3 O liver goes to London 
¡¡  
¡¡¡¡O liver was now officially an undertaker's assistant£®It was a good£¬sickly time of year£¬and coffins were selling well. O liver gained a lot of experience in a short time£¬and was interested to see how brave some people were after a death in the family. During funerals for some rich people£¬ for example£¬he saw that the people who had cried the loudest in church usually recovered the fastest afterwards£®He noticed how in other wealthy families the wife or the husband often seemed quite cheerful and calm despite the recent death-just as if nothing had happened£®O liver was very surprised to see all this£¬ and greatly admired the m for controlling their sadness so well. 
¡¡¡¡He was treated badly by most of the people around him£®Noah was jealous because O liver went out to burials while he was left back in the shop£¬so he treated him even worse than before£®Charlotte treated him badly because Noah did. And Mrs Sowerberry was his enemy because Mr Sowerberry was supposed to be his friend. 
¡¡¡¡One day something happened which might seem unimportant£¬but which had a great effect on O liver's future. Noah was in a particularly bad mood one dinner-time£¬and so he tried to make O liver cry by hitting him£¬pulling his hair£¬and calling him horrible names. This was all unsuccessful£¬ so he tried personal insults£® 
¡¡¡¡'Workhouse£¬ how's your mother£¿' he asked£® 
¡¡¡¡'She's dead£¬'replied O liver£¬his face going red with emotion£® 
¡¡¡¡Noah hoped that O liver was going to cry£¬ so he continued£® 
¡¡¡¡'What did she die of£¬ Workhouse£¿' 
¡¡¡¡'Of a broken heart£¬ I was told£®'And a tear rolled down O liver's cheek. 
¡¡¡¡'Why are you crying£¬Workhouse£¿' 
¡¡¡¡O liver remained silent£¬and Noah grew braver£® 'You know£¬I feel very sorry for you£¬Workhouse£¬but the truth is your mother was a wicked woman£®' 
¡¡¡¡O liver seemed suddenly to wake up. 'What did you say£¿' 
¡¡¡¡'She was so bad it was lucky she died£¬ or she would have ended up in prison£¬or hung.' 
¡¡¡¡His face bright red with anger£¬O liver jumped up£¬ seized Noah's throat£¬ and shook the older boy so violently that his teeth nearly fell out. The n he hit him with all his strength and knocked him to the ground£® 
¡¡¡¡'He'll murder me£¡'screamed Noah£® 'Charlotte£¡ Help£¡O liver's gone mad¡ª' 
¡¡¡¡Charlotte and Mrs Sowerberry ran in and screamed in horror£®They took hold of O liver and began to heat him£® The n Noah got up and started to kick him from behind£®When They were all tired£¬ They forced O liver£¬ who was still fighting and shouting£¬ into the cellar and locked it£® 
¡¡¡¡Mrs Sowerberry sat down£¬ breathing heavily£® 'He's like a wild animal£¡'she said£® 'We could all have been murdered in our beds£¡' 
¡¡¡¡'I hope Mr Sowerberry doesn't take any more of the se dreadful creatures from the workhouse£¬'said Charlotte£® 'Poor Noah was nearly killed£¡'Mrs Sowerberry looked at Noah sympathetically. 
¡¡¡¡Noah£¬ who was twice O liver's size£¬ pretended to rub tears from his eyes£® 
¡¡¡¡'What shall we do£¿' cried Mrs Sowerberry£® 'He'll kick that door down in ten minutes.' They could hear O liver banging and kicking at the cellar door£® 'Noah-run and get Mr Bumble£®' 
¡¡¡¡So Noah ran through the streets as quickly as he could to fetch the beadle£® When he reached the workhouse£¬ he waited for a minute to make sure his face was suitably tearful and frightened. 
¡¡¡¡As soon as Mr Bumble came out£¬Noah cried£¬ 'Mr Bumble£¡Mr Bumble£¡ It's O liver Twist£¬sir£®He's become violent£®He tried to murder me£¬ sir£¡ And Charlotte£¬ and Mrs Sowerberry as well.' 
¡¡¡¡Mr Bumble was shocked and angry£® 'Did he£¿I'll come up the re immediately and beat him with my stick£®' 
¡¡¡¡When he arrived at the shop£¬O liver was still kicking wildly at the cellar door. 
¡¡¡¡'Let me out£¡'he shouted from the cellar£¬when he heard Mr Bumble's voice£® 'I'm not afraid of you£¡' 
¡¡¡¡Mr Bumble stopped for a moment£¬amazed and even rather frightened by this change in O liver£® The n he said to Mrs Sowerberry£¬ 'It's the meat that's caused this£¬ you know.' 
¡¡¡¡'What£¿' 
¡¡¡¡'Meat£¬ madam. You've fed him too well here. Back in the workhouse this would never have happened.' 
