II

After saying goodbye to Jurek, Tomek stopped at a small square in the center of the Three Crosses Square. He was wondering how to spend the rest of the day. He didn't want to go straight home from school after such an exciting start. The sunny, July day was perfect for a walk around the city. The temptation was even greater because all he had to do was cross the square to reach the shady, lush-green alleys of Ujazdowski. Tomek thought that if he didn't take advantage of the great opportunity now, Aunt Janina, as always, would find a thousand reasons at home not to let him go anywhere else.

Tomek thought for a long time about how best to spend his time, but could not make a final decision. It was not easy to deceive my aunt. Every day after the children came home from school, she carefully questioned them about what had been asked, whether they had been called, and what marks the teachers had given; almost always such a conversation ended with the words:

"Now, show me your diaries!"

If the children tried to deceive her, and the diary showed a different mark than they had said, there would be a long conversation. Aunt Janina punished them for being late from school in the same way as she punished them for bad grades.

Aunt Janina's children, Irena, Zbyszek, and Witek, were used to their mother's strict nature and found it easier to cope with her demands. However, Tomek couldn't even pretend to be repentant like they did. Therefore, his aunt punished him more often than she did them.

Aunt Janina had reasons to pay serious attention to Tomek. After his mother's death, Tomek was essentially an orphan, and who knows what would have happened to him if it hadn't been for the Karski family, who took him in. Tomek's mother died two years after her husband fled abroad to escape the Tsar's gendarmes. Aunt Janina vividly remembered her sister's tragedy and was terrified of politics. After all, participation in political conspiracies could lead to Siberia at best.

To her displeasure, Tomek considered his father a hero and aspired to emulate him in everything. He inherited his father's abilities and love for science. Like his father, he had a particular interest in geography. He devoted almost all his free time to reading various books describing foreign countries, their populations, and nature, and if he got his hands on a book by a Polish traveler and discoverer, Tomek could not tear himself away from it until he had read it all. He knew more than his peers about the tragic history of Poland, which had been under the yoke of hostile powers for almost a hundred years[2]. His mother taught him the history of Poland until the last day of her life, and she often reminded him of his father, who had to hide from persecution because he wanted to achieve independence for Poland and happiness for his homeland.

Therefore, it is not surprising that Tomek often received poor grades in history, which he knew in a different version than what was taught in school. When his aunt reprimanded him for this, he tried to hide his reluctance to learn the official history, but he was not always successful. Since Tomek had good marks in all his other subjects, the school principal believed that the boy could, but did not want to, study history. After each bad mark, Tomek received a lot of reproaches from his cowardly aunt. The situation was very bad in the last term, and he was reprimanded. This time, his aunt was even more upset and even shouted at him in a fit of anger:

"You'll end up like your father!"

Tomek asked her hurtfully:

– Auntie, do you really think that my father did anything wrong?

– He drove your mother to the grave, and my sister! – Auntie exclaimed angrily.

Just then Tomek and Aunt Janina were struck by surprise. Uncle Antoni, usually calm and busy with his books, suddenly threw his pen down on the table with a bang and, for the first time in his life, spoke to his wife in a raised voice.

"When will you stop tormenting the poor boy? Why do you want to destroy the best part of him?"

Aunt was taken aback, and Tomek was surprised. However, everyone calmed down quickly, because Uncle, after nervously adjusting his glasses on his nose, returned to his work. From that moment on, Aunt's attitude towards Tomek completely changed. She stopped demanding good grades in history, but she was strict about limiting his time outside the house. This made walking around town and taking riding lessons even more tempting for Tomek.

Tomek stood in the Square of Three Crosses, deep in thought. If he went home now, he would have to do his lessons at once, and then he would have to help his cousins. It was dreadfully dull! How nice it would be to go to the Botanical Gardens! What should he do? During these difficult reflections and struggles with himself, a splendid idea suddenly occurred to him:

– Let fate decide what to do!

He headed for the nearest street lamp, counting his steps and saying: "Walk, home, walk, home, walk, home," and, to his great relief, he stopped at the lamp on the word "walk." Tomek sighed with relief, thanking fate for such a successful solution to a difficult problem. He quickly walked along the Ujazdowskie Alleys.

He didn't notice how he ended up in the Botanical Garden, and soon he had completely forgotten about the troubles waiting for him at home. Tomek sat down in a quiet corner. The intoxicating scent of flowers and the cheerful chirping of birds were perfect for daydreaming. Usually, at such moments, Tomek was overcome by