Tom Sawyer went to see Aunt Polly. She sat by an open window. The summer air was warm and quiet. The bees made a sleepy sound. Aunt Polly was nodding. She was almost asleep. Her cat was asleep on her lap. Her glasses were on top of her gray head. She thought Tom Sawyer ran away a long time ago. She was surprised to see him.
"Can I go and play now, Aunt Polly?" Tom Sawyer asked.
"Already? How much work did you do?" she asked.
"It is all finished, Aunt Polly," Tom Sawyer said.
"Tom, do not lie to me," Aunt Polly said.
"I am not lying. It is all finished," Tom Sawyer said.
Aunt Polly did not believe him. She went outside to see the fence. She expected to see only a little paint. But the whole fence was very white. It had many coats of paint. There was even paint on the ground. Aunt Polly was very surprised.
"Well! You can work well when you want to, Tom Sawyer," she said. "But you do not want to work very often. Go and play now. But come home soon or I will punish you."
Aunt Polly was very happy with the work. she took Tom Sawyer to the kitchen. She gave him a very good apple. She gave him a long talk about working hard. While she talked, Tom Sawyer stole a doughnut (a small, sweet fried cake).
Then Tom Sawyer ran outside. He saw Sid. Sid was walking up the outside stairs. Tom Sawyer found some clods (small pieces of hard, dry earth) on the ground. He threw many clods at Sid. The clods hit Sid like a storm. Aunt Polly came to help Sid, but Tom Sawyer was already gone. He climbed over the fence. He was happy now. He punished Sid for the trouble with the black thread.
Tom Sawyer walked through a muddy alley. He went to the village square. Two groups of boys were there. They were playing at war. Tom Sawyer was the General of one army. His friend Joe Harper was the General of the other army. The two Generals did not fight. They sat on a hill and gave orders. Tom Sawyer’s army won the great battle. Then the boys went home.
Tom Sawyer walked past the house of a boy named Jeff Thatcher. He saw a new girl in the garden. She was very beautiful. She had blue eyes and yellow hair. She wore a white summer dress. Suddenly, Tom Sawyer forgot about a girl named Amy Lawrence. He loved Amy Lawrence for many months. But now, she was gone from his heart. This new girl was his new angel.
Tom Sawyer looked at her. When she saw him, Tom Sawyer began to "show off." He did funny and difficult jumps. He wanted the girl to like him. He did these things for a long time. Then the girl walked toward her house. Tom Sawyer felt sad. The girl stopped on the steps. She looked at him. Then she tossed a pansy (a small, colorful flower) over the fence.
Tom Sawyer ran to the flower. He stopped near it. He looked down the street like he was busy. Then he picked up a straw. He balanced the straw on his nose. He moved closer to the flower. Finally, he put his foot on the flower. He picked up the flower with his toes and hopped away. He hid the flower inside his jacket, near his heart.
Tom Sawyer stayed near the fence until it was dark. He hoped the girl would come out again. But she did not. Finally, he went home. He thought about the new girl all the way.
At supper, Tom Sawyer was very happy. Aunt Polly scolded him because he hit Sid with clods. Tom Sawyer did not care. He tried to steal sugar. Aunt Polly hit his hand.
"Aunt Polly, you do not hit Sid when he takes sugar," Tom Sawyer said.
"Sid is a good boy," Aunt Polly said. "You are always in trouble."
Aunt Polly went into the kitchen. Sid wanted to show Tom Sawyer that he was better. Sid reached for the sugar bowl. But the bowl slipped from his fingers. It fell and broke!
Tom Sawyer was very happy. He stayed quiet. He wanted Aunt Polly to come back. He wanted her to see the broken bowl. He wanted her to punish Sid. Aunt Polly came back into the room. She was very angry. She looked at the broken bowl. Then she hit Tom Sawyer! He fell to the floor.
"Why are you hitting me?" Tom Sawyer cried. "Sid broke it!"
Aunt Polly stopped. She was confused. Tom Sawyer waited for her to say she was sorry. But she did not.
"Well," Aunt Polly said. "I am sure you did something else wrong today. I do not feel bad about hitting you."
Aunt Polly felt a little bad in her heart, but she stayed silent. Tom Sawyer sat in a corner. He felt very sad. He imagined he was very sick. He imagined he was dying. He thought, "How will Aunt Polly feel when I am dead?" He imagined his dead body coming home from the river. These thoughts made him cry. He felt a lot of pity for himself.
His cousin Mary came home. She was very happy. Tom Sawyer did not want to be around happy people. He went outside into the dark. He walked to the river. He sat on a raft (a flat boat made of logs). He looked at the water. He pulled the flower out of his jacket. It was old and dry now. He wondered if the new girl would cry for him if he died.
Later that night, Tom Sawyer went to the new girl’s house. The street was empty. He saw a light in a window on the second floor. He climbed the fence. He walked quietly through the plants. He stood under her window. He lay down on the ground. He put his hands on his chest. He held his dry flower. He wanted to die there, in the cold, under her window.
Suddenly, the window opened. A servant girl spoke loudly. Then a lot of water fell from the window! Tom Sawyer was completely wet.
Tom Sawyer jumped up. He made a loud noise. He threw a stone at the window. Then he ran away quickly in the dark.
Tom Sawyer went home and went to bed. His clothes were very wet. Sid woke up and saw the wet clothes. Sid saw that Tom Sawyer was very angry. Sid did not say anything. Tom Sawyer did not say his prayers that night. Sid remembered this.