湯姆悶悶不樂地回到家裡。姨媽一見他就數落了他一通，他感到就是回家也不一定能減輕他的苦楚。
TOM arrived at home in a dreary mood, and the first thing his aunt said to him showed him that he had brought his sorrows to an unpromising market:
“湯姆呀，湯姆，我想活剝了你！”
"Tom, I've a notion to skin you alive!"
“姨媽，我怎麼了？”
"Auntie, what have I done?"
“瞧，你作得夠嗆。都是因為你，我獃頭獃腦地跑去找賽倫尼·哈帕，像個老傻瓜似的，指望能讓她相信你編的那個鬼夢。可是你瞧，她早就從喬那裡瞭解到那天晚上你回過家，聽見了我們所說的一切。湯姆，我不知道像你這樣的孩子將來會怎麼樣。都是因為你，我才到賽倫尼·哈帕那兒去，出盡了洋相。一想到這，我就很傷心。”
"Well, you've done enough. Here I go over to Sereny Harper, like an old softy, expecting I'm going to make her believe all that rubbage about that dream, when lo and behold you she'd found out from Joe that you was over here and heard all the talk we had that night. Tom, I don't know what is to become of a boy that will act like that. It makes me feel so bad to think you could let me go to Sereny Harper and make such a fool of myself and never say a word."
湯姆沒想到事情會閙到這種地步。他本以為早上耍的小聰明只是玩笑，很有獨創性，可現在看來那既卑鄙又可恥。他先是垂下頭，無言以對，然後開口說：
This was a new aspect of the thing. His smartness of the morning had seemed to Tom a good joke before, and very ingenious. It merely looked mean and shabby now. He hung his head and could not think of anything to say for a moment. Then he said:
“姨媽，我希望那不是我干的，不過我沒想到……”
"Auntie, I wish I hadn't done it--but I didn't think."
“是的，孩子，你從來不動腦筋，只想著自己。你能想到夜裡從傑克遜島那麼大老遠地跑來幸災樂禍；你能想到編夢撒謊來糊弄我，可你就想不到來告訴我們你還活着並沒有死。你知道我們當時是多麼傷心嗎？”
"Oh, child, you never think. You never think of anything but your own selfishness. You could think to come all the way over here from Jackson's Island in the night to laugh at our troubles, and you could think to fool me with a lie about a dream; but you couldn't ever think to pity us and save us from sorrow."
“姨媽，我現在知道了，那樣做太卑鄙。可是我不是存心要卑鄙的，真的，我不是存心的。還有，那天夜裡我到這裡來不是要來看笑話的。”
"Auntie, I know now it was mean, but I didn't mean to be mean. I didn't, honest. And besides, I didn't come over here to laugh at you that night."
“那麼，你到這裡來幹什麼呢？”
"What did you come for, then?"
“是來告訴你們別為我操心，因為我們並沒有淹死。”
"It was to tell you not to be uneasy about us, because we hadn't got drownded."
“湯姆啊，湯姆，我要是能相信你真有這麼好的心腸，還替別人着想，那我可就謝天謝地囉！不過，你心裡明白你是個什麼樣的人，這我也明白，湯姆。”
"Tom, Tom, I would be the thankfullest soul in this world if I could believe you ever had as good a thought as that, but you know you never did--and I know it, Tom."
“姨媽，我可是千真萬確這麼打算的。我雖然擾了你，但我要不是這麼打算的，我甘願蹲大牢。”
"Indeed and 'deed I did, auntie--I wish I may never stir if I didn't."
“哦，得了吧，湯姆，不要撒謊——不要撒謊，否則事情更加糟糕，越發不可收拾。”
"Oh, Tom, don't lie--don't do it. It only makes things a hundred times worse."
“我沒撒謊，姨媽，我說的全是真的。我是要來讓你別傷心的——我來就是為了這個。”
"It ain't a lie, auntie; it's the truth. I wanted to keep you from grieving--that was all that made me come."
