TheadventuresofTomSawyer

TheadventuresofTomSawyer1. Aunt Polly Decides Her Duty Tom! No answer. Tom! No answer. The old lady looked around the room. When I find you, I. She did not finish. With her head down, she was looking under the bed. Only the cat came out. She went to the open door and looked toward the garden. No Tom was there. She shouted: You, Tom! There was a little noise behind her. She turned and caught a small boy, stopping him before he could escape. What were you doing in that corner? Nothing. Nothing! What is that on your hands and face? I do not know, Aunt Polly. I know. You have been eating sweets. I have told you a hundred times not to eat those sweets. Her hand was raised in the air- it started down- it was very near. Oh! Look behind you, Aunt! The old lady turned. The boy ran. In a moment he was up on the high board fence. Then he was on the far side of it. His Aunt Polly was surprised. Then she laughed a little. That boy! I never know what he will do next. And he knows that I do not want to hit him. But I should. And if he does not go to school this afternoon, I must make him work tomorrow. He does not like work. Especially on Saturday, when there is no school, he does not like work. All the other boys will be playing. But I must try to make him a good boy. He is my dead sisters son, and it is my duty. I must do my duty. Tom did not go to school, and he had a very happy afternoon. He came home late. He hurried to do his share of the evening work. His brother Sid had already finished his share. Sid was a quiet boy, who had no adventures and also no troubles. While Tom sat eating, his Aunt Polly asked questions. She hoped to learn about his afternoon. Tom, was it warm in school? Yes, Aunt Polly. Did you wish to go swimming, Tom? Tom began to feel afraid. What did she know about his afternoon? No, Aunt Polly. Not very much. She touched his shirt. It was dry. But Tom knew what she would touch next. He said quickly, Some of us put water on our heads because we were hot. My hair is not dry yet. He watched her face. Yes, she believed him. He was safe. And Aunt Polly was glad to believe that he had been good. The summer evenings were long. Tom walked along the street, whistling like a bird. Then he stopped whistling. He had met a stranger, a boy a little larger than he was. The boys clothes were new and good, and he was wearing shoes. Tom would wear shoes and good clothes like these only to church on Sunday. Tom looked and looked. The boys clothes seemed to become better and better, and his own clothes seemed to grow poorer. Neither boy spoke. If one moved, then the other moved. But they moved only to the side, in a circle. They remained face to face and eye to eye. Then Tom said: I can beat you! Try. I can. No, you cant. Yes, I can. No, you cant. I can. You cant. Can! Cant! A moment of quiet. Then Tom said: I could beat you with one hand. Do it. You say you can do it. That hat! Hit it off my head if you can. I will. You are afraid. I am not afraid. You are. I am not. You are. More moving in a circle. Now they were shoulder to shoulder, each trying to make the other fall back. And then suddenly they were both rolling in the dust. Each pulled at the others hair and each hit the others nose. And now through the dust Tom appeared, sitting on the new boy, beating him with hard, closed hands. Have you had enough? said he. The boy tried to get free. He was weeping with anger. Have you had enough? Then the new boy said, Enough! Tom let him stand up and walk away. But as soon as Tom turned, the new boy threw a stone, hitting Toms back. Therefore, Tom followed him home, and waited. The boy did not come out again. His mother came and said that Tom was a bad child. She told him to go home. It was late when Tom got there. Very quietly and carefully, he entered through a window. But his aunt was waiting for him. She had learned from Sid about Toms afternoon. Now she saw his clothes and she knew that he had been fighting. She knew what she must do. Tom would work all day on Saturday. 2. Strong Desires-Wise Action Saturday morning came. All the summer world was bright and fresh and full of life. Tom appeared in front of the house with paint and a big brush. He looked at the fence, and all joy left him. A deep sadness settled upon his heart. The fence was long and high. He wet the brush and moved it along the top board. He did it again, and did it again. He looked at what he had done. The painted part was very, very small. The whole fence was very large. He sat down. He felt that he could not continue. Jim, a boy who worked for the family, came through the gate. He was going to get water, and he was singing happily. Tom said, Jim, I will get the water, if you will paint. Jim said, No. I must get the water. Are you afraid of Aunt