Name: Class:

"Common Domestic Kratt (Krattus Krattus)" by Anita is licensedunder CC BY-NC-ND 2.0.

The DevilBy Guy de Maupassant

1903

Guy de Maupassant (1850-1893) was a French writer famous for his mastery of the short story. His writingoften depicts human lives and social forces in pessimistic terms. In “The Devil”, Guy de Maupassant followsthe last few days of the dying Mother Bontemps and the deal her son makes for her care. As you read, takenotes on what motivates characters’ actions throughout the story.

The peasant was standing opposite the doctor, bythe bedside of the dying old woman, and she,calmly resigned and quite lucid, looked at themand listened to their talking. She was going to die,and she did not rebel at it, for her life was over —she was ninety-two.

The July sun streamed in at the window andthrough the open door and cast its hot flames onto the uneven brown clay floor, which had beenstamped down by four generations ofclodhoppers.1 The smell of the fields came inalso, driven by the brisk wind, and parched by thenoontide heat. The grasshoppers chirpedthemselves hoarse, filling the air with their shrillnoise, like that of the wooden crickets which aresold to children at fair time.

The doctor raised his voice and said: “Honore, you cannot leave your mother in this state; she may dieat any moment.” And the peasant, in great distress, replied: “But I must get in my wheat, for it has beenlying on the ground a long time, and the weather is just right for it; what do you say about it, mother?”And the dying woman, still possessed by her Norman2 avariciousness,3 replied YES with her eyes andher forehead, and so urged her son to get in his wheat, and to leave her to die alone. But the doctorgot angry, and stamping his foot he said: “You are no better than a brute, do you hear, and I will notallow you to do it. Do you understand? And if you must get in your wheat to-day, go and fetch Rapet’swife and make her look after your mother. I WILL have it. And if you do not obey me, I will let you dielike a dog, when you are ill in your turn; do you hear me?”

The peasant, a tall, thin fellow with slow movements, who was tormented by indecision, by his fear ofthe doctor and his keen love of saving, hesitated, calculated, and stammered out: “How much does LaRapet charge for attending sick people?”

“How should I know?” the doctor cried. “That depends upon how long she is wanted for. Settle it withher, by Jove!4 But I want her to be here within an hour, do you hear.”

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1. large heavy shoes2. refers to people partly descended from Norse Vikings who settled in Normandy, France3. Avariciousness (noun): quality of being greedy

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Work for March 30 - April 17

So the man made up his mind. “I will go for her,” he replied; “don’t get angry, doctor.” And the latterleft, calling out as he went: “Take care, you know, for I do not joke when I am angry!” And as soon asthey were alone, the peasant turned to his mother, and said in a resigned voice: “I will go and fetch LaRapet, as the man will have it. Don’t go off while I am away.”

And he went out in his turn.

La Rapet, who was an old washerwoman, watched the dead and the dying of the neighborhood, andthen, as soon as she had sewn her customers into that linen cloth from which they would emerge nomore, she went and took up her irons to smooth the linen of the living. Wrinkled like a last year’s apple,spiteful, envious, avaricious5 with a phenomenal avarice, bent double, as if she had been broken in halfacross the loins, by the constant movement of the iron over the linen, one might have said that shehad a kind of monstrous and cynical affection for a death struggle. She never spoke of anything but ofthe people she had seen die, of the various kinds of deaths at which she had been present, and sherelated, with the greatest minuteness,6 details which were always the same, just like a sportsman talksof his shots.

When Honore Bontemps entered her cottage, he found her preparing the starch for the collars of thevillage women, and he said: “Good evening; I hope you are pretty well, Mother Rapet.”

She turned her head round to look at him and said: “Fairly well, fairly well, and you?”

“Oh I as for me, I am as well as I could wish, but my mother is very sick.”

“Your mother?”

“Yes, my mother!”

“What’s the matter with her?”

“She is going to turn up her toes, that’s what’s the matter with her!”

The old woman took her hands out of the water and asked with sudden sympathy: “Is she as bad as allthat?”

“The doctor says she will not last till morning.”

“Then she certainly is very bad!” Honore hesitated, for he wanted to make a few preliminary remarksbefore coming to his proposal, but as he could hit upon nothing, he made up his mind suddenly.

“How much are you going to ask to stop with her till the end? You know that I am not rich, and I cannoteven afford to keep a servant-girl. It is just that which has brought my poor mother to this state, toomuch work and fatigue! She used to work for ten, in spite of her ninety-two years. You don’t find anymade of that stuff nowadays!”

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4. an expression used to show surprise or emphasis5. Avaricious (adjective): having or showing extreme greed for wealth6. Minuteness (noun): attention to even the smallest detail

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La Rapet answered gravely: “There are two prices. Forty sous7 by day and three francs8 by night for therich, and twenty sous by day, and forty by night for the others. You shall pay me the twenty and forty.”But the peasant reflected, for he knew his mother well. He knew how tenacious of life, how vigorousand unyielding she was. He knew, too, that she might last another week, in spite of the doctor’sopinion, and so he said resolutely: “No, I would rather you would fix a price until the end. I will take mychance, one way or the other. The doctor says she will die very soon. If that happens, so much thebetter for you, and so much the worse for me, but if she holds out till to-morrow or longer, so muchthe better for me and so much the worse for you!”

The nurse looked at the man in astonishment, for she had never treated a death as a speculative9 job,and she hesitated, tempted by the idea of the possible gain. But almost immediately she suspectedthat he wanted to juggle her. “I can say nothing until I have seen your mother,” she replied.

“Then come with me and see her.”

She washed her hands, and went with him immediately. They did not speak on the road; she walkedwith short, hasty steps, while he strode on with his long legs, as if he were crossing a brook at everystep. The cows lying down in the fields, overcome by the heat, raised their heads heavily and lowedfeebly at the two passers-by, as if to ask them for some green grass.

When they got near the house, Honore Bontemps murmured: “Suppose it is all over?” And theunconscious wish that it might be so showed itself in the sound of his voice.

But the old woman was not dead. She was lying on her back, on her wretched bed, her hands coveredwith a pink cotton counterpane,10 horribly thin, knotty paws, like some strange animal’s, or like crabs’claws, hands closed by rheumatism,11 fatigue, and the work of nearly a century which she hadaccomplished.

La Rapet went up to the bed and looked at the dying woman, felt her pulse, tapped her on the chest,listened to her breathing, and asked her questions, so as to hear her speak: then, having looked at herfor some time longer, she went out of the room, followed by Honore. His decided opinion was, that theold woman would not last out the night, and he asked: “Well?” And the sick-nurse replied: “Well, shemay last two days, perhaps three. You will have to give me six francs, everything included.”

“Six francs! six francs!” he shouted. “Are you out of your mind? I tell you that she cannot last more thanfive or six hours!” And they disputed angrily for some time, but as the nurse said she would go home,as the time was slipping away, and as his wheat would not come to the farmyard of its own accord, heagreed to her terms at last:

“Very well, then, that is settled; six francs including everything, until the corpse is taken out.”

“That is settled, six francs.”

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7. a former French coin of little value8. the primary unit of currency in France before the adoption of the Euro9. Speculative (adjective): involving a high risk of loss

10. a bedspread11. any disease marked by inflammation and pain in the joints, muscles, or connective tissue

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And he went away, with long strides, to his wheat, which was lying on the ground under the hot sunwhich ripens the grain, while the sick-nurse returned to the house.

She had brought some work with her, for she worked without stopping by the side of the dead anddying, sometimes for herself, sometimes for the family, who employed her as seamstress also, payingher rather more in that capacity. Suddenly she asked:

“Have you received the last sacrament,12 Mother Bontemps?”

The old peasant woman said “No” with her head, and La Rapet, who was very devout, got up quickly:“Good heavens, is it possible? I will go and fetch the cure”; and she rushed off to the parsonage13 soquickly, that the urchins in the street thought some accident had happened, when they saw hertrotting off like that.

The priest came immediately in his surplice,14 preceded by a choir-boy, who rang a bell to announcethe passage of the Host15 through the parched and quiet country. Some men, working at a distance,took off their large hats and remained motionless until the white vestment16 had disappeared behindsome farm buildings; the women who were making up the sheaves stood up to make the sign of thecross; the frightened black hens ran away along the ditch until they reached a well-known hole throughwhich they suddenly disappeared, while a foal, which was tied up in a meadow, took fright at the sightof the surplice and began to gallop round at the length of its rope, kicking violently. The choir-boy, inhis red cassock, walked quickly, and the priest, the square biretta on his bowed head, followed him,muttering some prayers. Last of all came La Rapet, bent almost double, as if she wished to prostrate17

herself; she walked with folded hands, as if she were in church.

Honore saw them pass in the distance, and he asked: “Where is our priest going to?” And his man, whowas more acute, replied: “He is taking the sacrament to your mother, of course!”

The peasant was not surprised and said: “That is quite possible,” and went on with his work.

Mother Bontemps confessed, received absolution18 and extreme unction, and the priest took hisdeparture, leaving the two women alone in the suffocating cottage. La Rapet began to look at the dyingwoman, and to ask herself whether it could last much longer.

The day was on the wane, and a cooler air came in stronger puffs, making a view of Epinal, which wasfastened to the wall by two pins, flap up and down. The scanty window curtains, which had formerlybeen white, but were now yellow and covered with fly-specks, looked as if they were going to fly off,and seemed to struggle to get away, like the old woman’s soul.

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12. the last prayers given shortly before death during a Christian ceremony, sometimes known as the Anointing of theSick or Last Rites

13. a house provided for an employee of the church14. a religious garment of loose white linen, worn by some prominent leaders of the Christian Church15. bread used in the Christian sacrament of the Eucharist offered during the last sacrament16. a ceremonial robe worn by the clergy17. Prostrate (verb): to lay oneself flat on the ground, face downward18. to be formally released from guilt and receive forgiveness of sins

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Lying motionless, with her eyes open, the old mother seemed to await the death which was so near,and which yet delayed its coming; with perfect indifference. Her short breath whistled in her throat. Itwould stop altogether soon, and there would be one woman less in the world, one whom nobodywould regret.

At nightfall Honore returned, and when he went up to the bed and saw that his mother was still alivehe asked: “How is she?” just as he had done formerly, when she had been sick. Then he sent La Rapetaway, saying to her: “To-morrow morning at five o’clock, without fail.” And she replied: “To-morrow atfive o’clock.”

She came at daybreak, and found Honore eating his soup, which he had made himself, before going towork.

“Well, is your mother dead?” asked the nurse.

“She is rather better, on the contrary,” he replied, with a malignant19 look out of the corner of his eyes.Then he went out.

La Rapet was seized with anxiety, and went up to the dying woman, who was in the same state,lethargic and impassive, her eyes open and her hands clutching the counterpane. The nurse perceivedthat this might go on thus for two days, four days, eight days, even, and her avaricious mind was seizedwith fear. She was excited to fury against the cunning fellow who had tricked her, and against thewoman who would not die.

Nevertheless, she began to sew and waited with her eyes fixed on the wrinkled face of MotherBontemps. When Honore returned to breakfast he seemed quite satisfied, and even in a banteringhumor, for he was carrying in his wheat under very favorable circumstances.

La Rapet was getting exasperated; every passing minute now seemed to her so much time and moneystolen from her. She felt a mad inclination to choke this old ass, this headstrong old fool, thisobstinate20 old wretch--to stop that short, rapid breath, which was robbing her of her time and money,by squeezing her throat a little. But then she reflected on the danger of doing so, and other thoughtscame into her head, so she went up to the bed and said to her: “Have you ever seen the Devil?”

Mother Bontemps whispered: “No.”

Then the sick-nurse began to talk and to tell her tales likely to terrify her weak and dying mind. “Someminutes before one dies the Devil appears,” she said, “to all. He has a broom in his hand, a saucepanon his head and he utters loud cries. When anybody had seen him, all was over, and that person hadonly a few moments longer to live”; and she enumerated all those to whom the Devil had appearedthat year: Josephine Loisel, Eulalie Ratier, Sophie Padagnau, Seraphine Grospied.

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19. Malignant (adjective): feeling or showing ill will or hatred20. Obstinate (adjective): stubborn; not easily controlled or overcome

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"The Devil" by Guy de Maupassant (1903) is in the public domain.

Mother Bontemps, who was at last most disturbed in mind, moved about, wrung her hands, and triedto turn her head to look at the other end of the room. Suddenly La Rapet disappeared at the foot ofthe bed. She took a sheet out of the cupboard and wrapped herself up in it; then she put the iron poton to her head, so that its three short bent feet rose up like horns, took a broom in her right hand anda tin pail in her left, which she threw up suddenly, so that it might fall to the ground noisily.

Certainly when it came down, it made a terrible noise. Then, climbing on to a chair, the nurse showedherself, gesticulating21 and uttering shrill cries into the pot which covered her face, while she menacedthe old peasant woman, who was nearly dead, with her broom.

Terrified, with a mad look on her face, the dying woman made a superhuman effort to get up andescape; she even got her shoulders and chest out of bed; then she fell back with a deep sigh. All wasover, and La Rapet calmly put everything back into its place; the broom into the corner by thecupboard, the sheet inside it, the pot on to the hearth, the pail on to the floor, and the chair against thewall. Then with a professional air, she closed the dead woman’s enormous eyes, put a plate on the bedand poured some holy water into it, dipped the twig of boxwood into it, and kneeling down, shefervently repeated the prayers for the dead, which she knew by heart, as a matter of business.

When Honore returned in the evening, he found her praying. He calculated immediately that she hadmade twenty sous out of him, for she had only spent three days and one night there, which made fivefrancs altogether, instead of the six which he owed her.

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21. Gesticulate (verb): to use dramatic gestures

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Text-Dependent QuestionsDirections: For the following questions, choose the best answer or respond in complete sentences.

1. PART A: Which statement best expresses a theme of this short story?A. Hardship can motivate people to make ruthless, calculating decisions.B. Men and women deal with death and grief differently.C. Death is always unfair to the family of the dying.D. Religion distorts reality in the last minutes of one’s life.

2. PART B: Which quotation from the story best supports the answer to Part A?A. “She was going to die, and she did not rebel at it, for her life was over— she was

ninety-two.” (Paragraph 1)B. “The doctor raised his voice and said: ‘Honore, you cannot leave your mother in

this state; she may die at any moment.’” (Paragraph 3)C. “Suddenly she asked: ‘Have you received the last sacrament, Mother

Bontemps?’” (Paragraphs 31-32)D. “every passing minute now seemed to her so much time and money stolen from

her. She felt a mad inclination to choke this old ass” (Paragraph 46)

3. PART A: How do Honore Bontemps’ actions provoke or develop the plot of the story?A. Honore angers the doctor and therefore he refuses to help his mother.B. Honore prioritizes his wheat before his mother and therefore she dies.C. Honore seeks out La Rapet because he knows she will bring a priest.D. Honore bargains a price with La Rapet and drives her to seek revenge.

4. PART B: Which paragraph focuses on Honore’s actions and their consequences tobest support the answer to Part A?

A. Paragraph 3B. Paragraph 30C. Paragraph 35D. Paragraph 44

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"Peregrine Falcon" is licensed under CC BY-NC-ND 2.0.

Federigo's FalconBy Giovanni Boccaccio, translated by Mark Musa and Peter Bondanella

From The Decameron 1353

Giovanni Boccaccio (1313-1375) was an Italian writer, poet, and a Renaissance humanist. "Federigo'sFalcon" comes from The Decameron, a masterpiece collection of 100 stories in early Italian prose thatbroke away from medieval literary traditions and focused on the human condition rather than spiritualconcerns. In this tale, a man loses everything for his love of a rich lady. As you read, take notes onBoccaccio’s use of irony and figurative language. What does the use of these devices reveal aboutBoccaccio’s take on the human condition?

There was once in Florence a young man namedFederigo, the son of Messer Filippo Alberighi,renowned above all other men in Tuscany for hisprowess in arms and for his courtliness. As oftenhappens to most gentlemen, he fell in love with alady named Monna Giovanna, in her dayconsidered to be one of the most beautiful andone of the most charming women that ever therewas in Florence; and in order to win her love, heparticipated in jousts and tournaments,organized and gave feasts, and spent his moneywithout restraint; but she, no less virtuous thanbeautiful (for the young woman was alreadymarried), cared little for these things done on herbehalf, nor did she care for him who did them.Now, as Federigo was spending far beyond hismeans and was taking nothing in, as easilyhappens he lost his wealth and became poor,with nothing but his little farm to his name (fromwhose revenues he lived very meagerly) and onefalcon which was among the best in the world.

