English Original
A certain tailor had a son, no bigger than a thumb, who was called Thumbling. Despite his size, he was courageous and told his father he wished to see the world. His father gave him a darning-needle sword sealed with wax for his journey.
Before leaving, Thumbling hopped into the kitchen to see the final meal his mother had cooked. As he peered into the steaming dish on the hearth, the vapor carried him up the chimney. He rode the steam through the air before gently landing on the ground, now truly in the wide world.
He apprenticed with a master tailor but complained about the poor food, threatening to write a protest on the door. The angry mistress tried to swat him, but Thumbling nimbly hid under a thimble, in a table crevice, and inside a drawer, mocking her all the while. She eventually caught him and drove him out.
Journeying on, Thumbling met robbers in a forest who enlisted him to steal the king's treasure. He slipped through a crack into the treasury, but a guard mistook him for a spider. His companion spared him, and Thumbling proceeded to throw coins out the window to the robbers. When the king arrived, Thumbling hid. Later, as he resumed work, the guards heard the coins clinking and rushed in. Thumbling outwitted them by hiding under coins and taunting them from different corners until they grew weary and left. He completed the theft, riding the last coin out the window. The impressed robbers offered him the position of captain, but he declined, taking only a single kreuzer as his share.
He continued his travels, working briefly before becoming a servant at an inn. The maids despised him because he secretly witnessed and reported their thefts. To get rid of him, one mowed him up with the grass and fed the bundle to a cow. Swallowed whole, Thumbling found himself in darkness. During milking, he cried out, but his voice was drowned out. Hearing the cow was to be slaughtered, he shouted clearly to be let out, but the master couldn't locate him.
The next day, during butchering, Thumbling ended up in the sausage meat. He shouted warnings to the butcher not to chop too deep and managed to dodge the knife. He was then stuffed into a black pudding, which was hung in the chimney to smoke. Months later, when the pudding was served, he seized his chance and jumped out.
Leaving the inn, Thumbling was soon snapped up by a fox. He bargained for his freedom, promising the fox all the fowl in his father's yard. The fox carried him home, where his overjoyed father gladly gave up the chickens to have his son back. Thumbling also gave his father the kreuzer he had earned.
中文翻译
一位裁缝有个儿子，只有拇指那么大，名叫大拇指汤姆。尽管身材矮小，他却勇气十足，告诉父亲他想去看看世界。父亲给了他一根用蜡封了顶的长织补针作为旅途佩剑。
出发前，汤姆跳进厨房想看看母亲做的最后一餐。当他窥视灶台上热气腾腾的菜肴时，蒸汽把他卷上了烟囱。他乘着蒸汽在空中飘荡，最后轻轻落在地上，真正开始了闯荡。
他跟随一位裁缝师傅学徒，但抱怨食物太差，威胁要在门上写抗议标语。愤怒的女主人想打他，但汤姆灵活地躲到顶针下、桌缝里和抽屉中，还不停地嘲弄她。她最终抓住他并把他赶了出去。
继续前行，汤姆在森林里遇到一伙强盗，他们招募他去偷国王的财宝。他从门缝溜进宝库，但一个卫兵误以为他是蜘蛛。他的同伴放过了汤姆，汤姆便开始从窗户向强盗扔钱币。国王到来时，汤姆躲了起来。后来，当他继续工作时，卫兵们听到钱币叮当声冲了进来。汤姆躲在钱币下，在不同的角落嘲笑他们，把他们耍得团团转，直到他们筋疲力尽离开。他完成了盗窃，骑着最后一枚钱币飞出窗户。深受震撼的强盗们请他当首领，但他拒绝了，只拿了一枚十字币作为报酬。
他继续旅行，短暂工作后在一家旅馆当仆人。女仆们憎恨他，因为他暗中目睹并告发了她们的偷窃行为。为了除掉他，一个女仆把他和草一起割下，包起来喂给了一头牛。被整个吞下后，汤姆发现自己身处黑暗。挤奶时他大声呼救，但声音被淹没了。听到这头牛将被宰杀，他清晰地喊叫要求出来，但主人找不到他在哪里。
第二天，宰牛时汤姆混入了香肠肉馅中。他大声警告屠夫别切太深，并设法躲过了刀。随后他被塞进黑布丁里，挂在烟囱中熏制。几个月后，当布丁被端上桌切开时，他抓住机会跳了出来。
离开旅馆后，汤姆很快被一只狐狸叼住。他以父亲院子里所有家禽为条件，换取了自由。狐狸把他送回家，喜出望外的父亲为了换回儿子，心甘情愿交出了所有鸡。汤姆也把赚来的十字币给了父亲。