Tom Thumb

Grade 4, Northwest Elementary School, Lebanon, Pennsylvania

At the edge of a big woods, there once lived a woodcutter and his wife and their seven children. Of the seven children, the littlest one was so little that he was called Tom Thumb.

The woodcutter loved his family, but he was very, very poor. He was so poor that one day he said to his wife, "My dear, we have no money left to buy food for the children. Tomorrow I shall take them into the woods and leave them there. Let us hope they will be found by someone who doe have enough money to buy them food.

Now Tom Thumb was very little, but he was also very clever. He heard what his father said to his mother. And after a moment's thought, he went outside and filled his pockets with white pebbles. The next day, when the woodcutter went into the woods with the children. little Tomb Thumb dropped a pebble on the ground from time to time. In the middle of the woods, the woodcutter left the children. They were very sad.

But little Tomb Thumb said, "You must not cry. Do you see these little rocks? They are a trail. If we follow them, we shall find our house again." And little Tom Thumb was right, for after following the pebbles for some time, the children reached their home again.

Of course, the woodcutter and his wife were very glad to see their children again. But they were very sad as well, for they still had no money. "Tomorrow I shall take the children into the woods again," the woodcutter said to his wife. "Yes," she said with a sigh. "We just have to do it. But let us lock the door tonight, for otherwise little Tom Thumb will go out again to get pebbles."

Again little Tomb Thumb heard everything that was said. But this time the door was locked, and he did not know what to do. Then, after a moment's thought, he made crumbs out of his piece of bread. The next day, when the woodcutter took the children into the woods, little Tom Thumb dropped a crumb on the ground from time to time. In the middle of the woods, the woodcutter left the children. Little Tom Thumb looked and looked for his trail of crumbs, be he couldn't not find it. The quails had eaten all the crumbs!

The children wondered through the woods until they came to a very big house. "I shall ask here for the way home," little Tom Thumb said as he knocked at the door. A woman opened the door and asked in a frightened voice, "Don't you know that a giant who eats children lives here? And I hear him coming now. Zip, hide yourselves in the cupboard." the children had just climbed inside the cupboard when the giant entered the house.

"Ha!: the giant roared. "I smell children! Wonderful - that is just what I like!" "Oh, no, Giant," his wife said. "You smell it all wrong. I have no children for you to eat, but I do have a delicious steak and a big pudding." Quickly she put the steak under the giant's nose. "I still think I smell children," the giant said. But the steak under his nose smelled wonderful, and he started to eat and eat and eat, as only a giant can.

The children were very much afraid. They held their breath every time they heard the giant say, "I smell children." When the giant had eaten all the steak, his wife quickly put the big pudding under his nose. "That smells wonderful, too," the giant said, and he ate the whole bid pudding. At last, even the giant was not hungry anymore. "That was wonderful," he said to his wife. "Now I shall take a nice nap."

The giant fell asleep. His snoring sounded like thunder. Quickly his wife went to the cupboard and whispered, "You can come out now, children. The giant is asleep." Very quietly the children came out of the cupboard. When little Tom Thumb came out, he saw the giant's boots, and he asked, "Could we please have those boots, Mrs. Giant? Then we could take giant steps, and you husband would never catch us." "All right," the giant's wife said, and together they carefully pulled the boots off the giant's feet.

In a moment, little Tomb Thumb had the giant's boots on his own little feet. "Come on," he said to his sisters and brothers, "Take my hand, and off we'll go." "Good-bye, Mrs. Giant, and thank you very much," said the children. "Good-bye, children," the giant's wife said. "You must walk in that direction to find your home." And she was right, for after just seven giant steps, the children were home again.

The woodcutter and his wife were very glad to see their children again. "Little Tom Thumb," they said "what big boots you have!" "Yes," little Tom Thumb said. "These are giant's boots. With them, I can very quickly take the wood Father cuts to the people, and we shall earn a lot of money. Then we can buy enough food for all of us." "Yes, the children shouted. "Then we can stay together forever!" And so they did.