More in love than ever, but knowing that hewould never be able to live the way he wished toin the city, he went to live at Campi, where hisfarm was. There he passed his time hawkingwhenever he could, asked nothing of anyone, and endured his poverty patiently. Now, during the timethat Federigo was reduced to dire need, it happened that the husband of Monna Giovanna fell ill, andrealizing death was near, he made his last will. He was very rich, and he made his son, who wasgrowing up, his heir, and, since he had loved Monna Giovanna very much, he made her his heir shouldhis son die without a legitimate heir; and then he died.1

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1. During these times, it was not uncommon for a son to be named the heir of a man’s fortune instead of his wife.

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Monna Giovanna was now a widow, and as is the custom among our women, she went to the countrywith her son to spend a year on one of her possessions very close by to Federigo’s farm, and ithappened that this young boy became friends with Federigo and began to enjoy birds and huntingdogs; and after he had seen Federigo’s falcon fly many times, it pleased him so much that he verymuch wished it were his own, but he did not dare to ask for it, for he could see how dear it was toFederigo. And during this time, it happened that the young boy took ill, and his mother was muchgrieved, for he was her only child and she loved him enormously. She would spend the entire day byhis side, never ceasing to comfort him, and often asking him if there was anything he desired, begginghim to tell her what it might be, for if it were possible to obtain it, she would certainly do everythingpossible to get it. After the young boy had heard her make this offer many times, he said:

“Mother, if you can arrange for me to have Federigo’s falcon, I think I would be well very soon.”

When the lady heard this, she was taken aback for a moment, and she began to think what she shoulddo. She knew that Federigo had loved her for a long while, in spite of the fact that he never received asingle glance from her, and so, she said to herself:

“How can I send or go and ask for this falcon of his which is, as I have heard tell, the best that ever flew,and besides this, his only means of support? And how can I be so insensitive as to wish to take awayfrom this gentleman the only pleasure which is left to him?”

And involved in these thoughts, knowing that she was certain to have the bird if she asked for it, butnot knowing what to say to her son, she stood there without answering him. Finally the love she boreher son persuaded her that she should make him happy, and no matter what the consequences mightbe, she would not send for the bird, but rather go herself for it and bring it back to him; so sheanswered her son:

“My son, take comfort and think only of getting well, for I promise you that the first thing I shall dotomorrow morning is to go for it and bring it back to you.”

The child was so happy that he showed some improvement that very day. The following morning, thelady, accompanied by another woman, as if going for a stroll, went to Federigo’s modest house andasked for him. Since it was not the season for it, Federigo had not been hawking for some days andwas in his orchard, attending to certain tasks. When he heard that Monna Giovanna was asking for himat the door, he was very surprised and happy to run there. As she saw him coming, she greeted himwith feminine charm, and once Federigo had welcomed her courteously, she said:

“Greetings, Federigo!” Then she continued: “I have come to compensate you for the harm you havesuffered on my account by loving me more than you needed to; and the compensation is this: I, alongwith this companion of mine, intend to dine with you—a simple meal—this very day.”

To this Federigo humbly replied: “Madonna,2 I never remember having suffered any harm because ofyou. On the contrary, so much good have I received from you that if ever I have been worth anything, ithas been because of your merit and the love I bore for you; and your generous visit is certainly so dearto me that I would spend all over again that which I spent in the past; but you have come to a poorhost.”

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2. Here, “Madonna” means an idealized virtuous and beautiful woman.

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And having said this, he received her into his home humbly, and from there he led her into his garden,and since he had no one there to keep her company, he said:

“My lady, since there is no one else, this good woman here, the wife of this workman,3 will keep youcompany while I go to set the table.”

Though he was very poor, Federigo, until now, had never before realized to what extent he had wastedhis wealth; but this morning, the fact that he found nothing with which he could honor the lady for thelove of whom he had once entertained countless men in the past gave him cause to reflect. In greatanguish, he cursed himself and his fortune and, like a man beside himself, he started running here andthere, but could find neither money nor a pawnable object. The hour was late and his desire to honorthe gracious lady was great, but not wishing to turn for help to others (not even to his own workman),he set his eyes upon his good falcon, perched in a small room; and since he had nowhere else to turn,he took the bird, and finding it plump, he decided that it would be a worthy food for such a lady. So,without further thought, he wrung its neck and quickly gave it to his servant girl to pluck, prepare, andplace on a spit to be roasted with care; and when he had set the table with the whitest of tablecloths (afew of which he still had left), he returned, with a cheerful face, to the lady in his garden, saying thatthe meal he was able to prepare for her was ready.

The lady and her companion rose, went to the table together with Federigo, who waited upon themwith the greatest devotion, and they ate the good falcon without knowing what it was they were eating.And having left the table and spent some time in pleasant conversation, the lady thought it time now tosay what she had come to say, and so she spoke these kind words to Federigo:

“Federigo, if you recall your past life and my virtue, which you perhaps mistook for harshness andcruelty, I do not doubt at all that you will be amazed by my presumption when you hear what my mainreason for coming here is; but if you had children, through whom you might have experienced thepower of parental love, it seems certain to me that you would, at least in part, forgive me. But, just asyou have no child, I do have one, and I cannot escape the common laws of other mothers; the force ofsuch laws compels me to follow them, against my own will and against good manners and duty, and toask of you a gift which I know is most precious to you; and it is naturally so, since your extremecondition has left you no other delight, no other pleasure, no other consolation; and this gift is yourfalcon, which my son is so taken by that if I do not bring it to him, I fear his sickness will grow so muchworse that I may lose him. And therefore I beg you, not because of the love that you bear for me, whichdoes not oblige you in the least, but because of your own nobility, which you have shown to be greaterthan that of all others in practicing courtliness, that you be pleased to give it to me, so that I may saythat I have saved the life of my son by means of this gift, and because of it I have placed him in yourdebt forever.”

When he heard what the lady requested and knew that he could not oblige her since he had given herthe falcon to eat, Federigo began to weep in her presence, for he could not utter a word in reply. Thelady, at first, thought his tears were caused more by the sorrow of having to part with the good falconthan by anything else, and she was on the verge of telling him she no longer wished it, but she heldback and waited for Federigo’s reply after he stopped weeping. And he said:

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3. A workman refers to a man employed to do manual labor.

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Federigo's Falcon by Giovanni Boccaccio, translated by Mark Musa and Peter Bondanella is in the public domain.

“My lady, ever since it pleased God for me to place my love in you, I have felt that Fortune has beenhostile to me in many things, and I have complained of her, but all this is nothing compared to whatshe has just done to me, and I must never be at peace with her again, thinking about how you havecome here to my poor home where, while it was rich, you never deigned to come, and you requested asmall gift, and Fortune worked to make it impossible for me to give it to you; and why this is so I shalltell you briefly. When I heard that you, out of your kindness, wished to dine with me, I considered itfitting and right, taking into account your excellence and your worthiness, that I should honor you,according to my possibilities, with a more precious food than that which I usually serve to otherpeople; therefore, remembering the falcon that you requested and its value, I judged it a food worthyof you, and this very day you had it roasted and served to you as best I could; but seeing now that youdesired it in another way, my sorrow in not being able to serve you is so great that I shall never be ableto console myself again.”

And after he had said this, he laid the feathers, the feet, and the beak of the bird before her as proof.When the lady heard and saw this, she first reproached him for having killed such a falcon to serve as ameal to a woman; but then to herself she commended the greatness of his spirit, which no poverty wasable or would be able to diminish; then, having lost all hope of getting the falcon and, perhaps becauseof this, of improving the health of her son as well, she thanked Federigo both for the honor paid to herand for his good will, and she left in grief, and returned to her son. To his mother’s extreme sorrow,either because of his disappointment that he could not have the falcon, or because his illness musthave necessarily led to it, the boy passed from this life only a few days later.

After the period of her mourning and bitterness had passed, the lady was repeatedly urged by herbrothers to remarry, since she was very rich and was still young; and although she did not wish to doso, they became so insistent that she remembered the merits of Federigo and his last act ofgenerosity—that is, to have killed such a falcon to do her honor—and she said to her brothers:

“I would prefer to remain a widow, if that would please you; but if you wish me to take a husband, youmay rest assured that I shall take no man but Federigo degli Alberighi.”

In answer to this, making fun of her, her brothers replied:

“You foolish woman, what are you saying? How can you want him; he hasn’t a penny to his name?”

To this she replied: “My brothers, I am well aware of what you say, but I would rather have a man whoneeds money than money that needs a man.”

Her brothers, seeing that she was determined and knowing Federigo to be of noble birth, no matterhow poor he was, accepted her wishes and gave her in marriage to him with all her riches. When hefound himself the husband of such a great lady, whom he had loved so much and who was so wealthybesides, he managed his financial affairs with more prudence than in the past and lived with herhappily the rest of his days.

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Text-Dependent QuestionsDirections: For the following questions, choose the best answer or respond in complete sentences.

1. Summarize the various complications, or moral dilemmas, utilized in the story. How,if at all, do they resolve themselves?

2. PART A: Which of the following statements best summarizes the figurative languageFederigo uses when describing his luck in paragraph 18?

A. Federigo refers to his luck as Fortune, invoking a level of familiarity while alsopersonifying chance.

B. Federigo employs hyperbole in describing his contentious relationship with luck.C. Federigo personifies luck in the form of Fortune, someone who keeps

preventing his happiness and with whom he has an antagonistic relationship.D. Federigo utilizes metaphor when describing his luck, replacing random chance

with the figure of Fortune, expressing what feels like conscious ill towards himperpetrated by a person.

3. PART B: Cite evidence of this figurative language from the paragraph.

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4. PART A: Which of the following best identifies a theme in the passage?A. Social class tensionsB. FateC. DeathD. Love and sacrifice

5. PART B: Cite evidence from the text that supports the answer to Part A.

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"Last Autumn Leaves" by Lorenzo Tomada is licensed under CC BY-NC-ND 2.0.

The Last LeafBy O. Henry

1907

William Sydney Porter (1862-1910) was an American writer better known by his pen name, O. Henry. “TheLast Leaf,” published in 1907, is a story about a young girl named Johnsy who gets pneumonia and is givena 1 in 10 chance of surviving. As you read, take notes on the literary devices the author uses to describeJohnsy's condition and the vine outside her window. How do these details contribute to your reading of thetext?

In a little district west of Washington Square thestreets have run crazy and broken themselvesinto small strips called "places." These "places"make strange angles and curves. One Streetcrosses itself a time or two. An artist oncediscovered a valuable possibility in this street.Suppose a collector with a bill for paints, paperand canvas should, in traversing this route,suddenly meet himself coming back, without acent having been paid on account!

So, to quaint old Greenwich Village the art peoplesoon came prowling, hunting for north windowsand eighteenth-century gables and Dutch atticsand low rents. Then they imported some pewtermugs and a chafing dish or two from SixthAvenue, and became a "colony."

At the top of a squatty, three-story brick Sue and Johnsy had their studio. "Johnsy" was familiar forJoanna. One was from Maine; the other from California. They had met at the table d'hôte of an EighthStreet "Delmonico's," and found their tastes in art, chicory salad and bishop sleeves so congenial thatthe joint studio resulted.

That was in May. In November a cold, unseen stranger, whom the doctors called Pneumonia, stalkedabout the colony, touching one here and there with his icy fingers. Over on the east side this ravagerstrode boldly, smiting his victims by scores, but his feet trod slowly through the maze of the narrowand moss-grown "places."

Mr. Pneumonia was not what you would call a chivalric1 old gentleman. A mite of a little woman withblood thinned by California zephyrs2 was hardly fair game for the red-fisted, short-breathed old duffer.But Johnsy he smote; and she lay, scarcely3 moving, on her painted iron bedstead, looking through thesmall Dutch window-panes at the blank side of the next brick house.

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1. referring to chivalry, the medieval code of conduct for knights that emphasized ideas like bravery, generosity,faithfulness, and courtesy to women

2. "Zephyr" is a mild wind.3. Scarcely (adverb): barely, hardly

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One morning the busy doctor invited Sue into the hallway with a shaggy, gray eyebrow.

"She has one chance in — let us say, ten," he said, as he shook down the mercury in his clinicalthermometer. "And that chance is for her to want to live. Your little lady has made up her mind thatshe's not going to get well. Has she anything on her mind?"

"She — she wanted to paint the Bay of Naples some day." said Sue.

"Paint? — bosh! Has she anything on her mind worth thinking twice — a man for instance?"

"A man?" said Sue, with a jew's-harp twang in her voice. "Is a man worth — but, no, doctor; there isnothing of the kind."

"Well, it is the weakness, then," said the doctor. "I will do all that science, so far as it may filter throughmy efforts, can accomplish. But whenever my patient begins to count the carriages in her funeralprocession I subtract 50 percent from the curative power of medicines. If you will get her to ask onequestion about the new winter styles in cloak sleeves I will promise you a one-in-five chance for her,instead of one in ten."

After the doctor had gone Sue went into the workroom and cried a Japanese napkin to a pulp. Thenshe swaggered into Johnsy's room with her drawing board, whistling ragtime.

Johnsy lay, scarcely making a ripple under the bedclothes, with her face toward the window. Suestopped whistling, thinking she was asleep.

She arranged her board and began a pen-and-ink drawing to illustrate a magazine story. Young artistsmust pave their way to Art by drawing pictures for magazine stories that young authors write to pavetheir way to Literature.

As Sue was sketching a pair of elegant horseshow riding trousers and a monocle of the figure of thehero, an Idaho cowboy, she heard a low sound, several times repeated. She went quickly to thebedside.

Johnsy's eyes were open wide. She was looking out the window and counting — counting backward.

"Twelve," she said, and little later "eleven"; and then "ten," and "nine"; and then "eight" and "seven",almost together.

Sue looked solicitously4 out of the window. What was there to count? There was only a bare, drearyyard to be seen, and the blank side of the brick house twenty feet away. An old, old ivy vine, gnarledand decayed at the roots, climbed half way up the brick wall. The cold breath of autumn had strickenits leaves from the vine until its skeleton branches clung, almost bare, to the crumbling bricks.

"What is it, dear?" asked Sue.

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4. Solicitous (adjective): showing great attention to or concern for another

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"Six," said Johnsy, in almost a whisper. "They're falling faster now. Three days ago there were almost ahundred. It made my head ache to count them. But now it's easy. There goes another one. There areonly five left now."

"Five what, dear? Tell your Sudie."

"Leaves. On the ivy vine. When the last one falls I must go, too. I've known that for three days. Didn'tthe doctor tell you?"

"Oh, I never heard of such nonsense," complained Sue, with magnificent scorn. "What have old ivyleaves to do with your getting well? And you used to love that vine so, you naughty girl. Don't be agoosey. Why, the doctor told me this morning that your chances for getting well real soon were — let'ssee exactly what he said — he said the chances were ten to one! Why, that's almost as good a chanceas we have in New York when we ride on the street cars or walk past a new building. Try to take somebroth now, and let Sudie go back to her drawing, so she can sell the editor man with it, and buy portwine for her sick child, and pork chops for her greedy self."

"You needn't get any more wine," said Johnsy, keeping her eyes fixed out the window. "There goesanother. No, I don't want any broth. That leaves just four. I want to see the last one fall before it getsdark. Then I'll go, too."

"Johnsy, dear," said Sue, bending over her, "will you promise me to keep your eyes closed, and not lookout the window until I am done working? I must hand those drawings in by to-morrow. I need the light,or I would draw the shade down."

"Couldn't you draw in the other room?" asked Johnsy, coldly.

"I'd rather be here by you," said Sue. "Beside, I don't want you to keep looking at those silly ivy leaves."

"Tell me as soon as you have finished," said Johnsy, closing her eyes, and lying white and still as fallenstatue, "because I want to see the last one fall. I'm tired of waiting. I'm tired of thinking. I want to turnloose my hold on everything, and go sailing down, down, just like one of those poor, tired leaves."

"Try to sleep," said Sue. "I must call Behrman up to be my model for the old hermit5 miner. I'll not begone a minute. Don't try to move 'til I come back."

Old Behrman was a painter who lived on the ground floor beneath them. He was past sixty and had aMichael Angelo's Moses beard curling down from the head of a satyr6 along with the body of an imp.Behrman was a failure in art. Forty years he had wielded the brush without getting near enough totouch the hem of his Mistress's robe. He had been always about to paint a masterpiece, but had neveryet begun it. For several years he had painted nothing except now and then a daub in the line ofcommerce or advertising. He earned a little by serving as a model to those young artists in the colonywho could not pay the price of a professional. He drank gin to excess, and still talked of his comingmasterpiece. For the rest he was a fierce little old man, who scoffed terribly at softness in any one, andwho regarded himself as especial mastiff-in-waiting to protect the two young artists in the studioabove.

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5. someone who lives alone, often in a place far removed from others6. a mythological creature with the top half of a man and the legs, horns, ears, and tail of a goat

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Sue found Behrman smelling strongly of juniper berries7 in his dimly lighted den below. In one cornerwas a blank canvas on an easel that had been waiting there for twenty-five years to receive the firstline of the masterpiece. She told him of Johnsy's fancy, and how she feared she would, indeed, lightand fragile as a leaf herself, float away, when her slight hold upon the world grew weaker.

