Tooth and Claw – Short Stories
Before Reading 10 The aunt to the bachelor, about the improper story
ACTIVITIES ANSWERS
BEFORE READING ACTIVITIES (PAGE 58)
ACTIVITY 1 BEFORE READING
1Y 2N 3N 4N 5Y
ACTIVITY 2 BEFORE READING
Encourage students to speculate and to make
guesses, but do not tell them the answers. They will
find out as they read that the answer is number 2.
ACTIVITY 3 BEFORE READING
1T 2F 3F 4T
While Reading
SREDNI VASHTAR PAGES 1 TO 5 WHILE READING
1 His imagination.
2 Because she did not like him and was often unkind
to him.
3 In an old shed.
4 An old, untidy-looking chicken.
5 A very large ferret with long, dangerous teeth and
claws.
%RNESTKILLED
6 He was most terribly afraid of it but he loved it with
all his heart.
7 She sold it.
8 Because he was very angry with his aunt.
9 Sredni Vashtar.
10 To take the ferret away from him.
BEFORE READING SREDNI VASHTAR PAGES 7 TO 9
Encourage students to speculate and to make
guesses, but do not tell them the answers. They
will find out as they read that the ‘yes’ answer is
number 3.
THE STORY-TELLER WHILE READING
1 The aunt to the boy, about him opening and closing
his mouth.
2 Cyril to his aunt, about the grass in the field.
3 The bigger girl to her aunt, about the story that the
aunt told the children about the good little girl.
4 The smaller girl to the bachelor, about Bertha.
5 The bachelor to the children, about Bertha’s medals.
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6 The bachelor to the children, about the king and his
mother’s dream that her son would be killed by a
sheep or a clock.
7 The bachelor to the children, about the pigs in the
palace gardens.
8 The bachelor to the children, about the wolf.
9 Bertha to herself, about coming to the gardens,
because she was afraid of the wolf.
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STAGE 3
that he told the children.
11 The bachelor to the aunt, about the children sitting
still and being quiet.
GABRIEL-ERNEST WHILE READING
1 F Cunningham told Van Cheele that there was a
wild animal in the woods.
2 F When Van Cheele first saw the boy, he was lying
on a large rock beside the pool.
3 T
4 F The boy said that he didn’t sleep at night.
5 F When the boy said that he ate children, Van
Cheele thought that he was joking.
6 T
7 F Van Cheele didn’t like the boy.
8 F When Van Cheele saw the boy in his sitting-
room, the boy was naked.
9 F Miss Van Cheele liked the boy but Van Cheele’s
dog was frightened of him.
10 T
11 T
12 F Miss Van Cheele thought that Jack Toop fell into
the river and Gabriel-Ernest tried to save him. /
Van Cheele THOUGHTTHAT'ABRIEL
Jack Toop.
TOBERMORY WHILE READING
1 Why . . .? Because she had heard that he was clever.
2 What . . .? The problem of teaching animals to talk.
3 What . . .? To speak English as well as Miss Resker.
4 Why . . .? Because nobody knew what to say to a
talking cat.
5 Why . . .? Because she wanted Mavis to buy her old
car.
6 Who . . .? Major Barfield.
7 Why . . .? Because he moved freely all over the house
and gardens, so nobody’s secrets were safe.
8 Who . . .? Agnes Resker.
9 Why . . .? Because he thought that Tobermory had
taught it to talk.
10 How . . .? In a fight with the doctor’s cat.
11 How . . .? An elephant killed him.
THE SHE-WOLF WHILE READING
3+12 20+5 2+11 1+8 13+18 16+6 17+14
19+10 15+4 9+7
After Leonard Bilsiter met a Russian on a train, he
talked about Siberian Magic all the time. So when
Mr Bilsiter was staying with the Hamptons, Mary
Hampton asked him to change her into a she-wolf.
After Clovis Sangrail heard this, he asked to borrow
a quiet she-wolf from Lord Pabham’s zoo the next
evening. After dinner, Mary Hampton again asked
86 TOOTH AND CLAW – SHORT STORIES
XXX
 Mr Bilsiter to change her into a she-wolf, and as she
spoke, she disappeared behind a big plant. Then a
cold wind seemed to fill the room and a big grey wolf
appeared from behind the plant. Leonard’s aunt told
%RNESTTOTAKELITTLE*ACK
him to bring Mrs Hampton back but Leonard said
that he couldn’t bring her back. So Lord Pabham gave
the wolf a piece of sugar and she followed him out of
the room, hoping for more sugar. The guests hurried
into the conservatory and found that the door was
locked. Just then, Mary Hampton came into the room
and told them that she had found herself in the
kitchen eating sugar. When Clovis said that he
had changed her into a wolf using Siberian Magic,
Leonard Bilsiter wanted to kill him.
4 PO L IC EM AN : And what happened at the end of the
party?
14 M ISS V AN C H EEL E : Well, it was getting late, so I
ASKEDDEAR'ABRIEL
Toop home.
6 PO L IC EM AN : And where was Mr Van Cheele at that
ACTIVITIES ANSWERS
time?
