Thumbelina: a fairy tale

Annotation to the book "Thumbelina" Andersen G. H.: Like most of the stories of the great Danish storyteller, the tale of Thumbelina is not borrowed from folklore, but invented personally by the author. A lonely woman dreams of a child and turns to a witch for help. She gives her a barley grain, 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, becomes the bride of a rich mole. Fortunately, the girl is saved by a swallow, whom kind-hearted Thumbelina herself once saved from death. The ending of the fairy tale is logical: Thumbelina will be rewarded for her meekness and generosity. She will find her happiness in a beautiful garden and marry the same miniature and beautiful king of elves. In the first translations into Russian, the fairy tale "Thumbelina" was called "Lizok-s-vershok". The word "Thumbelina" was invented by the wonderful Russian translator Anna Ganzen. Together with her Danish husband Peter Ganzen, at the end of the 19th century, she translated all of Andersen's fairy tales into Russian; these translations are still considered the best. After the revolution, Andersen's translations made by Peter and Anna Ganzen began to be mercilessly distorted. In our book, the translation is published in the original, pre-revolutionary edition. And accompanied by magnificent illustrations by Boris Diodorov, which are rightfully considered some of the best in the world. Read more...