Old Behrman, with his red eyes plainly streaming, shouted his contempt8 and derision9 for such idioticimaginings.

"Vass!" he cried. "Is dere people in de world mit der foolishness to die because leafs dey drop off froma confounded vine? I haf not heard of such a thing. No, I will not bose as a model for your fool hermit-dunderhead. Vy do you allow dot silly pusiness to come in der brain of her? Ach, dot poor leetle MissYohnsy."

"She is very ill and weak," said Sue, "and the fever has left her mind morbid and full of strange fancies.Very well, Mr. Behrman, if you do not care to pose for me, you needn't. But I think you are a horrid old— old flibbertigibbet."

"You are just like a woman!" yelled Behrman. "Who said I will not bose? Go on. I come mit you. For halfan hour I haf peen trying to say dot I am ready to bose. Gott! dis is not any blace in which one so gootas Miss Yohnsy shall lie sick. Some day I vill baint a masterpiece, and ve shall all go away. Gott! yes."

Johnsy was sleeping when they went upstairs. Sue pulled the shade down to the window-sill, andmotioned Behrman into the other room. In there they peered out the window fearfully at the ivy vine.Then they looked at each other for a moment without speaking. A persistent, cold rain was falling,mingled with snow. Behrman, in his old blue shirt, took his seat as the hermit miner on an upturnedkettle for a rock.

When Sue awoke from an hour's sleep the next morning she found Johnsy with dull, wide-open eyesstaring at the drawn green shade.

"Pull it up; I want to see," she ordered, in a whisper.

Wearily Sue obeyed.

But, lo! after the beating rain and fierce gusts of wind that had endured through the livelong night,there yet stood out against the brick wall one ivy leaf. It was the last one on the vine. Still dark greennear its stem, with its serrated edges tinted with the yellow of dissolution and decay, it hung bravelyfrom the branch some twenty feet above the ground.

"It is the last one," said Johnsy. "I thought it would surely fall during the night. I heard the wind. It willfall to-day, and I shall die at the same time."

"Dear, dear!" said Sue, leaning her worn face down to the pillow, "think of me, if you won't think ofyourself. What would I do?"

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7. Juniper berries are strong scented fruits used to flavor gin, a type of alcohol.8. Contempt (noun): a feeling of disrespect or disapproval9. Derision (noun): ridicule or mockery

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"The Last Leaf" by O. Henry (1907) is in the public domain.

But Johnsy did not answer. The lonesomest thing in all the world is a soul when it is making ready to goon its mysterious, far journey. The fancy seemed to possess her more strongly as one by one the tiesthat bound her to friendship and to earth were loosed.

The day wore away, and even through the twilight they could see the lone ivy leaf clinging to its stemagainst the wall. And then, with the coming of the night the north wind was again loosed, while the rainstill beat against the windows and pattered down from the low Dutch eaves.

When it was light enough Johnsy, the merciless, commanded that the shade be raised.

The ivy leaf was still there.

Johnsy lay for a long time looking at it. And then she called to Sue, who was stirring her chicken brothover the gas stove.

"I've been a bad girl, Sudie," said Johnsy. "Something has made that last leaf stay there to show mehow wicked I was. It is a sin to want to die. You may bring a me a little broth now, and some milk with alittle port in it, and — no; bring me a hand-mirror first, and then pack some pillows about me, and I willsit up and watch you cook."

And hour later she said:

"Sudie, some day I hope to paint the Bay of Naples."

The doctor came in the afternoon, and Sue had an excuse to go into the hallway as he left.

"Even chances," said the doctor, taking Sue's thin, shaking hand in his. "With good nursing you'll win.And now I must see another case I have downstairs. Behrman, his name is — some kind of an artist, Ibelieve. Pneumonia, too. He is an old, weak man, and the attack is acute. There is no hope for him; buthe goes to the hospital to-day to be made more comfortable."

The next day the doctor said to Sue: "She's out of danger. You won. Nutrition and care now — that'sall."

And that afternoon Sue came to the bed where Johnsy lay, contentedly knitting a very blue and veryuseless woollen shoulder scarf, and put one arm around her, pillows and all.

"I have something to tell you, white mouse," she said. "Mr. Behrman died of pneumonia to-day in thehospital. He was ill only two days. The janitor found him the morning of the first day in his roomdownstairs helpless with pain. His shoes and clothing were wet through and icy cold. They couldn'timagine where he had been on such a dreadful night. And then they found a lantern, still lighted, and aladder that had been dragged from its place, and some scattered brushes, and a palette with greenand yellow colors mixed on it, and — look out the window, dear, at the last ivy leaf on the wall. Didn'tyou wonder why it never fluttered or moved when the wind blew? Ah, darling, it's Behrman'smasterpiece — he painted it there the night that the last leaf fell."

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Text-Dependent QuestionsDirections: For the following questions, choose the best answer or respond in complete sentences.

1. How does the personification of “Mr. Pneumonia” contribute to the story's meaning?

2. PART A: What do the doctor’s comments in paragraphs 5-11 reveal about his point of viewregarding Johnsy’s illness and recovery?

A. He is confident in his own medicine.B. He is discouraging about Johnsy’s health.C. He is skeptical about Johnsy’s will to live.D. He is hopeful about Johnsy’s recovery.

3. PART B: Which of the following quotations best illustrates the doctor’s point of view in PartA?

A. “She has one chance in – let us say, ten” (Paragraph 7)B. “‘Paint? - bosh! Has she anything on her mind worth thinking twice - a man for

instance?’” (Paragraph 9)C. “‘Well, it is the weakness, then,’ said the doctor. ‘I will do all that science, so far as

it may filter through my efforts, can accomplish.’” (Paragraph 11)D. “whenever my patient begins to count the carriages in her funeral procession I

subtract 50 percent from the curative power of medicines.” (Paragraph 11)

4. PART A: How does the description of the ivy vine in paragraph 18 contribute to the tone ofthe passage?

A. It reflects Sue’s determination to keep Johnsy alive.B. It shows the hopelessness of being fragile.C. It shows the run-down environment where Sue and Johnsy live.D. It reflects the narrator’s sense of optimism.

5. PART B: Which paragraph most directly reinforces the tone created in paragraph 18?A. Paragraph 25B. Paragraph 28C. Paragraph 36D. Paragraph 37

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6. What does Johnsy’s dialogue in paragraph 48 reveal about her attitude?A. She has given up on life.B. She has changed her mind about dying.C. She feels guilty about feeling sick.D. She is willing to fight, even though it is hopeless.

7. Explain how the leaf contributes to the extended metaphor and the theme in this story.

8. Which of the following details from the text best foreshadows the story’s conclusion?A. “He was past sixty and had a Michael Angelo's Moses beard curling down from

the head of a satyr along with the body of an imp.” (Paragraph 30)B. “he was a fierce little old man, who scoffed terribly at softness in any one”

(Paragraph 30)C. “regarded himself as especial mastiff-in-waiting to protect the two young artists

in the studio above.” (Paragraph 30)D. “Vy do you allow dot silly pusiness to come in der brain of her? Ach, dot poor

leetle Miss Yohnsy.” (Paragraph 33)

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Name: Class: Date:

Pairing Questions for "The Devil" and "Federigo's Falcon"Directions: After reading the texts, choose the best answer for the multiple-choice questions below and respond tothe writing questions in complete sentences.

A. In “The Devil,” Honore wants his mother to die, while in “Federigo’s Falcon,”Federigo wants Monna’s husband to die.

B. In “The Devil,” Honore is a peasant farming wheat, while in “Federigo’sFalcon,” Federigo is a nobleman who owns a wheat farm.

C. In “The Devil,” Honore puts money before love, while Federigo in “Federigo’sFalcon” puts love before money.

D. In “The Devil,” Honore doesn’t love his mother, while in “Federigo’s Falcon,”Federigo loves Monna.

1. Which statement best describes the contrast between the stories “The Devil” and“Federigo's Falcon”? [RL.9]

2. How does the interaction of events in each story develop the theme of “human value?”Consider plot, perspective, and the actions of the characters. [RL.2, RL.9]

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Name: Class:

"Wallflower" by Jo Christian Oterhals is licensed under CC BY-NC-ND 2.0

The Faith Cure ManBy Paul Laurence Dunbar

1900

Paul Laurence Dunbar (1872-1906), the son of former slaves and a prominent black novelist and poet, oftendepicted the harsh reality of black American life in the early 1900s. In “The Faith Cure Man,” Dunbar tells astory about a poor mother who is willing to believe in anything that might cure her sick daughter. As youread, take notes on the author’s characterization of the different characters, and what this reveals about thetheme.

Hope is tenacious.1 It goes on living and workingwhen science has dealt it what should be itsdeathblow.

In the close room at the top of the old tenementhouse2 little Lucy lay wasting away with arelentless3 disease. The doctor had said at thebeginning of the winter that she could not live.Now he said that he could do no more for herexcept to ease the few days that remained for thechild.

But Martha Benson would not believe him. Shewas confident that doctors were not infallible.4

Anyhow, this one wasn’t, for she saw life and health ahead for her little one.

Did not the preacher at the Mission Home5 say: “Ask, and ye shall receive?” and had she not asked andasked again the life of her child, her last and only one, at the hands of Him whom she worshipped?

No, Lucy was not going to die. What she needed was country air and a place to run about in. She hadbeen housed up too much; these long Northern winters were too severe for her, and that was whatmade her so pinched and thin and weak. She must have air, and she should have it.

“Po’ little lammie,”6 she said to the child, “Mammy’s little gal boun’ to git well. Mammy gwine sen’ huhout in de country when the spring comes, whaih she kin roll in de grass an’ pick flowers an’ git good an’strong. Don’ baby want to go to de country? Don’ baby want to see de sun shine?”7 And the child hadlooked up at her with wide, bright eyes, tossed her thin arms and moaned for reply.

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1. Tenacious (adjective): tending to keep a firm hold of something; clinging or adhering closely2. A tenement house is a house divided into and rented out as separate residences, especially one that is run-down and

overcrowded.3. Relentless (adjective): showing no lessening of determination, intensity, or strength4. Infallible (adjective): incapable of being wrong; never failing5. A mission home is a benevolent institution (as for the care of the indigent or the aged) maintained by a religious

organization.6. “Poor little lamb” is an old term of endearment, often used for someone small or helpless.7. Here, Dunbar has written Martha’s dialogue phonetically to reflect the dialect of African American Vernacular English

(sometimes referred to as “Ebonics”).

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“Nemmine, we gwine fool dat doctah. Some day we’ll th’ow all his nassy medicine ‘way, an’ he come inan’ say: ‘Whaih’s all my medicine?’ Den we answeh up sma’t like: ‘We done th’owed it out. We don’ needno nassy medicine.’ Den he look ‘roun’ an’ say: ‘Who dat I see runnin’ roun’ de flo’ hyeah, a-lookin’ sofat?’ an’ you up an’ say: ‘Hit’s me, dat’s who ‘tis, mistah doctor man!’ Den he go out an’ slam de do’behin’ him. Ain’ dat fine?”

But the child had closed her eyes, too weak even to listen. So her mother kissed her little thin foreheadand tiptoed out, sending in a child from across the hall to take care of Lucy while she was at work, forsick as the little one was she could not stay at home and nurse her.

Hope grasps at a straw, and it was quite in keeping with the condition of Martha’s mind that she shouldopen her ears and her heart when they told her of the wonderful works of the faith-cure man. Peoplehad gone to him on crutches, and he had touched or rubbed them and they had come away whole. Hehad gone to the homes of the bed-ridden, and they had risen up to bless him. It was so easy for her tobelieve it all. The only religion she had ever known, the wild, emotional religion of most of her race, puther credulity8 to stronger tests than that. Her only question was, would such a man come to herhumble9 room. But she put away even this thought. He must come. She would make him. Already shesaw Lucy strong, and running about like a mouse, the joy of her heart and the light of her eyes.

As soon as she could get time she went humbly to see the faith doctor, and laid her case before him,hoping, fearing, trembling.

Yes, he would come. Her heart leaped for joy.

“There is no place,” said the faith curist, “too humble for the messenger of heaven to enter. I amfollowing One10 who went among the humblest and the lowliest, and was not ashamed to be foundamong publicans11 and sinners. I will come to your child, madam, and put her again under the law. Thelaw of life is health, and no one who will accept the law need be sick. I am not a physician. I do notclaim to be. I only claim to teach people how not to be sick. My fee is five dollars,12 merely to defray myexpenses, that’s all. You know the servant is worthy of his hire. And in this little bottle here I have anelixir13 which has never been known to fail in any of the things claimed for it. Since the world has gotused to taking medicine we must make some concessions to its prejudices. But this in reality is not amedicine at all. It is only a symbol. It is really liquefied prayer and faith.”

Martha did not understand anything of what he was saying. She did not try to; she did not want to. Sheonly felt a blind trust in him that filled her heart with unspeakable gladness.

Tremulous14 with excitement, she doled out her poor dollars to him, seized the precious elixir andhurried away home to Lucy, to whom she was carrying life and strength. The little one made a weakattempt to smile at her mother, but the light flickered away and died into greyness on her face.

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8. Credulity (noun): ability or willingness to believe something9. Humble (adjective): modest; having or showing a low estimate of one's own importance

10. A reference to Jesus11. In the Bible, “publicans” were tax collectors who got rich by helping the Romans oppress their people.12. At the time of this story, five dollars was a great amount of money – especially for a poor family.13. Elixir (noun): a magical or medicinal potion14. Tremulous (adjective): shaking or quivering slightly

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“Now mammy’s little gal gwine to git well fu’ sho’. Mammy done bring huh somep’n’ good.” Awed andreverent,15 she tasted the wonderful elixir before giving it to the child. It tasted very like sweetenedwater to her, but she knew that it was not, and had no doubt of its virtues.

Lucy swallowed it as she swallowed everything her mother brought to her. Poor little one! She hadnothing to buoy16 her up or to fight science with.

In the course of an hour her mother gave her the medicine again, and persuaded herself that therewas a perceptible brightening in her daughter’s face.

Mrs. Mason, Caroline’s mother, called across the hall: “How Lucy dis evenin’, Mis’ Benson?”

“Oh, I think Lucy air right peart,” Martha replied. “Come over an’ look at huh.”

Mrs. Mason came, and the mother told her about the new faith doctor and his wonderful powers.

“Why, Mis’ Mason,” she said, “’pears like I could see de change in de child de minute she swallowed datmedicine.”

Her neighbor listened in silence, but when she went back to her own room it was to shake her headand murmur: “Po’ Marfy, she jes’ ez blind ez a bat. She jes’ go ‘long, holdin’ on to dat chile wid all huhmight, an’ I see death in Lucy’s face now. Dey ain’t no faif nur prayer, nur Jack-leg doctors nuther gwineto save huh.”

But Martha needed no pity then. She was happy in her self-delusion.17

On the morrow the faith doctor came to see Lucy. She had not seemed so well that morning, even toher mother, who remained at home until the doctor arrived. He carried a conquering air, and a baggyumbrella, the latter of which he laid across the foot of the bed as he bent over the moaning child.

“Give me some brown paper,” he commanded.

Martha hastened18 to obey, and the priestly practitioner dampened it in water and laid it on Lucy’shead, all the time murmuring prayers – or were they incantations?19 – to himself. Then he placedpieces of the paper on the soles of the child’s feet and on the palms of her hands, and bound themthere.

When all this was done he knelt down and prayed aloud, ending with a peculiar version of the Lord’sprayer, supposed to have mystic effect. Martha was greatly impressed, but through it all Lucy lay andmoaned.

The faith curist rose to go. “Well, we can look to have her out in a few days. Remember, my goodwoman, much depends upon you. You must try to keep your mind in a state of belief. Are yousaved?”20

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15. Reverent (adjective): feeling or showing deep and solemn respect16. Buoy (verb): to keep (someone or something) afloat17. Self-delusion (noun): a failure to recognize or accept reality18. Hasten (verb): to hurry19. Incantation (noun): the use of words as a magic spell

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The Faith Cure Man by Paul Laurence Dunbar is in the public domain.

“Oh, yes, suh. I’m a puffessor,” said Martha, and having completed his mission, the man of prayerswent out, and Caroline again took Martha’s place at Lucy’s side.

In the next two days Martha saw, or thought she saw, a steady improvement in Lucy. According toinstructions, the brown paper was moved every day, moistened, and put back.

Martha had so far spurred21 her faith that when she went out on Saturday morning she promised tobring Lucy something good for her Christmas dinner, and a pair of shoes against the time of her goingout, and also a little doll. She brought them home that night. Caroline had grown tired and, lighting thelamp, had gone home.

