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The Ransom
of
Red Chief
O. Henry
retold by
Paul Shipton

Illustrated by
Axel R ator

OXFORD
U N IV E R S IT Y PRESS
THE RANSOM
OF RED CH IEF
2 The Ransom o f Red Chief

How much money Only two

have we got? hundred
[H O T E L dollars.

But Ive got an idea... Who? Theres

Kidnap! We can kidnap nobody rich in
someone here. this town.

Youre wrong, Bill. I Excuse me, Miss. Who

Look around. is Ebenezer Dorset?
The richest man
in town, of course
 The Ransom o f Red Chief 3

And do Mr and 3?- -

Mrs Dorset have
any children?
I One boy.
His names Johnny.
S w Hes a lot of trouble.

iGood! Theyve
Look at that house! J got lots of money.

There he is! Hes Whats he doing?

a nice little boy.
4 The Ransom o f Red Chief

Oh, good! Someone

^ wants a fight! g

Come on, Bill

AF o n
But hes It
STRONG. -

Ouch! My head! Think about all

that money, Bill
I feel better.
 The Ransom o f Red Chief 5

Dont be afraid,
Johnny. You can
go home soon. Whos afraid? You make afire
Im not afraid! I dont and give the boy
want to go home. dinner, Bill. Im
taking the horse
back to town.

OK Sam Yes! Ha, ha, ha!

Johnny
and can
be friends
6 The Ransom o f Red Chief

Look! There are What are you

some feathers. doing, Johnny?

My name
isnt Johnny.

My name is
Red Chief.

Money, money, money

 The Ransom o f Red Chief 7

JVery funny.
u '.j........

Of course its
me! Whats
wrong with
you, Bill?

I like this forest.

I like camping too.

Why is your My best friend can

nose red, Bill? walk on his hands.
8 The Ransom o f Red Chief
 The Ransom o f Red Chief 9

What is it, Bill?

Its a little
Do you want
spider, Bill. Hes
to hold him?
my new friend.

Come here, you little monster

10 The Ransom o f Red Chief

Now listen,
Johnny. You
go and play
over there.

We must write a
letter now. OK, E
 The Ransom o f Red Chief 11

What names
Mr EbenezerDorset: can we put?

We have rson. Do you

u
'jo I know
want to see Vu'm again?
Then you must give us
a ransom of $ 1, 500.
Give us the money tonight
There are three big trees
hear the Summit'K.iver.
Put your answer in the
tallest tree.
Do not tell the police
about this - 1

Tw o
desperate
12 The Ransom o f Red Chief

Wait a minute!
Wheres the boy? Johnny!

Where are you?

Look! Theres something over there!

Where?
The Ransom o f Red Chief 13
14 The Ransom o f Red Chief
The Ransom o f Red Chief 15
16 The Ransom o f Red Chief

Excuse me. Is there a

post office near here?

And where is it?

I have a letter for Well... thank you

someone in Summit.
When can it arrive?
The Ransom o f Red Chief 17
18 The Ransom o f Red Chief

Hello

Sam watches Bill watches

the time. the boy.

Where are you No! Not again! You cant

going, Sam? leave me with HIM again! | , ls
last time,
To get our I Bill. And then we can take the
money. money and the boy can go home.

The boy can go home,

the boy can go home,
the boy
The Ransom o f Red Chief 19
20 The Ransom o f Red Chief

Sam runs back

to the camp.
Im coming
Bill! r

... the boy

can go home;
the boy can..

Wait a minute! Theres no money

in here. Theres only a letter.
 The Ransom o f Red Chief 21

To Two Desperate Men:

Thank you fo r your le tte r.

My answer is no.
The ransom is ^ r
very high. v

Very high! ^

I have another idea for you.

You bring ]ohnny home
and you give me $ 200.
When Johnny is with me
at home, you can escape.

Ebenezer Dorset
22 The Ransom o f Red Chief
 The Ransom o f Red Chief 23

One hour later...

[Come on, Johnny.

Where are we going?

Wait a minute! This is

MY house. I dont
want to go home!

Now youre in
BIG trouble. Quick, Sam! Knock
on the door!
 24 The Ransom o f Red Chief

Good Mr and Mrs Dorset?

evening. Heres your money!

I can hold him for

about ten minutes.

We are NOT having a

Y > v a re k W L F a V IN 6
THE OF
_T0W|sr U H S T 1 nice day!

- 'S i S l W l i T T j l o n
 25

A C T IV IT IE S

Before Reading

1 Look at the front cover of the book and guess the answer to
these questions.

1 Who is Red Chief ?

a EH Sam , the man on the left,
b Bill, the man on the right.
c E A fam ous man in the west.

