There lived in a small village a child by the name
of Thumbolino.
They called him so because he was very,very small,no
bigger then a thumb.
He was the small child of all fables.
But Thumbolino was no fable: He was truly a child.
Thumbolino went to school and being the smallest child
was made to seat in the front desk.
His friends would tease him and would say: " How small
you are! You can't play with us".
And he would cry and wished to grow. But how?
So, he turned to the elves in the forest.
With them there was Father Christmas, who had remained
in the forest to distract himself.
There, he found them on a swing and,when they noticed
his presence, they wished to disappeared.
Thumbolino, though, begged them to listen and to help
him.
There appeared two (2) more elves, who joined the others,
and declared themselves ready to listen.
Thumbolino begun the narration of his story and of his
sufferings caused by his short stature.
The elves held a counsel among themselves and with Father
Christmas, and together decided to search the forest for the necessary
herbes to make an enchantment.
In the forest they found a plant
known only to them. It had some berries, which they
gathered: there had to
be twelve. They lighted a small fire, and put on it a small pot with
the berries in it and a few drops of water from a silver stream.
They made them
boiled for approximately fifteen
minutes and the potion was ready.. "Drink a cup every morning,- said the
green elf-and you see you will grow".
Thumbolino, took the potion
and went back home.
The days go by,but
ThumboLino does not grow. The potion has no effect!!
So he decides to
go back to the forest in the hope to find there a solution .
In the distance he sees some elves and he begs them to
listen to him.
They were three (3) chubby ones each carrying a sack "
I wonder what they have in that sack" thought Thumbolino and began to hope.
But who are the gnomes? They are small dwarves, good and likeable wholive
in the forest near streams and among small animals,their friends. They
are friends of the fairies,of the ogres, and of the sorcerers. If they
can help man : they are very helpful. Thumbolino approaches them and in
order to begin to speak he asks "What do you have in those sacks?"
"Mist,wind, stardust, magic grain, purple berries,juniper leaves, and then,
and then..." All this they said it laughing and dancing in graceful
circles.
Every animal in the forest
joined them in a festive circle.
Confident, Thumbolino approached
the first gnome who appeared to be the leader,and said " I beg your pardon
Mister Gnome, maybe you can help me. I have already asked the
elves, but unfortunately, I did not obtain any result. "What do you wish
I do for you?" Asked Verdicchio (because this was his name)
"See how small I am. I would like to grow. Do you have anything which
would allow me to grow a few centimeters?"
"Erh! Erh!" Said Verdicchio.
"Certainly, but it is not so simple. What do you say dear brothers?"
They took counsel among themselves, and then decided
to consult Fairy Turchina who
possessed a magic wand.
Unfortunately,
Fairy Turchina had been transformed into a butterfly by Magician
Magò.
" It is necessary
to go to his castle!" Said Verdicchio preoccupied since Mago Magò
was not too friendly with the gnomes.
Thumbolino
did not worry. He informed himself on which way to go and decided
to go alone.
A dove with a small olive
tree branch, symbol of peace, offered to accompany him.
And a black cat, happy and reassuring, proposed to
lead the way.
Some menacing bats were circling the sky above them,
but the dove reassured Thumbolino telling him not to be afraid that the
castle of the magician was close by.
At the castle door, there
appeared two dogs,not menacing ones, though. As a matter of fact, one seemed
to be truly crying.
In fact: one dog was whining and the other was crying.
"What do you have dear friends to make you so sad?" Asked
Thumbolino. "Magician Magò sent us away: today he is
not in a good mood! But you what are you doing here?"
"I' would like to speak with Mister Magò about
a personal problem"- answered Thumbolino-
" I don't know if he wishes to receive you. Try
just the same, but be very polite and don't show any fear, otherwise, he
becomes angry and that means trouble." Thumbolino, encouraged by
the dove, rings the doorbell which opens by itself with no one in
sight.
"Excuse me? Can I come in?"
A hoarse and menacing voice asks: " Who is it and what
do you want?"
" I would like to speak with you , Mister Magò,
would you be so kind to receive me?"
"Go up the steps on your right and
let me see you."
The magician was making one of his potions. He raised
his head and, when he saw Thumbolino, started to laugh, and laugh
saying: " But who are you, so small and hardly visible? Where do
you come from? And what do you want?! Thumbolino, encouraged by that
laugh tried to answer , and finally, asked that which was deep in his heart.
