Tom and the Fence
Tom, there was no answer, where is that boy? tom. anut Polly looked under the bed but she only found a cat, Tom, she cried, then she heard a noise behind her. A small boy ran past and she stopped him with her hadn. What are you doing, Tom? she asked, Nothing. Nothing? look at your hand and your mouth, I told you not to eat the jam. oh, look behind you, the old lady looked and Tom ran away, Aunt Polly was surprised and then she laughed. I never learn,Tom always plays tricks on me and I never learn, I love Tom, he's my sister's child, she's dead, but it's not easy to look after him, tomorrow is Saturdy and there's no school, but Tom must work tomorrow, he hates work but he must do it. Tom lived in the small village of St with his Aunt, his brother and his sister.
The summer evenings were long, and in the evenings tom liked working around the village.
One evening he saw a big boy in front of him, the boy was a stranger. Tom was surprised becasue he did not see new people often, this boy had very nice, expensive clothes,he's got shoes, a new shirt and a tie, and it's not Sunday. Tom thought, my clothes are old and ugly. Tom looked at him and the big boy looked at Tom, Tom did not like him, finally he said, I can beat you, why don't you try? said the boy, well, I can, said Tom. no, you cannot. yes, I can. there was silence. you'are afraid, said the boy. I am not afraid, said Tom. yes, you are.
There was more silence. Then Tom pushed the boy and the boy pushed Tom. soon they are on the ground. Tom pulled the boy's hair and hit him hard. they both fought a lot.
The big boy was angry and started crying, stop, he said. now, that will teach you something. said Tom.
Painting the Fence
Tom arrived hom late and he was very dirty.
When Aunt saw his dirty clothes, she thought, what can I do with this boy? well, tomorrow is Saturday, and he must work. Saturday morning was beautiful and sunny. it was summer and the world was happy.
Tom sat in front of the fence and looked at it.
It was thirty yards long and nine feet high. he was very unhappy. it's Saturday and I must paint this long fence, all my friends will laugh at me, he thought. he put his long brush in the white paint and started painting.
he stopped and looked at his work. then he continued painting, after a few minutes he had a great idea.
he continued painting the fence. he saw his friend Ben in the street. Ben had an apple in his land, he came to look at the fence. you are working for your aunt, said Ben. tom said nothing, he continued painting. I am going swimming but you cannot come with me, you are working, said Ben. do you call this work? asked Tom. of course it is work, you are painting the fence, said Ben. Maybe it is work but maybe it isn't. I like it, said Tom, I can swim every day, but I cannot paint a fence every day.Ben watched Tom, he painted slowly and carefully, he often stopped and moved back from the fence. he looked at his work and smiled,
Ben was suddenly intersted in the fence and said, let me pain a little, Tom. Tom thought of a moment. I am sorry, Ben, Aunt wants me to do it becasue I am very good at painting, my brother wanted to do it, but he's not good at painting. Please, Tom, please can I paint? I am good at painting too. here, you can have some of my apple. no, Ben, I cannot. then take all of my apple. Tom was happy but he did not smile. he gave Ben the brush and sat down to eat the apple. Tom's other friends came by. At first they laughted at him. but soon they all wanted to paint the fence. Billy gave tom a kite and Jon bought him a dear rat. his other friends gave him an old knife, a cat with one eye, an old blue bottle, and old key and other interesting thins. his friends painted the fence and Tom now had a lot of interesting things. he went back home.
can I go to play now? when Aunt saw the beautiful white fence she was very happy. she gave Tom a big apple and said, yes, go and play,but don't come home late.
First Encounter with Huck
The next day was Sunday.
Tom wore his clean Sunday clothes, he hated this.
tom, sid and Mary always went to Sunday school on Sunday morning.
But Tom was not a good student and never listened to the teacher.
After Sunday school tom and his family went to church.
