"Come on, Buzzby! What's got your thorax in a twist?"

The fairy prince, Cornelius, had been looking for his faithful bumble steed all day when out of the blue, the bee bowled him over and tried to drag him somewhere. He'd eventually had to sneak out very late in order to appease the bee.

Something had happened to him when he'd gotten out today and he was determined to show Cornelius.

Cornelius was surprised that his bumble took him to a human house on the edge of the Valley. Rarely did fairies venture out this far except for ceremonial changing of the seasons. He let Buzzby control their destination as the bee checked multiple nooks, crannies, and windows.

Finally, they landed on a windowsill overlooking a creek that ran through the property.

"Okay, bud. We're here! What did you bring me all this way… for?" Movement behind the stained glass window caught Cornelius's attention.

It was too big for a human… What's a fairy doing in a human house? Cornelius thought. He peeked through the window.

It wasn't a fairy; it wasn't a human. It was a tiny girl! A tiny beautiful girl twirling in front of an open book. As he looked closer, the prince saw that the book contained drawings of fairies. He was about to flit inside to introduce himself when she began to sing.

"I know there's someone…

Somewhere, someone…

Who's sure to find me,

Soon…"

The girl moved closer to the window during her dance. Cornelius ducked down so he wouldn't be seen, but could still hear her voice. That voice…

"After the rain goes there are rainbows

I'll find my rainbow,

Soon…"

Her voice drifted away so the prince took a chance to lift his head. The girl was leaning against the book next to a portrait of what looked like a fairy prince. For some reason, that set his heart a flutter.

"Soon it won't be just pretend. Soon a happy ending!

Love, can you hear me?

If you're near me…

Sing your song… sure and strong!

And soon…"

She stroked the cheek of the illustration before muttering, "I wonder if there really are fairies out there?"

Before he could stop himself, Cornelius stepped through a crack in the open window and cleared his throat.

"I, uh… ahem. I can help answer that."

The girl's long red hair swished as she whirled to face him, eyes wide. There was a breath between them before she darted off towards a small wooden house sitting on the counter.

"Wait! Where are you going?" Cornelius rushed after her, curious about this tiny girl who looked to be a wingless fairy. He came up short as she brandished a wooden chair in front of her. "Whoa there…"

"How did you get in here?" The girl demanded. "Why are you here?"

Cornelius kept his hands up in a placating gesture. "The window was open. As for why, my bumble bee brought me here and I came inside because… I was curious."

That appeared to confuse the girl. "Curious?"

He took a step closer, but immediately back tracked as the girl raised the chair higher. "Sorry. Person space. I get it." He cleared his throat again, suddenly embarrassed. "Do… do you have any fairy blood in you?"

"Fairy blood?" She muttered. Then she looked at him. Her eyes widened again and she dropped the chair. "Oh… you're… you're one of them!"

"I beg your pardon?" Now it was Cornelius' turn to be confused.

It was also in that exact moment that Hero woke up to discover an intruder with his charge. The dog advanced on the stranger, growling.

Cornelius prepared to draw his sword, but the girl leapt between him and the dog!

"Hero, no! Don't bother him. See - he's a friend!" The girl curtsied to Cornelius. "Hello, my name is Thumbelina. Thank you for visiting today!" She glared at him until he caught on.

"Oh! Yes." He bowed in response, keeping one eye on the wary hound. "It's… uh… Thank you for having me!"

Satisfied, Hero laid back down.

Both young people blew out a sigh of relief before awkwardly eyeing each other once more.

"Whatever conversation we're about to have will probably be better over refreshments." Thumbelina - a beautiful name to match a beautiful voice! - picked up the chair from where she'd dropped it and gestured for Cornelius to join her in the little wooden house.

Cornelius was baffled by the structure. He'd grown up seeing where humans lived, but never had he heard of a human house within a house!

There were four quadrants of the mahogany house with a set of stairs separating the top section from the bottom. Thumbelina led him into the bottom left quadrant where a small wooden table and chairs stood - a kitchen? She gestured for him to sit while she pulled two wooden cups from a cabinet and a pitcher from a tiny ice box.

"Would you like some milk? It's from our own cow."

"Uh, yes please."

The girl poured the glasses of milk and sat down across from him. "So…"

"So…" He replied awkwardly. He cleared his throat again. "Y-your name is Thumbelina? It's a lovely name!"

It's so quick, but Cornelius is certain that he saw her blush.

"And you are?"

"Oh! I'm Cornelius!" He narrowed his eyes as he saw Thumbelina attempt to hide a smile.

"That's - ha! - that's a nice name too." She took a sip from her cup. "Now that I know who you are… can you tell me what you are?"

The prince looked at her incredulously. "Don't the wings give it away? I'm a fairy!"

Wait - were those tears in her eyes?

Despite the tears, Thumbelina beamed. "I thought I was the only one my size in the whole world!" She let out a shaky breath. "Is that why you asked if I had fairy blood in me? Because I'm tiny?"

