THE TELL-TALE HEART

It’s true! I am very nervous, but crazy? I was sick, but I could hear much better. I could
hear everything in heaven, earth and hell. How could I be crazy? Listen and I will tell you
the whole story.
It’s hard to say how I got the idea, but it was all I could think about. I loved the old man,
and I didn’t want his money. I think it was his vulture eye –a light blue, cloudy eye. When
he looked at me, I was really afraid. And so, slowly, I decided to kill him, and destroy the
eye. You think I'm crazy, and that I don't know anything, But it's you who doesn't know
anything!
I started planning very carefully. I was so kind to the old man before I killed him. Every
night, I opened his door—very slowly. And then, I used a lamp to illuminate his eye. Ha!
A crazy person is never so intelligent!
I did this for seven nights. The eye was always closed, and so it was not possible to kill
him. You see, I didn't hate the old man, just his evil eye. And every morning, I went into his
room and asked him how he slept. He didn't know that I looked at him while he slept.
On the eighth night, I was more careful. I felt so strong and intelligent. I opened the door—
very slowly. He didn't know about my plans. I laughed to myself. Maybe he heard me
because he moved in his bed, afraid. You might think I moved back—but I didn't! His
room was very dark, so he couldn't see anything. I opened the door very slowly and put my
whole head inside. I was about to turn on the lamp, but my finger slipped and made a noise.
The old man jumped, shouting: "Who's there?" I didn't move or say anything for a whole
hour. The old man didn't lie back down. He was still sitting up in his bed listening, like I
did every night. Soon I heard a noise. He wasn't in pain or sad. He was very afraid.
I waited for a long time. He didn't lie down, but I decided to turn on my lamp a small bit.
The eye was open, and I became very angry when I looked at it. I saw it very clearly—it
was a cloudy blue, with a horrible film over it. I was so afraid! I couldn't see anything else.
The lamp was shining only on that horrible eye.
Now I heard a quiet, quick sound: his heart. He was really afraid, and the heartbeat was
getting louder! I thought that a neighbor might hear the sound! I couldn't wait longer. It
was the perfect moment. It was time for the old man to die!
I jumped into the room. He shouted once. I pushed him on the floor and threw the pillow on
top of him. Then I smiled, feeling happy. For a long time, I heard the quiet sound of his
heart. Then, the final moment came. The old man was dead. I pushed the pillow and looked
at the dead body. Yes, he was finally dead.
Do you still think I'm crazy? Let me tell you where I put the body.
It was very late at night, and I worked fast, but quietly. I cut up the body. I pulled out three
floorboards and put the body parts there. I put the floorboards back, and everything looked
the same. It was very clean. I was very careful. I used a bowl to catch all the blood! Ha!
When I finished, it was four o'clock in the morning—still dark.
Then, I heard someone at the door. I opened the door quietly. Three men entered. They
were police officers. The neighbor heard someone shout and called the police.
They wanted to look around the house. I invited them in. There was no reason to be afraid.
I told them that I shouted because I had a bad dream. Then, I explained to them that the old
man was visiting another city.
I told them they could come in and look everywhere. I took them to the old man's room and
brought chairs for them. I put my own chair above the place where the old man's body was.
They were satisfied. I told them that everything was alright.
They sat, talked, and I answered their questions. But soon, I started feeling sick. My head
was hurting. Why won't they leave? I began to hear a noise in my ears, and they were still
talking.
The noise slowly became louder! I talked louder and faster, but I could still hear the noise.
But then, I realized that the sound was not in my ears. Of course, I now started to look
afraid, and I talked louder. And the noise got louder…
The officers still didn't leave! I moved my chair loudly over the floorboards. But the noise
just became louder! The officers talked and smiled. Was it possible that they couldn't hear
it? Oh no! They could hear it! I said to myself: They know everything and they are
laughing at me! I felt like I had to shout or I was going to die!
And again, the noise got louder! Louder! Louder! Louder! I couldn't look at their smiles
anymore! Stop! I did it! Pull out the floorboards here! It's the sound of his horrible heart!
1. How do you say “ojo maligno” in English?.
2. What does “He didn't know about my plans” mean?.

3. How do you ask “quién anda allí” in English?.

4. What’s the Spanish translation of “a cloudy blue eye, with a horrible film over it”?.
5. How do you say “¡el latido del corazón se hacía más fuerte!” in English?,
6. How do you say “escuchó que alguien tocaba la puerta” in English?.
7. What does “There was no reason to be afraid” mean?.
8. How do you say “Él movió su silla sobre las tablas para hacer mucho ruido” in English? .
9. What’s the Spanish translation of “his eye will trouble me no more”?.
10. What does “they were making a monkey of my horror” mean?
11. Why does the narrator speak of heaven, earth and hell?
12. How does the narrator think the old man’s eye looks?
13. What did the narrator use to light up the old man’ eye?
14. Does the narrator think his plan to kill the old man is smart?
15. What did the narrator ask the old man every morning?
16. Could the old man see anything in the very dark room?
17. Why didn't the old man go back to sleep after hearing a sound at night?

18. When did the narrator think it was the perfect time for the old man to die?

19. What did the old man do when the narrator jumped into the room?
20. How was the old man killed?
21. Where did the narrator put the dead body?

22. Why did a neighbor call the police?

23. How did the narrator explain the scream to the police?
24. Was the old man visiting another city?
25. Where did the narrator put his own chair?
26. When did the narrator start feeling sick?
27. What did become louder in the narrator’s ears?
28. What did the narrator do when he started looking scared?

29. Why did the narrator think the officers smiled?

30. How did the narrator feel?
31. Did the noise get louder?
32. Could he keep looking at the smiles of the policemen? Why?
33. Why did the narrator tell the whole truth?