Oliver Twist Chapter 1

​The nurse picked up the tiny boy and the mother saw him for the first time. She kissed him gently on the cheek and smiled. Then the mother died. “Poor woman,” said the nurse. “She was so beautiful. We’ll never know who she was.” The baby was called Oliver Twist. He was sent to live with other orphans in an old house nearby. The orphans were all the children of parents who had been destitute. A woman called Mrs Mann was given a little money to look after the orphans, but she decided that she needed some of this money for herself. For this reason, the boys never had very much to eat. On his ninth birthday, Oliver was a small, weak child. He had spent all his life in the old building with Mrs Mann, who was no kinder to Oliver than she was to the other orphans. Oliver did not go to school and he did not know the world outside. One day, an important man called Mr Bumble visited Mrs Mann. Mr Bumble was an official from the workhouse, where the older children from poor families were big enough to work for their food. “Now Oliver’s nine, you don’t need to look after him,” Mr Bumble told Mrs Mann. “He is old enough to work for us in the workhouse.” Oliver was not sad to leave Mrs Mann, but he was sad to leave his friends and the only home he had ever known. He felt wretched as the door to the house was closed behind him. “Why are you crying? You’re very lucky to work here,” the managers of the workhouse told Oliver when he arrived. “We’ll give you food and a bed for nothing.”

​The workhouse was a large, cold building. Oliver was introduced to the other boys who were all as thin and weak as he was. They wore old clothes that were too big for them. Oliver worked hard at the workhouse with these boys and 4 5 C h a p t e r 1 quickly realised that his life was not going to become any easier. His bed was very uncomfortable and the food was never enough. All they ate was a thin soup. The boys he worked with were always hungry. After a few months, they were all so close to starving that they made a plan. They decided they must have more food, and they chose Oliver to ask for it. That evening in the big, cold hall, the boys finished eating their usual thin soup. Then Oliver stood up and walked to the master who gave them their food. “Please, sir, I want some more,” said Oliver. The master was furious. No one had ever asked for more before! “What did you say?” he cried. There was now silence in the big room. “Please, sir, I want some more,” Oliver repeated.