“Yes，I’11 go with you，”said Thumbelina gladly．She sat on thebird’S back，her feet resting on its outspread wings，tied her belt fast tOon of its strongest feathers，and then the swallow flew high into the air，O—ver wood and over sea，and high up over the big mountains where snowalways lies．Thumbelina was almost frozen in the cold air，but she creptright in under the bird’S warm feathers，only peeping out now and then tOsee all the beautiful things beneath her．
At last they came to the warm lands．There the sun shone muchmore brightly，the sky was twice as high，and in hedge and field grew theloveliest green and blue grapes．In the woods hung lemons and oranges，there was a fragrance of balsam and myrtle，and along the roads ran love—children playing with large speckled butterflies．But the swallow flew still farther，and everything became lovelier and grander．Beneath stately green trees near a blue lake stood a dazzlingly white marble palace from the olden times．Vine tendrils twined up and around the high pillars，and up at the very top were a number of swallow—nests；in one of those dwelt the swallow who had carried Thumbelina．
“Here is my house，”said the swallow，“but pray choose one of the most splendid of the flowers that grow，and I’11 put you there and you shall have as happy a time as you can desire．’’
“Oh，that will be lovely！”cried she，clapping her tiny hands．
On the ground lay a large white marble column which had fallen and broken into three pieces，and between them grew the loveliest white flow—ers．The swallow flew down with Thumbelina and placed her on one of the broad leaves；but how amazed was she when she saw a little elf sitting in the very center of the flower，as white and transparent as if he were of glass！He had on his head a tiny gold crown and bright wings on his shoulders，and he was scarcely any bigger than Thumbelina．He was the elf of the flower．In every flower there lived some such little man or woman，but he was the King of a11．
“How handsome be is！”whispered Thumbelina to the swallow．
The little prince was quite frightened at the swallow，for to him it was a gigantic bird，but when he saw Thumbelina he was delighted；she was the very prettiest girl he had ever seen．He took his gold crown from his head and put it on hers，asking her name and begging her to be his wife，for then she would be the Queen of the flowers！
Now，this was something like a husband，and very different from theson of a toad，Or a mole in his black fur coat．So she said“Yespretty prince，and from every flower came forth lord or a lady elf，all SOgraceful that it was a joy to behold them．At the wedding everyonebrought Thumbelina a present，but the best of all was a pair of prettywings from a large white fly；they were fastened on to Thumbelina’Sback，SO that she could fly from flower to flower．There was a great merry—making，and the swallow sat overhead in his nest and sang to them aswell as he could，but at heart he was distressed，for he loved Thumbelinaand would have liked to be with her always．
