The Adventures of Tom Sawyer Chapter 6

"Monday morning found Tom miserable." Chapter 6, pg. 35 Tom dreads another long week of school, and he decides to play sick. He moans aloud until Sid awakes. Fearing for Tom, Sid gets Aunt Polly. Tom claims that his sore toe is infected and that his tooth, which is loose, aches. Aunt Polly tells him he's not going to get out of school, yanks his tooth, and sends him on his way.

On the way to school, Tom meets Huckleberry Finn. Tom (and the other children) admire Huck because he is wild and lawless. Huck is playing with a dead cat, which he claims is good for curing warts. Tom tells him spunk-water (rain water in a rotting stump) is better, as long as you say the proper charm. Huck explains to Tom that you can cure warts with a dead cat by going to the graveyard and saying a spell when a devil comes to take a bad person's spirit.

Topic Tracking: Superstition 1

Huck says he's going to the graveyard that night to try the dead cat, and Tom decides to go along.

Tom gets to school late and in trouble. He is going to make up an excuse about his tardiness, until he realizes that Becky Thatcher is sitting with an empty seat next to her. Knowing the punishment for stopping to talk to Huck will be having to sit on the girls' side of the room, he tells the schoolmaster why he's late, and is sent to sit next to Becky, much to his pleasure.

Tom gives Becky a peach--which she eventually accepts. She asks to see the house he's drawing on his slate. She then asks him to draw a man and then herself. Tom offers to teach her how to draw during lunch ("dinner"). Tom writes, "I love you" on his slate and shows it to her. Becky is embarrassed but flattered. As this happens, the schoolmaster catches him and drags him by the ear back to his own seat. Tom is so excited by Becky that he cannot concentrate on school.