knocked at the door. A woman opened the door. She looked at the boys and said: "Why do you come here? Go away quickly. Go home. This is the castle of the giant. When he sees you, he will eat you all up." But the children asked again and again: "May we came in, please? May we come in? We are afraid of the animals in the wood." The woman took pity on the boys and said: "Come in and I shall hide you." She gave them some food and a glass of milk.

Suddenly, they heard someone knocking at the door. The woman said to the boys: "Under the table and do not talk." Then she opened the door and the giant came in. He sat down on the chair and began to eat his supper. 

He was very hungry. He ate a lot of food. He ate three goats and one hundred and forty bananas. He was very thirsty too. He drank a pail full of water. But when he was eating, he dropped his knife. He picked it up and... saw the boys. The giant laughed loudly.

"I like to eat fresh meat." He said. "Tomorrow morning I shall it you all for breakfast." Then the giant went to bed. When he was sleeping, the woman opened the door for the boys. The boys ran quickly out of the castle. They were in the wood again.

The next morning, when the giant got out of bed, he called his wife. He said: "Bring me the boys. Bring them quickly. I want to eat them." But then he heard that there were no boys. He was very angry. "Bring me my boots." He roared. "I shall run after them and catch them." The woman gave him the boots. There were magic boots. With these boots you could run like a horse. They fitted a giant and they also fitted a little child.

He put them on and ran out of the castle. After some time he saw the boys. "Stop!" He roared. "Come here. You belong to me. I want to eat you for breakfast."

"Help us Tom! Help us!" His brother call out.

"What must we do?" Then they saw a deep cave. They ran into it.

When the giant came to the cave, he said: "I shall eat you all up." He sat down at the foot of the tree. After some time he took off his boots and went to sleep. When Tom Thumb saw this, he walked up to the giant very quietly and took away the boots. He put them on his own feet. Then all the boys ran out of the cave.

The giant heard the noise. He woke up. He wanted to put on his boots, but he did not see them. He knew that he could not run. He roared loudly. He saw that Tom Thumb was home in three steps. He told his father and mother where his bother were. With his father, he went back to his brothers, who were still in the wood.

They all went home now. Their mother was very glad, when she saw her boys coming again. The father never took the boys to the wood again and they were all very happy ever after. The end.