R E A D IN G & T R A IN IN G

tM e r e u s
 Saki

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u M e r e u s t a l e s

Text adaptation and activities

by Kenneth Brodey
 C e r)T e r)1 "s

The Life of Saki

'T P i e O p e r ) \N (nO c>w

Part I A Nervous Man 12

Part II Mental Excitement 21

T fie (f< enartce

Part I The Beast 31
Part II Un-Beast 37

era
Part I The Adventuress 47
Part II Revenge 53

Writers and the First World War 61

S re ^ io i Y asM ar

Part I For his Good 68

Part II Toast 77
'X e> \> & n A o r
1
Part A Great Discovery 88
Part Some Terrible Discoveries 94

TTie interlopers

Enemies 109
Friends 118

A C T I V I T I E S 17, 25, 35, 42, 51, 58, 72,

82, 91, 102, 114, 122

INTERNET PROJECT 106

E X I T T E S T 125

.
FOE First Certificate in English Exam ination-style exercises
T: grade 7 T rin ity-sty le e x erc ises (G rade 7)

This story is recorded in full.

These sym bols indicate the beginning and end of the
extracts linked to the listening activities.
 Hector Hugh Munro

The Life of Saki (18 70-1916)

Saki is a very popular short-story writer. He wrote satirical stories about
aristocrats, strange adults, children, talking animals, wicked 1 jokes,
exploding eggs, and cruel destiny. And all these strange stories are told
with that particular dry English sense of humour. Most of Saki’s stories
describe the customs and manners of the English upper classes during
the reign of Edward VII (1901-1910) with precision and irony. Saki also
wrote two novels on social manners which inspired later writers such as

1. w icked : very bad.

Evelyn Waugh, 1 the playwright Noel Coward 2 and, more recently,
Roald D ah l,3 who is most famous for his wickedly funny books for
children.
But Saki himself? Saki was the pen-name of a shy man named Hector
Hugh Munro. Hector was born in Akyab, Burm a (now known as
Myanmar) in 1870. His mother died soon after his birth. His father was
a senior official of the Burma police. When Hector was only two, he, his
sister Ethel and his brother Charlie were sent back to Devon in England
to live with their aunts. Hector’s aunts were named Tom and Augusta
(you have read correctly - one of Hector’s aunts was named Tom). They
hated each other very much and neither of them liked Hector. Hector
was an unhealthy child and he was educated at home, but he was able to
survive this horrible life with Tom and Augusta with the help of his
fantastic imagination. He often made up fables and short stories which
he illustrated himself. His sister tells of one particular illustration that
Hector made o f lions eating som e m ission aries. These particular
missionaries looked suspiciously like his aunts.
After Hector finished his education his father got him a job with the
Colonial Burmese Military Police, but after less than a year he became
ill with malaria and had to return home to England. Back in England he
began to write political satires for the Westminster Gazette, which were
extremely popular. He also worked as a foreign correspondent for the
Morning Post in Russia, Poland and Paris. Then Hector returned to
London where he planned to live by writing books. The first book he

1. Evelyn Waugh : (1903-66) pen-name of Arthur St John, a British writer.

2. Noel Cow ard : (1899-1973) British writer of satirical plays.
3. R oald Dahl : (1916-90) British writer. Fam ous works include Charlie and
the Chocolate Factory and The BFG.

<9
wrote was a history of Russia from its origins to the 17th century, The
Rise o f the Russian Empire (1899). This was certainly a strange choice
for a first book. But Hector was a great admirer o f Edward Gibbon
(1737-94), the author of Decline and Fall o f the Roman Empire.
This book was not a success, so Hector returned to writing political
satire for newspapers. He also began writing short stories and novels.
According to Hector’s sister, he took his pen-name from a collection of
Persian poetry called The Rubaiyat by Omar Khayyam, which was very
popular in England at the time. In this poem there is a servant named
Saki.
A better and more entertaining theory was proposed by the English
writer Tom Sharpe. He says that Hector wanted to honour his hero
Edward Gibbon in an ironic way. A ‘gibbon’ is also a kind of Asian
monkey, and a ‘saki’ is a kind of South American monkey with a long
tail that is very delicate and normally silent, except when it is provoked.
Hector too was a delicate, introverted creature who rarely spoke except
when provoked.
When World War I began, Hector immediately joined the army as a
private. 1 He had been offered an officer’s commission, 2 but he refused.
He went to fight in France where he was killed.
There is a strange and probably fictitious story about Hector’s death
which seems like a story written by Hector himself. One night in the
trenches,3 Hector, who was now a sergeant, saw that one of his men was
smoking. It was very dangerous to smoke at night because the enemy

1. private : an ordinary soldier.

2. officer’s com m ission : docum ent signed by the king w hich gave someone
the position of officer (lieutenant, captain, colonel, etc.) in the army.
3. trenches : deep p assages cut into the ground as a protection for soldiers.
 soldiers shot at the light of burning cigarettes. Hector turned to this
soldier and shouted, T u t that bloody 1 cigarette ou t!’ In that very
moment, an enemy soldier shot. But this enemy soldier had not directed
his rifle towards the light of the burning cigarette, but towards the sound
of Hector’s voice giving the command. Hector was killed. A terrible
irony - an irony that Saki would have appreciated.

O Answer the following questions.

a. What kind of stories did he write?

b. What social group is described in Saki’s stories?
c. What was Saki’s real name?
d. Why was his childhood difficult?
e. How did he survive it?
f. What was Saki’s job when he was a young man?
g. According to Saki’s sister what was the origin of his
pen-name?
h. What is an alternative theory to the origins of this strange
pen-name?
i. How did Saki die?

I
1. bloody [’bUdi] (informal British English, not polite) : expression used to
show anger, annoyance.

£
 a c t i v i t i e s

Before you read

0 Discuss the following questions with a partner.

1. Do you believe in ghosts?

2. What do you think of people who say that they have seen ghosts?
a. They really have seen ghosts - ghosts exist.
b. They are liars.
c. People sometimes think they see ghosts because they are
ill, emotionally upset, tired or nervous.
d. Other.

T: GRADE 7

0 Topic - Village and city life

Discuss some of the advantages and disadvantages of both village
and city life. Use these questions to help you.

a. Do you live in a city, a town or a village?

b. What are some of the characteristics of city and village life?
c. How are the personalities of people who live in the city different
from those who live in villages?
d. If you had to move to either the city or the country, what one
thing from your old lifestyle would you miss most? What one
change would you like best?

Q Look at the picture on page 15.

a. Describe the people in the picture. What can you imagine about
their personalities?
b. What do you think they are discussing?
c. Do you think the people know each other well?

10
 A C T I V I T I E S

fc e Q Listen to the beginning of Part One and choose the best answer A, B
or C.

1 The doctor told Framton

A [] to leave the city.
B Q to relax.
C O to go and stay with his sister.

2 Framton Nuttel decided to go to the

A Q country.
B Q city.
C Q theatre.

3 Mrs Sappleton’s niece was called

A Q Sarah.
B Q Clara.
C □ Vera.

4 Mrs Sappleton’s tragedy happened exactly

A Q a week ago.
B Q three years ago.
C Q] four years ago.

5 Mrs Sappleton’s husband and brothers fell into

A □ a lake.
B □ a trap.
C □ a bog.
 P a rt i

4 \(< erveus
m ramton Nuttel was very tired and nervous.
The doctors told him he needed a rest and
JJF said he should go somewhere peaceful. So he
decided to spend some time in the country.
T know what you are like, Fram ton,’ his sister said.
‘When you go to the country, you w ill stay all alone. T hat’s not
good for you. You sh ou ld not stay all alone. You sh ou ld meet
some nice people. I was in that part of the country four years ago.
I m et so m e n ic e p e o p le . I w ill w rite y o u so m e le tt e r s o f
introduction, and you can meet them .’
‘I am not sure that is a good id e a,’ objected Framton. ‘Maybe I
sh ou ld n ’t. After all, I don ’t know any of those p eo p le.’

I Si
 4 /I(ar)

‘Take my ad v ice,’ replied Fram ton’s sister. ‘It w ill be good for
yo u .’
So Fram ton w ent to the country w ith h is s is te r ’s letters of
introduction. The first person he visited was Mrs Sappleton. He
knocked at the door of Mrs S ap p leto n ’s house and a young girl
about fifteen years old opened the door. It was Mrs S ap p leto n ’s
niece. Her name w as Vera.
‘My aunt will be down in a moment, Mr N uttel,’ said the girl,
who looked very mature and intelligent. ‘While you are waiting, I
will try to entertain you. I hope you don’t m in d.’
‘Oh, I w ill be happy to talk with yo u ,’ replied Framton. He did
not want to offend the girl. But he w ondered 1 if going to meet
new people was really good for his health. In fact, he felt quite
br : . '
nervous, and he hoped that Mrs Sappleton w as nice.
‘Do you know m any of the p eo p le roun d h e re ?’ ask ed M rs
Sap p leto n ’s niece after a few m inutes of silence.
‘N o,’ replied Framton, ‘I don ’t know anybody around here. My
sister stayed here four years ago and she gave me some letters of
introduction to som e of the people here.’
Fram ton felt more and more n ervous, and he w as more and
more convinced that it was a bad idea. He needed rest, not new
friends.
‘Then you know practically nothing about my au n t?’ continued
the confident 2 young lady.
‘I know only her nam e and a d d re ss,’ adm itted Fram ton. He
w as w ondering w hether Mrs S a p p le to n ’s husban d w as alive or

1. w ondered : asked him self.

2. confident : sure of herself.

12>
 TK c O p e r) \ n( w c ) c) v\i

dead. Looking at the room, he thought that a man m ust live there.
‘My au n t’s great tragedy h appen ed exactly three years a g o ,’
said the girl. ‘That was after your sister was here.’
‘Your aunt’s tragedy?’ asked Framton. He thought the country
w as very peaceful. He could not im agine a tragedy there.
‘You probably wonder why we keep that w indow open on a
cool October evening,’ said Vera. In fact, behind Fram ton’s chair
there was a large French w indow 1 that opened on to a la w n .2
‘It is very warm for this time of the year.’ said Framton. ‘But is
that w indow connected with the tragedy?’
‘E x a c tly th ree y e ars ago my a u n t ’ s h u sb a n d an d her two
younger brothers went out through that window. They were going
hunting. They never came back. While they were going to their
favo u rite h u n tin g spo t, they fell into a bog. 3 That p artic u lar
sum m er it rained a lot. The bog was norm ally safe, but after the
rain it becam e very dangerous. Their b odies were never found.
That is the m ost horrible part of the story.’ e^°
Until this moment, the young girl had seem ed very calm. Now
she seem ed a little frigh ten ed and her vo ice trem bled as she
continued the story.
‘My poor aunt thinks that her dead husband and brothers will
return some day, together with the dog that went with them. She
thinks that they w ill w alk into the house through that French
w indow as they alw ays did before they died. That is why that
w indow behind you is kept open until dark. My poor aunt! She

1. French w indow : two large w indow s that are also used as doors.
2. law n : area of short grass around a house or in a garden.
3. bog : very wet and soft earth.

if
 ''Tfie Open \N(Tn3c)v>/

has often told me every detail of that terrible day! Her husband
carried a white raincoat over his arm. Her youngest brother was
singing the song “ Bertie, why do you bou n d?” 1 He sang this song
to m ake fun of her. So m etim es, Mr N uttel, I have the strange
feeling that they w ill return, that they w ill walk in through that
window. It’s horrible, really horrible!’
She sto p p ed tellin g him her sad story. Fram ton w as h appy
when the aunt came back into the room.
‘ I h o p e m y n ie c e is e n te r t a in in g y o u , Mr N u t t e l ,’ M rs
Sappleton said.
‘She is very interesting,’ said Framton nervously.

1. bound : (here) run.

I <9
 A C T I V I T I E S

Go back to the text

^ Are the following statements true (T) or false (F)? Correct the false
ones.
T F
a. Framton Nuttel knows Mrs Sappleton very well.
b. Framton Nuttel wants to meet new people.
c. Framton’s sister was in that part of the country
two years ago.
d. Mrs Sappleton’s husband went hunting three years ago, Q
and he never came back home.
e. Mrs Sappleton’s two elder brothers also disappeared
with Mr Sappleton.
f. Vera sometimes has the feeling that they will come back. Q

iQfe Which of the follow ing adjectives describe Fram ton, and which
describe Vera? Support your choices with examples from the story.

timid mature insecure aggressive

intelligent audacious nervous

What is the function of these elements in the story? Write details as

in the examples.

a. the song ‘Bertie why do was sung by Vera's uncle on the day
you bound?’ he disappeared.
b. the open window ..................................................................

c. the white raincoat ..................................................................

d. the dog was with Vera's uncles on the day

they disappeared.
e. the bog ................................................................

f. hunting ................................................................

17
 A C T I V I T I E S

You should meet some nice people

We can use should and ought to to give advice and to express our
opinions about things. They are not as strong as must and have to.
• You ought to drive more slowly. = It would be a good idea if you drove
more slowly.
• They ought not to eat so much. = It would be a good idea if they did
not eat so much.
• You shouldn't talk about other people's problems. = It's a good idea
not to talk about other people's problems.
Notice that ought is followed by to while should isn ’t.
The contracted form of the negative of should is shouldn’t.
The contracted form of the negative of ought, oughtn’t, is possible but
not very common.

Complete the sentences below using should or ought to. You must
decide whether the sentences are negative or affirmative.

Example: Framton drinks three cups of coffee a day. He is nervous

and can't sleep at night. I think that Framton shouldn't
drink so much coffee, (should/drink).

a. Framton, you work six days a week, 10 hours a day.

You’re exhausted. Y o u ....................................hard, (should/work)
b. You are a bit overweight, Charles.
Y o u ..................................junk food, (should/eat)
c. He will do poorly in the exam because he doesn’t study enough.
H e .................................... (ought/study)
d. You always spend your time alone at home.
Y o u ...................................... (ought/go out)
e. I think Phil’s girlfriend is a vegetarian. Maybe I ..................................
and check. I don’t want to prepare something that she can’t eat.
(ought/call)
f. My sister is terrible. Y o u ....................................never
....................................her anything because she can’t keep secrets.
(should/tell)

)S
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 A C T I V I T I E S

g. If you come to my house, call before. I ....................................there

but I may have to go out. (should/be)
h. Y o u ..................................horror films if they frighten you so much.
(ought/watch)
i. W e i f we don’t want to miss the train. It
.

leaves in ten minutes, (ought/hurry)

j. Charlotte and William are getting married next month. However,
they are always fighting. In my opinion, th e y ....................................
(ought/get married)
k. W e.a problem with this any more because we
have studied it well, (should/have)

Before you go on
FCE© Read this extract from Part Two and think of a word which best fits
each space. Use only one word in each space. There is an example
at the beginning (0).

T hope you don’t mind the open window,’ said Mrs Sappleton
quickly. ‘My husband and my brothers will be (0) . from
hunting soon. They always come ( 1 ) ...................... the house through
that window. Today they went to the bogs to hunt for snipe.
(2 ) ........................they comehome I am sure they ( 3 )...................
make a mess of everything. You know what men are
(4) ...................... !’
Mrs Sappleton continued to talk about hunting. She told Framton
that ( 5 ) ........................were not many snipes that year. She said that
she hoped there (6) be a lot of ducks in November. To
Framton it was all completely horrible. (7) ........................he tried
desperately to change the topic of conversation, he ( 8 ) ......................

