The world is a - what?

The world is a tissue, ‘el mundo es un pañuelo’, is a direct translation of a Spanish saying meaning ‘it’s a small world’. 

This turn phrase was first introduced to me by a larger than life Italian woman on a pub crawl through Madrid. Having forgotten this, I became aware of the phrase months later during my year of Spanish study in León. Only now was I reminded by my good friend, who was also there that night in Madrid, of how a memorable stranger compared the planet to a handkerchief. The mainlanders clearly see the world as a tissue, so why shouldn't I.