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汤姆·索亚历险记 The Adventures of Tom Sawyer
  《汤姆·索亚历险记》是美国著名小说家马克·吐温的代表作,发表于1876年。小说主人公汤姆·索亚天真活泼,富于幻想和冒险,不堪忍受束缚个性,枯燥乏味的生活,幻想干一番英雄事业。小说通过主人公的冒险经历,对美国虚伪庸俗的社会习俗、伪善的宗教仪式和刻板陈腐的学校教育进行了讽刺和批判,以欢快的笔调描写了少年儿童自由活泼的心灵。《汤姆·索亚历险记》以其浓厚的深具地方特色的幽默和对人物敏锐观察,一跃成为最伟大的儿童文学作品,也是一首美国“黄金时代”的田园牧歌。与《汤姆·索亚历险记》的姊妹篇是《哈克贝利·费恩历险记》。
  《汤姆·索亚历险记》-作品概述
  
  《汤姆·索耶历险记》是《哈克贝里·费恩历险记》的姊姐篇。《汤姆·索亚历险记》是19世纪美国文学中一部伟大的批判现实主义作品,深刻地批判了资产阶级庸俗、保守、贪婪、虚伪的阶级本性和美国教育制度的腐败;它出色的塑造了两个敢于反抗时弊、追求自由的儿童的艺术形象,为现实主义文学的人物塑造增添了新的方面。
  
  《汤姆·索亚历险记》构思精细,故事情节曲折有趣,语言简练生动,人物刻画生动逼真,尤其是心理描写有独到之处。它把人物的心理活动渗入到故事情节中去,伴随故事的发展,并通过人物自己的语言、行动和动作,细腻深入地描绘出人物的复杂心理及其变化过程,从而揭示出人物内心世界的秘密,突出人物的性格特征。
  
  《汤姆·索亚历险记》是一部真切地反映了儿童充满童趣的生活的小说。马克·吐温写作时取材于自己儿时在故乡汉尼拔小镇上的所见所闻、亲身经历的人和事。所以令人感觉十分真实有趣,孩子们或许能在书中的人物身上找到与自己相似的地方,而大人们也能在书中拾到些自己童年时的味道。所以,这是一本老少皆宜的书。
  《汤姆·索亚历险记》-内容介绍
  
  《汤姆·索亚历险记》故事发生在19世纪上半叶密西西比河畔的一个普通小镇上。汤姆·索亚是个调皮的孩子,他和同父异母的弟弟希得一起接受姨妈波莉的监护。他总是能想出各种各样的恶作剧,让波莉姨妈无可奈何,而他也总能想尽办法来躲避惩罚。一天,汤姆见到了可爱的姑娘蓓姬·撒切尔,她是撒切尔法官的女儿。
  
  汤姆一见到她就对她展开了攻势。而他的爱似乎也得到了回应。镇上有一个孩子叫哈克贝利·费恩。他的父亲总是酗酒,父母一直打架,因此他跑出来自己生活。他看起来和文明社会格格不入,大人们都不喜欢他,可汤姆和他却是好朋友。有一天他们约好晚上一起去墓地,却看到了意想不到的一幕。他们看到鲁滨逊医生、恶棍英乔·琼和喝得醉醺醺的莫夫·波特。
  
  在他们混乱的厮打中,印第安·乔把医生杀死了,然后又嫁祸于被打昏的波特身上。汤姆和哈克被吓坏了,立了血誓决不泄密。波特被捕以后,汤姆十分内疚,经常去看望他。此时的汤姆事事不顺,贝基生了他的气,不再理睬他,波莉姨妈也总是呵斥他,他觉得没有人关心他。于是,汤姆、哈克和村上的另一个孩子一起乘小船去了一个海岛。可没过多久,他们便发现村里的人们以为他们淹死了,正在搜寻他们的尸体。汤姆晚上悄悄回到了姨妈家,发现波莉姨妈正在为他的“死”悲痛欲绝。汤姆觉得十分惭愧。最终,他们三个人在村民们为他们举行葬礼的时候回来了。
  
  夏天来临时,汤姆便感到更加不安,因为法官将对波特的罪行作出判决。汤姆终于战胜了恐惧与自私,指出了印第安·乔就是杀人凶手。可凶手还是逃走了。后来,汤姆又想出了一个主意:寻找宝藏。汤姆和哈克偶然发现了印第安·乔和他的一大笔不义之财。但他们却不知道他把钱藏在哪里了。在贝基和同学们外出野餐时,哈克得知印第安·乔要去加害道格拉斯寡妇,因为她的丈夫曾经送他进过监狱。
  
  幸亏哈克及时报信才避免了一场悲剧的发生,可印第安·乔再一次逃之夭夭。此时,汤姆和贝基在野餐时走进了一个山洞,因为洞太深而找不到回来的路,被困在里面。他们在山洞里再一次遇见了印第安·乔。村民费尽周折救出汤姆和贝基之后封死了山洞。后来汤姆告知村民印第安·乔还在里面。当他们找到他时,他已经死在山洞里了。恶人得到了应有的报应。
  
  后来,汤姆经过分析,判定宝藏已经被印第安人乔藏到岩洞中了。于是他和哈克偷偷地潜入到岩洞中,并根据他们偷听到的关于“二号十字架”的描述一个刻有小小十字架的大石头,并找到了一个宝箱,里面有一万两千余元!发现宝藏的他们成了大富翁。 从此以后,汤姆和哈克变成了小镇上的“风云人物”,不仅走到哪儿都会受到欢迎,而且他们俩的小传还登在了镇报。
  《汤姆·索亚历险记》-小说人物
  
  《汤姆·索亚历险记》主人公汤姆有着敢于探险、追求自由、做错事后敢于承认错误、承认缺点的优秀性格特点。汤姆是个聪明爱动又调皮捣蛋的孩子,在他身上集中体现了智慧、计谋、正义、勇敢乃至领导等诸多才能。他是一个多重角色的集合,足智多谋,富于同情心,对现实环境持反感态度,一心要冲出桎梏,去当绿林好汉,过行侠仗义的生活。
  
