Original subtitles

(laughs)

♫ Now listen here, folks

♫ My name is Tom Sawyer

♫ I don't want to be no doctor or no lawyer

♫ Fishing by the river, that's the only place to be

♫ I want to be free sitting under a tree, that's me

(upbeat music)

(laughs)

(upbeat music)

♫ These are the stories of Tom Sawyer

♫ Me and Huck Finn just playing by the river

♫ Chasing that steamboat

♫ Teacher, let me be

♫ I want to be free sitting under a tree

♫ That's me

(laughs)

(upbeat music)

(soft music)

- [Tom Voiceover] Now usually,

being around Huck meant having fun and adventure.

But here lately, Huck just ain't been in the mood

for having neither one.

- [Tom] Thanks for the ride, Lou!

- [Lou] Don't mention it, Tom!

My best to your Aunt Polly!

- I've got a real bad feeling

low down in my belly, Tom.

- There's nothing for you to worry about, Huck.

Your pa is gone.

- I don't know.

I'm afraid he's still around somewhere

and is going to pop up unexpected.

- No one's seen him, so I'd be

pretty certain he's long gone.

- [Huck] I just know he's coming back for me

and I tell you, I don't want to go and live with him.

(horn blows)

When he does come back, I aim to be long gone.

I'm getting on that river and going far away from here.

And you know how I'm going to get there?

- [Tom] How's that?

- [Huck] On a steamboat.

- [Tom] But you ain't got no money.

- [Huck] Maybe I could be a cabin boy.

- Why not captain?

They have lots of money and smoke cigars.

Maybe you could go over to Memphis,

or even sail down to New Orleans.

- Bet I can get rich in New Orleans.

- Sure, I bet you could.

- It's settled then.

- You know something, Huck?

When you leave here, it sure is going to be

mighty lonely without you.

- Well I'll miss you, too.

You could bet your boots on it.

But I just have to get away from this town.

- Why don't we go gigging?

- For frogs?

Not now.

- Hmm.

Well you wouldn't catch none no ways

with your mind on leaving.

- [Tom Voiceover] Poor Huck.

It was bad enough him having the kind of life he had.

Living all by himself with no one to care after him.

But he did have his tree house, the river and me,

and now the fear of his pa

was going to make him leave even those things behind.

(soft music)

- [Huck Voiceover] Uh oh.

- That you, Huck?

(yells)

Hey!

Hey, what in the world's the matter with you, Huck?

Come on back here.

- Hmm?

- Scared you, huh, young feller?

- Why, it's Muff Potter.

- That's right, it's me, all right.

(sighs)

I've been a-waiting for you, Huck.

- Gee, I thought you was my pa.

- Well now, I have seen him.

Matter of fact, I got a message from him.

- What kind of message?

- Well he was awful drunk when I seen him,

so it was kind of mixed up.

But you know your pa, he'll wrestle with a crocodile

if he's a mind a do it.

- He sure would.

- [Muff] Of course I know you was here all the time,

but your pa seems so ornery,

I wasn't about to tell him anything.

But he's on his way here now.

I don't reckon he's too far behind me.

- You think he's coming up this way?

- [Muff] That's what I was telling you.

You've been hiding out with Tom, ain't you?

- Never you mind about that, Muff.

- Well, I've been waiting here for you for two days.

- Tell me what he said exactly.

- Well, he says real mean like, he says,

"If you see Huck, you tell Mr. High Body

"that I'm coming for him, wherever he might be,

"and I'm taking him with me."

- Oh no.

- [Muff] That's exactly what he said.

(groans)

- What's he up to now, Muff?

Why is he so powerful anxious to take me away with him?

- [Muff] Don't know, didn't say.

- Appreciate you telling me.

- Well, I ain't much account, but I always remember a friend

and the fact is, you and Tom have always been good to me.

I'll never forget that you two were always there

when old Muff needed you.

Well, enough said.

I reckon I'll mosey along--

- Don't run off, Muff.

Sit and talk a little.

- Well, thank you kindly, Huck, but I'm feeling

a need of a drink right now.

