Once upon a time lived a young woman who could not have children. The woman approached a fairy for help and said, “I very much want a little child. Do you know where I can find one?”

The fairy sold the woman some barley seeds and told her to plant them in a flowerpot. Soon after, a beautiful flower grew, and when the flower finally opened, it revealed a small, beautiful girl who was only an inch high. The woman called her Thumbelina, or “Tiny” for short, and made her a bed from rose petals and violet leaves. Tiny lived quite happily with the woman for some time, but her life was about to change.

One night, as Tiny lay sleeping, a toad hopped into the house. The toad saw the beautiful Tiny sleeping in her bed and decided the girl would be a perfect wife for her son. Mama toad quietly brought the sleeping girl home to her swamp by the stream and showed the girl to her son. Together, they placed the sleeping girl on a lily pad in the middle of the stream and when Tiny woke up, she found herself prisoner on a lily pad island. Mama toad and her son went to speak to Tiny to tell her about the wedding. Tiny began to cry, for she did not want to marry an ugly toad or live in a swamp for the rest of her life. The fish in the stream heard Tiny and, seeing how beautiful she was, took pity on her and gnawed through the stem that held the lily pad to the bottom of the stream. In this way, they set her free afloat the stream and Tiny sailed on the lily to far-off lands.

Tiny ended up in a rich forest, where she spent the rest of the summer. She drank nectar from the flowers and water caught in the leaves. But soon the season changed and Tiny became very cold and hungry. One day she knocked at the door of a mouse to ask for food. The old mouse took pity on the shivering and starving creature and told Tiny that she could live with her in her house if Tiny agreed to do all the cleaning and cooking. Tiny agreed and spent that winter with the mouse.

Once a week, the mouse’s friend came to visit. He was a rich, blind mole who lived under the ground (as moles do). The mole fell in love with Tiny, but was afraid to say anything. One afternoon, the three went for a walk in one of the mole’s tunnels. At the entrance was a dead bird, a swallow. Neither the mouse nor mole cared for birds, but Tiny liked them very much. That night, unable to sleep, Tiny wove a blanket for the swallow and snuck out to cover him. As she covered him, she discovered that he had a heartbeat—the poor bird was nearly frozen, not dead! All winter long, Tiny secretly nursed the swallow back to health.

In time, the mole finally asked the mouse for Tiny’s hand in marriage. The mouse thought it was a fine match. She was going to force Tiny to marry him. Tiny was grief-stricken. The swallow saw how unhappy she was, and offered to take her away on his back. Tiny agreed. She was free!

Tiny climbed on the swallow’s back. He rose into the air and flew her over forests, seas, and high mountains. Finally, they came to a beautiful blue lake near a flowering forest. He set her down in the beautiful white flowers under his tree. Tiny was very surprised to find a tiny man who was wearing a crown siting on the flower. A tiny man and woman live in every flower, and he was the kindest of them all. His son, the prince, was very startled to meet Tiny, but soon fell in love and asked her to marry him. Tiny agreed and they lived happily ever after.