Little Poucet (Hop o' My Thumb)

Title: Little Poucet (Hop o' My Thumb)

Sources: 
Andrew Lang, The Blue Fairy Book (London: Longmans, Green, and Co., ca. 1889), pp. 231-241. 
Lang's source: Charles Perrault, Histoires ou contes du temps passé, avec des moralités: Contes de ma mère l'Oye (Paris, 1697).

Summary: The youngest and smallest of seven brothers born to a woodcutter and his wife,  "Little Thumb" never spoke a word. His parents thought this was because he wasn't intelligent, but the reason the boy (no bigger than a person's thumb) was so quiet was because he was wise. One evening, Little Thumb heard his parents talking about how they could no longer support their children. He heard his father say that the next day, he would lose their sons in the woods. Better to abandon them than to watch them starve in front of his eyes. 

Little Thumb spends the rest of the night thinking about what to do. He goes out to the riverbed and puts white pebbles in his pocket. As his parents lead Little Thumb and his brothers out to the dense woods, he leaves a trail of the pebbles behind him. While the children were busy, the parents snuck away. The brothers began to cry, but Little Thumb told them that he could lead them back home. Meanwhile, the parents received money from the government that they had been owed, but had forgotten about. The mother was so upset because with this money they could eat for a good while. She cried out for her sons, and to her surprise they answered her. 

The money did not last very long, and so the parents again devised a plan to abandon their children. Little Thumb could not gather pebbles, because the door was bolted shut. Instead, he planned to use his bread from breakfast to make a trail. However, when it was time to find the way home, he discovered that birds had come and eaten his path. Lost in the woods, they begged the first person they met for help. The woman warned them that she lived with an ogre, but they wanted a place to stay. When it was time for the ogre's dinner, he smelled the children and pulled them from their hiding place. The woman persuades the ogre to save the boys to eat later, and he agrees. 

After tricking the ogre (causing him to murder his own ogre daughters during the night), Little Thumb and his brother run away. He instructs his brothers to run back home while he steals the ogre's seven league boots (which allow the ogre to walk in very large strides). Little Thumb uses these boots to make his fortune, and then he returns to his family. Now wealthy, everyone lives happily ever after. 
  Cultural Origins: French, 1697. Although similarly named, this tale does not resemble Tom Thumb. It was probably a combination of that tale and Hansel and Gretel. 

Audience: This story is probably most appropriate for a younger audience. Its similarities to other, more familiar tales would make it easy for children to understand. The moral, to not judge a person by their appearance, is an important thing for children, and really all people, to learn. 

Adaptation Ideas: It would be interesting to make Little Thumb a female character. For an older audience, this could lead into a discussion about sexism. Are the parents judging Little Thumb (female) for being small or is it just because she is the only girl among boys? Does that make her seem like less of an asset to the family? This could also become a cultural discussion as well. I enjoy the repetition of the story -- that the children are brought into the woods twice. I think it would provide an opportunity to use repetition in the telling of the story that would make it entertaining and memorable for readers.