Page 96 - Lavender-B-6

Now, read the story to find out how Tom turns Aunt Polly’s punishment into
enjoyment.

Saturday morning was come , and all the summer world was bright and fresh, and
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brimming with life. There was a song in every heart; and if the heart was young the

music issued at the lips. There was cheer in every face and a spring in every step. The
locust trees were in bloom and the fragrance of the blossoms filled the air. Cardiff Hill,
beyond the village and above it, was green with vegetation, and it lay just far enough away
to seem a Delectable Land, dreamy, reposeful and inviting.

Tom Sawyer appeared on the sidewalk with a
bucket of whitewash and a long-handled brush.

He surveyed the fence, and all gladness left him
and a deep melancholy settled down upon his
spirit. Thirty yards of board fence nine feet high.
Sighing, he dipped his brush and passed it along
the topmost plank; repeated the operation; did it

again; compared the insignificant whitewashed
streak with the far-reaching continent of the
unwhitewashed fence, and sat down discouraged.

Tom’s energy did not last. He began to think
of the fun he had planned for this day, and his
sorrows multiplied. Soon the free boys would

come tripping along on all sorts of delicious
expeditions, and they would make a world of fun
of him for having to work—the very thought of it
burnt him like fire. He got out his worldly wealth
and examined it—bits of toys, marbles,
and trash; enough to buy an exchange of
work, maybe, but not half enough to buy was come: (old way of saying) it was

so much as half an hour of pure freedom. brimming with life: full of energy and excitement, along
with a feeling of immense joy
So he returned his straitened means to his issued: flowed out
pocket, and gave up the idea of trying to a spring in every step: walk in a way that shows you
are feeling happy and confident
buy the boys. vegetation: plants
reposeful: having a calm and soothing quality
1 The story is set in 1840 in the town of St Petersburg, sidewalk: (American word for ‘pavement’) a path with a
which is based on Hannibal, Missouri, USA. Through hard surface on one or both sides of a road, that people
this story, children will read the writing style of a walk on
famous American author of the nineteenth century. surveyed: looked over
We have abridged the story but we have tried our melancholy: a feeling of sadness and hopelessness
best to keep the story of the author intact. Wherever tripping along: skipping merrily onward
required, we have provided meanings or footnotes expedition: a short journey
so that the children understand the meaning of the
story well. straitened means: very little money

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