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 A C T I V I T I E S

conscious that Mrs Sappleton only gave him part of her attention.
She continued to look past him out the window. ‘Obviously she’s
looking (9) ........................her dead husband and brothers,’ Framton
thought. ‘(10) ........................a terrible time to visit her, today, the
anniversary of their death.’
To change the topic of conversation he started talking
(11 ) .......................his bad health.
‘The doctors,’ he said, ‘told me to rest. I should avoid mental
excitement, and I should avoid all physical activity. They did not,
(12) ......................., tell me what I should eat.’

Now listen and check your answers.

0 Look at the picture on page 21 and answer the following questions.

1. What adjective would you use to describe the expression on Vera’s
face?

happy sad interested scared worried

2. How do you think the story will end?

a. Vera has made up the whole story about her uncles
disappearing in the bog.
b. Framton will think he sees the ghosts of Vera’s uncles because
he is ill and nervous.
c. Mrs Sappleton will see the ghosts of three men because she is
mentally ill and needs psychiatric help.
d. Vera’s uncles will return. They were not lost in a bog, but had
run away to America with some friends.
e. Other.

I
P a r t !i

/Ifcnfal Cx'cifeMeni-
hope you don’t mind the open w indow ,’ said
Mrs Sappleton quickly. ‘My husband and my
brothers w ill be b ack from hun ting soon. They
alw ays come into the house through that w indow.
Today they went to the bogs to hunt for snipe. 1 When
they come home I am sure they will make a mess of everything. 2
You know what men are like!’
M rs S a p p le to n c o n tin u e d to talk ab ou t h u n tin g. Sh e to ld
Framton that there were not many sn ipes that year. She said that
sh e h o p e d th ere w o u ld be a lo t o f d u c k s in N o v em b er. To
Framton it was all com pletely horrible. While he tried desperately

1. snipe [snaip] : 'V

2. m ake a m ess of everything : leave things in a disorganised way.
 'TPic 0 ? dm

to change the topic of conversation, he w as con sciou s that Mrs

Sappleton only gave him part of her attention. She continued to
look past him out the window.
‘O bviously sh e’s looking for her dead husband and brothers,’
Fram ton thought. ‘What a terrible tim e to v isit her, today, the
anniversary of their death.’
To change the topic of conversation he started talking about
his bad health.
‘ The d o c t o r s ,’ he sa id , ‘ to ld me to rest. I sh o u ld a v o id 1
mental excitem ent, and I should avoid all ph ysical activity. They
did not, however, tell me what I should eat.’
‘Oh? That is very in terestin g,’ said Mrs Sappleton , who was
obviously not really interested at all. In fact, she alm ost yawned. 2
Then she becam e very interested - but not in what Framton was
saying.
‘Here they are!’ she cried. ‘They are just in time for tea. Look,
they are covered with mud 3 up to their e y es!’
Framton shivered 4 and looked at Vera. His look seem ed to say,
‘Oh, I am really sorry for your poor au n t!’ But the girl was looking
out the w in d o w , an d sh e lo o k ed h o rrifie d . F ram to n b ecam e
terrified. He turned around and looked out the w indow too.
It was alm ost dark, but Framton could see three men walking
across the lawn tow ards the window. They all carried guns. One
of the three men had a white raincoat over his arm. There w as

1. avoid : stay away from.

2. yaw ned [joind] : opened her mouth and breathed deeply. You do this if you
are bored or tired.
3. m ud : soft, wet earth.
4. shivered : trem bled from fear or coldness.
 "TEc Op er)

also a sm all dog. They did not say a word. When they were near
the w in d o w one o f them began to sin g , ‘B e rtie, w hy do you
b ou n d?’
Framton jum ped up from his chair. He picked up his coat, and
ran out of the house, to the road and was never seen again.
‘Here we are, my d e a r,’ said the man who w as carrying the
white raincoat over his arm. ‘I’m sorry we are a little muddy. Who
was that man who ran aw ay?’
‘A very strange man. His name is Fram ton N u ttel,’ said Mrs
Sappleton. ‘He only wanted to talk about his bad health, and then
he ran away without saying goodbye and without a p o lo g isin g ,1 as
if he had seen a gh ost.’
‘ I th in k he ran aw ay b e c a u se he saw the d o g ,’ s a id M rs
Sap p leto n ’s niece calm ly. ‘He told me that he w as very afraid of
dogs. When he was in India many years ago, he was attacked by a
pack of w ild 2 dogs. He ran into a cemetery, and had to spend the
night in a new ly dug grave. 3 The dogs grow led and sn arled 4
above him for the entire night. So you can understand why he is
so afraid of d o gs.’
Inventing fantastic stories was Vera’s speciality.

1. ap ologisin g : saying that he w as sorry.

2. w ild : anim als that live in their natural environment.
3. dug grave : prepared hole in the ground for a dead body to be put (to dig =
to make a hole in the ground).
4. grow led and sn arled [grauld] [snaild] : (for anim als) m ade angry and
m enacing sounds.
 A C T I V I T I E S

Go back to the text

Look again at the first activity on page 17. Now decide which of the
sentences is/are REALLY false and which is/are REALLY true.

0 Answer the following questions.

a. What does Framton think when Mrs Sappleton insists on talking
about hunting?
b. What does Mrs Sappleton think when Framton insists on talking
about his health?
c. What does Framton think when Mrs Sappleton says, ‘Look they
are covered with mud up to their eyes’?

O Complete the sentences with the words in the box, and then put the
sentences in the correct order to make a summary of the story.

country advice yawned bog hunting

niece upstairs French window peaceful feeling
wondered picked up came back shivered

a. Q] When Fram ton arriv ed at Mrs S a p p le to n ’ s h o u se, Mrs

Sa p p le to n ’s ........................... Vera opened the door and let
Framton in the house.
b. I Vera c o n c lu d e d her sto ry by sa y in g th at she had the
...................... that some day her uncles would return.
c. Framton followed the doctor’s ....................... and went to the
country to visit Mrs Sappleton.
d. When Mrs Sappleton came down, she talked about hunting
and ducks. Framton thought this was horrible so he tried to
talk about his health . Mrs S a p p leto n tried to liste n to
F ram to n ’s boring talk about his h ealth, but she alm ost

e. Q Vera said that her aunt was ........................ and would come
down in a moment.

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 A C T I V I T I E S

f. □ She said that the open window was connected to her aunt’s
great tragedy: exactly three years earlier her husband and her
two brothers had gone ......... ............ . but unfortunately they
had never returned; they fell into a ...................... and never

g. [ j When Framton saw that three men were really arriving, he

...................... his coat and ran out of the house, and was never
seen again.
h. ;r ] Vera asked Framton if he ...................... why the........................
was open on an October afternoon.
i. ! ~] Framton’s doctor told him that he needed rest and that he
should go to t h e ...................... where it i s ..........................
j. ] Then Mrs Sappleto n said , ‘Here they a r e !’ and Fram ton
...................... and looked at Vera, who looked terrified.

Framton’s point of view

F C E © Pretend you are Framton and write a letter to a friend. Tell him or
her about the following. Write the letter in 120-180 words.

• why you went to the Sappletons’

• Vera’s practical joke
• what you think of it
• what happened to you after you ran away

You can begin your letter like this:

I will never forget the day I went into the countryside to relax. I
knocked at the door of Mrs Sappleton’s house and

a<i?
 A C T I V I T I E S

I think he ran away because he saw the dog

Look at the following phrasal verbs with run and their definitions:
run after pursue, chase
run away escape, flee
run into i. meet someone by chance
ii. hit something when driving
run out of have none left, consume totally
run over hit or drive over something accidentally
with a vehicle

Now complete the following sentences with one of the phrasal verbs
with run in the correct tense.

Example: I think I will go to the supermarket because we have run

out o f sugar and coffee.

a. When the thief saw the policeman, h e ....................................

b. When the policeman saw the thief walking in the distance, he
....................................him.
c. We will have to go home early from our holiday. We
....................................money.
d. I left my bicycle in the driveway, and my brother
..................................it by mistake with his motorbike.
e. H e ....................................as quickly as he could when he saw the
ghost.
f. I Bill Howard yesterday at the train station.
What a surprise. I hadn’t seen him for years.
g. Every time my dog sees a car drive by, h e ....................................it
and barks.
h. Yesterday as I was driving home I ....................................a cat.
Fortunately I didn’t kill it.

37
 A C T I V I T I E S

Vera said that Framton had been attacked by a pack of wild dogs.
There are other special nam es for groups of anim als. Match the
name of the group on the left with the correct picture and then fill
in the spaces. Below each picture there is a clue to help you.

1. Q] a flock o f ............
2. [a] a swarm of
3. [ | a school o f .........
4. Q ] a pack o f ............
5. Ia crowd o f ...
_ a. If you take off the
6. |_ J a herd o f ............... ^ rst letter, the word
7. Q a pride o f ............... is almosthot

b. If ‘Come ride our c. If you substitute the d. If you think that lions
wonderful dinosaurs!’ second letter with an are arrogant and
were like the F.B.I. ‘a’, you have the superior animals, you
and the C.I.A. opposite of soft will understand

e. This is the same f. This word rhymes g. Normally we don’t

word that we use with ‘rock’ think that these
for a set of 52 animals know many
playing cards things, so this word
may seem strange
 'T o e (P e rx x n c e

1. Penance : penitence, som ething you do to show that you are sorry
 a c t i v i t i e s

Before you read

fc e © Listen to Part One and choose the best answer A, B or C.

1 Octavian Ruttle was

A □ ugly and nasty.
B Q slow and friendly.
C Q active and friendly.

2 Octavian was a
A Q doctor.
B Q] farmer.
C Q] businessman.

3 One day Octavian discovered that some animal was killing his
A □ pigs.
B □ horses.
C Q chickens.

4 Octavian thought that the killer was a

A □ dog.
B Q child.
C cat.

5 To make peace with the children, Octavian bought them

A □ some toys.
B Q a box of chocolates.
C □ some flowers.

so
P a rt I

TRe S e a s l-

ctavian Ruttle was an active, friendly person.

He liked people and it w as im portant to him
that p e o p le lik e d him . For e x a m p le , there
were three children who lived in the house next
his. Octavian thought that he should know their
nam es, their birthdays and their favourite toys. But he only knew
that their parents lived in India, and that they lived with their
au n t an d u n c le . O c c a s io n a lly , O c ta v ia n saw th at the th ree
children were looking down from the w all that divided the two
properties. They never said anything; they just w atched carefully
everything he did.

SI
 'T K e (Penance

O ctav ian w as a farm er. He h ad p ig s, c h ic k e n s, an d oth er

an im als. One day O ctavian lo ok ed in the ch ick en coop 1 and
found som e blood and feathers. 2 Som e anim al had killed one of
h is c h ick en s. M ore and m ore ch ick en s w ere k ille d . O ctavian
looked carefully for the anim al that was killing his chickens.
One day he saw a cat w alking around the coop. He was sure
that the cat was the killer. Unfortunately, the cat belonged to the
th ree c h ild re n . O ctav ian w ent to the c h ild r e n ’s h o u se , an d
explained his problem to their uncle. The uncle agreed that the
cat had to be k illed. ‘The children w ill be u pset but you d o n ’t
have to tell them ,’ w as the u n cle’s last word on the matter.
The next day, Octavian w aited for the cat. When it arrived he
shot at it with his hunting rifle 3 - and m issed it. The cat tried
desperately to escape. O ctavian shot again and m issed it again.
Then the cat ran out into a field where there was a large oak tree.
It clim bed up the tree and now it w as trapped. O ctavian w alked
up to the tree, pointed his rifle at the cat, and shot. This time he
did not m iss and the dead cat fell to the ground. Octavian told the
gardener to bury it near the oak tree.
Octavian felt very bad about killing the cat but he had to do it:
it was killing his chickens. He w alked slow ly back to his house.
And as he w alked near the w all he looked up and saw that the
three children were staring 4 at him. They had seen everything!
Now they were looking at O ctavian. Their ex p ressio n s show ed
how much they hated him.

1. coop : place where chickens are kept. 3. rifle : long gun.

2. feath ers : 4. starin g : looking intensely.

2>a
 /XV)d penance

‘I am sorry, but I had to do it,’ said O ctavian sincerely.

‘B e a s t!’ w as the an sw er the three ch ild ren gave w ith great
intensity.
He saw that it was im possible to explain the situation to the
children at that moment. He decided to wait a few days before he
tried to make peace with them.
Two days later he went to the sw eet-shop and asked for a large
box of ch o co lates. He d id n ’t w ant the first two boxes that the
shopkeeper show ed him; one had a picture of a cat on the cover,
an d the o th er h ad a p ic tu r e o f so m e c h ic k e n s . F in a lly the
shopkeeper brought him a box decorated with flowers. Octavian
sent the box to the children and later received a note saying that
they had received the present.
The next day he felt much better when he went to look at his
chicken coops and pigsties. 1 He saw that the three children were
looking down from the w all, but they were not looking at him.
Then O ctav ian n o tic ed that here and there in the g rass w ere
pieces of chocolate and their shiny w rappers. 2 It looked like a
greedy 3 ch ild ’s paradise.
The children had thrown his presents back at him.

1. p igsties ['pigstaiz] : place where pigs are kept.

2. shiny w rappers : bright coverings of the pieces of chocolate.
3. greedy : if you desire som ething excessively (food, money, power, etc.) you
are greedy.

M
 A C T I V I T I E S

Go back to the text

O Match the first half of the sentence (1-6) with the correct half (a-f)
given below.

1. The only thing that Octavian knew about the children was that
2. Octavian felt that he had to kill the cat because
3. The children’s uncle agreed that the cat had to be killed and his
final word was that
4. Octavian felt bad about killing the cat because
5. When Octavian told the children he was sorry, they told him that
6. Octavian bought the children a box of chocolates because

a. Q he wanted to make peace with them.

b. Q] it belonged to the children.
c. Q he was a beast.
d. [^] their parents were in India and they lived with their aunt
and uncle.
e. [~] the children would be upset, but they didn’t have to know.
f. Q it was killing his chickens.

© Look at the picture on page 33.

a. What adjectives would you use to describe the expressions on the

children’s faces?
shocked surprised angry bored sad

b. What adjectives would you use to describe the expression on

Octavian’s face?
shocked surprised afraid confused worried

c. What do you think the children are thinking?

d. What do you think Octavian is thinking?
 A C T I V I T I E S

0 Complete the sentences with don’t have to or m ustn’t according to

the context.

[You don’t have to go home. = It is not necessary that you go home.

You m ustn’t go home. = Don’t go home!
Examples:
- You don’t have to make lunch for the children. They aren’t hungry.
- The children are sleeping. You m ustn’t make any noise.

a. Y o u ........................shoot the cat again. It’s already dead.

b. Y o u ....................... talk to that man. He killed our cat.
c. You eat those chocolates. They are a present from
the Beast.
d. I love those children very much, and I would not want them to suffer.
Y o u ........................tell them that their cat was killed.
e. Y o u tell the children that their cat was killed, if you
don’t want to. After all they are only stupid children, and they
will forget about their cat in a week.