  小说塑造的汤姆·索亚是个有理想有抱负同时也有烦恼的形象,他有血有肉,栩栩如生,给读者留下了深刻的印象。在姨妈眼里,他是个顽童,调皮捣蛋,可是她却一次又一次地被他的“足智多谋”给软化了。
  
  汤姆是主人公,关于他,梗概中有简单的概括──“淘气的机灵鬼”“镇上孩子的头儿”“在小伙伴眼中无所不能”。我们看看汤姆在山洞里回来后的表现:因为他身体虚弱,浑身没有一点力气,所以“躺在沙发上”。尽管如此,他讲得还是那样眉飞色舞,“同时还夸张地吹嘘一番”,可见他的淘气和历险后心里获得的极大满足──人们把他们回来看作奇迹,他也觉得自己成了真正的英雄!这是可爱极了。
  《汤姆·索亚历险记》-小说评价
  
  《汤姆·索亚历险记》是美国著名小说家马克·吐温的代表作,发表于1876年。小说通过主人公的冒险经历,对美国虚伪庸俗的社会习俗,伪善的宗教仪式和刻板陈腐的学校教育进行了讽刺和批判,以欢快的笔调描写了少年儿童自由活泼的心灵。《汤姆·索亚历险记》以其浓厚的深具地方特色的幽默和对人物敏锐观察,一跃成为最伟大的儿童文学作品,也是一首美国“黄金时代”的田园牧歌。
  
  《汤姆索亚历险记》一书对自然景色的描绘与对人物的刻画十分细致逼真、充满幽默诙谐的描述。对作者自己家乡风景的描写尤其包饱深情,人物更是清晰生动、呼之欲出。但是,作者又以天真淳朴的故事主人公,揭示幻想和现在之间的矛盾。
  
  《汤姆·索亚历险记》体现了马克·吐温擅长讲故事的杰出技巧和机智幽默的艺术风格。书中对自然景色的描绘和对人物的刻画十分细致逼真,充满幽默诙谐的描述,而在幽默背后贯穿着他对美国当时社会生活的严肃看法和鲜明立场。对家乡风光的描写尤其饱含深情,人物更是写得清晰生动,呼之欲出。整个故事的叙述十分自然流畅,想您一定会喜欢这个已经讲述了一百多年的动人故事。
  
  在这部作品中,儿童的灵动活泼和周围现实生活的陈腐刻板形成了鲜明的对照。故事向人们展示了一些社会弊病和黑暗现实,揭示了宗教的虚伪性,无情地嘲讽了庸俗的小市民习气。作品问世以来,一直受到读者的喜爱,成为一部世界名著。
  
  《汤姆·索亚历险记》是一部真切地反映了儿童充满童趣的生活的小说。马克·吐温写作时取材于自己儿时在故乡——汉尼拔小镇上的所见所闻、亲身经历的人和事。所以令人感觉十分真实有趣,孩子们或许能在书中的人物身上找到与自己相似的地方,而大人们也能在书中拾到些自己童年时的味道。
  《汤姆·索亚历险记》-作者简介
  
  《汤姆·索亚历险记》马克·吐温
  马克·吐温(Mark Twain.1835~1910),美国批判现实主义文学的奠基人,美国著名小说家,马克·吐温是笔名。他原名是塞缪·朗荷恩·克列门斯,1835年11月30日出生于密西西比河畔小城汉尼拔一个贫穷的律师家庭。他名字的含义是:水深十二英尺,轮船可以安全通过。
  
  马克·吐温是美国批判现实主义文学的奠基人,世界公认的短篇小说大师,被誉为“美国文学中的林肯”。父亲是一名乡村律师,家中生活拮据。12岁时父亲去世,他开始自谋生计,年轻时当过报童、印刷所学徒、 排字工、密西西比河水手、淘金工人和舵手,所以他的创作具有坚实的生活基础。26岁时,他当上了记者,并采用马克·吐温这个笔名发表作品。
  
  他的创作大致可分为三个时期:早期作品表现了对美国民主所存的幻想,以短篇为主,幽默与讽刺结合,批判不足,作品有《竞选州长》、《高尔斯的朋友再度出洋》、《百万英镑》等;中期以长篇小说为主,讽刺性加强,重要作品有《汤姆·索亚历险记》、《哈克贝利·费恩历险记》等;后期作品则由幽默讽刺转到愤怒的揭发、谴责、甚至有悲观的情绪,主要作品有《游记》等。他擅长使用幽默和讽刺,针砭时弊,毫不留情。他的作品对后来的美国文学产生了巨大深远的影响。人们普遍认为马克·吐温是美国文学史上的一大里程碑。


  The Adventures of Tom Sawyer by Mark Twain is a popular 1876 novel about a young boy growing up in the antebellum South. The story is set in the town of "St Petersburg", inspired by Hannibal, Missouri, where Mark Twain grew up. In the story's introduction, Twain notes:
  
   Most of the adventures recorded in this book really occurred; one or two were experiences of my own, the rest those of boys who were schoolmates of mine. Huck Finn is drawn from life; Tom Sawyer also, but not from an individual—he is a combination of the characteristics of three boys whom I knew, and therefore belongs to the composite order of architecture.
  
