Tom is always busy trading for something in Mark Twain's novel, The Adventures of Tom Sawyer. But none paid off quite as well as his trades for Sunday school tickets because it gave him a chance to meet and impress Becky's father,"the great Judge Thatcher." First, he exchanged "lickrish and a fishhook" for a "yaller" ticket. Then, he traded a "couple of white alleys" for red tickets. He went on trading and "waylaid other boys" for tickets of various colors. Each ticket counted for a certain amount of recited scriptures, so when Tom came forward with his

nine yellow tickets, nine red tickets, and ten blue ones, and demanded a Bible... This was a thunderbolt out of a clear sky.

Sure enough, Tom was introduced to the judge, who patted Tom on the head, much to Becky's pride. But when it came time to answer the "simplest question" before the rest of the surprised congregation, Tom was at a loss for the right words.