Thumbelina is an example that after every rain comes the sun, especially if we were good and deserved that sun. The old toad sat down in the marsh, decking out her room with rushes and yellow water-weeds—it was to be made very pretty for the new daughter-in-law; then she swam out, with her ugly son, to the leaf where Thumbelina was standing. So they gathered together in the water, round the green stalk which held the leaf on which the little maiden stood, and gnawed it away at the root with their teeth.

Thumbelina: A Novel by Andrea Koenig | Goodreads

A short time before, the mole had dug a long passage under the earth, which led from the dwelling of the field mouse to his own, and here she had permission to walk with Thumbelina whenever she liked. The old toad bowed low in the water before her, and said: ‘Here is my son; you shall marry him, and live in great magnificence down under the marsh. He seated himself by her side, on a large green leaf, gave her some honey from the flowers to eat, and told her she was very pretty, though not in the least like a cockroach.Then she laid her head on the bird’s breast, but she was alarmed, for it seemed as if something inside the bird went “thump, thump. Yes, this was truly a different kind of man to the toad’s son or the mole with the black velvet fur. She wrapped herself in a dry leaf, but it cracked in the middle and could not keep her warm, and she shivered with cold. The next night she stole out to him again, and now he was alive, but so weak that he could only open his eyes for a moment and look at Thumbelina, who stood before him with a bit of decayed wood in her hand, for she had no other light. So Toad swam out to the centre of the stream and set the walnut shell down on the leaf of the biggest water lily.

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Minor wear to corners and edges of boards; slight wear to page edges and corners; minor rubs to back board; slight browning to page edges; otherwise tight, sound and unmarked in Good condition. Tommelise" had been disliked by the critics at the time, for being too informal and chatty, and lacking morals. intact; extramities rubbed, inch tear Inscribed by Susan Jeffers on the title-page to rare children's book dealer, Ann Dumler, on the half-title page, with a sketch of a mouse (? The toad was very ugly, big, and damp; it hopped right down on to the table, where Thumbelina lay sleeping under the red rose-leaf. And thanks for your beautiful song in the summer, when all the trees were green, and the sun shone warmly upon us.With the help of friendly fish and a butterfly, Thumbelina escapes the toad and her son, and drifts on a lily pad until captured by a Cockchafer who later discards her when his friends reject her company. Now you must set to work at your linen for your dowry, for nothing must be lacking if you are to become the wife of our neighbor, the mole! Tie yourself on with your sash, and we will fly away from the ugly mole and his dark room, far away over the mountains to warm countries where the sun shines brighter than here, where it is always summer, and there are lovely flowers. BOOK: Lavishly illustrated by award-winning artist Gennady Spirin, this spectacular collection gathers together six of the most beloved stories by master storyteller Hans Christian Andersen. Eventually Thumbelina sees little choice but to agree, but cannot bear the thought of the mole keeping her underground and never seeing the sun.