I WAS A TOM SAWYER

       Written April 27, 1955, 5th grade, Laurel Consolidated School, Laurel, Iowa. age 11.


                                               I WAS A TOM SAWYER

       My name is Tom Sawyer. I live by the Mississippi River. My friend's name is Dumb-Wit-Sam. They call him that because he doesn't even know that 2 plus 2 = 5. One day Dumb-Wit and I were walking along the river when we meet Dumb-Wit's cousin, Square-Head-No-Brain Santee. They call him that because his head is hallow.

      We went up in the hills where it's dark. We didn't see much except  a couple of black snakes, four lizards, and three rats. W etook out our sling shots and got us a couple of black birds.

       When we got back to town we took the birds and went to Goofball Margies's house. When she came to the door we threw the birds at her. She screamed like a pink-blooded Hyena. We went around back of her house. We saw some pies cooling, so we took one. Boy, were they good. I hate to tell you this, but, they were "Blackbird Pies."