  Plot summary
  
  The imaginative and mischievous twelve-year-old boy named Thomas Sawyer lives with his Aunt Polly, his half-brother, Sid, also known as Sidney, and cousin Mary, in the Mississippi River town of St Petersburg, Missouri. After playing hooky from school on Friday and dirtying his clothes in a fight, Tom is made to whitewash the fence as punishment on Saturday. At first, Tom is disappointed by having to forfeit his day off. However, he soon cleverly persuades his friends to trade him a large marble for the privilege of doing his work. He trades these treasures for tickets given out in Sunday school for memorizing Bible verses and uses the tickets to claim a Bible as a prize. He loses much of his glory, however, when, in response to a question to show off his knowledge, he incorrectly answers that the first two Disciples were David and Goliath
  
  Tom falls in love with Rebecca "Becky" Thatcher, a new girl in town, and persuades her to get “engaged” to him. Their love is ruined when she learns that Tom has been engaged to another girl before: Amy Lawrence. Shortly after Becky shuns him, Tom accompanies Huckleberry Finn, the son of the town drunk, to the graveyard at night to try out a “cure” for warts. At the graveyard, they witness the murder of young Dr Robinson by a part-Native American “half-breed”, Injun Joe. Scared, Tom and Huck run away in the process dropping the previously obtained marble, and swear a blood oath not to tell anyone what they have seen. Injun Joe blames his companion, Muff Potter, a hapless drunk, for the crime. Potter is wrongfully arrested, and Tom's anxiety and guilt begin to grow. Tom, Huck and their friend Joe Harper run away to an island on the Mississippi, in order to "become pirates". While frolicking around and enjoying their new-found freedom, the boys become aware that the community is sounding the river for their bodies. Tom sneaks back home one night to observe the commotion. After a brief moment of remorse at the suffering of his loved ones, Tom is struck by the idea of appearing at his funeral and surprising everyone. He persuades Joe and Huck to do the same. Their return is met with great rejoicing, and they become the envy and admiration of all their friends.
  
  Back in school, Tom gets himself back in Becky's favour after he nobly accepts the blame for a book that she has torn. Soon Muff Potter's trial begins, and Tom, overcome by guilt, testifies against Injun Joe. Potter is acquitted, but Injun Joe flees the courtroom through a window. Tom and Huck witness him finding a box of gold with his partner, a Spaniard, and Huck begins to shadow Injun Joe every night, watching for an opportunity to nab the gold. Meanwhile, Tom goes on a picnic to McDougal's Cave with Becky and their classmates. That same night, Huck sees Injun Joe and his partner making off with a box. He follows and overhears their plans to attack the Widow Douglas, a kind resident of St. Petersburg. By running to fetch help, Huck forestalls the violence and becomes an anonymous hero.
  
  Tom and Becky get lost in the cave, and their absence is not discovered until the following morning. The men of the town begin to search for them, but to no avail. Tom and Becky run out of food and candles and begin to weaken. The horror of the situation increases when Tom, looking for a way out of the cave, happens upon Injun Joe, who is using the cave as a hideout. At the sight of Tom, Injun Joe flees. Eventually, just as the searchers are giving up, Tom finds a way out. The town celebrates, and Becky's father, Judge Thatcher seals up the main entrance with an iron door. After a week Injun Joe, trapped inside, starves causing him to die. Injun Joe's partner accidentally drowns trying to escape.
  
  A week later, Tom takes Huck to the cave via the new entrance Tom has found and they find the box of gold, the proceeds of which are invested for them. The Widow Douglas adopts Huck, and, when Huck attempts to escape civilized life, Tom promises him that if he returns to the widow, he can join Tom's robber band. Reluctantly, Huck agrees.
  Publication history
  
  The first publication of The Adventures of Tom Sawyer was by Chatto and Windus, in England in June 1876 (it was listed as "ready" on June 10 and was reviewed on June 24 in the literary publication The Atheneum), and in the U.S. by subscription only in December 1876. Twain and other U.S. authors used initial publication in England fairly often, since otherwise it was impossible to obtain a copyright in the British Commonwealth. In the case of Tom Sawyer, the delay between the London and U.S. editions extended much beyond what Twain envisioned, or desired. This led to widespread piracy of the work - notably a July 1876 pirated edition in Canada obtained by many American readers - and, Twain believed, to a significant loss of his royalties.
  
  When the work did appear in the U.S., it was sold by subscription only. In this distribution method, book agents across the country took orders for the book prior to publication and then delivered the book when available. It was only with subsequent editions that the book became available retail shops.
  
  In dictations for his autobiography, Twain claimed Tom Sawyer "must have been" the first book whose manuscript was typed on a typewriter. However, typewriter historian Darryl Rehr has concluded that Twain's first typed manuscript was Life on the Mississippi.
  Adaptations
  
  The story of Tom Sawyer has been filmed or animated multiple times since its initial publication. Some of the film adaptations of Twain's novel include:
  
   * A 1907 silent version released by the Paramount studio
   * A 1917 silent version directed by William Desmond Taylor, starring Jack Pickford as Tom
   * A 1930 version directed by John Cromwell, starring Jackie Coogan as Tom
   * In 1938 The Adventures of Tom Sawyer was filmed in Technicolor by the Selznick Studio. It starred Tommy Kelly as Tom and was directed by Norman Taurog. Most notable was the cave sequence designed by William Cameron Menzies.
   * A 1947 Soviet Union version, directed by Lazar Frenkel and Gleb Zatvornitsky
   * A 1960 US television serial, also shown on British television
   * A 1968 French/German made-for-television miniseries, directed by Wolfgang Liebeneiner, starring Roland Demongeot as Tom and Marc Di Napoli as Huck
   * The New Adventures of Huckleberry Finn (1968) was a half-hour live-action/animated series produced by Hanna-Barbera Productions
   * A 1973 musical version with songs by Richard and Robert Sherman, starring Johnny Whitaker as Tom and a young Jodie Foster as Becky Thatcher. A TV movie version sponsored by Dr. Pepper was released that same year. It starred Buddy Ebsen as Muff Potter and was filmed in Upper Canada Village.
   * Huckleberry Finn and His Friends (1979 TV series)
   * The Adventures of Tom Sawyer (anime) (1980), a Japanese anime TV series by Nippon Animation, part of the World Masterpiece Theater; aired in the United States on HBO
   * [[Приключения Тома Сойера и Гекльберри Финна (фильм)The Adventures of Tom Sawyer and Huckleberry Finn (1981), another Soviet Union version directed by Stanislav Govorukhin.
   * A 1984 Canadian claymation version produced by Hal Roach studios
   * Tom and Huck (1995), starring Jonathan Taylor Thomas as Tom and Brad Renfro as Huck Finn
   * A 1995 episode for the PBS Wishbone TV series "A Tail in Twain".
   * The Modern Adventures of Tom Sawyer
   * A 2000 animated adaptation, featuring the characters as anthropomorphic animals with an all-star voice cast, including country singers Rhett Akins (as Tom), Mark Wills (as Huck Finn), Lee Ann Womack, Waylon Jennings and Hank Williams Jr. as well as Betty White as Aunt Polly
   * Tom Sawyer appears as a United States Secret Service agent in the 2003 movie based on comic book series The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen
   * This book was featured in an episode of The Fairly Odd Parents
  
