The Adventures of Tom Sawyer

The Adventures of Tom Sawyer

by Mark Twain

Tom appeared on the sidewalk with a bucket of whitewash and a long-

handled brush. He looked at the fence, and all gladness left him. Thirty yards

of board fence nine feet high! Life to him seemed empty, and existence but a

burden.

Soon the free boys came along, and they laughed at Tom because he

had to work on Saturday.

“Say, Tom, let me whitewash a little,” said Ben Rogers.

“No, I reckon it wouldn’t hardly do,” said Tom. “Aunt Polly is very

particular about this fence.”

“Aw, come on! I’ll give you my apple.”

Tom shook his head. “No, Ben. You don’t understand. This is a very

important job.”

The boys watched him quietly. They began to think there might be

something special about whitewashing a fence

after all.

Before long, they were begging Tom for a

chance to work.

Tom sat down in the shade and watched

them paint. The fence was covered with three

coats of whitewash, and he had gained a

collection of treasures that would have taken

him much longer to earn.

Tom had discovered a great law of human

action: that to make a person want a thing, it is

only necessary to make the thing difficult to

get …