READERS FOR THE SCHOOLROOM ' _ SUCHISMITA RAHA Senior Teacher of English St Thomas Girls’ School, Kolkata | Series Editor ee | ANIL WILSON formerly, Principal St Stephen's College Delhi University, Delhi Orient BlackSwanIllustrations Abhijit Chatterjee K G Rangarajan Acknowledgements The publishers have written for copyright to HarperCollins Publishers for The Night the Bed Fell from ‘My Life and Hard Times’ by Roald Dahl, for My Brother built @ Robot from Something Big Has Been Here’ by Jack Prelutsky and to Penguin Books Ltd for Praying Mantis from ‘Bugs’ by Mary Ann Hobermann Every attempt has been made to trace holders of copyright. Where the publishers have not heard from them at the time of going to press or where, in the absence of complete information, it has not been possible to identify the sources of materials used, the publishers would be grateful for any information that would enable them to make appropriate acknowledgement in future reprints/editions of this book. A Magic Place: Readers for the Schoolroom 7 ORIENT BLACKSWAN PRIVATE LIMITED Registered Office 3-6-752 Himayatnagar, Hyderabad 500 029, Telangana, India e-mail: centraloffice@orientblackswan.com Other Offices . Bengaluru, Bhopal, Chennai, Guwahati, Hyderabad, Jaipur, Kolkata, Lucknow, Mumbai, New Delhi, Noida, Patna, Visakhapatnam © Orient Blackswan Private Limited 2004, 2009 First Published 2004 Reprinted 2004, 2005, 2006 Revised Edition 2009 Reprinted 2010, 2011 (Twice), 2012, 2013, 2014 (Twice), 2015, 2017, 2019, 2020 ISBN : 978 81 250 3723 1 Typeset by Trinity Designers & Typesetters Chennai 600 041 , Printed in India at B.B. Press, Noida Published by Orient Blackswan Private Limited 3-6-752 Himayatnagar, Hyderabad 500 029, Telangana, India email: Info@orientblackswan.com All of us who have known the joys and pains of teaching English are aware of the decline in the reading habit. There is a need to save reading from becoming a lost art. The delight of meeting with great minds, the discovery of new worlds, the excitement of unusual encounters, the wakefulness to life in its limitless hues and contours, the sensitising of the mind and the soul, all came to us through the experience of reading and responding to good literature. This part of our heritage needs to be protected if for no other reason than to preserve the humanising potential in our lives. This task is no longer easy, for reasons that we all know. The cliché of ‘catch ‘em young’ is perhaps more relevant here than anywhere else. An early engagement with literature, giving a tantalising glimpse of a world unparalleled in its exhilaration, is the only way to ensure that young people read more. This set of eight readers for the schoolroom, A Magic Place, attempts to do just this. As Series Editor, | have watched it start off as an excellent idea and grow into a colourful and carefully edited reality. Great care has been taken to make the books rich and varied in the fare they offer. Serious thought has gone into ensuring that they are graded with sensitivity and precision. The exercises that support the texts have also been planned so that they are relevant for each level and interesting. This revised edition includes new texts in place of some of the old ones. These new texts cover a rich variety of genres. Reference-to-context type questions have been added in Classes 2-8 to fulfil examination requirements and help students become more insightful and responsive in their reading of literature. This edition also consists of a fresh and attractive page layout.Our own comfort and enjoyment, as teachers, make a great contribution in the classroom. The text selections have been made with this in mind. They comprise a choice of course material which helps us take students to the examinations and beyond. | commend A Magic Place to you for use in your English classes with the hope that you will find these readers rewarding to teach. As an ardent student of literature, | invite you to join hands in restoring the art of reading great literature to its central position in the lives of those placed in our care. Anil Wilson formerly, St Stephen's College Delhi University Delhi 10. a; 12: Is. 14. 15: 16. . The Night the Bed Fell Wild Ducks The Singers Elsa, the Bird Who Could Not Fly The Trojan Horse The Inchcape Rock The Halloween Man Beautiful Mandakini The Lake Isle of Innisfree The Last Night The Scarlet Pimpernel Tiger The Blind Colt On Not Answering the Telephone Praying Mantis The Diary of Anne Frank 01 09 17 21 26 34 40 48 57 60 68 7 80 86 92 95Hy. 18. 19. 20. 21. 22, 25: 24. 25. 26. 27. 28. 29. 30. 