“Farewell，farewell！”sang the swallow，a little later，and flew awayagain from the warrn land—far．far away back to Denmark．There it has alittle nest over the window of the man who tells黼ry tales，and it sang tohim，“Kwee—wit！Kwee—wit！”And that is how we got this story．
thumb n．拇指；第一指；一拇指的宽度
v．用拇指翻动；竖起拇指要求搭便车；笨拙地摆弄
swampy adj．沼泽的；软而湿的；似沼泽的
clump n．丛，笨重的脚步声，块
v．以沉重的步子行走；形成一丛
sedge n．莎草，苔
fasten v．拴紧，系，使固定；扣紧；抓住
gather n．集合；聚集
v．使聚集；积聚；搜集
dug n．哺乳动物的乳房
swallow n．吞，咽；一次吞咽之物；燕子
v．吞下，咽下；吞并；淹没，吞没
wrapped adj．在恋爱中的；谦恭顺从的；狂热发昏的
trousseau n．嫁衣，嫁妆
obtain v．得到，获得；得到公认；流行；通用；存在
balsam n．香油，香膏，产香油的树；凤仙花拇指姑娘
[丹麦]安徒生
从前，有个女人，她非常希望有个小孩子，但她不知道应该到什么地方去找。因此她就去请教一位老巫婆，她对巫婆说：“我特别想要一个小孩子，你能告诉我从什么地方可以得到一个吗？”
“嗨！这容易得很！”巫婆说，“我这里有一粒大麦，这可不是农夫田里长的那种，也不是给家禽吃的那种。把它埋在一个花盆里，我保证你能看到点什么。”
“谢谢您。”女人说，接着付给了巫婆12枚银币，回家后她便种下了麦粒，不一会儿，一朵看上去像郁金香一样美丽的花朵就长了出来，不过它的叶子紧紧地包在一起，好像仍旧是一个花苞似的。
“这朵花真漂亮！”女人一边说一边在那可爱的黄而带红的花瓣上吻了一下，就在这时，“啪”的一声，花绽开了。现在谁都能看出这是朵真正的郁金香了，在花朵中央位置坐着一位娇小的姑娘，她那么的漂亮，那么的可爱。她只有大拇指那么大，因而人们都叫她拇指姑娘。
拇指姑娘的摇篮是光得发亮的漂亮胡桃壳，她的垫子是蓝色紫罗兰花瓣，她的被单是玫瑰花瓣。这就是她晚上睡觉的地方，白天她就在桌子上玩耍。那女人在桌子上放了一个盘子，盘子上又放了一圈花，花茎都浸在水中，水中漂着一片很大的郁金香花瓣。拇指姑娘总是坐在花瓣上，用两根白马尾作桨，从盘子这一边划到那一边。这景象看起来可真美！拇指姑娘还会唱歌，温柔甜美的声音世间少有。
一天晚上，当她正躺在那美丽的摇篮里时，一只既丑又老的癞蛤蟆从破了一块玻璃的窗子外蹦了进来。癞蛤蟆个儿挺大，浑身湿漉漉的，它正好蹦到拇指姑娘所在的那张桌上，当时她正躺在红色的玫瑰花瓣下睡觉。
“让她给我做儿媳妇倒不错。”癞蛤蟆说，说着她一把抓住拇指姑娘躺着的那个胡桃核，从那块破窗户蹦到了花园。一条大而宽的河流从花园那里流过，河岸附近到处都是沼泽和泥，癞蛤蟆和她的儿子就住在这儿。哇！他简直和他母亲一模一样，都是丑陋不堪。
“呱！呱！咯——咯——咯！”当他看到躺在胡桃壳里的漂亮的小女孩时，所有他能说出来的也就只有这了。
“不要这么大声地讲话，否则你会把她吵醒的！”癞蛤蟆说，“即便是现在她也能偷偷地逃走，因为她轻得简直像片天鹅羽毛。我们得把她取出来放在河当中的一片大睡莲叶上；她是这么小，又是这么轻，那片叶子对她来说就像是一座小岛。这样她就无法逃走了，在这期间，我们把泥巴下的那间房子弄好，你们以后就住在那儿生活。”
这条小溪中长了许多丛睡莲，睡莲宽大的绿叶子看上去就像是漂浮在水面上一样。癞蛤蟆游过去把胡桃壳和拇指姑娘漂浮在最远处的那处最大的叶子上。
第二天大清早那可怜的小女孩就醒了，当看到眼前的景象时，她开始失声痛哭，因为她发现这片大大的绿叶周围全是水，纵然想尽一切办法，也无法靠岸。她不禁伤心地大哭起来。老癞蛤蟆正在泥下忙乎着，用灯心草和黄色的芦苇装饰着房间，因为她坚信她未来的儿媳妇肯定会觉得这房子既漂亮又整洁。完工后她便和她的丑儿子一块游到拇指姑娘所在的那片。叶子旁边，他们想在拇指姑娘去新房前先把她美丽的床搬到新房里去。
老癞蛤蟆在水中深深鞠了一躬，说道：“请允许我介绍一下我的儿子，他将成为你的丈夫，你们俩将会幸福地在下面的泥巴里生活在一起。”
“呱！呱！咯——咯——咯。”这就是她儿子所能说的话。
于是他们搬着漂亮的小床游走了，但是拇指姑娘一个人孤零零地坐在叶子上哭了起来。她才不想住在那脏兮兮的癞蛤蟆的家里，也不想让她那丑儿子做自己的丈夫。当时正在水里游的一些小鱼，他们看见了那只癞蛤蟆也听到了她所说的话，便都探出头来想看看这个小女孩。当他们一抬头，直接就看见了她。当想到这么漂亮的小女孩将要和一只丑陋的癞蛤蟆生活在一起，小鱼们真是义愤填膺。不，绝不能这样！于是他们游到那片睡莲叶子的梗子周围，用牙齿把叶梗给咬断了。于是叶子带着拇指姑娘顺着河流向下漂去——漂到很远，很远，癞蛤蟆找不到的地方去了。
拇指姑娘漂过了许多地方，当灌木丛里的小鸟看到她时，都唱道：“多么可爱的小女孩！”叶子继续向前漂，越漂越远；就这样拇指姑娘漂到国外去了。
一只美丽的白色蝴蝶不停地在她身边飞来飞去，最后竟然停在了叶子上，因为他无法抵挡拇指姑娘美色的吸引。拇指姑娘也非常高兴，现在癞蛤蟆再也找不着她了，并且她现在所漂过的地方一切都那么的美丽——太阳照在水面上就像金子在闪闪发光，她解下腰带，把一头系在蝴蝶身上，另一头系在叶子上，这样叶子比以前漂得更快了。
突然有一只大金龟子顺路飞过，当他看到拇指姑娘后，立即用他的爪子抓住她纤细的腰肢，带着她一起飞到树上。但是，那片绿叶则继续顺着水流向下漂去，由于那只蝴蝶被系在叶子上，没法飞走，他也只得随叶子一起向前漂。
天啊！当金龟子带着拇指姑娘飞进树里去的时候，可怜的拇指姑娘该是多么害怕啊！不过最让她担心的还是那只被她系在叶子上的可怜的白蝴蝶，如果他无法挣脱的话就一定会被饿死的！而金龟子才不管这个。他和拇指姑娘一起坐在树上那片最大的叶子上，从花丛中采来蜂蜜给她吃，还告诉她，尽管她长得一点也不像金龟子，但她仍然美丽动人。