[adapted]

by
Mark Twain

Chapter 1

“Tom!”
No answer.
“TOM!”
No answer.

“Where is that boy?” Aunt Polly looked around the room. Then she searched under the bed with a broom. She found only the cat. “I have never seen a boy like that!” She went to the door and looked into the garden.

“Tom!” A small noise came from behind her. She turned and caught Tom as he tried to escape. “There you are! What were you doing in that closet?”

“Nothing.”

“Nothing? Look at your hands. And your mouth. That is jam, and you know it. Give me that switch.” The switch rose into the air.

“Oh! Look behind you, Aunt!”
Aunt Polly turned at once. Tom jumped away, climbed over the fence, and disappeared.

Aunt Polly laughed. “That boy always tricks me. I know I should punish him more, but he was my poor sister’s son. Still, I cannot let him do as he likes. He will skip school this afternoon, and tomorrow I will make him work.”

Tom did skip school, and he had a very good time. Before supper he came home and spent some time with Jim while Jim did most of the wood-cutting. His half-brother Sid had already finished his own work.

At supper, Aunt Polly tried to discover if Tom had gone swimming. “Tom, it was very warm at school today, wasn’t it?”

“Yes, Aunt.”

“Did you want to go swimming?”

“Not very much.” Aunt Polly touched his shirt. It was dry. But Tom guessed what she was thinking. “Some boys poured water over their heads. Mine is still damp.”

Then Aunt Polly said: “Open your jacket.” Tom obeyed. His collar was still sewn shut. “Well, I was wrong this time.”

But Sid said: “Aunt Polly, didn’t you sew his collar with white thread? That thread is black.”

“I did use white thread! Tom!” Tom ran outside before she could ask more questions.

Later he checked the two needles hidden in his jacket. One carried white thread and the other black. He was angry with Sid for exposing him. Tom was not the model boy of the village. He disliked the model boy very much.

Soon he forgot his troubles. He walked down the street, happily practising a new whistle he had learned. Then he saw a stranger.

The boy was a little bigger than Tom and much better dressed. His fine clothes made Tom dislike him at once. The two boys stared at each other.

Finally Tom said, “I can beat you in a fight.”

“I would like to see you try.”

The argument quickly became a challenge. At last Tom drew a line in the dust. “I dare you to step over that.”

The new boy stepped over it at once. A moment later they attacked each other. They rolled in the dirt, pulling, scratching, and punching until Tom got on top.

“Say you’ve had enough!”
The boy struggled.
“Say it!”
“Enough!” he finally cried.
Tom stood up. “That will teach you.”

The stranger walked away, angry and embarrassed. But when Tom turned his back, the boy threw a stone and hit him between the shoulders. Then he ran. Tom chased him home and stood outside the gate, daring him to come out. Instead, the boy’s mother appeared and ordered Tom away.

That night Tom came home late and climbed through the window. Aunt Polly was waiting for him. When she saw his torn and dirty clothes, she decided that his Saturday would be spent doing hard work.

Chapter 2

Saturday morning in St. Petersburg was bright and beautiful. Everyone seemed happy. Tom Sawyer came outside carrying a bucket of whitewash and a long brush. He looked at the fence and lost all hope. It was a long fence, and he had to paint all of it. He sat down sadly.

Jim came out with a bucket to fetch water from the town pump.
“Jim, I’ll bring the water if you whitewash for me.”
Jim shook his head. “Aunt Polly told me to get the water and not stop.”
Tom tried to persuade him. “I’ll give you a marble.” Jim hesitated. “I’ll show you my sore toe, too.”

That was too much for Jim. He put down the bucket and came closer. At once Aunt Polly appeared. A moment later Jim was running toward the pump, and Tom was back at work.

Soon Tom began to think about all the fun he was missing. Other boys would spend the day playing while he painted the fence. He felt miserable. Then an idea came to him.

Ben Rogers appeared. He was pretending to be a steamboat and making loud noises as he walked down the street. “Hello, Tom,” he said. “I’m going swimming. Too bad you have to work.”

Tom continued painting. “What makes you think this is work?” he asked.
Ben stared. “Isn’t it?”
“Maybe it is. Maybe it isn’t. All I know is that I like it.”
Ben watched him carefully. “Do you really?”
“Of course. A boy doesn’t get the chance to paint a fence like this every day.”

Ben became interested. He watched Tom paint with great care. “Let me try a little.”

Tom shook his head. “No. Aunt Polly is very serious about this fence. It has to be done just right.”

“Oh, come on. I’ll be careful.” Tom still refused. At last Ben said: “I’ll give you my apple.” Tom slowly handed over the brush. While Ben worked hard in the hot sun, Tom sat in the shade eating the apple.

Soon other boys came. They laughed at Tom at first, but before long they wanted to paint the fence too. Tom let them do it only after they gave him something in exchange. One boy gave him a kite. Another gave him a dead rat with a string. Others gave marbles and many small treasures.

By the middle of the afternoon, Tom had collected a pile of valuable things. The fence had three coats of whitewash, and Tom had hardly worked at all. He realized something important. People want things more when they are difficult to get. Feeling rich and successful, Tom went home to report his work.

Chapter 3

Tom went to Aunt Polly and said: “Can I go and play now?”
“What? Already? How much of the fence did you paint?”
“All of it.”

Aunt Polly did not believe him. But when she went outside, she saw that the whole fence was painted. “Well, I never expected this! You can work when you want to, Tom.” She was very pleased. She gave him a good apple. While she was talking, Tom quietly took a doughnut too.

Outside, Tom saw Sid. He still remembered that Sid had caused trouble for him. Tom threw dirt at Sid and ran away before Aunt Polly could stop him.

Soon he reached the village square. Two groups of boys were having a pretend battle. Tom led one group and his friend Joe Harper led the other. After a long fight, Tom’s group won. Then the boys went home.

As Tom walked past Jeff Thatcher’s house, he saw a new girl in the garden. She had blue eyes and yellow hair. At once, he forgot about Amy Lawrence. Tom could not stop looking at the new girl.

He stayed near the fence and did different tricks so she would notice him. When she started to go inside, he felt sad. But before she went into the house, she threw a flower over the fence.

Tom waited a little before picking it up. Then he put it carefully inside his jacket. He stayed there until evening, hoping to see her again, but she did not come back.

At supper, Tom was in a very good mood. Aunt Polly scolded him for throwing dirt at Sid, but Tom did not care.

Then Sid dropped the sugar bowl and broke it. Tom waited happily for Sid to get into trouble. Aunt Polly came in, saw the broken bowl, and hit Tom.

“Wait! Sid broke it!”

Aunt Polly stopped. “Well, maybe you deserved it for something else.”

Tom felt very unhappy. He sat alone and felt sorry for himself. Aunt Polly wanted to say something kind, but she did not. Tom thought about how sorry she would be if he became very sick or died. The more he thought about it, the sadder he felt. When his cousin Mary came home after a visit, Tom quietly left the house.

He walked to the river and sat on a raft. Then he took out the flower. It was old and dry now. Looking at it made him think about the girl again. After dark, he went to her house.

A light shone from an upstairs window. Tom climbed over the fence and lay on the ground below it. Holding the flower on his chest, he imagined that he was dying there. Then the girl would see him and feel sorry for him.