Before you go on
FCE© Listen to the beginning of Part Two and complete the sentences with
a word or a phrase.
(A
1 Octavian decided that the cat was innocent because he found
m o re....................................in the coop.
2 The cat had probably been around the coop because it was

3 Octavian hoped that h i s ..................................would help him to

make peace with the children.
4 Octavian asked the children if they lik e d ....................................
5 Octavian saw that the children were pushing Olivia on a go-cart
towards t h e ....................................
6 When Octavian asked the children what they were going to do
with Olivia, one of the boys said that they were going to

S>(9
P a r t II

I f n - ^ c a . s l -7

ctavian felt even worse when he found more

blood and feathers in the coop. Apparently, the
cat was innocent; some other anim al was the
real killer. The cat had probably come near the
coop looking for rats. The children learned from the
servants that the real killer was not their cat, and one day Octavian
found a piece of paper on which was written: ‘Beast. Rats eated 2
your chickens.’ Now more than ever he wished to find some way to
make peace with the children.
One day he had an in sp iratio n . H is tw o-year-old dau gh ter
O liv ia u s u a lly sp e n t a c o u p le o f h o u rs w ith him w h ile her

1. U n-Beast : invention of the children meaning ‘You are not a b east’.

2. eated : ate (a m istake made by the child who wrote the note).

3>1
 'TTi <l (fenance

nursem aid 1 ate lunch. About the same time the children appeared
on the w all. O ctavian w alked with O livia near the w all and he
saw that the children seem ed very interested.
‘My O livia,’ thought Octavian, ‘w ill be able to succeed where I
have fa iled .’
He brought O livia a large yellow d a h lia .2 Then he looked up at
the children on the w all and asked, ‘Do you like flow ers?’ They
nodded 3 their heads solem nly.
‘Which do you like b est?’ he asked.
‘Those with all the colours, over there,’ answered the children,
pointing to a group of sweet peas 4 at the other end of the garden.
Octavian ran happily to get the flowers for the children. He pulled up
lots and lots of flowers of all different colours, and then he returned
to the wall to give them to the children. But there was no one on the
wall. The children had gone, and, what is more, Olivia had gone too.
Down in the meadow, the three children were pushing a go-cart5
very fast towards the pigsties; it was O livia’s go-cart and she was
on it. Octavian stared for a moment at the rapidly moving group,
and then started to run after them. When he arrived at the pigsties
he saw the children climbing on the roof with Olivia. They were
old buildings and could not support O ctavian’s weight.
‘W hat are you go in g to do w ith h e r ? ’ he sh o u te d . It w as
obvious from the expression on their faces that they were going to
do som ething bad.

1. n ursem aid : servant who looks after very young children.

2. d ah lia ['deilia]

3. nodded : m oved their heads up and down to say yes.

4. sweet p eas :

5. go-cart : light vehicle with w heels used in the garden.

 ITn-SeasI-

‘We are going to cook her over a fire,’ said one of the boys who
had obviously read English history.
‘Throw her down and the pigs w ill eat all of her except the
palm s of her h an d s,’ said the other boy, who had obviously read
Biblical history.
The last proposal alarm ed O ctavian the most. He had heard of
cases where pigs had eaten sm all children.
‘You w ou ldn ’t do such a horrible thing to my little O livia?’ he
shouted.
‘You killed our little cat,’ replied the children.
‘I’m very sorry that I d id ,’ said Octavian.
‘We w ill be very sorry when we kill O livia,’ said the girl, ‘but
we can ’t be sorry until we have killed her.’
Before Octavian could think of an answ er to this child-logic,
he saw O livia fall from the roof into the muck 1 below. He went
q u ickly over the w all of the pigsty to rescu e his daughter but
found h im self trapped in the muck. He cou ld hardly move. At
first O livia was alm ost happy to be in the slippery 2 muck. But
w hen she began to sin k 3 she re a lise d that she w as not at all
happy, and she began to cry. Octavian battled with the muck, but
he could not move.
‘I can ’t reach her in tim e,’ he shouted. ‘S h e’ll die in the muck.
W on’t you help her?’
‘No one helped our cat,’ the children rem inded him.
‘I’ll do anything to show you that I am really and truly sorry,’
cried Octavian.

1. m uck [mAk] : anim al excrement.

2. slip p ery : difficult to stand without falling (e.g. ice and snow are slippery).
3. sin k : go down (in water, or some other liquid).

3.1
 'TT ]d (Perxxnce

‘Will you stand wearing only your white shirt by the cat’s grave?’
‘Y es,’ scream ed Octavian.
‘Holding a can d le?’ asked one of the boys.
‘And saying, “I’m a m iserable B east”? ’ asked the girl.
‘Yes, y e s !’ answ ered O ctavian.
‘For a long, long tim e?’ asked the girl.
‘For half an hour,’ said Octavian anxiously. He had read that a
German king had done penance by standing outside in only his
shirt for five days and five nights at Christmas-time. Fortunately,
the children had not read any German history and half an hour
seem ed like enough tim e to them. They threw down a ladder 1
and O ctavian w as able to save Olivia.
That evening he went to the oak tree where the cat was buried.
He was wearing only a shirt. In one hand he had a candle, and in
the other hand he had a watch. He stood there for h alf an hour
saying, ‘I’m a miserable Beast. I’m a miserable Beast. I’m a miserable
Beast.’ He was sure that the three children were watching him.
The next morning O ctavian was very happy when he found a
piece of paper next to the w all, on which w as written the m essage
‘U n-Beast.’

1. lad d er :

*fo
 A C T I V I T I E S

Go back to the text

^ j| Complete the sentences with the words in the box, and then put the
sentences in the correct order to make a summary of the story.

coop (x 2) muck (x 2) belonged sinking chocolates

presents riflev ladder (x 2) staring penance fell
die pigsty pigsties upset go-cart

a. Q One day Octavian was out with his little daughter Olivia,
and he thought that the children would like to play with her.
But they ran away with Olivia on a .................and went to
th e\(a.\.£\....... ....S.. .
b. Q] Octavian tried to make peace with the children and bought
them some , but the children threw back his
.CX^C.r.)........
c. Q The children gave him the X ...............after Octavian
promised to do a particular .;.v....w He had to stand by
the cat’s grave for thirty minutes and repeat, T’m a miserable
beast. I’m a miserable beast.’
d. Q] So Octavian went and shot the cat with his Xr.i.V,...............
e. Q One day Octavian discovered some blood and feathers in his
chicken .£?...... Some animal had been killing his
chickens.
f. Q After Octavian had killed the cat, he saw the children
................ at him from the top of a wall. They had seen
everything!
g. Q Octavian came and told the children not to hurt his daughter,
but Olivia S ? X .............. into the X.......k.............
h. Q Olivia w a s .....,..... in t h e ..........................and was going to

i. Q] Octavian tried to save her, but he couldn’t. He told the

children to hand him a .........................

*3 l
 A C T I V I T I E S

j. □ The children climbed up onto to the roof of a ......................

with Olivia.
k. □ Octavian looked for the animal that was the killer, and one
day he saw a cat walking around the ch ick en .........................
Unfortunately, the c a t ...................... to the children who were
his neighbours.

i- □ Octavian asked the children’s uncle if he could kill the cat,

and the uncle said that he could but the children would jDe
.....Vy^Xr........

Saki refers to the children’s schooling in an ironic manner.

Discuss the following questions.

a. What do you think the adults wanted the children to learn from
English and Biblical history?

morality the greatness of Britain love

vendictiveness patriotism courage

b. What did the children actually learn from English and Biblical
history?

Un-Beast
The word un-beast was an invention of the children meaning ‘You are
not a beast’.
The prefix un is generally used with adjectives, adverbs and verbs.
In English there are several prefixes along with un that can be used to
turn adjectives and adverbs into their opposites.
holy - unholy
agreeable - disagreeable
sensitive - insensitive
patient - impatient
 A C T I V I T I E S

Read this adaptation of Saki’s description of bird life during the First
World War. Use the word given in capitals at the end of each line to
form a word that fits in the space in the same line. You will need,
among other possible changes, to add a prefix. You may not understand
all the names of the birds. This is not essential to do the exercise. Try to
understand the general meaning of the text.

Despite the effects of the war, bird life has been quite (0) undisturbed. DISTURB
Rats and mice have mobilised and barn owls have followed them, but
it is (1) r . w. i . . . r * f t o say if the barn owls will be successful or not POSSIBLE
in controlling the mice. (2) there are always enough FORTUNA1
mice to populate the trenches and run over your face while you
sleep.
Barn owls generally stay in (3) ......................... buildings, and because INHABIT
thousands of people have moved away, there are now entire streets
full of empty houses available for barn owls. But, apart from the
increase in mice and places for barn owls, bird life in the northern
French countryside, has been quite (4 )......................... AFFECT
You would expect large flocks of crows and rooks near the fighting
line, but these flocks are practically (5) ........................... The obvious EXIST
explanation is that the crows are frightened by the sound of the
explosions, but this explanation is (6 )........................... Normally rooks CORRECT
are very afraid of the sound of guns, but I have seen rooks peacefully
looking for food in the ruins of a village with explosions all around
them.
According to Russian naturalists, the war has had a greater effect on
birds on the Eastern Front. They say that during the first year of the
war rooks (7 )........................ and skylarks stopped singing in the fields. APPEAR
Here on the Western Front though, skylarks have not left these
dangerous fields. One early morning, when nothing seemed to be
alive, a skylark flew high up in the sky to sing its song of joy. To me
though, its song seemed forced and (8) .......................... I thought that SINCERE
it was (9) ....................... that the skylarks had nests in these desolate CONCEIVE
battlefield. However, I discovered a nest with young larks in it. Two
of them had been hit by something and were in bad condition, but the
survivors were as peaceful and comfortable as the average nestling.
fro m ‘B ird s on the W estern F ro n t’

* *
/i(c > r(v e ra
 A C T I V I T I E S

Before you read

Look at the picture on page 47. What kind of person is she?
Describe her and say:

• what kind of person you think she is

• how she gets the money to buy her clothes
• how she treats her family
• whether she is married and has any children

Listen to Part One and choose the best answer A, B or C.

Why was the doll different from a model in a fashion magazine?

A Q Because she wore leopard-skin accessories.
B Q Because she had a friendly expression on her face.
C Q Because she had a terrible expression on her face.

How old were Bert and Emmeline?

A Q four and ten
B □ six and seven
C Q seven and ten

According to Emmeline, the doll’s husband doesn’t hit her

because
A he’s dead.
B Q she’s too terrible and frightening.
C Q he has a good nature.

The doll’s mother hates her because she

A |T^| sent her son away to live with poor people.
B □ is so sarcastic.
C Q poisons everybody.

The rich lord is not going to pay for the doll’s clothes because
A Q he has already given her jewels.
B Q he is dead.
C Q he doesn’t really love her.

*f<9
P a rt I

he Olympic Toy Em porium had a large

shop w indow in an important West End street.
No one called it the more fam iliar and exciting
name of toyshop. Its toys were incredible but not
toys that c h ild ren re a lly lik ed . For ex am p le, the
a n im a l to y s lo o k e d lik e s c ie n t ific m o d e ls an d n ot fr ie n d ly
com panions to take to bed.
One of the d o lls in the w in d o w lo o k ed lik e a m o d el in a
fashion m agazine. She wore a skirt and leopard-skin accessories.

<f7
 /((orlvera
Unlike a m odel in a fashion m agazine, this doll had a terrible
e x p re ssio n on her face. Sh e seem ed to have a really h orrible
character and you could im agine hundreds of stories about her in
which she had unworthy 1 am bitions and a great desire for money.
As a matter of fact, two poor children, Em m eline, aged ten and
Bert, aged seven, had stop ped on their way to St Ja m e s’s Park.
They did not like her much because she was rich and they were
poor, and because she had such a terrible expression on her face.
Em m eline gave the doll a terrible reputation; she got her ideas
from the con versatio n s of her m oth er’s friends about rom antic
novels.
‘She is a bad one,’ declared Emmeline, ‘and her husband hates
her.’
‘He hits her a lo t,’ said Bert with enthusiasm .
‘No, he d oesn ’t, because h e’s dead. She poisoned 2 him slow ly
so that no one w ould know. Now she wants to marry a lord with
lots and lots of money. H e’s already got a wife, but sh e’s going to
poison her too.’
‘S h e’s a bad one,’ said Bert with growing hostility.
‘Her mother hates her,’ continued Emmeline, ‘because sh e’s so
sarcastic. S h e’s greedy too. If there is fish for dinner, she eats her
own share 3 and her little g irl’s share too, and her little girl is
d elicate.’
‘She had a little boy once,’ said Bert, ‘but she push ed him into
the water when nobody was looking.’

1. unw orthy : undeserving, bad.

2. poisoned : gave him poison (a substance that can kill you if you eat or
drink it).
3. sh are : portion.

U
 l\{prW<ircL

‘No, she d id n ’t ,’ said Em m eline, ‘she sent him aw ay to live

with some poor people, and they treat him very b ad ly .’
‘ W h a t’ s h er n a m e ? ’ a s k e d B e rt, th in k in g th a t su c h an
interesting personality should have a name.
‘ Her n a m e ? ’ sa id E m m elin e, th in k in g h ard . ‘H er n am e is
M o r lv e r a .’ S h e th o u g h t t h is se e m e d lik e th e n am e o f an
adventuress in a film.
‘She h asn ’t paid for the clothes she is wearing, and she w ill
never pay for them ; she thin ks that the rich lord w ill pay for
them, but he w on’t. He has already given her lots of jew els.’
‘He w on’t pay for the cloth es,’ said Bert with conviction.
It seem s that there is a limit to the weak good nature of a rich
lord.

h0
 A C T I V I T I E S

Go back to the text

Q Answer the following questions.

a. Why didn’t anyone call the Olympic Toy Emporium a toyshop?

b. Why could someone looking at Morlvera imagine that she had
unworthy ambitions and a great desire for money?
c. Why did Emmeline and Bert dislike Morlvera?
d. Why, according to Emmeline, wasn’t Morlvera accused of killing
her husband?
e. Why did Emmeline call the doll Morlvera?
f. What kind of man was the rich lord?

a. T alk with a partner about some overly sentim ental film you
have seen. Say which parts of the film you thought were not
very realistic.

b. Write down all the different elem ents of M orlvera’s life that
Bert and Em m eline im agine, and say which ones you think
come from their own p erso n al exp erien ces and which ones
come from what Emmeline has heard from others.

Interesting or interested
Some adjectives can be formed with either the -ing or -ed ending. But
they have different meanings. You use the -ing ending to describe a
person, object or a situation. The -ed ending is used to talk about the
effect something has on a person, object or situation.
Look at these examples:
The film was so frightening, I couldn't watch it.
I was so frightened by the film I couldn't sleep at night.

S ’)
 A C T I V I T I E S

O Complete the sentences with the correct adjective.

