Читать книгу The World of Fairy Tales. The Ultramarine Book / Мир волшебных сказок. Синяя книга. Книга для чтения на английском языке - Группа авторов - Страница 3

Once upon a time there was a woman whose dearest wish was to have a child of her own. One day she decided to ask an old witch for help.

The witch gave her a magic seed and explained that it would grow into a flower. One day the flower opened and there was a little girl not bigger than her thumb. The happy woman decided to call her Thumbelina.

She was a very happy little girl. All day long she played on her mother's table. At night she slept in a tiny bed. This bed was made from a polished walnut shell but one night a terrible thing happened. An old ugly toad kidnapped her and imprisoned her on a lily pad in the middle of a river. The toad wanted a beautiful wife for her ugly son. A kind fish took pity on Thumbelina and bit through the lily stem. The lily pad floated freely down the stream away from the terrible toad.

Suddenly a big beetle saw the tiny Thumbelina and decided to fly off with her. He was very proud of Thumbelina and decided to show his pretty prize to his friends. They didn't like her and said that she was ugly because she didn't have any feelers. At once the beetle lost interest in her and pushed her away. Thumbelina lived alone in the great wood. She ate berries and drank the dew on the leaves. In winter she was cold, hungry and without shelter.

A kind old mouse found Thumbelina and invited her to stay in her house. She was sure that Thumbelina would be a good wife for her old friend Mr. Mole. One day Thumbelina found a dead swallow in one of the dark passages of the mouse's house. Suddenly she noticed that the swallow was still breathing. She brought some water for the bird and started to look after him.

In spring the swallow recovered and was well enough to fly away.

Time passed and the mouse told Thumbelina that she should marry Mr. Mole. Thumbelina was very sad because she didn't want to spend the rest of her life underground.

The next day the swallow came to say goodbye to Thumbelina.

He was going to fly away for winter. The grateful swallow invited Thumbelina to come to Africa with him. Thumbelina didn't hesitate and happily climbed on his back.

The swallow spread his wings and they lifted high into the sky to begin their journey. They journeyed for several days and nights over beautiful countryside and finally arrived at a land full of tiny people just like Thumbelina.

It wasn't long before a handsome prince met Thumbelina and asked her to marry him.

They all lived happily ever after!