English for Navodaya Vidyalaya Students

Mr. Cuss Interviews the Stranger Mrs Hall's compromise:  Mrs Hall had a number of clashes with her strange guest regarding 'domestic discipline'. Every objection by her was overruled by him by making an extra payment. Hall did not like him at all and avoided him as much as possible. Mrs Hall asked her impatient husband to wait till summer which was the time he inn usually received more visitors and did good business. Presently, she was content with the prompt payment of bills by the visitor The stranger's routine: The stranger did not visit church. According to Mrs Hall, he worked passionately. When he was not working, he would walk across the room, talk to himself for hours together, smoke or sleep  in the armchair by the fire. He hardly communicated with the world beyond the village. His temper was unpredictable. Sometimes he broke things in a sudden fit of rage. Most of the time he seemed to be in a bad temper and talked to himself. Mrs Hall trie...

Chapter 3 - A Thousand and One Bottles Interesting luggage The visitor’s luggage was brought to Coach and Horses on the second day of his arrival, the first of March, by Fearenside, the carter. It contained a couple of ordinary trunks, a box of books, a dozen or more crates, boxes, and cases full of objects packed in straw. The books were written in some incomprehensible language. Hall observed that many of the crates and boxes contained glass bottles. Fearenside’s dog attacking the stranger: The visitor seemed too impatient to receive the luggage. He came out to get the luggage carried to his room. He was wearing a hat, coat, gloves, wrappers as usual. The strange appearance seemed to have provoked Fearenside’s dog. It growled savagely and sprang at the him when he was about lay hands on a crater. Nobody had any time to react. The dog’s teeth slipped the stranger’s hand, but managed to tear his gloves and trousers. Fearenside reacted quickly and whipped t...

2.  Mr Hall is Suspicious The visit of Teddy Henfrey, the clock-jobber: At 4 o’clock Mrs. Hall was wondering about visiting her guest  to serve him tea. The visit of Mr. Teddy Henfrey gave her an excuse. The old clock in the parlour was not functioning and required a repair. Teddy had come with his bag of tools. Mrs. Hall was relieved and asked him to the give the clock a look as its hour-hand was not moving.  She led him up and before entering the guest’s room, she knocked on the door.  The man with an enormous mouth: The guest was dozing in the armchair. There was not enough light in the room.  The visitor’s bandaged head was drooping on one side. She lit the bar lamp. As the light brightened the room, she was shocked to notice that the man had ‘an enormous mouth’. She had a fleeting look of the white-bound head, the monstrous goggles and the huge space below before the guest suddenly mo...