Tom was a young, imaginative and mischievous twelve-year-old boy. Tom's mother had passed away. He was living with his Aunt Polly on the bank of the river Mississippi. She loved him as much as she loved her sister. The aunt knew that "If you spare the rod, you will spoil the child". She wanted to be strict, or he would grow up lazy and be spoiled. One day, the aunt thought to herself, "I'll make him work tomorrow. It's mighty hard to make him work on Saturdays when all the boys are on holiday". The aunt had asked Tom to paint the fence.
Saturday morning came; it was a bright day. The hill behind the village was covered with summer green. Tom appeared on the pavement with a bucket of whitewash and a long-handled brush. He surveyed the fence, thirty yards of broad fence and nine feet high. Life to him seemed hollow, and existence but a burden. Sighing, Tom dipped hi brush and passed it along the top most plank. He began to think of the fun he had planned for the day, like going for swimming, and his sorrows multiplied. Soon the boys who were free would come tripping along, and they would ridicule him for saying work to do. The very thought of it upset him. At this dark moment, he got a great, magnificent idea. He took his brush and calmly resumed his work.
There came Ben Rogers, the very mischievous boy, of all boys, whose ridicule he had been dreading. Ben was eating an apple and seemed to be in high spirits. Tom went on whitewashing and paid no attention to Ben. Ben said, "Hello! You've got to work, even on a holiday?" Tom replied, "I do not consider this as work because it gives me pleasure." He went on painting the fence just like an artist. Ben was watching all that, and he was getting more and more interested. At last Ben asked Tom, "Tom, let me whitewash a little" Tom answered negatively saying, "My Aunt is very particular about this and everybody cannot paint the whole of it the right way. "Ben was getting very eager and asked Tom.
"Tom, I'll be very careful, now let me try. I'll give you half of my apple" Tom replied "No sorry, I can't let you, I am afraid". Ben begged him. "I'll give you the whole apple". Then Tom gave him the brush and Ben started painting while Tom sat down happily in the shadow of a tree, eating the apple. Poor Ben was sweating and was working under the sun for a long time. When Ben was tired, Tom gave the brush to Billy, who gave him his kite in return. When billy was tired, Johnny Miller gave his pair of marbles to Tom and took the brush. Tom was really in wealth at the end of the day. Everybody paid him a prize to get a chance to whitewash the fence. They came to laugh at Tom, but he made them work. The whole fence was nicely whitewashed with three coats of paint within an afternoon.
When Aunt Polly saw the fence, she said in surprise, "Oh! Tom, you can work when you want to, only you hardly ever want to." She took him home and gave him the best apple she had and allowed him to go and play.
Awesome
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