Little Tom Part 5

When the G.o.dmother returned for lunch, she looked for Tom in the room in vain. Calling him, she hunted in all of the corners, through the wood by the hearth, and even in the clock, but all to no purpose. Tom was nowhere to be seen.

Very sadly, she went back into the black kitchen for the potatoes and spied a c.o.c.kroach by the oven. She was about to sweep it across the floor, when something sparkled under it. It was Little Tom's golden cap.

She placed the poor little fellow in her palm and carried him tenderly into the great room, calling him by his name until he wakened; but even then he did not recognize her. He had a fever and would only say, Go away from me, you ugly devil. He kept waving his hands and reaching for his sword screaming as if defending himself.

It was some time before he came to himself and recognized his G.o.dmother, so that he could tell her what he had experienced. She thought that he was still in fever and did not know what he was saying.

She forgot what she had been telling him about Paradise and the place of the wicked spirits. Only when he had quite recovered and could walk about in his garden by Castle Easter Egg did she learn what had happened to him.

She then realized that she could not keep Little Tom at home all the time and that the room could not satisfy his brave, curious little soul.

So she decided that she would take him out and show the world to him, in order that he might have pleasure under the great sky and gain some experience of life.

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CHAPTER SIX.

LITTLE TOM'S EXCURSIONS.

LITTLE TOM'S EXPEDITION BEFORE THE COTTAGE.

HIS WALK THROUGH THE CORN-FIELD.

THE COBWEB AND THE FIGHT WITH THE SPIDER.

LITTLE TOM FINDS HIMSELF IN THE COURT-YARD AMONG CHICKENS.

HE RUNS AWAY AND IS PURSUED BY ROVER.

HE TUMBLES INTO A BROOK AND IS GOBBLED UP BY A TROUT, WHICH SPITS HIM OUT AGAIN INTO THE GRa.s.s.

HE TAKES A WALK ON THE MEADOW WITH HIS G.o.dMOTHER.

THE b.u.mBLE-BEE TALKS LITTLE TOM INTO GETTING DRUNK.

LITTLE TOM IS BEING TIED TO A THISTLE AND FINDS HIMSELF IN THE MOUTH OF A COW.

HE IS PUT INTO A WOODEN SHOE BY HIS G.o.dMOTHER, BUT IS ENDANGERED BY A HAILSTORM.

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One bright summer morning, as his G.o.dmother was getting herself ready to go to the village, she said to him, Dear Little Tom, if you want to see what G.o.d's world is like, I will let you come out in front of the hut; although I am afraid that you will lose your way, or that some animal will harm you.

Tom encouraged her by saying that he would put on his weapons and that he knew how to defend himself. She did not give much thought to his valour but she felt that, because of his small size, no animal would notice him; so she took him in her hand and carried him outside in front of the hut, through the garden and barn to the brook, pointing out everything of interest and telling him the name of objects and places so that he could recognize them again. Then she put him on the ground before the door and told him, in a severe voice, that he should not run far away; she hoped to return soon and, in the meantime, he would not meet with any misfortune.

When she had crossed the bridge, she turned around, but no longer saw him. He had absolutely disappeared among the stones of the path. He was very pleased that he could make an exploration on his own account and felt that he was now much more clever. He understood what a human dwelling was, a garden, a path, a brook and a lime tree; and he was not afraid of anything. He decided to go over the same way his G.o.dmother had taken him around the hut, so that he might see for himself all its surroundings.

First, he went around the fence to the field, crossed the path and pa.s.sed into the thick, rustling grain. He felt he was in a vast, old forest. Above him buzzed wasps, flies, gnats and gadflies. All around him were worms, insects and caterpillars, which took no notice of him whatsoever, but kept diligently about their own work. He seemed to be in a new world and found so many strange objects and animals, that he had not time to look at all of them carefully.

He strode forward into the grain, but was careful not to go too far and lose his way. As he walked along the edge of the path, he looked at the grain, thinking that he would like to cut down one of the stalks and make a good, light lance out of it. While he was trying to select one that would suit him, he came upon a cobweb stretched between two thistles. It was beautifully woven of thin, well-tied threads, and seemed to Tom to be a powerful net which some hunter had placed there as a trap for wild game.

