📖 Tom Sawyer – Chapter 1 (Adapted for English Learners)
Title: A Boy with a Wild Spirit
Tom Sawyer was a boy who loved freedom and fun. He didn’t enjoy school, and he didn’t like rules. He lived in a small town near the Mississippi River with his Aunt Polly.
One day, Aunt Polly looked around the house and shouted,
“Tom? TOM! Where is that boy?”
She walked quickly into the kitchen. She stopped and listened. She heard nothing. Suddenly, she saw something move behind the door. She smiled. She had an idea.
“Tom, what’s that on your hands?” she asked.
Tom came out slowly. His hands were dirty. His mouth was red.
“You’ve been eating jam again!” she said.
Tom smiled, trying to trick her.
“No, Aunt Polly. I didn’t touch the jam!”
But before she could say anything, Tom pointed behind her.
“Look, Aunt! A dog with a limp!”
Aunt Polly turned to look. In that moment, Tom ran away.
“That boy will be the death of me!” she shouted, but she laughed too.
Later that afternoon, Tom skipped school and went swimming in the river. To make it seem like he had been at school, he sewed his shirt collar back together with a white thread.
When he returned home, Aunt Polly said,
“Tom, were you at school today?”
Tom replied,
“Of course!”
But Aunt Polly was clever. She looked at his shirt collar. Then she pulled a thread from her sewing box and showed him.
“I used black thread this morning. This is white. You’ve been swimming again!”
Tom had nothing to say. He was caught.
That evening, Tom sat on the fence. He saw a new boy in town—clean, wearing a fancy hat and shoes. Tom didn’t like the look of him.
“Who are you?” Tom asked.
“I’m new here. Who are you?”
The boys started talking, but quickly began to argue.
“You think you’re better than me because of your shoes!” Tom said.
“Well, you don’t even have shoes!”
They started fighting. After rolling on the ground and getting dusty, the new boy ran away crying.
“You’re a coward!” Tom shouted after him.
Tom returned home with his clothes dirty and ripped. Aunt Polly was not pleased.
“Tomorrow is Saturday. And you, young man, will whitewash the fence!”
Tom groaned. It was the worst punishment he could imagine.
📘 Glossary
| Word | Meaning |
|---|---|
| Aunt | Your mother or father’s sister |
| Sewed | Fixed something with a needle and thread |
| Collar | The top part of a shirt around the neck |
| Limp | A way of walking when one leg is weak or hurt |
| Whitewash | A type of white paint used for fences and walls |
| Coward | Someone who is afraid and runs away |
❓ Comprehension Questions
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Who is Tom Sawyer living with?
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What trick does Tom use to escape Aunt Polly?
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How does Aunt Polly know Tom has been swimming?
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What happens when Tom meets the new boy?
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What punishment does Tom receive?
✅ Answers
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His Aunt Polly.
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He points and says there’s a dog with a limp behind her.
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His shirt collar is sewn with white thread, not black.
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They argue and fight; the new boy runs away.
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He has to whitewash the fence on Saturday.