“I done brung my little lady bird huh somep’n nice,” said Martha, “here’s a lil’ doll and de lil’ shoes,honey. How’s de baby feel?” Lucy did not answer.

“You sleep?” Martha went over to the bed. The little face was pinched and ashen. The hands were cold.

“Lucy! Lucy!” called the mother. “Lucy! Oh, Gawd! It ain’t true! She ain’t daid! My little one, my las’ one!”

She rushed for the elixir and brought it to the bed. The thin dead face stared back at her,unresponsive.

She sank down beside the bed, moaning.

“Daid, daid, oh, my Gawd, gi’ me back my chile! Oh, don’t I believe you enough? Oh, Lucy, Lucy, my littlelamb! I got you yo’ gif’. Oh, Lucy!”

The next day was set apart for the funeral. The Mission preacher read: “The Lord giveth and the Lordtaketh away, blessed be the name of the Lord,” and some one said “Amen!” But Martha could not echoit in her heart. Lucy was her last, her one treasured lamb.

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20. To be “saved” refers to the Christian belief that if one accepts Jesus into their heart, they are saved from damnation.21. Spur (verb): to urge; to encourage

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Text-Dependent QuestionsDirections: For the following questions, choose the best answer or respond in complete sentences.

1. PART A: Which statement best expresses one of the themes of the story?A. Everyone deals with death differently.B. Blind faith and trust do not always yield rewards.C. Proper religion is superior to mystic spirituality.D. Religion and spirituality are more powerful than medicine and science.

2. PART B: Which TWO phrases from the text best support the answer to Part A?A. “‘There is no place,’ said the faith curist, ‘too humble for the messenger of

heaven to enter.’” (Paragraph 12)B. “Martha did not understand anything of what he was saying. She did not try to;

she did not want to.” (Paragraph 13)C. “It tasted very like sweetened water to her, but she knew that it was not, and

had no doubt of its virtues.” (Paragraph 15)D. “She had nothing to buoy her up or to fight science with.” (Paragraph 16)E. “he knelt down and prayed aloud, ending with a peculiar version of the Lord’s

prayer, supposed to have mystic effect” (Paragraph 27)F. “‘Daid, daid, oh, my Gawd, gi’ me back my chile! Oh, don’t I believe you enough?’”

(Paragraph 37)

3. PART A: In paragraph 29, what does Martha mean when she says, “Oh, yes, suh. I’m apuffessor”?

A. She is an educator at a local universityB. She is a good motherC. She believes in many possibilities, both spiritual and scientificD. She proudly declares her belief in God

4. PART B: Which quotation from the text best supports the answer to part A?A. “a peculiar version of the Lord’s prayer” (Paragraph 27)B. “‘much depends upon you’” (Paragraph 28)C. “‘Are you saved?’” (Paragraph 28)D. “and some one said ‘Amen!’” (Paragraph 38)

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Name: Class:

"Barbed wire in Beirut" by Eusebius@Commons is licensed underCC BY 2.0

Once Upon a TimeBy Nadine Gordimer

1991

Nadine Gordimer is a South African writer who received the Nobel Prize for literature in 1991. This storytakes place during the end of the apartheid era in South Africa. Apartheid was an official system of racialsegregation enforced by the ruling government from 1948 to 1994. Throughout the 1990s, after decades ofoppression, many black South Africans protested against apartheid and retaliated against white SouthAfricans who had benefited from it.

Someone has written to ask me to contribute toan anthology of stories for children. I reply that Idon’t write children’s stories; and he writes backthat at a recent congress/book fair/seminar acertain novelist said every writer ought to write atleast one story for children. I think of sending apostcard saying I don’t accept that I “ought” towrite anything.

And then last night I woke up — or rather wasawakened without knowing what had roused me.

A voice in the echo-chamber of thesubconscious?1

A sound.

A creaking of the kind made by the weight carried by one foot after another along a wooden floor. Ilistened. I felt the apertures2 of my ears distend3 with concentration. Again: the creaking. I was waitingfor it; waiting to hear if it indicated that feet were moving from room to room, coming up the passage— to my door. I have no burglar bars, no gun under the pillow, but I have the same fears as peoplewho do take these precautions, and my windowpanes are thin as rime,4 could shatter like a wineglass.A woman was murdered (how do they put it) in broad daylight in a house two blocks away, last year,and the fierce dogs who guarded an old widower and his collection of antique clocks were strangledbefore he was knifed by a casual laborer he had dismissed without pay.

[1]

[5]

1. Subconscious (noun): a part of the mind we are not aware of but which we can gain access to by redirecting ourattention

2. Aperture (noun): a circular opening, often in relation to optical devices that deal with vision or photography throughlight manipulation

3. Distend (verb): to expand, swell, or inflate4. Rime is a frost formed when fog droplets freeze onto solid objects.

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I was staring at the door, making it out in my mind rather than seeing it, in the dark. I lay quite still — avictim already — the arrhythmia5 of my heart was fleeing, knocking this way and that against its body-cage. How finely tuned the senses are, just out of rest, sleep! I could never listen intently as that in thedistractions of the day, I was reading every faintest sound, identifying and classifying its possiblethreat.

But I learned that I was to be neither threatened nor spared. There was no human weight pressing onthe boards, the creaking was a buckling, an epicenter of stress. I was in it. The house that surroundsme while I sleep is built on undermined ground; far beneath my bed, the floor, the house’sfoundations, the stopes6 and passages of gold mines have hollowed the rock, and when some facetrembles, detaches and falls, three thousand feet below, the whole house shifts slightly, bringinguneasy strain to the balance and counterbalance of brick, cement, wood and glass that hold it as astructure around me. The misbeats of my heart tailed off like the last muffled flourishes on one of thewooden xylophones made by the Chopi and Tsonga7 migrant miners who might have been downthere, under me in the earth at that moment. The stope where the fall was could have been disused,dripping water from its ruptured veins; or men might now be interred8 there in the most profound oftombs.

I couldn’t find a position in which my mind would let go of my body — release me to sleep again. So Ibegan to tell myself a story, a bedtime story.

***

In a house, in a suburb, in a city, there were a man and his wife who loved each other very much andwere living happily ever after. They had a little boy, and they loved him very much. They had a cat and adog that the little boy loved very much. They had a car and a caravan trailer for holidays, and aswimming-pool which was fenced so that the little boy and his playmates would not fall in and drown.They had a housemaid who was absolutely trustworthy and an itinerant9 gardener who was highlyrecommended by the neighbors. For when they began to live happily ever after they were warned, bythat wise old witch, the husband’s mother, not to take on anyone off the street. They were inscribed10

in a medical benefit society, their pet dog was licensed, they were insured against fire, flood damageand theft, and subscribed to the local Neighborhood Watch, which supplied them with a plaque fortheir gates lettered YOU HAVE BEEN WARNED over the silhouette of a would-be intruder. He wasmasked; it could not be said if he was black or white, and therefore proved the property owner was noracist.

5. Arrhythmia (noun): any variation from the normal rhythm of the heartbeat6. A stope is a step-like excavation made in a mine to extract ore or mineral deposits.7. Chopi and Tsonga are two peoples from Mozambique, a country to the northeast of South Africa.8. Inter (verb): to place in a grave or tomb9. Itinerant (adj.): working for a short time in various places; a casual laborer

10. Inscribe (verb): to enroll or list

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It was not possible to insure the house, the swimming pool or the car against riot damage. There wereriots, but these were outside the city, where people of another color were quartered. These peoplewere not allowed into the suburb except as reliable housemaids and gardeners, so there was nothingto fear, the husband told the wife. Yet she was afraid that some day such people might come up thestreet and tear off the plaque YOU HAVE BEEN WARNED and open the gates and stream in... Nonsense,my dear, said the husband, there are police and soldiers and tear-gas and guns to keep them away.But to please her — for he loved her very much and buses were being burned, cars stoned, andschoolchildren shot by the police in those quarters out of sight and hearing of the suburb — he hadelectronically controlled gates fitted. Anyone who pulled off the sign YOU HAVE BEEN WARNED andtried to open the gates would have to announce his intentions by pressing a button and speaking intoa receiver relayed to the house. The little boy was fascinated by the device and used it as a walkie-talkiein cops and robbers play with his small friends.

The riots were suppressed, but there were many burglaries in the suburb and somebody’s trustedhousemaid was tied up and shut in a cupboard by thieves while she was in charge of her employers’house. The trusted housemaid of the man and wife and little boy was so upset by this misfortunebefalling a friend left, as she herself often was, with responsibility for the possessions of the man andhis wife and the little boy that she implored11 her employers to have burglar bars attached to the doorsand windows of the house, and an alarm system installed. The wife said, She is right, let us take heedof her advice. So from every window and door in the house where they were living happily ever afterthey now saw the trees and sky through bars, and when the little boy’s pet cat tried to climb in by thefanlight to keep him company in his little bed at night, as it customarily had done, it set off the alarmkeening12 through the house.

The alarm was often answered — it seemed — by other burglar alarms, in other houses, that had beentriggered by pet cats or nibbling mice. The alarms called to one another across the gardens in shrillsand bleats and wails that everyone soon became accustomed to, so that the din roused the inhabitantsof the suburb no more than the croak of frogs and musical grating of cicadas’ legs. Under cover of theelectronic harpies’ discourse intruders sawed the iron bars and broke into homes, taking away hi-fiequipment, television sets, cassette players, cameras and radios, jewelry and clothing, and sometimeswere hungry enough to devour everything in the refrigerator or paused audaciously13 to drink thewhiskey in the cabinets or patio bars. Insurance companies paid no compensation for single malt,14 aloss made keener by the property owner’s knowledge that the thieves wouldn’t even have been able toappreciate what it was they were drinking.

[10]

11. Implore (verb): to ask earnestly12. loudly emitting a sharp noise13. Audacious (adj.): bold, daring14. Single malt is an expensive type of liquor.

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Then the time came when many of the people who were not trusted housemaids and gardeners hungabout the suburb because they were unemployed. Some importuned15 for a job: weeding or painting aroof; anything, baas,16 madam. But the man and his wife remembered the warning about taking onanyone off the street. Some drank liquor and fouled the street with discarded bottles. Some begged,waiting for the man or his wife to drive the car out of the electronically operated gates. They sat aboutwith their feet in the gutters, under the jacaranda trees that made a green tunnel of the street—for itwas a beautiful suburb, spoilt only by their presence — and sometimes they fell asleep lying rightbefore the gates in the midday sun. The wife could never see anyone go hungry. She sent the trustedhousemaid out with bread and tea, but the trusted housemaid said these were loafers and tsotsis,17

who would come and tie her and shut her in a cupboard. The husband said, She’s right. Take heed ofher advice. You only encourage them with your bread and tea. They are looking for their chance... Andhe brought the little boy’s tricycle from the garden into the house every night, because if the house wassurely secure, once locked and with the alarm set, someone might still be able to climb over the wall orthe electronically closed gates into the garden.

You are right, said the wife, then the wall should be higher. And the wise old witch, the husband’smother, paid for the extra bricks as her Christmas present to her son and his wife — the little boy got aSpace Man outfit and a book of fairy tales.

But every week there were more reports of intrusion: in broad daylight and the dead of night, in theearly hours of the morning, and even in the lovely summer twilight — a certain family was at dinnerwhile the bedrooms were being ransacked upstairs. The man and his wife, talking of the latest armedrobbery in the suburb, were distracted by the sight of the little boy’s pet cat effortlessly arriving overthe seven-foot wall, descending first with a rapid bracing of extended forepaws down on the sheervertical surface, and then a graceful launch, landing with swishing tail within the property. Thewhitewashed wall was marked with the cat’s comings and goings; and on the street side of the wallthere were larger red-earth smudges that could have been made by the kind of broken running shoes,seen on the feet of unemployed loiterers, that had no innocent destination.

[15]

15. to ask for or do persistently16. boss17. “Tsotsi” is a South African word meaning “hooligan” or “troublemaker.”

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"Once Upon a Time" by Nadine Gordimer. Reprinted by permission of Russell & Volkening as agents for the author. Copyright © 1991 by FelixLicensing, B.V.

When the man and wife and little boy took the pet dog for its walk round the neighborhood streetsthey no longer paused to admire this show of roses or that perfect lawn; these were hidden behind anarray of different varieties of security fences, walls and devices. The man, wife, little boy and dogpassed a remarkable choice: there was the low-cost option of pieces of broken glass embedded incement along the top of walls, there were iron grilles ending in lance-points, there were attempts atreconciling the aesthetics18 of prison architecture with the Spanish Villa style (spikes painted pink) andwith the plaster urns of neoclassical19 facades (twelve-inch pikes20 finned like zigzags of lightning andpainted pure white). Some walls had a small board affixed, giving the name and telephone number ofthe firm responsible for the installation of the devices. While the little boy and the pet dog racedahead, the husband and wife found themselves comparing the possible effectiveness of each styleagainst its appearance; and after several weeks when they paused before this barricade or thatwithout needing to speak, both came out with the conclusion that only one was worth considering. Itwas the ugliest but the most honest in its suggestion of the pure concentration-camp style, no frills, allevident efficacy.21 Placed the length of walls, it consisted of a continuous coil of stiff and shining metalserrated into jagged blades, so that there would be no way of climbing over it and no way through itstunnel without getting entangled in its fangs. There would be no way out, only a struggle gettingbloodier and bloodier, a deeper and sharper hooking and tearing of flesh. The wife shuddered to lookat it. You’re right, said the husband, anyone would think twice... And they took heed of the advice on asmall board fixed to the wall: Consult DRAGON’S TEETH The People For Total Security.

Next day a gang of workmen came and stretched the razor-bladed coils all round the walls of thehouse where the husband and wife and little boy and pet dog and cat were living happily ever after.The sunlight flashed and slashed, off the serrations, the cornice of razor thorns encircled the home,shining. The husband said, Never mind. It will weather. The wife said, You’re wrong. They guarantee it’srust-proof. And she waited until the little boy had run off to play before she said, I hope the cat willtake heed… The husband said, Don’t worry, my dear, cats always look before they leap. And it was truethat from that day on the cat slept in the little boy’s bed and kept to the garden, never risking a try atbreaching security.

One evening, the mother read the little boy to sleep with a fairy story from the book the wise old witchhad given him at Christmas. Next day he pretended to be the Prince who braves the terrible thicket ofthorns to enter the palace and kiss the Sleeping Beauty back to life: he dragged a ladder to the wall, theshining coiled tunnel was just wide enough for his little body to creep in, and with the first fixing of itsrazor-teeth in his knees and hands and head he screamed and struggled deeper into its tangle. Thetrusted housemaid and the itinerant gardener, whose “day” it was, came running, the first to see and toscream with him, and the itinerant gardener tore his hands trying to get at the little boy. Then the manand his wife burst wildly into the garden and for some reason (the cat, probably) the alarm set upwailing against the screams while the bleeding mass of the little boy was hacked out of the security coilwith saws, wire-cutters, choppers, and they carried it — the man, the wife, the hysterical trustedhousemaid and the weeping gardener — into the house.

18. Aesthetic (noun): style particular to a person, group, or culture19. Neoclassical (adj.): relating to the late 18th- and early 19th- century style in architecture and art based on imitations

of surviving classical (often ancient Hellenic/Greek or Roman) models20. Pikes are medieval weapons resembling spikes.21. Efficacy (noun): the ability to produce a desired or intended result

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Text-Dependent QuestionsDirections: For the following questions, choose the best answer or respond in complete sentences.

1. PART A: What does the phrase “pure concentration-camp style” suggest about the wall inparagraph 16?

A. The wall will lead to a violent and inhumane result.B. No one can get past the wall under any circumstances.C. The South Africans borrowed the idea of the wall from the Germans in WWII.D. The wall is intended to injure and destroy the most innocent and weak

individuals.

2. PART B: Which phrase best supports the answer to Part A?A. “And they took heed of the advice on a small board fixed to the wall: Consult

DRAGON’S TEETH The People For Total Security” (Paragraph 16)B. “There would be no way out, only a struggle getting bloodier and bloodier, a

deeper and sharper hooking and tearing of flesh” (Paragraph 16)C. “Next day a gang of workmen came and stretched the razor-bladed coils all

round the walls of the house.” (Paragraph 17)D. “The sunlight flashed and slashed, off the serrations, the cornice of razor thorns

encircled the home, shining.” (Paragraph 17)

3. Which statement best identifies a theme of the story?A. Fear and paranoia can only be useful if contained to safe levels, otherwise they

can lead to hurting other people.B. Though families act with best intentions, fear can drive individuals to hurt the

people they intend to protect.C. Families can remain loyal to each other despite all of the adversity that they face

in the outside world.D. Families can never truly protect the people that they love from the cruelty of the

world.

