He wasn’t in his bedroom. That meant he was probably up to no good. Tom was an orphan with a thirst for adventure. But sometimes his trouble-making was more than she could bear.

“Where on earth has that boy gone, I wonder? T-o-m-m-m!” she screamed.

Aunt Polly peered over the glasses perched at the end of her nose.

“If I get hold of you, Tom …” she muttered. Aunt Polly poked a broom under the bed. But Tom wasn’t there.

Aunt Polly went to the porch door. She shouted out into the garden.

“Tom!”

A door creaked quietly behind Aunt Polly. She turned around just in time to catch Tom sneaking out of the closet. She grabbed the boy by the shirt collar. His hands and face were filthy. But he was grinning from ear to ear.

“What were you doing in there?” she demanded.

“Nothing,” said Tom, suddenly sheepish.

“Nothing! Look at your hands. Look at your mouth. What is this mess?”

“I don’t know,” replied Tom. He tried to look innocent.

“Well, I know,” said his aunt. “It’s jam. I’ve told you forty times to leave that jam alone. Now hand me that switch in the closet.”

Tom gave Aunt Polly the willow switch. He was in a pickle now!

Aunt Polly lifted the switch above her head. She was just about to strike Tom on the rear when he cried, “Aunt Polly! Look behind you! What’s that?”

The old lady whirled around. In a flash Tom was out the door and scrambling over the fence.

Aunt Polly shook her head and laughed.

“That rascal! When will I learn? He’s played that trick on me so many times I should know it by now.”

Aunt Polly worried about Tom. She wanted her nephew to grow up to be a good man. She worried that he skipped school too much. She knew he would skip school that very afternoon.

“I’ll have to punish him tomorrow,” Aunt Polly decided. “I’ll make him work. Tom hates work. But I’ve got to do right by him.”

Saturday morning was a beautiful day, and all the world was out enjoying it. Everyone except poor Tom.

Tom was on the sidewalk with a bucket of whitewash and a long-handled brush. He looked at the fence in front of him. It stretched ninety feet long and nine feet high. Painting it would take forever.

Tom dipped his brush into the bucket.