The Adventures of Tom Sawyer

A Naughty Boy Tom Sawyer

“Tom, Tom, where are you? ”

Aunt Polly looked under the bed.

As she did, a small boy jumped out of the closet.

“What were you doing in there? ” asked Aunt Polly.

“Nothing, Aunt, ” answered Tom.

“You were eating jam again, weren't you? ” said Aunt Polly.

“Oh, look behind you, Aunt, ” said Tom.

Aunt Polly turned around, but there was nothing behind her.

When she turned back, she saw Tom running away.

“That boy knows too many tricks, ” she laughed.

Tom didn't go to school that afternoon.

Instead, he went swimming and played with his friends.

He and his friends pretended to be pirates.

They chased each other through the long grass, in the mud and up the trees.

When Tom returned home, his clothes were very dirty.

“Tom, what a mess! ” cried Aunt Polly.

“You didn't go to school today. I'll punish you. You must paint the garden fence tomorrow, ” said Aunt Polly angrily.

The next day was very hot.

Tom looked at the fence and sighed,“Oh, this is terrible. The fence is so big.”

Just then, one of Tom's friends, Ben, came around the corner.

Tom had a wonderful idea and began painting the fence.

“What are you doing? ” asked Ben.

“I'm painting this fence. It is a lot of fun, ” answered Tom.

“Can I paint the fence? ” asked Ben.

“Well, okay, but you have to give me something, ” answered Tom.

“All I have is this dead cat, ” said Ben.

Tom took the dead cat and gave Ben a paintbrush.

A little while later, some boys came along. They saw Ben having lots of fun painting the fence.

“Can I paint the fence? I'll give you this apple, ” said one boy.

“Okay, ” agreed Tom.

Soon, the other boys wanted to paint the fence.

“I can give you a glass of lemonade, ”said one boy.

“And I can give you an old knife, ” said another. Tom smiled and sat under a tree, eating his apple and drinking his lemonade.

Aunt Polly was very surprised when she saw the painted fence.

“My Tom, you can work when you want to, can't you? ” Tom smiled, but didn't tell her the truth.

Tom went out to play in the street.

Just then he saw a new girl.

She had beautiful blue eyes and long yellow hair.

“Oh, what a beautiful girl! I think I am in love with her, ” Tom said to himself.

He stood on his hands and then did a cartwheel to show off.

But the girl just went into her house.

When Tom went back home, he learned about the new girl.

Her name was Becky and she had just moved into Tom's village.

For the rest of the day Tom could only think of Becky.

Tom hated Mondays.

Mondays meant the beginning of a whole week of school.

On the way to school Tom saw Huckleberry Finn.

“Hello, Tom! Are you going to school? How unfortunate! ” said Huck.

Huck never went to school.

He never washed his face or brushed his hair.

All the kids in the village were very jealous of him.

“Tom, shall we go to the graveyard tonight? Only brave boys can go there at midnight, ” said Huck.

“Of course I will go with you, ”answered Tom.

“Okay, see you tonight! ” said Huck.

The Big Promise

Tom and Huck walked through the tall grass of the graveyard.

The wind blowing through the trees sounded like ghosts.

Tom and Huck became scared.

“Look! There! ” said Tom in surprise.

“What? What is it, Tom? ” cried Huck.

“I saw something coming from over there, ” said Tom.

Both boys looked at the scary looking trees.

Slowly, through the darkness, three people appeared.

It was Muff Potter, Injun Joe and Dr. Robinson. The three men were talking. Soon, they started fighting.

The doctor hit Potter on the head with a wooden board.

It knocked Potter out.

Just then, Injun Joe picked up Potter's knife and stabbed Dr. Robinson.

When Potter woke up, he saw the doctor lying dead on the ground.

Potter's knife was sticking out of the doctor's back.

“What did I do? ” cried Potter.

“You killed the doctor, ” Injun Joe lied to Potter.

Potter began crying and shaking.

The boys were very frightened and ran all the way home.

“We have to tell someone, ” said Tom.

“But then Injun Joe will kill us. We must promise not to tell anyone, ” said Huck. Tom agreed and they made a promise.

After Huck left, Tom went to bed.

But he did not sleep well.

Dr. Robinson's body was found at noon the next day.

Somebody found Potter's knife in Dr. Robinson's back. Injun Joe told everyone Potter killed the doctor. Potter was put in the jail.

Tom and Huck felt very guilty about what happened to Potter.

Walking through the village, they met their friend, Joe Harper.

He was also very sad. “What's wrong? ”asked Tom.

“My mom punished me for eating some ice cream. But I swear I didn't eat it, ” said Joe.

All three boys felt no one loved them.

They decided to run away.

“Where shall we go? ” asked Joe.

“We can go down the river to an island, ” said Tom.

“We will become pirates! ” cried Huck.

“Okay, let's meet at the river tonight, ”said Tom.

Tom, Huck and Joe pushed off in a raft that night.

It moved down the river slowly.

A while later, they reached an island.

Lying under the stars, they fell asleep.

The next morning the three boys caught some fish and ate them for breakfast.

In the afternoon they saw some boats on the river.

They also heard people shouting.

“They are probably looking for us, ”said Tom.

“But we can never go back home, ”said Joe.

The boys continued to fish, but soon they became bored.

That night they felt homesick and lonely.

The next day, Joe and Huck wanted to go home.