  Stage musicals: In 1956 'We're From Missouri', a musical adaptation of The Adventures of Tom Sawyer, with book, music and lyrics by Tom Boyd, was presented by the students at the Guildhall School of Music and Drama. In 1960, Boyd's musical version (re-titled Tom Sawyer) was presented professionally at Theatre Royal Stratford East in London, England, and in 1961 toured provincial theatres in England.Tom Boyd's musical of TOM SAWYER was produced again in April and June 2010 in Cirencester, Gloucestershire, England. Another musical adaptation is Mississippi Melody, a musical by Jack Hylton.
  
  Theatrical Adaptation: In April 2010, The Hartford Stage presented a theatrical adaptation entitled Mark Twain's The Adventures of Tom Sawyer as part of a centennial observation of Mark Twain's passing.
  这本小说里的冒险故事确曾发生过。其中,有一两件是我自己的亲身经历,另外一些都 是我少年时的同学们的。汤姆和哈克·费恩这两个人物形象都取材于生活,所不同的是:
   汤姆是我认识的三个孩子的化身,是多个人物的混合体。
   书中述及的一些迷信,稀奇古怪。三四十年前,在西部的孩子们和奴隶们当中,它们甚 为流行。
   我写这本小说主要是为了娱乐孩子们,但我也希望大人们不要因为这是本儿童读的书就 将它束之高阁。
   此外,我还试图想让那些成年人从书中想起当年的他们,那时的情感、思想、言谈以及 一些令人不可思议的作法。
   是为序。
   1876年作者于哈特福德


