The Adventures of Mark Twain

It all started one day...

...after Tom heard about

Becky Thatcher...

...going down to see Saint Louis

with the judge.

It just worked on him thinking

about her down there having fun.

Time is slipping away,

and l'm getting older and older, Huck.

There's no wars breaking out,

no continents to explore.

No way a man can make

a name for hisself.

And now Becky exploring.

What an outrage.

l heard tell the Saint Louis papers

been talking about...

...some kind of balloon up there.

Suppose Becky will see it.

But probably not.

-That's it.

-What?

All the continents and stuff been

discovered by Christopher Columbus.

But for certain sure,

nobody has charted the skies.

What the sam hill are you

carrying on about?

The balloon in the papers

near Saint Louis.

What about it?

You couldn't see an adventure

hanging from the end of your nose.

Full steam ahead.

Get your paper right here.

Halley's comet coming.

Extra. Extra.

The countryside was humming

because of the balloon...

...and folks said there was a comet

heading our way.

Penny a paper. Penny a paper.

--like even these ones.

He might let me at least...

...you know,

get on and walk around....

-lt's taken me a long time.

-Doomed!

But once lost,

l could not find it with a dog.

-Great guns.

-Amazing.

Surely, Mr. Twain,

you aren't fool enough...

...to actually travel

in that fantastic contraption.

The man with a new idea is a fool...

...until the idea succeeds.

Why, Tom Sawyer and Huck Finn,

whatever are you doing here?

-Nothing.

-Why, Becky Thatcher...

...land sakes, what a coincidence...

...you being here the same time

as Huck and me.

lsn't he grand?

l got up close so l could see,

and he stopped.

He let me shake his hand.

-You shook his--?

-Well, that's nothing.

He's invited us to be

the first inspectors of his balloon.

-He has?

-ls that just more of your hot air?

Come, step lively, Huck.

We'd best be getting aboard.

So long, Becky.

Tom....

Where you really going

in that thing, Mr. Twain?

Going traveling?

Travel has no longer

any charm for me.

l've seen all the foreign countries

l care to see...

...except for heaven and hell...

...and l have only a vague curiosity

as concerns one of those.

No, friends,

l go to meet the comet.

He's not really gonna do that.

-Yes indeed, l surely plan to.

-But that's dangerous.

Come on, Huck.

Come on, hurry up.

You're nothing but a liar

and a stowaway, Tom Sawyer.

You too, Huck Finn.

You mustn't.

l came in with Halley's comet

in 1 835...

...when l was born.

And l expect to go out with it.

Oh, l'm looking forward to that.

-Welcome to the hurricane deck.

-lt stopped.

-Whoopee, let's go.

-What in tarnation is this thing?

Be careful, Tom.

-Tom, where are you?

-Great Scott, what a contraption.

-Huck.

-Look at that, Tom.

l thought l saw someone.

Gee willikers.

Look at this.

Huck.

-Whoopee.

-Oh, no.

-We're on our way.

-Oh, no!

Great Scott, we gotta get off.

Off? What's the matter with you?

Now, l'll be celebrated.

Tom Sawyer, the ''aeronort.''

-That'll show that Becky Thatcher.

-Show her what?

Caught you out, didn't l, Tom Sawyer?

You are stowaways.

-Becky, you're no balloon inspector.

-Neither are you.

Are you ever gonna catch it

when your Aunt Polly gets ahold of--

-Welcome to the hurricane deck.

-Boys. Tom. Huck.

-Mark Twain.

-And Becky Thatcher.

-How did he know our names?

-Hello, my angelfish.

More every day you remind me

of my wife, Livy, God rest her.

Same combination

of innocence and sand.

Same carefree laugh of a girl.

What happened to Livy,

Mr. Twain?

To the helm.

We've work to do.

Mr. Twain, there's been

some kind of an accident.

l think a miscalculation.

-Not by a considerable sight.

-But we're taking off.

What a view.

-How are we gonna get down?

-You keep a tight tongue, Huck.

-This is bully up here, Mr. Twain.

-This is glorious.

-Did we ever strike it lucky.

-Yeah.

-How high are we?

-How are we gonna get back down?

-Down is not our destination, my boy.

-Oh, no.

You mean we're--?

-Where are we going?

-To Halley's comet.

Halley's comet?

-We'd get--

-Burned to a crisp.

lt will be the greatest

disappointment of my life...

...if l don't meet up with that comet.

-Have a look back here.

-The man's plumb crazy.

-l wanna show you something.

-Well, l'm not. You stick with me.

See here.

Now, we cross the Atlantic...

...catch this trade wind...

...to where the comet's parabola

comes close to the Earth.

Or close enough.

How come a writer knows so much

about piloting and navigating?

Because long before l was a writer,

l was a Mississippi riverboat pilot.

Say, that's an uncommon fine frog.

Well, that's Homer.

You know, it was a frog like Homer

that put me in the writing business.

l wrote a story about The Celebrated

Jumping Frog of Calaveras County.

That's right here.

Home of Jim Smiley and

his famous frog, Dan'l Webster.

Famous frog?

Will you tell me what in tarnation

a frog could do to get hisself famous?

Oh, Tom.

l've been trying everything l know,

and l ain't even a little bit famous yet.

Well, l'll tell you all about him.

Just as it was told to me.

What a fellow, that Jim Smiley.

Always betting on anything

that turned up.

Only thing is,

he made sure he won every bet.

He catched a frog one day

and took him home...

...and said he'd calculate

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