Tsarevna

"But look how many sails these ships have!" Enthusiastically waving the book he was carrying, the young Tsarevich excitedly circled the room. "How do they keep them all full of wind? How do they make the ship go where they want it to?"
"I don't know, Your Highness," said the not much taller man trying to keep up. "Perhaps we could find a book about it."
"No, let's find a ship!" Peter grinned exuberantly and nodded his head energetically. "Then I can see for myself."
"But Your Highness," puffed the tutor, "there are no ships like this in Russia."
"WHAT!?!" Peter stopped dead in his tracks. "But why not?"
"Because a nation without access to the Sea," the tutor halted abruptly, barely avoiding a collision, "has no need of such vessels."
"Then the Tsar should get some seaports." Noticing Sophia, Peter smiled engagingly at her, very pleased with his idea. "Don't you think so?"
"That wouldn't be easy," replied Sophia, amazed at how tall Peter had grown. "Russia is a long way from the Sea."
"Then Russia should become bigger." His self-confidence was disarming. "Here - I'll show you." Peter motioned commandingly to Sophia, and noisily exited.
Unable to resist, she followed him into the adjoining room. On the desk were several hurriedly inscribed sheets of paper; the letters were large and legible, but of uneven size and very messy. On the benches around the room were strewn several open books, most of them with brightly colored pictures of palaces and cities, weapons and soldiers. And in the center of the room was the enormous globe. Peter was spinning it so rapidly on its axis, the continents were a blur.
Just as she opened her mouth to remonstrate, Peter put out his large palm and stopped the whizzing sphere. Finding his way around the world with familiar ease, Peter located Russia and comfortably put his hand on its center.
"Here," he said, tracing a finger down the Don river to where it emptied into the Black Sea. "And here!" The finger flew over all of Russia and landed at the mouth of the Baltic Sea. "Yes! Russia should have a big city here, with lots of ships!"
"I don't think Sweden would allow that," said Sophia, standing on tiptoe to point out the center of the great northern empire.
"But Sweden is so small," objected Peter, looking from Sophia's finger to his stretched out hand. "Russia is much bigger."
"Bigger isn't necessarily better," argued Sophia. "Sweden has a well-disciplined army, and all the latest weapons."
"And many big ships?"
"That, too."
Rapidly digging through a pile of books by the wall, Peter triumphantly extracted a large volume and flung it open to a picture of Stockholm. "Tell me about the Swedes," he commanded.
Unable to resist such an eager audience, Sophia complied with more enthusiasm than she intended. Peter listened carefully, but could not sit still. Racing about the globe or rummaging through the books, he punctuated her comments with energetic nods and excited exclamations.
By the time she had shared much of her store of knowledge about Sweden, Sophia understood that it was with Peter that she would have to negotiate for the return of the globe.