Polly? She wont hurt you. She wont hurt you. She talks about it, but talk never hurts. It never hurts except when she weeps, also. You should not be afraid of her. Jim, I will give you one of my playthings. And I will show you my foot. I will show you where I hurt it. Jim was only human. He took the plaything and he put his head down to look at the foot. In another moment he was running down the street. Tom was painting as fast as possible. And Aunt Polly was returning to the house. But Tom began to think of the pleasure planned for this day. His hands moved more slowly. Soon the other boys would come and laugh at him for working. From his pocket he took everything that he owned. He looked at it. There was nothing of real value. It was not enough to buy another boys help. At this dark moment, a wonderful idea came to him. It was like a great, bright light. He took his brush and went quietly to work. Ben Rogers appeared soon. Tom had been especially afraid of Bens laugh. Ben was eating an apple. Also as he walked, he was making noises like those of a big riverboat. He would shout loudly. Then he would say, Ding- dong- dong, like a bell. Then he would shout again, and say, Ding- dong- dong, again, and make other strange noises. He was the boat, and he was the captain of the boat, and the boat bell. Turn her! he shouted. Slow her! Stop! He made a slow, careful turn, came close beside Tom, and stopped. Tom continued his painting. He did not look at the boat. Ben said, Hello! You are in trouble. No answer. Tom moved his brush gently, and looked at the result. Ben came nearer. Tom wished for the apple, but he did not turn from his work. Ben said: Hello, you must work, must you? Tom turned suddenly. Oh, Ben, is it you? I did not see you. I am going swimming, I am. Do you wish you could go with me? Or would you rather work? Tom said, What do you mean? Work? That is work. Tom returned to his painting. It may be work and it may not be. But it is fine for Tom Sawyer. Do you mean that you enjoy it? Enjoy it? Does a boy have a chance to paint a fence every day? Here was a new idea. Ben stopped eating his apple. Tom moved his brush stepped away to look at the result added a little paint here and there stepped away again. Ben watched. He was more and more interested. Then he said: Tom, let me paint a little. Tom thought. Then he said, No, Ben. Aunt Polly wants this fence to be perfect. If it was the fence behind the house, you could help. But this fence, beside the street, must be done very carefully. There is not one boy in a thousand who can do it well. Oh, Tom, let me try. Only a little. I will be careful. Tom, I will give you part of my apple. No, Ben. I am afraid I will give you all of it! Tom gave the brush to Ben slowly, but with joy in his heart. And, while the boy who a few moments before had been a riverboat worker and became hot in the sun. Tom sat under the tree, eating the apple and planning how to get more help. There were enough boys. They came along the street, stopped to laugh, but remained to paint. After Ben, Bill Fisher painted. Then Johnny Miller came. Each one paid to be allowed to work. In the middle of the afternoon, Tom was very rich. He had many playthings, a small cat with one eye, a piece of broken blue glass, and much more. And he had not worked, and the whole fence had been painted three times. There was no more paint. With more paint, Tom would soon have owned everything belonging to the other boys. And the other boys in the village would have owned nothing. Tom had discovered a great law of human action. A man or a boy will desire something if it is not easy to get. 3. Tom as an Army Officer-Delightful Sadness Tom went to report to Aunt Polly. She was sitting beside an open window. She was half asleep, and she was holding the sleeping cat. She was surprised to see Tom. She thought that he had run away from his work long ago. Tom said, May I go and play now, Aunt? Already? How much have you done? It is all done, Aunt. Tom, is that true? It makes me sad if you do not tell the truth. It is true, Aunt; it is all done. She went to see, and her surprise was very great. You can work when you want to, Tom. But you do not often want to. Go and play, but remember to come home again. And she gave him a large apple. She did not see him take a piece of cake as he passed through the kitchen. Tom hurried to center of the village. There two armies of boys had met for a battle. Tom was the leader, the General, of one army, and his good friend, Joe Harper, was the General of the other. Tom and Joe did not fight. They sat together and sent their orders to the armies. When the battle was finished, they agreed to have another battle on another day. Then the armies marched away, and Tom started to go home alone. As he passed Jeff Thatchers