"Erh,Erh! It can be done. I want to make you happy
since you amused me so much. But first tell me how you came to be up here.
Thumbolino told his story but avoided to speak of the Elves and above all
of the Gnomes since he knew that the magician disliked those tiny beings.
Without any potion, Magician Magò pronounced a
magic formula and, all of a sudden Thumbolino grew more than the palm of
his hand. "Is it enough? What do you say?"
Thumbolino looked in the mirror and begun to feel
better about himself, but did not dare to ask for more. The magician noticed
his perplexity and without saying a word repeated the magic formula, and
Thumbolino grew of another palm of his hand.
This time, Thumbolino was truly happy and ran to
hug him without reflecting on the possible consequences of his action.
But all went well. In fact, the magician who was
not used to so much
affection was deeply moved and lifted Thumbolino in his
arms and asked him to remain there forever. Thumbolino afraid
to offend him, took a little time to think , and then answered that
he would willingly accept, but that first, he would go to his family
to give them the news and then he would return.
The return soon became a hardship.
He came to what appeared to be a very ripid water fall. Thumbolino
wanted to cross it but it was not so simple. He needed at least a small
bridge to go across it but there was none.
Now, Thumbolino had grown and had become too heavy,
Someone, or something else was needed to help him.
What to do? The animals in the forest came to his rescue:
the rodents, the birds built a bridge of reeds.
The bridge, once built, looked rather nice, and soon was
thrown over the lowest point of the water fall and Thumbolino was able
to cross over.
Once on the other side, he stopped to thank his friends
and then proceeded on his journey.
From afar, he saw a young
sheperdess watching over a flock of sheep.
As he drew near, he noticed that he knew her. "Are
you not Lucia? How is it that you are here?" Lucia
reddened and showed astonishment to see such a handsome young man
who looked so much like Thumbolino, only much taller.
Timidly she replied-"In order to help my family I tend
the neighbour's sheep after school, but you, who are you?"
Thumbolino answered-"Don't you recognize me? I'm Thumbolino."
"You, Thumbolino?" She replied surprised -"but
what happened to you? How you have grown!"
For the first time, Thumbolino became aware of his new
size and looked at his image in the first stream he came across.
He was happy of the obtained result, but soon he
became afraid that, just like Lucia, others would not recognize him.
He restarted on his way, but his adventure had not,yet,
come to the end. In fact, he no longer knew his way too well.
The dove had gone and so had the cat. He came to
a junction. To take the right? or to take the left? This was
his dilemma.
He chanced the right, but soon realized that it was a
mistake.
He met an animal he did not know. A puma. 
Thumbolino became terrorrized but was able to avoid
it by hiding behind a rock. There, he remained still, till the puma disappeared
in the distance, and slowly, slowly he leaped to the opposite side.
Poor Thumbolino, he didn't know what else to do!
When suddenly there
appeared Fairy Turchina, no longer under the spell of
Magò, but in her normal appearance.
The fairy was happy to be of use, and with a stroke of
her magic wand brought
Thumbolino back home. But first, she warned him to be
careful because Magician Magò would certainly not leave him in peace.
"What could he do to me?"
Asked Thumbolino scared. "He could search for you and
take you away, and he
could make you small again , as you were before.
Thumbolino found himself at the edge of the forest.
A crystal clear stream was running its course. He bent down
to drink and saw his reflection in the ripples of the waves. The
stream flowed into a small lake surrounded by hills. The view was
enchanting and Thumbolino tired from his adventures sat in the shade of
a tree and fell asleep.
He dreamed of gnomes, elves, fairies, magicians, and
felt as if he was flying on the wings of the wind. Suddenly, in the sky,
he saw an airplan and wished to be transported by one, seating comfortably
in an armchair. He had always wished to travel, and so he continued
his dream. In dreams, anything can happen. Flying up he approaches
the airplane and climbs into it.
How beautiful it was to fly above seas, mountains, to
admire the earth, the green of the forests,the aridity of the deserts,
and the well cultivated fields. He saw men whom seen from above,
appeared as small as he used to be. At a certain point, he was awaken
by a shuffling of horses, and somewhat fearful, he came back to reality.
He felt sad it had been just a dream.
He cheered himself only when he realized that he had arrived
close to his home.
