“No, that must never be!” they said to one another. So they crowded together in the water round the green stalk which held the leaf on which the little maiden stood, and gnawed it away at the root with their teeth. The leaf floated down the stream, carrying Thumbelina far away out of the reach of the toad.
Thumbelina sailed past many towns, and the little birds in the bushes saw her and sang, “What a lovely little creature!” So the leaf floated farther and farther away with her till it brought her to other lands.
A pretty little white butterfly fluttered round her for a long time and at last [[85]]alighted on the leaf. The maiden pleased him, and she was glad she did, for she was lonely. Taking off her girdle she tied one end of it round the butterfly, fastening the other end to the leaf, which was now gliding on much faster than before.
Presently a large cockchafer flew by. The moment he caught sight of Thumbelina he seized her round her slender waist with his claws and flew with her to a tree. The green leaf floated away down the stream, and the butterfly with it, for he was fastened to the leaf and could not get away.
Oh, how frightened Thumbelina was when the cockchafer flew with her to the tree! But especially was she distressed for the beautiful white butterfly which she had fastened to the leaf, for if he could not free himself he would die of hunger. But the cockchafer did not trouble himself at all about that; he seated himself beside her on a large green leaf, gave her some honey from the flowers to eat, and told her she was very pretty, though not in the least like a cockchafer. [[86]]
Before long all the cockchafers who lived in the tree came to pay Thumbelina a visit. They stared at her, and then the young lady cockchafers turned up their feelers and said, “Why, she has only two legs! How very ugly!”
“She has no feelers,” said one.
“Her waist is quite slim. Pooh! she is like a human being,” said another.
“How ugly she is!” said all the lady cockchafers.
Then the cockchafer who had run away with her began to wonder why he had thought her so pretty, and to believe that she was as ugly as the others said. He would have nothing more to say to her, but told her she might go where she liked. Then he flew down with her from the tree and placed her on a daisy. There she sat and wept at the thought that she was so ugly that the cockchafers would have nothing to do with her. And all the while she was really the loveliest little being that one could imagine, and as tender and delicate as a beautiful rose leaf. [[87]]