A Brave and Honest Boy, Oliver Twist Page #9

"A Brave and Honest Boy, Oliver Twist" is a retelling of Charles Dickens' classic tale, "Oliver Twist," which follows the journey of a young orphan boy named Oliver. Born into a life of poverty and hardship in a workhouse, Oliver escapes to seek a better life in London. Along the way, he encounters a colorful cast of characters, including kind-hearted souls and criminal elements, as he grapples with issues of morality, identity, and the search for belonging. Through his courage and innocence, Oliver's story highlights the struggles of the underprivileged and the resilience of the human spirit in the face of adversity. This adaptation emphasizes themes of bravery, honesty, and the quest for love and acceptance.

• Children

								

instinctively; "he'll fall down."

"Stand away, officer," cried Fang; "let him, if he likes."

Oliver availed himself of the kind permission, and fell to the floor in
a fainting fit. The men in the office looked at each other, but no one
dared to stir.

"I knew he was shamming," said Fang, as if this were enough proof of the
fact. "Let him lie there; he'll soon be tired of that."

"How do you propose to deal with the case, sir?" inquired the clerk in a
low voice.

"Summarily," replied Mr. Fang. "He stands committed for three
months--hard labor, of course. Clear the office."

The door was opened for this purpose, and a couple of men were preparing
to carry the insensible boy to his cell, when an elderly man of decent
but poor appearance, clad in an old suit of black, rushed in.

"Stop! stop! Don't take him away! For heaven's sake stop a moment!"
cried the newcomer, breathless with haste.

"What is this? Who is this? Turn this man out. Clear the office," cried
Mr. Fang.

"I will speak," cried the man; "I will not be turned out. I saw it
all. I keep the book-stall. I demand to be sworn. I will not be put
down. Mr. Fang, you must hear me. You must not refuse, sir."

The man was right. His manner was determined; and the matter was growing
rather too serious to be hushed up.

"Swear the man," growled Mr. Fang, with a very ill grace. "Now, man,
what have you to say?"

"This," said the man: "I saw three boys--two two others and the prisoner
here--loitering on the opposite side of the way, when this gentleman was
reading. The robbery was committed by another boy. I saw it done; and I
saw this boy was perfectly amazed and stupefied by it."

"Why didn't you come here before?" said Fang, after a pause.

"I hadn't a soul to mind the shop," replied the man. "Everybody who
could have helped me had joined in the pursuit. I could get nobody till
five minutes ago; and I have run here all the way to speak the truth."

"The boy is discharged. Clear the office!" shouted the angry magistrate.

The command was obeyed; and as Oliver was taken out he fainted away
again in the yard, and lay with his face a deadly white and a cold
tremble convulsing his frame.

"Poor boy! poor boy!" said Mr. Brownlow, bending over him. "Call a
coach, somebody, pray. Directly!"

A coach was obtained, and Oliver, having been carefully laid on one
seat, the old gentleman got in and sat himself on the other.

"May I go with you?" said the book-stall keeper, looking in.

"Bless me, yes, my dear sir," said Mr. Brownlow quickly. "I forgot you.
Dear, dear! I have this unhappy book still! Jump in. Poor fellow! No
time to lose."

The book-stall keeper got into the coach, and it rattled away. It
stopped at length before a neat house, in a quiet shady street. Here a
bed was prepared, without loss of time, in which Mr. Brownlow saw his
young charge carefully and comfortably laid; and here he was tended
with a kindness and solicitude that knew no bounds.

At last the sick boy began to recover, and one day Mr. Brownlow came to
see him. You may imagine how happy Oliver was to see his good friend;
but he was no more delighted than was Mr. Brownlow. The old gentleman
came to spend a short time with him every day; and, when he grew
stronger, Oliver went up to the learned gentleman's study and talked
with him by the hour and was astonished at the books he saw, and which
Mr. Brownlow told him to look at and read as much as he liked.

Oliver was soon well, and no thought was in Mr. Brownlow's mind but that
he should keep him, and raise him and educate him to be a splendid man;
for no father loves his own son better than Mr. Brownlow had come to
love Oliver.

Now, I know, you want to ask me what became of Oliver Twist. But I
cannot tell you here. Let us leave him in this beautiful home of good
Mr. Brownlow; and, if you want to read the rest of his wonderful story,
get Dickens' big book called Oliver Twist, and read it there. There
were many surprises and much trouble yet in store for Oliver, but he was
always noble, honest, and brave.
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