A great cockchafer came flying past; he caught sight of Thumbelina, and in a moment had put his arms round her slender waist, and had flown off with her to a tree. Oh, dear! how terrified poor little Thumbelina was when the cockchafer flew off with her to the tree. Later on, all the other cockchafers who lived in the same tree came to pay calls; they examined Thumbelina closely. 'How ugly she is!' said all the lady chafers--and yet Thumbelina was really very pretty.
When the cockchafer heard all the ladies saying she was ugly, he began to think so too, and would not keep her; she might go wherever she liked. So he flew down from the tree with her and put her on a daisy.
