This story comes to you by the fire pit at a family member’s house back home in California. The evening is warm, the sea breeze is pleasant, and the bright full moon is shining. So settle in and enjoy my translation of Tommelise by Hans Christian Andersen, which is usually given the title “Thumbelina” in English.
This translation was a delight for me to do, as Andersen’s prose is very simple and clean. It was easy to be pretty direct when turning it into English, and I found that the story required very little commentary or clarification, so I hope you enjoy this lovely story, recorded in the hills of California under a beautiful full moon, as much as I did.