The Sunday-School Prize Scandal

Tom trades his whitewashing profits for Sunday-school tickets to win a Bible, exposing the hypocrisy of the system.

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Accumulating Tickets

The Ticket Economy The System Sunday-school rewards memorization of Bible verses with colored tickets: blue for two verses, red for ten blues, yellow for ten reds. Ten yellow tickets earn a Bible. Tom, who has not memorized a single verse, uses his whitewashing treasures to buy tickets from other boys. The Grand Prize Tom presents nine yellow, nine red, and ten blue tickets to the superintendent, Mr. Walters, and demands a Bible. The stunned superintendent has no choice but to award it, though he suspects fraud. The Humiliation When Judge Thatcher asks Tom to name the first two disciples, Tom answers "David and Goliath!" exposing his ignorance. The crowd is embarrassed, but Tom's audacity is memorable.

Sunday morning, early in the story