Comparing Regional Re-Tellings of Tom Thumb

While rummaging though my piles of fairy and folk tales last weekend, I was hoping to locate a story to read to pass some time. I rejected such favorites as Hansel and Gretel and Jack and the Beanstalk, but still could not find a story that was obscure enough for my taste. My wife suggested Tom Thumb, and having not read the story for quite some time, I decided to glance over the numerous versions I had amassed during my childhood years. I was amazed to find startling differences in the interpretations that I owned. For the largest contrasts, I chose an English, an American, and a French rendition of this old tale.

The American version, retold my Dawn and Peter Cope, is the one that most of us are probably familiar with. A poor peasant and his wife are childless, and the wife claims that if even if they had one child that was no bigger than her thumb, they would be perfectly content. Thus, the diminutive child is born and appropriately named Tom Thumb. Tom remains small despite the efforts of his parents to give him nourishing food. One day, as Tom is driving his father's horses, two men notice the little fellow and remark on how much money he would bring in a town exhibit. After wringing an unwilling consent from the father and easing the pain of losing his son with a large sum of money, Tom is carried off. However, the cunning Tom waits until the two men are asleep and hurries away to return to his father and mother. After fooling some thieves and being eaten by a cow, Tom eventually manages to return to his parents who vow that they will never sell him again, not even for all the money in the world. This particular retelling of the story is short and the words are simple. It also follows the fairy tale structure of the good and bad getting what they deserve, and the traditional "happily ever after" ending.

The English retelling of this story, however, is radically different. As before, a poor peasant and his wife long for a child, even if it is no bigger than a thumb. However, it is the great Magician, Merlin, traveling in the guise of a beggar, who is pleased with their hospitality, and grants them this child. The Queen of the fairies names Tom and then dresses him in an oak leaf hat, a spider web shirt, a thistle down jacket, and feather trousers. This dressing of the child is related in a short poem, unlike the other two versions mentioned here. As in the American version, Tom never gets any bigger than a thumb. Though a series of misfortunes, Tom ends up in the belly of a fish that is about to be prepared for King Arthur's dinner. Tom is discovered and made into the King's dwarf. He entertains the King and Queen and also the Knights of the Round Table. Eventually, the King learns of the poor circumstances of Tom's parents and allows the small boy to take home to his family as much money as he can carry. Tom does so, but immediately returns to the King's court instead of remaining with his parents. Perhaps it is because of this uncaring disregard for his family that Tom Thumb is punished. I do not know. What I do know is that not long after his return to the King's court, a poisonous spider kills Tom. A monument is erected in honor of his memory, but this seemed to be a rather anti-climactic end to a fairy tale. The hero is supposed to return his home and lavish wealth upon his family so that everyone can live happily ever after. This version was more mature than the American one in that it required a knowledge of English history and also had a rather graphic depiction of Tom's death.

However odd this version may seem, I believe the strangest retelling I read was the French one. Although the peasant and his wife are poor, they have seven children, all boys. The youngest boy was no bigger than a thumb when he was born, and was so nicknamed Little Thumb. He does not, however, remain as small as a thumb. The peasant and his wife are not able to support all their children and decide to leave them in the forest while they are cutting wood. Suddenly, we seem to take a jump into another fairy tale. Little Thumb overhears the parents' discussion and collects some white pebbles from the riverside so that he can make a trail to find his way back home. Sound familiar? This is exactly what Hansel did in the story of Hansel and Gretel. Similarly, the children find their way back only to be abandoned again, and the birds eat all the breadcrumbs that Little Thumb has left as a trail. After many hours of fruitless wandering, they come to a house and ask for shelter for the night. Alas, the house is that of a child-eating ogre, and though the wife tries to hide them, the ogre discovers the boys and demands that they be prepared for breakfast. Suddenly, we have fallen right into Jack and the Beanstalk! The ogre wakes in the middle of the night and craves young boy for a midnight snack. He then goes into the room of his seven daughters, where his wife is keeping the boys, but accidentally slays his own children. The seven boys manage to escape in the night and the ogre attempts to overtake them in the morning.

Now, the story becomes even stranger. The author gives two separate endings to the story. The first is this: the ogre tires of chasing after the boys and stops to take a nap near where the boys are hiding. Little Thumb steals the ogre's magic boots, which enable the wearer to run faster, and runs back to the ogre's house. There, he tells the wife that a gang of thieves has captured the ogre. They are demanding all of his gold and silver. The ogre has sent Little Thumb to retrieve all this gold and silver so that the thieves will let him go. This story is, of course, untrue and Little Thumb merely takes the money back to his parents' house, where they all live happily ever after.

The second ending is less incriminating than the first. Instead of stealing money from the ogre, Little Thumb merely steals his magic boots and goes to court. There, he finds that the king is desperate for news of his army. However, they are so far away that the king fears he will not hear from them for many more days. Little Thumb, with the aid of his pilfered boots, offers to find the army and bring news of them back to the king by nightfall. The king promises him a great sum of money if this boast is fulfilled. Little Thumb keeps his promise and is installed as messenger for the king's army. Eventually, he builds up a great sum of money and returns to his family. He also procures places for his father and brothers at court. In essence, they live happily ever after. This particular version of Tom Thumb, regardless of which ending is chosen, is rather complicated and certainly not meant as a bedtime story. Like the English version, there is some violence (namely the girls getting their throats slit) which may be inappropriate for the very young.

The differences of these three versions of Tom Thumb astonished me. In one version, there are seven children, not just Tom. In another version, Tom and his family do not live happily ever after because a large arachnid assassinates him. One version even seems to incorporate a number of other famous fairy tales. However convoluted, though, the story line is essentially the same. A small boy (whether he remains small or not is of little consequence) uses his cunning (and a little luck!) to obtain some money for his poor family.

BIBLIOGRAPHY

Cope, Dawn and Peter (1981). Red Riding Hood's Favorite Fairy Tales. London, Webb and Bower Publishers, Ltd.

Larkin, Rochelle. Great Illustrated Fairy Tales. New York, Baronet Books.

Perrault, Charles (1986). A Child's Book of Stories. New York, Dilithium Press, Ltd.