That night, Little Tom in his excitement could not sleep for a long, long while and, finally, when he began to doze, he dreamed that he was walking through the snow, climbing the mountains that reached to the sky and crossing the primeval forests. Then he wandered in deserts and swam the sea in the midst of fierce sharks.
Next day, he was all the time thinking of the great wonders of the world, and his work was not so pleasing to him. He could hardly wait for the evening to come so that he might learn more from his Godmother. When she had told him other things that she knew, he asked her where was the end of the earth. She explained that the world was round and that, if any one walked on and on, he would come to the place whence he had started.
Little Tom became quite confused, for with his growing mind he could not understand how the world could be so great, or how it could be round! Neither did he know what it meant to travel. There was only one thing that he remembered and that was, if he started in one direction and kept on going, in the end he would come back home. His heart was very brave and he was not afraid of danger. He wanted very much to gain experience and do heroic deeds, even if he did not know where he was going.
So he decided that he would become a great traveler and go round the world. He made careful preparations for the trip. In secret, he filled a bundle with nourishing food, which he put on his back and hung a bottle of water from his neck. On his feet he put heavy shoes, made from strong caterpillar leather, belted his sword around his waist and, as soon as his Godmother had left in the morning, started on his journey round the world.
He looked forward to his Godmother's surprise on his return, when he would tell her all that had happened to him and thereby gain great fame.
He walked down from the box that held his castle and crossed the press straight to his Godmother's bed. He judged that the window through which the light was streaming, was in the East and that, therefore, he was going directly to the North.
When the Godmother returned to her room in the evening she was greatly surprised that Little Tom was not there to welcome her. She called and looked for him everywhere, but could not find him. She feared that he had crawled to some place where he had fallen down and died miserably. She swept the floor most carefully, but in vain. Sadly, she went to the hearth to get some wood to replenish the fire, for it was a cold Spring day. As she took out some pieces, there she found Tom asleep with a tiny bundle upon his back. He was sleeping so soundly, that he did not stir when she called to him, so she took him up carefully and placed him under the tree on her handkerchief. She feared that something had happened to him. Many times during the night she got up to look at him, but Little Tom slept quietly until the morning.
When he finally awoke, he did not at first know where he was. When he remembered, he avoided telling his Godmother where he had been the day before; but he begged her forgiveness and promised that he would never again crawl down from the linen press. She did not insist on an explanation, for she thought that he had been curious and had run around the room and thus become lost. When she went away, he started diligently to write in his diary. This was what he wrote:
Castle Easter Egg,
The 114th day of my life.
When I was one hundred and twelve days old, believing it to be the duty of a man to accomplish great deeds, I decided that I would be a traveler and go round the earth—Godmother having told me that it is round—so that I could see for myself the wonders she has described. I made my preparations in secret. In the morning, when Godmother had gone away, I started for the hills on the northern horizon, stretching across the plain on which my castle stands.