On Monday Morning (Supplementary)

Unit 1 – Supplementary

On Monday Morning

(Adapted from The Adventures of Tom Sawyer by Mark Twain)

Monday morning found Tom Sawyer miserable. Monday morning always found him so because it began another week’s slow suffering in school. He generally began that day with wishing he had had no holiday in between; it made the going into prison again so much worse.

Tom lay thinking. Presently it occurred to him that he wished he was sick; then he could stay home from school. He examined himself. No sickness was found, and he investigated again. This time he could detect stomach ache, but it soon grew feeble, and presently died wholly away. He reflected further. Suddenly he discovered something: one of his upper front teeth was loose. This was lucky; he was about to begin to groan, as a “starter,” as he called it, when it occurred to him that if he came into court with that argument, his aunt would pull it out, and that would hurt. So he thought he would hold the tooth in reserve for the present, and seek further.

Nothing offered for some little time, and then he remembered hearing the doctor tell about a certain thing that laid up a patient for two or three weeks and threatened to make him lose a finger. So the boy eagerly drew his sore toe from under the sheet and held it up for inspection. But now he did not know the necessary symptoms. However, it seemed well worthwhile to chance it, so he fell groaning with considerable spirit. But Sid slept on unconscious.

Tom groaned louder, and fancied that he began to feel pain in the toe. No result from Sid.

Tom was panting with his exertions by this time. He took a rest and then swelled himself up and fetched a succession of admirable groans. Sid snored on. Tom was aggravated. He said,

“Sid, Sid!”

and shook him. This course worked well, and Tom began to groan again. Sid yawned, stretched, then brought himself up on his elbow with a snort, and began to stare at Tom. Tom went on groaning.

Sid said:

“Tom! Say, Tom!” [No response.]
“Here, TOM! What is the matter, Tom?”

And he shook him and looked in his face anxiously.

Tom moaned out:

“Oh, don’t, Sid. Don’t shake me.”

Sid:

“Why, what’s the matter, Tom? I must call auntie.”

Tom:

“No—never mind. It’ll be over by and by, maybe. Don’t call anybody.”

Sid:

“But I must! Don’t groan so, Tom, it’s awful. How long you been this way?”

Tom:

“Hours. Ouch! Oh, don’t stir so, Sid, you’ll kill me.”

Sid:

“Tom, why didn’t you wake me sooner? Oh, Tom, DON’T! It makes my flesh crawl to hear you. What is the matter?”

Tom:

“I forgive you for everything, Sid. [Groan.] Everything you’ve ever done to me. When I’m gone—”

Sid:

“Oh, Tom, you aren’t dying, are you? Don’t Tom—oh, don’t. Maybe—”

Tom:

“I forgive everybody, Sid. [Groan.] Tell ’em so, Sid. And Sid, you give my window-sash and my cat with one eye to that new girl that’s come to town, and tell her—”

But Sid had snatched his clothes and gone. Tom was suffering in reality now; his imagination was working well, and so his groans had gathered quite a genuine tone.

Sid flew down-stairs and said:

“Oh, Aunt Polly, come! Tom’s dying!”

Aunt Polly:

“Dying!”

Sid:

“Yes’m. Don’t wait. Come quick!”

Aunt Polly:

“Rubbish! I don’t believe it!”

But she fled upstairs, nevertheless, with Sid and Mary at her heels. And her face grew white, too, and her lip trembled. When she reached the bedside she said,

“You, Tom! Tom, what’s the matter with you?”

Tom:

“Oh, auntie, I’m—”

Aunt Polly:

“What’s the matter with you? What is the matter with you, child?”

Tom:

“Oh, auntie, my sore toe’s dying!”

The old lady sank down into a chair and laughed a little, then cried a little, then did both together. This made her feel better and she said,

“Tom, what a turn you did give me. Now you shut up that nonsense and climb out of this.”

The groans stopped and the pain vanished from the toe. The boy felt a little foolish, and he said,

“Aunt Polly, it seemed dying, and it hurt so I never minded my tooth at all.”

Aunt Polly:

“Your tooth, indeed! What’s the matter with your tooth?”

Tom:

“One of them is loose, and it aches perfectly awful.”

Aunt Polly:

“There, there, now, don’t begin that groaning again. Open your mouth. Well. Your tooth is loose, but you’re not going to die from that. Mary, get me a silk thread, and a chunk of fire out of the kitchen.”

Tom:

“Oh, please, auntie, don’t pull it out. It won’t hurt any more. I wish I may never stir if it does. Please don’t, auntie. I don’t want to stay home from school.”

Aunt Polly:

“Oh, you don’t, don’t you? So all this row was because you thought you’d get to stay home from school and go fishing? Tom, Tom, I love you so, and you seem to try every way you can to break my old heart with your mischief.”

By this time the dental instruments were ready. The old lady made one end of the silk thread fast to Tom’s tooth with a loop and tied the other to the bedpost. Then she caught hold of the chunk of fire and suddenly pushed it almost into the boy’s face. The tooth was hanging loosely by the bedpost, now.