¡¡¡¡'I knew I was too generous to him£¬'said Mrs Sowerberry£¬raising her eyes to the ceiling£® 
¡¡¡¡At that moment Mr Sowerberry returned and£¬hearing what had happened£šaccording to the ladies£©£¬ he beat O liver so hard that even Mr Bumble and Mrs Sowerberry were satisfied£® Mr Sowerberry was not a cruel man£¬but he had no choice. He knew that if he didn't punish O liver£¬ his wife would never forgive him£® 
¡¡¡¡That night£¬ alone in the room with the coffins£¬O liver cried bitter£¬ lonely tears£® He did not sleep£¬ and very early in the morning£¬ before anyone was awake£¬ he quietly unlocked the shop door and left the house£® He ran up the street and through the town as far as the main road£¬where he saw a sign that told him it was just seventy miles from the re to London. The name London gave the boy an idea£®That huge place£¡ Nobody£¬ not even Mr Bumble£¬ could ever find him the re£¡He had heard old men in the workhouse say it was a good place for brave boys£¬and that the re was always work the re for those that wanted it£®It would be the best place for him£®He jumped to his feet and walked forward again£® 
¡¡¡¡But after only four miles he began to realize just how far he would have to walk£® He stopped to think about it£® He had a piece of bread£¬ a rough shirt£¬ two pairs of socks and a penny. But he could not see how the se would help him get to London any faster£¬ so he continued walking£® 
¡¡¡¡He walked twenty miles that day£® The only thing he had to eat was his piece of bread and some water which he begged from houses near the road. He slept the first night in a field£¬feeling lonely£¬ tired£¬ cold and hungry. He was even hungrier the next morning when he woke up£¬ and he had to buy some more bread with his penny£®That day he walked only twelve miles£® His legs were so weak that They shook beneath him£® 
¡¡¡¡The next day he tried to beg for money£¬ but large signs in some villages warned him that anyone caught begging would be sent to prison. Travellers on the road refused to give him money£» They said he was a lazy young dog and didn't deserve anything. Farmers threatened to send their dogs after him£®When he waited outside pubs£¬the pub£­owners chased him away because They thought he had come to steal something£®Only two people were kind enough to feed him£º an old woman and a gate£­keeper on the road. If They had not given him some food£¬ he surely would have died like his mother. 
¡¡¡¡Early on the seventh morning of his journey£¬ O liver finally reached the little town of Barnet£¬just outside London. Exhausted£¬he sat down at the side of the road. His feet were bleeding and he was covered in dust£® He was too tired even to beg£®The n he noticed that a boy£¬ who had passed him a few minutes before£¬had returned£¬ and was now looking at him carefully from the opposite side of the road£® After a long time the boy crossed the road and said to O liver£¬ 
¡¡¡¡'Hello£¡ What's the matter the n£¿' 
¡¡¡¡The boy was about O liver's age£¬ but was one of the strangest-looking people he had ever seen. He had a dirty£¬ordinary boy's face£¬ but he behaved as if he were an adult£® He was short for his age and had little£¬ sharp£¬ugly eyes. His hat was stuck on top of his head but it looked as though it would blow off at any minute£® He wore a man's coat which reached almost down to his feet£¬ with sleeves so long that his hands were completely covered. 
¡¡¡¡'I'm very tired and hungry£¬'answered O liver£¬ almost crying£® 'I've been walking for a week£®' 
¡¡¡¡'A week£¡ The magistrate's order£¬ was it£¿' 
¡¡¡¡'The magistrate£¿What's that£¿' 
¡¡¡¡'A magistrate's a kind of judge£¬'explained the surprised young gentleman. He realized O liver did not have much experience of the world£® 'Never mind that£®You want some food£¬' he went on. 'I haven't got much money but don't worry£­I'll pay£®' 
¡¡¡¡The boy helped O liver to his feet£¬ and took him to a pub. Meat£¬ bread£¬ and beer were placed before O liver£¬ and his new friend urged him to satisfy his hunger£® While O liver was eating£¬ the strange boy looked at him from time to time with great attention£® 
¡¡¡¡'Going to London£¿' he asked him finally£® 
¡¡¡¡'Yes.' 
¡¡¡¡'Got anywhere to live£¿' 
¡¡¡¡'No£®' 
¡¡¡¡'Money£¿' 
¡¡¡¡'No£®' 
¡¡¡¡The strange boy whistled£¬ and put his arms into his pockets as far as the big coat sleeves would allow him£® 'I suppose you want to sleep somewhere tonight£¬ don't you£¿' 
¡¡¡¡'I do£¬' replied O liver£® 'I haven't slept under a roof since I started my journey£®' 
¡¡¡¡'Well£¬ don't worry£®I've got to be in London tonight£¬ and I know a very nice old gentleman the re who'll let you live in his place and not even ask you for money£¡' 
¡¡¡¡O liver was deeply grateful for this offer of shelter and talked for a long time with his new friend£® His name was Jack Dawkins£¬ but he was usually called 'The Artful Dodger'£® 'Artful' because he was very clever at getting what he wanted£»and 'Dodger' because he was very good at not getting caught when he did something wrong£®When he heard this£¬O liver felt rather doubtful about having such a friend£®However£¬he wanted first to meet the kind old gentleman in London£¬who would help him£®After that£¬he could decide whether to continue the friendship with the Artful Dodger£® 
¡¡¡¡¡¡    


 