forest, and had not been taught what is right and HOP-o’-MyY-
what is wrong. THUMB
Weeping very bitterly, the wife at last went to bed,
and soon after her husband followed. As he closed
the door of the room behind him, you might have
seen a little dark object creep out from under the
bench on which the woodcutter and his wife had
been sitting. This was none other than Hop-o’-
my-Thumb. He fixed his sharp little eyes on the
red embers, and seemed lost in thought. Then he
nodded his head, and he crept out of the room into
a large closet where he and his brothers slept.
Hop-o’-my-Thumb had not intended to listen to
what his parents were saying. He had been very
cold in bed from hunger, and having found that
the warmth of the fire made him feel better, he
had stolen softly under the bench, meaning to give
himself a good warming before he went to sleep.
But when he heard his father’s resolve to leave
them in the wood, he was afraid to let him know
that he was there, and scarcely dared breathe till
his father and mother were gone to bed.
As you may suppose, Hop-o’-my-Thumb slept little
that night. He was glad when he saw the dawn
peep in at the window; then he rose, without
waking his brothers, and went down to the brook
near the hut, and filled his pockets with smooth.
round pebbles, as white as snow.
By-and-by the woodcutter called out, in a cheerful
voice :
‘Get up, my little sons, and come with me into the
wood. I will give you atreat. You shall help me
to bind the fagots.’
Now the little boys very much liked to help their
father, feeling proud to be useful.
‘And I will go with you,’ said the mother, though
she gave a deep sigh as she spoke.
They each had a slice of bread for breakfast, and
then they all set out for the forest.

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