- Careful on that ladder.

- [Muff] Oh, don't worry about me.

(groans)

(loud crash)

(groans)

(soft music)

- Aunt Polly, how'd the meeting go today?

- Well, we all agreed that it was terribly important

for Huck to be raised in a proper home.

It's certain that no account father of his

isn't fit to raise him.

- Did anyone offer to give him a home right now?

- Well, no one stood up right then and there

to say they wanted to take him in.

- But it doesn't surprise me.

- It's common sense.

This isn't the kind of thing you do harum-scarum.

- Huck needs a home now.

All they do is have meetings and talk about it,

but nobody ever decides to do anything about it.

If Huck has a proper home now, his father

won't be able to take him.

- Now, don't get your feathers all ruffled.

There's a mighty lot to think about it.

As much as we want to help, we certainly

can't take him in.

We've got hardly enough room now.

- I don't see that one more would make that much difference.

- Are you saying we should bring Huck here

and have him live with us?

- I wouldn't mind.

Well, Tom, what about it?

- I think it'd be a lot of fun to have Huck live here,

and I'd be glad to have him.

But I don't know if we would.

- Well, I'd wager he'll find no better place

in the whole village to live in.

- Mmhmm, but you know Huck.

Remember when Becky's aunt wanted to take him in?

He said no sirree, not me.

He don't want to be slicked up or be washed

and combed all to thunder, and his clothes don't

get no wear through them.

Besides, he'd have to go to church on Sunday.

Can't even cuss or smoke corn silk.

- Well, I never.

It's only fitting that a boy should learn good manners.

- Well, we'd better think of a solution soon

before his dad comes back for him.

- You know, I bet the Widow Douglas would

take him in right now.

- You mean because she has no children of her own.

- Yeah, she's rich and kind of lonely,

and she always as ice cream.

- Oh, that's truly a sweet, unselfish thought.

It would be a great blessing to both of them.

- Boy, I'd live with her.

- Why Tom, I thought you were happy with us.

Aren't you?

- Well, I mean, I already have the best home in St. Pete.

And besides, I don't much care for ice cream

in the wintertime anyway.

And even if I did, I wouldn't--

- Never mind.

- Not right sure about that, Tom.

- I bet the widow would be nice.

She's piled a lot of money away with nobody to inherit it.

- Yeah, only I'd have to wash and go to school.

- Oh, that ain't so bad.

- And that ain't the half of it.

I'd have to go hear them church sermons.

- Well, I got to go to them.

- I'd have to talk so nice, it'd hardly be tolerable.

- You could always--

- [Huck] I don't know, Tom.

I reckon having a pile of dollars ain't all

it's cracked up to be.

- Says who?

I reckon I wouldn't be against trying it once

just to see what it feels like to be rich.

- Besides, she'd likely ask me to call her Ma,

and that ain't natural.

I couldn't call nobody but my real ma that.

- It could be that you're just worrying about nothing, Huck.

What if your pa forgets you?

- You don't know him very well, Tom.

When he gets his mind set on something,

he just ain't the type who's going to give up on it.

(sighs)

- [Tom] I reckon.

- I've been thinking a lot about my folks here lately.

I reckon Pa is pretty lonely, too.

- I wish I could recollect my ma.

I try, but I just can't.

How much do you remember about yours?

You make her sound awful nice.

Was she pretty, too?

- I can see her face in my dreams,

but when I wake up, it just don't come back to mind.

- Uh huh.

My mama told me in a dream once to stop being

mischievous and to try to be nicer to Aunt Polly.

- I almost forgot.

Today's the anniversary of my mama's demise.

I ought to do something real special to show her

that I still remember her.

- What?

- I've already started working on a special gift.

(soft music)

- [Tom] What you need a candlestick for?

I ain't never seen them used except at church.

- Well, when I was little, my mama lit a candle

every Sunday, and she even learned me how to say a prayer.

- You know, Huck, I never figured you

for a praying kind of fellow.

- Why sure, Tom, I pray all the time, inside.

