plants and under the gooseberry and currant bushes, where he stopped.
"Here," he said, "is the most beautiful spot in the whole land which you
call Paradise. Here are the stalks of the sweetest things in the world
and there are so many that whole towns could live on them. The only
problem is how to carry them away. You can stop here and, if at any time
you should wish to visit our Black Town, you will always find here some
of our workmen who will tell me of your wishes. In the meantime, be
happy and enjoy yourself." Mirmex ran quickly away and Little Tom,
climbing down from his horse, began to look at the wonderful fruit.
He crawled up a gooseberry bush and saw many yellow barrels hanging
among the leaves. He stuck his dagger into one and found that it was
filled with excellent wine; so he cut the stems of several others which
fell to the ground. He then went to the second bush, full of red globes
that shone like glass. He cut into one and found that it held a
delicious, tart wine. When he crawled down again, he had in the grass a
stock of fine drinks that would last him many days.
He was still looking for food when he came upon the strawberries, which
seemed like giant lumps in the leaves over his head. Selecting the
largest, he began to cut away its stem with his cutlass; the green stalk
bent and the strawberry fell heavily to the grass, leaving Tom barely
time to jump to one side, as the great mass fell. As it was, it struck
him on the shoulder and threw him head foremost into the grass; but he
did not regret the misfortune. With his cutlass he dug out the yellow
seeds and cut great, juicy slices, enjoying huge mouthfuls of the
delicious fruit.
Never had he eaten anything so good. When he could eat no more, he made
up his mind that he would remain in this Paradise, and establish his
home here. For the moment, he had forgotten his Godmother and how sad
she would be when she could not find him.
First, he thought he would sleep awhile and then bring together the
timbers for his house; but, at this moment, along came his horse, pawing
restively and rubbing his head against him, as if asking Tom to hurry.
It seemed strange to Tom that he should obey so readily; but he climbed
upon his steed's back at once and the grasshopper started from the bush
with a great jump and passed under the fence as if some one was chasing
him.
The grass struck Tom in the face, so that he could hardly keep his seat;
but the grasshopper took no notice; he only hurried the faster to the
brook to hide himself in the sorrel close to the water. Suddenly, a huge
shadow swept over the earth. Tom saw great wings and an open bill. He
fell on the ground and the grasshopper disappeared, carried away by a
huge shrike. Rolling in the dust in front of the Godmother's hut, Tom
saw the great bird sitting on a shrub close to the fence. Holding the
poor grasshopper in his bill, he jumped upon the branches, impaled the
grasshopper on a sharp thorn and flew away. Pierced by the thorn, the
grasshopper struggled to get away buzzing with his wings and kicking his
feet desperately in the air, but to no avail. He was held fast by the
thorn which was thrust firmly through his breast.
Little Tom watched his struggles, breathless with fright. What did it
all mean? He thought of the wicked spirits his Godmother had told him
about, who carried away those who had done wrong, to torture them. He
became more frightened when he thought how he had taken advantage of his
Godmother's goodness.
He did not doubt in the least that the great winged creature had come
for him to transfix him on the thorn, so that he might suffer his
punishment and that, only by chance, it had caught the grasshopper
instead of himself. He did not know where he was. All about him was
bare, hard ground. Crawling up the little step before the door of the
hut, he squeezed through a little crack and found himself in a great,
dark hall.
[Illustration]
With a sigh of relief, he thought that, now, he might escape the
terrible punishment and that here the flying, wicked spirit could not
find him. He did not know that he was in the hall of his Godmother's
hut; but it did seem to him to be that of a human dwelling. He went
further along the wall, until he found a crack under a door, through
which he crawled into the black kitchen.
Here it was dark, but far away was shining a great, hot fire on the
hearth. Little Tom did not know what this meant. He went through the
darkness towards the red light, wading through the dust until he came to
the hearth, where, in the mortar, he discovered a little hole. Not
minding how the rough mortar cut his hands, he crawled up the broad
fireplace under the chimney and stood astonished.
Before him was a black plain covered with soot and in the middle was a
tripod holding a huge pot, from under which flames darted forth. The
fire itself crackled and hissed; sparks were flying through the darkness
as big as Tom's head, while clouds of steam rose to the chimney. From
under the cover of the pot, came a great noise of sputtering and
bubbling, like the quarreling of many angry voices.
Tom felt attracted by the fierce light. He could not turn his eyes away
from it and great fear pressed upon his heart. After all, he could not
escape the wicked spirits and he would be punished for having deceived
his Godmother. Perhaps a devil would come to catch him. Soon, he thought
the devil actually did appear. A terrible being, twice as big as
himself, all in shining armor and with great whiskers, came quickly from
out of the darkness and stood directly in front of him, looking at him,
till his heart grew faint. Tom thought he was lost, but determined to
defend himself with all his might.
Drawing his cutlass, he waited. The cockroach raised his feelers and ran
towards him. Little Tom stood firm and when the cockroach drew near, he
thrust his sharp cutlass under his chin up to the very hilt. The
cockroach fell dead on Little Tom, throwing him down by his weight.
When the Godmother 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 cockroach 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
Godmother, 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.
[Illustration]
[Illustration]
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
GRASS.
HE TAKES A WALK ON THE MEADOW WITH
HIS GODMOTHER.
THE BUMBLE-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 GODMOTHER,
BUT IS ENDANGERED BY A HAILSTORM.
