Pret! in the fa It was Grandmother who decided that we must move to anather house. it was all because of a pret, a mischievous ghost, who had been making life intolerable for everyone. In India, prets usually live in peepul trees, and that’s where our (pret first lived. He lived in the branches of an old peepul tree which had grown through the compound wall. it had spread into the garden on our side and over the road on the other side. For many years the pret had lived there quite ily, without Sete eo Shee road had oti E imes, fa tanga” was passing, the little pony-cart would go speeding off in the wrong direction. Occasionally, he would get into the engine of a car or bus, which would have a breakdown soon afterwards. He liked to knock the hats off the heads of sahibs. They would then curse and wonder at the breeze that had sprung up so suddenly and died down again just as quickly. Although the pret could make himself felt, and sometimes heard, he was invisible to the human eye. At night people avoided walking beneath the peepul tree. It was said that if you yawned beneath the tree, the pret would jump down your throat and ruin your digestion.Grandmother's tailor, Jaspal, who never had anything ready on time, blamed the pret for all his troubles. Once, while yawning, Jaspal had forgotten to snap his fingers in front of his mouth— always mandatory when yawning beneath peepul trees—and the pret had got in without any difficulty. Since then, Jaspal had always been suffering from tummy upsets. But it had left our family atone, until, one day, the peepul tree had been cut down. It was nobody's fault except, of course, that Grandfather had given the Public Works Department permission to cut the tree. It had been on our land and they wanted to widen the road. The tree and a bit of the wall were in the way, so both had to go. in any case, nat even a ghost can prevail against the PWD. Hardly had a day passed before we discovered that the pret, deprived of his tree, had decided to take up residence in Seer eerie justify his a p teal sschief in the house. RS I He began by hiding Grandmother's spectacles whenever she took them off. "V'm sure | put them down on the dressing-table,” she grumbled. A litte later they were found, balanced precariously on the snout of a wild boar whose stuffed and mounted head decorated the verandahwall, Being the only boy in the house, | was at first blamed for this prank but a day or two later, when the spectacles disappeared again, only to be discovered hanging from the wires of the parrot’s cage, it was agreed that some other agency was at work. Grandfather was the next to be troubled. He went into the garden one morning to find all his prized sweet-peas snipped off and lying on the ground. It was then Uncle Ken's turn to suffer. He was a heavy sleeper, and once he'd gone to bed he hated being woken up. So when he came to the breakfast table looking bleary-eyed and miserable, we asked if he was feeling all right. “| couldn't sleep a wink last night,” he complained. “Every time | was about to fall asleep, the bedclothes would be pulled off the bed. | had to get up at least a dozen times to pick them off tO am I had an alibi. “In Grandfather's room,” I'said. “That's right,” said Grandfather. “And I'm a light sleeper. I'd have woken up if he’d been sleep-walking.” “it’s that ghost from the peepul tree,” said Grandmother. “It’s moved into the house. First my spectacles, then the sweet-peas, and now Ken’s bedclothes! What will it be up to next, | wonder?" We did not have to wonder lang. There followed a series of disasters. Vases fell off tables. Pictures fell from walls. Things got worse when Aunt Minnie came to stay. The pret seemed to take an immediate dislike to Aunt Minnie. She was a nervous, excitable person, just the right sort of prey foraspiteful ghost. Somehow her toothpaste got switched with a tube of Grandfather's shaving-cream. She appeared in the sitting-room, foaming at the mouth. Uncle Ken shouted that she'd got rabies and we ran for our lives. "We'll have to leave this house,” declared Grandmother. “if we stay here much longer, both Ken and Minnie will have nervous breakdowns.” “| thought Aunt Minnie broke dawn long ago,” | said. “None of your cheek!" snapped Aunt Minnie. “Anyway, | agree about changing the house,” | said breezily. “I can’t even do my homework. The ink-bottle is always empty.” “There was ink in the soup last night,” complained Grandfather. And so, a few days and several disasters later, we began moving toa new how =O OR The roof of the old car was piled high with bags and kitchen utensils. Everyone squeezed into the car, and Grandfather took the driver's seat. We were barely out of the gate when we heard a peculiar sound, as if someone was chuckling and talking to himself on the roof of the car. “Is the parrot out there on the luggage-rack?” asked Grandfather. “No, he's in his cage on a bullock-cart,” said Grandmother. Grandfather stopped the car, got out, and took a look at the roof. "Nothing up there,” he said, getting in again and starting the engine. "I'm sure | heard the parrot talking.”Grandfather had driven some way up the road when the chuckling started again, followed by a squeaky little voice. We alll heard it. it was the pret talking to itself. “Let’s go, let’s go!” it squeaked gleefully. “A new house! | can’t wait to see it. What fun we're going to have!” Ruskin Bond Ruskin Bond (193%-precent) is on Indian authar af Britizh origin. $ He is best known for his writings for children—the mest famous: a of Pigeons: Answer the following questions. 1. Why did Grandmother decide to mave to another house? 2. How did the pret cause mischief during the day while he lived on the peepul tree?3. What was believed about the pret’s behaviour at night? (¢ ) ( wd IN a ‘Why did the bret tact iraubling the tamil? 5. What did the pret do after it started staying in the writer's bungalow? 5. How did the writer's family discover the pret was shifting, ‘with them? 7. Do you like or dislike the pret? Give reasons. @ Vocabulary Tick the correct antanym of the underlined word from the chaices given below. 1. [twas all because of a pret, a mischievous ghast, who had heen making life intolerable for everyone. a. educated 4 b. sober2. I suppase the traffic on the road had kept him fully occupied a. restricted c. idle ay b. boundless C2 &. open 3. They would then curse and wonder at the breeze that had sprung upso suddenly and died down again just as quickly. a. provided with bdrivenout (3d. destitute . Alittle later they were found, balanced precariously on the snout af awild boar whose stuffed and maunted head decorated the w ran (CYOXEORD & bb. quickly SUN lee wangeroayy press {3 @ Writing Imagine you visit this house haunted by this naughty pret. Write a letter to you friend about what happened. $he srandenother wants to sll the houve because ofthe bothersome pret. How would she convince a customer to buy it? Remember she should not hald back the information abaut the pret. She can anly make him sound interesting. Enact the role play.