But I think you got to have one of them genuine

candlesticks if you want it to work right.

I tried to carve one, but it don't look too good.

- The church has some.

Why don't you swipe one of them?

- Well, I thought about that, but somehow,

it don't seem the right thing to do.

You know, steal from a church.

- Well, how do you figure you're going to get

hold of one then?

- I'm going to pray for it, like my mama

taught me to do, and if I pray hard enough,

it's just possible I might get what I'm asking for.

They tell me that's how it works, if you do it right.

I'm going to do a little prayer beforehand,

just for practice, and if that looks like it's working,

then I'll be able to get it just right

when I go about doing it for real.

Let me show you what I've been carving, Tom.

You can tell me the truth about it.

You ain't going to hurt my feelings none.

- Huck, I was thinking.

Why couldn't you just borrow the candlesticks

without telling anyone about it?

- [Huck] I don't know, Pa says borrowing is just a

soft word for stealing.

Well, here it is.

What do you think?

- Hmm.

- Huh?

Oh no, they burned.

Shucks.

- Well now.

Huck, I don't want to be too critical,

but this really isn't very impressive.

- I ain't the world's best whittler, I reckon.

- You know what?

My Aunt Polly has genuine silver candlesticks.

- Yeah, she won't part with one though.

- Oh yes, she will.

I'll see to that, Huck.

You can count on it.

- Honest, you think she will, Tom?

- I think she'll be real happy to donate

to such a worthy cause as this one.

(humming)

- [Tom Voiceover] Maybe this ain't going to be

as easy as I figured.

Aunt Polly's awful proud of her silver stuff.

Maybe I could ask her right out.

Aunt Polly, could I borrow one of your candlesticks?

Huck wants to say a prayer for his mama.

Nah, she ain't going to believe that.

I got to think of something else.

I promised Huck I'd help him, and a friend

don't go back on a promise.

Aunt Polly is so powerful proud of the china

and silver her mama gave her.

She hardly ever takes her eyes off them.

Getting hold of one of them candlesticks

is going to be harder than snatching a bone

from a yard dog.

Hey, I got it.

(laughs)

(soft music)

- Good morning, Jim.

Sid.

I got a problem, big one.

You could help too, Mary.

- Huh?

- It's concerning a promise I made to Huckleberry Finn.

- What is it?

- You might say it's almost a matter of life and death.

It's like this, I'm going to need your help

and this is about the biggest thing I'll ever

ask you to do for me.

- What's the matter, has something happened to Huckleberry?

- He needs our help.

Now, let me tell you what's happening.

When you hear the story, I know you'll understand.

- [Polly] One, two, three, four, five, six, seven.

- Aunt Polly?

- [Polly] What, Tom?

- Can I help you out with the counting?

- Land sakes, where you been hiding, Tom?

One, where were you when I was polishing it?

Two, three, four, five, six, seven, eight.

Nine, 10, 11, 12.

Well good, they're all still there.

- [Tom] Can I double check it for you?

- Thank you, Tom, but this is a job I prefer to do myself.

- [Tom] I'm good at counting.

- Well, thank you all the same.

But these precious treasures were my mother's

and her mother's before her, and every spring

it gives me a comforting feeling just to

take them all out and give them a real good polishing.

Well land alive, if anything ever happened

to a single one of these, I think I'd

go to my grave weeping.

- Oh no, do you see what I see?

Yeah, looks like there's a crack in it.

- Huh?

- See there.

- [Polly] Where?

- Look real close.

- Well these old eyes of mine don't see a thing.

I think it must be your imagination.

- My mistake.

- You better not touch another thing

or I'll put a crack or two on your head, Thomas.

- How many spoons you got there, Aunt Polly?

- There's 12.

- One, two, three, four, five, six,

seven, eight, nine, 10, 11.

There's only 11.

- Stop trying to confuse my mind, Tom.

There were exactly 12 the last time I counted them.

- Better count them again.

- All right.

One, two, three, four, five, six,

seven, eight, nine, 10, 11.

11?

It's not possible, how can that be, I wonder?

