Tom Thumb

Is a traditional hero in English Folklore who is no bigger than his father's thumb.
Various allusions to Tom Thumb are included in sixteenth century works; in his Discovery of Witchcraft, Reginal scot includes Tom Thumbe in a list of folkloric creatures such as witches and satyrs that nursemaids told their charges about until the children were frightened of their own shadows^.
Folktales featuring Tom Thumb as the hero appear in print in the seventeenth century.