* * * * *
[Illustration]
One bright summer morning, as his Godmother was getting herself ready to
go to the village, she said to him, "Dear Little Tom, if you want to see
what God'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 Godmother 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
passed 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, rushing 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
Godmother's farm, so he passed through the gate to the little grassy
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 Godmother 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 Godmother'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 shore. 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 grass under the
bridge.
[Illustration]
Catching hold of a grass 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 grass 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 Godmother
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 Godmother. 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
Godmother 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 shore.
The kind Godmother 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 Godmother; 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 Godmother, 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 Godmother, and wondered what new things he should
see.
When they reached the meadow under the slope of the hill, the Godmother
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
bumble-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
bumble-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
bumble-bee said, "Oh just come along with me. I will bring you back. Let
us be merry now."
Catching Tom in his arms, the bumble-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 bumble-bee laughed heartily and
began to take long drinks from the cup under the blossoms.
[Illustration]
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 bumble-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
bumble-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 Godmother 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.
"Will you not obey," she said, "there is nothing else to do but to tie
you up, or you will lose your life somewhere."
Taking him to the meadow, she pulled a hair from her head and tied him
to a great thistle. Tom was so overcome by the sweet juice of the
monkshood, that he lay down and immediately fell asleep.
When he awoke after a while, he had a severe headache. He thought over
what he had done and was very much ashamed that he had allowed himself
to be misled by the drunken bumble-bee. He saw that he had been tied up
and felt very sorry, wondering how he should excuse himself to his
Godmother when she should return to him.
In the meantime, Speckle, the cow, who had been grazing not far away,
was all the while coming nearer and nearer to the spot where Tom had
been fastened. He was lying flat on his back, gazing up into the sky,
when suddenly a great mouth opened above him, extending from the earth
to the sky, and--presto--as if a strong wind had blown, everything
around him disappeared.
With a great rattle, the jaws with their powerful teeth closed over him
and Tom found himself in complete darkness. All doubled up behind one
back tooth, he screamed lustily; but Speckle was moving her tongue and
grinding the grass and did not feel Tom at all. Holding his breath, he
waited until Speckle opened her mouth, when he ran quickly out on her
lip and up on her nose to her forehead, where he held himself by
grasping the hair between her horns. He gave a great sigh of relief as
he saw that he was saved.
[Illustration]
When Speckle turned her head, Tom sat quietly, then got up and started
for a walk along her neck and head.
It happened that the Godmother turned and saw Speckle just as she bit
the thistle. "Oh Tom, Tom, you poor little child," she cried, running
towards Speckle as fast as she could. She thought surely that the cow
had swallowed him and that would be the last that she should see of him;
but, as she came close, she heard a little voice calling from Speckle's
back, "Here I am, Godmother, here I am."
She took him carefully in her hand and carried him off to the meadow
where she was at work. There she seated him in one of her wooden shoes
and saying, "Now you must not move from here until I come," off she went
to her work again; for she had to hurry with the hay, as dark clouds
were coming up in the sky.
Little Tom sat quietly in the shoe for a while. It was like a big hut to
him. Then he thought he would have a look around, so he clambered down
the side of the shoe and started to walk a little way on the meadow,
when a big rain drop splashed on him and made him all wet. He was
greatly surprised, as he did not know what it was that came down in such
a flood and splashed on the ground all around him. With the rain came
hail stones, like rocks of ice, larger than Tom's head. They bounded
away and then came down so thickly, that Tom did not know which way to
run.
He turned back toward the shoe and ran for it with all his might, but
on the way a great hailstone hit him and nearly killed him. He managed
to clamber over the side of the shoe and fall inside, fainting. With
such strength as he had left, he crawled away up in the toe of the shoe
where he could hide. The hail rattled down like cannon balls and very
soon the whole shoe was filled with the little balls of ice. When the
Godmother came hurrying up, she could hardly find Tom who was curled up
among the hailstones in the far end of the shoe, half frozen and
completely exhausted. Taking him carefully in her warm hand, she hurried
home with him.
[Illustration]
Thus, his expedition with his Godmother turned out very sadly and she
saw that, even when he was with her, he could not be sure of his life.
When they had thoroughly dried themselves and eaten their supper, the
Godmother said, "There is nothing to do, Tom, except for you to stay at
home and study and not try for yourself to see the wonders of the world.
It is a miracle that you did not die today."
Little Tom himself realized that, outside in the great world, there was
no happiness for him and he readily promised that he would stay at home.
But it made him sad to think how terrible and cruel the world is, and
that in it there seemed to be no safe place for him.
[Illustration]
CHAPTER SEVEN.
LITTLE TOM AND CHRYSOMELA.
SEVEN SPOT'S VISIT.
LITTLE TOM IS INVITED TO PAY A VISIT TO THE
KINGDOM OF THE SEVEN SPOTS.
HE SETS OUT ON A DRAGONFLY AND COMES TO THE
POOL IN THE FOREST.
THE BANQUET ON THE LEAF OF THE WATER-ROSE.
LITTLE TOM IS PROCLAIMED KING OF THE KINGDOM
OF THE SEVEN SPOTS.
HE MEETS CHRYSOMELA AGAIN. THE FESTIVAL.
THE VISIT TO THE WOOD-BUGS.
THE DWELLING IN THE HOLLOW BEECH-TREE.
* * * * *
[Illustration]