Hop-o'-my-thumb

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There once lived in a village a faggot-maker and his wife, who had

seven children, all boys; the eldest was no more than ten years old,

and the youngest was only seven.



It was odd enough, to be sure, that they should have so many children

in such a short time; but the truth is, the wife always brought him

two and once three at a time. This made him very poor, for not one of

these boys was old enough to ge
a living, and what was still worse,

the youngest was a puny little fellow who hardly ever spoke a word.

Now this, indeed, was a mark of his good sense, but it made his father

and mother suppose him to be silly, and they thought that at last he

would turn out quite a fool. This boy was the least size ever seen;

for when he was born he was no bigger than a man's thumb, which made

him be christened by the name of Hop-o'-my-thumb. The poor child was

the drudge of the whole house and always bore the blame of everything

that was done wrong. For all this, Hop-o'-my-thumb was far more clever

than any of his brothers; and though he spoke but little, he heard and

knew more than people thought. It happened just at this time, that for

want of rain the fields had grown but half as much corn and potatoes

as they used to grow; so that the faggot-maker and his wife could not

give the boys the food they had before, which was always either bread

or potatoes.



After the father and mother had grieved some time, they thought that

as they could contrive no other way to live, they must somehow get rid

of their children. One night when the boys were gone to bed, and the

faggot-maker and his wife were sitting over a few lighted sticks, to

warm themselves, the husband sighed deeply, and said, You see, my

dear, we cannot maintain our children any longer, and to see them die

of hunger before my eyes is what I could never bear. I will,

therefore, to-morrow morning take them to the forest, and leave them

in the thickest part of it, so that they will not be able to find

their way back: this will be very easy; for while they amuse

themselves with tying up the faggots, we need only slip away when they

are looking some other way.



Ah! husband, cried the poor wife, you cannot, no, you never can

consent to be the death of your own children.



The husband in vain told her to think how very poor they were.



The wife replied that this was true, to be sure; but if she was poor,

she was still their mother; and then she cried as if her heart would

break. At last she thought how shocking it would be to see them

starved to death before their eyes; so she agreed to what her husband

had said, and then went sobbing to bed.



Hop-o'-my-thumb had been awake all the time; and when he heard his

father talk very seriously, he slipped away from his brothers' side,

and crept under his father's bed, to hear all that was said without

being seen.



When his father and mother had left off talking, he got back to his

own place, and passed the night in thinking what he should do the next

morning.



He rose early, and ran to the river's side, where he filled his

pockets with small white pebbles, and then went back home. In the

morning they all set out, as their father and mother had agreed on;

and Hop-o'-my-thumb did not say a word to any of his brothers about

what he had heard. They came to a forest that was so very thick that

they could not see each other a few yards off. The faggot-maker set to

work cutting down wood; and the children began to gather the twigs, to

make faggots of them.



When the father and mother saw that the young ones were all very busy,

they slipped away without being seen. The children soon found

themselves alone, and began to cry as loud as they could.

Hop-o'-my-thumb let them cry on, for he knew well enough how to lead

them safe home, an he had taken care to drop the white pebbles he had

in his pocket along all the way he had come. He only said to them,

Never mind it, my lads: father and mother have left us here by

ourselves, but only take care to follow me, and I will lead you back

again.



When they heard this they left off crying, and followed

Hop-o'-my-thumb, who soon brought them to their father's house by the

very same path which they had come along. At first they had not the

courage to go in; but stood at the door to hear what their parents

were talking about. Just as the faggot-maker and his wife had come

home without their children, a great gentleman of the village sent to

pay them two guineas, for work they had done for him, which he had

owed them so long that they never thought of getting a farthing of it.

This money made them quite happy; for the poor creatures were very

hungry, and had no other way of getting anything to eat.



The faggot-maker sent his wife out immediately to buy some meat; and

as it was a long time since she had made a hearty meal, she bought as

much meat as would have been enough for six or eight persons. The

truth was, when she was thinking what would be enough for dinner, she

forgot that her children were not at home; but as soon as she and her

husband had done eating, she cried out, Alas! where are our poor

children? how they would feast on what we have left! It was all your

fault, husband! I told you we should repent leaving them to starve in

the forest!--Oh mercy! perhaps they have already been eaten by the

hungry wolves! The poor woman shed plenty of tears: Alas! alas!

said she, over and over again, what is become of my dear children?