GLOSSARY

• panting – breathing quickly
• exertions – effort
• aggravated – irritated
• snort – a cry made to show unhappiness
• anxiously – tensely
• loop – curve

A. Name the speaker.

S.No	Lines from the Lesson	Speaker
1	“No—never mind. It’ll be over by and by, maybe. Don’t call anybody.”	Tom
2	“It makes my flesh crawl to hear you. What is the matter?”	Sid
3	“Your tooth indeed! What’s the matter with your tooth?”	Aunt Polly

B. Write True or False against each statement.

1. Tom enjoyed Monday mornings as he had to go to school. False
2. Tom’s first groan woke up Sid from his sound sleep. False
3. Tom wanted to give his dog with one eye to the new girl who had come to town. False (it was the cat)
4. Aunt Polly sent Sid to fetch the dentist. False

C. Read the passage and answer the questions.

Passage:
Tom lay thinking. Presently it occurred to him that he wished he was sick; then he could stay home from school. He examined himself. He found no symptoms or sickness, and he investigated again. This time he felt he had a stomach ache, but it soon grew feeble, and presently died wholly away. He reflected further.

1. Why did Tom wish that he were sick?
   So that he could stay home from school.

2. What was the result of Tom’s self-examination?
   He found no real sickness.

3. What did he detect?
   A slight stomach ache that soon disappeared.

D. Think and answer.

1. How did Sid show his affection towards Tom?
   He was anxious, tried to help, and rushed to call Aunt Polly when he thought Tom was dying.

2. Did Aunt Polly believe Tom’s groaning? Why?
   Initially she was frightened, but when she learned it was only a sore toe, she realized he was pretending.

3. What did Aunt Polly do to relieve Tom’s toothache?
   She tied a silk thread to the loose tooth and the bedpost, then quickly scared him with a hot chunk of fire so the tooth popped out.

E. Choose the correct answer.

1. Tom pretended his toe was dying in order to miss school.
2. Aunt Polly pulled Tom’s tooth out with a piece of thread.
3. Tom was miserable on Monday morning because he hated going to school.

PROJECT

F. Give instructions to your friend to reach your house from school. Mention some landmarks that your friend should look out for on his way. Draw a road map with landmarks based on the instructions given to your friend.

CONNECTING TO SELF

G. Draw a family tree showing the members of your family and write a sentence about the activities that your whole family does together. How does it help others in a family and what do you learn from this?

STEP TO SUCCESS

H. Give a relationship term for the clues given.

1. siblings – brothers and/or sisters
2. kith and kin – relatives
3. a chip of the old block – child who resembles a parent
4. two peas in a pod – very close/very similar people
5. bread winner – earning member of the family
6. forefathers – ancestors

I. Arrange the words according to their degrees of meaning.

1. eager, excited, thrilled
2. shiny, glow, dazzling (Note: “glow” is a noun/verb; sequence by intensity: shiny → dazzling)
3. small, tiny, minute
4. smile, laugh, guffaw

J. Think and Answer

1. X and Y are parents to Z. But Z is not the son of X. Then what is Z to X?
   Daughter

2. Meera’s brother is the father of Aakash. Then how is Aakash related to Meera?
   Nephew

LEARNING LINKS AND REFERENCES

e-links
- https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Eidgah
- https://archive.org/stream/idgah_divu

Books
- Journeys through Rajasthan – Amrita Kumar
- Festivals of India – Sris Sivananda

ICT Corner – Grammar: Determiners

To learn the usage of Determiners and Quantifiers

Steps
1. Type the URL link given below in the browser or scan the QR code.
2. Read the description of Determiners and Quantifiers with examples.
3. Practise drag-and-drop exercises.
4. Click the links for multiple-choice questions to strengthen your learning.

Website URL
https://www.grammarbank.com/quantifiers.html

Practice Practice Exercises

1. Tom enjoyed Monday mornings as he had to go to school

2. Tom’s first groan woke up Sid from his sound sleep

3. Tom wanted to give his dog with one eye to the new girl who had come to town

4. Aunt Polly sent Sid to fetch the dentist

1. Why did Tom wish that he were sick?

2. What was the result of Tom’s self-examination?

3. What did he detect?

1. How did Sid show his affection towards Tom?

2. Did Aunt Polly believe Tom’s groaning? Why?

3. What did Aunt Polly do to relieve Tom’s toothache?

1. Tom pretended his toe was dying in order to

a. miss school.

b. scare Sid.

c. make Aunt Polly feel bad.

2. Aunt Polly pulled Tom’s tooth out with

a. her fingers.

b. a pair of pliers.

c. a piece of thread.

3. Tom was miserable on Monday morning because

a. he was sick.

b. he hated going to school.

c. Aunt Polly was sick.

, ,

1. X and Y are parents to Z. But Z is not the son of X. Then what is Z to X?

2. Meera’s brother is the father of Aakash. Then how is Aakash related to Meera?