(About the Author)
Mark Twain, pseudonym of Samuel Lang Horne
Clemens (1835-1910) was a great American writer. He is famous for his
books-“The Adventure of Tom Sawyer “ (1876) and “The Adventure of Huckleberry
Finn “ (1884). His folk-tales are written in a humorous vein and several travel
books are also read with interest.
Clemens was
born on November 30, 1835, in florida, Missouri. When he was four years old,
his family moved to Hannibal, Missouri, a Mississippi river port, where he
received a public school education. In 1862 he became a reporter on the
Territorial Enterprise in Virginia City, Nevada, and in 1863 began signing his
articles with the pseudonym “Mark Twain” , a Mississippi River phrase meaning
two fathoms deep. Much of Twain’s best work was written in the 1870s and 1880s
in Hartford or during the summers at Quarry Farm; near Elmira, New York State.
Roughing it (1872) recounts his early adventures as a miner and journalist; The
Adventures of Tom Sawyer (1876) celebrates boyhood in a town on the Mississippi
River.
One of
America’s most important writers, Twain justly renowned as a humorist, but his
literary reputation also rests on his realistic use of dialects and the
vernacular, especially of the Mississippi River Valley, in delineating
characters and scenes of mid-19th century American life. He was a
celebrity during his later years, and received an honorary doctorate from
Oxford University in 1907. He died in New York on April 21,1910.
(About the Lesson )
Tom Sawyer
was very naughty. He could not remain without mischiefs for long. His aunt
loved him very much. But she always wanted to punish him for his mischiefs so
that he nay not be spoiled. But tom was very clever. Someway or the other, he
escaped the punishment. The story relates some of the innocent mischiefs of Tom
sawyer and the corrective methods adopted by his aunt. The story is full of wit
and humour.
(This is Tom
sawyer )
“Tom.”
No answer.
“Tom”
No answer.
“Where can
be he!” Aunt Polly asked herself. “He must be somewhere here.”She went to the
door, looked out into the garden and then shouted again, “Tom! Tom!”
No answer.
The old lady
stood there thoughtfully. Suddenly she heard a sound behind her. She turned
round quickly. There was Tom near the cupboard door. There was jam all round
his mouth.
“what have
you been doing ?” Aunt polly asked angrily. When Tom did not answer, she went
or, “You ve been stealing the jam again Don’t tell me that you haven’t Haven’t
I told you a hundred times to keep away from that cupboard ? Where’d my stick?
Aunt Polly took her stick and raised it high. She was about to strike Tom hard.
“Look behind
you, Auntie”, shouted Tom.
Aunt Polly was angry but she had to laugh.
“He’s chance. He rushed out to the house. He climbed over the fance. Soon he
was far away.
Aunt Polly
was angry but she had to laugh. “He’s a bad boy”, she said to herself. “But i
love him. He’s my poor dead sister’s boy and I must look after him. I don’t
like to hit him but i have to. If I don’t punish him, he’ll grow up lazy and
wicked. Yes, I must be strict. “Aunt
Polly sighed, “I ‘II have to punish him for stealing the jam. But how ? I know
tomorrow is Saturday and there’s no school on Saturdays. The boys have a
holiday. But I’ll make Tom work. That will punish him.”
The next day
was Saturday. The school was shut. All the boys in the village were free. It
was a beautiful day. The sun was shining and the birds were singing. The trees
and flowers looked so fresh and lovely. Tom, of course, wanted to go for
swimming. All the other boys were going.
Tom came
sadly out of the house. In one hand he held a long brush. In the other, he
carried a bucket which was full of whitewash. His aunt was making him whitewash
the fence. Tom looked sadly at the fance. “How high it is ! How long it is!” he
thought. Indeed the height of the fance was nine feet and its length was thiry
yars. Tom put his brush into the whitewash. He drew it slowly across the fence.
It made a very small white mark. Tom tried again. Another very small white
mark. Tom sat down and sighed heavily.
He took out
out all the things that he had in his pockets. He had some marbles, some pieces
of string and two or three broken toys.