The children, who were all at the door, cried out together, Here we

are, mother, here we are!



She flew like lightning to let them in, and kissed every one of them.



The faggot-maker and his wife were charmed at having their children

once more with them, and their joy for this lasted till their money

was all spent; but then they found themselves quite as ill off as

before. So by degrees they again thought of leaving them in the

forest: and that the young ones might not come back a second time,

they said they would take them a great deal farther than they did at

first. They could not talk about this matter so slily but that

Hop-o'-my-thumb found means to hear all that passed between them; but

he cared very little about it, for he thought it would be easy for him

to do just the same as he had done before. But though he got up very

early the next morning to go to the river's side to get the pebbles, a

thing which he had not thought of hindered him; for he found that the

house-door was double-locked. Hop-o'-my-thumb was now quite at a loss

what to do; but soon after this, his mother gave each of the children

a piece of bread for breakfast, and then it came into his head that he

could make his share do as well as the pebbles, by dropping crumbs of

it all the way as he went. So he did not eat his piece, but put it

into his pocket.



It was not long before they all set out, and their parents took care

to lead them into the very thickest and darkest part of the forest.

They then slipped away by a by-path as before, and left the children

by themselves again. All this did not give Hop-o'-my-thumb any

concern, for he thought himself quite sure of getting back by means

of the crumbs that he had dropped by the way; but when he came to look

for them he found that not a crumb was left, for the birds had eaten

them all up.



The poor children were now sadly off, for the further they went the

harder it was for them to get out of the forest. At last night came

on, and the noise of the wind among the trees seemed to them like the

howling of wolves, so that every moment they thought they should be

eaten up. They hardly dared to speak a word, or to move a limb, for

fear. Soon after there came a heavy rain, which wetted them to the

very skin, and made the ground so slippery, that they fell down almost

at every step, and got dirty all over.



Before it was quite dark, Hop-o'-my-thumb climbed up to the top of a

tree, and looked round on all sides to see if he could find any way of

getting help. He saw a small light, like that of a candle, but it was

a very great way off, and beyond the forest. He then came down from

the tree, to try to find the way to it; but he could not see it when

he was on the ground, and he was in the utmost trouble what to do

next. They walked on towards the place where he had seen the light,

and at last reached the end of the forest, and got sight of it again.

They now walked faster; and after being much tired and vexed (for

every time they got into lower ground they lost sight of the light),

came to the house it was in. They knocked at the door, which was

opened by a very good-natured-looking lady, who asked what brought

them there. Hop-o'-my-thumb told her that they were poor children, who

had lost their way in the forest, and begged that she would give them

a bed till morning. When the lady saw that they had such pretty faces,

she began to shed tears and said, Ah! my poor children, you do not

know what place you are come to. This is the house of an Ogre, who

eats up little boys and girls.



Alas! madam, replied Hop-o'-my-thumb, who trembled from head to

foot, what shall we do? If we go back to the forest, we are sure of

being torn to pieces by the wolves; we would rather, therefore, be

eaten by the gentleman: besides, when he sees us, perhaps he may take

pity on us and spare our lives.



The Ogre's wife thought she could contrive to hide them from her

husband till morning; so she let them go in and warm themselves by a

good fire, before which there was a whole sheep roasting for the

Ogre's supper. When they had stood a short time by the fire, there

came a loud knocking at the door: this was the Ogre come home. His

wife hurried the children under the bed, and told them to lie still,

and she then let her husband in.



The Ogre asked if supper were ready, and if the wine were fetched from

the cellar; and then he sat down at the table. The sheep was not quite

done, but he liked it much better half raw. In a minute or two the

Ogre began to snuff to his right and left, and said he smelt child's

flesh.



It must be this calf which has just been killed, said his wife.



I smell child's flesh, I tell thee once more, cried the Ogre,

looking all about the room; I smell child's flesh; there is something

going on that I do not know of.



