Then said they, "It is as we wished it to be, and it shall be our dear child;" and because of its size, they called it Thumbling.

"Oh, father," cried Thumbling, "I will soon bring the cart; rely on that; it shall be in the forest at the appointed time."

" When the time came, the mother harnessed the horse, and placed Thumbling in its ear, and then the little creature cried, "Gee up, gee up!"

When Thumbling saw his father, he cried to him, "See, father, here I am with the cart; now take me down."

Thumbling sat down quite merrily on a straw, but when the two strange men saw him, they did not know what to say for astonishment.

Thumbling, however, when he heard of the bargain, had crept up the folds of his father's coat, placed himself on his shoulder, and whispered in his ear.

They did as he wished, and when Thumbling had taken leave of his father, they went away with him.

Thumbling crept still farther in, and as it soon became quite dark, they were forced to go home with their vexation and their empty purses.

When Thumbling saw that they were gone, he crept back out of the subterranean passage.

"I could tell you that," cried Thumbling, interrupting them.

They stood still listening, and Thumbling spoke again and said, "Take me with you, and I'll help you.

When they got to the pastor's house, Thumbling crept into the room, but instantly cried out with all his might, "Do you want to have everything that is here?"

Thumbling, however, behaved as if he had not understood this, and cried again, "What do you want?

Then Thumbling again cried as loudly as he could, "I really will give you everything, only put your hands in."

When she came to the place with it, Thumbling, unperceived, hid himself in the granary, and the maid, after she had examined every corner and found nothing, lay down in her bed again, and believed that, after all, she had only been dreaming with open eyes and ears.

Thumbling had climbed up among the hay and found a beautiful place to sleep in: there he intended to rest until day, and then go home again to his parents.

Her first walk was into the barn, where she laid hold of an armful of hay, and precisely that very one in which poor Thumbling was lying asleep.

Hardly, however, had he set his foot inside than Thumbling again cried, "Bring me no more fodder, bring me no more fodder."

She was killed, but the stomach, in which Thumbling was, was thrown on the midden.

Thumbling had great difficulty in working his way out; however, he succeeded so far as to get some room, but, just as he was going to thrust his head out, a new misfortune occurred.

Thumbling did not lose courage.

Thumbling had reckoned on this, and now began to make a violent noise in the wolfs body, and raged and screamed as loudly as he could.

Then Thumbling heard his parents' voices, and cried, "Dear father, I am here; I am in the wolf's body."

Said the father, full of joy, "Thank God, our dear child has found us again," and bade the woman take away her scythe, that Thumbling might not be hurt with it.

"And we will not sell you again; no, not for all the riches in the world," said his parents, and they embraced and kissed their dear Thumbling.