buried treasure

i'm thrilled to be reading the adventures of tom sawyer right now. mark twain has brought me back to what it's like to think like a kid, from the lust for adventure, thrill of mischief, to the awkwardness of growing up and the purity of friendships. sometimes you just wish you were born a boy!

"'say, huck, if we find a treasure here, what you going to do with your share?'

'well, i'll have pie and a glass of soda every day, and i'll go to every circus that comes along. i'll bet i'll have a gay time.'

'well, ain't you going to save any of it?'

'save it? what for?'

'why, so as to have something to live on, by and by.'

'oh, that ain't any use. pap would come back to thish yer town someday and get his claws on it if i didn't hurry up, and i tell you he'd clean it out pretty quick. what you going to do with yourn, tom?'

'i'm going to buy a new drum, and a sure-'nough sword, and a red necktie and a bull pup, and get married.'

'married!'

'that's it.'

'tom, you--why, you ain't in your right mind.'

'wait--you'll see'

'well that's the foolishest thing you could do. look at pap and my mother. fight! why, they used to fight all the time. i remember, mighty well.'

'that ain't anything. the girl i'm going to marry won't fight.'

'tom, i reckon they're all alike. they'll all comb a body. now you better think 'bout this awhile. i tell you you better. what's the name of the gal?'

'it ain't a gal at all--it's a girl.'

'it's all the same, i reckon. some says gal, some says girl--both's right, like enough. anyway, what's her name, tom?'

'i'll tell you sometime--now now.'

'all right--that'll do. only if you get married i'll be more lonesomer than ever.'

'no, you won't. you'll come and live with me. now stir out of this and we'll go to digging.'"