house, he saw a new girl in the garden. She had blue eyes and yellow hair. She was beautiful. Tom had loved a girl named Amy Lawrence. A week ago she had said that she loved him. He had been happy and proud. But now in a moment she was gone from his heart. He watched the new girl until she discovered him. Then he looked at other places, as if he had not seen her. And he began to jump, and dance, and walk on his hands, so that she would continue to watch him. She walked toward the house, and Toms heart was sad. But she threw a flower over the fence. Then she was gone. Tom looked around. There was no person to see him. Slowly he picked up the flower. He put in under his shirt, near his heart. And he stayed near the fence until darkness came. Then he went home to eat. He was full of joy. His aunt wondered why. Later that evening his brother Sid was a bad boy. He took some sweets. But his aunt did not believe that Sid could be bad. She gave Tom the blow that she should have given to Sid. She learned the truth later, and was sorry. But she said nothing to Tom. Therefore, Tom was very sorry for himself. He began to wish that he would die. She would feel sorry then. He could see himself being carried home from the river, dead, his hair wet, his troubles past. He went out into the darkness, and went to the river. It would be good to drown, if he could drown without pain. He thought of his flower, and took it from inside his shirt. Would the new girl be sad if he died? Would she put her arms around him? Or would she turn coldly away? This picture brought him much delightful suffering. He kept it a long time in his mind. Then he started home. He stopped near the Thatcher house. There was a light in one window. Was that the new girls room? He lay down on the ground below the window, with her flower in his hands. He would lie there and die in the cold. In the morning, she would look out the window, and see him. The window opened suddenly. He heard the voice of a woman who worked for the Thatchers. She threw water out of the window, and it fell on him. Tom jumped up and ran. Sid opened his eyes and saw Tom, ready for bed, looking at his wet clothes. Toms wild eyes made Sid afraid, he did not dare to speak. But he would remember and tell his aunt. 4. Going to Sunday School The sun rose upon a quiet world and looked warmly down upon the peaceful village. The family began the day by praying together. Then Tom did his Sunday studying. He was trying to learn some words from the Bible. Sid had already finished his studying, but Tom was slow. His mind was busy with other things. Tom was learning five verses. Some verses are long and some are short. Tom had found five short verses. Aunt Pollys daughter, Mary, helped him, and after a time, he could say the verses without looking at the book. Mary gave him a knife for studying so well. It was not a good knife, but it was a knife. Tom was deeply delighted. Then Mary helped him to dress in his Sunday clothes. He hoped that she would forget his shoes. But she did not. When they were ready, the three children went to Sunday school. With his whole heart, Tom wished not to go. Mary and Sid enjoyed going. At the church door Tom stopped to speak to a friend. Billy, do you have a yellow ticket? Yes. Will you sell it to me? What will you pay for it? Tom offered enough, and received the ticket. Then Tom stopped other boys, and bought more tickets, some red and some blue. He was busy with his buying for about ten minutes. Then he went into the church. These tickets were given for learning the Bible verses. A blue ticket was given for two verses. A red ticket was equal to ten blue tickets. A yellow ticket was equal to ten red tickets. And for ten yellow tickets, for learning two thousand verses, the Sunday-school teacher gave the student a Bible. It was a wonderful day when a boy or a girl received one of these Bibles. Perhaps Tom did not want the Bible. But he did want the wonderful experience of receiving it. Now, children, the teacher said, sit up as straight as possible, and listen. That is what good little boys and girls should do. While the teacher was talking, three gentlemen and a lady entered the church. The lady was leading a child. When Tom saw this small girl, waves of happiness went over him. He began hitting other boys, pulling their hair, doing everything to force the new girl to look at him and smile. He was quickly forgetting the water the woman threw from her window the night before. The gentlemen and the lady went to the front of the church and sat down there. Then the teacher told who they were. One gentleman was Mr. Thatcher, who lived in the village. All knew him. But one was his brother, the great Judge Thatcher. He had traveled, he had seen the world, he came from a large town twelve miles