Tofu Telling about how he tricked his friends and didn’t get caught.
That is not nice Tofu.
What if your friends find out?
They will stop talking to you, won’t they?
Oh, no! I am so clever, they won’t find out ever.
Let me tell you the story of another clever boy called Tom Sawyer.
Tom Sawyer lived with his Aunt Polly 
and half-brother Sid.
He was an extremely clever boy who loved mischief.
But Tom also had very good luck
which always helped him get away with the mischief he did.
One day, his Aunt Polly was looking for him.
Tom! Tom! Where are you?
She looked everywhere.
She looked outside in the yard
inside in the house and the kitchen
she looked in her room too.
But he was nowhere.
She went back to his room and called to him.
Tom! Stop hiding and come out now!
But there was no answer.
Suddenly Aunt Polly saw something move under Tom’s bed.
She thought it was Tom.
She bent down and swiftly pulled the bed cover.
A cat that Tom had hidden there sprung out at Aunt Polly.
Surprised looking at this she shouted.
Oh dear! Where did Tom get the cat?
Wait till I find that boy.
Just as Aunt Polly was shooing the cat out of the window
she felt someone behind her.
It was Tom, trying to escape from the room.
He had been hiding in the cupboard.
Aunt Polly caught him by the collar.
Tom! What were you doing hiding in the cupboard?
You ate all the jam, didn’t you?
No, Aunt Polly. I haven’t even touched the jam. It must have been Sid.
Don’t you lie to me young man.
I can see the jam all over your face.
Tom quickly tried to wipe his face but it was too late.
Today I am going to beat you with a stick.
You have become too mischievous.
Aunt Polly! Look behind you!
Aunt Polly turned to see but there was no one.
It was just one of Tom’s tricks.
And this time he used it to get away from Aunt Polly
because when she turned around again, he wasn’t there!
Oh this boy! One of these days I am going to punish him.
Tom was so happy with himself for fooling Aunt Polly again
that he decided to take the day off from school.
Instead he went to the river and bathed in it. 
At lunchtime
he went into a nearby farm
stole fruits from there
and ran out of there with the owner chasing behind him.
Just as he was running, he bumped into Sid.
Sid saw Tom’s wet hair and clothes and the fruits in his hands
and understood that Tom hadn’t gone to school but he didn’t say anything.
When Tom reached home
Aunt Polly was waiting for him and she was angry.
Tom understood that Sid had told her everything.
Tom! Did you skip school again?
No, Aunt Polly! Sid is lying!
How did you know Sid said anything to me?
Well, for once Tom had got himself into trouble.
He had no answer for Aunt Polly’s question.
Tomorrow is Saturday.
You don’t have school. You will not go anywhere.
Instead you will whitewash the fence.
The entire fence?
Yes, the entire fence. That is your punishment.
Tom had no choice, he couldn’t argue with Aunt Polly.
He didn’t want to make her angrier.
But he was angry too.
The fence would take up his whole Saturday.
He went into the yard and kicked at the dust.
Just then he saw Sid coming in.
He quickly made a mud ball and swung it at him.
Aaah! Stop! Help, Aunt Polly!
why did You have to tell anything to Aunt Polly?
Tom flung a few more mud balls at Sid
and then jumped over the fence and ran away.
He knew he was already punished
so nothing worse could happen now.
Next morning when Tom came down for breakfast
he was greeted with a pail of paint and paintbrushes.
Aunt Polly had been serious about his punishment.
So Tom ate his breakfast and went into the yard
to whitewash the fence. 
Painstakingly he finished a bit of it.
That’s when his friend Joe came up to him.
Hey Tom! Why are you working on a Saturday morning?
Working? Who said anything about working?
Well, why are you painting the fence then?
I am doing it because it is art. Haven’t you heard of art, Joe?
Well, I have…but I have never done it. Is it fun?
Oh Yes, it is. 
Why else would I do it?
Joe thought about it.
 It was true
Tom Sawyer would never do anything that wasn’t fun.
He asked Tom, if he could also try it?
Tom agreed to let Joe do only a small portion of it in exchange of 3 marbles.
Joe thought 3 marbles was too much but agreed.
He wanted to try art.
A little while later their friend Jim came.
He saw Tom resting under the tree and Joe painting the fence.
He went to Joe.
What are you doing Joe?
It is art. I paid Tom 3 marbles to let me do it.
3 marbles!
 Is it that good?
Yes, very good.
Jim dashed to Tom immediately and asked if in exchange of his fishhook
he too could whitewash the fence.
Tom feigned some reluctance 
but agreed
And so it went on
other friends of Tom came
and believed that painting the fence was fun.
They paid Tom in collector’s cards, candies
and even a catapult to get a chance to paint the fence.
By noon the entire fence was painted and Tom was a rich boy.
He hid his treasures and went to his aunt.
It’s done!
What? Unbelievable! Let me see.
Aunt Polly took Tom with her to the see the fence.
Indeed it was done.
 And it was done very nicely.
How does he do it? 
Anyway
his punishment is over
now I will have to let him go.
I hope he does not create more mischief.
But as always
when Aunt Polly turned around to tell Tom
that his punishment was over, he was already gone.
The next day was Sunday
 and Tom went to Sunday school.
When he reached there, he saw a new girl 
and was smitten by her.
He desperately wanted to impress her.
He thought of a way he could prove himself
better than the other boys.
He went to one of the smartest boys in the class.
And bought from him all his yellow tickets in exchange of the treasure
he had earned from his friends yesterday.
The yellow tickets were awarded only to those boys
who had learned all the verses of the Bible.
Usually only older boys were able to get the yellow tickets.
When you had enough yellow tickets
you could exchange them for a Bible.
The Minister asked the class.
Does anyone have enough yellow tickets for a Bible?
Nobody had so many tickets. Except Tom
who raised his hand.
Everybody, including the Minister was surprised.
Tom was the most naughty boy they knew.
How could he have learnt all the verses of the Bible?
The Minister understood, this was one of Tom’s tricks.
And he decided to test him.
Very well done Tom! Please come here and collect your Bible.
Also, as is tradition, when you earn your Bible
you get to recite any three of your favourite verses from it.
Tom was stumped! Three verses, he didn’t even know one! He fumbled.
Umm…umm…
The whole class laughed at him, as they understood
that mischievous Tom had got into a big soup this time.
Do you still think you will never get caught?
Oh no, Tia! I have to go and tell my friends the truth
and apologise to them right away!
