Vacation was coming soon. Mr. Dobbins, the schoolmaster, was very strict. He was more difficult than before. He wanted the students to do well on Examination Day (a day when students show what they learned to their parents).
Mr. Dobbins hit the small students many times with a stick. He was middle-aged and strong. He wore a wig (fake hair used to cover a bald head) to hide his shiny, bald head.
The small boys were afraid of Mr. Dobbins. They wanted to hurt him because he was mean. They talked to the son of a sign-painter. This boy lived in the same house as Mr. Dobbins. The boy also hated the teacher.
The boys made a secret plan for the big night. Mr. Dobbins always drank a lot of alcohol before big events. The sign-painter's boy said he would wait for Mr. Dobbins to fall asleep in his chair. Then, the boy would finish the plan.
The big night arrived. It was eight o’clock in the evening. The school had many flowers and lights. Mr. Dobbins sat in a big chair on a high platform. He looked a bit sleepy.
The parents and important people of the town sat on benches. All the students were in the room. The boys wore clean, uncomfortable clothes. The girls wore beautiful dresses with ribbons and flowers in their hair.
The performances began. A small boy stood up. He was very scared. He said a short poem and the people clapped. A little girl said a poem about a lamb. She was happy when she finished.
Then, Tom Sawyer walked to the front. Tom Sawyer felt very brave. He began a famous speech about freedom. But suddenly, Tom Sawyer felt very afraid. He forgot his words.
His legs shook. Mr. Dobbins looked angry. Tom Sawyer could not finish his speech. He sat down and felt very bad. Other students read and spelled words.
Then, the older girls read their compositions (short stories or essays written for school). Each girl walked to the front. Each girl held a paper with a pretty ribbon.
The girls read about friendship and old memories. All the stories were very sad. They used many big, flowery words. They all had a long lesson about being good at the end.
One girl read a poem about leaving home. Another girl read a story about a dark night with thunder and lightning. The people liked these stories very much. The mayor gave a prize to the best writer.
Finally, Mr. Dobbins stood up. He wanted to draw a map of America on the blackboard. But his hand was not steady because he drank too much. He could not draw straight lines.
The people started to laugh quietly. Mr. Dobbins tried again. He cleaned the board and started over. But the lines were still bad. People laughed more.
There was a small door in the ceiling above Mr. Dobbins. Suddenly, a cat came down from the ceiling on a string. The cat had a cloth over its mouth so it could not make a sound.
The cat was very close to the head of Mr. Dobbins. Mr. Dobbins did not see the cat. The people laughed more and more. The cat was afraid and grabbed the teacher’s wig (fake hair used to cover a bald head).
Then, the boy in the ceiling pulled the cat and the wig up! Everyone saw the head of Mr. Dobbins. It was very bald.
The sign-painter’s boy had gilded (painted something with gold paint) the teacher's head while he slept. The head of Mr. Dobbins was bright and yellow!
Everyone laughed and the meeting ended. The boys were very happy with their plan. Vacation began at last.