Page:Stories and story-telling (1915).djvu/105

 Soon there came a big May-bug flying toward her. When he saw her he thought her so pretty he clasped his claws round her waist, and flew with her up into a tree.

Mercy! how frightened poor little Thumbelina was! But the May-bug did her no harm. He seated himself with her upon the biggest green leaf of the tree, gave her the sweet part of the flowers to eat, and told her she was lovely, although she did not look a bit like a May-bug.

When the other May-bugs who lived in the tree heard of it, they all came to pay a visit. They looked at Thumbelina, and one said, "Why, she hasn't more than two legs; how very odd that is!"

"And she hasn't any feelers!" cried another.

"How squeezed she is at the waist—fie! How ugly she is!" said all the lady May-bugs.

So at last the May-bug who had carried her off thought so, too, although she was really very pretty; and he flew down with her from the tree and set her on a daisy and left her there.

But, anyway, she was on land again; that was something.

THUMBELINA

The whole summer through Thumbelina lived quite alone in the great wood. She wove herself a bed