Приключения Гекльберри Финна

УДК 
372.8

ББК 
81.2 Англ-93

 
Т26

ISBN 978-5-9925-1108-6

 
Твен, Марк.

Т26 
Приключения Гекльберри Финна : книга для 

чтения на английском языке. — Санкт-Петербург : 
КАРО, 2016. — 336 с. — (Classical Literature).

ISBN 978-5-9925-1108-6.

Предлагаем вниманию читателей знаменитый роман 

Марка Твена об увлекательных приключениях американского 
мальчика Гекльберри Финна и его друзей.

В книге представлен неадаптированный текст романа с 

комментариями и словарем.

УДК 372.8

ББК 81.2 Англ-93

© КАРО, 2016

NOTICE

PERSONS attempting to find a motive in this narrative will 

be prosecuted; persons attempting to find a moral in it will be 
banished; persons attempting to find a plot in it will be shot.

BY ORDER OF THE AUTHOR, Per G.G., Chief of Ordnance.

EXPLANATORY

IN this book a number of dialects are used, to wit: the 

Missouri negro dialect; the extremest form of the backwoods 
Southwestern dialect; the ordinary “Pike County” dialect; 
and four modified varieties of this last. The shadings have 
not been done in a haphazard fashion, or by guesswork; but 
painstakingly, and with the trustworthy guidance and support 
of personal familiarity with these several forms of speech.

I make this explanation for the reason that without it many 

readers would suppose that all these characters were trying to 
talk alike and not succeeding.

THE AUTHOR.

Chapter I

ou don’t know about me without you have read a 
book by the name of The Adventures of Tom Sawyer; 
but that ain’t no matter. That book was made by 

Mr. Mark Twain, and he told the truth, mainly. There was things 
which he stretched, but mainly he told the truth. That is nothing. 
I never seen anybody but lied one time or another, without it was 
Aunt Polly, or the widow, or maybe Mary. Aunt Polly — Tom’s 
Aunt Polly, she is — and Mary, and the Widow Douglas is all told 
about in that book, which is mostly a true book, with some 
stretchers, as I said before.

Now the way that the book winds up is this: Tom and me 

found the money that the robbers hid in the cave, and it made 
us rich. We got six thousand dollars apiece — all gold. It was an 
awful sight of money when it was piled up. Well, Judge Thatcher 
he took it and put it out at interest, and it fetched us a dollar a day 
apiece all the year round — more than a body could tell what to do 
with. The Widow Douglas she took me for her son1, and allowed 
she would sivilize me; but it was rough living in the house all the 
time, considering how dismal regular and decent the widow was 
in all her ways; and so when I couldn’t stand it no longer I lit out2. 

1 took me for her son — (зд.) усыновила меня
2 I lit out — (искаж.) я смылся

I got into my old rags and my sugar-hogshead again, and was free 
and satisfied. But Tom Sawyer he hunted me up and said he was 
going to start a band of robbers, and I might join if I would go 
back to the widow and be respectable. So I went back.

The widow she cried over me, and called me a poor lost 

lamb, and she called me a lot of other names, too, but she never 
meant no harm by it. She put me in them new clothes again, and 
I couldn’t do nothing but sweat and sweat, and feel all cramped 
up. Well, then, the old thing commenced again. The widow rung 
a bell for supper, and you had to come to time. When you got to 
the table you couldn’t go right to eating, but you had to wait for 
the widow to tuck down her head and grumble a little over the 
victuals, though there warn’t really anything the matter with 
them, — that is, nothing only everything was cooked by itself. In 
a barrel of odds and ends it is different; things get mixed up, and 
the juice kind of swaps around, and the things go better.

After supper she got out her book and learned me about 

Moses and the Bulrushers, and I was in a sweat to find out all 
about him; but by and by she let it out that Moses had been dead 
a considerable long time; so then I didn’t care no more about him, 
because I don’t take no stock1 in dead people.

Pretty soon I wanted to smoke, and asked the widow to let 

me. But she wouldn’t. She said it was a mean practice and wasn’t 
clean, and I must try to not do it any more. That is just the way 
with some people. They get down on a thing when they don’t 
know nothing about it. Here she was a-bothering about Moses, 
which was no kin to her, and no use to anybody, being gone, you 
see, yet finding a power of fault with me for doing a thing that 
had some good in it. And she took snuff, too; of course that was 
all right, because she done it herself.