Example: We are all tired because we did not sleep much last night.
(tired/tiring)
a. The children were v e ry .....................................about going to the
toyshop, (excited/exciting)
b. I think Harold i s ....................................... He only talks about
himself, (bored/boring)
c. Emmeline and Bert think that Morlvera is rather
....................................... (interested/interesting)
d. I always f e e l when it rains and I can’t go
outside, (depressed/depressing)
e. We a r e .....................................by his experiences in India.
(fascinated/fascinating)
f. My little brother i s He can’t think of
anything to do. (bored/boring)
g. It i s ................................... that so many people do not try to keep
our city clean, (shocked/shocking)
h. I w a s ................................... to learn that you are not coming to the
party, (surprised/surprising)
i. That science fiction film about life on Mars was really
....................................... (excited/exciting)
j. I a m ................................... because I haven’t heard from my brother
in weeks, (worried/worrying)

Before you go on
F C E f i Listen to the beginning of Part Two and complete the sentences with
a word or a phrase.
1 Emmeline and Bert believe Victor when he says that his cousin is
a .....................................fool.
2 Victor has to give Bertha a present for h e r .....................................
3 Bertha i s .................................. years old.
4 If Victor continues to say bad things, whenhe getshome he will

5 Bert thinks that Morlvera is going away t o ....................................

6 Victor doesn’t want to write a note that says, ‘FordearBertha,

h oi
 P a r t II

f?ever>R.e
m l t th at m om en t, a m otor car w ith se rv a n ts
drove up to the em porium. A large lady and a
sulky 1 little boy stepped out. He was wearing a
very white sailor suit.
‘Now Victor,’ said the lady, ‘come and buy a
nice doll for your cousin Bertha. She gave you a beautiful box of
soldiers on your birthday, and you must give her a present on hers.’
‘Bertha is a fat little fo ol,’ said the little boy loudly.
‘V ic to r ,’ sa id h is m oth er, ‘you s h o u ld n ’t say su ch th in gs.
Bertha is not a fool, and she is not fat. You m ust come in and
choose a doll for her.’

1. sulky : angry. Children often sulk when they want to show others that they
are angry of in a bad mood.

ha>
 /l(prlv£ra
They then walked into the shop.
‘He is in a bad tem per,’ exclaim ed Emmeline. However, she and
Bert believed him when he said that his cousin was fat and foolish.
‘ I w an t to se e so m e d o l l s , ’ s a id the m o th er to the sh o p
assistant. ‘It’s for a girl of eleven .’
‘A fat little girl of eleven,’ added Victor.
‘Victor, if you say such rude things about your cou sin , you
w ill go to bed the moment we get home, without tea.’
‘T h is is one of the n ew est d o lls ,’ said the a ssista n t, taking
M orlv era out of the sh op w in dow . ‘Y ou w o n ’t fin d an yth in g
newer anywhere. It’s an exclusive d esign .’
‘Look!’ whispered Emmeline outside. T h ey have taken Morlvera.’
She w as both excited and a little sad. She really w anted to
look at M orlvera a little longer.
‘She is probably going aw ay in a carriage to m arry the rich
lo rd,’ said Bert.
‘S h e’s up to no good ,’ 1 said Emmeline seriously.
Inside the shop, Victor and his mother bought the doll.
‘It’s a beautiful doll, and Bertha w ill be very happy with it,’
said V ictor’s mother.
‘Oh, very w ell,’ said Victor sulkily, ‘but we don ’t have to wait
for him to wrap it. 2 We can take it directly to Bertha’s house so
that I don ’t have to write, “ For dear Bertha, with Victor’s lo ve” on
a piece of p ap er.’
‘Very w ell,’ said the mother, ‘we can go to Bertha’s house on
the way home. You m ust w ish her happy birthday and give her
the d o ll.’

1. up to no good : planning to do som ething bad.

2. w rap it : cover it with paper so that it can be given as a present.
 ‘But I w on’t let the little beast kiss m e,’ said Victor.
His mother said nothing because, in the end, Victor had not
acted so badly. When he wanted, he could be terribly n au g h ty .1
Em m eline and Bert were just w alking away from the window,
when Victor cam e out holding M orlvera. She seem ed to have a
look of trium ph on her face. As for Victor, he had a peaceful look
on his face now. He seem ed to have accepted his defeat.
His m other got into the motor car and gave directions to the
driver, and Victor got in beside her, holding the elegantly dressed
doll.
The driver started moving the car back a little bit in order to
turn around. Very secretly, very gently, very m ercilessly, 2 Victor
threw the doll over his shoulder and it fell just behind one of the
wheels.
The car went over the doll and m ade a crunching sound as it
broke. Then the car m oved forw ard m aking another crunching
sound. The motor car drove away, and Bert and Emmeline looked
with scared delight at the m ess of dirty clothes, saw du st 3 and
le o p a r d sk in , w h ic h w a s a ll th a t r e m a in e d o f th e h a te fu l
Morlvera. They cheered h appily and ran away from the scene of
the tragedy.
L a te r th at a fte r n o o n in St J a m e s ’ s P ark , E m m e lin e s a id
seriously to Bert, ‘I’ve been thinking. Do you know who he w as?
He w as the little boy that she had sent aw ay to live with poor
people. He came back and did that to her.’

1. naughty [’noiti] : bad (this word is often used when speaking about
children).
2. m ercilessly ['morsslosli] : cruelly, heartlessly.
3. saw dust : tiny particles of wood (here, the filling of M orlvera’s body).
 A C T I V I T I E S

Go back to the text

Are the following statements true (T) or false (F)? Correct the false
ones.

a. Emmeline was happy that somebody was going to

buy Morlvera. □ □
b. Victor didn’t want the shop assistant to wrap the doll
because he did not want to write a birthday
note to his cousin. □ □
c. Victor’s mother said nothing to Victor when he called
his cousin a beast because she too thought Bertha was
a beast. □ □
d. Victor had a peaceful look on his face when
he came out of the shop because he had accepted the
fact that he had to give his cousin the present. □ □
e. The motor car destroyed Morlvera under its wheels. □ □
f. Emmeline and Victor were happy at Morlvera’s end. □ □
g. Emmeline thought that Victor was really Morlvera’s son. □ □

I can be terribly naughty!

F C E @ Pretend that you are Victor, and tell the story of Morlvera from his
point of view. Write your answer in 120-180 words.

Include the following information:

• what you thought of the toy emporium
• why you had to get a present for your cousin
• what you think of your cousin
• how you tricked your mother
• what you did with the doll

s *
 A C T I V I T I E S

You can begin and end your story like this:

I will never forget the day I tricked my mother. We went to the
Olympic Toy Emporium because .....................................................

So, even if I went to bed without any dinner that day, I was very
happy. Yes, I can be terribly naughty!

Mercilessly, Victor threw the doll over his

shoulder
In English we can often change the class of a word by adding a suffix.
Look at some examples below:

Forming adjectives
Verb + -able drinkable, laughable
Noun + -less homeless, penniless
Noun + -ful thankful, hopeful

Forming nouns
Verb + -er runner, teacher
Verb + -or actor, sailor
Verb + -ion collection, discussion
Verb + -ance/-ence guidance, patience
Noun + -ship membership, friendship
Adjective + -ness happiness, goodness

Forming adverbs
Adjective + -ly warmly
 A C T I V I T I E S

FCE® Read this adaptation of another of Saki’s short stories, ‘Dusk’. * Use the
word in capitals at the end of each line to form a word that fits in the
space in the same line. You will need, among other possible changes, to
add a suffix.
Norman Gortsby sat in the park. It was dusk, and Norman liked
observing the people. He thought that people without (0) friendship FRIEND
or love walked around at this time. An old man came and sat by
Gortsby. With his (1) .......................... Gortsby invented a hopeful IMAGINE
(2 )........................for this man. EXIST
Then the old man got up and left. Soon, a young man who was
better dressed replaced him.
‘I’ve done the stupidest thing,’ said the young man.
‘Yes?’ said Gortsby (3 )........................ CALM
‘Well, I came to town this afternoon,’ continued the young man, ‘I
w ent to a hotel I knew , but I d isco v e re d that it had been
demolished. A taxi (4) ......................... took me to another one. Then I DRIVE
left the hotel to buy some soap. I find hotel soap disgusting. Then I
had a drink. Now though I can’t remember where the hotel is, and I
have spent all my money on the soap and the drink.
Now I w ill have to spend the night outside because I am so
(5) Unless, of course, someone believes my story FORGET
and helps me.’
Gortsby told him that his story was (6) ......................... and that it WONDER
would be even more (7) ....................... if the young man could show BELIEVE
him the soap.
The young man felt (8 ) in his pocket. QUICK
‘I must have lost it,’ he said (9 )........................ ANGRY
‘Well, to lose both a hotel and soap in one day is really too
(10) .......................,’ said Gortsby, but the young man did not wait CARE
and left in a hurry.
A moment later Gortsby saw something on the ground. He picked it
up. It was some soap. So, he ran after the young man, and gave him
money for a hotel. He also apologised for not believing him. Then
he went back to the bench and saw the old gentleman who had sat
with him earlier. He was looking for something around the bench.
‘Have you lost anything, sir?’ Gortsby asked.
‘Yes, sir, some soap.’
* Dusk is the time in the evening when the sun goes down.

60
 Writers and the First World War
At 44 years of age, H. H. Munro went to fight in the Great War. He
had refused several commissions because he did not think men should
follow him before he himself had experience in battle. He was killed
by a German sniper 1 on November 14, 1916. Despite the hardships of
battle, he wrote during his whole time in the trenches. His usual cool
irony appears in his wartime writing, as when he describes the
advantages that children have in areas affected by the war:

Soldiers in the trenches in the First World War.

1. sn ip er : someone who shoots from a hidden position.

61
 ‘There must, by the way, be one considerable advantage in
being a child in a war-zone village; no one can attempt to
teach it tidiness. 1 The wearisome 2 maxim, 3 “A place for
everything and everything in its proper place,” can never be
insisted on when a considerable part of the roof is lying in the
backyard....’
But Saki was but one of the many writers, most of them younger
than him, who took part in the Great War. At the start of the war,
Britain was the only m ajor E uropean power that did not have
universal conscription; 4 it had only 160,000 men under arms while
Germany had five million and France four. This, though, changed
and soon all of Britain’s young men were called common labourers
and upper-class Oxbridge 5 graduates alike, and among them, many
young writers.
At first, most of them were enthusiastic about going to war. Many
saw it as a break from the boring monotony of their everyday lives,
as an escape from a ‘world grown old and cold and weary,’ as the
poet Rupert Brooke wrote.
This all soon changed as the true nature o f this war emerged. A
battle line was drawn from Sw itzerland to the North Sea, the
Western Front. Neither side could make any progress. The battles
were almost all totally ineffective and incredibly bloody. The Battle
of Verdun in 1916 cost 500,000 lives, and the Somme Offensive of
1916 resulted in the gain o f only 11 km and the deaths o f one

1. tidin ess : orderliness.

2. w earisom e : (from weary) tiring, annoying, boring.
3. m axim : a saying, a general rule.
4. conscription : obligatory service in the army.
5. O xbridge : a way of referring to either Oxford or Cambridge University.
million soldiers, or to put it differently, about one death for every
four square metres o f contested ground.
The horrors of this new kind of war were recorded in the writings of
some of England’s best poets, who are now known as the war poets. They
described the brutalities of this first mechanised war 1 and revealed the
absurdities of the propaganda that had inspired them to fight.

The Menin Road (1919) by Paul Nash. Nash, after serving as a lieutenant
on the Western Front, became an official war artist, depicting emotional
scenes showing the effects of the war.

1. m echanised w ar : a war conducted with m achines.

On November 11, 1985 a plaque 1 was placed in Poets’ Corner in
Westminster Abbey dedicated to 16 Great War poets, six of whom had
died during the war. Perhaps their varied writings can best be summed
up by what one of them, Edmund Blunden, wrote after the first day of
the Battle of the Somme (in that one day of fighting British forces lost
60 percent of its officers and 40 percent of its common soldiers, the
highest amount in history):
by the end of the day both sides had seen, ... the answer to
the question... Neither race had won, nor could win, the War.
The War had won, and would go on winning.’

Are the following statements true (T) or false (F)? Correct the
false ones.

T F
a. Munro fought in the First World War as an officer. □ □
b. Munro used his usual ironic style when he wrote
about the First World War. □ □
c. When the First World War began, Britain had the
largest army in Europe. □ □
d. Most upper-class British men did not take part
in the First World War. □ □
e. Many young men were excited and happy about
going off to war. □ □
f. Few soldiers were killed during the First World War. □ □
g- The war poets wrote romantic and idealised
descriptions of the war. □ □
h. Edmond Blunden thought that the Germans had
won the first day of the Battle of the Somme. □ □

1. plaque : piece of stone or m etal with nam es on it that serves as a m emorial.

Sre^ioi Yasbtar
 A C T I V I T I E S

Before you read

O Small children often believe in magic, ghosts and other supernatural
things. When you were a child what did you believe?

a. Strange creatures were under your bed.

b. Animals could come flying into your room.
c. Animals could talk.
d. Other.

© Now look at the picture on page 71.

1. Do you know what kind of animal is in the cage?

2. Do you think it eats meat or plants?
3. What is the boy offering the animal?
4. What can you see in front of the anim al’s cage?
5. Why are they there?
a. Because the animal is hungry.
b. Because the boy wants to decorate the anim al’s cage.
c. Because the animal is part of some mysterious religious ritual.

F C E © Listen to Part One and choose the best answer A, B or C.

1 How old was Conradin?

A □ ten
B □ eleven
C □ nine

The doctor said that Conradin would live for another

A Q] ten years.
B Q two years.
C Q five years.

(9(9
 A C T I V I T I E S

3 How often did Conradin play in the garden?

A Q all the time
B □ never
C Q sometimes

4 What animals were in the shed?

A Q a rabbit and a goat
® EH a ^ en an(^ a polecat-ferret
C Q] a hen and a rat

5 When did Conradin worship his god?

A □ on Sunday
B □ on Tuesday
C □ on Thursday

6 What did Conradin bring his god?

A Q red flowers and red fruit
B Q sweets and biscuits
C chickens

7 How did Conradin get the nutmeg?

A Q he stole it
B Q he bought it
C Q he asked his cousin for it

8 When did Conradin have his special festivals?

A □ every week
B □ only when Mrs De Ropp was away
C Q only when something very special had happened

67
P a rt I

'9 'o x b is Q ooc)

onradin was ten years old. He lived with Mrs

De Ropp, who was his cou sin and guardian.
One day Mrs De R opp c a lle d a doctor b e c a u se
C o n rad in w as a lw a y s sick . The do-ctor cam e an d
examined him.
‘This boy will only live another five years,’ said the doctor.
‘I agree,’ said Mrs De Ropp; ‘he is such an ill little boy.’
The doctor’s opinion w a sn ’t important to Conradin, but Mrs De
R o p p ’s was very important. She represented that large part of
C onradin’s world that was unpleasant, necessary and real. The
o th e r , s m a l l e r p a r t o f h i s w o r ld w a s r e p r e s e n t e d by h is
imagination - his only defence against Mrs De Ropp.

(si
 ‘One day,’ thought Conradin, ‘I’m certain that I’ll lose this war
against her. Tomorrow will be like today: I’ll take my medicine at
nine o ’clock, I w o n ’t play in the garden, I’ll go to bed at seven
o ’clock. Every day I’ll do these things, and, in the end, I’ll die.’
For the moment, however, Conradin continued to fight his battle,
with imagination as his only weapon. 1
M rs De R o p p d id not a d m it to h e r s e l f that sh e d i s l i k e d
Conradin; but she was probably aware that she took pleasure in
stopping him from playing - ‘for his go od ’. Conradin hated her
but he was able to hide this hate. He enjoyed his few pleasures
very much because he knew that Mrs De Ropp did not approve.
There was a garden behind the house, but Conradin never
p lay ed there. He knew that one of the w in do w s of the hou se
would open and he would hear Mrs De Ropp shout, ‘Conradin,
come and take your m ed icin e!’ or ‘Conradin, come inside now.
It’s too cold. Do you want to get i l l ? ’ So C on radin went to a
shed 2 in a far corner of the garden. This shed was his place of
r e fu g e ; it w a s in p a r t a c a t h e d r a l an d in p a r t a p l a y r o o m .
C o n r a d in ’s im aginatio n had filled the shed with h u n d red s of
in t e r e s t i n g p h a n t o m s , b u t th ere w e re a l s o two r e a l li v in g
creatures. One of these was a hen, to which Conradin gave all of
his affection - he had no one else. And in the back of the shed
th e r e w a s a la r g e h u t c h . 3 T h i s w a s the h o m e o f a la r g e
polecat-ferret. 4 Conradin was terribly afraid of this beast with
sharp teeth, but it was his most treasured possession. It was also

1. w eapon ['wepan] : instrum ent used for fighting.

