The sun rose on a quiet Sunday morning. The village was peaceful. After breakfast, Aunt Polly led the family in prayer. She prayed for a long time. She used many difficult words from the Bible.
Then Tom Sawyer had to learn his Bible verses. Sid had already learned his verses days earlier. Tom tried to learn five verses. He chose short verses from the Bible. He studied for half an hour. But Tom thought about many other things. He did not look at his book often.
Mary took the book to help him. Tom tried to say the verses.
"Blessed are the—a—a—"
"Poor," Mary said.
"Yes—poor. Blessed are the poor—a—a—"
"In spirit," Mary said.
"In spirit. Blessed are the poor in spirit. For theirs—theirs—"
"For theirs is the kingdom of heaven," Mary finished.
Mary waited for him to say the next part, but Tom could not remember it. He became angry. "Why don't you tell me, Mary? You are being mean!"
"Oh, Tom, I am not being mean," Mary said. "Go and study again. If you learn the verses, I will give you something very nice."
Tom wanted the gift. He worked very hard. Soon, he knew the verses. Mary gave him a brand-new Barlow knife. Tom was very happy. The knife did not cut things well, but it was a real Barlow knife. Tom started to cut the furniture with it. Then he had to get ready for Sunday school.
Mary gave Tom a basin of water and soap. Tom went outside. He put the soap in the water. He poured the water on the ground. Then he went into the kitchen. He used a towel to wipe his face. He wanted Mary to think he had washed his face.
But Mary saw him. "Aren't you ashamed, Tom?" Mary asked. "Water will not hurt you. Wash your face properly."
Tom went back outside. He washed his face with a lot of soap. When he came back, his face was clean. But his neck and ears were still dirty. Mary washed him again. She brushed his hair into neat curls. Tom hated his curls. He thought they looked like a girl's hair. He quickly pushed the curls down flat.
Then Tom put on his "other clothes." These were his best clothes for Sunday. They were clean but very uncomfortable. Mary put tallow on his shoes. Tom was angry. He did not like wearing shoes.
Mary, Sid, and Tom walked to Sunday school. Tom hated Sunday school. But Sid and Mary liked it.
Sunday school was from nine o'clock until half-past ten. The church was small and plain. At the door, Tom saw his friend Billy.
"Billy, do you have a yellow ticket?" Tom asked.
"Yes," Billy said.
"I will give you a fish-hook for it," Tom said.
Billy gave Tom the ticket. Then Tom traded marbles for red tickets. He traded other small toys for blue tickets. He bought tickets from many boys for fifteen minutes.
The teachers gave these tickets to students for learning verses. A blue ticket was for two verses. Ten blue tickets were equal to one red ticket. Ten red tickets were equal to one yellow ticket. If a student had ten yellow tickets, the superintendent gave them a Bible.
Mary had two Bibles. A German boy once learned three thousand verses. But after that, his brain did not work well. Most children never got a Bible. It was a very great honor to win one. Tom did not want to learn verses, but he wanted the honor.
Mr. Walters was the superintendent. He was a thin man with short hair. He wore a very high, stiff collar. He spoke in a special "Sunday voice." He told the children to sit straight and be good.
Suddenly, some visitors entered the church. There was Lawyer Thatcher and an old man. There was also a tall man with gray hair. This was Judge Thatcher. He was the lawyer’s brother. A lady was with him. She led a child. It was the beautiful new girl!
Tom was very happy to see the girl. He began to show off immediately. He hit other boys. He pulled hair. He made funny faces. He wanted the girl to look at him.
Mr. Walters wanted to show the Judge that the school was excellent. He gave many orders. The teachers also showed off. They were very kind to the students while the Judge watched. All the children were showing off. They threw paper and made noise.
Mr. Walters wanted to give a Bible prize to a student. This would impress the Judge. But no student had enough yellow tickets. He asked the best students, but they did not have ten yellow tickets.
Then Tom walked forward. He had nine yellow tickets, nine red tickets, and ten blue tickets. He asked for a Bible.
Mr. Walters was shocked. He did not expect Tom to have so many tickets. But the tickets were real. Tom sat in a place of honor with the Judge. It was a huge surprise. The other boys were very jealous. They realized why Tom had bought their tickets with the treasures from the fence. They felt like fools.
Mr. Walters gave the Bible to Tom. He felt something was wrong. He did not believe Tom learned two thousand verses. But he could not prove it.
Amy Lawrence was in the church. At first, she was happy for Tom. But then she saw Tom looking at the new girl. Amy Lawrence felt very sad and angry. She began to cry.
Tom was introduced to Judge Thatcher. Tom was very nervous because the Judge was the girl's father. The Judge put his hand on Tom’s head.
"You are a fine boy," the Judge said. "Learning two thousand verses is a great thing. Knowledge makes men great. You will be a great man one day, Thomas."
Mr. Walters felt worried. He knew Tom was not a good student.
"Now," the Judge said. "I am sure you know many things from the Bible. Tell me the names of the first two disciples."
Tom did not answer. He looked at the floor. He turned red.
"Answer the gentleman, Thomas," Mr. Walters said. "Do not be afraid."
Tom still did not speak.
"I know you can tell me," the Judge's wife said. "The names of the first two disciples were—"
"David and Goliath!" Tom shouted.
David and Goliath were people in the Bible, but they were not the first two disciples.