"In part," Cornelius tapped the table absentmindedly. "I was surprised to come this far out. There aren't many fairies who live here on the edge of the Valley. I saw you and thought that you might be a rare wingless fairy. They only come around once every several generations."

"I have no idea! A witch gave my mother a barley-corn and told her to plant it. It blossomed and I was at the center. I don't remember much from before, just a voice telling me that the woman who opened my flower would be my mother."

"Fascinating!" Cornelius leaned forward, intrigued. "So you've lived with her your entire life?"

Thumbelina shrugged. "Since the spring."

"Spring?! But you look at least sixteen!" It was the prince's turn to blush.

"That's about what Mother and I have surmised. We can't explain it and Mother hasn't been able to find the witch again to ask her."

"I wonder if there is anything about this kind of thing in the libraries of the Vale…" Cornelius murmured.

"The Vale?" Thumbelina frowned.

He blinked, coming back to the present. "The Vale of the Fairies. That's where I live." He made a strangled noise as he was dragged out of the kitchen and back to the open storybook.

Thumbelina eagerly pointed at the page where several fairies danced together. "Does the Vale have a fairy court?"

Cornelius stepped closer to the girl as he inspected the page. "It does. Doesn't look a thing like this, though."

"I suppose not," Thumbelina sighed. "Do you use insects to pull wagons and things like how humans use horses?"

The prince looked at her with surprise. "Yes, we do! How did you know?"

"It was a guess, but an educated one." She clasped her hands behind her back. "Earlier today in the garden, I found a bumble bee stuck in a spider's web. While I was untangling him, I noticed that he had a saddle on his back! The poor thing darted off before I could get a closer look."

It was now Thumbelina's turn to be yanked around. Cornelius led her excitedly to the windowsill. He felt her tug back a little as they crossed the window's threshold. He paused, readjusted his grip on her hand, and smiled.

"Trust me; you'll want to see this."

And he was right. Buzzby nuzzled up to Thumbelina immediately. The girl was excited as well.

"It's you! Oh! You're alright!" She laughed as the bee gently booped her with his antennae.

Oh… Cornelius wanted to hear her laugh every day for the rest of his life.

"Buzzby here came back to the Vale after breaking out for a spell. The minute he came home, he tried to fly off with me to bring me somewhere. Looks like he was trying to bring me here." Cornelius stroked the bumble's fuzzy head as he stared at Thumbelina. "I can't thank you enough for saving him."

"I-it was no problem at all, really." There was that blush again, faintly dusting her cheeks.

Cornelius felt himself leaning towards her when a sharp voice sent a shiver down his spine.

"CORNELIUS!"

"Shoot!" The boy pulled Thumbelina back inside the house, cautiously peering out the window. Poor Buzzby couldn't fit through the window crack, though that didn't keep him from trying.

"Who's that?" Thumbelina craned her neck, trying to get a better look. Cornelius gently tugged her back down.

"That's the captain of the royal guard. He's been sent to look for me."

"Why would the captain of the guard…" Cornelius saw Thumbelina's eyes dart from him to something behind him. He turned to see the page from the storybook with the fairy court. He winced as he watched her put the pieces together.

"You're the prince," She whispered, more to herself than anyone else. "The fairy prince!"

"Yes, I'm the prince." He tugged on her hand. "But I'm still just Cornelius - someone who would love to get to know you better."

Thumbelina blinked. "I beg your pardon?"

Cornelius knew he'd have to get this out quickly before the captain got too close.

"You are incredibly kind and I think we could be friends. Could I come see you again? Or now that I know where you live, we can write to each other! I can send butterflies with fairy stationary or maybe you and your mother have already figured out things like that," He stopped rambling when Thumbelina pressed a finger to his lips, a smile on hers.

"I'd like that. We can work out the details later, but I want to get to know you better too. There's a whole new world that I didn't know existed! I… I don't feel so alone anymore."

The prince breathed out a relieved sigh. "Oh, Thumbelina…"

"CORNELIUS!"

The girl laughed at the chagrined look on her new friend's face. "You better go before they turn out the whole guard for you!"

He pulled her to her feet then offered her a bow. "Till next time, then, my lady."

She giggled, dipping into another curtsy. "Till next time, Your Highness."

Cornelius groaned. "Tell me this won't become a regular thing!"

Thumbelina gave him a wry smile. "Okay. I won't tell you."

That gave the boy a laugh as he pulled himself into Buzzby's saddle. "I'll send you some stationery tomorrow." He looked to her one more time. "Goodbye, Thumbelina."

"Goodbye, Cornelius!"

In the end, it was Buzzby that separated them by taking off. Cornelius soon took the reins and met up with the captain of the guard.

"I hope you have a good explanation, Your Highness."

"Oh, believe me, Captain. Mother and Father will want to hear about this!"

Google Searches

1800s doll house/ furniture

What were 1800s doll houses made of

When were ice boxes invented (1802)