The king and his nobles, seeing Tom falling, went to his
assistance, and one of the lords caught him in his hat; but poor Tom
was sadly scratched, and his clothes were torn by the claws of the
cat. In this condition he was carried home, when a bed of down was
made for him in a little ivory cabinet. The queen of the fairies came
and took him again to Fairyland, where she kept him for some years;
and then, dressing him in bright green, sent him flying once more
through the air to the earth, in the days of King Thunstone. The
people flocked far and near to look at him; and the king, before whom
he was carried, asked him who he was, whence he came, and where he
lived? Tom answered:--
"My name Is Tom Thumb,
From the Fairies I come;
When King Arthur shone,
This court was my home.
In me he delighted,
By him I was knighted;
Did you never hear of
Sir Thomas Thumb?"
The king was so charmed with this address, that he ordered a little
chair to be made, in order that Tom might sit on his table, and also a
palace of gold a span high, with a door an inch wide, for little Tom
to live in. He also gave him a coach drawn by six small mice, This
made the queen angry, because she had not a new coach too: therefore,
resolving to ruin Tom, she complained to the king that he had behaved
very insolently to her. The king sent for him in a rage.
Pages:
102
103
104
105
106
107
108
109
110
111
112
113
114
115
116
117
118
119
120
121
122
123
124
125
126