Tom Sawyer Abroad - Student Quality Library (Teacher Accompanied Version)

Author: Mark Twain
Publisher:
Publish Date: 2006-07-01
Features: Chapter 2: Forced to Paint the Fence, Spectacular Achievements
On Saturday morning, the world of summer was bright with sunshine, fresh air, and full of vitality. Everyone's heart swelled with a song, and some young people couldn't help but sing it. Joy shone on every face, and every step was light. The locust trees were in full bloom, filling the air with the fragrant scent of their flowers. The high Cadiff Mountain outside the village was covered in green vegetation. This mountain was neither too close nor too far from the village, like a "paradise," tranquil and serene! Full of dreams, it was something to yearn for.
Tom appeared on the sidewalk, one hand holding a bucket of plaster and the other a long-handled brush. He glanced at the fence, and all his joy vanished instantly, replaced by melancholy. The fence was thirty yards long and nine feet high. Life seemed too dull and empty for him; living was merely a burden. He sighed and dipped the brush in plaster, starting to paint the top layer of the fence. Then he painted again, twice. Looking at the unremarkable patch he had just painted, he compared it to the distant, endless fence and despaired, sitting down on a wooden box.
At that moment, Jim came out of the gate, holding a tin bucket in his hand and humming "Buffalo Girls," bouncing along. In Tom's eyes, fetching water from the cistern in town had always been a tedious chore, but now his perspective was different. He remembered there were many companions there. White children, black children, and mixed-race children—boys and girls all lined up waiting to fetch water. They rested there, exchanged their toys, chattered, fought, and played. And he also remembered that even though their house was only about one hundred fifty yards away from the water-fetching spot, Jim had never managed to fetch a bucket of water in an hour. Sometimes he even had to be urged by others.
Tom said, "Hey, Jim, if you come and paint the fence for me, I'll fetch water for you." Jim shook his head and said, "No, Tom. The old lady told me to fetch water and not to stop along the way to play with others. She said she guessed you'd ask me to paint the fence, so she instructed me to just do my own work and not meddle in others' affairs. She said she would personally supervise you painting the fence."
"Come on, Jim, don't listen to her nonsense. She always says that. Here, take the bucket, and I'll be back soon. She won't know."
"Oh, no, I can't, Tom. The old lady will twist my head off—she really will!"
"She? She's never beaten anyone. She just taps her head with a thimble. I'd like to ask you, who cares about that? She just talks tough, but it doesn't actually hurt you. As long as she doesn't scream, it's fine. Jim, I'll give you a nice treat—a white pebble!"
Jim began to waver.