31. Weather Forecast My Brother Built a Robot The Selfish Giant Supersnake The Hero The Chinese New Year The Little Prince The Pied Piper of Hamelin Hearts and Hands The Blue Carbuncle | am the Tree A Midsummer Night's Dream Under the Hazy, Blossom-laden Sky Hope is the Thing with Feathers The Walrus and the Carpenter 100 106 111 120 126 133 137 145 151 158 171 174 187 191 194 aa * Ss 7) The Night the Bed Fell I suppose that the most important incident of my youth in Columbus, Ohio, was the night the bed fell on my father. It makes a better recitation than it does a piece of writing, for it is almost necessary to throw furniture around, shake doors and bark like a dog, to lend the proper atmosphere to what is admittedly a somewhat incredible tale. Still, it did take place. It happened, then, that my father had decided to sleep in the attic one night, to be away where he could think. My mother opposed the idea strongly because, she said, the old wooden bed up there was unsafe. It was wobbly and the heavy headboard would crash down on Father’s head in case the bed fell, and kill him. There was no stopping him, however, and at a quarter past ten he closed the attic door behind him and went up the narrow twisting stairs. We later heard loud creaking sounds as he crawled into bed. Grandfather, who usually slept in the attic bed when he was with us, had disappeared some days before. (On such occasions, he was usually gone six or eight days and usually returned growling and out of temper.) We had visiting us-at this time a nervous first cousin of mine named Briggs Beall, who believed that he was likely to cease breathing when he was asleep. It was his feeling that if he were not awakened every hour during the night, he might die of suffocation. He had 1been used to setting an alarm clock to ring at intervals until morning, but I persuaded him to abandon this. He slept in my room and I told him that I was such a light sleeper that if anybody quit breathing in the same room with me, I would wake instantly. He tested me the first night—which I had suspected he would—by holding his breath after my regular breathing had convinced him I was asleep. I was not asleep, however, and called to him. This seemed to allay his fears a little, but he took the precaution of putting a glass of camphor on a little table at the head of his bed. In case I did not arouse him until he was almost gone, he said, he would sniff the camphor, a powerful reviving agent. By midnight we were all in bed. In the front room upstairs (under father's attic bedroom) were my mother and my brother Herman, who sometimes sang in his sleep. Briggs Beall and myself were in a room adjoining this one. My brother, Roy, was ina room across the hall from ours. Our dog, Rex, slept in the hall. My bed was an army cot, one of those affairs which is made wide enough to sleep comfortably but is perilous for one to roll too far toward the edge. If this occurs, the cot is likely to tip completely over, bringing the whole bed down on top of one, with a tremendous banging crash. This, in fact, is precisely what happened, about two o’clock in the morning. Always a deep sleeper, (I had lied to Briggs) I was at first unconscious of what had happened when the cot rolled me onto the floor and toppled over on me. It left me still warmly bundled up and unhurt, for the bed rested above me. Hence I did not wake up, only reached the edge of consciousness and went back. The crash, however, instantly awakened my mother in the next room, who.came to the immediate conclusion that the © 3worst had occured: the big wooden bed upstairs had fallen on father. She therefore screamed, “Let’s go to your poor father!” It was this shout, rather than the noise of my cot falling, that awakened Herman in the same room with her. He thought that Mother had become, for no apparent reason, hysterical. “You're all right, Mamma!” he shouted, trying to calm her. They exchanged shout for shout for perhaps ten seconds: “Let’s go to your poor father!” and “You're all right!” That woke Briggs up. By this time I was conscious of what was going on, in a vague way, but did not yet realise that I was under my bed instead of on it. Briggs, awakening in the midst of loud shouts of fear and anxiety, came to the quick conclusion that he was suffocating and that we were all trying to ‘bring him out’. With a low moan, he grasped the glass of camphor at the head of his bed and instead of sniffing it, poured it over himself. The room reeked of camphor. “Ugf, ahfg,” choked Briggs like a drowning man, for he had almost succeeded in stopping his breath under the large downpour of camphor. He leapt out of bed and groped toward the open window, but he came up against one that was closed. With his hand, he beat out the glass, and I could hear it crash and tinkle on the alleyway below. It was at this juncture that I, in trying to get up, had sensed my bed above me. Foggy with sleep, I now suspected, in my turn, that the whole uproar was being 4 made in a frantic attempt to extricate me from what must be an unheard of and dangerous situation. “Get me out of this!” I bawled. By this time my mother, still shouting, pursued by Herman, still shouting, was trying to open the door to the attic in order to go up and get my father’s body out of the wreckage. The door was stuck, however, and would not open. Her frantic pulls on it only added to the general banging and confusion. Roy and the dog were now up, one shouting questions, the other barking. Father, farthest away and the soundest sleeper of all, had by this time been awakened by the banging on the attic door. He decided that the house was on fire. “I’m coming, I’m coming!” he wailed in a slow, sleepy voice—it took him many minutes to regain full consciousness. My mother, still believing he was caught under the bed, detected in his “I’m coming!” the mournful, resigned note of one who is preparing to meet his Maker. “He’s dying!” she shouted. The situation was finally put together like a gigantic jigsaw puzzle. Father caught a cold from prowling around in his bare feet, but there were no other bad results. “I’m