Oliver Twist

Retold from the Charles Dickens
original by Kathleen Olmstead
Illustrated by Dan Andreasen

STERLING and the distinctive Sterling logo are registered trademarks ofSterling Publishing Co., Inc.
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Olmstead, Kathleen.
Oliver Twist / retold from the Charles Dickens original ; abridged by Kathleen
Olmstead ; illustrated by Dan Andreasen ; afterword by Arthur Pober.
p. cm.—(Classic starts)
Summary: An abridged version of the adventures ofthe orphan boy who is forced to practice thievery and live a lifeof crime in nineteenth-century London.
ISBN 1-4027-2665-1[1. Orphans—Fiction. 2. Robbers and outlaws—Fiction. 3. London (England)—Fiction. 4. Great Britain—History—19th century—Fiction.]
I. Andreasen, Dan, ill. II. Dickens, Charles, 1812–1870. Oliver Twist.
III. Title. IV. Series.
PZ7.O515Oli 2006
[Fic]—dc22
2005015840
Lot#:
4 6 8 10 9 7 504/10
Published by Sterling Publishing Co., Inc.
387 Park Avenue South, New York, NY 10016
Copyright © 2006 by Kathleen Olmstead
Illustrations copyright © 2006 by Dan Andreasen
Distributed in Canada by Sterling Publishingc/o Canadian Manda Group, 165 Dufferin StreetToronto, Ontario, Canada M6K 3H6
Distributed in the United Kingdom by GMC Distribution Services,Castle Place, 166 High Street, Lewes, East Sussex, England BN7 1XUDistributed in Australia by Capricorn Link (Australia) Pty. Ltd.
P.O. Box 704, Windsor, NSW 2756, Australia
Classic Starts is a trademark of Sterling Publishing Co., Inc.
Printed in China
All rights reserved
Designed by Renato Stanisic
Sterling ISBN 978-1-4027-2665-1
For information about custom editions, special sales, premium andcorporate purchases, please contact Sterling Special SalesDepartment at 800-805-5489 or specialsales@sterlingpublishing.com.

C ONTENTS
CHAPTER 1 :Oliver Twist
CHAPTER 2 :Life in a Workhouse
CHAPTER 3 :A New HomeCHAPTER 4 :A Bit of Meat
CHAPTER 5:
Noah
CHAPTER 6 :The Escape
CHAPTER 7 :Saying Good-bye
CHAPTER 8 :London at Last
CHAPTER 9 :At Fagin’s House
CHAPTER 10 :A New Game
CHAPTER 11 :Pickpockets
CHAPTER 12 :At the Courthouse
CHAPTER 13 :A Safe PlaceCHAPTER 14 :The Painting
CHAPTER 15 :Captured!
CHAPTER 16 :Monks
CHAPTER 17 :Breaking In
CHAPTER 18 :The Locket
CHAPTER 19 :Inside the Cottage
CHAPTER 20 :A New Plan
CHAPTER 21 :A Full Confession
CHAPTER 22 :Off to Australia
CHAPTER 23 :Nancy’s Death
CHAPTER 24 :A New Family
What Do You Think?
Afterword
Classic Starts™ LibraryCHAPTER 1

Oliver Twist

Regrettably, our story must begin on a note of sadness. It is an unfortunate truththat not all beginnings are happy ones. This particular story opens in aworkhouse. There was a time—the same time that our story takes place—when
too many cities and towns were home to these large, cold buildings. Men who
could not pay their bills were sentenced to hard labor here. Women and children
with no place else to go lived and worked here. Children left on doorsteps with nofamily to call their own spent their days in the bottle-washing factories. There isnothing beautiful or warm one can say about a workhouse. Only that this iswhere our young hero, Oliver Twist, came into the world.
In fact, there was almost no story to tell at all. For the first few moments of hislife, Oliver did not take to breathing right away. Now, things might have beendifferent had he been surrounded by loving aunts and grandmothers. They would
have fussed and worried over him. Unfortunately, there was only the doctor, whoquickly turned back to the fire, and an old woman who sat with Oliver and hismother. So, it was up to the baby to fight it out on his own. And fight he did.
After a few sniffs, some struggling coughs, and a sneeze he let out a long—andquite strong—wail.
The blanket on the bed rustled as Oliver’s mother moved. She slowly raised
her pale face from the pillow and said quietly, “Let me see the child before Idie.”
The doctor looked back from the fire. “Oh, you must not talk about dying yet,”he said.
“I should say not!” the old woman added. “When she has lived as long as I
have then she can talk about dying. I’ve brought thirteen children into this world
and watched all but two die. I know a thing or two about living and dying. She
has no reason to talk like that.”
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The patient shook her head. She stretched her hand toward the child. The
doctor placed Oliver in her arms. She pressed her cold white lips onto the baby’sforehead. It was a tender, loving kiss. This was a special moment between
mother and son. She then passed her hand over her own face. Her head dropped
onto the pillow and she was dead. The doctor and old woman worked to saveher. They pounded on her chest and rubbed her hands, but there was no use. Shewas gone.
“Oh, the poor dear,” the old woman cried. “How sad for the little one.” She
picked Oliver up. He lay quietly in her arms.
“Well, there’s nothing more I can do,” the doctor said. He put his hat on andpicked up his bag. “If the child cries, you can give him some gruel.”
He stopped before heading out the door. “Shame, too. She was a pretty young
thing. Do you have any idea who she was or where she came from?”“None, sir,” the old woman replied. “She arrived last night during that terrible
rain. No shoes, no bags. She was very sick and ready to give birth.”
The doctor walked back to the bed. He raised the young woman’s left hand.
“The same old story,” he said, shaking his head. “I see there’s no wedding ring.
Ah, well! Good night,” he said and quickly walked out the door.
The old woman sat before the fire and wrapped the infant in a blanket. She
told the woman who ran the workhouse, Mrs. Bumble, that a baby boy had beenborn.
“Ach,” Mrs. Bumble said. “Another orphan for the workhouse to take careof.” She looked at the baby with disgust. “Another mouth to feed. More moneyfrom my small allowance.”
There was nothing to envy in the life of an orphan. Especially an orphan raisedin the workhouse. Their lives were filled with hard work, little play, and very littlefood. Very few showed pity or kindness toward them, especially those people
who took care of them.
Mr. Bumble, the husband of the woman who ran the workhouse, was a town
official. The workhouse was one of his responsibilities. He made sure thateverything was to the liking of the town council and workhouse board. He was aman who liked to use his power, but failed to realize that no one feared him. His
wife, in particular, thought him foolish. The Bumbles looked like one another.
Both were short, round, and mean-spirited.
It was Mr. Bumble who gave Oliver his last name. He used the alphabet tokeep track of all the new orphan names. When the last orphan came to them,2Bumble was at the letter S. Therefore, Bumble gave him the name Swubble. As
T was next in line, this baby was named Twist. The orphan after Oliver received
the name Unwith, and the one after that Vilkins.
“Very good, Mr. Bumble,” Mrs. Bumble said. She wrote Oliver’s name in theregistry book. “It’s official now.”“All a part of the job, Mrs. Bumble,” Mr. Bumble answered. “A town
official’s job is rarely done.” Mr. Bumble did not notice his wife rolling her eyes
at his comment. He was too distracted by the screaming baby beside him.
Oliver cried loudly. If he could have known that he was an orphan, left to thenot-so-tender mercies of church-wardens and the workhouse staff, perhaps hewould have cried all the louder.

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