Little Tom

by Václav Tille

He was not at all afraid of the pain or the torture, for he knew that if he did not cry out, the great bird would fly into the castle bearing the princess he had set free.

At that moment, the Godmother returned, took up her cloak and was about to leave the room again when she suddenly remembered that she had forgotten to wind the clock. So she went to the wall, and taking hold of the little hook, lifted the run-down weight from the floor to the clock. She did not notice Little Tom sitting on the weight; but he heard a terrible noise and felt himself hoisted by the chain into the sky. He did not speak or cry out, for he knew if he should make a noise, the evil spirits would tear him to pieces.

The Godmother went out to her work in the field and there sat Little Tom on the weight at a dizzy height, up in the air under the enchanted castle. The rattling of the chain had ceased, but above him in the castle, Tom heard a strong voice repeating, »Tick, tack, tick, tack«.

At first Tom was frightened by this moving spectre, but he soon discovered that it never went away from the wall. This calmed his fears and he decided that he would go farther into the dark rooms of the castle, in spite of the poisonous odors that came from them.

Returning to his chain he clambered higher and higher, until he came to the powerful cylinder around which the chain was wound. Everywhere, it was dusty and musty with much dark, greasy slime which soiled his hands and clothes. Such a desolate, lonely castle he had never dreamed could exist. Nowhere, a living soul.

Little Tom sat down on the big cylinder, waiting to see what would happen and wondering what tortures lay before him. Resolutely, he said to himself that he would not scream, no matter if the spectres should tear him into little pieces.

Suddenly, the cylinder under him moved and shook so that he nearly fell off; but he caught hold of the chain and lay quite still, stretched out to his full length. Then he saw something bright, and directly above him move, and the giant tooth of a great wheel bent over and caught him by the coat. Tom thought that his torture was about to begin, but he resolved that he, would not give up easily; so, bravely grasping the tooth itself, he pulled himself up with all his strength until he sat astride the great wheel.

Now, he felt easier, but the wheel started to move carrying him still higher. In a moment, he was lifted high above the great cylinder and saw another wheel, with other great teeth approaching, which fitted closely into the notches of the wheel on which he sat and, with powerful force, turned it up and up. He was afraid that he would be caught between the two, so climbing over his wheel, he worked his way back to the cylinder; but this was also moving, so that he could not stand upright on it. As his eyes had by this time become accustomed to the darkness, he saw about him in every direction, wheels, levers, teeth and cylinders. Everything was moving and turning around. Poor little Tom was suddenly snatched by a great metal talon which almost tore out his shoulder and he was terribly pinched, squeezed and pressed.

Setting his teeth so that he would not cry out, he drew his dagger and cut away a piece of his coat, which was already caught between the two cylinders, and sprang blindly to one side, not knowing where he would land. His hand touched an upright steel post which he grasped firmly and, climbing upward, he reached a great globe that seemed to stand quite still. Here he felt safe for the moment, but he knew that this was not the end of his tortures.

Close to the globe was a large, metal vessel, to which he clambered and, working his way to the top, where it was fastened, sat down to rest. He hoped that this would not move. From his safe perch he looked below him into the tangle of wheels and teeth and levers, where everything was rustling, growling, and whirring. From all this he had barely escaped with his life.