This Sunday he had a big black beetle in his pocket. when the Reverend started speaking. Tom took the black beetle out of his pocket. he put it on the floor. there was a little dog in the church. it saw the beetle and wanted to play with it. Suddenly the beetle bit the dog's nose. the little dog barked and everyone looked at it. it jumped and ran after the black beetle. it ran all about the church barking and making a lot of noise. the people in the church laughed silently, their faces were red.
The Reverend continued talking but no one listened to him. Tom was happy because he had an interesting morning in church. On Monday morning Tom did not want to get up. get up immediately, and get ready for school, Aunt cried. on his way to school he met his friend Finn.
Huck's father drank whiskey all the time and did not work. Huck had no mother and no home. he lived in the streets and did not go to school. his clothes were old and dirty.
he went fishing and swimming when he wanted. Huck was happy. all the mothers of the villiage hated him because he was lazy and used bad language. all the children of the town liked him very much, they admired him. hello, what's that? it's a dead cat. said Huck. what will we do with it? asked Tom.
I want to take it to the graveyard after midnight. Huck said, a dead cat can call ghosts out of their graves. really, asked Tom. well, old Mrs told me. She's a witch and she knows about these things, said Huck.
Can I come with you? asked Tom
of course, or are you afraid of ghosts? asked Huck. afraid of ghosts, of course not. said Tom, come and call me at my window at eleven o'clock tonight.
In Love with Becky
Tom was late for school. the teacher was angry and said, why are late again?
Suddenly Tom saw a new girl in the classroom.
She had blue eyes and long blonde hair. she was very beautiful, Tom looked at her. he was in love. there was a free chair next to her and Tom wanted to sit there. but how? Tom thought quickly and said,I stopped and talk to Huck. the teacher was very angry, you know you must never talk to that boy. the teacher took his stick and hit Tom. now go and sit with the girls. said the teacher. the children laughed at Tom. he sat down next to the new girl. he looked at her. then he drew a picture of a house. let me see it, she whispered. Tom put the picture in front of her.
it is nice, draw a man, she said, Tom drew a man near the house, it was a terrible picture, but the girl liked it. you draw beautifully, I cannot draw, said the girl. I can teach you after school, said Tom. thank you. what's your name? Tom asked, Becky, I know your name, it is Tom.
That night Tom and Sid were in bed at half past nine. Sid was soon asleep but Tom was not. at eleven o'clock he heard Huck meow. he dressed quickly and went out of the bedroom window. let's go. whisphered Huck. he had his dead cat. Tom and Huck walked down the dark road. they walked for about half an hour. the graveyard was on a hill.there were a lot of trees and a lot of graves, everything was dark and scary. the wind made strange noises and dark clouds covered the moon. are the ghosts making these noises? thought Tom, he was afraid but he said nothing. now let's find the grave of Hoss, said Huck. they soon found the grave. here it is, he died last week, said Huck. do you think Huss can hear us? asked Tom. well, I think his ghost can hear us, said Huck. Then let's call him, said Tom. Alright, said huck, but everybody called him Hoss. what is it, do you hear the noise? look over there, said Tom.
Murder in the Graveyard
Ghosts,said Huck, I can see ghosts, they are coming here, I am really scared. can ghosts see us? asked Tom, ghosts can see everything, answered Huck, why did I come here? don't be afraid, we must be very quiet. The three ghosts moved quickly in the graveyard, they came close to Tom and huck. Tom, whispered huck, they are not ghosts, they are humans, one of them is Muff. you are right, and there is Jun. but why are they here?
they are grave robbers, they want to rob a grave, the doctor wants a dead body, but why. he cuts bodies and studies them. my father told me about Dr. the three men were at Hoss's grave. they started digging. soon the grave was open. they found the dead body and pulled it out of the ground. well, doctor, do you want us to take to body to your house? you must give us five dollars. what, he said angrily, I paid you this morning, I am not giving you more money. I want more money, Doctor, five years ago I came to your father's house, I asked you for something to eat, you gave me nothing, I still remember that, now you must give me more money. he took the doctor's arm and the doctor hit him. he fell to the ground. Don't hit my friend. cried Muff. they started fighting. everything happened very quickly.
