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  • Mrs. Marigold took very good care of Thumbelina. "You are tiny, so I must keep my eye on you,"

  • said Mrs. Marigold. Every morning she took Thumbelina into the

  • garden. Thumbelina liked to sit next to her mother.

  • "Give me a rose seed, dear," Mrs. Marigold said one day.

  • "I'm strong, Mother," Thumbelina replied. "I can pass you three."

  • Gardening took much longer with her daughter helping. But Mrs. Marigold didn't care. She

  • was happy to have Thumbelina. Her daughter also liked to help Mrs. Marigold

  • cook. "Thumbelina, pass me the salt," Mrs. Marigold

  • said one day as she made dinner. "This saltshaker is heavy," gasped Thumbelina.

  • "But I can do it!" Thumbelina pushed the saltshaker to Mrs. Marigold.

  • On hot days, Thumbelina loved playing in the water. One afternoon Mrs. Marigold filled

  • a bowl with water. Then she set the bowl on the windowsill. Soon Thumbelina was floating

  • in an acorn shell, singing happily. A toad was hopping along outside, and it stopped

  • under Mrs. Marigold's open window. "What's that beautiful sound?" the toad, Mrs. Burp,

  • said to herself. "It's coming from that window." So Mrs. Burp jumped onto a flowerbox under

  • the window. She peeked around a flower and looked up.

  • "Why, it's a tiny girl with an angel's voice," said the toad. "She's very pretty too."

  • Mrs. Burp returned to the flowerbox many times. She wanted Thumbelina to marry her son.

  • Thumbelina's bed was half a walnut shell. Every night Mrs. Marigold filled the shell

  • with flower petals for Thumbelina's blanket. "What kind of blanket would you like tonight,

  • dear?" Mrs. Marigold always asked. "Tulips, please," Thumbelina always replied.

  • "They're my favorite." One night Thumbelina asked, "Mother, may I

  • sleep near the window tonight?" "Why, my sweet daughter?" said her mother.

  • "I want to see the stars." "Of course," replied Mrs. Marigold.

  • She put Thumbelina's bed on the sill of the open window.

  • "You make me so happy, darling," her mother said as she tucked her in. "Good night."

  • "Mother, you make me happy too," said Thumbelina. "Good night."

  • Mrs. Burp was hiding in the flowerbox. She waited until the lights went out.

  • "Now's my chance," croaked Mrs. Burp. She jumped onto the windowsill, grabbed Thumbelina,

  • and jumped out again. "Mother! Mother!" cried Thumbelina. But it

  • was too late.

Mrs. Marigold took very good care of Thumbelina. "You are tiny, so I must keep my eye on you,"

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