He wished to see the hunter and learn how game is caught, so he sat down in some wild thyme not far away and waited; but nothing happened. Then he got up and went nearer, feeling the lines with his hand to see how tightly they were drawn. But no sooner had he touched the net than he felt it shake and saw, running across it, a great, eight-footed creature, with a cross on its back and horrible jaws, rus.h.i.+ng straight at him.

He drew his sword at once, but a strong, elastic rope was thrown around his body, binding his hips and legs. He struggled to free himself, but more and more ropes enveloped him. In a very short time, he was tangled up in them and tightly bound to the net. Then the great monster darted at him with his cruel jaws open.

Brave Little Tom waved his sword; this frightened the spider, which drew back. At once he cut the ropes around him, tore himself out of the net and ran, beside himself with fear, until he fell rolling on the gravel in the path. He expected the monster to rush out after him and eat him; but when the spider saw that his prey had escaped him, he started to repair his net and paid no further heed to Tom.

Tom was glad to have escaped so easily and no longer wished to go in the field and cut down a stalk. He went back very rapidly along the path, deciding that he would remain near the hut. He wanted to see his G.o.dmother's farm, so he pa.s.sed through the gate to the little gra.s.sy place beyond among the daisies and dandelions. As soon as he reached the spot, a lot of little yellow chickens came running to him and, gathering around him, looked at him with surprised eyes; for that kind of a worm these little chicks had never seen before.

Little Tom was frightened, for these birds appeared to him as large as the ostriches his G.o.dmother had shown him in the natural history book, only they were yellow. The chickens looked at him sideways, peeping and calling the mother hen. She was scratching in some sweepings not far away and when she heard the peeping, she hurried up, all a flutter, to see what was the matter and who the enemy was. When she saw only Little Tom, she pecked at him angrily with her bill, then picked him up, but let him drop as he did not seem good for eating. Scolding her chicks, she drove them away in search of real worms.

Tom was so badly hurt that he fell down as if dead. His coat was torn and his hand was bleeding. After a moment, he struggled to his feet and fled out of the yard, away from such terrible enemies. In front of the yard, the G.o.dmother's woolly-haired dog, Rover, was running about.

Without seeing Tom he stepped on him with his great, hard foot. When Tom cried out in pain, Rover stopped, turned around and smelled at Tom with his moist nose.

Little Tom was overcome with another great fear. He was dusty, bruised and bleeding and so unhappy that he did not know what to do. He ran on, stumbling and limping, while Rover, thinking he was some strange insect, ran after him, barking and jumping around him, until he drove him to the brook. Little Tom wanted to hide himself among the leaves near the water; but, as he stepped on them, he slipped and fell head first into the brook.

The water refreshed him and, knowing how to swim very well, he was at first pleased to think he had escaped this enemy; but the brook, which seemed to him a river, was carrying him away. He had no idea that he could reach the sh.o.r.e. He already felt himself lost, believing that the waves would dash him against a stone, when, suddenly, a trout came out of the water and gobbled him up in his great mouth. But the trout did not like this morsel and spat him out again into the gra.s.s under the bridge.

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Catching hold of a gra.s.s stem, Tom pulled himself into the bushes and sat there, shaking as with a chill. Wet through and cold, with hands bruised and bleeding, he could hardly hold himself on the gra.s.s which the wind waved back and forth.

As he became weaker and weaker and was about to give up hope that he would ever come of his adventure alive, he suddenly heard his G.o.dmother calling to him. She was coming across the little foot-bridge and calling loudly, so that she might not by mistake step on him. Tom immediately answered as loud as he could shout, Here I am G.o.dmother. Here I am.

