Sharing someone's ABC (already been chewed) gum is a sign of true love,
as Tom Sawyer proved when he shared a piece with Becky Thatcher. The
following is a selection from Mark Twain's Adventures of Tom Sawyer,
Chapter VII.
...Then they sat
together, with a slate before them, and Tom gave Becky the pencil and
held her hand in his, guiding it, and so created another surprising
house. When the interest in art began to wane, the two fell to talking.
Tom was swimming in bliss.
He said:
"Do
you love rats?"
"No!
I hate them!"
"Well,
I do, too — LIVE ones. But I mean dead ones,
to swing round your head with a string."
"No,
I don't care for rats much, anyway. What I like is chewing-gum."
"Oh,
I should say so! I wish I had some now."
"Do
you? I've got some. I'll let you chew it awhile, but you must give it
back to me."
That was agreeable, so they chewed it turn about, and dangled their
legs against the bench in excess of contentment.
