When Thumbling found they were gone, he came out of his hiding-place. "What dangerous walking it is," said he, "in this ploughed field! If I were to fall from one of these great clods, I should certainly break my neck." At last, by good chance, he found a large empty snail-shell. "This is lucky," said he, "I can sleep here very well," and in he crept. Just as he was falling asleep he heard two men passing, and one said to the other, "How shall we manage to steal that rich parson's silver and gold?" "I'll tell you," cried Thumbling. "What noise was that?" said the thief, frightened. "I am sure I heard some one speak." They stood still listening, and Thumbling said, "Take me with you, and I'll soon show you how to get the parson's money." "But where are you?" said they. "Look about on the ground," answered he, "and listen where the sound comes from." At last the thieves found him out, and lifted him up in their hands. "You little urchin!" said they, "what can you do for us?" "Why, I can get between the iron window-bars of the parson's house, and throw you out whatever you want." "That's a good thought," said the thieves: "come along, we shall see what you can do."
When they came to the parson's house, Thumbling slipped through the window-bars into the room, and then called out as loudly as he could bawl, "Will you have all that is here?" At this the thieves were frightened, and said "Softly, softly, speak low that you may not awaken anybody." But Thumbling pretended not to understand them, and bawled out again, "How much will you have? Shall I throw it all out?" Now the cook lay in the next room, and hearing a noise she raised herself in her bed and listened. Meanwhile the thieves were frightened, and ran off to a little distance; but at last they plucked up courage, and said, "The little urchin is only trying to make fools of us." So they came back and whispered softly to him, saying, "Now, let us have no more of your jokes, but throw out some of the money." Then Thumbling called out as loudly as he could, "Very well; hold out your hands, here it comes." The cook heard this quite plainly, so she sprang out of bed and ran to open the door. The thieves rushed off as if a wolf were at their heels; and the maid, having groped about and found nothing, went away for a light. By the time she returned, Thumbling had slipped off into the barn; and when the cook had looked about and searched every hole and corner, and found nobody, she went to bed, thinking she must have been dreaming with her eyes open. The little man crawled about in the hay-loft, and at last found a glorious place to finish his night's rest in; so he laid himself down, meaning to sleep till daylight, and then find his way home to his father and mother. But, alas! how cruelly was he disappointed! what crosses and sorrows happen in this world! The cook got up early, before daybreak, to feed the cows: she went straight to the hay loft, and carried away a large bundle of hay with the little man in the middle of it fast asleep. He still, however, slept on, and did not wake till he found himself in the mouth of the cow, who had taken him up with a mouthful of hay: "Good lack-a-day!" said he, "how did I manage to tumble into the mill?" But he soon found out where he really was, and was obliged to have all his wits about him in order that he might not get
between the cow's teeth, and so be crushed to death. At last she swallowed him down. "It is rather dark here," said he; "they forgot to build windows in this room to let the sun in; a candle would be no bad thing."
Though he made the best of his bad luck, he did not like his quarters at all; and the worst of it was, that more and more hay was always coming down, and the space in which he was became smaller and smaller. At last he cried out as loudly as he could, "Don't bring me any more hay! Don't bring me any more hay!" The maid happened to be just then milking the cow, and hearing someone speak and seeing nobody, and yet being quite sure it was the same voice that she had heard in the night, she was so much frightened that she fell off her stool and overset the milk-pail. She ran off as fast as she could to her master, the parson, and said, "Sir, sir, the cow is talking!" But the parson said, "Woman, thou art surely mad!" However, he went with her into the cow-house to see what was the matter. Scarcely had they set their feet on the threshold when Thumbling called out, "Don't bring me any more hay!" Then the parson himself was frightened; and thinking the cow was surely bewitched, ordered that she should be killed directly. So the cow was killed, and the part in which Thumbling lay was thrown away.
Thumbling soon set himself to work to get out, which was not a very easy task; but at last, just as he had made room to get his head through, a new misfortune befell him: a hungry wolf passed by and swallowed Thumbling and all, at a single gulp, and ran away. Thumbling, however, was not disheartened; and thinking the wolf would not dislike having some chat with him as he was going along, he called out, "My good friend, I can show you a famous treat." "Where's that?" said the wolf. "In such and such a house," said Thumbling, describing his father's house, "you can crawl through the drain into the kitchen, and there you will find cakes, ham, beef, and everything your heart can desire." The wolf did not want to be asked twice; so that very night he went to the house and crawled through the drain into the kitchen, and ate and drank there to his heart's content. As soon as he was satisfied, he wanted to get away; but he had eaten so much that he could not get out the same way that he came in. This was just what Thumbling had reckoned upon; and he now began to set up a great shout, making all the noise he could. "Will you be quiet?" said the wolf, "you'll awaken everybody in the house." "What's that to me?" said the little man, "you have had your frolic, now I've a mind to be merry myself;" and he began again singing and shouting as loudly as he could.
"THE WOODMAN AND HIS WIFE, BEING AWAKENED BY THE NOISE,
PEEPED THROUGH A CRACK IN THE DOOR."