[00:23.05]The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn
[00:36.24]Huck in trouble
[00:40.18]You don't know about me if you haven't read a book
[00:44.89]called The Adventures of Tom Sawyer．
[00:49.68]Mr Mark Twain wrote the book and most of it is true．
[00:54.88]In that book robbers stole some money and hid it in a very secret place in the woods．
[01:03.42]But Tom Sawyer and I found it，and after that we were rich．
[01:09.85]We got six thousand dollars each-all gold．
[01:16.09]In those days I never had a home
[01:20.61]or went to school like Tom and all the other boys in St Petersburg．
[01:26.91]Pop was always drunk，and he moved around a lot，
[01:32.71]So he wasn't a very good father．
[01:36.74]But it didn't matter to me．
[01:40.77]I slept in the streets or in the woods，and I could do what I wanted，when I wanted．
[01:49.00]It was a fine life．
[01:52.34]When we got all that money，Tom and I were famous for a while．
[02:00.09]Judge Thatcher，who was an important man in our town，
[02:05.41]Kept my money in the bank for me．
[02:08.81]And the Widow Douglas took me to live in her house
[02:12.97]And said I could be her son． She was very nice and kind，
[02:19.71]But it was a hard life because I had to wear new clothes and be good all the time．
[02:30.52]In the end，I put on my old clothes and ran away．
[02:36.79]But Tom came after me and said that I had to go back，
[02:42.24]But that I could be in his gang of robbers．
[02:47.05]So，I went back，and the widow cried and I had to put on those new clothes again．
[02:56.85]I didn't like it at all．Her sister，Miss Watson，lived there too．
[03:04.80]She was always saying，'Don't put your feet there，Huckleberry，'
[03:11.82]And 'Don't do that，Huckleberry．'It was terrible．
[03:18.85]When I went up to bed that night，I sat down in a chair by the window．
[03:25.82]I sat there a good long time， and I was really unhappy．
[03:33.29]But just after midnight I heard 'mee－yow！mee－yow！'outside．
[03:44.54]Very softly，I answered，'mee－yow！mee－yor！'
[03:53.86]Quietly，I put out the light and got out through the window．
[03:59.80]In the trees， Tom Sawyer was waiting for me．
[04:04.85]We went through the trees to the end of the widow's garden．
[04:11.28]Soon we were on top of a hill on the other side of the house．
[04:17.14]Below us we could see the river and the town．
[04:22.14]One or two lights were still on，but everything was quiet．
[04:29.36]We went down the hill and found Joe Harper，
[04:34.02]Ben Rogers and two or three more of the boys．
[04:37.71]Then Tom took us down the river by boat to his secret place，
[04:44.24]Which was a cave deep in the side of a hill．
[04:48.79]When we got there， Tom told us all his plan．
[04:54.01]'Now，we'll have this gang of robbers，'he said，'and we'll call it Tom Sawyer's Gang．
[05:04.54]If somebody hurts one of us，the others will kill him and his family．
[05:11.63]And if a boy from the gang tells other people our secrets，
[05:17.88]We'll kill him and his family，too．'
[05:21.27]We all thought this was wonderful，and we wrote our names in blood from our fingers．
[05:30.46]Then Ben Rogers said，'Now， what's the gang going to do？'
[05:37.88]'Nothing，'replied Tom．'Just rob and kill．
[05:44.49]We stop people on the road，and we kill them，and take their money and things．
[05:51.42]But we can keep a few of the people，
[05:54.60]And then their friends can pay money to get them back．
[05:58.77]That's what they do in the stories in books．'
[06:02.11]But Ben wasn't happy．'What about women？'he asked． ' Do we kill them，too?'