“湯姆，我真願意信你的話，這樣可以一肥遮百醜。你出走，捉弄我們那我反倒很高興。可是這聽起來不對勁，如果真像你所說的那樣，孩子，那你為什麼不先告訴我呢？”
"I'd give the whole world to believe that--it would cover up a power of sins, Tom. I'd 'most be glad you'd run off and acted so bad. But it ain't reasonable; because, why didn't you tell me, child?"
“哎，你瞧，我聽你說要給我們舉行葬禮，我滿心都想著要跑到教堂裡躲起來，我捨不得不這麼幹。所以，我把樹皮又放到口袋裏，沒有出來說。”
"Why, you see, when you got to talking about the funeral, I just got all full of the idea of our coming and hiding in the church, and I couldn't somehow bear to spoil it. So I just put the bark back in my pocket and kept mum."
“什麼樹皮？”
"What bark?"
“上面寫着我們去當海盜的那塊樹皮。唉，我當時吻你的時候，你要是醒了就好了。真的，我真是這樣希望的。”
"The bark I had wrote on to tell you we'd gone pirating. I wish, now, you'd waked up when I kissed you--I do, honest."
姨媽繃緊的臉一下子鬆開了，她眼裡突然閃現出慈祥的目光。
The hard lines in his aunt's face relaxed and a sudden tenderness dawned in her eyes.
“你吻了我，湯姆？”
"Did you kiss me, Tom?"
“是啊，我吻了。”
"Why, yes, I did."
“你敢肯定，湯姆？”
"Are you sure you did, Tom?"
“那還用說，我吻了，姨媽，百分之百的肯定。”
"Why, yes, I did, auntie--certain sure."
“那你為什麼要吻我，湯姆？”
"What did you kiss me for, Tom?"
“因為我很愛你，當時你躺在那裡哭泣，我十分難過。”
"Because I loved you so, and you laid there moaning and I was so sorry."
湯姆說的像是真的。老太太再說話的時候已掩飾不住激動的心情，聲音顫抖地說：
The words sounded like truth. The old lady could not hide a tremor in her voice when she said:
“湯姆，再吻我一下！現在你可以去上學了，不要再來煩我了。”
"Kiss me again, Tom!--and be off with you to school, now, and don't bother me any more."
湯姆剛一走，她就跑到櫥子那裡拿出湯姆當“海盜”時穿的那件破夾克，站在那兒自言自語道：
The moment he was gone, she ran to a closet and got out the ruin of a jacket which Tom had gone pirating in. Then she stopped, with it in her hand, and said to herself:
“不，我不敢看。可憐的孩子，我猜他說的是謊話——不過，這是個十足善意的謊話，令人寬慰。我希望上帝——我知道上帝一准會原諒他，因為他心眼好，才撒這樣的謊。我情願這不是謊言。我不想看。”
"No, I don't dare. Poor boy, I reckon he's lied about it--but it's a blessed, blessed lie, there's such a comfort come from it. I hope the Lord--I know the Lord will forgive him, because it was such good-heartedness in him to tell it. But I don't want to find out it's a lie. I won't look."
她放下夾克站在那裡想了一會。她兩次伸手想再去拿那衣服，兩次又把手縮了回來。最後，她堅定了決心再次伸出手去，心裡想著：“這謊撒得好，我喜歡這樣的謊話，別讓它壞了我的美事。”於是她翻了夾克衫上的口袋，隨即她看見了那塊樹皮上的字，於是她老淚縱橫，邊流淚邊說：“就算這孩子錯了，哪怕是大錯特錯，我現在也能原諒他了。”
She put the jacket away, and stood by musing a minute. Twice she put out her hand to take the garment again, and twice she refrained. Once more she ventured, and this time she fortified herself with the thought: "It's a good lie--it's a good lie--I won't let it grieve me." So she sought the jacket pocket. A moment later she was reading Tom's piece of bark through flowing tears and saying: "I could forgive the boy, now, if he'd committed a million sins!"