TOM THUMB

pa|N the days of King Arthur there lived a
A| ploughman and his wife who wished
greatly to have a son; so the man
went to Merlin, the enchanter, and
told him that he and his wife had
been married for twenty years and
had no children, and that they longed
to have a little son, even ifhe were ‘no bigger than
his thumb.’

“Go home and you will find that you have one,’
said the enchanter; and when the man returned
to his house, he found his wife nursing a tiny tiny
baby, who grew to be the size of the ploughman’s
thumb, but never grew much bigger.

The fairy Queen Vivienne was invited to the
christening, and named him Tom Thumb.

An oak-leaf hat he had for crown;
His shirt of web by spiders spun;
With jacket wove of thistledown ;
His breeches were of feathers done.
His stockings of apple rind, they tie
With eyelash from his mother’s eye:
His.shoes were made of mouse’s skin
Turned with the downy hair within.

Tom was a healthy and happy baby. His parents
were very fond of him; although he was so small

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TOM
THUMB