2 When does the story happen?

a 100 years ago.
b EH in the year 2000.
c EH 500 years ago.
3 Imagine you are Bill or Sam. How do you feel?
a EH H appy,
b EH Angry,
c EH Afraid.

2 Read the back cover of the book.

H ow do Sam and Bill try to make a lot o f money?
Guess the answer.
YES NO
a They take money from a shop,
b They kidnap the boy.
c They take horses and sell them.
 26

ACTIVITIES

While Reading

1 Read pages 1-6.

Are these sentences true (T) or false (F)?
T F
1 Sam and Bill have no money.
2 They look for jobs in Summit.
3 Ebenezer Dorset is the richest man in town.
4 They decide to kidnap Ebenezer Dorset.
5 Johnny is afraid.
6 Bill stays with Johnny.
7 Johnny says he is called Red Chief now.

2 R ead pages 712. Com plete the sentences.

Its a little
, Bill.
Do you want
to hold it?

Im Lets sleep.

We m u st..... Wait a !
a letter now. Wheres the boy?
 Activities 27

3 Read pages 13-18, and match the follow ing sentence halves to
make five complete sentences.

1 Bill is afraid . . .
2 Johnny laughs . . .
3 Johnny runs away . . .
4 The old man takes the letter . . .
5 Johnny comes back . . .

a when Bill tries to catch him.

b when he can play games with Bill,
c when Sam goes to the shop in town,
d when Sam leaves,
e when Sam is back.

4 Read pages 19-24 and answer these questions.

1 Who brings Dorsets answer to the tree?

2 What does Dorset ask for in his letter?
3 What do Sam and Bill want to do?
4 How does Johnny feel when he sees his house?
5 How long can Mr Dorset hold his son?
6 What do Sam and Bill do when Dorset is holding Johnny ?
 28

ACTIVITIES

After Reading

1 Put these sentences in the correct order.

a n Sam and Bill write a ransom letter,

b EH M r D orset does not pay the ransom ,
c EH They run out of town,
d EH Sam and Bill take Johnny home,
e EH Johnny says that he is called Red Chief,
f EH Sam takes the letter to town,
g EH They kidnap Johnny Dorset,
i EH Sam and Bill arrive in Summit,
h EH They pay money to M r Dorset.

2 M atch the names and pictures with the w ords.

Sam Bill Johnny M r Dorset

I can hold him for

about ten minutes.

Hes only a little boy.

Play with him.
n My name is
_ Red Chief.
E1 /

^ Come here,
you little monster!
 Activities 29

3 Com plete this sum m ary o f the story. Use these w ords:
afraid arrive boy escape fight give hits money
name spider stays ransom

Sam and Bill only have $200 when they in the small
town of Summit. They want to kidnap the son of the richest
man in town. Johnny Dorset is a sm all but he gives Sam
and Bill a good .............. They take him into the woods. Bill
with Johnny, while Sam takes the horses back to town.
Johnny says that h is is Red Chief now. He plays and
plays with Bill! He puts a in his bed; h e him on
the head. Soon Bill is very of the little boy!
Bill and Sam write a letter to Johnnys father. They ask for a
b ig .............. But when Mr Dorset answers, he says no. He tells
Sam and Bill to give h im Then they c a n from
Johnny! Sam and Bill say yes. T h ey the money and then
run out of Summit.

4 Write or draw a new ending for the story. Johnny escapes

from his father and runs after Sam and Bill. What happens
when he catches them?
30

Glossary

cam ping sleeping and cooking outside or in a tent

catch run after and take hold of
desperate (adj) having no hope
dinner a meal in the early evening
dream the thoughts or pictures you have when you sleep
fight (n) when two or more people try to win by punching
or kicking each other, they are having a fight
heart the thing that pushes blood around the body
high (adj) expensive
hold (vb) keep something in the hand or hands
kidnap take som ebody and only return them to their
friends or family for money
knock hit with the hand
monster a very bad person
nose the part of the face above the mouth
ouch what you say when you are in pain
ransom the money that kidnappers ask for
rich (adj) having a lot of money
strong having a powerful body
trouble (n) a lot of problem s, or something that makes a lot
o f problem s
 THE
Ti

RANSOM
UE KEU C H I E E
o r Jt v ckwf

Bill and Sam arrive in the small American town of Summit

with only two hundred dollars, but they need more and
Sam has an idea for making a lot of money. When things
start to go very wrong, both men soon regret their visit
- and the idea.

Cover illustration by Axel Rator

Text adaptation by Paul Shipton

OXFORD BO O KW O RM S STARTERS provide enjoyable books for

students starting to read in English. The carefully graded stories are fully
supported by clear, high-quality illustrations.

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U N IV E R S IT Y P R E S S
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