It is winter and Thumbelina is given shelter by a kind field mouse in her time of need. She leads a peaceful but dull life in the field mouse's house under a corn field. They have a regular visitor, their neighbour, the rich blind mole who asks for Thumbelina's hand in marriage. Crest-fallen and helpless, Thumbelina gives in to the field mouse's requests to accept the offer. Then one day, she finds a wounded swallow and nurses him back to health. The grateful swallow tries to help her in every way possible.