Saturday morning arrived. The summer world was bright and fresh. Everyone felt happy. There was a song in every heart. The trees had beautiful flowers. The air smelled very sweet. Cardiff Hill was beyond the village. It was green and beautiful. It looked like a wonderful place to rest and play.
Tom Sawyer appeared on the sidewalk. He had a bucket of whitewash (white paint made from lime and water) and a brush with a long handle. He looked at the fence. All the happiness left his heart. He felt very sad. The fence was very long and very high. To Tom Sawyer, life felt like a heavy burden.
Tom Sawyer sighed. He dipped his brush in the paint. He moved it along the top board. He did it again and again. He looked at the small white mark. Then he looked at the rest of the long fence. He sat down on a box. He felt very discouraged.
Jim came out of the gate. He was singing a song. He carried a tin pail. He was going to get water from the town pump. Usually, Tom Sawyer hated getting water. But today, the pump seemed like a fun place. Many boys and girls met there. They talked, played, and fought.
Jim usually stayed at the pump for an hour. Someone always had to go and find him. Tom Sawyer said, "I will get the water, Jim. You can paint the fence for a while."
Jim shook his head. "I cannot, Master Tom. Aunt Polly told me to go. She told me not to stop and talk. She said you would ask me to paint. She told me to do my own business."
"Do not listen to her, Jim," Tom Sawyer said. "Give me the bucket. I will be back in a minute. Aunt Polly will never know."
"Oh, I am afraid, Master Tom," Jim said. "Aunt Polly would be very angry with me."
"Aunt Polly? She never hits anyone hard," Tom Sawyer said. "She only hits people with her thimble (a small metal cap for a finger). Who cares about that? Jim, I will give you a marble. I will give you a white alley!"
Jim began to look at the marble. It was a very good marble. "Jim, I will also show you my sore toe," Tom Sawyer added.
Jim was only human. This was too much for him. He put down his pail. He took the marble. He bent over to look at the toe. Suddenly, Jim was running down the street with his pail. Tom Sawyer was painting the fence very fast. Aunt Polly was walking away with a slipper in her hand. She looked successful.
But Tom Sawyer did not stay fast for long. He thought about the fun he planned for the day. He felt very sad again. Soon, the free boys would walk past him. They would go on adventures. They would laugh at Tom Sawyer because he had to work.
Tom Sawyer looked at his treasures. He had some bits of toys and marbles. This was not enough to pay a boy to work for him. Then, a great idea came to him. It was a magnificent idea!
Tom Sawyer took his brush and started to work quietly. Ben Rogers appeared. Ben Rogers was the boy Tom Sawyer feared most. Ben Rogers was very happy. He was eating an apple. He was pretending to be a steamboat (a large boat moved by steam power).
Ben Rogers made boat noises. "Ting-a-ling-ling!" he shouted. He moved his arms like big wheels. He was the boat, the captain, and the engine. Tom Sawyer did not look at him. Tom Sawyer continued to paint.
Ben Rogers stopped and looked at Tom Sawyer. "Hi-yi! You are in trouble, aren't you?" Ben Rogers asked.
No answer. Tom Sawyer looked at the fence like an artist. He moved his brush gently. Then he looked at the result. Ben Rogers came closer. Tom Sawyer wanted the apple, but he stayed at his work.
"Hello," Ben Rogers said. "You have to work today, right?"
Tom Sawyer turned around suddenly. "Oh, it is you, Ben Rogers! I did not see you."
"I am going swimming," Ben Rogers said. "Don't you wish you could go? But you want to work, don't you?"
Tom Sawyer looked at the boy. "What do you call work?" Tom Sawyer asked.
"Isn't that work?" Ben Rogers asked.
Tom Sawyer started painting again. "Maybe it is work, and maybe it is not," Tom Sawyer said. "But I like it. Does a boy get to paint a fence every day?"
This was a new idea. Ben Rogers stopped eating his apple. Tom Sawyer moved his brush carefully. He stepped back to look at the fence. He added a little more paint. Ben Rogers watched every move. He was very interested.
"Tom, let me paint a little," Ben Rogers said.
Tom Sawyer thought about it. He almost said yes. Then he changed his mind. "No, I cannot do that, Ben Rogers. Aunt Polly is very particular about this fence. It is on the main street. It must be done very carefully. Only one boy in a thousand can do it right."
"Is that true?" Ben Rogers asked. "Please, let me try. Only a little bit! I would let you try if I was the painter."
"Ben Rogers, I want to let you," Tom Sawyer said. "But Jim wanted to do it and Aunt Polly said no. Sid wanted to do it and she said no. If you do it and something happens—"
"I will be very careful," Ben Rogers said. "I will give you the core of my apple."
"No, I am afraid—" Tom Sawyer said.
"I will give you the whole apple!" Ben Rogers cried.
Tom Sawyer looked sad, but he felt very happy. He gave the brush to Ben Rogers. While Ben Rogers worked in the hot sun, Tom Sawyer sat on a barrel in the shade. He ate the apple. He planned how to trick more boys.
Many boys came by later. They came to laugh at Tom Sawyer. But they stayed to paint the fence. Billy Fisher gave Tom Sawyer a kite (a toy that flies in the wind). Johnny Miller gave him a dead rat and a string.
By the middle of the afternoon, Tom Sawyer was very rich. He had twelve marbles and part of a musical instrument. He had a piece of blue glass and a key that did not work. He had a tin soldier and a kitten with only one eye. He had a brass door-knob and a dog-collar, but he had no dog.
Tom Sawyer had a very good time. He had a lot of company. And the fence had three coats of paint! Tom Sawyer thought the world was a good place. He discovered a great law of human action. If you want a person to want something, you must make it difficult to get.
Work is what a person must do. Play is what a person chooses to do. Tom Sawyer understood this now. He thought about his riches for a while. Then he went to see Aunt Polly to report his work.