Dor hit Muff on the head, Muff fell to the ground. he took Muff's knife, hesaw Muff on the ground and he killed Dr with the knife. The doctor fell on top of Muff and covered him with blood.
Friend or Scapegoat
A few minutes passed and Muff moved a little and opened his eyes, he pushed the doctor's body away, he looked at the knife in his hand. what happened, he asked slowly. something very bad, why did you kill him? I didn't kill him, he was very confused, I drank too much whiskey last night, I don't remember anything, tell me, what happened?
you fought with the doctor, he hit you on the head and you fell to the ground, then you got up, took your knife and killed him, I don't understand, I never fight with a knife, I didn't want to kill Dr, he was young and he had a future, oh, this is terrible, it was the whiskey, cried Muff, don't tell anyone, please.
I won't tell anyone, but now you must leave this graveyard quickly, go, thank you, you are a friend. Muff ran away and Injun watched him. then he carefully put Muff's knife near the doctor's body and left the graveyard. Tom were terrified, it was a terrible scene. they silently moved away from the trees. then they ran out of the graveyard and back to the villiage.
they arrived at an old house and decided to hide there. what are we going to do? we saw everything, In killed the doctor. what can we do, we cannot tell anyone, he is dangerous, I am afraid of him,do you want a knife in your head? I am afraid of him too, you are right, we cannot tell anyone about it. promise not to tell anyone, I promise.
Jackson's Island
The next day everyone knew about poor Dr.
The theriff found Muff's knife near the body of the doctor. he put Muff in small jail. Tom and Huck looked at each other. we saw he kill the doctor, Muff didn't kill him, poor Muff.
I know, but we mustn't say anything, remember, he is dangerous, very dangerous, I am sorry for him too. the two boys were afraid. we must keep this a secret, said Tom sadly. Tom could not froget. at night he had bad dreams about it. he kept the terrible secret but he was very unhappy. Aunt was worried about him, she gave him a lot of different medicines. but Tom did not feel better, he was unhappy at school too. Becky didn't talk to him anymore, no one loves me, thought Tom, what a horrible life.
It was now summer and there was no more school. Tom and his friend Joe went to sit by the river. they fished, talked and looked at the boats, one day Tom said, let's go do something exciting. ok, but where wehre can we go and what can we do?
Let's run away, we can go and ive on Jackson's island, we can be pirates, a pirate's life is exciting.Jackson's Island was a small island in the river. it was about three miles south of St. on one lived on the island. he can come with us too. remember, don't tell your mother, father or anyone about our adventure, go home and bring some food. we will meet here at midnight. Tom and Joe were excited. at midnight the three boys met on the river, Tom brought some meat to eat. Joe brought some bread and huck brought a frying pan. they found a small raft and they went down the river to island.
when they arrived on the island they made a fire and cooked some meat. this is fun, we are free and we can do everything we want, what do pirates do? they go on ships and take the money, then they go to an island and hide it in a secret place, the three boys were happy and slept under the stars.
Unexpected Visitors.
The next morning they went swimming in the river.
