In the Scandinavian tale, a lonely woman
plants a barleycorn from which grows a strange and wonderful flower. Inside the petals is a girl, no bigger than
the woman’s thumb. Thumbelina sleeps in a walnut shell, has a leaf for a boat, and survives peril after peril
until being rescued by a bird and brought to a tiny king who also lives in a flower. They marry and live happily
ever after, of course. Ulrica Hydman-Vallien loves this story so much she designed a collection to
immortalize Thumbelina in Kosta Boda crystal.
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