4. PART A: How is the narrator’s introduction in paragraphs 1-8 important to the passage as awhole?

A. The narrator’s introduction introduces the setting and contrasts the innocenceof children’s books and bedtime stories with the tragedy that can result fromfear.

B. The narrator’s introduction normalizes fear, but foreshadows that individualscan overreact to fear through the metaphor of bedtime stories.

C. The narrator’s introduction reveals the narrator’s role in the story and describesthe character’s motivations for the rest of the story.

D. The narrator’s introduction explains the theme of children’s stories and how itwill influence the rest of the plot.

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5. PART B: Which TWO sentences from the story’s introduction best support your answer toPart A?

A. “I reply that I don’t write children’s stories” (Paragraph 1)B. “And then last night I woke up — or rather was awakened without knowing what

had roused me.” (Paragraph 2)C. “A voice in the echo-chamber of the subconscious?” (Paragraph 3)D. “I have no burglar bars, no gun under the pillow, but I have the same fears as

people who do take these precautions” (Paragraph 5)E. “I learned that I was to be neither threatened nor spared.” (Paragraph 7)F. “I couldn’t find a position in which my mind would let go of my body — release

me to sleep again. So I began to tell myself a story, a bedtime story.” (Paragraph8)

6. Provide evidence from the text that shows that the family is white. What is the effect of theauthor never explicitly stating the family's race?

7. How is the vivid imagery in the last scene of the story important to the development of thestory’s themes?

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Name: Class: Date:

Pairing Questions for "The Faith Cure Man" and "The LastLeaf"

Directions: After reading the texts, choose the best answer for the multiple-choice questions below and respond tothe writing questions in complete sentences.

A. Both paragraphs illustrate how the protagonists have faith in God.B. Both paragraphs illustrate how the protagonists feel about the situations

they are in.C. Both paragraphs reveal the central theme within the stories.D. Both paragraphs foreshadow how the story will end.

1. How do Paragraph 3 in “The Faith Cure Man” and Paragraph 22 in “The Last Leaf”contribute to the meaning of those stories in similar ways? [RL.5, RL.9]

2. How does faith play a different role in the “Faith Cure Man” and “The Last Leaf”? [RL.9]

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Name: Class:

"Wings" by Andrea Kirkby is licensed under CC BY-NC 2.0.

A Very Old Man with Enormous WingsBy Gabriel García Márquez

1972

Gabriel García Márquez (1927-2014) was a Columbian novelist, short-story writer, screenwriter, andjournalist. He is considered one of the most influential writers of the 20th century and received the 1982Nobel Prize in Literature. In this short story, an old man with wings disturbs a quiet town after crashing intoa family’s yard. As you read, take notes on the reactions of the people who see the old man with enormouswings.

On the third day of rain they had killed so manycrabs inside the house that Pelayo had to crosshis drenched courtyard and throw them into thesea, because the newborn child had atemperature all night and they thought it was dueto the stench. The world had been sad sinceTuesday. Sea and sky were a single ash-gray thingand the sands of the beach, which on Marchnights glimmered like powdered light, hadbecome a stew of mud and rotten shellfish. Thelight was so weak at noon that when Pelayo wascoming back to the house after throwing awaythe crabs, it was hard for him to see what it wasthat was moving and groaning in the rear of thecourtyard. He had to go very close to see that itwas an old man, a very old man, lying face down in the mud, who, in spite of his tremendous efforts,couldn’t get up, impeded by his enormous wings.

Frightened by that nightmare, Pelayo ran to get Elisenda, his wife, who was putting compresses on thesick child, and he took her to the rear of the courtyard. They both looked at the fallen body with a mutestupor.1 He was dressed like a ragpicker.2 There were only a few faded hairs left on his bald skull andvery few teeth in his mouth, and his pitiful condition of a drenched great-grandfather took away anysense of grandeur he might have had. His huge buzzard wings, dirty and half-plucked, were foreverentangled in the mud. They looked at him so long and so closely that Pelayo and Elisenda very soonovercame their surprise and in the end found him familiar. Then they dared speak to him, and heanswered in an incomprehensible dialect with a strong sailor’s voice. That was how they skipped overthe inconvenience of the wings and quite intelligently concluded that he was a lonely castaway fromsome foreign ship wrecked by the storm. And yet, they called in a neighbor woman who kneweverything about life and death to see him, and all she needed was one look to show them theirmistake.

“He’s an angel,” she told them. “He must have been coming for the child, but the poor fellow is so oldthat the rain knocked him down.”

[1]

1. Stupor (noun): a state of near-unconsciousness or insensibility2. a person who picks up rags and other waste material on the streets for a livelihood

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On the following day everyone knew that a flesh-and-blood angel was held captive in Pelayo’s house.Against the judgment of the wise neighbor woman, for whom angels in those times were the fugitive3

survivors of a celestial conspiracy, they did not have the heart to club him to death. Pelayo watchedover him all afternoon from the kitchen, armed with his bailiff’s4 club, and before going to bed hedragged him out of the mud and locked him up with the hens in the wire chicken coop. In the middle ofthe night, when the rain stopped, Pelayo and Elisenda were still killing crabs. A short time afterward thechild woke up without a fever and with a desire to eat. Then they felt magnanimous5 and decided toput the angel on a raft with fresh water and provisions for three days and leave him to his fate on thehigh seas. But when they went out into the courtyard with the first light of dawn, they found the wholeneighborhood in front of the chicken coop having fun with the angel, without the slightest reverence,tossing him things to eat through the openings in the wire as if he weren’t a supernatural creature buta circus animal.

Father Gonzaga arrived before seven o’clock, alarmed at the strange news. By that time onlookers lessfrivolous than those at dawn had already arrived and they were making all kinds of conjecturesconcerning the captive’s future. The simplest among them thought that he should be named mayor ofthe world. Others of sterner mind felt that he should be promoted to the rank of five-star general inorder to win all wars. Some visionaries hoped that he could be put to stud6 in order to implant theearth a race of winged wise men who could take charge of the universe. But Father Gonzaga, beforebecoming a priest, had been a robust woodcutter. Standing by the wire, he reviewed his catechism7 inan instant and asked them to open the door so that he could take a close look at that pitiful man wholooked more like a huge decrepit8 hen among the fascinated chickens. He was lying in the cornerdrying his open wings in the sunlight among the fruit peels and breakfast leftovers that the early risershad thrown him. Alien to the impertinences9 of the world, he only lifted his antiquarian10 eyes andmurmured something in his dialect when Father Gonzaga went into the chicken coop and said goodmorning to him in Latin. The parish priest had his first suspicion of an imposter when he saw that hedid not understand the language of God or know how to greet His ministers. Then he noticed that seenclose up he was much too human: he had an unbearable smell of the outdoors, the back side of hiswings was strewn with parasites and his main feathers had been mistreated by terrestrial winds, andnothing about him measured up to the proud dignity of angels. Then he came out of the chicken coopand in a brief sermon warned the curious against the risks of being ingenuous.11 He reminded themthat the devil had the bad habit of making use of carnival tricks in order to confuse the unwary. Heargued that if wings were not the essential element in determining the different between a hawk andan airplane, they were even less so in the recognition of angels. Nevertheless, he promised to write aletter to his bishop so that the latter would write his primate12 so that the latter would write to theSupreme Pontiff13 in order to get the final verdict from the highest courts.

[5]

3. a person who has escaped from a place or is in hiding4. an officer5. Magnanimous (adjective): very generous or forgiving6. being bred for offspring7. a summary of the principles of Christian religion in the form of questions and answers, used to instruct Christians8. Decrepit (adjective): worn out or ruined because of age or neglect9. Impertinence (noun): lack of respect; rudeness

10. relating to or dealing in antiques11. Ingenuous (adjective): innocent and unsuspecting12. the chief bishop or archbishop of a province13. the highest college of priests

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His prudence14 fell on sterile15 hearts. The news of the captive angel spread with such rapidity thatafter a few hours the courtyard had the bustle of a marketplace and they had to call in troops withfixed bayonets to disperse the mob that was about to knock the house down. Elisenda, her spine alltwisted from sweeping up so much marketplace trash, then got the idea of fencing in the yard andcharging five cents admission to see the angel.

The curious came from far away. A traveling carnival arrived with a flying acrobat who buzzed over thecrowd several times, but no one paid any attention to him because his wings were not those of anangel but, rather, those of a sidereal16 bat. The most unfortunate invalids on earth came in search ofhealth: a poor woman who since childhood has been counting her heartbeats and had run out ofnumbers; a Portuguese man who couldn’t sleep because the noise of the stars disturbed him; asleepwalker who got up at night to undo the things he had done while awake; and many others withless serious ailments. In the midst of that shipwreck disorder that made the earth tremble, Pelayo andElisenda were happy with fatigue, for in less than a week they had crammed their rooms with moneyand the line of pilgrims waiting their turn to enter still reached beyond the horizon.

The angel was the only one who took no part in his own act. He spent his time trying to getcomfortable in his borrowed nest, befuddled by the hellish heat of the oil lamps and sacramental17

candles that had been placed along the wire. At first they tried to make him eat some mothballs, which,according to the wisdom of the wise neighbor woman, were the food prescribed for angels. But heturned them down, just as he turned down the papal18 lunches that the penitents19 brought him, andthey never found out whether it was because he was an angel or because he was an old man that inthe end ate nothing but eggplant mush. His only supernatural virtue seemed to be patience. Especiallyduring the first days, when the hens pecked at him, searching for the stellar parasites that proliferatedin his wings, and the cripples pulled out feathers to touch their defective parts with, and even the mostmerciful threw stones at him, trying to get him to rise so they could see him standing. The only timethey succeeded in arousing him was when they burned his side with an iron for branding steers, for hehad been motionless for so many hours that they thought he was dead. He awoke with a start, rantingin his hermetic20 language and with tears in his eyes, and he flapped his wings a couple of times, whichbrought on a whirlwind of chicken dung and lunar dust and a gale21 of panic that did not seem to be ofthis world. Although many thought that his reaction had not been one of rage but of pain, from thenon they were careful not to annoy him, because the majority understood that his passivity was not thatof a hero taking his ease but that of a cataclysm in repose.

Father Gonzaga held back the crowd’s frivolity with formulas of maidservant inspiration while awaitingthe arrival of a final judgment on the nature of the captive. But the mail from Rome showed no senseof urgency. They spent their time finding out if the prisoner had a navel, if his dialect had anyconnection with Aramaic, how many times he could fit on the head of a pin, or whether he wasn’t just aNorwegian with wings. Those meager letters might have come and gone until the end of time if aprovidential22 event had not put an end to the priest’s tribulations.

14. Prudence (noun): cautiousness15. Sterile (adjective): lacking in stimulating emotional or intellectual quality16. coming from the stars17. relating to a religious ceremony or act of the Christian Church that is regarded as a visible sign of spiritual divine

grace18. relating to a pope or the Roman Catholic Church19. a person who confesses sin and submits to a penance20. relating to the mystical21. Gale (noun): a noisy outburst22. Providential (adjective): occurring at a favorable time

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It so happened that during those days, among so many other carnival attractions, there arrived in thetown the traveling show of the woman who had been changed into a spider for having disobeyed herparents. The admission to see her was not only less than the admission to see the angel, but peoplewere permitted to ask her all manner of questions about her absurd state and to examine her up anddown so that no one would ever doubt the truth of her horror. She was a frightful tarantula the size ofa ram and with the head of a sad maiden. What was most heartrending, however, was not heroutlandish shape but the sincere affliction with which she recounted the details of her misfortune.While still practically a child she had sneaked out of her parents’ house to go to a dance, and while shewas coming back through the woods after having danced all night without permission, a fearfulthunderclap rent the sky in two and through the crack came the lightning bolt of brimstone thatchanged her into a spider. Her only nourishment came from the meatballs that charitable souls choseto toss into her mouth. A spectacle like that, full of so much human truth and with such a fearfullesson, was bound to defeat without even trying that of a haughty angel who scarcely deigned to lookat mortals. Besides, the few miracles attributed to the angel showed a certain mental disorder, like theblind man who didn’t recover his sight but grew three new teeth, or the paralytic who didn’t get to walkbut almost won the lottery, and the leper whose sores sprouted sunflowers. Those consolationmiracles, which were more like mocking fun, had already ruined the angel’s reputation when thewoman who had been changed into a spider finally crushed him completely. That was how FatherGonzaga was cured forever of his insomnia and Pelayo’s courtyard went back to being as empty asduring the time it had rained for three days and crabs walked through the bedrooms.

The owners of the house had no reason to lament. With the money they saved they built a two-storymansion with balconies and gardens and high netting so that crabs wouldn’t get in during the winter,and with iron bars on the windows so that angels wouldn’t get in. Pelayo also set up a rabbit warren23

close to town and gave up his job as a bailiff for good, and Elisenda bought some satin pumps withhigh heels and many dresses of iridescent silk, the kind worn on Sunday by the most desirable womenin those times. The chicken coop was the only thing that didn’t receive any attention. If they washed itdown with creolin24 and burned tears of myrrh25 inside it every so often, it was not in homage to theangel but to drive away the dungheap stench that still hung everywhere like a ghost and was turningthe new house into an old one. At first, when the child learned to walk, they were careful that he notget too close to the chicken coop. But then they began to lose their fears and got used to the smell,and before the child got his second teeth he’d gone inside the chicken coop to play, where the wireswere falling apart. The angel was no less standoffish with him than with the other mortals, but hetolerated the most ingenious infamies with the patience of a dog who had no illusions. They both camedown with the chicken pox at the same time. The doctor who took care of the child couldn’t resist thetemptation to listen to the angel’s heart, and he found so much whistling in the heart and so manysounds in his kidneys that it seemed impossible for him to be alive. What surprised him most,however, was the logic of his wings. They seemed so natural on that completely human organism thathe couldn’t understand why other men didn’t have them too.

[10]

23. an enclosed piece of land for breeding rabbits24. a disinfectant25. a natural resin extracted from thorny trees and mentioned in the Old Testament

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Gabriel García Márquez “Un señor muy viejo con unas alas enormes”, La increíble y triste historia de la cándida Eréndira y su abueladesalmada © Gabriel García Márquez, 1972 and Heirs of Gabriel García Márquez

When the child began school it had been some time since the sun and rain had caused the collapse ofthe chicken coop. The angel went dragging himself about here and there like a stray dying man. Theywould drive him out of the bedroom with a broom and a moment later find him in the kitchen. Heseemed to be in so many places at the same time that they grew to think that he’d be duplicated, thathe was reproducing himself all through the house, and the exasperated and unhinged Elisendashouted that it was awful living in that hell full of angels. He could scarcely eat and his antiquarian eyeshad also become so foggy that he went about bumping into posts. All he had left were the barecannulae26 of his last feathers. Pelayo threw a blanket over him and extended him the charity of lettinghim sleep in the shed, and only then did they notice that he had a temperature at night, and wasdelirious with the tongue twisters of an old Norwegian. That was one of the few times they becamealarmed, for they thought he was going to die and not even the wise neighbor woman had been ableto tell them what to do with dead angels.

And yet he not only survived his worst winter, but seemed improved with the first sunny days. Heremained motionless for several days in the farthest corner of the courtyard, where no one would seehim, and at the beginning of December some large, stiff feathers began to grow on his wings, thefeathers of a scarecrow, which looked more like another misfortune of decreptitude.27 But he musthave known the reason for those changes, for he was quite careful that no one should notice them,that no one should hear the sea chanteys28 that he sometimes sang under the stars. One morningElisenda was cutting some bunches of onions for lunch when a wind that seemed to come from thehigh seas blew into the kitchen. Then she went to the window and caught the angel in his first attemptsat flight. They were so clumsy that his fingernails opened a furrow29 in the vegetable patch and he wason the point of knocking the shed down with the ungainly flapping that slipped on the light andcouldn’t get a grip on the air. But he did manage to gain altitude. Elisenda let out a sigh of relief, forherself and for him, when she watched him pass over the last houses, holding himself up in some waywith the risky flapping of a senile30 vulture. She kept watching him even when she was through cuttingthe onions and she kept on watching until it was no longer possible for her to see him, because thenhe was no longer an annoyance in her life but an imaginary dot on the horizon of the sea.

26. Cannulae are the tubular pieces that attach feathers to the animal’s body.27. Decrepitude (noun): the state of being old and in bad condition or poor health28. a sailor’s song29. a narrow trench30. Senile (adjective): having or showing the weaknesses of old age

5

[RL.2]

[RL.1]

[RL.4]

[RL.5]

Text-Dependent QuestionsDirections: For the following questions, choose the best answer or respond in complete sentences.

1. PART A: Which statement best identifies theme of the text?A. People seek to rationalize the unexplainable in ways that serve their self-

interest.B. People are able to form strong connections with others in their community

during hard times.C. Humans constantly take advantage of and abuse the environment around them,

as well as its creatures.D. Sometimes people are not held accountable for their hurtful actions, but rather

go on to prosper from them.