Then they went fishing, they cooked the fish on the fire and ate it. it was delicious. after breakfast they walked around the island and went swimming again. in the afternoon they sat around the fire and ate some meat.suddenly Tom said, can you hear a strange noise? listen
what is it? let's go and see. they ran to the river. they saw a steamboat and a lot of small boat near it. every boat from St is out on the river, what's happening? they are looking for a dead body, the same thing happened last summer when Bill fell into the river and drowned. who are they looking for this time? Tom thought for a moment and said, I know, it is us, they think we drowned. the three boys felt like heroes and laughed. the people of St are looking for us, they are talking about us, we are famous, said Tom happily. this was an exciting adventure for them. they felt like real pirates on island. the boats and the steamboat went away, they boys went fishing again and had fish for dinner. then they slept under the stars. but Tom could not sleep. the next morning he wasn't there. where's Tom, i don't know. after a few minutes,look, Tom's swimming in the river, he's coming to the island. Tom told them his story. last night I couldn't sleep, I thought about Aunt, so I went home but no one saw me, I saw Aunt and your mother cried a lot. nd your mother was very sad too, everyone thinks we're dead, I heard some interesting things. what did you hear? well, there will be a funeral for us on Sunday at the church,. Huck and Joe looked at him with biy eyes. and now I have a great idea, listen, Tom told them his great ide. they liked it and laughted, Sunday was the day of the funeral, there were no happy faces in St. everyone in the village was in the small church. Aunt and Joe's family were all dressed in black. the rever said many kind words about the three boys. the boy's families cried and cried. Becky cried, everyone cried a lot. Suddenly there was a noise at the church door. the Rever looked up and stopped speaking. Everyone in the church turned around and looked, their mouths opened, the three dead boys slowly walked into the church, Tom was first, then Joe and Then Huck. there was great silence for a moment. Then Aunt ran to the boys, they kissed Tom and Joe. Aunt cried and then she laughed. Poor Huck did not know what to do. on one kissed him. he started moving away but Tom stopped him. Aunt, it is not right, somebody must be happy to see Huck. oh, you are right, cried Aunt and she kissed Huck. Tom was very proud of his great idea.then the River said, let us sing and be happy. everyone sand and laughed, it was a very happy day.
The Trial
Some weeks later it was time for Muff's trial. everyone in the village talked about it. Tom and huck were worried. did you tell anyone about that? about what? answered Huck. you know what, of course not.Poor old Muff, I am very sorry for him, people say he's a killer, but it's not true, and they ' ll hang him. I am sorry for him, too. but we cannot tell anyone about it. Poor Muff is a kind man, once he gave me half a fish. and once he helped me with my kite, I want to help him. Let's go to the jail and taking him something to eat. they went to the small jail and they saw Muff. he was happy to see them. no one remembers old Muff any more, but you are my friends and you remember me. thank you, boys. said Muff smiling.now Tom felt terrible. he was worried about the trial. he could not sleep at night. everyone in the village went to Muff's trial. Muff looked old, tired and unhappy. Ij was at the trial too. During the trial there were many questions and answers. all the answers were against old Muff, then the lawyer said, call Thomas. everyone was surprised and looked at Tom. why did the lawyer call Tom. where were you on on June 17 at midnight? Tom looked quickly at June. he waited a few moments and then said, I was in the graveyard. were you near Hoss's grave? asked the lawyer. yes, sir. why were you there? asked the lawyer. I went there to see ghosts, with a dead cat. everyone laughed. what did you see in the graveyard, tell us what happened. Tom told his story and people of St listen to him.They were very surprised. and then Muff fell to the ground and Injun took Muff's knife and, Tom suddenly heard a very loud noise. Inuun jumped out of the window and disappeared. Tom became the hero of St. he saved Muff's life. Tom's days were happy but his nights were not. at night he had terrible dreams about Jin. the days passed and no one could find Jnjun.
The Haunted House
Every young boy wants to find a treasure. and Tom did too. one hot summer day he told Huck about his idead,where can we look for a treasure? asked Huck happily, robbers put treasures under old trees or in old houses, we can start digging under the old tree on Cardiff. come on, let's go.The boys went to cardiff and strated digging. it was a hot day and they dug for a few hours. there's nothing under this tree, said Huck. I am hot and tired, said Tom, let's go to the haunted house, nobody lives there. but haunted house have ghosts. ghosts only come out at night, it's daytime now.Well, alright. they went to the haunted house, it was an old, lonely place. there was silence all around. they were both afraid of this strange place. they entered quietly and looked around .everything was old and broken. no one lived there. they looked in all the rooms downstairs and upstairs. but there was no treasure and there were no ghosts.
