He slept on doorsteps in fine weather and in empty hogsheads in wet; he did not have to go to school or to church, or call any being master or obey anybody; he could go fishing or swimming when and where he chose, and stay as long as it suited him; nobody forbade him to fight; he could sit up as late as he pleased; he was always the first boy that went barefoot in the spring and the last to resume leather in the fall; he never had to wash, nor put on clean clothes; he could swear wonderfully.
Nem kellett sem templomba, sem iskolába járnia; senki emberfia nem parancsolt neki, és nem kellett szót fogadnia senkinek. Akkor és oda ment fürdeni vagy halászni, amikor és ahová kedve tartotta, és addig maradt, ameddig éppen jónak látta.