As soon as he had spoken these words, he rose from his chair and went

towards the bed.



Ah! madam, said he, you thought to cheat me, did you? Wretch! thou

art old and tough thyself, or else I would eat thee up too! But come,

come, this is lucky enough; for the brats will make a nice dish for

three Ogres, who are my particular friends, and who are to dine with

me to-morrow.



He then drew them out one by one from under the bed. The poor children

fell on their knees and begged his pardon as humbly as they could; but

this Ogre was the most cruel of all Ogres, and instead of feeling any

pity, he only began to think how sweet and tender their flesh would

be; so he told his wife they would be nice morsels, if she served them

up with plenty of sauce. He then fetched a large knife, and began to

sharpen it on a long whetstone that he held in his left hand; and all

the while he came nearer and nearer to the bed. The Ogre took up one

of the children, and was going to set about cutting him to pieces; but

his wife said to him, What in the world makes you take the trouble of

killing them to-night? Will it not be time enough to-morrow morning?



Hold your prating, replied the Ogre; they will grow tender by being

kept a little while after they are killed.



But, said his wife, you have got so much meat in the house already;

here is a calf, two sheep and half a pig.



True, said the Ogre, so give them all a good supper, that they may

not get lean, and then send them to bed.



The good creature was quite glad at this. She gave them plenty for

their supper, but the poor children were so terrified that they could

not eat a bit.



The Ogre sat down to his wine, very much pleased with the thought of

giving his friends such a dainty dish: this made him drink rather more

than common, and he was soon obliged to go to bed himself. Now the

Ogre had seven daughters, who were all very young like Hop-o'-my-thumb

and his brothers. These young Ogresses had fair skins, because they

fed on raw meat like their father; but they had small grey eyes, quite

round, and sunk in their heads, hooked noses, wide mouths, and very

long sharp teeth standing a great way off each other. They were too

young as yet to do much mischief; but they showed that if they lived

to be as old as their father, they would grow quite as cruel as he

was, for they took pleasure already in biting young children, and

sucking their blood. The Ogresses had been put to bed very early that

night; they were all in one bed, which was very large, and every one

of them had a crown of gold on her head. There was another bed of the

same size in the room, and in this the Ogre's wife put the seven

little boys, and then went to bed herself along with her husband.



Now Hop-o'-my-thumb was afraid that the Ogre would wake in the night

and kill him and his brothers while they were asleep. So he got out of

bed in the middle of the night as softly as he could, took off all his

brothers' nightcaps and his own, and crept with them to the bed that

the Ogre's daughters were in: he then took off their crowns, and put

the nightcaps on their heads instead: next he put the crowns on his

brothers' heads and his own, and got into bed again; expecting, after

this, that, if the Ogre should come, he would take him and his

brothers for his own children. Everything turned out as he wished. The

Ogre waked soon after midnight, and began to be very sorry that he had

put off killing the boys till the morning: so he jumped out of bed,

and took hold of his large knife. Let us see, said he, what the

young rogues are about, and do the business at once! He then walked

softly to the room where they all slept, and went up to the bed the

boys were in, who were all asleep except Hop-o'-my-thumb. He touched

their heads one at a time, and feeling the crowns of gold, said to

himself, Oh, oh! I had like to have made such a mistake. I must have

drunk too much wine last night.



He went next to the bed that his own little Ogresses were in, and when

he felt the nightcaps, he said, Ah! here you are, my lads: and so in

a moment he cut the throats of all his daughters.



He was very much pleased when he had done this, and then went back to

his own bed. As soon as Hop-o'-my-thumb heard him snore, he awoke his

brothers, and told them to put on their clothes quickly, and follow

him. They stole down softly into the garden, and then jumped from the

wall into the road: they ran as fast as their legs could carry them,

but were so much afraid all the while, that they hardly knew which way

to take. When the Ogre waked in the morning, he said to his wife,

grinning, My dear, go and dress the young rogues I saw last night.



