Comprehension
1. Why did Grandmother decide that the family should move to another house?
Grandmother decided to move because the troublesome pret (mischievous ghost) living in the peepul tree was making life unbearable for the family with its constant pranks and disturbances.
2. How did the pret cause mischief during the day while it lived on the peepul tree?
During the day, the pret would sit on the peepul tree and play tricks on people passing by. It would suddenly create a strong breeze to blow off their turbans or lift the women’s veils, causing confusion and annoyance.
3. What was believed about the pret’s behaviour at night?
At night, it was believed that the pret became more powerful and would leave the tree to haunt the surrounding area, possibly frightening people or causing more serious trouble under the cover of darkness.
4. Why did the pret start troubling the family?
The pret started troubling the family after Grandmother cut down the old peepul tree where it lived. Being deprived of its home, the pret decided to take revenge by following the family and haunting their bungalow instead.
5. What did the pret do after it started staying in the narrator’s bungalow?
Once inside the bungalow, the pret continued its mischievous acts. It would hide small household items, like Grandmother’s spectacles, and place them in strange spots—for example, balancing them precariously on the snout of a stuffed wild boar’s head mounted on the wall.
6. How did the narrator’s family discover that the pret was moving with them to the new house?
The family discovered the pret had moved with them when, soon after settling into the new bungalow, their belongings began to go missing and then turn up in odd places—just as they had in their old home.
7. Do you like or dislike the pret? Give reasons.
The pret is a character I find amusing rather than frightening. Although its mischief is bothersome, it seems more playful than truly harmful. I like it because it adds a sense of mystery and fun to the story. However, I can also understand why the family found it intolerable, as living with constant pranks would be very frustrating in real life.
Vocabulary
(Tick the correct antonym)
1. It was all because of a pret, a mischievous ghost, who had been making life intolerable for everyone.
- Underlined word: mischievous (meaning: naughty, playful in an annoying way)
- Correct antonym: d. well-behaved
2. I suppose the traffic on the road had kept him fully occupied.
- Underlined word: occupied (meaning: busy)
- Correct antonym: c. idle
3. They would then curse and wonder at the breeze that had sprung up so suddenly and died down again just as quickly.
- Underlined word: curse (meaning: to swear or express anger)
- Correct antonym: a. bless
4. Hardly had a day passed before we discovered that the pret, deprived of his tree, had decided to take up residence in our bungalow.
- Underlined word: deprived (meaning: taken away from)
- Correct antonym: c. privileged
5. A little later they were found, balanced precariously on the snout of a wild boar whose stuffed and mounted head decorated the verandah wall.
- Underlined word: precariously (meaning: in an unstable, dangerous way)
- Correct antonym: c. securely