2. shed : a sm all building in the garden where things are kept.
3. hutch [hAtJ] : a box in w hich sm all anim als are kept.
4. polecat-ferret: a long, thin predatory mammal, used for hunting rats and rabbits.
 Sre^n i YasM ar

his secret from the Woman, which was his own private name for
Mrs De Ropp. And one day he invented a fantastic name for the
beast - Sredni Vashtar, and it became his god and religion. The
W oman also had her relig io n , and she took C on rad in to her
church once a week. But the Woman’s religion was not his. Every
T h u r sd a y C on rad in w o r s h ip p e d 1 his god. He brou gh t it red
flowers and red fruit because Sredni Vashtar was an impatient
god that would not like the slow, boring rituals of the W oman’s
religion. And on special festivals he brought nutmeg 2 to his god,
and it was essential that the nutmeg was stolen from the kitchen
of the Woman. These festivals were not regular; they were held
to celebrate something special that happened. For example, once
M rs De R o p p h a d a h o r r i b l e t o o t h a c h e for th re e d a y s an d
C on rad in c eleb rated for three days. He alm o st b e lie v e d that
Sredni Vashtar had caused the W oman’s terrible pain.
Unfortunately, the Woman noticed that he spent a lot of time
in the shed. ‘It is not good for him to be there all the time. I am
going to tell the gardener to take away his hen. Then there will be
no reason for him to go to the sh ed,’ she thought.

1. w orsh ipped : adored, venerated.

2. nutmeg : a spice often used in sweet dishes.

70
 A C T I V I T I E S

Go back to the text

Answer the following questions.

a. How was Conradin’s world divided?

b. What was Mrs De Ropp’s relationship to Conradin?
c. What name did Conradin use for Mrs De Ropp?
d. What was Conradin’s war and how did he fight it?
e. What did the shed represent for Conradin?
f. What was Mrs De Ropp’s religion like?
g. What was Conradin’s religion like?
h. What did Conradin do when Mrs De Ropp had toothache?
i. What did the hen represent for Conradin?
j. Why did Mrs De Ropp decide to take away Conradin’s hen?

T: GRADE 7

Theme - Giving advice

‘Mrs De Ropp did not admit to herself that she disliked Conradin;
but she was probably aware that she took pleasure in stopping him
playing - for his good.’
Discuss the following questions with the class.

a. Do you feel that Conradin is justified in his hate towards Mrs De

Ropp?
b. If you were Conradin, what would you do to solve the problem
with Mrs De Ropp?
c. Why do you think Mrs De Ropp wants to stop Conradin playing?
d. What would you advise Mrs De Ropp to do?

72
 A C T I V I T I E S

Mrs De Ropp called a doctor because

Conradin was always sick
Look at these sentences:
I went to the supermarket because I needed some milk and bread.
The conjunction because presents the reason for an action.
I needed some milk and bread so I went to the supermarket.
The conjunction so presents the consequence.

O Join the two sentences using either so or because.

Example: Conradin was very sick. Mrs De Ropp called the doctor.
Conradin was very sick so Mrs De Ropp called the doctor.

a. Conradin went to live with Mrs De Ropp. His parents were dead.
b. Conradin did not play in the garden. He knew that Mrs De Ropp
would tell him to come inside.
c. Conradin could not play in the garden. He spent time in the shed
with his animals.
d. Conradin had nobody to give his love and affection to. He gave
them to his hen.
e. Conradin didn’t like going to church. He thought the services
were boring.
f. Mrs De Ropp had toothache. Conradin performed a special ritual
to celebrate the event.
g. Mrs De Ropp told the gardener to take away Conradin’s hen. She
noticed that he spent a lot of time in the shed.
h. Conradin began to hate Mrs De Ropp even more. She had taken
away his hen.

72>
 a c t i v i t i e s

I’d love a piece of...

Q Discover Conradin’s favourite food! Use the clues below to complete
this crossword. All the words are in Part One.

«• □ □ □ □ □ □ □ □ □
□□□□□□
«• □ □ □ □
□□□□□□
»■□ □ □ □ □ □
□□ i—i
□□□
*• □ □ □ □ □ □
□□□□□□

1. Sredni Vashtar was Conradin’s m o s t .................. possession.

2. Imagination was Conradin’s o n ly .................. against the Woman.
3. If something is not near, it i s ...................
4. Conradin’s special place was a ...................
5. On very special occasions Conradin offered his g o d ...................
6. The Woman’s religion was v e r y ...................
7. Conradin’s god was kept in a ...................
8. The spice that Conradin offered to his god w a s from the
Woman’s kitchen.
9. Sredni Vashtar was a ...................
10. The Woman thought that Conradin.................. too much time in
the shed.
11. Sredni Vashtar would not have liked the Woman’s religious

7«f
 A C T I V I T I E S

f c e © Read the text on ferrets below and think of the word which best fits
each sp a ce . Use only one w ord in each sp a ce . There are two
examples at the start

Ferocious Ferrets?
The ferret is a member of the weasel
family, which also includes animals
(0) such as the otter, the skunk, the
m ink and the b ad g er. H ow ever,
the ferret is not a wild animal.
(00) It was probably domesticated ^ ^ ^
(1) ........................ than 2500 years
ago, even before the cat. Scientists
believe (2) ....................... domestic ferrets are descendants of the
European polecat, (3) ....................... still lives in some wild areas
of Europe. Ferrets were mentioned (4) ......................... the Greek
philosopher Aristotle, and the ancient Romans used (5) .....................
to hunt rabbits.
R ecently, though, ferrets have becom e very p o p u lar as pets.
(6) dogs and cats, they are very playful animals and
do not require much care. Since they are small, you can easily
carry them around with you in your bag or in the basket of your
bicycle! The only major problem is that, like other members of the
weasel family, they can emit a terrible odour (7) ...................... they
are frightened. This problem is easy (8) ......................... solve: a
veterinarian can surgically remove the scent glands that produce
the smelly substance.
But (9) ...................... did Saki choose a ferret as the fierce hero of
his story, ‘Sredni Vashtar’? Maybe because the wild members of
the w easel family, including the polecat, are indeed incredibly
ferocious anim als, (10) ......................... though most of them are
rather small (the polecat is only 50 centimetres long). Also ferrets
are often used to hunt rabbits and rats in some parts of the world.
However, the ferrets sold in pet shops are generally gentle animals
and their popularity as pets continues to grow.
 A C T I V I T I E S

Before you go on
Look at the picture on pages 80-81.

a. What is Conradin doing?

b. Which adjectives would you use to describe the expression on

Conradin’s face?

worried happy grateful upset angry amused sad

c. What do you think has happened to make Conradin feel this way?

F C E i Listen to the beginning of Part Two and complete the sentences with
a word or a phrase.

The next day at (1) ....................... Mrs De Ropp turned to Conradin

and said, ‘Yesterday the gardener took ( 2 ) and sold it.’
She waited for Conradin to say (3) ........................ to become angry;
then she could (4) ...................... why the chicken was taken away ‘for
his good’. But Conradin said (5 ) ........................
Perhaps Mrs De Ropp felt a little guilty (6) .......................... that
(7) ........................ there was toast on the table. Normally Conradin
was not p e rm itte d to eat to ast, even though it w as his
(8) .........................This time, however, Conradin did not eat the toast.
‘I thought you liked toast,’ she said.
‘(9) .......................,’ said Conradin.

!
P a r t II

T e a sl-

he next day at breakfast Mrs De Ropp

turned to Conradin and said, ‘Y esterday the
gardener took your hen away and sold it.’
She waited for him to say something, to become
angry; then she could explain why the chicken was
taken away ‘for his good’. But Conradin said nothing.
Perhaps Mrs De Ropp felt a little guilty 1 because at tea that
afternoon there was toast on the table. Normally Conradin was not
permitted to eat toast, even though it was his favourite food. This
time, however, he did not eat the toast.
‘I thought you liked toast,’ she said.

1. guilty : bad because she had done som ething wrong.

77
 Sre3r)i YasM ar

‘Som etim es,’ said Conradin.

In the s h e d th at e v e n i n g he c h a n g e d h is m a n n e r o f
worshipping the ferret. Before this, he had only praised 1 his god;
now he asked it for a favour.
‘Do one thing for me, Sredni Vashtar.’
The thing was not specified. But Sredni Vashtar was a god,
and so he knew. Conradin looked at the place where the chicken
had lived and almost cried. Then he went back to the world he
hated.
And every night in the darkness of his bedroom and every
evening in the shed Conradin said the same thing: ‘Do one thing
for me, Sredni Vashtar.’
Mrs De Ropp saw that Conradin continued to go to the shed;
one day she decided to see why.
‘What do you keep in that hutch?’ she asked. ‘I think you have
some guinea p i g s . 2 I will tell the gardener to take them aw ay.’
The woman then went to Conradin’s bedroom to find the key
to the hutch. When she found it she went directly to the hutch to
c o m p lete her d isco v e ry . From a w in d o w of the din in g room
Conradin could see the door of the shed. He saw that the Woman
entered. He imagined that she was opening the door of the sacred
hutch and trying to see what was hidden in side. Perhaps she
would put her hand inside. Conradin said his prayer 3 for the last
time. But he knew as he prayed that he did not really believe that
the polecat-ferret was a god.

1. p raise d : com plim ented, expressed adm iration for.

2. guinea pigs : sm all m am m als, often used in scientific experim ents.
3. pray er : request made to his god.

7 S'
 'T o a st-

‘ I ’m su re that sh e w ill com e out in a m i n u t e , ’ C o n r a d in

thought, ‘with the hutch in her hand. She will have a smile on her
face. I hate her smile! Then she will call the gardener and tell him
to take away my wonderful god, who is not even a real god. She
will win because she alw ays wins, and I will grow sicker and
sicker. And she will be right and the doctor will be right. And I
will die.’
Conradin began to sing loudly to his god:

Sredni Vashtar went forth, 1

H is thoughts were red thoughts an d his teeth were white.
H is enem ies called fo r peace, but he brought them death.
Sredni Vashtar the Beautiful.

And then he stopped singing and went near the window. He

could see that the door of the shed was still open. Time went very
slowly, one minute, two minutes, three minutes ..., but it went.
He watched the birds in the garden. They flew in little groups
from tree to tree. He counted them, one, two, three, four, five ...,
and then he counted them again. A maid came in with the table
for tea, and still Conradin watched. M inutes were moving and
there was hope for the first time. Perhaps victory was near. He
started singing again, ‘Sredni Vashtar went forth, His thoughts
were red thoughts and ...’ And then he saw what he wanted to
see: the long yellow-and-brown beast came out from the shed into
the bright sunlight. Its fur 2 was dark with blood. Conradin fell on

1. forth : out (to go forth = to go out to fight a war, to begin a voyage etc.)
2. fur : the soft hair that covers m am m als.

71
 S re d n i Y a sk ta r

his knees. The great polecat-ferret went to a small stream in the

garden. It drank, crossed a little bridge, and then vanished.
‘Tea is ready,’ said the maid. ‘Where is Mrs De R opp?’
‘She went down to the shed a half an hour ago,’ said Conradin.
The maid left the room to call Mrs De Ropp. When she had
gone Conradin opened a drawer, 1 pulled out a toasting fork, and

1. draw er [dro:] : container like a box with a handle, that can be pulled in and
out of a piece of furniture.

SO
 'T e a sl- -----

started to toast a piece of bread. While he was toasting the bread

and putting enorm ous q u antities of d elic io u s butter on it, he
listened to the noises that came from downstairs. He heard the
maid screaming, people running in and out, and, finally, he heard
men carrying some heavy object into the house.
Then he heard the maid say, ‘Who will tell the boy the terrible
news. I can ’t. Oh it’s just too horrible.’ And while the servants
debated the matter, Conradin made him self another piece of toast.

£1
 A C T I V I T I E S

Go back to the text

FCE0 Choose the correct answer A, B, C or D.

1 Why did Mrs De Ropp give Conradin toast for breakfast?

A □ Because she felt guilty about taking away
Conradin’s hen.
B □ Because toast was recommended by the doctor.
C □ Because Conradin hated toast, and Mrs De Ropp liked
seeing Conradin suffer.
D □ Because there was nothing else to give him.
How did Conradin change his way of worshipping Sredni Vashtar?
A □ He starting praising him.
B □ He asked him do to do him a favour.
C □ He started to bring him things to eat.
D □ He brought him some guinea pigs.
Why didn’t Conradin tell Sredni Vashtar what favour he wanted?
A □ Because he was embarrassed.
B □ Because he had already told Sredni Vashtar about the
favour before.
C □ Because he did not really believe that Sredni Vashtar
was a god.
D □ Because Sredni Vashtar was a god and would know what
the favour was.
4 What did Mrs De Ropp think Conradin had in the shed?
A □
ferrets
B □
guinea pigs
C □
hens
D □
a dog
Who killed Mrs De Rop
A □
Sredni Vashtar
B □
the doctor
C □
Conradin
D □
the servants
 A C T I V I T I E S

6 What did Conradin do when he discovered that Mrs De Ropp was

dead?
A Q He fell down on his knees in a sign of thanks, and then
went to play in the garden.
B Q] He told the maid to bring him some tea.
C Q He sang his hymn.
d □ He fell down on his knees in a sign of thanks, and then he
made him self some toast and butter.

What do these things and people represent to Conradin?

Example:
Mrs De Ropp represented the large part of his world which
was unpleasant, necessary and real.

a. the shed ........................................................................................

b. the ferret

c. the hen

d. toast and butter

e. the death of .......................................................................................

Mrs De Ropp ........................................................................................

O A Matter of life or death

Conradin sees his relationship with his cousin as a battle. He thinks
that if Mrs De Ropp ‘defeats’ his god Sredni Vashtar, then he will
grow sicker and will die.

a. How was Mrs De Ropp ‘killing’ Conradin?

b. Do you think Conradin was right to see his relationship with his
cousin as a life-and-death struggle?
 A C T I V I T I E S

FCE0 Read the summary of ‘Sredni V ashtar’ and look carefully at each
line. Some of the lines are correct, and some have a word which
should not be there. If a line is correct, put a tick ( /). If line has a
word which should not be there, write the word in the space below.