glad,” said Mother, who always looked at the bright side of things, “that your grandfather wasn’t here.” James Thurber lol4 New Words wobbly - here, the movement of an object from side to side in a way that shows a lack of balance headboard a vertical board at the end of a bed on which the head rests dissuading persuading someone not to do something allay to make someone feel less worried or frightened camphor a white or colourless substance with a strong smell reviving agent here, something used to bring one back to life or consciousness disposition a particular type of character which a person naturally has hysterical extreme fear, excitement or anger which cannot be controlled groped felt with one’s hands, especially in order to find or move towards something when one cannot see easily juncture particular point in time extricate . toremove or set something free with difficulty bawled cried loudly wreckage here, the separated parts of a badly damaged object lal Exploring Details A. ze Answer these questions. 1. Where was the narrator’s father sleeping the night the bed fell? 2. Why was the narrator’s mother worried about him sleeping there? 3. Who was Briggs Beall? What was his fear? How did the narrator trick Briggs into turning off the alarm clock? 5. What part did the narrator unknowingly play in starting the incident that took place that night? 6. What did Briggs conclude on hearing all the noise and confusion? 7. What were the different ways he tried to ‘bring (himself) out’? 8. Why did the narrator think that he was the one in danger? Read the lines given below and answer the questions that follow with reference to context. 1. She therefore screamed, “Let’s go to your poor father!” It was this shout, rather than the noise of my cot falling, that awakened Herman in the same room with her. He thought that Mother had become, for no apparent reason, hysterical. a. Who screams these words and to whom? b. Why does ‘she’ want to go to ‘poor father’ on hearing the narrator’s cot fall? c. Does Herman realise immediately what is happening? Why do you think so? 2. By this time, my mother, still shouting, pursued by Herman, still shouting, was trying to open Intthe door to the attic in order to go up and get my father’s body out of the wreckage. The door was stuck, however, and would not open. Her frantic pulls on it only added to the general banging and confusion. Roy and the dog were now up, one shouting questions, the other barking. Father, farthest away and the soundest sleeper of all, had by this time been awakened by the banging on the attic door. He decided that the house was on fire. a. Why was the narrator’s father farthest away? b. Who caused all the noise and confusion, and why? c. What was the narrator’s father’s first thought on hearing all the noise coming from the attic door? ild Ducks C. Find single words similar in meaning to the following in the text. 1. saying a piece of writing aloud from memory 2. very dangerous 3. very great in amount or level D. this ‘incredible tale’ narrated by James Thurber, is a humourous one. Write a paragraph or two arguing for or against the topic—Characters, and not incidents, add humour to the story. “They will come from over there,” the man pointed at ared volcanic hill. He and the boy both had guns resting across their knees. They sat facing each other in a small motionless boat with the oars tucked in. “Are you ready?” he asked his son. “Yes.” lool iol“They come in clouds, huge clouds, huge clouds moving very fast,” he moved his arm in a wide sweep, rocking the boat. “You have to be quick. Shoot fast.” The boy ran his finger down the cold blue barrel of his gun. Minute by minute the light changed on the flat surface of the water. Orange, red, mauve seeped from the sky. It was late afternoon, a lake in a wilderness. “You loaded?” “Yes.” “Remember, aim well ahead. You have to imagine the flight path. With just one pellet, you’ve got to be dead-on.” “T know.” Suddenly, the boy looked up. “Is that them?” A ribbon of black dots billowed out of the horizon. The boy was spellbound—breath whistled out of his small round mouth. “There must be millions.” Half the sky was covered by teal. Huge clouds of them banked one way, then another, changing the shape of the sky and blotting the light. The sky deepened, the water turned black. Small groups broke away—diving, then rising in perfect formations. “Will they all land here, on the lake?” “They look too high. I think they’re aiming for somewhere else.” “Who decides?” “They know.” Then they were overhead. The sky filled with masses of birds in flight. A flurry of bird calls. Father and son looked at each other. “Here goes,” the man undid his safety catch and started 10 firing, throwing buckshot at the sky. The explosions shook the boat. The lake rippled. He pumped the gun empty. “Too high, they’re flying much too high.” His son slowly raised his rifle; he had a more patient and steady hand. He picked a single speck out of the mass in the sky—the leader of a formation flying towards them. He aimed and fired. The speck plummeted. “You get the leaders,” the man cheered. Another bird swiftly took its place; they were all leaders by instinct. “[ want to find it.” The boy put down his rifle and took the paddle. “Did you see where?” “He fell just behind the bulrushes. Go round that way.” ‘The boy moved the boat against the tide of teal still wheeling overhead; his arms trembled as he pulled the paddle through the black water.