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.