Seeing his church, and the bell tower, he felt happy and
began jumping with joy. There was his mother near the door
of his house, hugging his dear Farfui,
while in the fields, there was his father observing
what work would be necessary to do in the near future.
Thumbolino ran to hug them, while they watched him with
great surprise.
"But how did you grow so fast? Where have you been?"
Thumbolino, happy to be recognized, tried to narrate
his extraordinary adventures, which sounded more like a fable than reality,
but to those who love nature ,and to the believers, nothing is impossible.
They were full of joy to see their son sohappy!
"Now, we will see how it will go in school!" Thought Thumbolino.
"They will never mock me again, they will respect me,
and to them, I will
tell nothing at all. I shall leave them with their
mouth open."
The
day after, he went to his classroom while the teacher was listening
to a student. When they saw him, the students
became mute. They could not understand if he was the sameThumbolino they
used to know.
Then, they overwhelmed him with questions,
but he kep his silence. Only, he kept repeating "Don't
you believe in miracles?"
Everything was going well, but in his heart there remained
a certain fear. Magician Magò. Who knows what
he could do!
Thumbolino had made him a promise which he did
not wish to keep. A few days later while he was near the forest,
there appeared
far in the sky, a big menacing looking bird.
Thumbolino began to tremble. He understood that
it had to be an emissary from the magician. The big bird came to
a stop next to Thumbolino and began to speak: " Magician Magò
is much
offended by your silence. For the help he gave
you , you should satisfy his wish and go back to him. " Thumbolino
tried to explain the nature of his life saying:
"I'm a child, and I live the life of a child,
I have my friends, and my school, and I cannot leave all this. "
"If you don't go back you'll be severely punished.
Magician Magò means what he says." "what will
he do? I hope he won't turn me back into the tiny size I was before.
Can you intercede for me?"
"I'm sorry, but cannot be of any help. Mister Magòwants
to be obeyed."
Thumbolino promised to find a solution, but he did not
know what it could be. He thought of his dear friends in the
forest, and wonder if perhaps they could help him.
And so ,there he went
MEETING WITH HIS FRIENDS
He started to call at the top of
his voice: " Elves, gnomes, fairies, animals of the forest, come quickly.I
must have your help."
A small bird came first.
"Ciao Thumbolino, why are you shouting
so loud.?" " I must gather all the animals of the forest and
every creature who lives here"! " Calm yourself, I will
take care of that" and flapping his wings he flew away shouting
"Come, come quickly: there is Thumbolino who
needs you."
In a short time the animals and
creatures had united in the green room, which was a beautiful green meadow.
Thumbolino began to say: "Friends
I am in real danger because Magician Magò wants me with
him, as I have promised, but I cannot
possibly go to live with him" and
began to list the motives for which he could not change his life.
"This is serious" they said
thinking together and loud." Let's try to call the butterflies, perhaps,
and because of their travels ,they may be
able to counsel us.
And the butterflies arrived.
Having heard of Thumbolino's difficulty, they told
that in their travels, they had discovered that the most influential creature
to Magician
Magò was Birba, his favorite cat, from whom he
never separated, and who he consulted for his enchantments.
"it is true, said Thumbolino, " I saw him when I was at the castle. He
was always purring and rubbing himself against Magò. How can
we contact him?" "Leave it to us," said the butterflies.
"Let's meet on the other side of the forest and there we'll make sure that
you will meet with him.
And so it happend.
Birba was a beautiful ,graceful and friendly cat, who
started to purr around Thumbolino whom he already knew. Thumbolino
told him of his problem, and Birba gave him some hope. In fact,
when back in the castle, Birba began to rub himself against Magician Magò
starting a jealous scene.
"Why do you want that child here with you ? Am I not
enough to cuddle you, to love you, and to show you my affection?"
He said much, and did much till his wish was granted.
Birba, then called his friends, the dogs, (it is not true that cats and
dogs cannot be friends) and told them to bring the good news to Thumbolino
who had been waiting at the edge of the forest.
The first six most reliable dogs of the "101
Dalmatians" volunteered themselves to the good service in the hope to be
casted in the
next film!
The good news delighted Thumbolino
who finally and serenely ran happily home.
The road appeared to be shorter,
and gasping for breath he ran to hug his dear parents.
But he never forgot his friends in the forest whom he would visit now and
then, bringing them titbits of good thing to eat.
And so ends the fable of Thumbolino who, from small grew
tall because of magic and because of his goodness as well.
THE END
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