Tom Sawyer had a new problem. He did not think about his secret about the murder because he was very worried about Becky Thatcher. Becky stopped coming to school. Tom was very sad. He walked around her father’s house at night. He felt miserable because Becky was ill. Tom feared that she might die.
Tom did not want to play at war anymore. He did not want to be a pirate. Life was not fun for him. He put his toys away. Aunt Polly was very concerned about him. She loved to try new patent medicines. She always wanted to try new ways to make people healthy.
Aunt Polly read many magazines about health. She believed everything in the magazines. She learned about how to sleep, what to eat, and what to wear. She tried these new ideas on Tom. Aunt Polly was a kind woman. She really wanted to help her neighbors and her family.
Now, Aunt Polly tried a new water treatment. Every morning, she took Tom to the wood-shed at daylight. She threw a lot of cold water on him. Then she rubbed his skin with a rough towel. After that, she wrapped Tom in a wet sheet. She put blankets over him until he began to sweat.
Tom did not get better. He stayed pale and sad. Aunt Polly tried hot baths and cold baths. She gave Tom oatmeal to eat. She also gave him many different medicines every day. Tom did not care about the treatments. This made Aunt Polly very worried. She wanted Tom to show some emotion.
Then Aunt Polly heard about a medicine called Pain-killer. She bought many bottles of it. She tasted the medicine. It was very hot and felt like fire in her mouth. She stopped the water treatment. She gave a spoonful of Pain-killer to Tom. Tom felt the fire in his mouth. He was not quiet anymore. He jumped and screamed.
Tom wanted the treatments to stop. He thought of a plan. He pretended to like the Pain-killer. He asked for the medicine many times. Aunt Polly was happy. Finally, she told Tom to take the medicine himself. She told him to stop bothering her. Aunt Polly watched the bottle. She saw that the medicine was disappearing.
Tom was not drinking the medicine. There was a small crack in the floor of the sitting-room. Tom poured the medicine into the crack every day. One day, Aunt Polly’s yellow cat, Peter, came into the room. Peter purred and looked at the teaspoon. The cat wanted a taste of the medicine.
“Do not ask for it if you do not want it, Peter,” Tom said. But the cat wanted it. “Are you sure?” Tom asked. Peter was sure. Tom opened the cat’s mouth. He poured the Pain-killer inside. Peter jumped three meters into the air. The cat made a loud noise and began to run around the room.
Peter hit the furniture and knocked over the flower-pots. The cat was acting crazy. He ran around the house and broke many things. Aunt Polly came into the room. She saw Peter jump through the open window. The cat took the rest of the flower-pots with him. Aunt Polly stood still and looked through her glasses. Tom was on the floor laughing.
“Tom, what is wrong with that cat?” Aunt Polly asked. Tom said he did not know. Aunt Polly said she had never seen a cat act so strangely. Tom said cats always act like that when they are happy. Aunt Polly did not believe him. She looked at Tom. She was suspicious.
Aunt Polly looked under the bed. She found the teaspoon. She grabbed Tom by the ear. She hit his head with her thimble. “Why did you give that medicine to the cat?” Aunt Polly asked. Tom said he felt sorry for Peter.
“I did it because Peter does not have an aunt,” Tom said. Tom said that if Peter had an aunt, she would give him medicine, too. He said an aunt would burn the cat’s insides with the hot liquid. Aunt Polly felt very sorry. She realized that the medicine was also cruel to a boy.
Aunt Polly’s eyes were wet. She put her hand on Tom’s head. “I wanted to help you, Tom,” she said. “The medicine was good for you.” Tom smiled at her. He said the medicine was also good for Peter. Aunt Polly told Tom to go to school. She said he did not have to take any more medicine.
Tom went to school early. Lately, he was always early. He stood at the school gate and waited. He did not play with his friends. He looked down the road. Finally, Becky’s cousin Jeff arrived. Tom was happy to see him, but sad that Becky was not with him. He hoped Jeff would say something about her, but Jeff said nothing.
Tom waited and watched every girl. He was very sad when the girls were not Becky. Finally, the last girl walked through the gate. It was Becky! Tom’s heart jumped with joy. He began to shout and laugh. He wanted Becky to look at him.
Tom jumped over the fence. He stood on his head. He did many difficult and brave things. He secretly watched Becky. He wanted to see if she was watching him. But Becky did not look at him. Tom ran near her and shouted. He snatched a boy’s cap and threw it.
Tom fell on the ground right in front of Becky. Becky turned her head away. “Some people think they are very smart,” Becky said. “They are always showing off!” Tom’s face became very red. He felt very small and sad. He walked away quietly.