Once upon a time there was a woman who wanted so much to have a child. She did not care whether it was a boy or a girl, she just wanted someone to love and look after. She decided to go down the street to the old witch's house. Here she told her story and the witch was very eager to help her. She gave the woman a special stalk of barley corn. She told the woman to plant this in her house and something special would happen. The woman was so happy and gave the witch a silver fifty cent piece, because that is what she charged for her services. The woman did what she was told and immediately there was a beautiful flower on it.
"What a beautiful flower!" she exclaimed and started t feel the petals. As she touched them, the petals started to open and there stood a strange little being. He was no higher than her thumb and he was dressed in a grey outfit with a round metal thing hanging over his chest. On his head was a strange pointed hat. He stood up and bowed.
"Oh, my! You must be my child. You are so small I shall call you Wee Joxy." she told him. He smiled and said, "At your service, my lady."
The woman was filled with joy and would let Wee Joxy play on the table with some doll's furniture and things she got made at the local carpenter's ship. He had fun with the pretend sword and was always trying to kill imaginary monsters with it. She loved to watch him play and clapped for joy every time he managed to kill a monster. He filled her life with joy and gladness. Sometimes he would sing to her and she had a small lyre made and he would play it. The music filled her house and made her feel peaceful and happy. She made a bed for him out of a walnut shell and there he slept at night.
One night through the open window an ugly old toad came and saw Wee Joxy lying there. "Oh, what a lovely husband he would make for me. She picked up the walnut shell and gently carried it out and away to her home.
"He might run away so I'll have to put him on a lily pad and keep him there until I can find someone to marry us." She put him on a lily pad and went to find someone. She did not know the fishes had overheard her and they felt sorry for Wee Joxy. They got together and gnawed at the stem of the lily pad until it broke away and started to float downstream. When Wee Joxy awoke, he found himself in the middle of a stream, floating on a lily pad. He was starteled and didn't know what to do, so he just sat there, watching the trees and flowers go by.
Suddenly a great Raven flew by and swooped down on Wee Joxy and grabbed him and lifted him up into a tree. Wee Joxy tried to squirm his way out, but it was no use. He used his toy sword, but it did not do anything. The Raven was stronger. He put Joxy on a branch and there he stayed while others came around to see what this new thing was that the Raven had brought back. They talked about him.
"Oh, how ugly he is." said the male ravens.
"He has no wings. He cannot fly." said another.
"He wears a funny thing on his head."
"What a silly thing to bring back here. What does he want to do with it?"
Some of the female ravens smiled at him and wanted to play with him. The males did not like this and so they decided to get rid of him. The one who brought him there swooped down again and grabbed Joxy with his feet. Joxy yelled.
"Don't make me hurt you!" The Raven laughed. He put Joxy far away in a meadow and left him there. Joxy did not know what to do. He wandered around in the meadow. It was scary. When he saw an insect he jumped at it with his sword, shouting. "I am your worst nightmare!" The insects laughed at him and ran away. They did not want to have anything to do with him. He spent the whole summer there. He managed to survive by drinking the dew of the leaves in the mornings and climbing plants to get fruits off them to eat. All was well but then winter came and Joxy was cold.
He found the home of a field mouse and knocked on the door to ask for food. He could not find anything to eat now that winter was there. The field mouse was very sympathetic and she invited him to come in and stay for the winter.
"My name is Gabby. The only thing I ask is that you keep this place neat and tidy and tell me stories. Do you know any stories? I love to hear stories."
"Oh, yes I do know some stories. About a very strong man. His name was Hercules and I can tell you many stories about him. I can sing and play the lyre too if you want music." Gabby was delighted to have him stay with her. One day her neighbour came to visit. She was a mole and lived underground as well. They often visited each other for company.
"She is rich and her house is much bigger than mine. She hates to be out in the sun or see the flowers, but she does love beautiful music. Will you play and sing for her?"