[06:13.03]'Oh，no，'Tom answered．'We're very nice to them，
[06:19.21]And they all love us， and they don't want to go home．'
[06:23.44]'Then the cave will be full of women， and people waiting，
[06:30.12]And we'll have to watch them all night…'
[06:32.37]'We'll all go home now，'Tom said，
[06:34.32]'And we'll meet next week， and we'll kill somebody and rob somebody．'
[06:43.41]Ben wanted to begin on Sunday，but the others said no．
[06:50.69]It was bad to kill and rob on a Sunday．
[06:54.70]My clothes were very dirty and I was very tired when I got back．
[07:03.26]Of course，the next morning Miss Watson was angry with me because of my dirty clothes，
[07:11.20]But the widow just looked unhappy．Soon after that
[07:18.30]We stopped playing robbers because we never robbed people and we never killed them．
[07:24.50]* * *
[07:25.68]Time went on and winter came．
[07:30.69]I went to school most of the time and I was learning to read and write a little．
[07:35.93]It wasn't too bad，and the widow was pleased with me．
[07:40.25]Miss Watson had a slave，an old man called Jim，and he and I were good friends．
[07:48.80]I often sat talking to Jim，but I still didn't like living in a house and sleeping in a bed．
[07:58.59]Then，one morning，there was some new snow on the ground
[08:06.30]And outside the back garden I could see footprints in the snow．
[08:11.87]I went out to look at them more carefully．They were Pop's footprints！
[08:19.13]A minute later，I was running down the hill to Judge Thatcher's house．
[08:26.68]When he opened the door，I cried，
[08:30.29]'Sir，I want you to take all my money．I want to give it to you．'
[08:35.70]He looked surprised．'Why，what's the matter？'
[08:41.65]'Please，sir，take it！ Don't ask me why！'
[08:45.95]In the end he said，'Well，you can sell it to me，then．'
[08:52.84]And he gave me a dollar and I wrote my name on a piece of paper for him．
[08:59.07]That night when I went up to my room，Pop was sitting there， waiting for me！
[09:08.23]I saw that the window was open，so that was how he got in．
[09:14.54]He was almost fifty and he looked old．
[09:20.94]His hair was long and dirty and his face was a terrible white colour．
[09:28.87]His clothes were old and dirty，too，and two of his toes were coming through his shoe．
[09:37.02]He looked at me all over for a long time，and then he said，
[09:45.01]' Well，just look at those Clean，tidy clothes！
[09:53.53]And they say you can read and write now． Who said you could go to school？'
[10:01.97]'The widow…'I began．
[10:04.79]'Oh， she did， did she？ Well， you can forget about school．
[10:13.14]I can't read and your mother couldn't read；
[10:17.30]No one in our family could read before they died，so who do you think you are？
[10:26.69]Go on，take that book and read to me！'
[10:32.77]I began to read， but he hit the book and it flew out of my hand，across the room．
[10:41.91]Then he shouted，'They say you're rich—how's that？'
[10:48.88]'It isn't true！'
[10:51.41]'You give me that money！I want it．Get it for me tomorrow！'
[10:57.93]I haven't got any money．Ask Judge Thatcher．He'll tell you．I haven't got any money．'
[11:08.62]'Well， give me what you've got in your pocket now．Come on， give it to me！'
[11:17.71]'I've only got a dollar， and I want that to…'
[11:22.52]'Give it to me，do you hear？'
[11:26.51]He took it，and then he said he was going out to get a drink．
[11:33.80]When he was outside the window， he put his head back in and shouted，
[11:39.53]'And stop going to that school， or you know what you'll get！'
[11:47.09]The next day he was drunk，and he went to Judge Thatcher to get my money．
[11:55.51]The judge wouldn't give it to him．
[11:58.85]But Pop didn't stop trying
[12:01.39]And every few days I got two or three dollars from the judge to stop Pop from hitting me．
[12:08.73]But when Pop had money， he got drunk again and made trouble in town．
[12:15.90]He was always coming to the widow's house，
[12:20.25]And she got angry and told him to stay away．
[12:24.57]Then Pop got really angry and one day he caught me
[12:30.64]And took me a long way up the river in a boat．
[12:35.54]I had to stay with him in a hut in the woods and I couldn't go out by myself．
[12:42.23]He watched me all the time．
[12:46.08]The widow sent a man to find me and bring me home，
[12:51.07]But Pop went after him with a gun， and the man ran away．