2. PART B: Which detail from the text best supports the answers to Part A?A. “By that time onlookers less frivolous than those at dawn had already arrived

and they were making all kinds of conjectures concerning the captive’s future.”(Paragraph 5)

B. “With the money they saved they built a two-story mansion with balconies andgardens and high netting so that crabs wouldn’t get in during the winter, andwith iron bars on the windows so that angels wouldn’t get in.” (Paragraph 11)

C. “That was one of the few times they became alarmed, for they thought he wasgoing to die and not even the wise neighbor woman had been able to tell themwhat to do with dead angels.” (Paragraph 12)

D. “And yet he not only survived his worst winter, but seemed improved with thefirst sunny days.” (Paragraph 13)

3. Re-read paragraph 4. How does the language in paragraph 4 contribute to the toneof the story?

A. The joyful words used to describe the healing of the child create a hopeful tone.B. The straightforward, objective descriptions of the events and characters’ feelings

create a removed, neutral tone.C. The choppy sentences and many clauses develop an urgent and insistent tone.D. The bleak descriptions of the setting convey the desperation of the family and

create a hopeless tone.

4. PART A: Reread the conclusion of the story. How does the author’s portrayal of theold man departing contribute to the meaning of the text?

A. The ending shows how even sympathetic reactions are rooted in selfishness.B. People have the ability to shape their future, if they’re willing to do what it takes.C. Although some people believe they can control their fate, it will go away and

leave them alone.D. While people may believe they can outsmart death, it will always be one step

ahead of them.

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[RL.1]

[RL.3]

[RL.3]

5. PART B: Which quote from paragraph 13 best supports the answer to Part A?A. “But he must have known the reason for those changes, for he was quite careful

that no one should notice them”B. “Elisenda let out a sigh of relief, for herself and for him, when she watched him

pass over the last houses, holding himself up in some way with the riskyflapping of a senile vulture.”

C. “Then she went to the window and caught the angel in his first attempts at flight.They were so clumsy that his fingernails opened a furrow in the vegetable patchand he was on the point of knocking the shed down with the ungainly flappingthat slipped on the light and couldn’t get a grip on the air.”

D. “She kept watching him even when she was through cutting the onions and shekept on watching until it was no longer possible for her to see him, because thenhe was no longer an annoyance in her life but an imaginary dot on the horizonof the sea.”

6. How does the text develop the character of the old man, and how does thischaracterization contribute to the meaning of the story as a whole?

7. How does the way people treat the old man change over the course of the story andhow does this develop the theme?

7

Name: Class: Date:

Pairing Questions for "Once Upon a Time" and "A Very OldMan with Enormous Wings"

Directions: After reading the texts, choose the best answer for the multiple-choice questions below and respond tothe writing questions in complete sentences.

A. It causes the characters in the stories to act on behalf of others.B. It causes the characters to act in response to an imminent threat.C. It causes the characters in the stories to act in their own self-interest.D. It causes the characters in the stories to seek help from others.

1. How does fear contribute to the themes in “Once Upon A Time” and “A Very Old Man WithEnormous Wings”? [RL.2, RL.9]

2. How is the theme of fear developed in “Once Upon A Time” and “A Very Old Man WithEnormous Wings”? [RL.2, RL.9]

1

Name: Class:

"A Hunter In The Dunes" by Max Liebermann is in the publicdomain.

The Most Dangerous GameBy Richard Connell

1924

Richard Connell (1893-1949) was an American author and journalist. This short story, which is his mostfamous, is an action-adventure tale inspired partly by the big-game safari tours in Africa and South Americathat were popular in the 1920s. This tale was also influenced by Connell’s experience in World War I, whichmay have contributed to the story’s message. As you read this story, take note of the devices the author usesto build suspense.

“Off there to the right — somewhere — is a largeisland,” said Whitney. “It’s rather a mystery — ”

“What island is it?” Rainsford asked.

“The old charts call it ‘Ship-Trap Island,’” Whitneyreplied. “A suggestive name, isn’t it? Sailors have acurious dread of the place. I don’t know why.Some superstition — ”

“Can’t see it,” remarked Rainsford, trying to peerthrough the dank tropical night that waspalpable1 as it pressed its thick warm blacknessin upon the yacht.

“You’ve good eyes,” said Whitney, with a laugh,“and I’ve seen you pick off a moose moving in thebrown fall bush at four hundred yards, but evenyou can’t see four miles or so through a moonlessCaribbean night.”

“Nor four yards,” admitted Rainsford. “Ugh! It’slike moist black velvet.”

“It will be light in Rio,” promised Whitney. “We should make it in a few days. I hope the jaguar guns havecome from Purdey’s. We should have some good hunting up the Amazon. Great sport, hunting.”

“The best sport in the world,” agreed Rainsford.

“For the hunter,” amended Whitney. “Not for the jaguar.”

“Don’t talk rot, Whitney,” said Rainsford. “You’re a big-game2 hunter, not a philosopher. Who cares howa jaguar feels?”

[1]

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1. Palpable (adjective): easily noticed or perceptible2. “Game” refers to wild animals or birds that are hunted for sport and sometimes cooked and eaten.

1

“Perhaps the jaguar does,” observed Whitney.

“Bah! They’ve no understanding.”

“Even so, I rather think they understand one thing — fear. The fear of pain and the fear of death.”

“Nonsense,” laughed Rainsford. “This hot weather is making you soft, Whitney. Be a realist. The world ismade up of two classes — the hunters and the huntees. Luckily, you and I are the hunters. Do youthink we’ve passed that island yet?”

“I can’t tell in the dark. I hope so.”

“Why?” asked Rainsford.

“The place has a reputation — a bad one.”

“Cannibals?” suggested Rainsford.

“Hardly. Even cannibals wouldn’t live in such a godforsaken place. But it’s gotten into sailor lore,somehow. Didn’t you notice that the crew’s nerves seemed a bit jumpy today?”

“They were a bit strange, now you mention it. Even Captain Nielsen — ”

“Yes, even that tough-minded old Swede, who’d go up to the devil himself and ask him for a light.Those fishy blue eyes held a look I never saw there before. All I could get out of him was: `This placehas an evil name among seafaring men, sir.’ Then he said to me, very gravely: `Don’t you feelanything?’ — as if the air about us was actually poisonous. Now, you mustn’t laugh when I tell you this— I did feel something like a sudden chill.

“There was no breeze. The sea was as flat as a plate-glass window. We were drawing near the islandthen. What I felt was a — a mental chill; a sort of sudden dread.”

“Pure imagination,” said Rainsford. “One superstitious sailor can taint the whole ship’s company withhis fear.”

“Maybe. But sometimes I think sailors have an extra sense that tells them when they are in danger.Sometimes I think evil is a tangible3 thing — with wavelengths, just as sound and light have. An evilplace can, so to speak, broadcast vibrations of evil. Anyhow, I’m glad we’re getting out of this zone.Well, I think I’ll turn in now, Rainsford.”

“I’m not sleepy,” said Rainsford. “I’m going to smoke another pipe up on the afterdeck.”

“Good night, then, Rainsford. See you at breakfast.”

“Right. Good night, Whitney.”

[15]

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3. Tangible (adjective): capable of being touched

2

There was no sound in the night as Rainsford sat there but the muffled throb of the engine that drovethe yacht swiftly through the darkness, and the swish and ripple of the wash of the propeller.

Rainsford, reclining in a steamer chair, indolently4 puffed on his favorite brier.5 The sensuous6

drowsiness of the night was on him.” It’s so dark,” he thought, “that I could sleep without closing myeyes; the night would be my eyelids — ”

An abrupt sound startled him. Off to the right he heard it, and his ears, expert in such matters, couldnot be mistaken. Again he heard the sound, and again. Somewhere, off in the blackness, someone hadfired a gun three times.

Rainsford sprang up and moved quickly to the rail, mystified. He strained his eyes in the direction fromwhich the reports had come, but it was like trying to see through a blanket. He leaped upon the railand balanced himself there, to get greater elevation; his pipe, striking a rope, was knocked from hismouth. He lunged for it; a short, hoarse cry came from his lips as he realized he had reached too farand had lost his balance. The cry was pinched off short as the blood-warm waters of the Caribbean Seaclosed over his head.

He struggled up to the surface and tried to cry out, but the wash from the speeding yacht slapped himin the face and the salt water in his open mouth made him gag and strangle. Desperately he struck outwith strong strokes after the receding lights of the yacht, but he stopped before he had swum fifty feet.A certain coolheadedness had come to him; it was not the first time he had been in a tight place. Therewas a chance that his cries could be heard by someone aboard the yacht, but that chance was slenderand grew more slender as the yacht raced on. He wrestled himself out of his clothes and shouted withall his power. The lights of the yacht became faint and ever-vanishing fireflies; then they were blottedout entirely by the night.

Rainsford remembered the shots. They had come from the right, and doggedly7 he swam in thatdirection, swimming with slow, deliberate strokes, conserving his strength. For a seemingly endlesstime he fought the sea. He began to count his strokes; he could do possibly a hundred more and then—

Rainsford heard a sound. It came out of the darkness, a high screaming sound, the sound of an animalin an extremity of anguish8 and terror.

He did not recognize the animal that made the sound; he did not try to; with fresh vitality9 he swamtoward the sound. He heard it again; then it was cut short by another noise, crisp, staccato.10

“Pistol shot,” muttered Rainsford, swimming on.

[30]

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4. Indolently (adverb): lazily5. a tobacco pipe6. pleasing to the senses7. Dogged (adjective): stubbornly determined8. Anguish (noun): severe emotional or physical pain9. Vitality (noun): great energy and liveliness

10. Staccato describes a series of sounds that are short and separate.

3

10 minutes of determined effort brought another sound to his ears — the most welcome he had everheard — the muttering and growling of the sea breaking on a rocky shore. He was almost on the rocksbefore he saw them; on a night less calm he would have been shattered against them. With hisremaining strength he dragged himself from the swirling waters. Jagged crags appeared to jut up intothe opaqueness;11 he forced himself upward, hand over hand. Gasping, his hands raw, he reached aflat place at the top. Dense jungle came down to the very edge of the cliffs. What perils that tangle oftrees and underbrush might hold for him did not concern Rainsford just then. All he knew was that hewas safe from his enemy, the sea, and that utter weariness was on him. He flung himself down at thejungle edge and tumbled headlong into the deepest sleep of his life.

When he opened his eyes he knew from the position of the sun that it was late in the afternoon. Sleephad given him new vigor;12 a sharp hunger was picking at him. He looked about him, almost cheerfully.

“Where there are pistol shots, there are men. Where there are men, there is food,” he thought. Butwhat kind of men, he wondered, in so forbidding a place? An unbroken front of snarled and raggedjungle fringed the shore.

He saw no sign of a trail through the closely knit web of weeds and trees; it was easier to go along theshore, and Rainsford floundered along by the water. Not far from where he landed, he stopped.

Some wounded thing, by the evidence, a large animal, had thrashed about in the underbrush; thejungle weeds were crushed down and the moss was lacerated;13 one patch of weeds was stainedcrimson. A small, glittering object not far away caught Rainsford’s eye and he picked it up. It was anempty cartridge.

“A 22,”14 he remarked. “That’s odd. It must have been a fairly large animal too. The hunter had hisnerve with him to tackle it with a light gun. It’s clear that the brute put up a fight. I suppose the firstthree shots I heard was when the hunter flushed his quarry and wounded it. The last shot was when hetrailed it here and finished it.”

He examined the ground closely and found what he had hoped to find — the print of hunting boots.They pointed along the cliff in the direction he had been going. Eagerly he hurried along, now slippingon a rotten log or a loose stone, but making headway; night was beginning to settle down on theisland.

Bleak darkness was blacking out the sea and jungle when Rainsford sighted the lights. He came uponthem as he turned a crook in the coastline; and his first thought was that he had come upon a village,for there were many lights. But as he forged along he saw to his great astonishment that all the lightswere in one enormous building — a lofty structure with pointed towers plunging upward into thegloom. His eyes made out the shadowy outlines of a palatial15 chateau;16 it was set on a high bluff, andon three sides of it cliffs dived down to where the sea licked greedy lips in the shadows.

[40]

11. the opposite of transparency; something you can’t see through12. Vigor (noun): energy and enthusiasm13. Lacerate (verb): to cut14. a type of bullet15. palace-like16. a castle-like manor house

4

“Mirage,” thought Rainsford. But it was no mirage, he found, when he opened the tall spiked iron gate.The stone steps were real enough; the massive door with a leering gargoyle for a knocker was realenough; yet about it all hung an air of unreality.

He lifted the knocker, and it creaked up stiffly, as if it had never before been used. He let it fall, and itstartled him with its booming loudness. He thought he heard steps within; the door remained closed.Again Rainsford lifted the heavy knocker and let it fall. The door opened then — opened as suddenly asif it were on a spring — and Rainsford stood blinking in the river of glaring gold light that poured out.The first thing Rainsford’s eyes discerned was the largest man Rainsford had ever seen — a giganticcreature, solidly made and black-bearded to the waist. In his hand the man held a long-barreledrevolver, and he was pointing it straight at Rainsford’s heart.

Out of the snarl of beard two small eyes regarded Rainsford.

“Don’t be alarmed,” said Rainsford, with a smile which he hoped was disarming. “I’m no robber. I fell offa yacht. My name is Sanger Rainsford of New York City.”

The menacing look in the eyes did not change. The revolver pointing as rigidly as if the giant were astatue. He gave no sign that he understood Rainsford’s words, or that he had even heard them. He wasdressed in uniform — a black uniform trimmed with gray astrakhan.17

“I’m Sanger Rainsford of New York,” Rainsford began again. “I fell off a yacht. I am hungry.”

The man’s only answer was to raise with his thumb the hammer of his revolver. Then Rainsford sawthe man’s free hand go to his forehead in a military salute, and he saw him click his heels together andstand at attention. Another man was coming down the broad marble steps, an erect, slender man inevening clothes. He advanced to Rainsford and held out his hand.

In a cultivated voice marked by a slight accent that gave it added precision and deliberateness, he said,“It is a very great pleasure and honor to welcome Mr. Sanger Rainsford, the celebrated hunter, to myhome.”

Automatically Rainsford shook the man’s hand.

“I’ve read your book about hunting snow leopards in Tibet, you see,” explained the man. “I am GeneralZaroff.”

Rainsford’s first impression was that the man was singularly handsome; his second was that there wasan original, almost bizarre quality about the general’s face. He was a tall man past middle age, for hishair was a vivid18 white; but his thick eyebrows and pointed military mustache were as black as thenight from which Rainsford had come. His eyes, too, were black and very bright. He had highcheekbones, a sharp-cut nose, a spare, dark face — the face of a man used to giving orders, the face ofan aristocrat.

Turning to the giant in uniform, the general made a sign. The giant put away his pistol, saluted,withdrew.

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17. Astrakhan is grey or black curly fur made from lamb skin.18. Vivid (adjective): intensely bright

5

“Ivan is an incredibly strong fellow,” remarked the general, “but he has the misfortune to be deaf anddumb. A simple fellow, but, I’m afraid, like all his race, a bit of a savage.”

“Is he Russian?”

“He is a Cossack,”19 said the general, and his smile showed red lips and pointed teeth. “So am I.”

“Come,” he said, “we shouldn’t be chatting here. We can talk later. Now you want clothes, food, rest.You shall have them. This is a most restful spot.”

Ivan had reappeared, and the general spoke to him with lips that moved but gave forth no sound.

“Follow Ivan, if you please, Mr. Rainsford,” said the general. “I was about to have my dinner when youcame. I’ll wait for you. You’ll find that my clothes will fit you, I think.”

It was to a huge, beam-ceilinged bedroom with a canopied bed big enough for six men that Rainsfordfollowed the silent giant. Ivan laid out an evening suit, and Rainsford, as he put it on, noticed that itcame from a London tailor who ordinarily cut and sewed for none below the rank of duke.

The dining room to which Ivan conducted him was in many ways remarkable. There was a medievalmagnificence about it; it suggested a baronial hall of feudal times with its oaken panels, its high ceiling,its vast refectory tables where twoscore20 men could sit down to eat. About the hall were mountedheads of many animals — lions, tigers, elephants, moose, bears; larger or more perfect specimensRainsford had never seen. At the great table the general was sitting, alone.

“You’ll have a cocktail, Mr. Rainsford,” he suggested. The cocktail was surpassingly good; and, Rainsfordnoted, the table appointments were of the finest — the linen, the crystal, the silver, the china.

They were eating borsch, the rich, red soup with whipped cream so dear to Russian palates. Halfapologetically General Zaroff said, “We do our best to preserve the amenities21 of civilization here.Please forgive any lapses. We are well off the beaten track, you know. Do you think the champagne hassuffered from its long ocean trip?”