“No. Ione
will whitewash the fance for these”, he thought.
“No. I must
think of a better plan.” He thought and thought. Soon he had an idea. The
street. Tom pretended not to see him. He worked harder than ever. Ben was
eating an apple. He looked very happy. He was pretending that he was a big
ship, and he was rolling like one. He was giving orders in a loud voice and the
ship was obeying them. He came up to Tom. He rubbed his eyes. “why, Tom”, he
cried in great surprise. “You’re working.?
Tom said
nothing. He went on with his whitewashing. He looked very interested in his
work.
“Tom, you’re
working”, Ben repeated.
“Oh, it’s
you, Ben. I didn’t notice you.”
“I ‘m just going for a swim. You’t want to come,
do you ?you like working, don’t you ?”
“this isn’t
work,” Tom said quietly and he went on whitewashing.
“Not work?”
Ben exclaimed.
“oh, no. I
like it. Whitewashing is fun. You ve never whitewashed a fence, have you ?”
“well, no I
haven’t.”
For a time,
Ben stood there watching Tom. Tom paid no attention to him. All his attention
was given to his work. Atlast Ben said, “Let me whitewash a little. “
“Oh, no Ben.
I’m going to make this fence look fine. I’ ve promised Aunt Polly. Besides, it
‘s interesting.”
“Let me do
just a little,” begged Ben.
“No, I’m
sorry Ben, but I can’t Aunt said that I must do it myself. If you do it, you’ll
make a mistake. You’ll spoil everything. It’s looking so nice now.”
“I shan’t
make a mistake. I’ll be careful. You can have my apple if you let me.”
Slowly and
unwillingly Yom handed the brush to Ben. Ben worked hard He soon grew hot, but
he went on working. Tom sat there, watching and eating Ben’s apple.
When Ben had
done enough other boys came along. At first they laughed at Tom, as Ben had
done. But soon they were whitewashing the fance. Of course, they had to pay
Tom, as Ben had done. But soon they were whitewashing the fence. Of course,
they had to pay Tom before he let them help him. They gave him their best
things-twelve marbles, a tin soldier, a key, a dog’s collar, the handle of
knife and four pieces of orange. Tom had an easy time. He did not work but soon
the fance had three coats of whitewash on it.
(new
medicine for Tom )
Tom was not
feeling well. He could not sleep as well as he used to. He could not eat as
much as he used to. He did not want to run away from school. Sometimes he did
not want to play. He was troubled and sad.
“The boy is
ill” Aunt Polly thought. “I must give him some medicine.”
Aunt Polly
was fond of all kinds of medicines. She had a lot of books on this subject. Her
newest idea was this-when a boy was ill, he must bathe in cold water every day.
And so every morning she made Tom stand outside in the yard. Then she threw
ice-cold water over him. After that, she wrapped him in a wet sheet and made
him lie in bed. Tom did not get better. He got worse. Aunt Polly tried a new
idea. She threw hot water over him instead of cold. That did not help Tom
either.
At this
time, Aunt Polly heard about a new medicine. It was called pain killer, It
had the taste of fire. All the same,
Aunt Polly made Tom drink it, three spoonful after each meal. Tom hated it.
When his aunt was not looking, he quickly poured the medicine into a hole in
the floor. Tom was busy doing this one day when the cat came in. Tom poured
some of the medicine into its mouth. At once, it jumped high into the air. It
staeted dancing on its back legs. It
rushed about the room, breaking everything in its path It ran about as
if it were Polly heard the noise and came rushing in.
“what’s the
matter?”
Tom could
not speak for laughing. At last he pointed and said, “Look, look at the
cat.”
“what’s the
matter with it ? You’ve been giving it that medicine ?”
“I don’t
know, said Tom, still laughing.
Aunt Polly
saw the bottle of pain killer, the spoon and a saucer. She guessed the truth.
Tom expected
his Aunt to be angry. To his surprise she was only thoughtful. “It’s not a
medicine for cats, “she said. “perhaps it’s not a good medicine for boys. You
needn’t take any more of it, Tom. “this was good news for Tom. He began to feel
better.