Huck Finn by Mark Twain. Chapter 6

Chapter 6

When night came, Huck and Jim set off down the river as usual. 'The snake skin didn't bring much bad luck after all,' thought Huck. Then he noticed that the river was getting foggy. Soon, they could hardly see the shore.

"We should stop till the fog passes," Huck said. "I will go ahead in the canoe and find something to tie the raft to." He tied one end of a long rope to the raft and took the other with him. But the fog was getting thicker every moment. Soon Huck couldn't see the raft behind him. Suddenly, he realised something else; he couldn't find his end of the rope. He called out to Jim as loudly as he could, then he listened for an answer. He thought he heard Jim filing back. Quickly he paddled towards the sound, but the next time he heard it, it was somewhere else. After calling for an hour or more, Huck fell asleep, exhausted.

When he woke up, it was morning and the sun was shining. The canoe was floating towards a large island. As Huck looked at the island, he saw the raft on the shore! 'The stream probably carried it there in the night,' he thought. He could see one smashed oar, and one side of the raft full of broken branches and mud. Jim was sitting with the other oar, fast asleep. Huck climbed onto the raft. Then he decided to play a trick on Jim. "Jim!" he said as he lay down. "How long have I been asleep?"

Jim jumped up. "Is that you, Huck? And you're not dead? Oh, I thought I would never see you again!" he said.

"What's the matter with you, Jim? It was a dream, probably. I didn't go anywhere!"

"What do you mean, Huck? Look me in the eye. Didn't you leave in the canoe? Didn't you lose the rope and float away?" asked Jim.

"No," said Huck again. "None of that happened. It was a dream, I'm sure."

"Well, then," said Jim, "that was the most amazing dream in my life. It must have a very deep meaning. The fog must stand for all the troubles we will have on our journey."

Huck pointed to the mud on the raft and the broken oar. "What about that stuff, Jim? What does it mean?" he said and laughed. Slowly Jim realised that Huck was playing a trick on him.

"I'll tell you," he said. "When you were lost, I was so sad I didn't care about anything; me or the raft, nothing was important anymore. Then I woke up and saw you were alive, and I was so thankful that tears came to my eyes. And all you were thinking about was to make fun of old Jim with your lies. That stuff is rubbish Huck - and if some people make fun of their friends, they are rubbish too."

When he saw Jim so hurt, Huck was sorry about his lies to him. He went and apologised to Jim, and promised never to play a trick like that again.

CHAPTER 6

Comprehension

1) Put the sentences in the correct order.

a.  Huck found Jim on the raft and played a trick on him.

b.  Huck got in his canoe and tried to find a place to tie the raft to.

c.  Huck realised he was wrong and apologised to his friend.

d.  Jim got very hurt because Huck made fun of him.

e.  There was a lot of fog on the river one night.

f.  Huck got lost and fell asleep.

 

2)  Complete the summary of Chapter 6 using the words in the box.

 

island  dream  lying  fog  trick  apologised  canoe

It was night and there was heavy (1)_____________ on the river. Huck decided to go ahead in the (2)_______________ to do something to help them. But after an hour, Huck couldn't find Jim. Huck looked for him. After a while, Huck saw the raft on the shore of a large (3) ______________.  As Jim was asleep on the raft, Huck decided to play a (4)  _______________ on him after he had woken up. He made Jim believe that everything was a bad (5)         . In the end, Jim realised that Huck was (6) ___________ and he was really hurt. Huck was very sorry and (7)_____________ to Jim for playing the trick on him.

 

Vocabulary

3) Choose the correct answer.

1.                The climber tied a rope / skin around him before he went up the mountain.

2.                When we go camping, we like to rent a canoe and paddle / float on the lake.

3.                Your shoes are very dirty. Where does all the mud / fog come from?

4.                Is your bicycle still hurt / broken?

5.                I want you to look me in the eye / stuff and tell me the truth.

 

4)  Choose a, b or c to complete the following sentences.

1. I have__ ____  that my puppy always sleeps in the afternoon.

a. listened           b. noticed               c. pointed

     2. Some students talk so ______  in the class that I get a headache.

a. loudly             b. quickly               c. suddenly

     3. Trisha is ______ after swimming for an hour.

a. exhausted        b. smashed             c. thicker

     4. Where is the _______ ? We can't paddle to the island without it.

     a. rope               b. luck                      c. oar

     Do you think that _______ has fish in it?

a. stream               b. rubbish              c. trick

 

 

Follow-up activities

5) Discuss.

1. When there was fog on the river, Huck and Jim did different things. Do you think that was wise?

2. Huck tells Jim that their night adventure was just a bad dream. Can you remember any of your dreams? Do you think a dream has a special meaning?

3.  Jim is hurt when Huck tricks him. How careful should you be about the feelings of friends? How do people react when they feel hurt?

4.  Do you think Huck and Jim will stay together or will they continue on their own?

 

6)  Imagine that you are Huck. Write a letter to Jim saying you are sorry for hurting him and that you won't do it again. (60-80 words)