806 TOM THUMB.

body was delighted with little Tom Thumb. The king made him
his dwarf; he was the favourite of the whole court ; and, by his
merry pranks, often amused the queen and the knights of the
round table. The king, when he rode on horseback, frequently
took Tom in his hand; and, if a shower of rain came on, he used
to creep into the king’s waistcoat pocket, and sleep till therain was
over. ‘The king also sometimes questioned Tom concerning his
parents ;-and when ‘Tom informed his majesty they were very
poor people, the king led him into his treasury, and told him he
should pay his friends a visit, and take with him as much money
as he could carry. Tom procured a little purse, and putting a
three-penny piece into it, with much labour and difficulty got it
upon his back ; and, after travelling two days and nights, arrived
at his father’s house. His mother met him at the door, almost
tired to death, having in forty-eight hours travelled almost half
a mile with a huge silver threepence upon his back. His parents
were glad to see him, especially when he had brought such an
amazing sum of money with him. They placed him in a walnut
shell by the fire-side, and feasted him for three days upon a
hazel nut, which made him sick, for a whole nut usually served
him for a month. Tom got well, but could not travel because it
had rained: therefore his mother took him in her hand, and with
one puff blew him into king Arthur’s court ; where Tom enter-
tained the king, queen, and nobility, at tilts and tournaments, at
which he exerted himself so much that he brought on a fit of
sickness, and his life was despaired of. At this juncture the
queen of the fairies came in a chariot, drawn by flying mice,
placed Tom by her side, and drove through the air, without
stopping till they arrived at her palace; when after restoring him
to health, and permitting him to enjoy all the gay diversions of
Fairy Land, the queen commanded a fair wind, and, placing
Tom before it, blew him straight to the court of king Arthur.