“I think I can see it,” he said, leaning forward. There was a lump floating on the water. A broken wing — pointing at the sky like the ragged sail of a toy boat. The boy lifted the paddle and they glided up to it. He bent over the side and scooped it up. “Well done!” the man said. His son was silent. The duck was big; helpless. Touching its soft feathers and its thin bony neck, the boy looked frightened at what he had done. Then the duck lifted up its head. “Look, it’s not dead.” The blood seemed to flow again in the boy’s arms. He breathed in relief. The duck looked blank. The boy stroked its head. “I want to go home.” “You'll have to look after it.” “I know. I want to.” At home, the boy bandaged the wing and learned to feed the maimed duck. He spent hours watching it waddle about the backyard. Sometimes it would stretch its neck and try to flap its lopsided wings but it could never fly again. One day, the man asked his son, “Where’s the gun?” “I threw it away,” he said defiantly. “You what?” “Tt was mine. You gave it to me.” “But it didn’t kill your duck. It gave you your duck.” 12 “It made me sick.” ‘The man felt the blood pumping in his head. He found he was relieved the gun had gone. Romesh Gunasekara4% New Words barrel the long part of a gun that is shaped like a tube mauve a pale lavender-lilac colour dead-on on target, exact billowed swelled spellbound fascinated teal small wild duck banked changed direction flurry confusion buckshot pellets of lead plummeted dropped bulrushes tall stiff reeds growing on the edge of streams and rivers scooped picked up maimed injured lopsided uneven defiantly - challengingly; aware that he was properly displeasing his father ¥ Exploring Details A. Answer these questions. 1. Where were the father and son sitting? What were they waiting for? 2. What indicated the arrival of the ducks? Why was the boy fascinated at the sight? se 33. @ Sr ov Ol oe Why couldn't the man succeed in bringing down a duck? Why was the boy more successful? Where did the boy find the bird which he had shot? In what condition did he find the bird? What did he decide to do with it? What change did the duck bring about in the boy? Was the father pleased at this? - Read the lines given below and answer the questions that follow with reference to context. 1 “You get the leaders,” the man cheered. Another bird swiftly took its place; they were all leaders by instinct. “T want to find it.” The boy put down his rifle and took the paddle. “Did you see where?” a. Whois the leader? Who had ‘got’ it and how? b. Why wasn’t the man successful? c. Where did the boy find it? d. What did he feel upon seeing its condition? “You what?” “Tt was mine. You gave it to me.” “But it didn’t kill your duck. It gave you your duck.” “Tt made me sick.” The man felt the blood pumping in his head. He found he was relieved the gun had gone. a. What were the father and son talking about? b. In what way had ‘it’ given the boy his duck? c. | Whywas the man relieved in the end?C. Describe the changing reactions of the boy to the ducks. D. Do you see examples of cruelty to animals and wild creatures all around you? What forms of cruelty do you see? What can be done by young people to prevent this? The Singers Henry Wadsworth Longfellow God sent his Singers upon earth With songs of sadness and of mirth, That they might touch the hearts of men, And bring them back to heaven again. The first, a youth, with soul of fire, Held in his hand a golden lyre; Through groves he wandered, and by streams, Playing the music of our dreams. The second, with a bearded face, Stood singing in the market-place, And stirred with accents deep and loud The hearts of all the listening crowd. A grey old man, the third and last, Sang in cathedrals dim and vast, While the majestic organ rolled Contrition from its mouths of gold. And those who heard the Singers three Disputed which the best might be; For still their music seemed to start Discordant echoes in each heart,But the great Master said, “I see No best in kind, but in degree; I gave a various gift to each, To charm, to strengthen and to teach. “These are the three great chords of might, And he whose ear is tuned aright Will hear no discord in the three, But the most perfect harmony.” #& New Words mirth laughter, happiness lyre an ancient musical instrument consisting of a U-shaped frame with strings fixed to it groves groups of trees planted close together contrition a feeling of great regret and guilt for something bad that one has done disputed argued discordant not in agreement aright in old English, correctly Exploring Details A. Answer these questions. 1. Describe the youth and the music that he played. 2. Who was the second Singer and what was special about his music? 3. Where did the grey old man sing? 4. What effect did the music have on the people who heard the three Singers? 18 19B. o 5. What was God’s answer to the dispute that started among the people? Read the lines given below and answer the questions that follow with reference to context. 