Grimms' Fairy Tales, Tom Thumb summary

What happens

1. A woodcutter’s wife wishes for a child, and Thomas Thumb is born healthy but no larger than her thumb.
2. Tom guides a horse from its ear, attracts two strangers, and persuades his father to sell him before escaping into a mouse hole.
3. He joins two thieves but deliberately shouts inside the parson’s house, waking the cook and driving the thieves away.
4. While Tom sleeps in hay, a cow swallows him; his cries prompt the frightened parson to order the cow killed.
5. A wolf swallows the discarded stomach containing Tom, who directs it to his parents’ pantry and lets it eat until trapped.
6. Tom wakes his parents, his father kills the wolf, and they free their son and welcome him home.

What to notice

Tom’s father’s initial refusal to sell Tom places family above money. The parents affirm that same priority after their son returns.

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