Underground Treasure
Tom and Huck were upstairs. what is it? do you hear ghosts? whisphered Huck. No, don't move, let's sit down on the floor. there were holes in the floor and they could see the rooms downstairs. whispered Tom, there are two men downstairs.
One was an old Spanish man with long white hair and a big hat. the other man was small and wore dirty clothes. let's listen to them, whisphered Tom. the two men sat on the floor. it's hot in here and I am tired, said the old Spanish man. when they boys heard his voice they were terrified, that's Injun, whisphered Tom. the boy's faces became white. what are we going to do with the $650 in silver coins? and that was a good robbery. said the small, dirty man.the small dirty man moved a big stone in the fireplace and pulled out a bag. he took some money from the bag. Injun started digging near the fireplace with his knife. they watched with excitement. there was a real treasure downstairs. six hundred dollars was a wonderful treasure for two young boys.
Suddenly he stopped digging. there's something here, I think it's a box, he said. he found an old box and opened it. it's money, cried Injun, look, there are lots of gold coins. the two men looked at the coins and smiled. the box was full of gold coins. they smiled too.This is the treasure of the old Murrel family, now it is ours, said Injun. where can we hide this gold? asked the small man, can we put it back under the stone? yes,no, the stone isn't a good place. someone may find it. let's put it under the cross tonight. when it was dard outside the two men took the silver and gold away. they did not follow them becasue they were afraid of Injun. but they wanted to find the cross and the treasure. where was the cross?
Rescuing the Widow
It was Becky's birthday on Saturday and all of Becky's friends were happy and excited. I am having a big picnic near the river, said Becky to Tom, after the picnic we can visit cave. it will be great fun, he liked Becky a lot. on Saturday morning a big boat took Becky, Tom and their friends down the river. there were no mothers and fathers, but a few boys and girls were eighteen years old. tehre were a lot of good things to eat and everyone ate, played and had fun. after the picnic the children went to vist the cave. everybody had candles because it was dark inside the cave. some children were afraid but they all went in. caves are exciting and mysterious. cave was very , very big.
it had hundreds of funnels, rooms, and secret passages. no one knew all of them.the children played and ran in the tunnels and in the rooms. but they always played near theentrance. they did not want to get lost. they wanted to find a new tunnel. they walked and walked and soon they were alone. where were the other children? they were lost. in the evening the other children returned to the boat. they laughed and talked, but they were very tired. they did not see that Tom and Becky were not there. the boat took them back to home. huck saw the boat but he did not know about the picnic. the mothers of St did not like him. they never invited him to birthday picnics. but tonight Huck was not interested in birthday picnics.he was interested in Jun's treasure. he hid behind a tree and watched an old house. Jun in that old house, he thought, I will stay here and wait, when he comes out I will follow him and I will find the treasure. It was late and very dark. soon two men came out. it was Jun and his friend.he followed them quietly. they are gong to widow's house, thought Huck, but why? suddenly the two men stopped. he said, many years ago widow's husbank was very cruel to me, now I want to hurt the widow. I want to cut her face, her nose and her ears, and you must help me. please don't kill her, said his friend, he laughed. he heard this and wanted to run away. but he remembered that widow was kind to him. I must help her, thought Huck, these men want to kill the poor old woman. Huck ran quickly to Bill's house. she opened the door. please help me, two men want to kill wodow. he and his sons took their rifles. they ran to the widow's house. suddenly there was a loud shot. he and his friend escaped, but the widow was not hurt. the next morning Huck returned to see Welsh, you are a courageous boy, you save this widow's life, the two men escaped but we will find them. sit down and have breadkfast with us. Huck was happy becasue he saved the widow's life. and now he had new friends, Welsh and his family.
