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Las aventuras de Tom Sawyer
Capítulo 21, Página 1
Vacation
was
coming
soon.
The
schoolmaster,
who
was
always
strict,
became
even
stricter.
He
wanted
the
school
to
perform
well
on
“Examination”
day.
His
rod
and
stick
were
often
used,
especially
on
the
younger
students.
Only
the
oldest
boys
and
young
women
of
eighteen
and
twenty
were
safe
from
his
punishments.
Mr.
Dobbins’
punishments
were
very
strong;
even
though
he
was
bald
under
his
wig,
he
was
still
in
his
middle
age
and
quite
strong.
As
the
big
day
got
closer,
all
his
strictness
showed.
He
seemed
to
enjoy
punishing
even
the
smallest
mistakes.
Because
of
this,
the
younger
boys
lived
in
fear
and
pain
during
the
day
and
spent
their
nights
planning
revenge.
They
never
missed
a
chance
to
cause
the
master
trouble.
But
he
always
stayed
ahead
of
them.
Every
time
they
succeeded,
his
punishment
was
so
complete
that
the
boys
always
ended
up
losing.
Finally,
they
came
up
with
a
plan
that
promised
a
big
victory.
They
included
the
signpainter’s
boy,
told
him
the
plan,
and
asked
for
his
help.
He
was
happy
to
join
because
he
had
his
own
reasons
to
dislike
the
master,
who
lived
with
his
family.
The
master’s
wife
was
going
to
visit
the
country
soon,
so
nothing
would
stop
the
plan.
The
master
usually
got
a
bit
drunk
before
big
events,
and
the
signpainter’s
boy
said
he
would
handle
things
when
the
master
was
asleep
in
his
chair.
Then,
he
would
wake
him
at
the
right
time
and
send
him
to
school.
The
special
day
finally
arrived.
At
eight
in
the
evening,
the
schoolhouse
was
brightly
lit
and
decorated
with
flowers
and
leaves.
The
master
sat
in
his
big
chair
on
a
raised
platform
with
his
blackboard
behind
him.
He
looked
quite
relaxed.
Three
rows
of
benches
on
each
side
and
six
rows
in
front
were
filled
with
important
people
from
the
town
and
the
students’
parents.
To
his
left,
behind
the
citizens,
was
a
large
temporary
platform
where
the
students
who
would
perform
sat.
There
were
rows
of
small
boys,
washed
and
dressed
uncomfortably;
rows
of
awkward
big
boys;
and
groups
of
girls
and
young
ladies
in
light
dresses,
aware
of
their
bare
arms,
old
jewelry,
ribbons,
and
flowers
in
their
hair.
The
rest
of
the
house
was
filled
with
students
who
were
not
participating.
The
program
began.
A
very
small
boy
stood
up
and
shyly
recited,
“You’d
scarce
expect
one
of
my
age
to
speak
in
public
on
the
stage,”
and
so
on.
He
used
awkward
gestures,
as
if
he
were
a
machine
not
working
right.
But
he
finished,
though
very
scared,
and
got
a
nice
round
of
applause
when
he
bowed
and
left.
A
little
girl,
feeling
shy,
lisped,
“Mary
had
a
little
lamb,”
and
so
on.
She
made
a
cute
curtsy,
got
her
applause,
and
sat
down,
looking
flushed
and
happy.
Tom
Sawyer
stepped
forward,
full
of
confidence,
and
began
the
famous
“Give
me
liberty
or
give
me
death”
speech
with
great
energy
and
wild
gestures.
But
he
forgot
the
words
halfway
through.
He
was
seized
by
stage
fright,
his
legs
shook,
and
he
almost
choked.
The
audience
felt
for
him,
but
their
silence
was
worse
than
their
sympathy.
The
master
frowned,
which
made
things
even
worse.
Tom
struggled
for
a
bit
and
then
left
the
stage,
completely
defeated.
There
was
a
weak
attempt
to
applaud,
but
it
quickly
died
out.
“The
Boy
Stood
on
the
Burning
Deck”
came
next,
followed
by
“The
Assyrian
Came
Down,”
and
other
dramatic
pieces.
Then
there
were
reading
exercises
and
a
spelling
competition.
The
small
Latin
class
did
well.
The
main
part
of
the
evening
was
next—original
“compositions”
by
the
young
ladies.
Each
girl
stepped
forward,
cleared
her
throat,
held
up
her
manuscript
tied
with
a
pretty
ribbon,
and
read
with
great
care
for
expression
and
punctuation.
The
topics
were
the
same
ones
their
mothers,
grandmothers,
and
ancestors
had
written
about,
like
“Friendship,”
“Memories
of
Other
Days,”
“Religion
in
History,”
“Dream
Land,”
“The
Advantages
of
Culture,”
“Forms
of
Political
Government
Compared
and
Contrasted,”
“Melancholy,”
“Filial
Love,”
“Heart
Longings,”
and
so
on.
A
common
feature
in
these
compositions
was
a
focus
on
sadness;
another
was
using
too
much
“fancy
language.”
They
also
loved
to
include
special
words
and
phrases
until
they
were
overused.
Each
composition
ended
with
a
long,
boring
sermon.
No
matter
the
topic,
they
forced
it
into
something
the
moral
and
religious
mind
could
enjoy.
The
clear
insincerity
of
these
sermons
didn’t
stop
the
tradition
in
schools,
and
it
probably
never
will.
In
every
school,
young
ladies
feel
they
must
end
their
compositions
with
a
sermon.
The
most
frivolous
and
least
religious
girl
often
writes
the
longest
and
most
pious
sermon.
But
that’s
enough
about
this.
Simple
truth
is
hard
to
swallow.
Let’s
return
to
the
“Examination.”
The
first
composition
read
was
titled
“Is
this,
then,
Life?”
Maybe
you
can
handle
a
part
of
it:
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Las aventuras de Tom Sawyer — B1 Inglés | Cuentana