9
William the Helper
a
The Brown family bas bired tbree men to move furniture from their old
house to the newone. Toeveryone's alarm,William-their naughty
son-bas promised tohelp with thework. After several smallerornaments
are packed (and broken), the mnen start moving the heavy furniture.
he removers now proceeded to the drawing-room and prepared
T:
to take outthe piano. They tried it every way. The first way took
apiece out of the doorpost. The second made a mark two inches deep
inthepiano. The thirdknocked over the grandfather clock, which fell
wich aresounding crash, breaking itsglass and a tall plant-stand
chat happened to bein its way.
Mrs Brown sat down and covered her face with her hands. "Its like
some dreadful nightmare!" she groaned.
Messrs Blake, Johnson and Jones paused to wipe the sweat of honest
toil fromn their brows.
"Idon't know how it's to be got out said Mr Blake despairingly.
"It got In!"argued Mrs
Brown. "If it got in, it can get out
alarm: feeling of fear and worry
grandfather clock: an old-fashioned tall clockthat stands on the floor
resounding: a resounding sound is so loud it/continues for a few seconds
Messrs: the plural of Mr, used especially in the name of companies
toil: hard work
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shows that the have no hopeleft
"Come on, mnates."
Blake.
Mr
said
"\Well have anothe try.'
hall, leaving only a broken
the
into
safely
This timc, the iano passed
then passed slowly doy.
It
behind.
chair-cover
door handle and atorn
the hall anddrive.
Johnson and Iones
Blake,
van.
the
it into
The next difficulty wasto get they tried and failed. The gardener.
tried and failed. For ten minutes
EthelWilliams grown-up sister-all
and
housemaid
che
cook,
the
the van.
helped lift it and at last, they raised it to
support
They then all rested weakly against the nearest
and gasped
for breath.
heard from the back
was
voice
well-known
a
moment,
this
At
hat-stand.
of the van, from behind the piano and sideboard and
"Hey! Let me out! What have you blocked up the van for? Icant get
Out!"
There was a horror-stricken
silence. Then Ethel said sharply,
"What did you go in for?
What would the expression on your
face be if youwere horror-stricken?
The mysterious voice came again, sounding irritated. "Well, I was
resting. Imust have some rest, mustn't I? Ive been helping all morning
"Well, couldn't you see we were putting things in?"
The unseen presence
Look at the glossary and answer. Why is the
spoke again. "No, I
couldn't. I wasnt looking!" person referred to as an unseen presence
sharply:in an unfriendly, angry way
unseen presence: aphrase that is Usually used to
refer to an
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64
invisible ghost
"You cant get out,
Williann, said Mrs Brown."We cant move
verything again. You must just stop thcre till it's unpacked. We'll try
topushyour lunch in to
you.
There was determination in the voicc that answered,"Iwant to get
out! Im going to get out!"
There came some very loud sounds--the sound of the ripping
of some material, of the smashing of glass and of William's voice softly
exclaiming, "That old mirror's getting in the way!"
"Youd better take out the piano again said Mrs Brown wearily
"Ir'sthe only thing to do.
When the piano was lowered again to the ground and the sideboard
and hat-stand were moved to one side, there appeared from the struggle
William with his shirt torn from shoulder to bottom.
He looked sern and indighant
wlim
Anice thing to do!" he began. "Shutting me up in that old van.
furniture?
How do you expect me to breathe, shut in with old
bits of
Folks can't live without air, can they?
Emotion had deprived his
audience of the ability to speak
What emotion do youthink everyone
is feeling towards William?
for the time being. It took another
quarter of an hour to replace the piano.
"Well, William, you can go to the new house with the first van,"
said Mrs Brown after lunch. "Hellbe less in the waythere, she added
to herself.
wearily: ina tired way
stern: seriousand showing strong disapproval
indignant: angry because of unfair treatment
prevented someone from having something
deoxived:
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house there was
new
the
At
idea.
this van
withthe
Williamsetwasof delighted
atresh
men to unload
and there was the thrillof getting
to know them.
The front gate of the new house was only just painted and bore anotice
personally the
test
to
duty
William's
course.
of
Wet Paint.It was,
the testing to their lacs
of
proof
bore
trousers
His
paint.
weness of the
day, in spite of many applications of turpentine
the paint?
How did Williamtest the wetness of
William then proceeded to 'help' to the utmost of his power.
