Mark Twain
Mark Twain's The Adventures of Tom Sawyer is about a young boy growing up
in a small town. Tom's Aunt Polly assigns him the chore of whitewashing a fence-painting
it white. Tom hates this chore. Even so, he makes a start at it. Another boy comes along
and teases Tom for having to do the job. Tom manages to convince his friend that
whitewashing the fence is an honor and a privilege. The other boy asks if he can do some
of the work. Tom pretends to be unwilling but lets the friend do the whitewashing. Other
boys come along. Each of them gets the privilege of whitewashing the fence. By the end of
the day, the job is done. Tom has performed almost none of the work himself. Even more,
he has been able to persuade his friends to pay for the privilege. He is richer after the
chore is finished than when it began.