English Original
Once upon a time, a woman longed for a tiny child. An old witch gave her a magical barley-corn. When planted, it grew into a tulip, and from its center emerged a beautiful girl no bigger than half a thumb. She was named Thumbelina.
Thumbelina lived in a walnut-shell cradle. One night, an ugly toad stole her, intending her to marry her son. Thumbelina was placed on a water-lily leaf in a stream. Helped by sympathetic fish who nibbled the stem, the leaf floated away, carrying her to freedom.
Her journey led her to a cockchafer, who admired her but later abandoned her under peer pressure. She spent a lonely summer and faced a harsh winter. Seeking shelter, she found a kind field-mouse who took her in.
The field-mouse's neighbor, a wealthy but blind mole, wished to marry Thumbelina. While visiting the mole's tunnel, Thumbelina discovered and tenderly nursed a frozen swallow back to health. In spring, the swallow offered to take her away, but she stayed out of duty to the field-mouse.
Forced into an engagement with the mole, Thumbelina was heartbroken at the prospect of living underground forever. As she bid farewell to the sun, her swallow friend returned. She confessed her despair, and the swallow carried her away to a warm, beautiful land.
There, the swallow set Thumbelina upon a beautiful white flower. Inside, she met a tiny flower prince, who was enchanted by her beauty. He proposed, making her his queen and giving her the name May Blossom. Thumbelina found her true home among the flowers, while the swallow, though sad to part, returned to his own life.
中文翻译
从前，一位妇人非常想要一个很小的孩子。一个老巫婆给了她一颗神奇的大麦粒。种下之后，它长成了一株郁金香，花心中央出现了一个美丽的小姑娘，身高还不到拇指的一半。她被取名为拇指姑娘。
拇指姑娘住在一个胡桃壳做的摇篮里。一天晚上，一只丑陋的癞蛤蟆偷走了她，想让她嫁给自己的儿子。拇指姑娘被放在溪流中一片宽大的睡莲叶上。同情她的小鱼们咬断了叶梗，叶子顺流而下，载着她获得了自由。
她的旅程让她遇到了一只金龟子，金龟子起初很喜欢她，但后来在同伴的压力下抛弃了她。她孤独地度过了一个夏天，又面临严酷的冬天。为了寻找栖身之所，她遇到了一只好心的田鼠，田鼠收留了她。
田鼠的邻居，一只富有但失明的鼹鼠，想娶拇指姑娘。在参观鼹鼠的地道时，拇指姑娘发现了一只冻僵的燕子，并悉心照料，使它恢复了健康。春天，燕子邀请她一起离开，但出于对田鼠的责任，她留下了。
被迫与鼹鼠订婚后，拇指姑娘一想到要永远生活在地下就心碎不已。正当她向太阳告别时，她的燕子朋友回来了。她倾诉了自己的绝望，燕子带着她飞向了一个温暖美丽的国度。
在那里，燕子将拇指姑娘放在一朵美丽的白花上。在花中，她遇到了一位小小的花中王子，王子被她的美丽迷住了。他向她求婚，让她成为他的王后，并给她取名“五月之花”。拇指姑娘终于在花丛中找到了她真正的家，而燕子虽然不舍，也回到了自己的生活。