“Listen, I have a great idea! ”

Tom told them his wonderful plan.

Joe and Huck loved the plan.

They agreed to stay another night.

On Sunday morning the bells rang slowly in the village.

It was the day of the three boys' funeral.

Many people were crying in the church.

Suddenly the door opened.

The boys walked into the church.

That was Tom's big plan.

“Oh, my Tom! I am so happy to see you again, ” cried Aunt Polly.

“Tom, I am happy to see you, too, ”said Becky.

It was the best day of his life.

A Brave Boy Tom Sawyer

The next few months of school went by slowly.

Tom was still very worried about Muff Potter.

“Huck, I want to help Potter, ” said Tom.

“I do, too. But I am afraid of Injun Joe, ”said Huck sadly.

At last, the day of the trial came, and everyone in the village sat in the courtroom.

Injun Joe appeared and repeated his lie.

Everyone believed Potter had killed Dr. Robinson.

Suddenly Potter's lawyer shouted,“Here is a witness! Tom Sawyer, come up here.” Everyone looked at Tom in surprise.

“Tom, where were you on that night? ”asked Potter's lawyer.

“I was in the graveyard, ” answered Tom.

Tom looked afraid, but he didn't stop talking.

“I saw everything. It was Injun Joe, not Potter. Injun Joe killed the doctor.”

Everyone gasped.

Crash!

Injun Joe had broken a window and leapt through it.

The police looked for Injun Joe but could not find him.

Tom and Huck had bad dreams that night.

However, one thing helped Tom and Huck feel better.

It was looking for treasure. Tom had read that robbers usually hid their treasure in haunted houses.

One day, Tom and Huck decided to explore the haunted house near their village.

They tiptoed quietly into the house.

The inside of the house was dark and dusty.

Suddenly they heard footsteps coming from outside.

They were very surprised and hid upstairs.

They found a hole and looked down through the floor.

“Oh, no! ” said Tom.

“Who is it? ” asked Huck.

“It's Injun Joe and another man, ”gasped Tom.

“Where are we going to hide this bag of silver coins? ” asked the man.

“Here, under the fireplace, ” answered Injun Joe.

He began digging under the fireplace.

“Oh, something is here! ” shouted Injun Joe.

“What is it, what have you found? ”asked the man.

“Look at this! It's full of gold coins, ”exclaimed Injun Joe.

“Whose is it? ” asked the man.

“The old Carter Gang used to hang out here. They must have buried it before they were caught by the police, ” said Injun Joe.

“What shall we do? ” asked the man.

“Let's bury it with our bag of silver coins, ” answered Injun Joe.

Just then, Injun Joe heard a noise from upstairs and looked up.

“Someone must be upstairs, ” said Injun Joe.

The two boys turned white with fear.

Injun Joe started to go upstairs, but the steps collapsed under his weight.

“Come on, Joe. There is no one here except us! ” shouted the man.

“You're right. But I should take the treasure to a different hiding place, ” said Injun Joe. “Where? ” asked the man.

“Underneath a white cross. Let's get out of here, ” said Injun Joe.

Injun Joe and the man disappeared with the bags of treasure.

But where was the white cross?

The Hidden Treasure

“Wow, today's the school picnic! ”exclaimed Tom.

Tom was happy because he was going with Becky.

The picnic was held next to a huge cave.

After eating and playing, someone said, “Why don't we explore the cave? ”

Everyone took candles and walked into the cave. The cave was large, mysterious and romantic.

The children played in the cave. They hid in the darkness, trying to scare one another.

Tom and Becky ventured further and further into the cave.

“Look at those bats! ” shouted Tom.

Tom and Becky chased them into the passage.

“Tom, let's go back now, ” said Becky.

“Oh, Becky! I can't find the way out, ”said Tom.

“We are lost! ” cried Becky.

They walked and walked until they were very tired.

Slowly their last candle went out. It was completely dark in the cave. They slept for a while, but they woke up because of some noise. Tom crawled down a passage and then he gasped. It was Injun Joe! Fortunately Injun Joe didn't see Tom and just went away.

Three days passed.

Everyone believed Tom and Becky were dead. In the middle of the night, the church bells suddenly began ringing.

People shouted, “They're found, they're found! ” It was the greatest night the village had ever had. Tom and Becky told everyone about their adventure.

“I found a hole in the wall. Then I returned to the cave and carried Becky out, ” said Tom confidently.

“A fisherman saw us and took us back to the village, ” said Becky.

Tom was a hero again.

A week later, Tom went to see Becky at her house.

“Would you ever go back into the cave? ” asked Becky's father.

“Maybe, ” said Tom slowly.

“That is why I put a big door on the cave and locked it.”

Tom turned completely white.

“But Injun Joe may be inside! ” he cried.

The police ran to the cave and opened the door.

They found Injun Joe inside the cave.

He had starved to death.

Tom and Huck felt sad, but now they were safe.

The next day, Tom asked Huck, “Will you go to the cave with me? I think the treasure is there.”

Huck jumped up and said, “Let's go to the cave! ”

Tom led Huck to the spot in the cave.

“Look at this! It is a white cross, ”shouted Huck.

They dug and dug and finally found two bags of gold and silver coins.

“We are rich! ” exclaimed Tom and Huck.

They ran back to the village and showed the treasure to the people.

Tom and Huck continued to be best friends.

And they continued to have lots of adventures together.