Let’s read together: The Story of Little Suck-a-Thumb by Heinrich Hoffmann

One day, Mamma said, “Conrad dear,
I must go out and leave you here.
But mind now, Conrad, what I say,
Don’t suck your thumb while I’m away.
The great tall tailor always comes
To little boys that suck their thumbs.
And ere they dream what he’s about
He takes his great sharp scissors
And cuts their thumbs clean off, – and then
You know, they never grow again.”

Mamma had scarcely turn’d her back,
The thumb was in, alack! alack!

The door flew open, in he ran,
The great, long, red-legged scissorman.
Oh! children, see! the tailor’s come
And caught our little Suck-a-Thumb.

Snip! Snap! Snip! the scissors go;
And Conrad cries out – Oh! Oh! Oh!
Snip! Snap! Snip! They go so fast;
That both his thumbs are off at last.
Mamma comes home; there Conrad stands,
And looks quite sad, and shows his hands;-
“Ah!” said Mamma “I knew he’d come
To naughty little Suck-a-Thumb.”

To read The Story of Little Suck-a-Thumb in other languages

• German language version: Die Geschichte vom Daumenlutscher
• Italian language version: La storia del bambino che si succhia i pollici
• English language version: The Story of Little Suck-a-Thumb

To read the other nursery rhymes from the book Struwwelpeter by Heinrich Hoffmann

• Foreword: to the children
• Struwwelpeter – Shock headed Peter
• The Story of Cruel Frederick
• The Dreadful Story of Pauline and the Matches
• The Story of the Inky Boys
• The Story of the Wild Huntsman
• The Story of Little Suck-a-Thumb
• The Story of Augustus who not have any Soup
• The Story of Fidgety Philip
• The Story of Johnny Look-in-the-Air
• The Story of Flying Robert
• Anniversary page for the hundredth edition

Go to Struwwelpeter Special!