the giant very uncomfortable, and he threw him up into the sea. A
great fish then swallowed him. The fish was soon after caught, and sent
as a present to King Arthur. When it was cut open, every body was
delighted with little Tom Thumb. The king made him his dwarf; he was the
favourite of the whole court; and, by his merry pranks, often amused the
queen and the knights of the Round Table. The king, when he rode on
horseback, frequently took Tom in his hand; and, if a shower of rain
came on, he used to creep into the king's waist-coat pocket, and sleep
till the rain was over. The king also, sometimes questioned Tom
concerning his parents; and when Tom informed his majesty they were very
poor people, the king led him into his treasury, and told him he should
pay his friends a visit, and take with him as much money as he could
carry. Tom procured a little purse, and putting a threepenny piece into
it, with much labour and difficulty got it upon his back; and, after
travelling two days and nights, arrived at his father's house.

His mother met him at the door, almost tired to death, having in
forty-eight hours travelled almost half a mile with a huge silver
threepence upon his back. His parents were glad to see him, especially
when he had brought such an amazing sum of money with him. They placed
him in a walnut shell by the fire side, and feasted him for three days
upon a hazel nut, which made him sick, for a whole nut usually served
him a month. Tom got well, but could not travel because it had rained;
therefore his mother took him in her hand, and with one puff blew him
into King Arthur's court; where Tom entertained the king, queen, and
nobility at tilts and tournaments, at which he exerted himself so much
that he brought on a fit of sickness, and his life was despaired of. At
this juncture the queen of the fairies came in a chariot drawn by flying
mice, placed Tom by her side, and drove through the air, without
stopping till they arrived at her palace; when, after restoring him to
health, and permitting him to enjoy all the gay diversions of Fairy
Land, the queen commanded a fair wind, and, placing Tom before it, blew
him straight to the court of King Arthur. But just as Tom should have
alighted in the court-yard of the palace, the cook happened to pass along
with the king's great bowl of firmity (King Arthur loved firmity), and
poor Tom Thumb fell plump into the middle of it and splashed the hot
firmity into the cook'