Thumbelina

Like most stories of the great Danish storyteller, the tale of Thumbelina is not borrowed from folklore, but invented by the author himself.A lonely woman dreams of a child and seeks help from a witch. She gives her a barley... seed, from which a flower grows with a tiny girl inside — Thumbelina. But Thumbelina is not destined to live a carefree life in her mother's house. First, she is kidnapped by a toad, then she falls into the clutches of a May beetle, and finally, she becomes the bride of a wealthy mole. Fortunately, the girl is saved by a swallow, which the kind-hearted Thumbelina once saved from death. The ending of the magical tale is logical: Thumbelina will be rewarded for her meekness and generosity. She will find her happiness in a beautiful garden and marry a similarly miniature and wonderful king of the elves.In the first translations into Russian, the tale "Thumbelina" was called "Lizok-s-verzhok". The word "Thumbelina" was invented by the wonderful Russian translator Anna Gansen. Together with her Danish husband Peter Gansen, she translated all of Andersen's fairy tales into Russian at the end of the 19th century; these translations are still considered the best to this day.After the revolution, the translations of Andersen made by Peter and Anna Gansen were ruthlessly distorted. In our book, the translation is published in its original, pre-revolutionary edition. And accompanied by magnificent illustrations by Boris Diodorov, which are rightfully considered among the best in the world.