  MOST of the adventures recorded in this book really occurred; one or two were experiences of my own, the rest those of boys who were schoolmates of mine. Huck Finn is drawn from life; Tom Sawyer also, but not from an individual--he is a combination of the characteristics of three boys whom I knew, and therefore belongs to the composite order of architecture.
   The odd superstitions touched upon were all prevalent among children and slaves in the West at the period of this story--that is to say, thirty or forty years ago.
   Although my book is intended mainly for the entertainment of boys and girls, I hope it will not be shunned by men and women on that account, for part of my plan has been to try to pleasantly remind adults of what they once were themselves, and of how they felt and thought and talked, and what queer enterprises they sometimes engaged in.
   THE AUTHOR.
   HARTFORD, 1876.
第一章 汤姆耍斗,东躲西藏
  “汤姆!”
   没人答应。
   “汤姆!”
   又没人答应。
   “这孩子到底怎么啦,我真搞不懂?你这个汤姆!”
   还是没有人答应。
   这老太太拉低眼镜从镜片上方朝房间看了看,然后她又抬高眼镜从镜片下面看。她很少 或者干脆说她从来没戴正眼镜来找像一个小男孩这样小的东西。这副眼镜是很考究的,也是 她的骄傲,她配这副眼镜不是为了实用,而是为了“装饰”,为了“漂亮”。她看东西时, 即使戴上两片炉子盖也照样看得一清二楚。她茫然不知所措地愣了一会儿。然后虽然不是凶 神恶煞般,但嗓门高得让每个角落都能听到,她说:
   “好,我发誓如果我抓住你,我就——”
   她话没有说完,因为这时她正弯腰用扫把往床下猛捣,每捣一下,她需要停下来换口 气。结果,只捣出来一只猫。
   “我还从没有见过这么令人吃惊的孩子!”
   她走到敞开的门口,站在那里朝满园子的西红柿藤和吉普逊草丛中看,想找到汤姆,可 还是没有。于是她亮开嗓子朝远处,高声喊到:
   “汤姆呀,汤姆!”
   这时在她身后传来一声轻微的响声,她转身一把抓住了一个小男孩的短外套的衣角,他 想跑都跑不掉了。
   “嘿!我早该想到那个壁橱,你躲在那里干什么?”
   “没干什么。”
   “没干什么?!瞧你那双手,再看你那张嘴,还有那浑身是什么?”
   “我不知道,姨妈。”
   “哎,我知道,那是蜜饯——对,就是。我已跟你讲过有四十遍了,不要动我的蜜饯, 否则我就扒你的皮。把鞭子递给我。”
   鞭子在空中晃悠——情况万分紧急。
   “不得了!瞧你身后是什么,姨妈!”
   老太太以为有危险,急忙撩起裙子,转过身去。汤姆拨腿就逃,顷刻他爬过高高的木栅 栏,一转眼就消失得无影无踪。
   他的波莉姨妈站在那儿先是一愣,随后突然轻声笑了起来。
   “这个该死的,我怎么老是不吸取教训?和我开这样的玩笑,也不知开过多少次了。难 道我不该有所提防吗?人老了,糊涂才是最大的糊涂蛋。俗话说得好,老狗学不会新把戏。 可是天啦!他耍的鬼把戏里从来没有两天一样的,谁能猜出下个鬼主意是什么?他似乎知 道,他能折磨我多长时间,我才会动肝火,而且他也知道他只要想个法哄哄我,惹我大笑一 场,就会万事皆休,我也不会揍他一顿。我对他是敢怒不能揍。我对那孩子没尽到责任,上 帝知道那是真的。《圣经》里说:‘孩子不打不成器。’我太溺爱那孩子,我也知道这对我 俩都不好。他一肚鬼点子。哎呀,但他是我那死去的亲姐姐的儿子,可怜的孩子,我怎么也 不忍心揍他。每一次饶了他,我良心都受谴责;可是每一回打他,我都有点心痛不忍。哎, 哎,就像《圣经》所说的,人为母生,光阴荏苒,充满苦难。我看这话说得一点都不错。今 天下午他要是逃学,明天我就想法让他干点活,惩罚惩罚他。星期六让他干活,恐怕苛刻了 点,因为所有的孩子都放了假,他又恨透了干活,比恨什么都厉害。可是我不得不对他尽到 我的责任,否则我会把这个孩子给毁了。”
   汤姆真的没去上课,而且痛痛快快地玩了一场。他回家时正好赶上帮那小黑孩吉姆的 忙,帮他在晚饭前锯第二天用的木头,劈引火用的柴——至少他及时赶到那儿,把他所干的 事讲给吉姆听,而活却是吉姆干了四分之三。汤姆的弟弟(确切地说是同母异父的弟弟)希 德已干完了他那份活(捡碎木块),因为他是个不声不响的孩子,从不干什么冒险的事,也 不惹什么麻烦。
   汤姆吃晚饭的时候,总是瞅机会偷糖吃,波莉姨妈这时开始问他,话里充满了诡计,而 且非常巧妙——因为她要设点圈套,套他说出实话来。跟其他许多头脑简单的人一样,她很 自负,并且相信自己很有点子,会耍弄诡秘狡猾的手腕,把自己极易被人识破的诡计当作最 高明的计策,她说:
   “汤姆,学校里挺热的,对吧?”
   “是的,姨妈。”
   “热的厉害,对不对?”
   “对,姨妈。”
   “你是不是想去游泳来着,汤姆。”
   汤姆忽然感到有点慌张——一丝不安和疑惑掠过心头。他偷眼察看波莉姨妈的脸色,可 什么也没有看出来。于是他说:
   “没有啊,姨妈——呃,没怎么想去。”
   老太太伸出手摸摸汤姆的衬衣,说道:
   “可是你现在却并不怎么热,是吧!”她已发现衬衣是干的,却没有人知道她内心的真 正用意,为此她感到很得意。而汤姆猜透了她的心思,所以他为防老太太的下一招来了个先 发制人。
   “有的人往大家头上打水——你瞧,我的头发还是湿的呢!”
   波莉姨妈很懊恼,她居然没注意到这个明摆着的事实,以致错过了一次机会。可接着她 灵机一动,计上心来:
   “汤姆,你往头上浇水的时候,不必拆掉我给你衬衫上缝的领子吧?把上衣的纽扣解 开!”
   汤姆脸上的不安马上就消失了。他解开上衣,衬衣的领子还是缝的好好的。
   “真是怪事。得,算了吧!我看你旷课去游泳了!我认为你就像俗话里说的烧焦毛的猫 一样——并不像表面看起来的那样坏。就这一次,下不为例。”