away. The teacher wished that on this day he could give some boy or girl a Bible. He would have been proud to do that. The famous Judge Thatcher would know, then, that this was a fine Sunday school. But no child had enough yellow tickets. At this moment, when hope was dead, Tom Sawyer came forward. He had nine yellow tickets, nine red tickets, and ten blue tickets. It was like a storm coming from a clear sky. The teacher had not expected Tom to gather so many tickets in ten years, but here were the tickets. It was the surprise of the year. The teacher knew that it was strange. He could not understand how it happened. He did not believe that Tom had learned two thousand verses. He did not believe that Tom had learned twelve verses. The other boys watched Tom. All wished that they, too, had enough tickets for a Bible. Some boys suffered more deeply, because they had sold Tom their tickets. They were able to understand what had happened. Tom had become rich by letting other boys whitewash the fence. He had been rich enough to buy their tickets. And now anger filled them. They saw clearly what fools they had been. Tom stood in a place of honor beside the Judge. The Judge put his hand on Toms head and called him a fine little man. Tom could not speak. His breath would not come. His heart was shaking. This was partly because the Judge was a great man, but it was chiefly because the Judge was her father. The Judge asked his name. Tom. Is that all of it? Thomas. But you have more, perhaps? Another name? Tell the gentleman your other name, Thomas, said the teacher. Thomas Sawyer. That is a good boy. You are a fine, manly little fellow. Two thousand verses is a very , very great many. And you never can be sorry that you learned them. Learning makes great men and good men. You will be a great man and a good man some day, Thomas. Then you will remember this day. Then you will be glad that you went to Sunday school. Now, Thomas, tell me and this lady some of what you have learned in your Bible verses. We are proud of little boys who learn. Now, you know the names of the twelve great followers of Jesus Christ. Tell us the names of the first two. Toms face became red and he looked down at his feet. The teacher knew that Tom could not answer. But he felt that he must speak. He said: Answer the gentleman, Thomas. Do not be afraid. Tom said nothing. Surely you will tell me, said the lady. The names of the first two followers of Jesus Christ were Tom remembered two names from the Bible. He did not remember who the people were, or what they had done. But the two names were always together. He shouted them now: DAVID AND GOLIATH! But David and Goliath had not been among the twelve great followers of Jesus Christ. Their story was in a different part of the Bible. David was a boy and Goliath was a man of very great size and strength. They were enemies. And David had killed Goliath. Let us be kind enough to look away from the rest of this scene of Tom Sawyer in Sunday school. 5. In Church The bell of the small church began to ring. The people began to gather to hear Mr. Sprague speak to them. Mr. Sprague spoke to them in church every Sunday, and prayed with them. The Sunday-school children now sat with their fathers and mothers, who would try to keep them quiet. Aunt Polly came, and Tom and Sid and Mary sat with her. Tom was placed as far as possible from the open window and the interesting summer scenes outside. Other people came in and went to their seats. There were the old and poor. There were the middle-aged. There were the pretty girls in bright summer clothes, and the young men, with their eyes following the girls. There was Mrs. Douglas, whose husband had died. She was rich and good-hearted, and she lived in the big house on Cardiff Hill. There was Willie Mufferson, the Good Boy of the village. He came to church with his mother. All the other mothers talked of his goodness. All the other boys did not like him. Now the bell was heard again, and then the church became very quiet. They were ready to begin. They began with a song. After the song, Mr. Sprague read a very long list of meetings to come in the following week. Then he prayed. He prayed for many things and for many people. He prayed for the church, and for the little children of the church, and for the other churches for the village, and for the whole country, and for the Government, and then for the people of far countries. Tom did not enjoy hearing Mr. Sprague pray, but he knew he must remain quiet. While Mr. Sprague prayed, a flying bug stopped on the back of the seat in front of Tom. It moved its front legs together, one over the other. It put them around its head, and seemed to pull until Tom thought that the head would separate from the body. It used its back legs to clean its wings. An