The Fairy Book | Page 5

never can
consent to be the death of your own children."
The husband in vain told her to think how very poor they were.
The wife replied "that this was true, to be sure; but if she was poor, she
was still their mother;" and then she cried as if her heart would break.
At last she thought how shocking it would be to see them starved to
death before their eyes; so she agreed to what her husband had said,
and then went sobbing to bed.
Hop-o'-my-thumb had been awake all the time; and when he heard his
father talk very seriously, he slipped away from his brothers' side, and
crept under his father's bed, to hear all that was said without being seen.
When his father and mother had left off talking, he got back to his own
place, and passed the night in thinking what he should do the next
morning.
He rose early, and ran to the river's side, where he filled his pockets
with small white pebbles, and then went back home. In the morning
they all set out, as their father and mother had agreed on; and
Hop-o'-my-thumb did not say a word to any of his brothers about what
he had heard. They came to a forest that was so very thick that they
could not see each other a few yards off. The faggot-maker set to work
cutting down wood; and the children began to gather the twigs, to make
faggots of them.
When the father and mother saw that the young ones were all very busy,
they slipped away without being seen. The children soon found
themselves alone, and began to cry as loud as they could.

Hop-o'-my-thumb let them cry on, for he knew well enough how to
lead them safe home, an he had taken care to drop the white pebbles he
had in his pocket along all the way he had come. He only said to them,
"Never mind it, my lads: father and mother have left us here by
ourselves, but only take care to follow me, and I will lead you back
again."
When they heard this they left off crying, and followed
Hop-o'-my-thumb, who soon brought them to their father's house by the
very same path which they had come along. At first they had not the
courage to go in; but stood at the door to hear what their parents were
talking about. Just as the faggot-maker and his wife had come home
without their children, a great gentleman of the village sent to pay them
two guineas, for work they had done for him, which he had owed them
so long that they never thought of getting a farthing of it. This money
made them quite happy; for the poor creatures were very hungry, and
had no other way of getting anything to eat.
The faggot-maker sent his wife out immediately to buy some meat; and
as it was a long time since she had made a hearty meal, she bought as
much meat as would have been enough for six or eight persons. The
truth was, when she was thinking what would be enough for dinner, she
forgot that her children were not at home; but as soon as she and her
husband had done eating, she cried out, "Alas! where are our poor
children? how they would feast on what we have left! It was all your
fault, husband! I told you we should repent leaving them to starve in
the forest!--Oh mercy! perhaps they have already been eaten by the
hungry wolves!" The poor woman shed plenty of tears: "Alas! alas!"
said she, over and over again, "what is become of my dear children?"
The children, who were all at the door, cried out together, "Here we are,
mother, here we are!"
She flew like lightning to let them in, and kissed every one of them.
The faggot-maker and his wife were charmed at having their children
once more with them, and their joy for this lasted till their money was
all spent; but then they found themselves quite as ill off as before. So

by degrees they again thought of leaving them in the forest: and that the
young ones might not come back a second time, they said they would
take them a great deal farther than they did at first. They could not talk
about this matter so slily but that Hop-o'-my-thumb found means to
hear all that passed between them; but he cared very little about it, for
he thought it would be easy for him to do just the same as he had done
before. But though he got up very early the next morning to go to the
river's side to get the pebbles, a thing