0 Conradin was ten years old and he have lived with his cousin
00 Mrs De Ropp. One day Mrs De Ropp called the doctor because
1 Conradin was always being sick. After examining Conradin, the
2 doctor said to that Conradin would only live for another five years.
3 Mrs De Ropp has agreed with him. So, from then on, she would
4 always stop Conradin from doing anything amusing ‘for his good’.
5 Conradin’s only moment of freedom came on when he went to the
6 shed in the back of the garden. There he had two animals, a hen
7 and a polecat-ferret. He gave the hen all the his love and affection,
8 since he had had nobody else. The polecat-ferret was a god for him,
9 and his name was been Sredni Vashtar.
10 One day when Mrs De Ropp told the gardener to take away the hen.
11 When she did this, Conradin, who until then had only praised Sredni
12 Vashtar, started asking to him for a favour. So, when Mrs De Ropp
13 went to the shed to look into the hutch, Conradin began to sing
14 his a song of praise for Sredni Vashtar. He imagined Mrs De Ropp
15 opening the hutch and putting her hand in. Conradin waited and
16 time passed, but she did not come out of the shed. His hope grew.
17 Finally, Conradin saw his little god come out, and it was covered
18 with the blood. Sredni Vashtar was a real god after all, and, to
19 celebrate, Conradin made himself up some delicious buttered toast.

0 ..tUWfi. 00 . / 1 .... .... 2 .... .... 3 ..... 4

5 .......... 6 . 7 .... .... 8 ..... .... 9 ..... 10
11 .......... 12 ., 13 .... 14 ..... .... 15 ...... 16
17 .......... 18 . 19
^ feb e rM e r
 A C T I V I T I E S

Before you read

O a Which of the adjectives below best describe cats and which best
d e sc r ib e d o g s? W rite them in the a p p r o p r ia t e colu m n .
Can you think of any others?

servile independent wild tame loyal

selfish elegant intelligent faithful

Cats Dogs

b. D iscuss your results with the class. Do you all agree? If not,
explain why.

Look at the picture on page 88.

a. How would you describe the expression on the cat’s face?

bored surprised angry happy sad

shocked annoyed astonished

b. The title of Part One is ‘A Great Discovery’. What role do you

think this cat has in the ‘great discovery’?
 A C T I V I T I E S

fc e © Listen to the beginning of Part One and choose the best answer A, B

a orC
1 Lady Blemley always invited people to her parties who had
A Q certain talents.
B Q important friends.
C lots of money.

2 People said that Cornelius Appin was

A □ rich.
B □ stupid.
C □ clever.

Cornelius said that Tobermory

A □ very stupid.
B □ very dangerous.
C □ very intelligent.

Cornelius began experimenting

A □ many years ago.
B □ 17 months ago.
C □ seven months ago.

The other guests thought Cornelius was

A Q crazy or a liar.
B Q joking.
C Q making fun of them.

*7
P a rt I

4 d r a a L D isc o v e r
1
JfF ady Blem ley knew that her house-party was going
to be d if f ic u lt to o r g a n is e b e c a u s e it w o u ld
continue for several days and the guests w ould have
to sle e p in her larg e h o u se. Sh e alw ay s trie d to
invite gu ests who were talen ted and entertaining.
Som e people were invited because they were good at
playing cards, others because they were good at acting, and others
b ecau se they were good at playin g the piano. After all, it w as
d if fic u lt to e n te rta in g u e s ts for th ree or fo u r d a y s. To th is
p articu lar h ouse-party Lady B lem ley in vited C orn eliu s A ppin .
People said that he w as clever; and, in fact, Cornelius seem ed like
the nam e of a clever man. But when he w as at the party Lady
 4 (|re<x1“~©isoever
Blem ley could not understand why people thought he w as clever.
He said very little.
One afternoon it w as raining and all the gu ests were in the
living room.
C o r n e liu s A p p in s a id , ‘ I h av e m ad e the m o st im p o r ta n t
scientific discovery in the history of the world. I have worked on
this particular problem for many years.’
‘What is this fantastic disco very ?’ asked Sir W ilfrid, another
one of Lady B lem ley’s guests.
‘I have taught anim als how to speak our language,’ explained
Cornelius.
‘Do yo u h av e an e x a m p le o f y o u r w ork h e r e ? ’ a sk e d S ir
W ilfrid, who obviously did not believe Cornelius.
‘Yes, I do. Lady B lem ley’s cat, Tobermory. Toberm ory is my
best stu den t,’ answ ered Cornelius.
‘How can we possib ly b elieve,’ continued Sir W ilfrid, ‘that you
have discovered how to teach anim als to talk ?’
‘W ell,’ explained Cornelius, ‘I have worked on this problem for
many years. I have experim ented with thousands and thousands
of anim als. Seven months ago I began to work with cats. Cats are
the perfect anim als for my work: they live with us but they are
s t i l l lik e w ild a n im a ls . A n d th e re are c a ts w h o are m ore
intelligent than other cats. Tobermory is one of these intelligent
cats: in fact, he is a Super-cat. He is the first anim al that I have
taught to speak perfectly.’
A ll the guests looked at Cornelius. Nobody said a word. They
thought he was crazy, or a lia r .1

1. lia r : som eone who does not tell the truth deliberately (the verb is ‘to lie,
lied, lie d ’).

*1
 ^ T S t)e rM c )r

Finally, after a minute or two, M iss Resker said, ‘I understand.

You have taught Toberm ory to say and understand very sim ple
sentences like “ G o!” or “ C om e!” T hat’s very interesting.’
‘No, n o ,’ said Cornelius patiently, ‘little children learn short
sen ten ces first. But T oberm ory is a very in te llig en t an im al. I
taught him to speak English perfectly and com pletely. His English
is as good as your E nglish .’
Now everybody w as sure that Cornelius was a liar.
‘I th in k we sh o u ld see the cat and then we can ju d g e for
ou rselves,’ suggested Lady Blemley.
Sir W ilfrid left the room and went to look for the cat. Everyone
began to think that C o rn eliu s w as a good v e n trilo q u ist. They
waited for this interesting show of ventriloquism to begin.
A m inute later, Sir W ilfrid cam e back in the room. His face
was white. He was obviously very excited.
‘It’s true! It’s tru e!’ he shouted.
The other gu ests co u ld see that Sir W ilfrid w as tellin g the
truth and they asked him what had happened.
‘Well, I found Tobermory sleeping on a chair in the smoking-
room . I told him to com e to the livin g room im m ed iately . He
opened his eyes slow ly and looked at me.
‘Then he said, “ I’ll come when I want to. Now, go aw ay !” I
alm ost fain ted !’ 1

1. fainted : lost con sciousness.

10
 A C T I V I T I E S

Go back to the text

Are the following statements true (T) or false (F)? Correct the false
ones.

T F
a. The house-party was going to continue for several hours. Q
b. Mrs Blemley never tried to invite people to
her parties who were entertaining. □ □
c. Mrs Blemley thought that Cornelius was a very
clever man. □ □
d. Cornelius told the other guests that he had made a
fantastic scientific discovery. □ □
e. Cornelius had taught Americans how to speak English. □ □
f. Cornelius said that Tobermory was an exceptionally
intelligent animal. □ □
g- Tobermory was Mrs Blemley’s dog. □ □
h. At first nobody believed that Cornelius had taught
Tobermory how to speak. □ □
i. The guests thought that Cornelius was a good
ventriloquist. □ □
j* Sir Wilfrid was very calm after he heard Tobermory
speak. □ □

It would be great if cats could speak!

x :e © What do you think of the above statement?
Write a short composition in 120-180 words. Include the following:

• some of the advantages

• some of the disadvantages
• why, in the end, the advantages (or disadvantages) are more
important

1)
 A C T I V I T I E S

They asked him what had happened

Compare these examples of direct and reported speech:

Direct
‘Does Tobermory speak w ell?’
he asked me.
‘When is he coming?’ she asked
them.
‘Did you lose this book
yesterday?’ she asked him.
‘Have you ever been to France?’
they asked me.
‘Will you come to my party
tomorrow?’ she asked John.
‘What can we do to help your
father?’ Sam asked Jill.
Reported
He asked me if Tobermory
spoke well.
She asked them when he was
coming.
She asked him whether he had
lost the book the day before.
They asked me if I had ever
been to France.
She asked John if he would
come to her party the next day.
Sam asked Jill what they could
do to help her father.

Q Change the following direct questions into reported speech.

a. ‘What did they do yesterday?’ we asked our teacher.

b. ‘Will you help us with our homework?’ we asked our father.
c. ‘Can you really teach cats to speak English?’ I asked Cornelius.
d. ‘How many times have I told you not to use my computer?’ she
asked her brother.
e. ‘Is it going to rain?’ she asked her friend.

Now change the following into direct questions.

a. I asked her if she had gone to the circus yesterday.

b. They asked me why I never wore a suit and tie to work.
c. Sylvia asked Harry if he liked his school.
d. Robert asked Emily what she was doing in his bedroom.
e. Ahmed asked Sandra if she would ever love him.

1a
 A C T I V I T I E S

Before you go on
Q Look at the picture on pages 96-97.

a. Do you think the people in this picture are happy with what
Tobermory is saying?
b. What do you think he is saying?

0 How do you think the story will end?

Tobermory will become rich and famous.
The guests will kill Tobermory because he knows too much about
their private lives.
Tobermory will teach other cats to talk, and there will be panic
all over the world.
Other.

H H E ^ Listen to the beginning of Part Two and complete the sentences.

JUFF Now (1)...................... believed Cornelius. They began to ask him lots
of questions. Cornelius smiled. He was very (2)....................... with his
(3 ) ........................success.
At that moment, when everybody was (4) ........................ Cornelius
questions, Tobermory walked into the room. (5) ....................... of the
guests said a (6) They felt embarrassed in front of a
talking cat.
Finally, the hostess - Lady Blemley - said nervously, ‘Would you
like ( 7 ) ...................... milk, Tobermory?’
‘Yes, I’m a ( 8 ) ........................thirsty,’ said the cat indifferently.
Everyone in the (9) ....................... was shocked. And Lady Blemley’s
hand shook as she poured Tobermory some (10)

1*
P a r t II

Sc)M£ Terrible. ©isceveries

ow ev ery b od y b e lie v e d C o rn e liu s. They
began to ask him lots of questions. Cornelius
sm iled. He was very happy with his first success.
At that m om ent, w hen everyb od y w as ask in g
Cornelius questions, Tobermory walked into the room.
None of the guests said a word. They felt em barrassed in front of a
talking cat.
Finally, the hostess - Lady Blem ley - said nervously, ‘W ould
you like some milk, Toberm ory?’
‘Yes, I’m a little thirsty,’ said the cat indifferently.
Everyone in the room was shocked. And Lady B lem ley’s hand
shook as she poured 1 Tobermory some milk.

1. poured [po:d] : served (to pour = to fill cups, glasses etc. with liquid).

1*
 SeMe ^Terrible ©isceverics

‘I’m sorry, but I’ve sp ilt 1 m ost of the m ilk on the c a r p e t,’
apologised Lady Blemley.
‘I don ’t care,’ responded Tobermory, ‘it’s not my carpet.’
The room w as silen t for another m inute. Then M iss Resker
asked Tobermory if it was difficult to learn to speak. The cat looked
at M iss Resker for a minute. Then he looked out the window. It was
obvious that he considered M iss Resker’s question ridiculous.
‘W hat do you th in k of h u m an in te llig e n c e ? ’ ask e d M av is
Pellington stupidly.
‘Human intelligence in general, or do you want to know about
some particular perso n ?’ asked Tobermory.
‘Uh ... w ell ... my in te llig e n c e . W hat do you th in k of my
in telligen ce?’ asked M avis with a nervous laugh.
‘ W ell, y o u p u t m e in an e m b a r r a s s in g p o s i t i o n , ’ s a i d
T ob erm ory . B ut he d id not lo ok e m b a rra sse d . ‘A n y w ay , I ’ll
answer you. When Lady Blem ley told Sir W ilfrid that she wanted
to in v ite you to th is p arty he sa id , “ M av is P e llin g to n is the
stupidest woman in the world. Why are you inviting h er?” Lady
B lem ley replied, “ Sir W ilfrid, I am inviting her b ecau se she is
stupid. I have this old car that I want to sell and M avis Pellington
is the only person stupid enough to buy it’”
Lady Blem ley, of course, said that Tobermory was a liar. But
M av is P e llin g to n d id not b e lie v e her: th at m orn in g sh e h ad
bought Lady B lem ley’s old car.
M ajor Barfield tried to change the subject.
He s a id , ‘ T o b e rm o ry , do yo u w an t to te ll u s ab o u t y o u r
girlfriend, the striped cat that lives near the stab le?’ 2

1. spilt : accidentally poured the liquid outside the container.

2. stable : building where horses are kept.
 'T e b c r M e r

Everyone im m ediately understood that he had made a terrible

m istake.
‘It is not polite to ask people about their love affairs.’ replied
Tobermory coldly. ‘Do you want me to talk about what I have seen
during this party? I’m sure that you w ouldn’t like that, would you?’
There w as a moment of general panic. A lm ost all the guests
had some private love affair. They all thought, ‘If Tobermory says
what he has seen, I’ll be in trouble.’
Toberm ory’s dinner was in two hours, but Lady Blem ley said,
‘Tobermory, why don’t you ask the cook if your dinner is ready ?’
‘T h a n k s,’ resp o n d ed T oberm ory, ‘but I have ju st had tea. I
don ’t want to die of in digestion .’
‘Cats have nine lives, Tobermory,’ said Sir Wilfrid, trying to be funny.
‘P o ssib ly ,’ was the answer, ‘but only one liver.’ 1
‘Lady Blem ley, are you going to permit this cat to talk about us
with the servan ts?’ said Mrs Cornett, another guest.
The panic was general. Everyone remembered that Tobermory
often w alked outside their window s. It was obvious that he had
seen and heard everything that happened in their bedrooms. Some
guests becam e white with fear. Others, like Odo Finsberry, who
was studying to be a m inister of the Church, ran out of the room.
A ll the g u e sts th o u gh t, ‘ If T ob erm ory te lls ev ery th in g he
knows, there w ill be terrible sc an d als.’
Finally, Agnes Resker said dram atically, ‘Why did I come to
this house-party?’
Tobermory had the answer:
‘I know why you came. Yesterday you said to Mrs Cornett that
L a d y B le m le y ’ s p a r t ie s w ere v e ry b o rin g b u t the fo o d w as

1. liver : large internal organ that helps digestion and produces blood.
 S omc^Terrible ©isceveries

delicious. You told her that you came for the good food. In fact,
you said that everyone came for the food.’
T h a t is not true. You are a liar! Mrs Cornett, tell the truth. Did
I say that? Tell the ...’
T h e n M rs C ornett to ld B ertie van T ahn n w hat you s a i d ,’
c o n tin u e d T ob erm ory , ‘an d he sa id th at A gn es R esk er w ent
anywhere she could get free food, and then ...’
Fortunately for the guests, at that moment Tobermory stopped
h is story. He h ad seen h is enem y, a big y e llo w tom cat. 1 He
jum ped out the window, and ran after it.

1. tom cat : m ale cat.

