每天五分钟听经典英文故事,读绘本,磨耳朵。一个淘气男孩的冒险成长故事, 刷墙的智慧, 墓地惊魂
On the banks of the Mississippi River, in the little town of St Petersburg, summer sun baked the white wooden houses
A boy with messy hair ran barefoot down the muddy road, his pockets full of marbles and dead bugs, his knees caked in mud
His name was Tom Sawyer, the biggest troublemaker in town
Aunt Polly stood at the door, waving a wooden spoon, Tom slipped out the back, hopped over the fence, and ran faster than a rabbit
He didn't want to whitewash that long fence, it was his punishment for the day
He crouched under a tree watching ants carry their loads, his mind spinning with a clever trick
Suddenly he jumped up, grabbed the brush, and made one stroke on the wall
His friend Billy walked by, and Tom pretended that painting the fence was the most fun thing in the world
He hummed a tune, painted a stroke, stepped back, and tilted his head to admire his work
Billy was mesmerized, and begged Tom to let him try
Tom shook his head and said, "This isn't just for anyone, you know"
Billy pulled out an apple, and only then did Tom hand over the brush
One by one, the other kids lined up to paint the fence
Tom sat under the tree eating apples, watching them work
The fence got painted three times, and his pockets were stuffed with marbles, spools of thread, and little pinwheels
The sun went down, and the town grew quiet, Tom climbed out the window with a dead cat and sneaked off to the graveyard
He wanted to try an old trick, using a dead cat to cure warts
Huck Finn was waiting for him under the old tree
Huck had no mother and no home, he wore ragged clothes, and the grown-ups in town wouldn't let him near their children
The two boys crouched behind a tombstone, the moonlight stretching their shadows long
Three dark figures walked up, it was Dr Robinson, old Muff Potter, and Injun Joe
They were digging up a grave, and a quarrel broke out
Injun Joe knocked Potter to the ground with one punch, grabbed Potter's knife, and stabbed the doctor
Tom and Huck trembled all over, clutching each other in terror
Injun Joe shoved the knife into Potter's hand, and when Potter woke up, he thought he'd killed the man
The two boys ran home as fast as they could, swearing they'd never breathe a word about that night
A few days later, Potter was locked up in jail, Everyone in town said he was the murderer
Tom couldn't eat, couldn't sleep
He went to visit Potter, and Potter actually thanked the townsfolk for being kind to him
Tom's heart felt like a stone was pressing down on it
On the day of the trial, Tom sat in the courtroom, his palms dripping with sweat
Potter hung his head, and his lawyer didn't even try to defend him
Tom stood up and walked to the judge
He raised his hand and told the truth about that night
Injun Joe lunged forward, knocked over his chair, smashed through the courtroom door, and disappeared without a trace
Potter was set free, and he hugged Tom and cried
Tom became the hero of the town, but he wasn't happy at all
Injun Joe was still out there somewhere, and Tom had nightmares every night
He got his best friends Joe Harper and Huck together, and the three of them decided to become pirates
They stole some bread and salted meat, paddled a raft down the river, and landed on Jackson's Island
No grown-ups on the island, and no rules either
They swam in their bare skin, caught fish in the river, and kept the campfire burning till midnight
Tom lay on the grass, thinking it was the greatest place in the world
The townsfolk searched every inch of the riverbank, but couldn't find the three boys
Everyone thought they'd drowned
A funeral was held at the church, and Aunt Polly cried so hard she could barely stand
Just as the preacher was saying the last words, the church door creaked open
Tom, Huck, and Joe Harper stood in the doorway, alive and full of energy
The whole church went silent for a second, then erupted into deafening cheers
Aunt Polly grabbed Tom and held him tight, laughing and crying at the same time
Near the end of summer, Becky invited everyone to explore McDougal's Cave
The cave was huge, its tunnels winding like a maze
Tom and Becky ran ahead of the others, holding up candles, going deeper and deeper
They saw bats, an underground lake, and stalactites hanging like icicles
When the candles were almost gone, they realized they were lost
Tom scratched marks on the walls, but every tunnel looked the same
Becky was terrified, tears rolling down her cheeks one by one
Tom held her hand and promised he'd find the way out
They shared the last piece of cake, and when the candles died, the cave was pitch black
Tom felt his way forward, his fingers trailing along the wet stone walls
Then he spotted a faint glimmer of light in the distance
It was sunlight, He pulled Becky through a small hole and out into the open
They collapsed on the grass, gulping down big breaths of fresh air
The whole town was overjoyed, but then Tom heard something terrible
The judge had put a heavy iron door on the cave entrance and locked it
Tom's face went white in an instant
Injun Joe was still inside the cave
People rushed to the cave, pried open the door, and found Injun Joe dead inside, his knife still beside him
Tom stayed silent for a long time
Some time later, Tom went to find Huck
He led Huck back into the cave, and from the corner where Injun Joe had hidden, they dug out a chest full of gold coins
Twelve thousand dollars in gold, gleaming in the candlelight
The two boys stared wide-eyed, looking at each other, and then they burst out laughing together
Everyone in town said Tom Sawyer had grown up, that he'd become a real hero
But Tom was still the same old Tom, with his messy hair, his muddy knees, and his pockets full of marbles and stones

