with him from tree to tree and from field to field, and at last
returned to the court, where the king and nobility all strove to catch
him; but at last poor Tom fell from his seat into a watering-pot, in
which he was almost drowned.

When the queen saw him she was in a rage, and said he should be
beheaded; and he was again put into a mouse trap until the time of his
execution.

However a cat, observing something alive in the trap, patted it about
till the wires broke, and set Thomas at liberty.

The king received Tom again into favour, which he did not live to
enjoy, for a large spider one day attacked him; and although he drew
his sword and fought well, yet the spider's poisonous breath at last
overcame him.

He fell dead on the ground where he stood,
And the spider suck'd every drop of his blood.

King Arthur and his whole court were so sorry at the loss of their
little favourite that they went into mourning and raised a fine white
marble monument over his grave with the following epitaph:

Here lies Tom Thumb, King Arthur's knight,
Who died by a spider's cruel bite.
He was well known in Arthur's court,
Where he afforded gallant sport;
He rode at tilt and tournament,
And on a mouse a-hunting went.