The Sound of Hope
That morning all the people of St knew about Tom and Becky and they were very worried. where were they? Tom and Becky were lost in cave. they did not know what to do. they were both afraid, Tom took Becky's hand, they walked and walked.Tom wanted to find the entrance of the cave, but he couldn't. Tom and Becky entered a big room with a lot of black bats. it was terrible. the bats flew over their heads and when tom and Becky ran away the bats followed them. finally the bats went away. Becky looked at Tom and aid, where are we?I don't know. they continued walking in the dark tunnels. they are both tired and hungry. Becky started crying. no one will ever find us, there are too many tunnels and rooms, we are going to die here. we will get out of this cave, you will see. they ate their last piece of cake. soon their last candle went out. everything was dark. what time was it, what day was it. they didn't know. they were tired and slept. when they woke up they were very hungry. suddenly, Tom heard a noise. listen, did you hear a noise, someone is looking for us. Becky looked at Tom and smiled. i am going to see, you stay here.
Light at the End of the Tunnel
Tom went into the dark tunnel. he saw a light and heard a noise.
who is looking for us, he thought. suddenly he saw a handle with a candle. then he saw a man. it was Jun. Tom was terribly scared.but it was dark and jun did not see Tom. jun went away quickly. Tom returned to Becky but he did not to tell her about jun. she was very weak. it was Tuesday and in st everyone was worried. where were Tom and Becky? many people from the village went to the cave and looked for them. but the could not find them. Mrs became very ill and Aunt's hair became white.Then on Tuesday night there was a lot of noise in the street of St. they are here, they are here, cried the people happily. no one went to sleep that night. everyone listened to Tom's story about his adventure in the cave. we were lost for a long time, we were hungry and scared, then I remember the string in my pocket. I used the long string to help me. I went down many tunnels, and I always returned to Becky because I follwed the string. then I found another entrance to the cave, it was very small and it was near the river. they were happy but very tired and hungry. Becky stayed in bed for many days becasue she was weak. Tom stayed in bed for a few days too. some time after the adventure in the cave, Tom went to visit Becky. do you want to go to the cave again? i am not afraid of the cave. well, nobody is going into the cave again, there are bid doors in front of the entrance now. and i have the keys.what, Tom's face became white. is something wrong? Jun's in the cave,cried Tom. many men from St went to the cave and opened the big doors. they found jun on the ground. he was dead.
Searching for the Cross
After jun's funeral Tom went to see huck. now that jun is dead, we will never find the money. said Huck sadly. listen, I know where the money is. really, asked Huck with big eyes. the money is in the cave. I saw jun in the cave, why was he in the cave?because he took the money there.say it again. the money's in the cave and we can take it. but we will get lost in the cave. no, we won't, i've got candles and a long string, let's go and get a boat. they took a small boat and went down the mississippi river to cave. look, here's the other entrance. it is very small. they went into the cave. they were careful and used the string the help them. Tom suddenly stopped and said, I saw jun here. his ghost is probably here too. let's go now. his ghost isn't here, it is probably at the other entrance. well, alright, but let's hurry. Tom looked around slowly and then cried, look, here's the cross. there was a black cross on the wall of the cave.you are right, it is the cross. let's dig under the cross. they dug and dug. finally they found a small room. there was a small bed, some old candles and a few bottles. and there was the treasure box. they opened it and saw the gold and silver coins. we are rich, we are rich. this is wonderful. I always knew it. now let's take our treasure and leave.they followed the long string and were soon out of the cave. the two boys took their treasure to Aunt's house. a lot of people in St saw they boys and the treasure. they followed them to Aunt's house. Aunt was surprised to see the boys and all the people. what's in that old box? Tom opened the treasure box, everyone was amzed. they looked at all the silver and gold coins. there was $12000. tom told his long story about jun and the treasure. it was a great story and the people listened with their eyes wide open. now they were rich and famous in St.