   她一面为自己的计谋落空而难过,一面又为汤姆这一次竟能如此温顺听话而高兴。
   可是希德却说:
   “哼,我记得你好像给他缝领子用的是白线,可现在却是黑线。”
   “嘿,我的确用白线缝的!汤姆!”
   可汤姆没等听完话就走了。他走出门口的时候说:
   “希德,为这我可要狠狠揍你一顿。”
   在一个安全的地方,汤姆仔细检查了别在上衣翻领上的两根大针,针上还穿着线,一根 绕着白线,另一根绕着黑线。
   他说:
   “如果不是希德,她是永远不会注意到的。真讨厌!有时她用白线缝,有时又用黑线。 我真希望她总是用一种线——换来换去我实在记不住。不过,我发誓非揍希德一顿不可,我 要好好教训教训他。”
   汤姆不是村里的模范男孩,但他对那位模范男孩非常熟悉,并且很讨厌他。
   不到两分钟,甚至更短,他已将全部烦恼给忘记了。就像大人们的烦恼也是烦恼一样, 他忘记烦恼并不是因为他的烦恼对他不怎么沉重和难受,而是因为一种新的、更强烈的兴趣 暂时压倒并驱散了他心中的烦闷——就像大人们在新奇感受的兴奋之时,也会暂时忘却自己 的不幸一样。这种新产生的兴趣就是一种新的吹口哨方法,它很有价值,是刚从一个黑人那 学到的,现在他正要一心练习练习又不想被别人打扰。这声音很特别,像小鸟的叫声,一种 流畅而委婉的音调。在吹这个调子的时候,舌头断断续续地抵住口腔的上腭——读者若曾经 也是孩子的话,也许还记得该怎样吹这种口哨。汤姆学得很勤奋,练得很专心,很快就掌握 了其中要领。于是他沿街大步流星地走着,口中吹着口哨,心里乐滋滋的,那股乐劲如同天 文学家发现了新行星时一般,仅就乐的程度之深之强烈而言,此时的汤姆绝对比天文学家还 要兴奋。
   夏天的下午很长,这时天还没有黑。汤姆的口哨声忽然停住了,因为在他面前出现了一 个陌生人——一个比他大一点的男孩。
   在圣彼德堡这个贫穷、破落的小村子里,不管是男的还是女的,老的还是少的,只要是 新来的,就能引起人们的好奇心。而且这个男孩穿得非常讲究——在平常工作日竟穿戴如此 整齐,仅这就让汤姆对他刮目相看。他的帽子很精致,蓝色的上衣扣得紧紧的,又新又整 洁,他的裤子也是一样。他竟然还穿着鞋——要知道,今天可是星期五!他甚至还打了条领 带,那是条颜色鲜亮的丝质领带。他摆出一副城里人的架势,汤姆对此感到很不自在。汤姆 眼盯着他那套漂亮的衣服,鼻子翘得高高的。可是他越看越是觉得自己身上的衣服很寒酸破 旧。两个人都一声不吭。一个挪动一步,另一个也挪一步——可都是斜着步子兜圈子。他俩 面对面,眼对眼这样相持了很长时间,最后还是汤姆先开了腔:
   “我能打得过你!”
   “我倒想见识见识。”
   “那好,我就打给你看。”
   “得了,你不行。”
   “我行。”
   “你就是不行。”
   “我就是行。”
   “不行!”
   “行!”
   “不行!”
   两个人都不自在地停了下来。接着汤姆问道:
   “你叫什么名字?”
   “这也许你管不着!”
   “哼,我就管得着!”
   “好,那你就管管看。”
   “要是你再啰嗦,我就管给你看。”
   “啰嗦——啰嗦——偏要啰嗦,看你能怎么样?”
   “哎,你认为你自己很了不起,是不是?如果我想你的话,一只手背在后面都能打 过你。”
   “好啊,你说你能打过我,那你为什么不动手啊?”
   “如果你老是嘴硬的话,我就打给你看。”
   “嘿——你这种人我见得多了,尽吹大话下不了台!”
   “哈!你自以为是个人物呢!瞧,你那帽子!”
   “你要是看不顺眼你就把它摘下来呀,如果你敢碰,我就揍扁你!”
   “你吹牛。”
   “你也是吹牛。”
   “你光是讲大话,不敢动手。”
   “噢,滚你的蛋吧!”
   “告诉你——要是你再骂我的话,我就用石头砸碎你的脑袋。”
   “那好,你就来砸啊!”
   “我肯定会的。”
   “那你为什么不来试试?你老是吹牛不敢动手,哦,我知道你害怕了。”
   “我才不怕呢!”
   “你怕!”
   “我不怕!”
   “你就是怕!”
   两个人暂停了一会儿,接着又眼对眼,身子侧身子兜着圈子走了几步。忽然两个人肩抵 着肩。汤姆说:
   “你从这滚吧!”
   “你自己滚吧!”
   “我不滚。”
   “我也不滚。”
   于是他俩站在那儿,双方都斜着一只脚撑着劲,用尽力气想把对手往后推,两个人都愤 恨地瞪着对方。可是谁都没占优势。他们直斗得浑身燥热,满脸通红,然后两人稍稍放松, 却都小心谨慎地提防着对方。这时,汤姆又说:“你是个胆小鬼,是个狗崽子。我要向我大 哥哥告你的状,他只要动动小指头就能把你捏碎,我会让他揍你的。”
   “我可不怕你什么大哥哥,我有一个比你大哥还大的大哥哥——而且我大哥哥能把你的 大哥哥从那堵篱笆围墙扔过去。”
   (两个人的所谓的大哥哥都是虚构的。)
   “你撒谎。”
   “你讲的也不是真的。”
   汤姆用大脚趾头在地上的灰土上划了一道线,说:
   “你若敢跨过这道线,我就把你打趴在地上,让你站不起来。谁敢,谁就得吃不了兜着 走。”
   这个新来的男孩毫不犹豫地跨过那道线,说:
   “你说你敢打我,现在来看看你怎么打法。”
   “你不要逼我!你最好还是当心点。”
   “哎,你不是说要打我吗?——你为什么不动手啊?”
   “得了,你要是肯给我两个分币,我就动手。”
   新来的男孩果真从衣服口袋里掏出两个分币,嘲弄地摊开手掌。汤姆一把将钱打翻在 地。立刻两个人像两只争食的猫一样,在地上的尘土里滚打,撕扯起来,紧接着又是扯头 发,又是揪衣领,拼命地捶打对方的鼻子,抓对方的脸。两个人都弄得浑身是土,却又都威 风凛凛。最后谁胜谁败逐渐见了分晓,汤姆从尘土中爬起来,骑在那个男孩的身上,攥紧拳 头使劲地打那个男孩。
   “挨够了吗?求饶吧!”他说。
   那个男孩只想挣脱出来。他气得嚎啕大哭。
   汤姆还在不停地捶打,说:“求饶吧!”
   那男孩只好挤出几个字:“饶了我!”
   汤姆让他站起来,对他说:
   “现在你知道我的厉害了吧!以后最好给我小心点,看看在跟谁嘴硬。”
   这位新来的男孩拍拍身上的尘土,哭哭啼啼地走开了。他不时地回过头来,摇晃着脑 袋,吓唬汤姆:
   “下次要是抓住你,我就,我就……”
   汤姆对此不屑一顾,趾高气扬地走开了。他的背刚一转过来,那男孩子就抓起一块石头 朝他砸过来,正打在汤姆的背上,接着就夹着尾巴,像羚羊似的飞快地跑掉了。汤姆穷追不 舍,直追到他家。他就站在人家大门口,嚷着叫那男孩出来较量,可是那个对手只是在窗子 里朝他挤鼻子弄眼,拒不迎战。最后那对手的妈妈出来了,咒骂汤姆是个下流、没有家 教的坏孩子,喝斥他赶快滚开。于是汤姆就走了,不过,他临走时说还要寻机再教训教训那 混小子一顿。
   那天晚上,他回到家时已经很迟了。当他小心翼翼地从窗户往里爬时,猛然间发现了有 人埋伏,仔细一看,原来是他的波莉姨妈。她看到他衣服被弄成那副样子,原来就打算让汤 姆在星期六休息日干活的决心现在就更加坚定了。


