(derailed fairytale)

Once upon a time there lived a lonely old man. He really wanted to have children, so he went to the witch to ask her for something. The woman gave him a peony seed, told him to plant it in a pot and to care for the flower.

“Do not forget to water the seed, and you’ll see a real miracle soon,” said the sorceress to the man.

The visitor thanked her, came home and immediately planted the seed in a flower pot. In a few months he saw a large pink peony there. Sometimes the man talked to the flower, and sometimes he just admired it. And one day, on the petals of that peony, he saw a tiny girl the size of his thumb.

“Hello, Dad!” exclaimed the little girl happily.

“H-h-hi,“ the man greeted her surprisingly. “What is your name, darling?”

“I’m Thumbelina. Nice to meet you, Dad.”

That’s how they met. The old man made himself a promise to protect and take care of Thumbelina at all costs, and she promised him to be obedient and not make her father worry. Thumbelina grew up quickly, but she remained as tender and fragile, both on the outside and in the soul. The girl was really curious, and she wanted to know about everything that was happening around. The father was worried that the world outside the peony might be too cruel for his lovely daughter. And so it happened.

When Thumbelina got 16 years old, the man began to leave her alone at home more often, because he had to work. The father agreed with her that his days off from work would belong entirely to them two. It was like that until one day Thumbelina got tired of waiting for the weekend and decided to walk around the town by herself.

“Nothing terrible will happen,” the girl thought, took some pocket money and left. Because of her size, she got tired of strolling quite quickly. After she saw a candy store, she decided to get a big lollipop called Chupa Chups and sit on a bench to rest. Not even a minute passed when the big bad boys noticed the tiny girl and immediately started making fun of her.

“Aren’t you afraid to walk here alone, baby?” said one of them.

“I would call you a ‘pocket girl, ha-ha,” added the second.

“You better share your Chupa Chups with us, because it doesn’t seem you can handle it yourself,” laughed the third.

Thumbelina didn’t know what to answer. She didn’t want to talk to them at all. However, these three didn’t leave her alone. The girl with tearful eyes finally got up, gave her Chupa Chups to one of the boys and said, “This time I’ll treat you, but I ask you to leave me alone.”

The boys burst out laughing. “Do you usually give up so easy?” they asked.
“We were hoping to talk to such a beauty.”

Thumbelina could barely hold back her tears. Suddenly her father appeared behind her. “You want to talk to her, but she doesn’t want to talk to you. Bon appetite, guys.” He took Thumbelina in his arms and they both went home. The father didn’t scold his daughter at dinner, he only gently said, “Honey, it doesn’t matter what those guys told you. Don’t take their words to heart, because you know how wonderful and special girl you are. On your way, you will meet many more people who won’t understand this, but you will definitely find those who will admire you as much as I do. I also want you to know that you can always rely on me, I will support you and help you, no matter what happens.

“Thank you, Dad. I’m sorry I made you worry,” answered the girl quietly. “I’m so happy that you’re my family… So-o-o, shall we go to a candy store next weekend?”