3 M ISS V AN C H EEL E : He was on his way back from
London. He arrived just after the boys had left
the church hall.
1 PO L IC EM AN : And so Mr Van Cheele ran after them?
16 M ISS V AN C H EEL E : Yes. He seemed very worried.
12 PO L IC EM AN : Worried about what?
15 M ISS V AN C H EEL E : Worried about an accident, I
think. And he was right. Poor little Jack fell into
After Reading
%RNESTJUMPED
ACTIVITY 1 AFTER READING
A young girl called Bertha was killed yesterday while
%RNEST
she was walking in the palace (king’s) gardens. She was
extraordinarily good and always obeyed her teachers
and her parents. She was never dirty and she never told
lies. She had three medals, which she always wore on
her dress: one because she was never late, one because
she was always polite, and one because she was the
Best Child in the World. The medals clinked as she
walked along and everybody knew that she was extra
good. When the king heard about her, he said that
she could come and walk in his gardens every Friday
afternoon. Children were usually forbidden to walk
in the gardens, which were very beautiful. There were
lakes and trees and birds, but no flowers, because the
king had lots of little pigs running around everywhere.
The king’s soldiers opened the gates for Bertha, but
they never saw her again. They found her shoes, a few
pieces of her dress, and her medals on the ground near
some myrtle bushes. They think that perhaps a wolf
came to get a pig for its supper, but ate Bertha instead.
ACTIVITY 2 AFTER READING
13 PO L IC EM AN :7HOEXACTLYWASTHIS'ABRIEL
%RNEST had only just had his tea and that he didn’t want to
5 M ISS V AN C H EEL E : I’m not really sure. He just
appeared one day in our sitting-room.
2 PO L IC EM AN : Did he tell you that his name was
'ABRIEL
%RNEST came for the food.
8 M ISS V AN C H EEL E : No, he’d lost his memory, so I
gave him a name.
9 PO L IC EM AN : Didn’t he have a name on his clothes?
11 M ISS V AN C H EEL E : I’m afraid he wasn’t wearing any
clothes.
7 PO L IC EM AN : He was naked? Didn’t you think that
was strange?
10 M ISS V AN C H EEL E : Not at all. I thought he was a
very nice boy. So I asked him to help me with the
children’s tea party.
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THERIVERANDDEARBRAVE'ABRIEL
in after him.
Possible questions:
 7HENDIDYOUMEET'ABRIEL
2 Why did you go to London?
3 Why did you run after the boys?
4 What did you find in the road?
ACTIVITY 3 AFTER READING
Possible sentences:
1 When Sir Wilfrid called him to tea, he lifted his
head, opened one eye, and said that he would come
when he was ready.
2 When Miss Resker asked if it was difficult to learn
English, he looked straight through her.
3 He told everyone that Sir Wilfrid said that Mavis
Pellington was the stupidest woman he knew.
4 Then he said that Lady Blemley wanted to invite
Mavis to stay because she wanted her to buy her old
car.
5 When Major Barfield asked about his lady friend,
he gave him an icy look and said that they did not
usually discuss these things in polite company.
6 When Lady Blemley asked if he would like to go
down to the kitchen for his dinner, he said that he
make himself sick.
7 He told everyone that Agnes Resker thought the
Blemleys were terribly boring people and she only
8 He said that Mrs Cornett repeated this to Bertie
van Tahn, and added that Agnes Resker would go
anywhere for four good meals a day.
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87 TOOTH AND CLAW – SHORT STORIES
XXX
 ACTIVITY 4 AFTER READING
1 Conradin’s aunt in Sredni Vashtar.
2 Cecilia Hoops, Leonard Bilsiter’s aunt, in The She-Wolf.
3 Miss Van Cheele, Van Cheele’s aunt, in Gabriel-
Ernest.
4 The aunt in The Story-Teller.
ACTIVITIES ANSWERS

They seem to show that aunts are either unkind

and bad-tempered, or stupid. Encourage discussion.
Ask students if they feel the same, or if they think
Saki is unfair. It would be helpful for them to read
the information about the author on page 68.
ACTIVITY 5 AFTER READING
1 ferret
2 macaw
3 chicken
4 pig
5 cat
6 elephant
7 wolf
8 rabbit
9 cow
10 sheep
ACTIVITY 6 AFTER READING
Open answers.
ACTIVITY 7 AFTER READING
Sredni Vashtar
s 4HE"OY7HO+ILLEDHIS!UNT
s 4HE&ERRET 'OD
s 4OASTFOR4EA
The Story-Teller
s !"ORING4RAIN*OURNEY
s 4HE"EST#HILDINTHE7ORLD
s "ERTHAANDTHE7OLF
Gabriel-Ernest
s 4HE7EREWOLF
s 4HE"OY7HO!TE#HILDREN
s $EATHOFA"RAVE"OY
Tobermory
s 5NCOMFORTABLE3ECRETS
s -R!PPINS3UCCESSFUL3TUDENT
s 4HE4ALKING#AT
The She-Wolf
s ,OUISAANDTHE3UGAR
s 3IBERIAN-AGIC
s !#LEVER*OKE
ACTIVITY 8 AFTER READING
Open answers.
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