"He tricked me like that many times before! And still I can't figure out his tricks I can't beat him again. He is the only boy of my dead sister. But he will work hard tomorrow. It will be good for him." Saturday morning was bright and fresh. The weather was very good. The birds were singing loudly. The air was warm. Tom came out of his home with a bucket of paint and a long brush. He looked at the fence. The fence was long and nine feet high. Tom became very sad. He started to paint the fence slowly. Then he sat down on a box and looked at the fence. After some time he picked up his brush and continued to work. Suddenly a perfect idea came to Tom. He began to paint eagerly. He saw Ben Rogers on the street. He held an apple in his hand. He was imitating a steamboat. Tom did not look at him. Ben came closer to Tom. "Hello, Tom! Hard work? I'm going to swim in the river. I wanted to go with you. But you are so busy," said Ben. "What do you call work? This work is interesting to me. I don't have a chance to paint a fence every day." Ben did not say anything. Tom painted the fence very carefully. Sometimes he stepped back to look at the result of his work. Ben got interested in Tom's work. "Tom, can I paint a little?" "Ben, Aunt Polly is so serious about this fence. Because it is right here on the street. So I have to paint it very carefully. My brother Sid also wanted to paint it, but my aunt said no." 9 ​