Tom Thumb The Great
This tale belongs to a time before
the birth of English language. A time before England came to be called by that
name. A time when the land was ruled over by King Arthur and Queen Guinevere,
attended by 100 Round Table Knights. A knight in those days was a man of high
social rank who had a duty to fight for his king...
In the days of King Arthur there lived a mighty
magician called Merlin. The king depended so much on Merlin's magic and advice
for the success of his ventures. Now Merlin could take any form that the moment
pleased him.
One day he was travelling about as a beggar. When
he felt very tired he stopped at the cottage of a peasant to rest himself. He
asked for some food.
Now Beeman the peasant, and Beda his wife, were a
very kindly couple. They set before Merlin a wooden bowl of milk, and some
coarse brown bread. It was a rather poor meal. But that was all they could
serve him.
Merlin was much pleased with the kindness of
Beeman and Beda. He asked them why they looked so sad and miserable. Beda told
him that they had no children. She added, "I should be the happiest woman
in the world if I had a son even though he was only as big as my husband's
thumb."
The magician was much amused with the idea of a
thumb-big boy. Immediately granted Beda's wish. In the fullness of time the
woman gave birth to a son hardly bigger than Beeman's thumb.
The wonderful news reached the fairy world. Mab,
the queen of the fairies, couldn't control her curiosity. She flitted down the
skies, and fluttered about the window while Beda was sitting up in the bed
admiring her frail and fragile infant. Queen Mab kissed the child and named him
Tom Thumb. She took a solemn vow to remain his godmother, and to protect him
from all probable harm. (By the by, this queen of fairies is said to create and
control dreams on earth.)
Tom never grew up. He was always as big as
Beeman's thumb. But as he got older he picked up all kinds cunning tricks. He
often played with the next-door boys, and lost his own cherry-stones. Then he
would creep into the others' bags, fill his pockets with their cherry-stones,
and get out without anyone noticing him. And he would again join the game.
One day little Tom was caught stealing from a bag
of cherry-stones. The bag was rudely shaken, and his puny body was badly
bruised. Tom roared with pain, and begged to be let out. He promised never to
steal again.
Another day, Beda was making a pudding. Tom grew
curious. He wanted to see how it was made. (Tom was more curious than most boys
of his age. It was only natural. For he took that trait from Queen Mab, his
fairy godmother.) He climbed up to the edge of the bowl. His foot slipped, and
Tom fell headlong into the bowl. Beda didn't notice it. She emptied the bowl into the pot to boil.
Tom kicked and struggled in the boiling pot. Beda
thought that the pudding was bewitched. She threw it outside the door. Tom
crept out of it, and walked back home. His mother was very sorry to see her
darling little one in such a pitiable state. At once she put him into a teacup,
and washed him clean. She kissed him softly, and laid him in bed. And that was
the end of Tom's great pudding adventure.
As usual, one day Beda went to milk their red cow,
out in the meadow. She took little Tom along with her. A strong wind was
blowing. Lest Tom should be blown away, his mother tied him to a small plant
with a piece of thread.
While the cow was grazing, the animal took Tom and
the plant at one mouthful. Tom was horrified to see the cow chewing teeth. He
started to roar out as loud as he could, “Mother, mother!” Thus he drew her
attention to the cow's mouth.
But Beda could do nothing about it. She began to
cry. The cow was surprised at the strange noise in the woman's throat. She
opened her mouth in wonder. And Tom dropped out her mouth. Beda caught him in
her apron as he was falling to the ground. She ran home with him, and laid him
in bed.
It was ploughing time. Little Tom followed his
father to the fields. There he slipped a foot and fell into the furrow. (The
furrow is a long ditch made by the plough.)
A large crow was flying over the fields. It picked
Tom up, and flew with him over the sea, and dropped him over the waves.
Miserable Beeman looked on helplessly. Then he walked home sadly along.
Tom was taken to the king. Soon he became a
favourite at the court. His games and tricks amused the king, the queen, and
the Knights of the Round Table. When the king rode out on horseback he often
took Tom along with him. If it rained, the little one would creep into his
pocket. There he would sleep till the shower was over.
One day King Arthur asked Tom about his parents.
The 'Thumb' boy told him about their humble circumstances. The kind king urged
him to take home as much money as he could carry from the royal treasury. At
that, the little boy leaped with joy. He got a purse made of a water-bubble.
And all that it could contain was a three-penny-piece.
Tom lifted the bubble burden on his back, and set
forward on his homeward journey. It took him two days and two nights to reach
his parents' cottage in safety. On the way, the little hero had to rest himself
more than two hundred times.
Beeman and Beda wept for joy to see Tom home
again. They were thrilled to hear his exploits at the court. But they couldn't
stop him long there from seeking the king's company again.
Upon his return, Tom was given a heroic welcome.
The king ordered him a new suit of clothes. He made him a knight, and called
him 'Sir Thomas'.
(Surely, Sir Thomas wasn't counted among the
hundred Round Table Knights.) This small little hero was mounted on a mouse
instead of a horse. (No thumb-size horse was available there, then or ever.) A
needle took the place of the sword by his side. Thus Sir Thomas rode in stately
pride and splendour.
The king was so fond of his small little knight
that he built for him a palace of gold, nine inches high, with a door an inch
wide. He also had a chair made for him so that Tom might sit upon the king's
table.
The queen grew jealous of the honours given to Sir
Thomas. She decided to ruin him. So she told the king that Tom behaved improperly
to her. The king sent for him at once.
Tom was fully aware of the danger of royal anger.
He crept into an empty shell of a snail. At length, hunger drove him out of it.
Then Tom saw a large butterfly there. He jumped
astride on it, and was carried up into the air. The butterfly flew with him
from tree to tree, and from field to field. At last it came to the king's
court.
The queen's rage rose high at the sight of Tom.
She said that he should be beheaded. And Tom was kept in a mousetrap until the
time of his execution. However, a cat patted the trap about, breaking the
wires. Poor Tom was thus free again.
The king received Sir Thomas again into his
favour. But the 'thumb-knight' did not live long after that. One day a spider
attacked him. Tom drew his needle-sword and fought well, in defence and offence
alike. The spider proved too strong for the poor knight. Tom fell dead. (In the
face of death, even his fairy godmother couldn't protect him.) And the deadly
spider sucked dry every drop of his knightly blood.
King Arthur and the Round Table Knights deeply
mourned for Sir Thomas. A marble monument was built over his grave. The
following lines were written on a memorial tablet on it.
"Here lies Tom Thumb,
King Arthur's knight,
Who died by a spider's cruel
bite."
Thus ended the great adventures of Tom Thumb,
Merlin's charming gift to Beeman and Beda.
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