1. God sent his Singers upon earth With songs of sadness and of mirth, That they might touch the hearts of men, And bring them back to heaven again. a. What did God send with his Singers to earth? b. Why did God send them? c. From this extract, do you think that God was happy with mankind? Why do you think so? 2. But the great Master said, “I see No best in kind, but in degree; I gave a various gift to each, To charm, to strengthen and to teach. a. Whois the ‘great Master’? b. Is the Master partial to anyone? Why do you think so? c. Who did he give the gifts to? Arhyme scheme is the pattern of rhyming lines in a poem. It is usually referred to by using letters to indicate the rhyming lines. The rhyme scheme for the first four lines of this poem is aa bb. Write down the rhyme scheme for the rest of the poem. Henry Wadsworth Longfellow conveys an important idea in the last two paragraphs of the poem where the Master gives His point of view. Rewrite the idea behind those words in a paragraph.Unit 4 Elsa, the Bird who Could not Fly filsa lived in the warm and sunny land of Australia. Her family were runner birds and they never flew through the air or settled in a high tree to sing on a lovely day. “We have no need to fly from danger,” her mother said. And she showed Elsa how to hide among the grass tussocks. “See, they are almost the same colours as yourself. If a clever little Emu keeps very still, she will not be spotted,” her big sister smiled. But Elsa did not think it was much fun playing hide-and-seek on the ground when all the other birds could play hide-and-seek in the trees. ‘When she was little, the Kookaburra made the woodlands ring with the sound of his laughter, as Elsa dashed about the ground with her long legs and funny little wings. He was always telling her how he flew to the gardens of the houses beyond the forest, and how the people all liked to spot him there. ‘The Lyrebird was often heard singing the loveliest siongs of the summer. Hut Elsa never went far from the woodland. “A runner bird dashing about near the houses would look an odd sight,” she sighed.Instead, she practised her running till she got faster and faster. She covered the ground so swiftly that she was not afraid to go down to the river bank where the other birds gathered to rest from their flight, while keeping an eye out for a hungry crocodile pretending to be a harmless log. The other birds knew that they could rise into the air and fly to the treetops where no crocodile could follow. But Elsa had grown tall, she was almost five feet tall, and she could give a powerful kick with her strong legs. Best of all, they could carry her away from danger far quicker than a lumbering wicked crocodile with a hungry gleam in his eye. She often went to enjoy the cool of the river, now that she had learned to overcome the nuisance of not having wings like all the other birds. She had learned to use her feet to run. Then one very hot summer day, when the sun was baking hot, Elsa set off to find the other birds by the river. As she went through the forest, she smelt smoke. Yor the first time in her life she ran towards the houses and into one of the gardens, flapping her tiny wings and dancing up and down on her long legs. “Look, an Emu bird!” A man resting in his garden jumped up and called his family from the house. ‘They all came running out to see Elsa and it was then that Elsa turned and ran. She ran faster than she had ever done before and people from all the houses rushed out and followed her. Elsa led the people to the forest. She had brought them in time to fight the fierce blaze and when the fire was under control, the people went hack to their homes. Elsa had slipped away to hide among the tussocks of grass. She kept very quiet and Was not to be seen again.But the people did not forget the Emu, and when they built a fine new park, they put a bird at the entrance. It was not the Kookaburra or the Lyrebird or a beautiful creature in flight. It was Elsa, the runner bird. Freda Grieve %& New Words tussocks clumps (of wide grass) Emu a brown, soft-feathered flightless bird native to Australia Kookaburra a type of kingfisher native to Australia and New Guinea Lyrebird a type of ground-dwelling Australian bird famous for its ability to mimic sounds lumbering moving heavily ¥ Exploring Details A. Answer these questions. at Where did Elsa live? How was she different from the other birds? Why did Elsa’s mother say that they had no need to fly from danger? Why did Elsa not go very far from the woodland? What was the danger in going near the river? How had Elsa prepared herself to meet this danger? How did Elsa warn the people about the forest fire? How did the people express their appreciation of the Emu? 24 B. Read the lines given below and answer the questions that follow with reference to context. Le He was always telling her how he flew to the gardens of the houses beyond the forest and how the people all liked to spot him there. The Lyrebird was often heard singing the loveliest songs of the summer. a. Who is ‘he’? What did he always tell Elsa? b. What did she feel upon hearing this? c. How was she different from the other two birds? What effect did this difference have on her? They all came running out to see Elsa and it was then that Elsa turned and ran. She ran faster than she had ever done before and people from all the houses rushed out and followed her. Elsa led the people to the forest. a. Where was Elsa? Why did the people come running out to see her? . Why was Elsa there? c. What did Elsa do after leading the people