Her sister, Miss Watson, a tolerable slim old maid, with 

goggles on, had just come to live with her, and took a set at me 
now with a spelling-book. She worked me middling hard for 

1 don’t take no stock — (разг.) отношусь с недоверием

about an hour, and then the widow made her ease up. I couldn’t 
stood it much longer. Then for an hour it was deadly dull, and I 
was fidgety. Miss Watson would say, “Don’t put your feet up there, 
Huckleberry;” and “Don’t scrunch up like that, Huckleberry — 
set up straight;” and pretty soon she would say, “Don’t gap and 
stretch like that, Huckleberry — why don’t you try to behave?” 
Then she told me all about the bad place, and I said I wished 
I was there. She got mad then, but I didn’t mean no harm. All 
I wanted was to go somewheres; all I wanted was a change, I 
warn’t particular. She said it was wicked to say what I said; said 
she wouldn’t say it for the whole world; she was going to live so 
as to go to the good place. Well, I couldn’t see no advantage in 
going where she was going, so I made up my mind I wouldn’t try 
for it. But I never said so, because it would only make trouble, 
and wouldn’t do no good.

Now she had got a start, and she went on and told me all 

about the good place. She said all a body would have to do there 
was to go around all day long with a harp and sing, forever and 
ever. So I didn’t think much of it. But I never said so. I asked her 
if she reckoned Tom Sawyer would go there, and she said not by 
a considerable sight1. I was glad about that, because I wanted 
him and me to be together.

Miss Watson she kept pecking at me, and it got tiresome 

and lonesome. By and by they fetched the niggers in and had 
prayers, and then everybody was off to bed. I went up to my 
room with a piece of candle, and put it on the table. Then I 
set down in a chair by the window and tried to think of something cheerful, but it warn’t no use. I felt so lonesome I most 
wished I was dead. The stars were shining, and the leaves 
rustled in the woods ever so mournful; and I heard an owl, 
away off, who-whooing about somebody that was dead, and a 
whippowill and a dog crying about somebody that was going 
to die; and the wind was trying to whisper something to me, 

1 not by a considerable sight — (разг.) это очень маловероятно

and I couldn’t make out what it was, and so it made the cold 
shivers run over me1. Then away out in the woods I heard that 
kind of a sound that a ghost makes when it wants to tell about 
something that’s on its mind and can’t make itself understood, 
and so can’t rest easy in its grave, and has to go about that way 
every night grieving. I got so down-hearted and scared I did 
wish I had some company. Pretty soon a spider went crawling 
up my shoulder, and I flipped it off and it lit in the candle; 
and before I could budge it was all shriveled up. I didn’t need 
anybody to tell me that that was an awful bad sign and would 
fetch me some bad luck2, so I was scared and most shook the 
clothes off of me. I got up and turned around in my tracks three 
times and crossed my breast every time; and then I tied up a 
little lock of my hair with a thread to keep witches away. But I 
hadn’t no confidence. You do that when you’ve lost a horseshoe 
that you’ve found, instead of nailing it up over the door, but I 
hadn’t ever heard anybody say it was any way to keep off bad 
luck when you’d killed a spider.

I set down again, a-shaking all over, and got out my pipe for 

a smoke; for the house was all as still as death now, and so the 
widow wouldn’t know. Well, after a long time I heard the clock 
away off in the town go boom-boom-boom — twelve licks; and 
all still again — stiller than ever. Pretty soon I heard a twig snap 
down in the dark amongst the trees — something was a stirring. I 
set still and listened. Directly I could just barely hear a “me-yow! 
me-yow!” down there. That was good! Says I, “me-yow! me-yow!” 
as soft as I could, and then I put out the light and scrambled out 
of the window on to the shed. Then I slipped down to the ground 
and crawled in among the trees, and, sure enough, there was Tom 
Sawyer waiting for me.

1 it made the cold shivers run over me — (разг.) у меня аж мураш
ки побежали

2 would fetch me some bad luck — (разг.) притянет ко мне не
приятности

Chapter II

e went tiptoeing along a path amongst the trees back 
towards the end of the widow’s garden, stooping 
down so as the branches wouldn’t scrape our heads. 

When we was passing by the kitchen I fell over a root and made 
a noise. We scrouched down and laid still. Miss Watson’s big 
nigger, named Jim, was setting in the kitchen door; we could see 
him pretty clear, because there was a light behind him. He got up 
and stretched his neck out about a minute, listening. Then he says:

“Who dah?”
He listened some more; then he come tiptoeing down and 

stood right between us; we could a touched him, nearly. Well, 
likely it was minutes and minutes that there warn’t a sound, and 
we all there so close together. There was a place on my ankle that 
got to itching, but I dasn’t scratch it; and then my ear begun to itch; 
and next my back, right between my shoulders. Seemed like I’d 
die if I couldn’t scratch. Well, I’ve noticed that thing plenty times 
since. If you are with the quality1, or at a funeral, or trying to go 
to sleep when you ain’t sleepy — if you are anywheres where it 
won’t do for you to scratch, why you will itch all over in upwards 
of a thousand places. Pretty soon Jim says:

“Say, who is you? Whar is you? Dog my cats ef I didn’ hear 

sumf’n. Well, I know what I’s gwyne to do: I’s gwyne to set down 
here and listen tell I hears it agin.”