 'TSberMer

A ll the guests looked at Cornelius angrily. He had caused all

this trouble.
‘Do you think Toberm ory w ill teach other cats to talk ?’ they
asked Cornelius.
‘It’s p o s s ib le ,’ re p lie d C orn eliu s. ‘M aybe he has taught his
girlfriend, the cat that lives in the stables. But I don ’t think he has
taught any other cats. At least, not yet.’
‘Lady B lem ley,’ said Mrs Cornett, ‘I know that you and your
h u sban d like Toberm ory very m uch, but he and his friend the
stable cat m ust be k illed .’
‘I h ave not en jo y ed th is la st h a lf h ou r e it h e r ,’ sa id L ad y
Blemley. ‘Yes, it is true that my husband and I like Tobermory very
much. Well, we liked him before he learned to talk, and tell our
secrets. Anyway, I agree that he must be killed as soon as p o ssib le.’
‘We can put poison in his food ,’ said Sir W ilfrid, ‘and I w ill go
and drown 1 the stable cat.’
‘What about my great d isc o v e ry ?’ C orn eliu s said w ith great
emotion. ‘I have worked for many y e ars!’
‘Why don ’t you go to the zo o,’ said Mrs Cornett, ‘and teach the
elephants to talk. Elephants are very intelligent anim als, but they
do not hide under your chair and they do not sit ou tsid e your
bedroom w in dow !’
C ornelius tried to persu ad e them not to k ill Toberm ory and
destroy all his scien tific work. No one listened to him. In fact,
m an y o f th e g u e s t s th o u g h t th at p o is o n s h o u ld be p u t in
C orn elius’s food.
(.8 That night at dinner all the guests were quiet. Lady Blem ley
tried to create con versation . But no one talked. They were all

1. drown : kill in water.

100
 S omcd^crribte ©isceveries

w atching Toberm ory’s bowl. 1 Inside the bowl was some delicious
m eat and poison. But Tobermory still did not come back.
A fter d in n er, s t ill no T ob erm ory. The se rv a n ts cam e an d
announced that the w indow of the kitchen was open as usual for
T o b e r m o r y . N in e o ’ c lo c k , no T o b e rm o ry . T en o ’ c lo c k , no
Toberm ory. At eleven o ’clock one of the guests got up to go to
bed. Before leaving the room he said, T oberm ory probably went
to the local new spaper to tell everything he has seen and heard
during this house-party. Good n igh t!’
It was not a good night.
The next m orning all the guests asked the servants the sam e
question, and the servants gave the guests the same answer: ‘No,
Tobermory has not returned.’
B reak fast w as even m ore d e p re ssin g than din n er the night
before. But, before it was over, the gardener w alked into the room
with Toberm ory’s dead body.
‘ H is en e m y , th e b ig to m c a t, k ille d h im ,’ e x p la in e d the
gardener.
Toberm ory w as C orn eliu s A p p in ’s first and only su c c e ssfu l
student. A few weeks later Lady Blem ley read in the new spaper
that an elephant in the Dresden Zoological Garden had killed an
Englishm an. The n ew spaper said that the elephant w as u su ally
g e n tle an d c a lm , b u t th a t the E n g lis h m a n h a d a p p a r e n t ly
provoked it. The name of the Englishm an was C. A p p in .’
As one of Lady B lem ley’s guests said, ‘If he was trying to teach
that elephant German irregular verbs, he deserved to d ie .’ 2

1. bowl : deep round container used for holding liquids or food.

2. he deserved to die : his death w as justified.
 A C T I V I T I E S

Go back to the text

c e O Part Two has been divided into eight sections. Choose the most
suitable heading from the list (A-I) for each section. There is one
extra heading which you do not need to use.

A He has seen and heard all!

B Boring but at least you eat well
C A grave mistake
D The long, long wait
E I knew he was right!
F Better dead than talking
G And humans think they’re more intelligent than us!
H What do you say to a talking cat?
I Even cats are worried about their health

C E I © For questions 1-8, complete the second sentence so that it has a

sim ilar meaning to the first sentence, using theword given. Do not
change the word given. You must use between two and five words.

1 Seven months ago I began to work with cats.

BEEN
I with cats for seven months.
2 Cats are the perfect animals for my work.
BETTER
There are ............................................ cats for my work.
3 T il come when I want to,’ he said.
COME
He said that he wanted to.
4 Miss Resker asked Tobermory if it was difficult to learn to speak.
IS
Tobermory, .......... to speak?’
asked Miss Resker.

102
 A C T I V I T I E S

5 ‘I’m sorry, but I’ve spilt most of the milk on the carpet,’
apologised Lady Blemley.
FOR
Lady Blemley ................................................................most of the milk
on the carpet.
6 Maybe he has taught his girlfriend.
HAVE
He ........................................................................................ his girlfriend.
7 His enemy, the big tomcat, killed him.
BY
He ...................................................,......................... thebigtomcat.
8 Tobermory was Cornelius Appin’s first and only successful student.
NOT
After Tobermory, Cornelius Appin
successful students.

0 What’s your opinion?

1. In this story, who is Saki making fun of?
a. The upper classes and their stupid and petty secrets.
b. Human beings in general.
c. Language teachers who try to teach innocent students
irregular verbs.
d. Other.
2. How would you describe Tobermory?

snobbish dandyish funny ironic

cruel intelligent self-confident

3. Do you like Tobermory? Why or why not?

4. Is there any other character (a cat or a human) in some TV show,
comic strip, film or book that reminds you of Tobermory?

102)
 A C T I V I T I E S

FCEl^ Read the text about talking anim als and decide which answer A, B,
C or D best fits each space. There is an example at the beginning (0).

Talking Anim als

(0) .A......... Saki w as not the first or the (1) ............... w riter to |
(2) .............. talking anim als. Books, films and cartoons are full of
them.
Then, of course, the loving owners of dogs, cats and horses insist
that their pets communicate just as well as any human being can.
But what do scientists have to say ( 3 )............talking animals?
Well, as you might (4) ............ chimpanzees and gorillas have been
closely studied in this regard since they are our closest relatives in
the animal world (98% of the genes of chimpanzees and humans are
the sam e!) Indeed some chim panzees, can learn sign language, a
language based on gestures. Some chim panzees have learned as
many as 100 different signs.
More surprising though,
w as the d isc o v e ry (5)
in the prestigious
p e r io d ic a l S c ie n tific
A m erican in 1996: an
African Grey Parrot was
taught to count up to six
and to re c o g n ise and
nam e of aro u n d 100
d iffe re n t (6) ..................
In c re d ib ly , if the
r e se a rc h e r put three
bottles in front of the parrot and asked it, How many?, the parrot
could respond correctly.
S t ill, even th ough th ese e x a m p le s of a n im a ls le arn in g to :
com m unicate as we hum ans do are su rp risin g, it is even more
su rp risin g to learn how an im als com m unicate in the w ild. For
example, the German scientist Karl von Frisch (1886-1982), who was

I o *f
 A C T I V I T I E S

one of the (7) ............. of the modern study of animal behaviour,

discovered the language of bees. He discovered that bees send out
scouts to search for fields of flowers. After finding a field of flowers,
these sco u ts return to the hive and do a sp e c ia l dance w hich
(8) ............ the other bees of the direction, distance and size of the
field of flowers. This was a truly exciting discovery, perhaps even
more exciting than talking cats!

0 A Obviously B Although C Particularly D Especially

1 A latest B ultimate C last D latter
2 A hear B fantasise C see D create
3 A of B for C around D about
4 A predict B expect C anticipate D believe
5 A told B reported C said D revealed
6 A words B articles C objects D pieces
7 A founders B creators C inventors D builders
8 A informs B reports C tells D says

T: GRADE 7

Theme - Expressing possibility and uncertainty

‘Toberm ory is a very intelligent an im al. I taught him to sp eak
English perfectly and completely.’
Discuss this statement using these questions to help you.

a. How would you feel if you had a pet that could talk?
b. What do you think it would say to you?
c. How would the relationship between animals and people change?
d. Do you agree with the idea that animals have their own
personalities? How do they demonstrate this?

I Ob'
 A C T I V I T I E S

I NTER NET PROJECT ^

LOOKING AFTER YOUR PET

The guests wanted to poison Tobermory. Obviously, you should not treat your
pets in this way and if you have a pet, you will know that they need a lot of
care.
Before you connect to the Internet, make a list with your class of some general
care advice you w ould give someone considering buying a pet.

Different animals also have very specific needs. Let’s find out more on the
Internet.
Follow these instructions to be directed to the correct W eb site.
► C onnect to the Internet and go to w w w .blackcat-cideb.com or w w w .cideb.it
► Insert the title or part of the title using our search engine.
► Open the page for W icked and Hum orous Tales.
► Go down the page until you find the title of this book and click on ‘links’.

W ork in pairs and choose one of the animals listed below. Prepare a report on
each animal, giving some basic facts as well as advice on what you should do
or shouldn’t do if you have this animal as a pet.
► Budgies and canaries ► Cats
► Dogs ^ Ferrets
► G oats ► Hamsters
► Horses and ponies ► Rabbits
► Rats and mice ► Snakes and other reptiles

Prepare your report and present it to the class.

10(9
1. Interlopers : intruders, people who interfere in other p eo p le’s busin ess.
 A C T I V I T I E S

Before you read

FC E ^ Listen to the beginning of Part One and choose the best answer A, B

a o rC -
1 What was Ulrich looking for in the forest?
A Q a bear
« □ a man
C □ some wolves

2 Ulrich began fighting with his neighbour because their

grandfathers both wanted the same
a D woman.
B □ horse.
C Q piece of land.

3 When Ulrich and Georg were boys they wanted to

A Q kill each other.
B Q hunt.
C Q] dance.

4 When Georg and Ulrich met each other in the forest, they were
each carrying
A Q a knife.
B [^] a pistol.
C Q a rifle.

5 What fell on Ulrich and Georg?

A □ a gigantic tree
B □ a gigantic rock
C □ a gigantic bear

102:
O n e M ie s

ne winter night a man stood in a forest in the

C arpathian M ountains. 1 He w as carrying a
rifle and it seem ed that he w as w aiting and
listening for some w ild anim al. But Ulrich von
Gradwitz w as looking for a hum an enemy.
Ulrich had a lot of land. This land was full of all different kinds
of wild anim als, but he always guarded carefully one particular area
of this land. It was mountainous and not many animals lived there.
So why did Ulrich guard this land so carefully?

1. C arpath ian M ountains : m ountains in Romania.

101
 ^riterlepers

Many years ago U lrich’s grandfather and a neighbour, Heinrich

Znaeym, had both wanted the same portion of land. They went to
c o u r t1 and U lrich’s grandfather won the case. Heinrich Znaeym,
how ever, did not accept the co u rt’s d ecisio n ; he con tin u ed to
hunt on the land. The two fam ilies began fighting. U lrich and
H e in r ic h Z n a e y m ’ s g r a n d s o n , G e o rg , h a te d each o th e r
passionately. When they were boys they w anted to kill each other.
Now they were men, and they each wanted the other to suffer.
This night U lrich and his forest guards were out looking for
G eorg an d h is m en. It w as a storm y n igh t and the w in d w as
strong. Ulrich saw deer running from the contested area of land.
Norm ally, during a storm deer stay in one place, so he knew that
his enemy w as near.
He told his guards to wait at the top of a hill and w alked off
in to the w o o d s an d do w n the h ill by h im se lf. He lis te n e d
carefully for the sound of branches 2 breaking.
T h o pe,’ he said to him self, ‘I w ill meet Georg Znaeym tonight
man to man. If I kill him here, no one w ill ever know .’
At that m om ent, as U lrich w alk ed arou n d the trunk 3 of a
gigantic tree, he came face to face with Georg Znaeym.
The enem ies stared at each other for a long, silen t moment.
Each man had a rifle in his hand, each man had hate in his heart,
and each man had murder in his thoughts. But it is difficult for a
c ivilised man to shoot his neighbour in cold blood. They had to
sa y so m e th in g . At th is m o m e n t, h o w e v e r , th e w in d b le w

1. court : place were legal decisions are made by a judge.

2. branch es : the ‘arm s’ of a tree.
3. trunk : the central part of a tree.
 Rioter (a p crs

particularly hard and there was a crash: a gigantic tree fell on top
of the two men. U lrich von Gradwitz could not move. One arm
w as prob ab ly broken and the other arm w as p artly u n der the
trunk. His legs were under a large branch. His face was badly cut,
and he had to blin k several tim es to m ove the blood from his
eyes.
A lm ost next to him lay Georg Znaeym, alive and fighting to
move. Ulrich could see that he w as in alm ost the same condition.
Ulrich was both happy to be alive and angry at his situation.
Georg was alm ost blind from the blood that flow ed into his eyes
from cuts on his forehead. He stopped m oving for a moment to
listen, and then he laughed angrily.
‘So you w eren’t k illed ,’ said Georg, ‘but yo u ’re caught anyway.
T h a f’ s very fun ny: U lrich von G rad w itz cau gh t in h is sto len
forest. Now that is real ju stic e !’
And he laughed again angrily and ironically.
‘I’m caught in my own forest,’ replied Ulrich. ‘When my men
come to release me, you’ll be sorry that you were caught poaching 1
here in my forest.’
Georg w as silent for a moment; then he answ ered quietly.
‘Are you sure that your men w ill find you first? I have men,
too, in the forest tonight. T hey’re near, and they’ll find me first.
When they pu ll me out, perh aps, by accident of course, they’ll
push the trunk on top of you. Your men w ill find you dead under
th is tree. T h en , b e c a u se I am a g e n tle m a n , I sh a ll se n d my
condolences to your fam ily.’
‘T hat’s a good id e a,’ said Ulrich angrily and ironically. ‘I told

1. poaching : hunting illegally on som eone e lse ’s property.

 C n e w ie s

my m en to fo llo w me after ten m in u te s. S e v en o f th o se ten

m inutes have gone by already, and when they come I’ll remember
your idea! Only I can ’t decently send condolences to your family:
after all, you were poaching on my lan d .’
‘G ood,’ growled 1 Georg, ‘good. We shall fight to the death, just
yo u an d I an d ou r g u a r d s , w ith no in te r lo p e r s . D eath an d
dam nation to you, Ulrich von G radw itz.’
‘The sam e to you, Georg Znaeym, forest-thief, poach er.’
But both men knew that it w as a qu estion of chance w hich
m an ’s guards w ould come first.

1. grow led : said in a low angry voice. A dog grow ls when it is angry.

I is
 A C T I V I T I E S

Go back to the text

Q Complete the summary of Part One with the words below.

when and but so because (x 2) however

Georg and Ulrich hated each other 1....................... there was a terrible
fight between their two fam ilies. This fight concerned an area of
forest. Georg and Ulrich’s grandfathers had claimed the same piece
of land, 2........................ they went to court. The court said the land
belonged to Ulrich’s grandfather, 3........................ Georg’s grandfather
did not accept the court’s decision.
One stormy night in this section of forest Ulrich was with his forest
guards looking for Georg, 4....................... Georg was with his forest
guards looking for Ulrich. They wanted to kill each other. But they
were both without their guards 5....................... they met each other
face to fa ce. G eorg and U lrich w an ted to k ill each oth er,
6........................ it is difficult for a civilised man to shoot his neighbour
in cold blood. At that moment of hesitation there was a crash of a
fa llin g tree. Now they w ou ld have to w ait to k ill each other
7...................... the tree had trapped both of them.

They stared at each other for a long

silent moment
Look at the following sentences:
• Ulrich and Georg looked at each other. = Ulrich looked at Georg, and
Heinrich looked at Ulrich.
• Ulrich and Georg looked at themselves in the mirror. = Ulrich looked
at him self in the mirror, and Georg looked at him self in the mirror.
Reflexive pronouns - myself, yourself, himself, herself, itself, ourselves,
yourselves and themselves - are used when the object of the verb is the
same as the subject of the verb.
Note: that we do not use reflexive pronouns with the verbs remember,
meet, dress, wash, shave, feel, relax and concentrate.

IK
 A C T I V I T I E S

Complete the sentences with the appropriate reflexive pronoun or

each other where necessary.

