The Story of Tom Thumb

Tom Thumb - the Story in Folklore

Whilst there have been various versions of the Tom Thumb story over the ages, the basic synopsis of the tale for children is the following:
Back in the times of King Arthur, lived a poor and infertile couple who longed for a son but remained as barren as they were poor. They invite a passing old beggar (a common theme in folklore) to take shelter in their humble home and lo and behold he turns out to be Merilin travelling in disguise. When he hears of their desire to have a son, even if was no bigger than a thumb, Merlin does a bit of magic that brings about the birth of the legendary but rather small, Tom Thumb. He’s a popular fellow and even the local fairy queen blesses him.

The young Tom Thumb is quite clumsy though and his mischievous nature means that he’s forever meet with mishaps, like the time he falls into the pudding mix made by his mother, who subsequently comes to the conclusion that her cake is under an enchantment when it starts to move…

Being very small, Tom Thumb keeps getting eaten by various creatures, including a large red cow and by a giant (a raven picks him up and takes him to the castle), Tom thrashes about so much in the giant’s stomach though that he gets thrown back up into the sea. Then a fish eats him. Of course, the fish gets caught by the royal fishermen and before the fish can be cooked up for King Arthur’s dinner, Tom escapes through the guts and gives the cook a heart attack.
After his somewhat unorthodox introduction to royal court, Tom Thumb wins the favour of King Arthur and is made the court dwarf and an honorary knight. He then entertains everyone by riding a mouse as his steed and fighting battles with a tiny pin as a lance.

He takes a trip to fairyland there to pay his respects to the fairy queen but upon his return he finds that Arthur is dead and Tom’s status at court is under threat. He’s patronised once more by the new King Thunston and receives a carriage pulled around by 6 white mice.

Turns out that Thunston pays more attention to Tom Thumb than his wife though and she tries him on charges of being ‘saucy’, a great medieval crime. Tom makes his escape on a butterfly but is apprehended and put in the curious jail of a mousetrap. A rather helpful and curious cat frees him but before he can win back royal favour, he gets bitten by a poisonous spider – the final resting place of Tom Thumb is beneath a marble monument.

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