Thumbelina

Once upon a time there was a woman. She lived alone and desperately wanted a child. Her house was far from the nearest village. She spent most of her time tending to her garden and her orchard. Her only friend was a good witch. The witch was sure the woman would be a perfect mother so one day she gave her a seed as a gift, but didn’t explain anything further.

“Whatever happens,” the witch said, “you have to take very good care of the seed. Plant it in the best soil you can find, water it with the cleanest water, and more than anything, make sure you talk to it.”

At first the woman was puzzled, but she was excited to take care of the tiny gift.

After the witch had left, the woman did exactly as she’d been told. She found the nicest flower pot she had, dug a tiny hole in the dirt, and gently put the seed in. She watered it and told it all about her day. Soon, she noticed that the seed was sprouting, and in fact the plant was growing significantly faster than all the others. In two days the bud of a tiny flower had appeared.

“What a lovely little flower you are!” The woman spoke to the bud and gently touched the tiny closed petals. Suddenly, the flower opened. The woman couldn’t have been more amazed: inside the little yellow flower there was a tiny, sleeping little girl.

“Can this be real?” the woman thought. “Do I finally have a daughter I’ve always longed for?” The happy woman took the girl and held her in her palm. She was barely the size of a thumb, and so she decided to name her Thumbelina.

“Hello, my dear…