Examples:
They helped each other with their homework.
The soldiers got up early, showered, shaved and then dressed.

a. We sat around the campfire and t o ld ..................................

frightening tales of wolves and interlopers.
b. We went to the seaside to r e la x ....................................
c. They am u sed ................................... by singing songs of their youth.
d. We know that we are wrong, and we b lam e ....................................for
the disaster. The next time we will be more careful.
e. With these new headsets for mobile phones, I always think that
people are talking t o ..................................., but in reality they are
just talking on the phone. It is very strange.
f. Jack and Rose had a terrible fight. They haven’t talked to
..................................for weeks.
g. My brother is so selfish. He only thinks o f ....................................
h. My friend and I were born on the same day, and we always give
..................................presents on our birthday.

0 What’s your opinion?

a. Do you think Georg Znaeym has the right to hunt on the land?
Why or why not?
b. Do you think Georg and Ulrich could become friends? How?
 A C T I V I T I E S

Q Complete the crossword to discover who will end the fight between
Georg and Ulrich.

*• □ □ □ □ □
*• □ □ □ □ □ □ □ □
3- □ □ □ □ □
*■ □ □ □ □
■■□ □ □ □ □
«• □ □ □ □
»• □ □ □ □ □
»• □ □ □ □ □ □ □ □ □ □
»• □ □ □ □ □
10.
11.
□□□□□□
1. Say that something is yours.
2. The ‘arm s’ of a tree.
3. Look at something fixedly.
4. Large wild animal that eats grass.
5. Loud sound that is made when something falls or breaks.
6. Ulrich and Georg were fighting because they both wanted this.
7. Hunt illegally on somebody else’s property.
8. The name of mountains in Romania.
9. Take something that does not belong to you.
10. The central part of a tree.
11 . Large area of land with many trees.

I 1(9
 A C T I V I T I E S

Before you go on
Look at the picture on page 119.

a. What is happening in the picture?

b. What do you think has changed in the relationship between
Ulrich and Georg?
c. How do you think the story will end? And who are the
interlopers?

FCE 0 Listen to beginning of Part Two and complete the sentences.

Now the two (1) ...................... had stopped trying to get free. Ulrich
tried with his partially free arm to (2) ....................... out his wine-
flask. ( 3 ) ...................... a few minutes he finally succeeded. Then after
another (4) minutes he succeeded in pulling off the
stopper. He (5) ....................... a little. It was truly wonderful. In this
(6) .......................... w eather the wine warm ed his body. Then he
(7) with pity at George who was (8) ...................... not to
scream in pain.
‘Can you reach the flask if I (9) it to you?,’ Ulrich asked
suddenly. ‘There’s (10) ...................... wine in it and there’s no reason
why we (11) ...................... suffer. Let us drink, even if tonight one of
us (1 2 )......................... ’
‘No, I cannot see anything (13) ...................... I have dried blood on
my eyes,’ said Georg. ‘And in any case I don’t (14) ........................wine
with an (15) ........................ ’

1 17
 ow the two men had stopped trying to get
free. Ulrich tried with his partially free arm to
pull out his wine-flask. 1 After a few m inutes he
finally succeeded. Then after another few minutes he
succeeded in pulling off the sto p p er.2 He drank a little. It was truly
wonderful. In this cold weather the wine warmed his body. Then he
looked with pity at Georg, who was fighting not to scream in pain.
‘Can you reach the flask if I throw it to y o u ?’ U lrich asked
suddenly. ‘There’s good wine in it and there’s no reason why we
should suffer. Let us drink, even if tonight one of us d ie s.’
‘No, I can’t see anything because I have dried blood on my eyes,’
said Georg. ‘And in any case I don’t drink wine with an enem y.’
Ulrich was silent for a few minutes, listening to the sound of the

1. flask : bottle that keeps liquids either hot or cold.

2. stopper : object used for closing bottles.

)&
 Writertopers
wind. An idea was gradually formulating in his brain. This idea grew
clearer every time he looked at Georg fighting against his pain. In the
pain that Ulrich was feeling the old hate was beginning to die.
‘N eighbour,’ Ulrich said, ‘you can do what you want if your
men com e first. It w as a fair agreem ent. But I’ve chan ged my
mind. If my men come first, they w ill help you first, as though
you were my guest. We have fought all our lives over this stupid
portion of forest. Tonight lying here thinking, I have come to the
conclusion that we have been fools. What is so im portant about
this portion of forest? Neighbour, if you help me end this fight,
I’ll ask you to be my frien d.’
Georg Znaeym was silent for a long time. Ulrich began to think
that he had fainted because of the pain. Then Georg spoke slow ly.
‘Everyone w ould be sh ocked if we rode into town together.
Nobody can remember a Znaeym and a von Gradwitz talking to each
other as friends. And there will be peace among the forest guards and
their families if we end the fight tonight. And if we choose to make
peace among our fam ilies, there is no one who w ill interfere, no
interlopers from outside. You could come to my house at Christmas
and I could come to your castle on other holidays. I would never
hunt on your land, if you didn’t invite me; and you could come and
hunt ducks in my marshes. 1 There is nobody around here who can
stop us if we want to make peace. I have alw ays thought that I
wanted to hate you. But I changed my mind when you offered me
your wine-flask. Ulrich von Gradwitz, I will be your friend.’
Then they were both silen t. They w ere thin k in g about the
w onderful changes this new peace w ould bring. In the cold, dark
fo rest, w ith the w in d b lo w in g, they w aited for the h elp that

1. m arshes : very wet areas of land.

iao
 <9'rier)3s

w ould free both of them. And each man wanted his men to come
first, so that he could be the first to help his new friend.
Then the w ind stopped for a moment and Ulrich spoke.
‘Let’s shout for h elp ,’ he said. ‘Now that the wind has stopped,
they might hear u s.’
‘It w ill be difficult in this forest,’ replied Georg, ‘but let’s try.
Together, then.’
The two men shouted together for help.
‘Together again ,’ said Ulrich a few m inutes later.
‘I heard som ething that time, I think,’ said Ulrich.
‘I only heard the w in d,’ said Georg.
There w as silen ce again for a few m inutes, and then U lrich
shouted joyfully.
‘I can see people coming through the forest.’
Both men shouted again.
‘They can hear us! T h ey ’ve sto p p ed . Now th e y ’ve seen us.
They’re running down the hill toward u s,’ cried Ulrich.
‘How many are there?’ asked Georg who could not see because
of the dried blood on his eyes.
‘I can ’t see distin ctly,’ said Ulrich; ‘nine or ten.’
‘Then they’re your m en ,’ said Georg. ‘I only had seven men
with me tonight.’
‘They are running quickly. What brave men! said Ulrich gladly.
‘Are they your m en ?’ asked Georg. ‘Are they your m en ?’ he
repeated im patiently as Ulrich did not answer.
‘N o,’ said Ulrich with a laugh. But it was the idiotic laugh of a
man who is very afraid.
‘Who are they?’ asked George quickly, trying to see what the
other man w ould have preferred not to see.
‘ Wolves. ’

121
 A C T I V I T I E S

Go back to the text

O Complete the sentences with the correct question word who, what,
why or when, and then answer the questions.

a ................. couldn’t Georg see?

b................. decided to end the fight?

c................. did he decide to end the fight?

d ................ did Ulrich offer Georg?

e................. did Georg decide that he wanted to be Ulrich’s friend?

f. would everyone be shocked if Georg and Ulrich rode into

town together?

g................. did Ulrich think he saw running down the hill?

h................ did Ulrich really see running down the hill?

Number the following sentences in the correct order.

a. Q At first each man hoped that his men would come first so
that he could kill his enemy. Later, Ulrich offered Georg
some wine because he saw that Georg was suffering.
b. Q One night they were in the forest looking for each other. The
weather was stormy.
c. Q In the end, however, some wolves came instead of Georg and
Ulrich’s men.

I SlSl
 A C T I V I T I E S

d. Q Georg and Ulrich hated each other because there was a fight
between their two families over a piece of land.
e. Q Then they became friends, and they each hoped that his men
would come first so that he could help the other first. Now
that they were friends, there w ould be peace among the
forest guards and their families.
f. Q When they saw each other they stared for a moment, and at
that moment a tree fell on them. They were both trapped
under the tree.

O Which of the following statements, in your opinion, best sum up the

story? Discuss with a partner.

a. □ Hate is easier than love

b. □ Make love not war
c. □ War is justified if you are defending your home
d. □ Love your neighbour as you love yourself
e. □ Good fences make good neighbours
f. □ Do to others what you would want them to do you
8- □ If you want to be free, you must fight wars
h. □ A simple twist of fate
i. □ Other

Q Do you think this story has any significance in the world today?
Give examples to support your answer.

O Do you think the title of this story is appropriate? Is it an important

part of the story itself?

I SL2>
 A C T I V I T I E S

Everyone would be shocked if we rode

into town together
When you talk about something that is unlikely, you use the second
conditional.
If + Past Simple would + infinitive
I f I h ad more time, I would study French.
Notice that in more formal English you generally use ‘were’ for all persons.
I f I were rich, I would buy that car. OR If I was rich, I would buy that car.
Also, could can be used for both were able to or would be able to.
• If I could speak Spanish, I would take that job in Madrid.
• If my brother were home, he could take you to the station.

© Write a second conditional sentence for the situations presented.

Example:
Georg and Ulrich are enemies and nobody expects them to ride into
town together.
Georg says, ‘If we rode into town together, everyone would be shocked.’

a. She can’t go to his party because she has a bad cold.

She says, ‘If I .............................................................................................. ’
b. Ulrich and Georg are not friends, so Ulrich cannot hunt on
Georg’s land.
Georg says, ‘If we .......................................................................................
then you ...................................................................................................... ’
c. The wind is blowing so nobody can hear them.
Georg says, ‘If the wind .........................................................somebody

d. Georg does not shoot Ulrich immediately because he is a civilised man.

But if Georg .............................................................................................he

e. The football match is tomorrow, but I have to work, so I can’t go.

If I ................................... ..... .............. .......................................................
I ....................................................................................the football match.

ia « f
 E X I T T E S T

FCE Choose the correct answer A, B, C or D.

er) \N(Tr>^ow
1 Framton’s sister thought Framton should meet Mrs Sappleton and
her family because
A Q he should not be alone while he rested in the country.
B □ she thought Mrs Sappleton needed company after her tragedy.
C Q] she thought Framton would enjoy Vera’s amusing stories.
d □ she thought Framton would enjoy hunting with Mrs
Sappleton’s brothers and husband.

2 Vera told her aunt and uncle that Framton ran away because
A Q he was afraid of their dog.
B Q he had to go to the doctor.
C he had thought that her uncles were ghosts.
D Q he did not like being with a lot of people in one room.

T lie (Penance
1 Octavian thought that the children’s cat had killed the chickens
because
A Q cats had killed his chickens before.
B Q he saw the cat with feathers in its mouth.
C Q he saw the cat with blood around its mouth.
d □ he saw the cat walking around the coop.

2 Octavian was very happy when he received the message

‘Un-Beast’ from the children because
A Q it meant that they would hurt Olivia again.
B Q he did not have to do any more strange penances.
C Q he really cared about the children’s feelings so he was
happy that they had finally forgiven him.
D it meant that he would not have to buy them any more
chocolates.

)3ih
 E X I T T E S T

/Iferlvera
1 Emmeline got her ideas about Morlvera from
A Q her own vivid imagination.
B □ what she had read about in newspapers.
C Q what she had read about in romantic novels.
D Q what she had heard about in romantic novels.

2 Emmeline imagined that Victor was

A Q the rich lord in love with Morlvera.
B Q Morlvera’s son.
C Q] Morlvera’s cousin.
d □ an actor from a film.

YasKtar
1 Every Thursday Conradin
A Q went to Mrs De Ropp’s church.
B □ worshipped his god with flowers and fruit.
C Q brought his god nutmeg.
D Q played in the garden with his hen.

2 How did Conradin’s way of worshipping his god change when

Mrs De Ropp took away his hen?
A Q] He started bringing it red fruit and flowers on Thursdays.
B □ He started asking it for a favour instead of just praising it.
C Q He started bringing it nutmeg when it did him a favour.
d □ He started singing hymns to it.

) A < s
 E X I T T E S T

TeberMerij
1 When Cornelius announced his great scientific discovery the
other guests thought that
A Q] he was a liar or crazy.
B □ he was a great scientist.
C Q he was making fun of them.
D □ he was the most entertaining guest at the house-party.

2 How did Tobermory die?

A Q] Sir Wilfrid drowned him.
B □ Mrs Blemley poisoned him.
C Q The gardener killed him.
D Q The tomcat killed him.

TRe ^riterle^ers
1 The fight between Ulrich’s family and Georg’s family began
because
A Q their grandfathers had claimed the same piece of land.
B Q their grandfathers had hated each other passionately as
children.
C Q Ulrich would not let Georg hunt on his land.
d □ Georg would not let Ulrich hunt on his land.

2 Which sentence best summarises the story?

A Q Hurting others we hurt ourselves.
B Q Don’t trust anybody.
C Q Hate never really dies.
d □ A civilised man always does the right thing.

157
 E X I T T E S T

Below are some quotations from some of the characters of all six
stories. Match them to the characters who said them and then match
them to the reasons why they said them. W rite the letter that
represents each character in the spaces in the first column and the
letter of the reason why in the second. Be careful! There may be
more than one quotation from each character.

Who
Tobermory (T) Victor (Vi) Mrs De Ropp (DR)
Emmeline (E) Octavian (O) Vera (Ve)
Georg (G)

What
Who Why
□ □ 1. Do you like flowers?
■ □ □ . 2. I thought you liked toast.
□ □ 3. A fat little girl of eleven.
□ □ 4. Possibly, but only one liver.
□ 5. Do you know many of the people round here?
□ □ 6. Now that is real justice.
□ □ 7. I think he ran away because he saw the dog.
□ □ 8. She is a bad one and her husband hates her.

Why
a. He/she is inventing the character of someone or something.
b. He/she is trying to make peace with others.
c. He/she is expressing his/her happiness at seeing his/her enemy in
a difficult situation.
d. He/she is telling lies.
e. He/she is telling someone why he/she doesn’t want to eat.
f. He/she is commenting on why another person doesn’t want to eat.
g. He/she is trying to see if he/she can invent one of his/her stories.
h. He/she is talking about someone he/she knows.

\ sl(
 I lm

A selection of am azing sto rie s by H ector Hugh Munro, alias m aster

sh o rt-sto ry w riter Saki.
A nervous m an is deceived by a teen age girl’s ex trav ag an t stories...
A fa rm e r a sk s th ree sm all children to forgive him... Two children
create a shocking sto ry about a doll... A boy b attles to enjoy life with
the help o f his own perso n al god... A cat brings scan dal to British
society... A dram atic intrusion finally en ds a disagreem en t betw een
tw o long-tim e enem ies...
Wide range of activities p ractisin g the four skills
FCE-style ex ercises
Trinity-style ex ercises (Grade 7)
• Internet project
Exit te st
Text recorded in full

Step One CEFA2 Exam KET

Step Two CEF B1.1 Exam Preparation PET
Step Three CEF B1.2 Exam PET
Step Four CEF B2.1 Exam Preparation FCE
Step Five CEF B2.2 Exam FCE
Step Six CEF C1 Exam Preparation CAE

Q U A L IT Y C O N T R O L

This volume without the side coupon is to

be considered a sample copy not for sale.