The Prince and the Pauper: Part A PDF

# The Prince and the Pauper: Part A ## About the author Mark Twain was an American writer. He was born in 1835 and lived in a small town near the Mississippi River in Missouri, U.S.A. His family was very poor. When he was 12, he left school to work at a newspaper. Later, he got a job as a pilot on...

# The Prince and the Pauper: Part A ## About the author Mark Twain was an American writer. He was born in 1835 and lived in a small town near the Mississippi River in Missouri, U.S.A. His family was very poor. When he was 12, he left school to work at a newspaper. Later, he got a job as a pilot on a riverboat and was very happy. He started writing stories about his experiences and wrote many of the most famous books in American literature, including *The Adventures of Tom Sawyer* and *The Prince and the Pauper*. ## Chapter 1 England, 1547 Tom Canty and his family lived on a street in London called Pudding Lane. The family were paupers. They were very poor and lived in one room in an old house. Tom's father, John, was a thief. He had no interest in doing an honest day's work. He sent his son out to beg and steal from people, too. He was never kind to him. One man who was kind to Tom was Father Andrew. Father Andrew lived in the same house as the Canty family, in a small room at the back of the house. Tom went to his friend's room every day, where Father Andrew taught him how to read, write, and speak nicely. Father Andrew was a great storyteller. Tom loved his stories about kings and princes. At night, he dreamed about being a prince. In these dreams, he lived in a palace, ate good food, and wore beautiful clothes. When Tom was with his friends, he pretended to be a prince. Tom's friends laughed at him when they heard him speak nicely. "Did you know," Father Andrew said to Tom one day, "that there's a real prince at the palace?" The palace was not far from Tom's home. It was called Westminster Palace, and in it lived the king of England, Henry the Eighth, and his only son, Edward. Henry was old and, one day soon, Edward would become king. Tom wanted to see the prince, so he walked to Westminster. When he got there, however, there were soldiers at the palace gates. Ladies and gentlemen in fine clothes were going through the gates and into the palace, but the soldiers would not let him pass. Tom returned to Westminster again and again. Then, one day, he saw a young boy come out of the palace. The boy looked just like him - he had the same eyes and the same hair. "Hey!" one of the soldiers shouted. "Get out of here!" But Tom did not move. He wanted to watch the boy. Could this be the prince? The soldier shouted again and knocked Tom to the ground. "Leave him alone!" the other boy demanded. "He's only a poor boy," said the soldier. "My father is king of all people, rich and poor. Let this boy in." Tom could not believe it - it was the prince! And he had the same voice as him, too! "Come with me," the prince said to him. "Are you hungry?" The prince took Tom into the palace and gave him some food. As Tom ate, the prince asked, "I often see you come to the palace. Why do you come?" Tom told the prince about his family and his home on Pudding Lane, but the prince did not believe everything Tom told him. "You all live in one room?" he exclaimed. "Why?" "Because we are very poor. I have to beg for money. Sometimes I don't get enough and my father gets very angry." "That's not fair!" said Edward. "What about your family?" Tom asked. Edward told Tom about his mother and sisters. He had two sisters, but he did not like one of them because she never played with him. "Do you play with your sisters?" he asked. "Yes, I do," Tom replied. "I play with my friends, too. We play by the river and go swimming." "I would like to do that!" said Edward. "And I would like to be a prince!" said Tom. The prince grinned. "I have an idea. Let's swap clothes. You will be the prince and I will be the pauper." So, the boys changed clothes. Edward looked like Tom and Tom looked like Edward! "What do we do now?" asked Tom. "You stay here in the palace. I'm going to explore the city!" At first, Edward enjoyed walking through the streets of London. It was exciting and no one stopped to bow or kiss his hand. Soon, however, he began to feel tired and hungry. "Where can I get some food?" he asked some people, but they ignored him. Edward became afraid. He was alone outside the palace for the first time. Nobody believed he was the prince and nobody helped him. Edward passed a large building. It was a school for poor boys. "I remember this place," he thought. "I came here with my father a long time ago. Someone here will help me, I'm sure." There were some boys playing outside the school. "I am Prince Edward," he said to them. "Tell your teacher to come out here to see me." The boys laughed and one of them pushed him. "Come on," he said to the others. "Let's throw him in the pond!" The pond was cold and dirty. Edward wanted to cry. Nobody treated him like this at the palace. When it started to get dark, Edward knew that he needed to find somewhere to spend the night. He tried to find Tom's house on Pudding Lane.