Rabbit Ears Book Blog: Fairy Tale and Folktale Fridays #18: Thumbelina

Friday, December 9, 2016

Fairy Tale and Folktale Fridays #18: Thumbelina

Hey there! Welcome to "Fairy Tale and Folktale Fridays," a new feature on my blog where I discuss about some fairy tales and folktales I have read throughout the years.

Thumbelina

Type: Fairy Tale

Country of Origin: Denmark

Main Character Hero or Heroine: Heroine

Recommend?: Yes!

The story starts off with a couple wanting to have a child, but they couldn't have one. So, they ended up going to the village witch and the witch gave the couple a seed that they should plant when they get home. When the couple planted the seed, a flower bloom and out stepped a little girl "no bigger than a thumb" and the couple came to care for the little girl and called her Thumbelina. One night however, a toad came into the house and kidnapped Thumbelina and the toad tells Thumbelina that she will marry her son and they go off and set the preparations for the wedding. Thumbelina was upset at this and she thought that she would never escape from the toads until a pair of fish ended up setting Thumbelina free. Afterwards, Thumbelina comes up to a mouse's home and the mouse allowed Thumbelina to stay with it for awhile and Thumbelina was happy. One day however, Thumbelina's happiness will soon fade as the mouse set Thumbelina up to marry the mole, who hated the sunlight and Thumbelina tries to find a way to escape from her fate of marrying the mole.

I've always loved this fairy tale as it was interesting reading about a small girl trying to make it to the dangerous world by herself and meeting up with various animals along the way. Although I wish that there was an interpretation of "Thumbelina" that fleshed out the character a bit more, I am satisfied with this story about a small girl trying to make it out in the dangerous world.

1. How would you feel if you were only a few inches tall?

I would be a bit scared myself, since that would mean that I have to deal with people who are very large and who might accidentally hurt me due to my small size. But, it would be cool to be able to sneak into small places that I couldn't before!

2. Would you like to become a fairy?

Well, I would love to have powers like to fly and to turn things into something beautiful!