- Is it with the knives?

- No, I know it isn't with the knives.

Maybe it fell on the floor.

- Find it?

- [Polly] It's not down here.

- It could be you just miscounted them.

- Hmm?

But you just counted them yourself.

- Maybe I could've counted them wrong last time myself.

- I'll count them one more time.

You watch.

One, two, three, four, five, six,

seven eight, nine, 10, 11.

Huh?

There's 12.

- Huh?

That's mighty queer.

I know I counted 11 before.

- Yes well, there's exactly 12 here now.

- [Tom] Well now, don't that just beat all?

- Tom, I want my walnut.

- I ain't got your old walnut.

There were exactly 30 walnuts when I counted last night

and now there are only 29 left.

- Well, why don't you learn to count better?

- Well I'll bet I can count a whole lot

better than you can, any time, anywhere.

Aunt Polly, please make him give me my walnut back.

- Shut up, Sid.

- Now, why don't you go count them again, Sid?

It's possible you could've made a mistake.

There have been a lot of counting mistakes

around here today.

- I couldn't possibly make a mistake about it.

- Go count them again before you start accusing me.

- Okay.

- Look there, Aunt Polly.

Unless I'm very much mistaken, there's

another spoon missing.

- Huh?

Oh, one, two, three, four, five, six,

seven, eight, nine, 10.

Huh?

Oh my gracious.

- Better count them again.

You know you made a mistake last time.

- Oh my, one, two.

- Mother, Mother, I think we're missing something.

- Again.

One, two, three, four, five, six,

seven, eight, nine, 10, 11.

(gasps)

My, it's the same as it was the last,

oh Mary, what is it you want?

- A bed sheet is missing.

- What is it you're saying?

Mary, I hope there isn't something else missing.

- A sheet's gone, Mama.

- Oh my.

Well, go and count them again.

It's got to be around here someplace.

Now let me see.

(soft music)

- [Tom] Me and Aunt Polly have counted and counted,

and there's still one missing.

Why don't you try, Mary?

- How many are there?

- There's supposed to be 12 and there's only 11.

- Four, five, six, seven, eight,

nine, 10, 11, 12.

They're all here.

- My lands.

One, two, three, four, five, six,

seven, eight, nine, 10.

Lordy, has the heat gone to my head?

- I'll try counting the sheets over again, Mother.

Maybe I made a mistake.

- You got 12 forks?

- Well, I hope so.

- One, two, three, four, five, six, seven.

- Well, do you think it's working?

- Tom's got her pretty well mixed up about now.

- The rest is going to be up to me.

- Good luck.

- By jingle, there's only 11 of them now.

- Oh my, oh my.

One, two, three, four,

five, six-- - I'm sure sorry, Tom.

I found the other walnut. - Seven, eight,

nine, 10. - There were 30.

- I knew it. - 11.

I told you you didn't count them right.

- Upon my word, there's still only 11 forks here.

- It's awful easy to make mistakes

when you count, Aunt Polly.

I count 12 forks.

- My, not again.

- One, two, three four. - Sid, I swear there was only

11 of them a minute ago

when Aunt Polly counted them. - Five, six, seven, eight.

Nine, 10, 11, 12. - But now, there are 12.

- How can it be?

- Well, ain't that something.

Do you think maybe we ought to count

the plates now, Aunt Polly?

- Oh my, Lord have mercy.

I'm losing my senses.

Hmm.

- I'll tell you what.

Maybe Sid and me ought to count them for you.

(sighs)

- Just maybe.

No you won't, I've had just about enough.

The fact of the matter is, I simply will not

do anymore counting today.

- They're all there, Mother.

You're right.

I counted every single one of them.

- [Tom] Don't make any difference now, Mary.

Aunt Polly says she ain't have a mind to

do anymore counting.

- Maybe somebody's put a dark spell on us

so we'll never be able to keep track of anything anymore.

- Spell, that's rubbish.

Mary, I told you, it's the heat.

- Excuse me.

- Huh?

What is it?

- Something powerful strange is happening with the chickens.

