Tom Sawyer woke up early in the morning. He wondered where he was at first. Then Tom Sawyer remembered the island. Everything was very quiet and peaceful in the woods. The leaves did not move at all.
Small drops of dew (tiny drops of water on the grass in the morning) were on the leaves. The fire was under a layer of white ashes. Joe Harper and Huckleberry Finn were still asleep. A bird sang far away in the trees.
Tom Sawyer heard a woodpecker (a bird that hits trees with its beak to find food). Then the morning became brighter. Tom Sawyer saw a little green worm on a leaf. The worm moved toward Tom Sawyer.
Tom Sawyer stayed very still. The worm climbed onto Tom Sawyer’s leg. Tom Sawyer was very happy. He believed this meant he would get a new pirate uniform soon.
Tom Sawyer saw many ants. One ant carried a big dead spider. Then Tom Sawyer saw a lady-bug (a small, round, red insect with black spots). He told the lady-bug to fly home. The insect flew away immediately.
The woods were full of birds now. A blue bird called a jay (a loud bird with bright blue feathers) looked at the boys. Two squirrels watched them from the trees. The animals were not afraid because they never saw humans before.
Tom Sawyer woke up Joe Harper and Huckleberry Finn. They ran to the river and took off their clothes. They played in the water near the white sand. They did not miss their homes at all.
The water took their raft (a simple, flat boat made of wood) away. The boys were happy about this. Now they could not leave the island easily. They felt like real pirates.
The boys were very hungry. Huckleberry Finn found a place with cold, clear water. They used large leaves as cups to drink. Joe Harper began to cut the bacon for breakfast.
Tom Sawyer and Huckleberry Finn went to the river to fish. They caught many fish very quickly. They caught bass (a type of fish that lives in rivers) and a small catfish.
They fried the fish with the bacon. The food tasted delicious. The boys were very hungry after their swim. They liked eating outside in the fresh air.
After breakfast, the boys explored the island. They walked through the thick forest and saw many flowers. The island was about three miles long. They saw that the island was near the shore.
They went back to their camp in the afternoon. They ate some cold ham and talked. But soon they became quiet. They began to feel homesick (sad because you are away from home and miss your family).
Suddenly, they heard a deep sound. It was a loud "boom" from far away. The boys sat very still and listened. They heard the sound again.
The boys ran to the shore. They looked across the water toward the town. They saw a ferryboat (a large boat that carries people across a river). Many small boats were near the ferryboat.
They saw white smoke from the ferryboat. Then they heard the "boom" again. Tom Sawyer realized what was happening. He said that someone drowned in the river.
Huckleberry Finn said the town used a cannon (a very large gun that shoots heavy metal balls) to find bodies. The sound makes a body come to the top of the water. They also used bread to find the person.
Tom Sawyer had a new thought. He told the other boys that the town was looking for them. The people in the town thought the boys were dead.
The boys felt like heroes. The whole town was talking about them. People were sad because the boys were gone. The boys felt that being a pirate was great.
The ferryboat went back to the town in the evening. The boys cooked supper and talked. But when it became dark, they felt sad again. Tom Sawyer and Joe Harper thought about their families.
Joe Harper asked if they should go home soon. Tom Sawyer was angry at Joe Harper. Tom Sawyer said Joe Harper was weak. Joe Harper stayed, but he was still unhappy.
Later that night, Joe Harper and Huckleberry Finn fell asleep. Tom Sawyer did not sleep. He found two pieces of white bark (the hard outside covering of a tree). He wrote a secret note on each piece of bark.
Tom Sawyer put one note in his jacket pocket. He put the other note in Joe Harper’s hat. He also put his treasures in the hat. He put a ball and some fish hooks there.
Tom Sawyer walked quietly away from the camp. He did not want to wake his friends. Then he began to run toward the river. Tom Sawyer had a secret plan.