So he set down on the ground betwixt me and Tom. He 

leaned his back up against a tree, and stretched his legs out till 
one of them most touched one of mine. My nose begun to itch. It 
itched till the tears come into my eyes. But I dasn’t scratch. Then 
it begun to itch on the inside. Next I got to itching underneath. 
I didn’t know how I was going to set still. This miserableness 

1 If you are with the quality — (разг.) Если ты в приличном доме 

(в гостях)

went on as much as six or seven minutes; but it seemed a sight 
longer than that. I was itching in eleven different places now. I 
reckoned I couldn’t stand it more’n a minute longer, but I set my 
teeth hard and got ready to try. Just then Jim begun to breathe 
heavy; next he begun to snore — and then I was pretty soon 
comfortable again.

Tom he made a sign to me — kind of a little noise with his 

mouth — and we went creeping away on our hands and knees. 
When we was ten foot off Tom whispered to me, and wanted to 
tie Jim to the tree for fun. But I said no; he might wake and make 
a disturbance, and then they’d find out I warn’t in. Then Tom said 
he hadn’t got candles enough, and he would slip in the kitchen 
and get some more. I didn’t want him to try. I said Jim might wake 
up and come. But Tom wanted to resk it; so we slid in there and 
got three candles, and Tom laid five cents on the table for pay. 
Then we got out, and I was in a sweat to get away; but nothing 
would do Tom but he must crawl to where Jim was, on his hands 
and knees, and play something on him1. I waited, and it seemed 
a good while, everything was so still and lonesome.

As soon as Tom was back we cut along the path, around the 

garden fence, and by and by fetched up on the steep top of the hill 
the other side of the house. Tom said he slipped Jim’s hat off of his 
head and hung it on a limb right over him, and Jim stirred a little, 
but he didn’t wake. Afterwards Jim said the witches bewitched 
him and put him in a trance, and rode him all over the State, and 
then set him under the trees again, and hung his hat on a limb 
to show who done it. And next time Jim told it he said they rode 
him down to New Orleans; and, after that, every time he told it 
he spread it more and more, till by and by he said they rode him 
all over the world, and tired him most to death, and his back was 
all over saddle-boils. Jim was monstrous proud about it, and he 
got so he wouldn’t hardly notice the other niggers. Niggers would 
come miles to hear Jim tell about it, and he was more looked up 

1 play something on him — (разг.) как-нибудь подшутить над ним

to than any nigger in that country. Strange niggers would stand 
with their mouths open and look him all over, same as if he was 
a wonder. Niggers is always talking about witches in the dark by 
the kitchen fire; but whenever one was talking and letting on to 
know all about such things, Jim would happen in and say, “Hm! 
What you know ’bout witches?” and that nigger was corked up 
and had to take a back seat1. Jim always kept that five-center 
piece round his neck with a string, and said it was a charm the 
devil give to him with his own hands, and told him he could cure 
anybody with it and fetch witches whenever he wanted to just 
by saying something to it; but he never told what it was he said 
to it. Niggers would come from all around there and give Jim 
anything they had, just for a sight of that five-center piece; but 
they wouldn’t touch it, because the devil had had his hands on 
it. Jim was most ruined for a servant, because he got stuck up on 
account of having seen the devil and been rode by witches.

Well, when Tom and me got to the edge of the hilltop we 

looked away down into the village and could see three or four 
lights twinkling, where there was sick folks, maybe; and the stars 
over us was sparkling ever so fine; and down by the village was 
the river, a whole mile broad, and awful still and grand. We went 
down the hill and found Jo Harper and Ben Rogers, and two or 
three more of the boys, hid in the old tanyard. So we unhitched 
a skiff and pulled down the river two mile and a half, to the big 
scar on the hillside, and went ashore.

We went to a clump of bushes, and Tom made everybody 

swear to keep the secret, and then showed them a hole in the hill, 
right in the thickest part of the bushes. Then we lit the candles, 
and crawled in on our hands and knees. We went about two 
hundred yards, and then the cave opened up. Tom poked about 
amongst the passages, and pretty soon ducked under a wall 
where you wouldn’t a noticed that there was a hole. We went 

1 was corked up and had to take a back seat — (разг.) сразу при
тихнет и отсядет подальше