"
"That would be indeed a very strange kind of child," said Merlin, "but
I hope you may have your wish."
Now Merlin was on his way to call on the queen of the fairies.
When he came to her castle the next day, he told the fairy queen the
wish of the farmer's wife.
The queen of the fairies said, "The good woman shall have her wish. I
will give her a son no larger than her husband's thumb."
TOM THUMB--II
Soon after this the good farmer's wife had a son. He was, indeed, just
the size of his father's thumb.
People came from far and wide to see the tiny boy.
One day the fairy queen and some other fairies came to see him.
The queen kissed the little boy and named him Tom Thumb.
[Illustration]
Each of the other fairies made Tom a gift.
He had a shirt made of silk from a spider's web, a coat of thistledown,
a hat made from the leaf of an oak, tiny shoes made from a mouse's skin,
and many other gifts besides.
Tom never grew any larger than a man's thumb, but he could do many
clever tricks.
One day his mother was mixing a pudding.
Tom leaned over the edge of the bowl to see how it was made.
He slipped, and in he went, head first.
His mother did not see him fall, and kept stirring and stirring the
pudding.
Tom could not see nor hear, but he kicked and kicked inside the pudding.
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