The Adventures of Tom Sawyer

Bedtime Reading No.17 in 5000 English Words: The Adventures of Tom Sawyer tells a story that took place in an ordinary town on the Mississippi River in the first half of the 19th century. Tom Sawyer is a naughty child. He and his half-blooded brother are under the supervision of his aunt Polly. He can always come up with all kinds of pranks that put Aunt Polly at her wit’s end, and he can always try his best to avoid punishment. One day, Tom met a lovely girl Becky Thatcher, the daughter of Judge Thatcher. As soon as Tom saw her, he made a love attack on her, and his love seems to have gotten a response. There is a child in the town named Huckleberry Finn. He has an alcoholic father and his parents kept fighting, so he ran out to live on his own. He seems out of place with civilized society. Adults don’t like him, but Tom and he are good friends. One day, they made an appointment to go to the cemetery together at night, but they saw an unexpected scene. They saw Dr. Robinson, the villain Injun Joe, and the drunk Moff Potter. They are fighting. In their chaotic fight, Injun Joe killed the doctor, and then put the blame on Potter, who was knocked unconscious. Tom and Huck were frightened and made a blood oath not to leak the secret. After Potter was arrested, Tom was very guilty and often visited him. Everything went wrong with Tom at this time. Becky was angry with him and ignored him. Aunt Polly always scolded him. He didn’t think anyone cared about him. So Tom, Huck, and another child from the village took a boat to an island. But it didn’t take long before they found that people in the village thought they had drowned and were searching for their bodies. Tom quietly returned to his aunt’s house in the evening and found that Aunt Polly was distraught for his “death”. Tom felt very ashamed. In the end, the three of them returned when the villagers held a funeral for them. When summer comes, Tom feels even more disturbed, because the judge will make sentence on Porter’s crime. Tom finally overcame fear and selfishness and pointed out that Injun Joe was the murderer. But Joe escaped. Later, Tom came up with another idea: looking for treasure. Tom and Huck stumbled upon Injun Joe and his ill-gotten wealth. But they didn’t know where he hid the money. When Becky was out on a picnic with her classmates, Huck learned that Injun Joe was going to murder the Douglas widow because her husband had sent him to prison. Fortunately, Huck’s timely report prevented a tragedy, but Injun Joe escaped again. At this time, Tom and Becky walked into a cave during a picnic. They couldn’t find their way back because the cave was too deep, and they were trapped inside. They met Injun Joe again in the cave. The villagers painstakingly rescued Tom and Becky and sealed the cave. Later, Tom told the villagers that Injun Joe was still inside. When they found Joe, he was already dead in the cave. The wicked got what they deserved. Tom and Huck went back to the cave again and found the treasure.