- Jim, what kind of strange?

- Well first, I see seven brown and five white.

Then they changed around and it's six white and five brown.

- Jim, how did you count them?

- [Jim] First the brown and then the white.

- Mmhmm.

That'll be the day when chickens change their colors.

- Well come see for yourself.

- I guess I'll just have to.

Gracious, will I ever see the sun go down on this day?

Forks and spoons that come and go.

Things that won't stay counted.

Chickens that change colors.

I don't know what's come over us all.

I guess I'll spend the rest of the day counting chickens.

(soft music)

- Here, take it.

Tom, get back quick as you can.

I hope this hasn't been too upsetting for Mother.

- I should've told her what it's for.

She would've let me have the candlestick if I'd had.

- Or crack with a thimble.

Take it and go before she comes back in here.

- White, two brown.

Wait now, one.

- Now, I've been thinking.

- About what?

- About this idea of Tom's about fooling Mother.

- Hard to say no when he wants to do something.

- I almost did that, but now I've got to say,

I'm kind of glad I didn't.

- Like Mr. William Shakespeare said,

all's well that ends well.

- One white, two, oh.

Two white, one brown.

Oh, just be still now.

- [Tom Voiceover] I was hoping and praying

Aunt Polly wouldn't do anymore counting for a few days.

If she did, it might not go well for any of us,

especially me.

- We'd better hurry and get these put away.

I think I hear Mother coming.

(soft music)

(sighs)

- Oh dear me.

I don't know what's happening.

Has he gone crazy?

- We've all had trouble counting, so whatever it is

that's happening to Jim is happening to all of us.

- Heavens.

I'm beginning to believe there's a spell.

What, oh Mary.

How many times have I told you,

you must keep the cupboards closed.

Huh, wait a minute.

(gasps)

Are my eyes failing me?

What?

It can't be.

(gasps)

Let's see now.

(hums)

Seven, eight, nine, 10.

11 of them.

Oh no.

I don't care what I saw, or think I saw.

There's 12 and I don't want to hear another word about it.

- Mother.

I don't think we ought to do anymore counting today, huh?

- Yes, you're right.

Where's Tom?

That boy is never around when you need him.

- Huck, hey Huck.

(soft music)

I brought it like I promised.

- Hmm?

Oh Tom, this here is genuine silver.

No doubt about it.

It's right kind of your Aunt Polly to let me

have a borrow of it.

- Mmhmm, she sure is generous when she

has a mind to be.

- Boy, I'll say.

Hmm.

(soft music)

- Say, Huck.

- What's on your mind?

- I wonder if while you're praying for your mama,

you might squeeze another prayer in.

Just another word or two, for some poor souls

down here who might be needing it.

- Who did you have in mind, Tom?

- I was thinking about Sid and Mary and Jim.

And me, most especially the latter.

- Hmm, can't see any harm in it.

- And please makes Agnes like me in school

and take care of the chickens and all the

animals in the woods and the catfish in the river.

Amen.

(soft music)

Do you think Huck's praying about now for his mama?

- Probably.

I'm hungry, Sid.

Bring out some of them walnuts, will you?

- Huh, what walnuts are those, Tom?

- Don't be aggravating.

You know what walnuts.

The ones you said I stole.

- [Sid] But I just made it all up.

- I'm asking you nice.

Where are they, Sid?

- [Sid] I'm telling you nice, I don't have any.

- I mean it, this is your last chance.

Where are they?

- Ow, Tom.

I tell you, I haven't got any.

- All right, I'm asking you for the last time.

So if you don't crack out those walnuts, you'll be sorry.

- Please! - You hear?

(groans)

- And while I'm at it, Lord, I have just one more thing.

It concerns my friend, Tom.

He'd like you to say hello to his mama for him, too.

(soft music)

(upbeat music)

♫ These are the stories of Tom Sawyer

♫ Me and Huck Finn just playing by the river

♫ Chasing that steam boat

♫ Teacher, let me be

♫ I want to be free, sitting under a tree

♫ That's me

(laughs)

(upbeat music)