  "TOM!"
   No answer.
   "TOM!"
   No answer.
   "What's gone with that boy, I wonder? You TOM!"
   No answer.
   The old lady pulled her spectacles down and looked over them about the room; then she put them up and looked out under them. She seldom or never looked THROUGH them for so small a thing as a boy; they were her state pair, the pride of her heart, and were built for "style," not service--she could have seen through a pair of stove-lids just as well. She looked perplexed for a moment, and then said, not fiercely, but still loud enough for the furniture to hear:
   "Well, I lay if I get hold of you I'll--"
   She did not finish, for by this time she was bending down and punching under the bed with the broom, and so she needed breath to punctuate the punches with. She resurrected nothing but the cat.
   "I never did see the beat of that boy!"
   She went to the open door and stood in it and looked out among the tomato vines and "jimpson" weeds that constituted the garden. No Tom. So she lifted up her voice at an angle calculated for distance and shouted:
   "Y-o-u-u TOM!"
   There was a slight noise behind her and she turned just in time to seize a small boy by the slack of his roundabout and arrest his flight.
   "There! I might 'a' thought of that closet. What you been doing in there?"
   "Nothing."
   "Nothing! Look at your hands. And look at your mouth. What IS that truck?"
   "I don't know, aunt."
   "Well, I know. It's jam--that's what it is. Forty times I've said if you didn't let that jam alone I'd skin you. Hand me that switch."
   The switch hovered in the air--the peril was desperate--
   "My! Look behind you, aunt!"
   The old lady whirled round, and snatched her skirts out of danger. The lad fled on the instant, scrambled up the high board-fence, and disappeared over it.
   His aunt Polly stood surprised a moment, and then broke into a gentle laugh.
   "Hang the boy, can't I never learn anything? Ain't he played me tricks enough like that for me to be looking out for him by this time? But old fools is the biggest fools there is. Can't learn an old dog new tricks, as the saying is. But my goodness, he never plays them alike, two days, and how is a body to know what's coming? He 'pears to know just how long he can torment me before I get my dander up, and he knows if he can make out to put me off for a minute or make me laugh, it's all down again and I can't hit him a lick. I ain't doing my duty by that boy, and that's the Lord's truth, goodness knows. Spare the rod and spile the child, as the Good Book says. I'm a laying up sin and suffering for us both, I know. He's full of the Old Scratch, but laws-a-me! he's my own dead sister's boy, poor thing, and I ain't got the heart to lash him, somehow. Every time I let him off, my conscience does hurt me so, and every time I hit him my old heart most breaks. Well-a-well, man that is born of woman is of few days and full of trouble, as the Scripture says, and I reckon it's so. He'll play hookey this evening, * and (* Southwestern for "afternoon") I'll just be obleeged to make him work, to-morrow, to punish him. It's mighty hard to make him work Saturdays, when all the boys is having holiday, but he hates work more than he hates anything else, and I've GOT to do some of my duty by him, or I'll be the ruination of the child."
   Tom did play hookey, and he had a very good time. He got back home barely in season to help Jim, the small colored boy, saw next-day's wood and split the kindlings before supper--at least he was there in time to tell his adventures to Jim while Jim did three-fourths of the work. Tom's younger brother (or rather half-brother) Sid was already through with his part of the work (picking up chips), for he was a quiet boy, and had no adventurous, troublesome ways.
   While Tom was eating his supper, and stealing sugar as opportunity offered, Aunt Polly asked him questions that were full of guile, and very deep--for she wanted to trap him into damaging revealments. Like many other simple-hearted souls, it was her pet vanity to believe she was endowed with a talent for dark and mysterious diplomacy, and she loved to contemplate her most transparent devices as marvels of low cunning. Said she:
   "Tom, it was middling warm in school, warn't it?"
   "Yes'm."
   "Powerful warm, warn't it?"
   "Yes'm."
   "Didn't you want to go in a-swimming, Tom?"
   A bit of a scare shot through Tom--a touch of uncomfortable suspicion. He searched Aunt Polly's face, but it told him nothing. So he said:
   "No'm--well, not very much."
   The old lady reached out her hand and felt Tom's shirt, and said:
   "But you ain't too warm now, though." And it flattered her to reflect that she had discovered that the shirt was dry without anybody knowing that that was what she had in her mind. But in spite of her, Tom knew where the wind lay, now. So he forestalled what might be the next move:
   "Some of us pumped on our heads--mine's damp yet. See?"
   Aunt Polly was vexed to think she had overlooked that bit of circumstantial evidence, and missed a trick. Then she had a new inspiration:
   "Tom, you didn't have to undo your shirt collar where I sewed it, to pump on your head, did you? Unbutton your jacket!"
   The trouble vanished out of Tom's face. He opened his jacket. His shirt collar was securely sewed.
   "Bother! Well, go 'long with you. I'd made sure you'd played hookey and been a-swimming. But I forgive ye, Tom. I reckon you're a kind of a singed cat, as the saying is--better'n you look. THIS time."
   She was half sorry her sagacity had miscarried, and half glad that Tom had stumbled into obedient conduct for once.
   But Sidney said:
   "Well, now, if I didn't think you sewed his collar with white thread, but it's black."
   "Why, I did sew it with white! Tom!"
   But Tom did not wait for the rest. As he went out at the door he said:
   "Siddy, I'll lick you for that."
   In a safe place Tom examined two large needles which were thrust into the lapels of his jacket, and had thread bound about them--one needle carried white thread and the other black. He said:
   "She'd never noticed if it hadn't been for Sid. Confound it! sometimes she sews it with white, and sometimes she sews it with black. I wish to geeminy she'd stick to one or t'other--I can't keep the run of 'em. But I bet you I'll lam Sid for that. I'll learn him!"
   He was not the Model Boy of the village. He knew the model boy very well though--and loathed him.
