"How dangerous it is," said he, "to walk about in this ploughed field. If I were to fall from one of those big lumps I should surely break my neck." At last, he found a large, empty snail-shell.
"This is lucky," said he. "I can sleep here very well," and in he crept. Just as he was falling asleep he heard two men pass by, and one said to the other:—
"How shall we manage to steal that rich farmer's silver and gold?"
"I'll tell you!" cried Tom.
"What noise was that? I am sure I heard some one speak," said the thief. He was in a great fright. They both stood listening, and Tom spoke up:—
"Take me with you, and I will show you how to get the farmer's money."
"But where are you?"
"Look about on the ground, and listen where the sound comes from."
"What a little chap! What can you do for us?"
"Why, I can get between the iron window bars, and throw you out whatever you want."
"That is a good thought. Come along; we will see what you can do."
When they came to the farmer's house, Tom slipped through the bars into the room, and then called as loud as he could:—
"Will you have all that there is here?"
"Softly, softly!" said the thieves. "Speak low, or you will wake somebody."
Tom made as if he did not understand them, and bawled out again:—
"How much will you have? Shall I throw it all out?"
Now the cook lay in the next room, and hearing a noise, she raised herself in her bed and listened. But the thieves had been thrown into a fright and had run away. By and by they plucked up courage, and said:—
"That little fellow is only trying to make fools of us." So they came back and spoke low to him, saying: "Now let us have no more of your jokes, but throw out some of the money." Then Tom called out again as loud as he could:—
"Very well! Hold your hands; here it comes."
The cook heard this plainly; she sprang out of bed, and ran to open the door. The thieves were off as if a wolf were after them, and the cook could see nothing in the dark. So she went back for a light, and while she was gone, Tom slipped off into the barn.
The cook looked about and searched every hole and corner, but found nobody; she went back to bed, and thought she must have been dreaming with her eyes open. Tom crawled about in the hayloft, and at last found a good place to rest in. He meant to sleep till daylight, and then find his way home to his father and mother.
Inside a Cow") ?> Tom Thumb! his troubles were only begun. The cook got up early to feed the cows. She went straight to the hayloft, and carried away a large bundle of hay, with the little man in the middle of it fast asleep. He slept on, and did not wake till he found himself in the mouth of a cow. She had taken him up with a mouthful of hay."Dear me," said he, "how did I manage to tumble into the mill?" But he soon found out where he was, and he had to keep all his wits about him, or he would have fallen between the cow's teeth, and then he would have been crushed to death. At last he went down into her stomach.
"It is rather dark here," said he; "they forgot to build windows in this room to let the sun in." He made the best of his bad luck, but he did not like his resting-place at all. The worst of it was, that more and more hay was coming down, and there was less and less room to turn around in. At last he cried out as loud as he could:—
"Don't bring me any more hay! don't bring me any more hay!" The cook just then was milking the cow. She heard some one speak, but she saw nobody. Yet she was sure it was the same voice she had heard in the night. It put her into such a fright that she fell off her stool and upset her milk-pail. She ran off as fast as she could to the farmer, and said:—
"Sir, sir, the cow is talking." But the farmer said:—
"Woman, thou art surely mad." Still, he went with her into the cow-house, to see what was the matter. Just as they went in, Tom cried out again:—
"Don't bring me any more hay! don't bring me any more hay!" Then the farmer was in a fright. He was sure the cow must be mad, so he gave orders to have her killed at once. The cow was killed, and the stomach with Tom in it was thrown into the barnyard.