to the forest? What does this tell you about her? d. How did Elsa finally become famous? C. Imagine that you are Elsa. Relate the story of your life, from your childhood till you became famous. Remember to mention these points: what your mother taught you what the other birds taught you how your running helped you save the forestUnit 5 The Trojan Horse “We have been at war for ten years and there seems to be no end in sight,” muttered a Greek soldier seated beside a blazing fire on a cold night. “I just want to go home now. Even brave soldiers want a break from war once in a while,” spoke up another soldier angrily. This conversation expressing discontent, was soon joined by others, who all agreed that they had had enough of this war. Ulysses, a Greek hero, stood listening grimly to this conversation. “This war has gone on too long. We have already lost many of our gallant soldiers in our attempt to enter Troy. We have no hopes of taking the city by force. We must conquer it by deceit. I have to come up witha plan immediately or all our soldiers will leave and we will definitely lose this war—for how can a war be won without men?” thought Ulysses. The Greeks had come in their ships to attack Troy ten years ago because Prince Paris of Troy had carried away Helen, the wife of Menelaos, King of Lakonia. They had all sworn to avenge this insult to King Menelaos. But they were no closer to doing it now than they had been ten years ago. Troy was located on the coast of Asia, across the sea from the Greek city-state of Sparta. In those days, people used to build walls around their cities to protect themselves. Some walls were only a few feet high while others were as much as twenty feet high. Sometimes, gates were also built into walls. The gates could be opened to let people inside the city. In times of war, the gates could be closed and locked to stop intruders from getting inside. Along the wall, inside the city, a set of stairs wound up to the top. Warriors could stand at the top of the stairs and shoot arrows down at intruders who were trying to get inside the city. There were also holes built high on the wall. Archers could shoot arrows though the holes as well. If the wall was high enough and strong enough, it could do a good job of keeping intruders from coming inside. The walls around Troy were very high and very strong. It was so strong that despite waging a war for ten years, the Greeks had still not been able to find a way in. But all this was to change now that Ulysses had come up with a plan. "| just had a brilliant idea!” he suddenly muttered after thinking long and hard. “All I need now is the council’s permission to carry out the plan.” _ Ulysses quickly hurried to the council’s camp. The eouncil consisted of the kings, leaders and heroes of all the Greek nations that had come to fight the war. _ *May lenter?” asked Ulysses as he reached the founcil’s tent. Only two of the members were inside—King Menelaos and his brother King Agamemnon.“Of course, Ulysses,” answered Agamemnon. “Did you wish to speak to one of us?” “Yes, I wanted to speak to the council members. Have you heard the talk that is going on among the soldiers?” asked Ulysses. “You are talking about the soldiers complaining about the length of the war, aren’t you?” asked Menelaos. “Yes, your majesty. But I have a plan to put an end to it,” answered Ulysses. “We will be happy to hear any plan that will put an end to the war,” sighed Menelaos. “We have fought bravely all these years but haven’t won the war yet. We can now win only by trickery. We must build a huge wooden horse. Many of our best warriors must enter and stay hidden in the horse. Our army should then appear to retreat. The Trojans will think we are accepting defeat and Sinon, our spy, must use the opportunity to convince the Trojans to move the wooden horse inside the city. At night, when the unsuspecting Trojans are celebrating, the warriors can break out of the horse and capture the city,” explained Ulysses. “That is a brilliant plan,” said Agamemnon. “Let us hope it works. We will suggest the plan to the rest of the council members when they arrive for a meeting later today.” The members of the council were, fortunately, equally excited about the plan. The wooden horse was constructed quickly. The huge horse was placed on a large platform with wheels underneath. A few of the bravest Greek warriors, including Ulysses, hid themselves in the hollow stomach of the horse. They securely closed the opening in the lower part of the wooden horse. 38 The rest of the Greeks set fire to their tents and pretended to sail away. When the Trojans saw clouds of smoke rising from the Greek tents, with neither the Greek soldiers nor their ships in sight, they could not believe their eyes. “Look! The Greek camp is empty,” yelled one of the soldiers from atop the wall. “They must have retreated. We have won the war!” cried another soldier jubilantly. When they opened the gates and came out, they could only see the wooden horse left behind by the Greeks. “What do you think that is?” asked a Trojan soldier. “T have never seen anything like that before. It is so huge!” muttered another in awe. “I know what that is,” came a whisper from behind them. They turned to see a man dressed in Greek clothes standing before them. But he carried neither a sword nor a shield with him. “Who are you?” they asked. “My name is Sinon and I was a Greek soldier,” lied Sinon, the Greek spy. He had stayed behind to make sure that the Trojans moved the horse within the city gates just as Ulysses had planned. “The Greeks disliked me. So, they took away my sword and shield, and left me behind.” “Have all of them gone back to Greece?” they asked eagerly. “Of course, they have. See, they have even left that wooden horse behind. It is a symbol of the end of a war and a gift to the Greek goddess of heroes, Athena,” said Sinon.