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Tom Jones, is introduced with an unfortunate anecdote. Tom possesses many faults, chief among them being his passion for stealing. Tom has recently stolen fruit from an orchard, a farmer's duck, and a ball from the pocket of Master Blifil, the son of the late Captain Blifil. Master Blifil abounds in "Virtues" and is praised by the neighborhood whereas Tom is despised. Blifil's virtues, in a nutshell, are sobriety, discretion, and piety. The narrator presenta us with a vignette to reveal these boys' opposing characters. Tom's only friend is one of the servants of the household, a gamekeeper, and Tom's give the things he steals to this man's family. One day, Tom goes hunting with the game-keeper, and, at Tom's bidding, they follow some partridges into the estate of Allworthy's neighbor, which Allworthy has warned the game-keeper not to do. The neighbor hears the sound of the game- keeper shooting one of the partridges and, arriving at the scene of the crime, finds Tom with the dead bird, since the game-keeper has leapt into a bush to hide himself. The neighbor goes straight to Allworthy and tells Allworthy there must have been two people involved because he found two guns. Yet when Allworthy asks Tom who his accomplice was, but the boy maintains that he was alone. The game-keeper also pleads innocent. Tom receives a flogging from Mr. Thwackum, the Reverend whom Allworthy has hired to educate Tom and Master Blifil. Later, Allworthy relents and tries to remedy the situation by giving Tom a little horse as a present. The narrator predicts that a dinner between Allworthy, Thwackum, and a third unnamed gentleman will soon ensue.