The wife was quite surprised at hearing her husband speak so kindly,

and did not dream of the real meaning of his words. She supposed he

wanted her to help them to put on their clothes; so she went upstairs,

and the first thing she saw was her seven daughters with their throats

cut and all over blood. This threw her into a fainting fit. The Ogre

was afraid his wife might be too long in doing what he had set her

about, so he went himself to help her; but he was as much shocked as

she had been at the dreadful sight of his bleeding children. Ah! what

have I done? he cried; but the little rascals shall pay for it, I

warrant them.



He first threw some water on his wife's face; and, as soon as she came

to herself, he said to her: Bring me quickly my seven-league boots,

that I may go and catch the little vipers.



The Ogre then put on these boots, and set out with all speed. He

strided over many parts of the country, and at last turned into the

very road in which the poor children were. For they had set off

towards the faggot-maker's cottage, which they had almost reached.

They watched the Ogre stepping from mountain to mountain at one step,

and crossing rivers as if they had been tiny brooks. At this

Hop-o'-my-thumb thought a little what was to be done; and spying a

hollow place under a large rock, he made his brothers get into it. He

then crept in himself, but kept his eye fixed on the Ogre, to see what

he would do next.



The Ogre found himself quite weary with the journey he had gone, for

seven-league boots are very tiresome to the person who wears them; so

he now began to think of resting, and happened to sit down on the very

rock where the poor children were hid. As he was so tired, and it was

a very hot day, he fell fast asleep, and soon began to snore so loud,

that the little fellows were terrified.



When Hop-o'-my-thumb saw this he said to his brothers, Courage, my

lads! never fear! you have nothing to do but to steal away and get

home while the Ogre is fast asleep, and leave me to shift for myself.



The brothers now were very glad to do whatever he told them, and so

they soon came to their father's house. In the mean time

Hop-o'-my-thumb went up to the Ogre softly, pulled off his

seven-league boots very gently, and put them on his own legs: for

though the boots were very large, yet being fairy-boots, they could

make themselves small enough to fit any leg they pleased.



As soon as ever Hop-o'-my-thumb had made sure of the Ogre's

seven-league boots, he went at once to the palace, and offered his

services to carry orders from the king to his army, which was a great

way off, and to bring back the quickest accounts of the battle they

were just at that time fighting with the enemy. In short, he thought

he could be of more use to the king than all his mail coaches, and so

should make his fortune in this manner. He succeeded so well, that in

a short time he made money enough to keep himself, his father, mother,

and six brothers, without the trouble of working, for the rest of

their lives. Having done this, he went back to his father's cottage,

where all the family were delighted to see him again. As the great

fame of his boots had been talked of at court in this time, the king

sent for him, and indeed employed him very often in the greatest

affairs of the state, so that he became one of the richest men in the

kingdom.



And now let us see what became of the wicked Ogre. He slept so soundly

that he never discovered the loss of his boots; but having an evil

conscience and bad dreams, he fell in his sleep from the corner of the

rock where Hop-o'-my-thumb and his brothers had left him, and bruised

himself so much from head to foot, that he could not stir: so he was

forced to stretch himself out at full length, and wait for some one to

come and help him.



Now a good many faggot-makers passed near the place where the Ogre

lay; and, when they heard him groan, they went up to ask him what was

the matter. But the Ogre had eaten such a great number of children in

his lifetime, that he had grown so very big and fat that these men

could not even have carried one of his legs; so they were forced to

leave him there. At last night came on, and then a large serpent came

out of a wood just by, and stung him, so that he died in great pain.



By and by, Hop-o'-my-thumb, who had become the king's first favourite,

heard of the Ogre's death; and the first thing he did was to tell his

majesty all that the good-natured Ogress had done to save the lives of

himself and brothers. The king was so much pleased at what he heard,

that he asked Hop-o'-my-thumb if there was any favour he could bestow

upon her? Hop-o'-my-thumb thanked the king, and desired that the

Ogress might have the noble title of Duchess of Draggletail given to

her; which was no sooner asked than granted. The Ogress then came to

court, and lived very happily for many years, enjoying the vast

fortune she had found in the Ogre's chests. As for Hop-o'-my-thumb, he

every day grew more witty and brave; till at last the king made him

the greatest lord in the kingdom, and set him over all his affairs.



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