“But what do we do with it?” they asked. “You could take it into the city. I am sure everyone will be excited to see such a great work of Greek art, and Iam also sure that Athena will be happy to see that you are taking good care of her gift,” suggested Sinon cunningly. “He is right. Let’s do as he says,” agreed the Trojans as they gazed at the horse in admiration and excitement. They soon dragged the horse into the city of Troy. The capture of the wooden horse was, to them, a symbol of their victory over the Greeks. They began to celebrate their success by feasting. “The danger is over at last. We can sleep in peace now,” — they said to one another. In the dead of night, when the Trojans were fast asleep, the Greek warriors who were hidden inside the wooden horse came out quietly. They opened the gates of the city for other Greeks to enter. The Greek ships that had pretended to sail away, now turned back quickly in 30 response to the signal from their leaders inside Troy. Soon, thousands of Greek soldiers rushed into the city. ‘The Greeks, in this way, succeeded in punishing the Trojans for insulting one of their kings. The architect of their great victory was the wily leader, Ulysses, who brought the long-drawn war to a close bya masterstroke of cunning and clever planning. New Words grimly in a worried manner gallant brave deceit (an act of) keeping the truth hidden, especially to gain advantage in a situation avenge to do harm to or punish somebody in return for something bad or wrong done to oneself, one’s family or friends intruders people who enter a place without permission archers people who shoot arrows from a bow as a weapon jubiliantly expressing great happiness in the dead of night in the middle of the night architect here, a person responsible for completing a particular plan or aim wily clever masterstroke an action which is very clever and results in success# Exploring Details A. Answer these questions. L ae Why was the war being fought between the Greeks and the Trojans? How did the Trojans prevent the Greeks from entering their city for ten years? Who were the members of the council that Ulysses directly mentioned his plan to? What was Ulysses’ plan? Who was Sinon? What was his part in the plan? What, according to Sinon, was the reason for the Greeks leaving the wooden horse behind? B. Read the lines given below and answer the questions that follow with reference to context. hy “This war has gone on too long. We have already lost many of our gallant soldiers in our attempt to enter Troy. We have no hopes of taking the city by force. We must conquer it by deceit. I have to come up with a plan immediately or all our soldiers will leave and we will definitely lose this war—for how can a war be won without men?” a. Who thought/spoke these words? b. Which war is referred to in the opening lines of this extract? c. Why did the speaker want to come up with a plan to puta stop to the war? “Yes, I wanted to speak to the council. Have you heard the talk that is going on among the soldiers?” asked Ulysses. “You are talking about the soldiers complaining about the length of the war, aren’t you?” asked Menelaos. oo x “Yes, your majesty. But I have a plan to put an end to it,” answered Ulysses. a. Whois Menelaos? b. How did Menelaos know that Ulysses was talking about the soldiers complaining about the length of the war? c. Was Ulysses a member of the council? Why do you think so? C. Find the antonyms of the following in the text. 1; 2: 3. 4. peace happily praise honesty D-a myth is an ancient story concerning the gods and heroes of a group of people, their early history, their practices and their religion. The Trojan Horse is a famous Greek myth. Can you think of any other famous myths? It can be a myth from any country. Write a small passage describing the story behind the myth.Unit 6 The Inchcape Rock No stir in the air, no stir in the sea, The ship was as still as she could be; Her sails from heaven received no motion, Her keel was steady in the ocean. Robert Southey Without either sign or sound of their shock, The waves flowed over the Inchcape Rock; So little they rose, so little they fell, They did not move the Inchcape Bell. The good old Abbot.of Aberbrothok, Had placed that bell on the Inchcape Rock; On a buoy in the storm it floated and swung, And over the waves its warning rung. When the Rock was hid by the surges’ swell, The mariners heard the warning bell; And then they knew the perilous Rock, And blest the Abbot of Aberbrothok. The sun in heaven was shining gay, All things were joyful on that day; The sea-birds screamed as they wheeled round, And there was joyance in their sound.The buoy of the Inchcape Bell was seen, A darker speck on the ocean green; Sir Ralph the Rover walked his deck, And he fixed his eyes on the darker speck. He felt the cheering power of spring, It made him whistle, it made him sing; His heart was mirthful to excess. But the Rover’s mirth was wickedness. His eye was on the Inchcape float; Quoth he, ‘My men, put out the boat, And row me to the Inchcape Rock, And I'll plague the priest of Aberbrothok.’ The boat is lowered, the boatmen row, And to the Inchcape Rock they go; Sir Ralph bent over from the boat, And he cut the bell from the Inchcape float. Down sunk the bell, with a gurgling sound, The bubbles rose and burst around; Quoth Sir Ralph, ‘The next who comes to the Rock Won't bless the Abbot of Aberbrothok.’ Sir Ralph the Rover sailed away, He scoured the seas for many a day; And now grown rich with plundered store, He steers his course for Scotland’s shore. So thick a haze o’erspreads the sky, They cannot see the sun on high; 36 The wind hath blown a gale all day, At evening it hath died away. On deck the Rover takes his stand, So dark it is they see no land; Quoth Sir Ralph, ‘It will be lighter soon, For there is the dawn of the rising moon.’ ‘Canst hear,’ said one, ‘the breakers roar? For methinks we should be near the shore.” ‘Now where we are I cannot tell, But I wish I could hear the Inchcape Bell.’ They hear no sound, the swell is strong, Though the wind hath fallen, they drift along; Till the vessel strikes with a shivering shock,— ‘O Christ! It is the Inchcape Rock.’ Sir Ralph the Rover tore his hair, He cursed himself in his despair; The waves rushed in on every side. The ship is sinking beneath the tide. But even in his dying fear One dreadful sound could the Rover hear, A sound as if with the Inchcape Bell, The Devil below was ringing his knell. ® New Words stir movement motion windkeel part of a boat abbot priest, usually in charge of a monastery mariners sailors buoy a float in the water joyance happiness rover pirate Plague trouble scoured travelled, searched plundered store stolen wealth haze mist gale storm quoth said knell death bell & Exploring Details A. Answer these questions. 1, 2 Be Bae aS 2 Where was the Inchcape bell placed and by whom? Why was the bell placed there? When and why did the mariners bless the Abbot of Aberbrothok? What did Ralph the Rover do when he saw the bell? Why did he do this? When did Sir Ralph return to this spot? Describe the weather when Ralph returned to the spot. How did Sir Ralph die? What did he hear in his dying hour? 38 B. Read the lines given below and answer the questions that follow with reference to context. 1. When the Rock was hid by the surges’ swell, The mariners heard the warning bell; And then they knew the perilous Rock, And blest the Abbot of Aberbrothok. a. Where was the Rock? Why was it dangerous for the mariners? b. How did the bell warn the mariners? c. Why did they bless the Abbot of Aberbrothok? d. Who was jealous of this? 2. They hear no sound, the swell is strong, Though the wind hath fallen, they drift along; Till the vessel strikes with a shivering shock,— ‘O Christ! It is the Inchcape Rock.’ a. Who were they? Where were they? b. Which sound would they have liked to hear? Why? c. Why were they shocked when their vessel struck the Inchcape Rock? d. What happened to them? C. write three adjectives each to describe the Abbot and Sir Ralph the Rover. D. 1f you were Sir Ralph, what would your thoughts be in your dying moments?N c=) CS —)) The Halloween Man Caroline and Sinead were sitting scrunched up in the cupboard under the stairs. A lighted candle, wobbling on a box, threw more shadows than light around them. On the outside of the door a notice said—WALLACE AND REILLY: DETECTIVES. STAY AWAY. But Catherine leaned against the door, listening to the muffled voices inside. “What's the use of being detectives if we have nothing to detect?” grumbled Sinead. Caroline sat frowning, thinking it over. “Well,” she decided at last, “if people won’t bring cases to us to solve, we'll have to go out and find them ourselves.” There was another long silence and Catherine grew so tired of waiting that she leaned too heavily against the door and it creaked. “Go away, Catherine!” called Caroline crossly. Catherine stepped back a bit and waited. The voices started up again and she leaned closer. “T heard Mummy talking about that house outside town. You know, the one where no one lives—’, Caroline was saying. “What about it?” asked Sinead. 40 “What was your mother saying about the house?” “She says someone told her that the house is haunted. Someone says they saw something there.” “What sort of something?” “| don’t know what sort,” said Caroline vaguely. “But they saw a thing!” Sinead shivered. “| thought we were detectives, not ghostbusters.” “It’s all the same.” “Is it?” asked Sinead doubtfully. “Of course it is. We’ve got to find out what’s haunting it.” “And what'll we do when we find out?” “We tell it to go away,” she said firmly. “Ummmmm!” said Sinead. “We'll start now!” declared Caroline energetically. Sinead looked uneasy. “But it’s getting dark.” “Best time for ghosts,” Caroline assured her. The door creaked again and this time Sinead did upset the candle. “Catherine!” yelled Caroline in a fury. “I’m coming out alter you.” ut when she crawled out, Catherine was nowhere to be seen. Caroline did not waste time searching for her. ‘The grey of the sky was getting darker by the minute. “Come on,” she said to Sinead. “Before she fomes back.”