The little King thought Thumbelina the loveliest maiden he had ever seen. He took off his golden crown and placed it on the tiny head of the little maid, and in a silvery voice he asked, "Will you be my bride, little Thumbelina, and reign with me over the flower spirits?" How glad Thumbelina was! The little King wished to marry her. Yes, she would be his little Queen. Then out of each blossom stepped tiny little children. They came to pay their homage to little Thumbelina. Each one brought her a present, and the most beautiful of all the presents was a pair of wings, delicate as gossamer. And when they were fastened on the shoulders of the little Queen, she could fly from flower to flower. And the swallow sat on his nest above, and sang his sweetest bridal song for the wedding of little Thumbelina. THE FOX AND THE LITTLE RED HEN Once upon a time there was a little red hen. She lived in a little white house and she had a little green garden. Every day she worked in the house and garden. Near her home lived a family of foxes. One day Mamma Fox said to Papa Fox, "I want a fat hen to eat." There was nothing in the pantry for the baby foxes, so Papa Fox started out to find something for them all. He ran down the road until he came to the woods. "Surely I will find something here," he said, but he found nothing to eat in the woods. As he came near the little green garden he said, "Oh, I smell fresh cake! Oh, I smell a little red hen!" Sure enough, there was the Little Red Hen eating her cake. Papa Fox stole up softly behind her and grabbed her and put her into the bag on his back; then he ran quickly off down the hill toward his home. The Little Red Hen was so frightened that she could only whisper, "Oh, dear! Oh, dear! Oh, dear!" Just then she had to sneeze, and when she put her claw into her pocket for her handkerchief, she felt her little scissors. Quick as a flash she took them out and cut a little hole in the bag. Peeping out she saw a great hill just ahead, all covered with stones. As Papa Fox stopped to rest on his way up the hill, with his back turned toward her, she cut a big hole in the bag, jumped out and quickly put a big stone in the bag in her place. As Papa Fox kept on up the hill, he thought the bag was pretty heavy, but he said, "Never mind, she is a fat little red hen." Mamma Fox met him at the front door with all the baby foxes. "The water is boiling," said she. "What have you in your bag?" asked the Baby Foxes. "A fat little red hen," said Papa Fox. As he held the bag over the pot, he said to Mamma Fox, "When I drop her in, you clap on the lid." So he opened the bag. Splash! went the boiling water. It spilled all over Papa Fox and Mamma Fox and the Baby Foxes. Never again did they try to catch the Little Red Hen. THE SHOEMAKER AND THE LITTLE ELVES BY THE BROTHERS GRIMM