“This delightful legend is here presented in a very attractive form. Tom Thumb owed his existence to the desire of his mother, who, having long been disappointed, expressed a wish that she might have a son, even if he were no bigger than her husband’s thumb. King Arthur’s magician, who overhears this lament, sets to work to gratify the poor woman’s request, and he acquaints the Queen of the Fairies, who takes the matter in hand, brings it to a successful issue, and eventually little Tom Thumb is born. Christened by the fairies, he passes through a vanety of dangers in consequence of his diminutive proportions, and eventually finds his way to the Court of King Arthur, where he becomes a great favourite with the King, the Queen, and all the courtiers. Here a number of misfortunes culminate in Tom being tried for treason, because he fell from the back of a butterfly into a dish of batter which had been prepared to make pancakes for the King's dinner. Tom is sentenced to death, imprisoned in a mousetrap unti! the day of execution, but fortunately rescued before that unhappy morning arrives. In the end poor Tom meets his death in an encounter with a spider, and all the blackbirds of the icountry gather together to sing his requiem. This charming story is told in a rhymed reading illustrated by 12 slides.”