"Yes, I will." And, so, when the mole came, Joxy played his make-shift lyre and sang beautiful songs to her. She enjoyed the songs so much that she fell in love with Joxy. She was very cautious though. Her name was Callisto and she was so enthralled with Joxy that she invited the two of them to her house for dinner. She had made a tunnel from her house to Gabby's house under the ground. They walked along the passage and talked together.
Then they came to a spot where the ceiling was high and close to the ground above. Here was a strange creature. She was very big, crunched up into a ball and wore a leather outfit. Joxy was sad to see her. Callisto told them not to bother with her. this passage became her grave when she fell into it and died there. They walked around her and on to the house. But Joxy felt sorry for the little strange creature and kept thinking of her.
That evening after they got back, Joxy could not sleep. He tossed and turned and all he could think about was the strange creature. Finally he got up and went to where she was. He had found some straw and wove it into a blanket for her. He had also found some thistle-down in Gabby's house and he took that as well. He placed the blanket of straw on top of her to cover her body. Then he placed the thistle-down on top of that. He felt she should have a proper burial and this was the best he could do. He had straightened out her body and made her look better.
"Farewell, stranger. Now you may rest in peace." But then he could feel the warmth coming back into her legs and arms. She was not dead, just frozen. Now she was getting warm and was coming back to life. Joxy was surprised and he wasn't sure what to do. She was quite big compared to Joxy. He piled the down more closely to her. He kissed her and said he would be back the next night.
The next night he crept out again. She was awake but weak. She opened one eye and smiled at him. "Thank you for your kindness. I feel so warm. Soon I will have my strength back and will be able to go out into the warm sun."
"Just lie there and keep warm. I will bring you water to drink." He helped her drink it. Her name was Xena and she reminded him of his mother whom he had not seen for so long. She told him how she had been hurt by a mean man named Draco. She had got so weak, she fell to the ground and through this hole. She lay there frozen, not able to move or speak, until he came along. She stayed there the whole winter and Joxy nursed her back to health. Neither Gabby or Callisto knew anything about this.
When the warm weather came, Xena wanted Joxy to come with her, but he couldn't. He owed it to the field mouse to help her get some food stored up for next winter. With a yell and a jump, Xena was up and into the fresh air. She could feel the warm sun on her and she leaped and jumped over everything. She stopped and waved to Joxy who was happy that he had helped her.
Callisto had decided that she liked Joxy so much, that they should be married. Joxy did not know what to do but he went along with it. Gabby had made him a beautiful wedding outfit and she and Callisto were so happy there was to be a wedding in the autumn. Joxy could only think of Xena and the freedom she had. He wanted to be out in the sunshine and enjoy it's warmth. He knew if he became Callisto's husband, he would never see the sun again. This made him sad.
One day he was walking along the tunnel to Callisto's house, when he came to where Xena had jumped out. There was still a hole there where the sun could come in. He stopped and looked up into the sunlight and suddenly a face peered into the hole. It was Xena!
"Hi, there, my friend. I have never forgotten you. I have enjoyed the sun and I want to offer to you again to come with me. I can take you away from all this." Joxy was happy. He wanted to get away from all of it, so he said yes.
She put her hand down and he grabbed it. She pulled him up. He was so small it was easy for her to do it. "Just put your arms around my neck and hold on tight." He did that and she started to leap and jump all over. She kept yelling a weird cry of some sort. They leaped for ages and then came to a warm place with many different flowers around. It was the most beautiful place Joxy had ever seen. She jumped up into one of the flowers and there was the most beautiful little girl he ever saw. Her name was Thumbelina. He loved her at first sight.
"Here you are, Joxy. You will have friends here and people your own size. I will come and visit you sometimes."
"Oh, he's gorgeous," said Thumbelina with a giggle to Xena. "I love his hat. He looks so cute in it." She giggled again and looked down, very shyly. Joxy was shy too. But Xena knew they would hit it off well. She left them and leaped away into the sunset. Joxy played music and say to his new friend and they were all happy.
THE END
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