But she had to look a long while before she discovered whence came the thin, little voice. Then she promptly rescued him from his perilous position. Poor Little Tom was so worn out from his bruises and his tremendous exertion, that he could hardly feel anything and it was only after he had eaten well and drunk some milk, that he could tell his G.o.dmother about all the terrible adventures that had befallen him. How in the deep forest of the grain he had been ensnared by the terrible robber in his frightful net; how the great, yellow ostriches had pursued him and, when he was escaping from them, how a rough, hairy dragon had come upon him and chased him into the river, where he was first swallowed by an enormous whale and then cast out upon the sh.o.r.e.

The kind G.o.dmother was very, very sorry for poor Little Tom and began to realize the danger of leaving him alone, outside the hut, so she promised him that she herself would take him to the field. Tom no longer wanted to travel alone amid such terrible dangers and was pleased that he could accompany his G.o.dmother; but they did not know in just what way they could accomplish this. She thought of taking him in her pocket, but Tom was afraid of such a dark place, among crumbs of bread and huge keys.

On her breast, the G.o.dmother, had a brooch which pinned together the ends of the kerchief she wore around her throat; so Tom sat down on the pleat of the cloth behind the brooch, grasping the bar to keep his hands steady. As she walked along, he thrust out his little head to look at the field, the meadow and the forest on top of the hill, where he hoped to run around with his G.o.dmother, and wondered what new things he should see.

When they reached the meadow under the slope of the hill, the G.o.dmother stood Little Tom upon a stone among the heather and said, I am going to gather the hay and I must hurry, as the weather looks as if it were going to change. While I am gone, you can walk around on this stone and look at the flowers, but do not crawl down, or you will surely get lost and I would look in vain for you.

Obediently, Tom walked around on the top of his rock. He crawled over the pebbles, peered into the various holes and examined the small, red carnations, the tall, blue monks-hoods and the pink thistles growing there. As he walked along, he heard a great buzzing in the air as if some one were angry and, on coming closer, he perceived a hairy b.u.mble-bee staggering among the blossoms.

Tom became confused as he had never seen such a creature before. He thought it might be a wild beast that would attack him. But the b.u.mble-bee was quite harmless and, moreover, he had been sucking the sweet honey from the flowers so steadily since the early morning, that his head had become quite dizzy. As soon as he saw Little Tom, he sidled towards him and welcomed him as if he had known him all his life.

Brother, he said, what are you doing here and how are you? I am pleased that I have now found a comrade. Come, let us drink together.

It seemed strange to Tom, that this stout, old gentleman should appear to know him so well and should address him so familiarly. The old fellow went on to urge him, to fly with him up on the monks-hood, saying that there they would find a delicious drink. Tom tried to excuse himself, saying that he had given his promise not to leave the rock; but the b.u.mble-bee said, Oh just come along with me. I will bring you back. Let us be merry now.

Catching Tom in his arms, the b.u.mble-bee carried him up the stem and seated him on a flower with an arched, blue bell over it, and then gave him a push right into the blossom. From the heart of this blue bell extended two horns with thick heads, which powdered him with a yellow dust that made him sneeze. At this, the b.u.mble-bee laughed heartily and began to take long drinks from the cup under the blossoms.

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Carefully, Tom crawled a little lower, stretched himself on his stomach and also drank. The juice was as clear as water and as sweet as honey.

He drank gluttonously and, in a little while, became so merry and so light at heart that he could have embraced the whole world. When they had finished this cup, Tom crawled into another blossom and drank again.

The b.u.mble-bee had chosen another blossom for himself and between sips contentedly murmured to Tom, This is my only pleasure. See how good it tastes to you also. Now you can see what it is to be merry.

Tom no longer knew what he was about. He sat in the blossom, singing and drinking, and forgetting everything around him. Presently, the b.u.mble-bee, paying no further attention to Tom, flew away; but Tom did not notice this and was soon so befuddled, that he hardly knew anything at all.

After a while, the G.o.dmother came to the rock to see what he was about.

Not finding him on top of the stone, she looked carefully around and soon discovered him peeping out of the monks-hood blossom. His little face was very red. He laughed and shouted and paid no attention to her when she spoke to him. At this she became angry, for she saw that he had been up to mischief; so she plucked the flower and took Tom out of it.