Section 1
Once, there lived a destitute peasant who spent his evenings seated in the chimney-corner, tending to the fire. Meanwhile, his wife would spin thread on her spinning-wheel. The peasant often expressed his discontent, saying, "How monotonous it is without any children around us; our dwelling is silent, while others are filled with cheer and liveliness!"
His wife replied with a sigh, "Indeed, if only we could have one child, even if it were as small as my thumb, I would be overjoyed! It would fulfill our deepest wish." As fate would have it, some time later, the woman gave birth to a child who was flawless in every way, but was no larger than a thumb. The delighted parents exclaimed, "He is exactly what we wished for, and we will cherish him dearly." They named him Thumbling, after his tiny size. Despite providing him with ample nourishment, Thumbling did not grow any larger and remained the same size as the day he was born. Nevertheless, he possessed remarkable abilities and was quick-witted and astute, which led to his every undertaking being successful.
One day, Thumbling's father prepared to venture into the forest to gather firewood. He murmured to himself, "I wish there was someone to help me bring the cart."
Upon hearing this, Thumbling exclaimed, "Father, I can bring the cart! Just leave it to me, and I'll make sure it arrives on time." The father chuckled and remarked, "How will you accomplish such a feat? You're far too tiny to grasp the reins." "Father, that's irrelevant. While my mother spins, I can sit in the horse's ear and direct him on where to go," Thumbling declared. The father replied, "Very well, we'll give it a try." At the appointed time, the mother resumed her spinning while placing Thumbling in the horse's ear. With a loud cry of "Gee-up, gee-wo!” Thumbling set off, and the horse responded by obediently following the correct path towards the forest, as if his master was in control, pulling the cart along. As they were making a turn, and Thumbling was shouting, "Gee-up!" two unfamiliar men walked past them. One of them remarked, "Do you see that? A wagon is moving, yet there is no driver in sight."
"It's quite strange," replied the other. "Let's follow the wagon and see where it leads us." And so they trailed the wagon, which continued on its way through the woods until it reached the spot where the wood had been cut. As Thumbling caught sight of his father, he exclaimed, "Father, I'm here with the wagon! Please take me down now." The father held onto the horse with his left hand and lifted his little son out of the horse's ear with his right. Thumbling then settled onto a tree stump, pleased and content. When the two strangers noticed Thumbling, they were astounded. Finally, one of them pulled the other aside and whispered, "Listen, we could make a fortune by exhibiting the little fellow in the town and charging people to see him. Let's buy him." They approached the woodcutter and proposed, "Sell the little man to us. We'll make sure he's safe and sound." The father replied, "No, he's the most precious thing in my life, and I wouldn't sell him for any amount of money in the world." However, Thumbling had overheard the conversation and climbed up his father's coat tails, perching himself on his shoulder. He whispered in his father's ear, "Father, you can let me go. I will come back soon." Therefore, the father reluctantly handed Thumbling over to the two men in exchange for a significant sum of money. They asked Thumbling where he wanted to sit, to which he replied, "Put me on the brim of your hat. There, I can wander and explore the countryside without the risk of falling off." Therefore, they did as he requested, and when it grew dark, Thumbling asked to be set down for a rest. After some hesitation, the two men agreed, and they set him down in a field by the roadside and the tiny creature scurried away immediately and after sneaking around among the rows of crops, he finally found what he had been searching for - a mouse-hole. With joy in his heart, he exclaimed to his former masters, "Farewell, my masters! You can return home without me!" and chuckled as he disappeared into the safety of the mouse-hole. The men tried to poke around with their sticks, hoping to find him, but their efforts were in vain.
As Thumbling continued to crawl deeper and deeper into the mouse-hole, the daylight began to fade, and the men were forced to abandon their search and make their way home in frustration, their pockets empty and their spirits low.