“Not in the least,” declared Rainsford. He was finding the general a most thoughtful and affable22 host,a true cosmopolite. But there was one small trait of the general’s that made Rainsford uncomfortable.Whenever he looked up from his plate he found the general studying him, appraising him narrowly.

“Perhaps,” said General Zaroff, “you were surprised that I recognized your name. You see, I read allbooks on hunting published in English, French, and Russian. I have but one passion in my life, Mr.Rainsford, and it is the hunt.”

“You have some wonderful heads here,” said Rainsford as he ate a particularly well-cooked filetmignon. “That Cape buffalo is the largest I ever saw.”

“Oh, that fellow. Yes, he was a monster.”

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19. Cossacks are people who come from southern Russia or Ukraine.20. forty21. comfortable features22. Affable (adjective): friendly and pleasant

6

“Did he charge you?”

“Hurled me against a tree,” said the general. “Fractured my skull. But I got the brute.”

“I’ve always thought,” said Rainsford, “that the Cape buffalo is the most dangerous of all big game.”

For a moment the general did not reply; he was smiling his curious red-lipped smile. Then he saidslowly, “No. You are wrong, sir. The Cape buffalo is not the most dangerous big game.” He sipped hiswine. “Here in my preserve on this island,” he said in the same slow tone, “I hunt more dangerousgame.”

Rainsford expressed his surprise. “Is there big game on this island?”

The general nodded. “The biggest.”

“Really?”

“Oh, it isn’t here naturally, of course. I have to stock the island.”

“What have you imported, general?” Rainsford asked. “Tigers?”

The general smiled. “No,” he said. “Hunting tigers ceased to interest me some years ago. I exhaustedtheir possibilities, you see. No thrill left in tigers, no real danger. I live for danger, Mr. Rainsford.”

The general took from his pocket a gold cigarette case and offered his guest a long black cigarette witha silver tip; it was perfumed and gave off a smell like incense.

“We will have some capital hunting, you and I,” said the general. “I shall be most glad to have yoursociety.”

“But what game — ” began Rainsford.

“I’ll tell you,” said the general. “You will be amused, I know. I think I may say, in all modesty, that I havedone a rare thing. I have invented a new sensation. May I pour you another glass of port?”

“Thank you, general.”

The general filled both glasses, and said, “God makes some men poets. Some He makes kings, somebeggars. Me He made a hunter. My hand was made for the trigger, my father said. He was a very richman, with a quarter of a million acres in the Crimea,23 and he was an ardent24 sportsman. When I wasonly five years old he gave me a little gun, specially made in Moscow for me, to shoot sparrows with.When I shot some of his prize turkeys with it, he did not punish me; he complimented me on mymarksmanship. I killed my first bear in the Caucasus25 when I was 10. My whole life has been oneprolonged hunt. I went into the army — it was expected of noblemen’s sons — and for a timecommanded a division of Cossack cavalry, but my real interest was always the hunt. I have huntedevery kind of game in every land. It would be impossible for me to tell you how many animals I havekilled.”

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23. The Crimea is a piece of land in Europe near Russia and Ukraine.

7

The general puffed at his cigarette.

“After the debacle in Russia I left the country, for it was imprudent for an officer of the Czar26 to staythere. Many noble Russians lost everything. I, luckily, had invested heavily in American securities, so Ishall never have to open a tearoom in Monte Carlo or drive a taxi in Paris. Naturally, I continued tohunt — grizzlies in your Rockies, crocodiles in the Ganges, rhinoceroses in East Africa. It was in Africathat the Cape buffalo hit me and laid me up for six months. As soon as I recovered I started for theAmazon to hunt jaguars, for I had heard they were unusually cunning. They weren’t.” The Cossacksighed. “They were no match at all for a hunter with his wits about him, and a high-powered rifle. I wasbitterly disappointed. I was lying in my tent with a splitting headache one night when a terrible thoughtpushed its way into my mind. Hunting was beginning to bore me! And hunting, remember, had beenmy life. I have heard that in America businessmen often go to pieces when they give up the businessthat has been their life.”

“Yes, that’s so,” said Rainsford.

The general smiled. “I had no wish to go to pieces,” he said. “I must do something. Now, mine is ananalytical mind, Mr. Rainsford. Doubtless, that is why I enjoy the problems of the chase.”

“No doubt, General Zaroff.”

“So,” continued the general, “I asked myself why the hunt no longer fascinated me. You are muchyounger than I am, Mr. Rainsford, and have not hunted as much, but you perhaps can guess theanswer.”

“What was it?”

“Simply this: hunting had ceased to be what you call ‘a sporting proposition.’ It had become too easy. Ialways got my quarry.27 Always. There is no greater bore than perfection.”

The general lit a fresh cigarette.

“No animal had a chance with me anymore. That is no boast; it is a mathematical certainty. The animalhad nothing but his legs and his instinct. Instinct is no match for reason. When I thought of this, it wasa tragic moment for me, I can tell you.”

Rainsford leaned across the table, absorbed in what his host was saying.

“It came to me as an inspiration what I must do,” the general went on.

“And that was?”

The general smiled the quiet smile of one who has faced an obstacle and surmounted it with success. “Ihad to invent a new animal to hunt,” he said.

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24. Ardent (adjective): passionate25. The Caucasus is a mountainous region between Europe and Asia.26. This refers to the Russian emperor. The Russian monarchy was overthrown and replaced with a different form of

government at around this time, leaving supporters of the czar in danger.27. the object of the hunt, the prey

8

“A new animal? You’re joking.”

“Not at all,” said the general. “I never joke about hunting. I needed a new animal. I found one. So Ibought this island, built this house, and here I do my hunting. The island is perfect for my purposes —there are jungles with a maze of trails in them, hills, swamps — ”

“But the animal, General Zaroff?”

“Oh,” said the general, “it supplies me with the most exciting hunting in the world. No other huntingcompares with it for an instant. Every day I hunt, and I never grow bored now, for I have a quarry withwhich I can match my wits.”

Rainsford’s bewilderment showed in his face.

“I wanted the ideal animal to hunt,” explained the general. “So I said, `What are the attributes of anideal quarry?’ And the answer was, of course, `It must have courage, cunning, and, above all, it must beable to reason.’”

“But no animal can reason,” objected Rainsford.

“My dear fellow,” said the general, “there is one that can.”

“But you can’t mean — ” gasped Rainsford.

“And why not?”

“I can’t believe you are serious, General Zaroff. This is a grisly joke.”

“Why should I not be serious? I am speaking of hunting.”

“Hunting? Great Guns, General Zaroff, what you speak of is murder.”

The general laughed with entire good nature. He regarded Rainsford quizzically. “I refuse to believethat so modern and civilized a young man as you seem to be harbors romantic ideas about the valueof human life. Surely your experiences in the war — ”

“Did not make me condone28 cold-blooded murder,” finished Rainsford stiffly.

Laughter shook the general. “How extraordinarily droll29 you are!” he said. “One does not expectnowadays to find a young man of the educated class, even in America, with such a naïve, and, if I maysay so, mid-Victorian point of view. It’s like finding a snuffbox in a limousine. Ah, well, doubtless youhad Puritan ancestors. So many Americans appear to have had. I’ll wager you’ll forget your notionswhen you go hunting with me. You’ve a genuine new thrill in store for you, Mr. Rainsford.”

“Thank you, I’m a hunter, not a murderer.”

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28. Condone (verb): to accept or allow29. If someone is droll, they have an amusing or odd manner.

9

“Dear me,” said the general, quite unruffled, “again that unpleasant word. But I think I can show youthat your scruples30 are quite ill-founded.”

“Yes?”

“Life is for the strong, to be lived by the strong, and, if needs be, taken by the strong. The weak of theworld were put here to give the strong pleasure. I am strong. Why should I not use my gift? If I wish tohunt, why should I not? I hunt the scum of the earth: sailors from tramp ships — lascars,31 blacks,Chinese, whites, mongrels — a thoroughbred horse or hound is worth more than a score of them.”

“But they are men,” said Rainsford hotly.

“Precisely,” said the general. “That is why I use them. It gives me pleasure. They can reason, after afashion. So they are dangerous.”

“But where do you get them?”

The general’s left eyelid fluttered down in a wink. “This island is called Ship-Trap,” he answered.“Sometimes an angry god of the high seas sends them to me. Sometimes, when Providence is not sokind, I help Providence a bit. Come to the window with me.”

Rainsford went to the window and looked out toward the sea.

“Watch! Out there!” exclaimed the general, pointing into the night. Rainsford’s eyes saw only blackness,and then, as the general pressed a button, far out to sea Rainsford saw the flash of lights.

The general chuckled. “They indicate a channel,” he said, “where there’s none; giant rocks with razoredges crouch like a sea monster with wide-open jaws. They can crush a ship as easily as I crush thisnut.” He dropped a walnut on the hardwood floor and brought his heel grinding down on it. “Oh, yes,”he said, casually, as if in answer to a question, “I have electricity. We try to be civilized here.”

“Civilized? And you shoot down men?”

A trace of anger was in the general’s black eyes, but it was there for but a second, and he said, in hismost pleasant manner, “Dear me, what a righteous young man you are! I assure you I do not do thething you suggest. That would be barbarous. I treat these visitors with every consideration. They getplenty of good food and exercise. They get into splendid physical condition. You shall see for yourselftomorrow.”

“What do you mean?”

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30. moral principles or beliefs that make you unwilling to do something that seems wrong

31. a sailor from India or Southeast Asia

10

“We’ll visit my training school,” smiled the general. “It’s in the cellar. I have about a dozen pupils downthere now. They’re from the Spanish bark32 San Lucar that had the bad luck to go on the rocks outthere. A very inferior lot, I regret to say. Poor specimens and more accustomed to the deck than to thejungle.” He raised his hand, and Ivan, who served as waiter, brought thick Turkish coffee. Rainsford,with an effort, held his tongue in check.

“It’s a game, you see,” pursued the general blandly. “I suggest to one of them that we go hunting. I givehim a supply of food and an excellent hunting knife. I give him three hours’ start. I am to follow, armedonly with a pistol of the smallest caliber and range. If my quarry eludes me for three whole days, hewins the game. If I find him” — the general smiled — “he loses.”

“Suppose he refuses to be hunted?”

“Oh,” said the general, “I give him his option, of course. He need not play that game if he doesn’t wishto. If he does not wish to hunt, I turn him over to Ivan. Ivan once had the honor of serving as officialknouter33 to the Great White Czar, and he has his own ideas of sport. Invariably, Mr. Rainsford,invariably they choose the hunt.”

“And if they win?”

The smile on the general’s face widened. “To date I have not lost,” he said. Then he added, hastily, “Idon’t wish you to think me a braggart, Mr. Rainsford. Many of them afford only the most elementarysort of problem. Occasionally I strike a tartar.34 One almost did win. I eventually had to use the dogs.”

“The dogs?"

“This way, please. I’ll show you.”

The general steered Rainsford to a window. The lights from the windows sent a flickering illuminationthat made grotesque patterns on the courtyard below, and Rainsford could see moving about there adozen or so huge black shapes; as they turned toward him, their eyes glittered greenly.

“A rather good lot, I think,” observed the general. “They are let out at seven every night. If anyoneshould try to get into my house — or out of it — something extremely regrettable would occur to him.”He hummed a snatch of song from the Folies Bergère.35

“And now,” said the general, “I want to show you my new collection of heads. Will you come with me tothe library?”

“I hope,” said Rainsford, “that you will excuse me tonight, General Zaroff. I’m really not feeling well.”

“Ah, indeed?” the general inquired solicitously. “Well, I suppose that’s only natural, after your longswim. You need a good, restful night’s sleep. Tomorrow you’ll feel like a new man, I’ll wager. Then we’llhunt, eh? I’ve one rather promising prospect — ” Rainsford was hurrying from the room.

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32. a kind of ship33. someone hired to use a knout, a Russian whip used for punishment34. a fearsome or formidable person35. a Parisian cabaret

11

“Sorry you can’t go with me tonight,” called the general. “I expect rather fair sport — a big, strong,black. He looks resourceful — Well, good night, Mr. Rainsford; I hope you have a good night’s rest.”

The bed was good, and the pajamas of the softest silk, and he was tired in every fiber of his being, butnevertheless Rainsford could not quiet his brain with the opiate36 of sleep. He lay, eyes wide open.Once he thought he heard stealthy steps in the corridor outside his room. He sought to throw open thedoor; it would not open. He went to the window and looked out. His room was high up in one of thetowers. The lights of the château were out now, and it was dark and silent, but there was a fragment ofsallow37 moon, and by its wan light he could see, dimly, the courtyard; there, weaving in and out in thepattern of shadow, were black, noiseless forms; the hounds heard him at the window and looked up,expectantly, with their green eyes. Rainsford went back to the bed and lay down. By many methods hetried to put himself to sleep. He had achieved a doze when, just as morning began to come, he heard,far off in the jungle, the faint report of a pistol.

General Zaroff did not appear until luncheon. He was dressed faultlessly in the tweeds of a countrysquire. He was solicitous38 about the state of Rainsford’s health.

“As for me,” sighed the general, “I do not feel so well. I am worried, Mr. Rainsford. Last night I detectedtraces of my old complaint.”

To Rainsford’s questioning glance the general said, “Ennui.39 Boredom.”

Then, taking a second helping of Crêpes Suzette,40 the general explained: “The hunting was not goodlast night. The fellow lost his head. He made a straight trail that offered no problems at all. That’s thetrouble with these sailors; they have dull brains to begin with, and they do not know how to get aboutin the woods. They do excessively stupid and obvious things. It’s most annoying. Will you have anotherglass of Chablis, Mr. Rainsford?"

“General,” said Rainsford firmly, “I wish to leave this island at once.”

The general raised his thickets of eyebrows; he seemed hurt. “But, my dear fellow,” the generalprotested, “you’ve only just come. You’ve had no hunting — ”

“I wish to go today,” said Rainsford. He saw the dead black eyes of the general on him, studying him.General Zaroff’s face suddenly brightened.

He filled Rainsford’s glass with venerable41 Chablis from a dusty bottle.

“Tonight,” said the general, “we will hunt — you and I.”

Rainsford shook his head. “No, general,” he said. “I will not hunt.”

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36. a calming drug37. Sallow (adjective): an unhealthy pale or yellowish color38. Solicitous (adjective): showing anxious concern for someone or something39. listlessness, boredom40. a French dish41. Venerable (adjective): worthy of a great deal of respect, especially because of age, wisdom, or character

12

The general shrugged his shoulders and delicately ate a hothouse grape. “As you wish, my friend,” hesaid. “The choice rests entirely with you. But may I not venture to suggest that you will find my idea ofsport more diverting than Ivan’s?”

He nodded toward the corner to where the giant stood, scowling, his thick arms crossed on hishogshead of chest.

“You don’t mean — ” cried Rainsford.

“My dear fellow,” said the general, “have I not told you I always mean what I say about hunting? This isreally an inspiration. I drink to a foeman worthy of my steel — at last.” The general raised his glass, butRainsford sat staring at him.

“You’ll find this game worth playing,” the general said enthusiastically.” Your brain against mine. Yourwoodcraft against mine. Your strength and stamina against mine. Outdoor chess! And the stake is notwithout value, eh?”

“And if I win — ” began Rainsford huskily.

“I’ll cheerfully acknowledge myself defeated if I do not find you by midnight of the third day,” saidGeneral Zaroff. “My sloop42 will place you on the mainland near a town.” The general read whatRainsford was thinking.

“Oh, you can trust me,” said the Cossack. “I will give you my word as a gentleman and a sportsman. Ofcourse you, in turn, must agree to say nothing of your visit here.”

“I’ll agree to nothing of the kind,” said Rainsford.

“Oh,” said the general, “in that case — But why discuss that now? Three days hence we can discuss itover a bottle of Veuve Clicquot, unless — ”

The general sipped his wine.

Then a businesslike air animated him. “Ivan,” he said to Rainsford, “will supply you with hunting clothes,food, a knife. I suggest you wear moccasins; they leave a poorer trail. I suggest, too, that you avoid thebig swamp in the southeast corner of the island. We call it Death Swamp. There’s quicksand there. Onefoolish fellow tried it. The deplorable part of it was that Lazarus followed him. You can imagine myfeelings, Mr. Rainsford. I loved Lazarus; he was the finest hound in my pack. Well, I must beg you toexcuse me now. I always take a siesta43 after lunch. You’ll hardly have time for a nap, I fear. You’ll wantto start, no doubt. I shall not follow till dusk. Hunting at night is so much more exciting than by day,don’t you think? Au revoir,44 Mr. Rainsford, au revoir.” General Zaroff, with a deep, courtly bow, strolledfrom the room.

