The Open Window
The same text at three levels
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Framton Nuttel is a young man. He has bad nerves. The doctors say: rest. So he goes to a quiet village. His sister gives him letters for some people.
Framton Nuttel was a nervous young man. His doctors told him to rest, so he went to stay in a quiet village in the country. His sister gave him some letters of introduction. “You will bury yourself there,” she said, “and speak to nobody, and you will mope. Your nerves will be worse than ever.”
“My aunt will be down presently, Mr. Nuttel,” said a very self-possessed young lady of fifteen. “In the meantime you must try and put up with me.”
Words for the text
- nerves
- Bad nerves make you worried.
- niece
- Your sister’s or brother’s daughter.
- French window
- A glass door onto a lawn.
- lawn
- Short grass by a house.
- moor
- High, wild land with no trees.
- bog
- Very wet, soft ground.
- spaniel
- A small dog with long ears.
- shooting
- Killing birds with guns.
The opening of the text
A visit in the country
Framton Nuttel was a nervous young man. His doctors told him to rest, so he went to stay in a quiet village in the country. His sister gave him some letters of introduction. “You will bury yourself there,” she said, “and speak to nobody, and you will mope. Your nerves will be worse than ever.”
So one October afternoon he visited Mrs. Sappleton. Her niece was in the room: a very self-possessed young lady of fifteen. “My aunt will come down soon, Mr. Nuttel,” she said. “Until then, you must put up with me.”
“Do you know many people here?” asked the niece. “Almost nobody,” said Framton. “My sister stayed at the priest’s house four years ago.” “So you know nothing about my aunt?” “Only her name,” he admitted.
In a few words
A nervous man visits a country house. A young girl tells him a sad story about an open window. Then something strange happens. He runs away.
Author
Saki (H. H. Munro) (1911)
Original from 1911, in the public domain. The adaptation was checked against the full text. gutenberg.org
Levels
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