tree and saw the light of the Ogre's cottage afar off. The children
reached the Ogre's cottage where Little Thumb changed the golden
crowns of the seven little Ogresses, and putting them on his brothers,
saved their lives. Then they all fled through the wood and hid in a
rock, while the Ogre in his seven-league boots, pursued them and lay
down to rest at the rock in which they were hidden. Little Thumb sent
his brothers home, stole the fairy boots, and through craft, persuaded
the Ogre's Wife to give him all the Ogre's gold. So, rich and happy,
he returned to his father's home.

This tale shows a number of common motifs that appear in other tales:

(1) The design of distressed parents to expose children to the
forest.

(2) The discovery and prevention of the scheme by a child.

(3) The repetition of incident; the clew spoiled by the birds.
The trail motif, similar to the one in _Hansel and Grethel_.

(4) The arrival of children at the home of the Ogre.

(5) The shifting of crowns to the heads of his brothers.

(6) The flight of the brothers pursued by the Ogre in
seven-league boots.

(7) Little Thumb, stealing the boots and winning court favor, or
the Ogre's treasure.

Some say that in this tale, symbolically, the forest represents night;
the crumbs and pebbles, stars; and the Ogre, the sun. Little Thumb,
because of his cunning and invention, has been called the Ulysses of
the fairy tales. His adventure with the Ogre at the rock, while not a
parallel one, reminds one of Ulysses and Polyphemus. Both succeeded in
getting the better of the giant. An English edition of this tale was
illustrated by William Blake.

_Snow White and Rose Red_

_Snow White and Rose Red_, besides blending the romantic and the
realistic, illustrates rather completely how the old tale may stand
the tests which have been emphasized here. As a romantic type, it
contains adventure and the picturesque. It arouses emotion. It
contains objects of beauty; and the strange Bear and the stranger
Dwarf, about both of whom there is a sense of mystery. It exaggerates
character and incidents beyond the normal,--the Mother and Daughters
were more lovely than mortals usually are,--and the harmony between
man and beast may belong to the millennium rather than to this common
earth. This is one of the most romantic of fairy tales in that it is a
highly idealized type.

The story w