   Within two minutes, or even less, he had forgotten all his troubles. Not because his troubles were one whit less heavy and bitter to him than a man's are to a man, but because a new and powerful interest bore them down and drove them out of his mind for the time--just as men's misfortunes are forgotten in the excitement of new enterprises. This new interest was a valued novelty in whistling, which he had just acquired from a negro, and he was suffering to practise it undisturbed. It consisted in a peculiar bird-like turn, a sort of liquid warble, produced by touching the tongue to the roof of the mouth at short intervals in the midst of the music--the reader probably remembers how to do it, if he has ever been a boy. Diligence and attention soon gave him the knack of it, and he strode down the street with his mouth full of harmony and his soul full of gratitude. He felt much as an astronomer feels who has discovered a new planet--no doubt, as far as strong, deep, unalloyed pleasure is concerned, the advantage was with the boy, not the astronomer.
   The summer evenings were long. It was not dark, yet. Presently Tom checked his whistle. A stranger was before him--a boy a shade larger than himself. A new-comer of any age or either sex was an impressive curiosity in the poor little shabby village of St. Petersburg. This boy was well dressed, too--well dressed on a week-day. This was simply astounding. His cap was a dainty thing, his close-buttoned blue cloth roundabout was new and natty, and so were his pantaloons. He had shoes on--and it was only Friday. He even wore a necktie, a bright bit of ribbon. He had a citified air about him that ate into Tom's vitals. The more Tom stared at the splendid marvel, the higher he turned up his nose at his finery and the shabbier and shabbier his own outfit seemed to him to grow. Neither boy spoke. If one moved, the other moved--but only sidewise, in a circle; they kept face to face and eye to eye all the time. Finally Tom said:
   "I can lick you!"
   "I'd like to see you try it."
   "Well, I can do it."
   "No you can't, either."
   "Yes I can."
   "No you can't."
   "I can."
   "You can't."
   "Can!"
   "Can't!"
   An uncomfortable pause. Then Tom said:
   "What's your name?"
   "'Tisn't any of your business, maybe."
   "Well I 'low I'll MAKE it my business."
   "Well why don't you?"
   "If you say much, I will."
   "Much--much--MUCH. There now."
   "Oh, you think you're mighty smart, DON'T you? I could lick you with one hand tied behind me, if I wanted to."
   "Well why don't you DO it? You SAY you can do it."
   "Well I WILL, if you fool with me."
   "Oh yes--I've seen whole families in the same fix."
   "Smarty! You think you're SOME, now, DON'T you? Oh, what a hat!"
   "You can lump that hat if you don't like it. I dare you to knock it off--and anybody that'll take a dare will suck eggs."
   "You're a liar!"
   "You're another."
   "You're a fighting liar and dasn't take it up."
   "Aw--take a walk!"
   "Say--if you give me much more of your sass I'll take and bounce a rock off'n your head."
   "Oh, of COURSE you will."
   "Well I WILL."
   "Well why don't you DO it then? What do you keep SAYING you will for? Why don't you DO it? It's because you're afraid."
   "I AIN'T afraid."
   "You are."
   "I ain't."
   "You are."
   Another pause, and more eying and sidling around each other. Presently they were shoulder to shoulder. Tom said:
   "Get away from here!"
   "Go away yourself!"
   "I won't."
   "I won't either."
   So they stood, each with a foot placed at an angle as a brace, and both shoving with might and main, and glowering at each other with hate. But neither could get an advantage. After struggling till both were hot and flushed, each relaxed his strain with watchful caution, and Tom said:
   "You're a coward and a pup. I'll tell my big brother on you, and he can thrash you with his little finger, and I'll make him do it, too."
   "What do I care for your big brother? I've got a brother that's bigger than he is--and what's more, he can throw him over that fence, too." (Both brothers were imaginary.)
   "That's a lie."
   "YOUR saying so don't make it so."
   Tom drew a line in the dust with his big toe, and said:
   "I dare you to step over that, and I'll lick you till you can't stand up. Anybody that'll take a dare will steal sheep."
   The new boy stepped over promptly, and said:
   "Now you said you'd do it, now let's see you do it."
   "Don't you crowd me now; you better look out."
   "Well, you SAID you'd do it--why don't you do it?"
   "By jingo! for two cents I WILL do it."
   The new boy took two broad coppers out of his pocket and held them out with derision. Tom struck them to the ground. In an instant both boys were rolling and tumbling in the dirt, gripped together like cats; and for the space of a minute they tugged and tore at each other's hair and clothes, punched and scratched each other's nose, and covered themselves with dust and glory. Presently the confusion took form, and through the fog of battle Tom appeared, seated astride the new boy, and pounding him with his fists. "Holler 'nuff!" said he.
   The boy only struggled to free himself. He was crying--mainly from rage.
   "Holler 'nuff!"--and the pounding went on.
   At last the stranger got out a smothered "'Nuff!" and Tom let him up and said:
   "Now that'll learn you. Better look out who you're fooling with next time."
   The new boy went off brushing the dust from his clothes, sobbing, snuffling, and occasionally looking back and shaking his head and threatening what he would do to Tom the "next time he caught him out." To which Tom responded with jeers, and started off in high feather, and as soon as his back was turned the new boy snatched up a stone, threw it and hit him between the shoulders and then turned tail and ran like an antelope. Tom chased the traitor home, and thus found out where he lived. He then held a position at the gate for some time, daring the enemy to come outside, but the enemy only made faces at him through the window and declined. At last the enemy's mother appeared, and called Tom a bad, vicious, vulgar child, and ordered him away. So he went away; but he said he "'lowed" to "lay" for that boy.
   He got home pretty late that night, and when he climbed cautiously in at the window, he uncovered an ambuscade, in the person of his aunt; and when she saw the state his clothes were in her resolution to turn his Saturday holiday into captivity at hard labor became adamantine in its firmness.
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