🧒🌊 Tom Sawyer – Chapter 1: A Boy with a Wild Spirit
Meet Tom Sawyer—a clever, mischievous boy who hates school and loves adventure. From sneaking jam to fighting with new kids in town, Tom always finds a way to cause trouble and have fun.
But this time, Aunt Polly has a plan to teach him a lesson…
📘 This chapter is perfect for B1+/B2 English learners:
✔️ 600-word adapted version
✔️ Easy glossary
✔️ Comprehension questions + answers
📖 Tom Sawyer – Chapter 2 (Adapted for English Learners)
Title: The Art of Work Without Working
It was Saturday morning. The sun was shining. Birds were singing. The whole town was ready for fun. But not Tom.
Tom stood in front of Aunt Polly’s house, holding a brush. A long, tall fence stretched before him. It was 30 yards long and 9 feet high. Aunt Polly told him he must whitewash it—every inch.
“This is terrible,” he said. “All the boys will laugh at me. They will be playing while I paint!”
Tom began slowly. He dipped the brush in the white paint and made one careful stroke.
Soon, his friend Ben Rogers came along, eating an apple and pretending to steer a boat.
“Ahoy, Tom! Working on a Saturday?”
Tom looked serious.
“Work? What do you mean? This isn’t work. This is... art.”
Ben laughed.
“You’re painting a fence!”
Tom replied calmly,
“You may think so, but not everyone can do it. Aunt Polly wants it done just right. She trusts only me.”
Ben became curious.
“Really?”
Tom didn’t stop brushing.
“Oh yes. Most boys never get this chance.”
Ben wanted to try.
“Tom, let me paint a little!”
Tom thought for a moment, then said,
“I don’t know, Ben. This is important work. Aunt Polly said—”
“Please! I’ll give you my apple!”
Tom smiled. He gave Ben the brush and sat down, happily eating the apple while Ben painted.
Soon, more boys came by. Each of them laughed at first, but then Tom said the same thing:
“It’s not easy. You must do it perfectly. Aunt Polly chose me.”
They all wanted to try.
Billy Fisher gave him a kite. Johnny Miller gave him a dead rat and a string to swing it. One boy even gave him a piece of blue glass to make rainbows in the sun.
By the end of the afternoon, the fence had three coats of paint—and Tom didn’t do any of it. He sat happily with a pile of treasures in his pocket.
📘 Glossary
| Word | Meaning |
|---|---|
| Whitewash | A type of white paint for fences or walls |
| Stroke | A single movement of a brush or pen |
| Ahoy | A call used by sailors (used here playfully) |
| Inch | A small unit of length (2.54 cm) |
| Coat | A layer of paint |
| Rainbow | Colored light that appears when light passes through water or glass |
❓ Comprehension Questions
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What job does Aunt Polly give Tom?
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How does Tom feel about painting the fence?
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What trick does Tom use to get Ben to paint?
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What kinds of things do the boys give Tom?
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How much of the fence does Tom paint by himself?
✅ Answers
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She tells him to whitewash the fence.
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He feels unhappy and thinks the other boys will laugh at him.
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He pretends that it’s a special job and only special boys can do it.
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An apple, a kite, a dead rat, a piece of glass, and more.
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Very little—most of the work is done by the other boys.
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