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Las aventuras de Tom Sawyer
Capítulo 21, Página 1
As
vacation
neared,
the
schoolmaster,
who
was
always
strict,
became
even
more
demanding.
He
wanted
the
school
to
perform
well
on
"Examination"
day.
His
rod
and
ferule
were
hardly
ever
still—at
least
among
the
younger
pupils.
Only
the
oldest
boys
and
young
women
of
eighteen
or
twenty
were
spared
his
harsh
punishments.
Mr.
Dobbins,
despite
his
shiny
bald
head
under
his
wig,
was
still
in
his
prime
and
showed
no
signs
of
weakness.
As
the
big
day
approached,
his
tyrannical
nature
came
out
in
full
force;
he
seemed
to
enjoy
punishing
even
the
smallest
mistakes.
Consequently,
the
younger
boys
lived
in
constant
fear
and
pain,
plotting
their
revenge
at
night.
They
seized
every
chance
to
cause
trouble
for
the
master.
However,
he
always
stayed
ahead.
The
punishment
that
followed
each
of
their
successes
was
so
thorough
and
grand
that
the
boys
always
ended
up
defeated.
Eventually,
they
came
up
with
a
plan
that
promised
a
stunning
victory.
They
included
the
signpainter's
boy
in
their
scheme
and
asked
for
his
help.
He
had
his
own
reasons
to
be
pleased,
as
the
master
stayed
with
his
family
and
had
given
him
plenty
of
reasons
to
dislike
him.
The
master's
wife
would
soon
visit
the
countryside,
which
meant
nothing
would
get
in
the
way
of
their
plan.
The
master
usually
prepared
for
big
events
by
drinking
too
much,
and
the
signpainter's
boy
said
that
when
the
master
was
suitably
inebriated
on
Examination
Evening,
he
would
"handle
the
situation"
while
the
master
dozed
in
his
chair;
then
he
would
wake
him
at
the
right
moment
and
rush
him
to
school.
Finally,
the
much-anticipated
day
arrived.
At
eight
in
the
evening,
the
schoolhouse
was
brightly
lit
and
decorated
with
wreaths
and
garlands
of
leaves
and
flowers.
The
master
sat
in
his
large
chair
on
a
raised
platform,
with
his
blackboard
behind
him.
He
looked
quite
cheerful.
Three
rows
of
benches
on
each
side
and
six
rows
in
front
were
filled
with
the
town's
dignitaries
and
the
students'
parents.
To
his
left,
behind
the
rows
of
citizens,
was
a
large
temporary
platform
where
the
students
participating
in
the
evening's
activities
sat;
rows
of
small
boys,
cleaned
and
dressed
to
a
state
of
discomfort;
rows
of
awkward
big
boys;
groups
of
girls
and
young
women
dressed
in
lawn
and
muslin,
self-conscious
of
their
bare
arms,
their
grandmothers'
old
jewelry,
their
bits
of
pink
and
blue
ribbon,
and
the
flowers
in
their
hair.
The
rest
of
the
room
was
filled
with
students
not
participating.
The
activities
began.
A
very
young
boy
stood
up
and
awkwardly
recited,
"You'd
hardly
expect
someone
my
age
to
speak
in
public
on
stage,"
and
so
on—his
gestures
were
as
stiff
and
jerky
as
a
machine's
might
be
if
it
were
slightly
broken.
But
he
managed
to
finish,
though
terrified,
and
received
a
good
round
of
applause
when
he
made
his
artificial
bow
and
left
the
stage.
A
shy
little
girl
lisped,
"Mary
had
a
little
lamb,"
and
so
forth,
performed
a
heartwarming
curtsy,
received
her
share
of
applause,
and
sat
down,
flushed
and
happy.
Tom
Sawyer
stepped
forward
with
a
self-assured
air
and
launched
into
the
passionate
and
stirring
"Give
me
liberty
or
give
me
death"
speech
with
great
energy
and
wild
gestures,
but
he
faltered
halfway
through.
A
terrifying
stage
fright
overtook
him,
his
legs
shook,
and
he
nearly
choked.
Although
he
had
the
audience's
clear
sympathy,
he
also
had
their
silence,
which
was
worse.
The
master
frowned,
sealing
Tom's
fate.
Tom
struggled
for
a
while
and
then
withdrew,
utterly
defeated.
There
was
a
weak
attempt
at
applause,
but
it
quickly
faded.
"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
recited
with
distinction.
The
highlight
of
the
evening
was
now
due—original
"compositions"
by
the
young
women.
Each
took
her
turn
stepping
forward
to
the
edge
of
the
platform,
cleared
her
throat,
held
up
her
manuscript
(tied
with
a
delicate
ribbon),
and
began
to
read
with
painstaking
attention
to
"expression"
and
punctuation.
The
themes
were
the
same
ones
that
had
been
explored
on
similar
occasions
by
their
mothers,
grandmothers,
and
likely
all
their
female
ancestors
back
to
the
Crusades.
"Friendship"
was
one;
"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
forth.
A
common
feature
of
these
compositions
was
a
carefully
nurtured
melancholy;
another
was
an
excessive
and
rich
flow
of
"fine
language";
another
was
a
tendency
to
awkwardly
insert
favored
words
and
phrases
until
they
were
completely
worn
out;
and
a
peculiarity
that
prominently
marked
and
spoiled
them
was
the
unavoidable
and
unbearable
sermon
that
dragged
on
at
the
end
of
each
one.
No
matter
the
subject,
a
strenuous
effort
was
made
to
twist
it
into
something
the
moral
and
religious
mind
could
reflect
on
with
satisfaction.
The
glaring
insincerity
of
these
sermons
wasn't
enough
to
remove
this
tradition
from
schools,
and
it
isn't
enough
today;
it
likely
never
will
be
as
long
as
the
world
exists.
There
is
no
school
in
the
land
where
young
women
don't
feel
the
need
to
end
their
compositions
with
a
sermon;
and
you'll
find
that
the
sermon
of
the
most
frivolous
and
least
religious
girl
is
always
the
longest
and
most
relentlessly
devout.
But
enough
of
this.
Plain
truth
is
unappealing.
Let's
return
to
the
"Examination."
The
first
composition
read
was
titled
"Is
this,
then,
Life?"
Perhaps
the
reader
can
tolerate
an
excerpt
from
it:
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Las aventuras de Tom Sawyer — B2 Inglés | Cuentana