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42. a type of small ship43. Spanish for “nap”44. French for “goodbye”

13

From another door came Ivan. Under one arm he carried khaki hunting clothes, a haversack of food, aleather sheath containing a long-bladed hunting knife; his right hand rested on a cocked revolverthrust in the crimson sash about his waist.

Rainsford had fought his way through the bush for two hours. “I must keep my nerve. I must keep mynerve,” he said through tight teeth.

He had not been entirely clearheaded when the château gates snapped shut behind him. His wholeidea at first was to put distance between himself and General Zaroff, and, to this end, he had plungedalong, spurred on by the sharp rowels of something very like panic. Now he had got a grip on himself,had stopped, and was taking stock of himself and the situation. He saw that straight flight was futile;inevitably it would bring him face to face with the sea. He was in a picture with a frame of water, andhis operations, clearly, must take place within that frame.

“I’ll give him a trail to follow,” muttered Rainsford, and he struck off from the rude path he had beenfollowing into the trackless wilderness. He executed a series of intricate loops; he doubled on his trailagain and again, recalling all the lore of the fox hunt, and all the dodges of the fox. Night found himleg-weary, with hands and face lashed by the branches, on a thickly wooded ridge. He knew it would beinsane to blunder on through the dark, even if he had the strength. His need for rest was imperative45

and he thought, “I have played the fox, now I must play the cat of the fable.” A big tree with a thicktrunk and outspread branches was nearby and, taking care to leave not the slightest mark, he climbedup into the crotch, and, stretching out on one of the broad limbs, after a fashion, rested. Rest broughthim new confidence and almost a feeling of security. Even so zealous46 a hunter as General Zaroffcould not trace him there, he told himself; only the devil himself could follow that complicated trailthrough the jungle after dark. But perhaps the general was a devil —

An apprehensive night crawled slowly by like a wounded snake, and sleep did not visit Rainsford,although the silence of a dead world was on the jungle. Toward morning, when a dingy gray wasvarnishing the sky, the cry of some startled bird focused Rainsford’s attention in that direction.Something was coming through the bush, coming slowly, carefully, coming by the same winding wayRainsford had come. He flattened himself down on the limb and, through a screen of leaves almost asthick as tapestry, he watched… That which was approaching was a man.

It was General Zaroff. He made his way along with his eyes fixed in utmost concentration on theground before him. He paused, almost beneath the tree, dropped to his knees and studied the ground.Rainsford’s impulse was to hurl himself down like a panther, but he saw that the general’s right handheld something metallic — a small automatic pistol.

The hunter shook his head several times, as if he were puzzled. Then he straightened up and took fromhis case one of his black cigarettes; its pungent47 incenselike smoke floated up to Rainsford’s nostrils.

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45. Imperative (adjective): very important or essential, especially for the success of something46. Zealous (adjective): extremely passionate or enthusiastic in support of a person, object, or cause47. Pungent (adjective): having a strong, usually bad, smell

14

Rainsford held his breath. The general’s eyes had left the ground and were traveling inch by inch upthe tree. Rainsford froze there, every muscle tensed for a spring. But the sharp eyes of the hunterstopped before they reached the limb where Rainsford lay; a smile spread over his brown face. Verydeliberately he blew a smoke ring into the air; then he turned his back on the tree and walkedcarelessly away, back along the trail he had come. The swish of the underbrush against his huntingboots grew fainter and fainter.

The pent-up air burst hotly from Rainsford’s lungs. His first thought made him feel sick and numb. Thegeneral could follow a trail through the woods at night; he could follow an extremely difficult trail; hemust have uncanny48 powers; only by the merest chance had the Cossack failed to see his quarry.

Rainsford’s second thought was even more terrible. It sent a shudder of cold horror through his wholebeing. Why had the general smiled? Why had he turned back?

Rainsford did not want to believe what his reason told him was true, but the truth was as evident asthe sun that had by now pushed through the morning mists. The general was playing with him! Thegeneral was saving him for another day’s sport! The Cossack was the cat; he was the mouse. Then itwas that Rainsford knew the full meaning of terror.

“I will not lose my nerve. I will not.”

He slid down from the tree and struck off again into the woods. His face was set and he forced themachinery of his mind to function. Three hundred yards from his hiding place he stopped where ahuge dead tree leaned precariously49 on a smaller, living one. Throwing off his sack of food, Rainsfordtook his knife from its sheath and began to work with all his energy.

The job was finished at last, and he threw himself down behind a fallen log a hundred feet away. Hedid not have to wait long. The cat was coming again to play with the mouse.

Following the trail with the sureness of a bloodhound came General Zaroff. Nothing escaped thosesearching black eyes, no crushed blade of grass, no bent twig, no mark, no matter how faint, in themoss. So intent was the Cossack on his stalking that he was upon the thing Rainsford had made beforehe saw it. His foot touched the protruding bough that was the trigger. Even as he touched it, thegeneral sensed his danger and leaped back with the agility of an ape. But he was not quite quickenough; the dead tree, delicately adjusted to rest on the cut living one, crashed down and struck thegeneral a glancing blow on the shoulder as it fell; but for his alertness, he must have been smashedbeneath it. He staggered, but he did not fall; nor did he drop his revolver. He stood there, rubbing hisinjured shoulder, and Rainsford, with fear again gripping his heart, heard the general’s mocking laughring through the jungle.

“Rainsford,” called the general, “if you are within the sound of my voice, as I suppose you are, let mecongratulate you. Not many men know how to make a Malay mancatcher. Luckily for me, I too havehunted in Malacca. You are proving interesting, Mr. Rainsford. I am going now to have my wounddressed; it’s only a slight one. But I shall be back. I shall be back.”

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48. Uncanny (adjective): unnatural, eerie49. Precariously (adverb): in an insecure or unstable way

15

When the general, nursing his bruised shoulder, had gone, Rainsford took up his flight again. It wasflight now, a desperate, hopeless flight, that carried him on for some hours. Dusk came, then darkness,and still he pressed on. The ground grew softer under his moccasins; the vegetation grew ranker,50

denser; insects bit him savagely.

Then, as he stepped forward, his foot sank into the ooze. He tried to wrench it back, but the mucksucked viciously at his foot as if it were a giant leech. With a violent effort, he tore his foot loose. Heknew where he was now. Death Swamp and its quicksand.

His hands were tight closed as if his nerve were something tangible that someone in the darkness wastrying to tear from his grip. The softness of the earth had given him an idea. He stepped back from thequicksand a dozen feet or so and, like some huge prehistoric beaver, he began to dig.

Rainsford had dug himself in in France when a second’s delay meant death. That had been a placidpastime compared to his digging now. The pit grew deeper; when it was above his shoulders, heclimbed out and from some hard saplings cut stakes and sharpened them to a fine point. These stakeshe planted in the bottom of the pit with the points sticking up. With flying fingers he wove a roughcarpet of weeds and branches and with it he covered the mouth of the pit. Then, wet with sweat andaching with tiredness, he crouched behind the stump of a lightning-charred tree.

He knew his pursuer was coming; he heard the padding sound of feet on the soft earth, and the nightbreeze brought him the perfume of the general’s cigarette. It seemed to Rainsford that the general wascoming with unusual swiftness; he was not feeling his way along, foot by foot. Rainsford, crouchingthere, could not see the general, nor could he see the pit. He lived a year in a minute. Then he felt animpulse to cry aloud with joy, for he heard the sharp crackle of the breaking branches as the cover ofthe pit gave way; he heard the sharp scream of pain as the pointed stakes found their mark. He leapedup from his place of concealment. Then he cowered back. Three feet from the pit a man was standing,with an electric torch51 in his hand.

“You’ve done well, Rainsford,” the voice of the general called. “Your Burmese tiger pit has claimed oneof my best dogs. Again you score. I think, Mr. Rainsford, I’ll see what you can do against my whole pack.I’m going home for a rest now. Thank you for a most amusing evening.”

At daybreak Rainsford, lying near the swamp, was awakened by a sound that made him know that hehad new things to learn about fear. It was a distant sound, faint and wavering, but he knew it. It wasthe baying52 of a pack of hounds.

Rainsford knew he could do one of two things. He could stay where he was and wait. That was suicide.He could flee. That was postponing the inevitable. For a moment he stood there, thinking. An idea thatheld a wild chance came to him, and, tightening his belt, he headed away from the swamp.

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50. more overgrown51. Torch is a British word for “flashlight.”52. “Baying” refers to loud, long cries of an animal.

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The baying of the hounds drew nearer, then still nearer, nearer, ever nearer. On a ridge Rainsfordclimbed a tree. Down a watercourse, not a quarter of a mile away, he could see the bush moving.Straining his eyes, he saw the lean figure of General Zaroff; just ahead of him Rainsford made outanother figure whose wide shoulders surged through the tall jungle weeds; it was the giant Ivan, andhe seemed pulled forward by some unseen force. Rainsford knew that Ivan must be holding the packin leash.

They would be on him any minute now. His mind worked frantically. He thought of a native trick he hadlearned in Uganda. He slid down the tree. He caught hold of a springy young sapling and to it hefastened his hunting knife, with the blade pointing down the trail; with a bit of wild grapevine he tiedback the sapling. Then he ran for his life. The hounds raised their voices as they hit the fresh scent.Rainsford knew now how an animal at bay53 feels.

He had to stop to get his breath. The baying of the hounds stopped abruptly, and Rainsford’s heartstopped too. They must have reached the knife.

He shinnied excitedly up a tree and looked back. His pursuers had stopped. But the hope that was inRainsford’s brain when he climbed died, for he saw in the shallow valley that General Zaroff was still onhis feet. But Ivan was not. The knife, driven by the recoil54 of the springing tree, had not wholly failed.

Rainsford had hardly tumbled to the ground when the pack took up the cry again.

“Nerve, nerve, nerve!” he panted, as he dashed along. A blue gap showed between the trees deadahead. Ever nearer drew the hounds. Rainsford forced himself on toward that gap. He reached it. Itwas the shore of the sea. Across a cove he could see the gloomy gray stone of the château. Twenty feetbelow him the sea rumbled and hissed. Rainsford hesitated. He heard the hounds. Then he leaped farout into the sea…

When the general and his pack reached the place by the sea, the Cossack stopped. For some minuteshe stood regarding the blue-green expanse of water. He shrugged his shoulders. Then he sat down,took a drink of brandy from a silver flask, lit a cigarette, and hummed a bit from Madame Butterfly.55

General Zaroff had an exceedingly good dinner in his great paneled dining hall that evening. With it hehad a bottle of Pol Roger and half a bottle of Chambertin. Two slight annoyances kept him from perfectenjoyment. One was the thought that it would be difficult to replace Ivan; the other was that his quarryhad escaped him; of course, the American hadn’t played the game — so thought the general as hetasted his after-dinner liqueur. In his library he read, to soothe himself, from the works of MarcusAurelius.56 At 10 he went up to his bedroom. He was deliciously tired, he said to himself as he lockedhimself in. There was a little moonlight, so, before turning on his light, he went to the window andlooked down at the courtyard. He could see the great hounds, and he called, “Better luck anothertime,” to them. Then he switched on the light.

A man, who had been hiding in the curtains of the bed, was standing there.

“Rainsford!” screamed the general. “How in God’s name did you get here?”

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53. An animal at bay is one that is forced to turn and face its attackers.54. Recoil is the backward kick of a propulsion machine, like a gun, when fired.55. an opera56. a Roman Emperor and philosopher

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“The Most Dangerous Game” by Richard Connell. Copyright © 1924 by Richard Connell. Copyright renewed © 1952 by Louise Fox Connell.Used by permission of Brandt & Hochman Literary Agents, Inc. Any electronic copying or distribution of this text is expressly forbidden. All

rights reserved.

“Swam,” said Rainsford. “I found it quicker than walking through the jungle.”

The general sucked in his breath and smiled. “I congratulate you,” he said. “You have won the game.”

Rainsford did not smile. “I am still a beast at bay,” he said, in a low, hoarse voice. “Get ready, GeneralZaroff.”

The general made one of his deepest bows. “I see,” he said. “Splendid! One of us is to furnish a repast57

for the hounds. The other will sleep in this very excellent bed. On guard, Rainsford.”

…

He had never slept in a better bed, Rainsford decided.

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57. a meal

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Text-Dependent QuestionsDirections: For the following questions, choose the best answer or respond in complete sentences.

1. PART A: Which TWO of the following best identify the central themes of this story?A. When violence becomes too common, some people no longer take it seriously.B. Pride in one’s country makes people feel superior to others based on race.C. The power of love will save people from hurting and harming others.D. Nature provides everything humanity needs and therefore anything else is

wasteful.E. Humankind’s place in nature is to act with reason, not to become like violent

animals.F. The cost of technology is the cost of human life in war.

2. PART B: Which TWO phrases from the text best support the answers to Part A?A. “‘You’re a big-game hunter, not a philosopher.’” (Paragraph 10)B. “Where there are pistol shots, there are men.” (Paragraph 39)C. "hunting had ceased to be what you call ‘a sporting proposition.’ It had become

too easy. I always got my quarry.’” (Paragraph 94)D. “‘One does not expect nowadays to find a young man of the educated class,

even in America, with such a naïve, and, if I may say so, mid-Victorian point ofview.’” (Paragraph 116)

E. “‘Civilized? And you shoot down men?’” (Paragraph 128)F. “General Zaroff had an exceedingly good dinner in his great paneled dining hall

that evening.” (Paragraph 199)

3. Explain how beginning the story with the dialogue between Rainsford and Whitneycontributes to both the author’s characterization of Rainsford and the story’s mood. Citeevidence from the story in your response.

4. PART A: What does the phrase “sporting proposition” most closely mean as it is used inparagraph 94?

A. game-like challengeB. hunting licenseC. available targetsD. a simple, easy task

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5. PART B: Which phrase from the text best supports the answer to Part A?A. “‘businessmen often go to pieces when they give up the business that has been

their life.’” (Paragraph 88)B. “‘It had become too easy. I always got my quarry.’” (Paragraph 94)C. “‘When I thought of this, it was a tragic moment for me’” (Paragraph 96)D. “‘I had to invent a new animal to hunt’” (Paragraph 100)

6. Why does Zaroff think Rainsford is “droll” and “naïve”? (Paragraph 116)A. Zaroff thinks it’s foolish and old-fashioned that Rainsford values human life even

after fighting in the war.B. Zaroff thinks it is childish and immature that Rainsford has never tried to kill

another human.C. Zaroff judges Rainsford’s American culture because Rainsford feels a religious

sense of responsibility.D. Insane Zaroff has been isolated on the island for too long and laughs madly at

seeing Rainsford, another civilized man.

7. What does Rainsford’s repetition of the word “nerve” in paragraph 169, paragraph 179, andparagraph 197 reveal about his character?

A. Rainsford’s repetition characterizes him as forgetful and blundering, which iswhy he must repeat the word to remember his mission.

B. Rainsford’s repetition shows that it is his courage and ability to reason thatenables him to survive.

C. Rainsford’s repetition was probably taught to him in a private school growing upand is a symbol of his class status.

D. Rainsford’s repetition shows just how scared and cowardly he is, suggesting thathe will not survive this hunt.

8. How does Rainsford’s opinion on animals change throughout the story?A. At first, Rainsford believes only humans can feel, but by the end, he agrees with

Whitney that animals can also feel “fear of pain” (Paragraph 13).B. At first, Rainsford thinks that there is only one rational animal, humans, but then

he discovers the new animal that Zaroff has “invented” (Paragraph 100).C. At first, Rainsford believes humans are smarter than animals, but then he sees

that some humans are actually “a very inferior lot” (Paragraph 131).D. At first, Rainsford sees animals only as prizes for human hunters, but later

Rainsford sympathizes with the animal “at bay” when he too becomes thehunted (Paragraph 204).

9. “He had never slept in a better bed, Rainsford decided.” (Paragraph 207) What is the overalleffect of the last line of the story?

A. The last line leaves the reader to infer that Rainsford has killed Zaroff,contrasting Zaroff’s chilling death with Rainsford’s rewarding night’s sleep.

B. The last line leaves the reader to conclude that the events of this story have allbeen a dream Rainsford had while asleep on the yacht.

C. The last line leaves the reader to infer that Rainsford has killed Zaroff, makingthe ending a triumphant victory for civilization and American values.

D. The last line leaves the reader to suppose that Rainsford actually likes thecomforts of civilization better than nature and that civilization is man’s placeabove nature.

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Name: ______________________ Class: _____________________ Date: _____________________

Values & Beliefs: Final Assessment Directions: Please respond to the prompt on the lines below. Use complete sentences. Cite evidence when appropriate.

Prompt: Over the course of this unit, you have gathered details from literary texts on what influences personal values and beliefs. Use the evidence you have gathered to answer the essential question: What factors shape our values and beliefs? Support your answer using reasons and evidence from a variety of the texts covered in this unit.

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