tom thumb

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Once upon a time,

long before man learned to fly,

long before locomotives left

smoky streamers on the horizon,

long before all this,

somewhere farther

than man could sail,

there was a little valley.

There on the banks

of the winding stream

nestled a peaceful

little village,

and draped around this Hamlet,

stretching far and wide

over hill and Dale,

was the great forest.

Here, deep among old trees,

wet moss, and velvet shadows,

life flows peacefully along.

Or does it?

Jonathan?

Funny.

Who's playing games?

Look here, young woman!

I might have cut you in half.

No axe can harm me, Jonathan.

Honest Jonathan...

that is your name, isn't it?

Honest by name,

honest by nature.

Young woman, kindly step aside.

I've business with that tree.

And so have I.

I've come to ask you

not to cut it down.

Oh, fancy now, have you?

And may I ask what you

have to do with it?

You see, I am queen

of this forest.

Oh! And I'm

the emperor of China.

Very well, then.

Let me put it in this way.

You see...

This tree is the oldest

and fairest of them all.

It's a mighty big

oak tree that will keep

the whole village warm

right through the winter.

But who is going to

keep them warm all winter...

the little creatures

that live in its branches?

See how frightened they are?

Well, look here,

it's all very well...

spare this tree, Jonathan,

and they'll bless you,

and so shall I.

Of course, if you

put it like that...

Alright.

Oh, thank you, Jonathan.

You shall not go unrewarded.

I'll grant you three wishes.

What?

Anything I wish for?

Three times?

Of course.

Bah! I ought to have

more sense.

First, I give away

the finest tree,

and then I start talking

about three wishes.

Fairy tales, all.

Fairy tales!

Where are you?

Where have you gone?

Jonathan.

The wishes belong

to both you and your wife.

Don't be hasty.

Yes, your majesty.

Oh, I mean, no, your majesty.

I... I beg your majesty's

pardon, I'm sure.

You may stand up now.

Oh, thank you, your majesty.

I'm afraid the tree

got a little bit chipped,

but don't worry, your majesty.

It will soon heal over.

Real soon.

Sally! Sally!

Barnabee! Sally!

Anna! Anna. Anna.

Do you know what happened today?

Good evening, Jonathan.

Good evening.

You'll never believe

what happened to me!

Not now. Dinner's all ready.

Hurry and get cleaned up.

Alright, Anna. But just

listen to me for a minute.

You know those oak trees

along by the post road

with the great big one

in the middle?

I was working there today,

when suddenly...

I saw a vision.

Yes, I know.

You don't believe me,

do you, Anna?

Sit down and say grace.

For what we're about to receive,

truly thankful. Amen.

Now then, Anna,

let me tell you.

I was chopping away

at that big oak tree,

the one I was telling you about,

when all of a sudden,

there was the most

wonderful smell of roses.

Cabbage.

Always cabbage.

Can't we ever

eat anything else?

We can't afford anything else.

You should thank the good lord

for what he provides.

But just for once,

I wish he'd provide

a nice, big, juicy sausage.

It's here! Where did it

come from?

I told you. It's what I've been

trying to tell you all the time.

She granted us three wishes!

She?

Who is she?

Why, the vision, of course.

The beautiful lady.

What beautiful lady?

You never saw anything

like it in your life.

One minute, she wasn't there,

and the next minute,

there she was.

Her skin was like

mother-of-pearl,

her hair was like

the gold of wild honey,

and she was so young...

Oh, shame on you, an old man

talking like that.

So lovely!

That sausage should grow on your

nose for saying such a thing!

The sausage!

See what you've done?

She's granted our second wish!

Now two of our wishes

are wasted.

I know what to do.

We'll simply cut it off.

No, you don't!

Alright, then, let it stay.

It doesn't look so bad.

Maybe you don't mind me

walking around

like this, but I do.

And I wish this thing was

off my nose this very instant.

You ought to be ashamed,

throwing away our last wish.

What difference does it make

to a nose as big as yours?

Mine doesn't smell

like garlic all the time.

So...

You're tired of sausage

already?

First you're tired of cabbage.

Now you're tired of sausage.

But, Anna, all I said was...

you wished for it, didn't you?

Once in a lifetime,

poor people like us

can ask for anything they want,

and what do you wish for?

A sausage!

We had three

perfectly good wishes

and what have we to show

for them? Tell me, what?

Nothing. That is what we have.

When we could have had

anything we wanted.

Oh, when I think of it,

I could cry.

Cabbage wasn't

good enough for you.

Of all the things we need,

you wish for a sausage.

You and your silly wishes!

I sometimes wonder

why I ever...

Jonathan... I'm sorry.

Please forgive me.

Ah, it's alright, Anna.

Let's forget it.

You know, Anna,

a toy without a child

is almost as sad

as a child without a toy.

Jonathan, we were so foolish.

Our dream could have come true.

There's still hope, Anna.

She might grant us

another wish...

just a little one, maybe.

It wouldn't matter to me

how little he was.

I'd love him with all my heart,

even if he were

no bigger than my thumb.

Jonathan! Jonathan!

Hmm?

Someone's outside.

Don't you hear?

What?

Someone's knocking!

I can't hear anything.

Go back to sleep.

Alright!

Who's there?

Is this acorn cottage?

That's right.

The home of Jonathan

the woodcutter?

Yes, but I can't see you.

Are you Jonathan?

Yes, I am, but where are you?

Then I'm in the right place.

I can hear you,

but I can't see you.

Lower your candle.

Down here.

Glory be!

Come in, lad. Come in!

Oh, thanks. I'm cold.

Ahh, that feels good, father.

Father?

You called me father?

Of course. Don't you

recognize your own son?

Oh. I think

I understand.

Tell me, were you sent

by the beautiful lady?

That's right.

Welcome, son!

Welcome!

Thanks, I hurried too

as fast as I could

so I could get here

on my birthday.

Jonathan?

Who is it?

Just a minute, Anna.

Who's that?

That's your mother, son.

Come on in.

Surprise her.

We have a visitor, Anna...

a little visitor.

He's going to stay with us

as long as we live.

Oh, tom!

How did you know

my name, mother?

I've always known

what your name would be.

Oh, I'm so happy.

Heh, I am, too,

but isn't a fella

supposed to have a cake

on his birthday?

For goodness sake, of course.

You must be starving.

Jonathan, build the fire up.

I'll fix something right away.

Mug for a table,

spool for a chair,

nice and stable, room to spare.

Thimble for a cup,

button for a plate,

now we're ready to celebrate.

Happy Birthday, son.

Happy Birthday, son.

Happy Birthday, everyone!

It's getting late.

And I have to fix you

something to wear.

Come along. It's time

for little boys to be in bed.

After all these years

after all my tears

after all the lonely days

I've known

now I have a son

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