He stumbled up from the van to the house, staggering under the
weight of a medicine cupboard, and leaving atrail of broken bottles
and little pools of medicine behind.
It was found that the door of a small bedroom at the top of the stairs
was locked. This rather slowed down the work of the unpackers.
William had one of his brilliant ideas then." Tell you what I'll do,
he said eagely and importantly. "Ill climb up to the roof and get down
thechimney and open it from the inside"
It was growing dark when Mrs Brown and Ethel and
the second van load appeared.
Asthey walked in through the gate, there came
a ghost-likecry, apparently from the heavens.
"Mother!"
turpentine: a type of oil used for removing paint
staggering: walking unsteadily, almost fallingover
OREDMI NOTE 8 PRO
why is William'scry 'ghost-like'?
Mrs Brown raiscd aasurprised facc tto
che skics.There seemedto be nothing in
cheskies that couldhave called out to het
Then she suddenly saw asmall face pecting
downover the roof. It was a face that was yety
frightened under a covering of soot
It was William's face.
"Ican't get down," it said hoarsely.
Mrs Brown's heart stood still. "Stay where
you are, William," she said weakly."Don't move.
The entire staff of removers was called. A ladder was borrowed
from a
neighbouring garden and found to be too short. Another was fetched.
William, at his dizzy height, wasOwingirritable.
"Ican't stay up here forever," he said.
safety.
At last, he was rescued by Mr Blake and brought down to
for them, so I climbed
door
that
open
to
wanted
help.I
to
wanted
"I
and I tried
drain-pipe,
the
and
ivy
the
and
roof
kitchen
up by the
one it was, but Itried
which
know
didn't
I
chimney.
the
to get down
ivy again,
the
by
down
get
to
tried
I
little.
too
all
were
them alland they
shouted. I wasnt scared"
and
came
you
till
waited
I
so
but I couldn't,
down. I'lIl go
get
to
wanted
just
I
bit.
a
scared
he said sternly. "I wasn't
on helping.
soot: black powder that is
produced when something
is burned
hoarsely: with a low, rough voice
dizzy: making you feel unsteady
because you are so high
that can be
ivy: a climbing plantof
a house
grown on the walls
W
ill
to go to bed at
persuaded
difficulty
with
was,
He
an carlier
than usu.al.
helping all
with
tired
bit
am a
"Well"he admitted, "l
persuaded:convinced
THINK PAIR
Can you come up
day'"
Ricbmal Crompton
SHARE
situation where
comical
another
with
causes a
nearly
and
people
belp
hour
William tries to
disaster?
English writer, popular for
an
was
(1890-1969)
Richmal Crompton
and his band of
William
troublemaker
the
teacher
her delightful books about
began her career asa school
mischievous friends. Crompton
understood children verv
Crompton
writer.
full-time
andlater became a
children understand the world
how
about
are
stories
Williamn
well and her
around them.
i Reading
A. Complete these sentences.
1. Everyone was horrified when they realised William was stuck
inside& the
van because. .ty hase t Jme th
u
hine
2. When William realised he was stuck inside the van, he decided to.n
ut,sithoul ghing h
, pikthl
3. Mrs Brown wanted Williám to go withthe first van because...
,h
4. When Mrs Brown saw William on the roof, she felt...
huart
B. Answer these questions.
1. What was William supposed to be helping his family with?
2 How was moving the piano a
challenge?
3
William badone of bis brilliant tdeas then.
What didWillam want to help
witth?
b.
a.
What was his idea? Was it truly
brilliant?
Howdid the plan fail?
"I wasn't scared a bit. Ijust wanted to get
down. I'l go on belping
a.
Was William scared? Why does he say he
wasnt?
b. How doyou think his family felt when William
promised
C.
to continue helping? How do we know?
Think and answer.
William the Conqueror was a king of England who brought many
changes to thecountry and made it one of the most powerful
kingdoms in the world. He was feared and respected by all.
The name of this story-William the Helper-is ajoke based on this
king, How does this title make fun of the schoolboy William?
tAppreciating the Text
Here aresome reasonswhy
Williamthe Helper is a humorous story.
text
Completethis table in your notebook with examples from the
chat
support these reasons.
Williams help
does more
damage than
help.
William gets
angry at others
for his mistakes.
William thinks
himself brilliant
William's family
and helpful.
'help.
1. William tests
the newly painted
gate of the house
by leaning against
It.
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69
is tired of his