Tonight, we’ll read a story from Hans Christian Andersen called “Little Thumbelina.” Thumbelina is about a tiny girl and her adventures with marriage-minded toads, moles, and doodlebugs. She successfully avoids their intentions before falling in love with a flower-fairy prince just her size.

Hans Christian Andersen was born in Denmark in 1805 to a shoemaker. An only child, Andersen shared a love of literature with his father, who read him fables and fairy tales. Together, they constructed panoramas and toy theatres, and took long jaunts into the countryside.