This summary provides the key details from the document in 3 sentences: Framton Nuttel visits Mrs. Sappleton on the recommendation of his sister, but grows increasingly nervous by her tales of her husband and brothers who died three years prior. Mrs. Sappleton insists they will return through the open window, just as Framton sees figures approaching. Framton flees in terror upon realizing it is the deceased husband and brothers returned, though it is later revealed they were alive and Framton's fear was due to seeing the family dog after a traumatic experience with wild dogs in India.

2. THE OPEN WINDOW
CHAPTER ONE
A Nervous Man
Framton Nuttel was very tired and nervous. The doctors told him he
needed a rest and said he should go somewhere peaceful. So he decided to
spend some time in the country.
'I know what you are like, Framton,' his sister said. 'When you go to
the country, you will stay all alone. That's not good for you. You should not
stay all alone. You should meet some nice people. I was in that part of the
country four years ago. I met some nice people. I will write you some
letters of introduction, and you can meet them.'
'I am not sure that is a good idea,' objected Framton. 'Maybe I
shouldn't. After all, I don't know any of those people.'
'Take my advice,' replied Framton's sister. 'It will be good for you.'
So Framton went to the country with his sister's letters of
introduction. The first person he visited was Mrs Sappleton. He knocked at
the door of Mrs Sappleton's house and a young girl about fifteen years old
opened the door. It was Mrs Sappleton's niece. Her name was Vera.
'My aunt will be down in a moment, Mr Nuttel,' said the girl, who
looked very mature and intelligent. 'While you are waiting, I will try to
entertain you. I hope you don't mind.'
'Oh, I will be happy to talk with you,' replied Framton. He did not
want to offend the girl. But he wondered if going to meet new people was
really good for his health. In fact, he felt quite nervous, and he hoped that
Mrs Sappleton was nice.
'Do you know many of the people round here?' asked Mrs Sappleton's
niece after a few minutes of silence.
'No,' replied Framton, 'I don't know anybody around here. My sister
stayed here four years ago and she gave me some letters of introduction to
some of the people here.'

3. Framton felt more and more nervous, and he was more and more
convinced that it was a bad idea. He needed rest, not new friends.
'Then you know practically nothing about my aunt?' continued the
confident young lady.
'I know only her name and address,' admitted Framton. He was
wondering whether Mrs Sappleton's husband was alive or dead. Looking at
the room, he thought that a man must live there.
'My aunt's great tragedy happened exactly three years ago,' said the
girl. 'That was after your sister was here.'
'Your aunt's tragedy?' asked Framton. He thought the country was
very peaceful. He could not imagine a tragedy there.
'You probably wonder why we keep that window open on a cool
October evening,' said Vera. In fact, behind Framton's chair there was a
large French window that opened on to a lawn.
'It is very warm for this time of the year.' said Framton. 'But is that
window connected with the tragedy?'
'Exactly three years ago my aunt's husband and her two younger
brothers went out through that window. They were going hunting. They
never came back. While they were going to their favourite hunting spot,
they fell into a bog. That particular summer it rained a lot. The bog was
normally safe, but after the rain it became very dangerous. Their bodies
were never found. That is the most horrible part of the story.'
Until this moment, the young girl had seemed very calm. Now she
seemed a little frightened and her voice trembled as she continued the story.
'My poor aunt thinks that her dead husband and brothers will return
some day, together with the dog that went with them. She thinks that they
will walk into the house through that French window as they always did
before they died. That is why that window behind you is kept open until
dark. My poor aunt! She has often told me every detail of that terrible day!
Her husband carried a white raincoat over his arm. Her youngest brother
was singing the song 'Bertie, why do you bound?' He sang this song to
make fun of her. Sometimes, Mr Nuttel, I have the strange feeling that they

4. will return, that they will walk in through that window. It's horrible, really
horrible!'
She stopped telling him her sad story. Framton was happy when the
aunt came back into the room.
'I hope my niece is entertaining you, Mr Nuttel,' Mrs Sappleton said.
'She is very interesting,' said Framton nervously.

5. CHAPTER TWO
Mental Excitement
'I hope you don't mind the open window,' said Mrs Sappleton quickly.
'My husband and my brothers will be back from hunting soon. They always
come into the house through that window.
Today they went to the bogs to hunt for snipe. When they come home
I am sure they will make a mess of everything. You know what men are
like!'
Mrs Sappleton continued to talk about hunting. She told Framton that
there were not many snipes that year. She said that she hoped there would
be a lot of ducks in November. To Framton it was all completely horrible.
While he tried desperately to change the topic of conversation, he was
conscious that Mrs Sappleton only gave him part of her attention. She
continued to look past him out the window.
'Obviously she's looking for her dead husband and brothers,' Framton
thought. 'What a terrible time to visit her, today, the anniversary of their
death.'
To change the topic of conversation he started talking about his bad
health.
'The doctors,' he said, 'told me to rest. I should avoid mental
excitement, and I should avoid all physical activity. They did not, however,
tell me what I should eat.'
'Oh? That is very interesting,' said Mrs Sappleton, who was obviously
not really interested at all. In fact, she almost yawned. Then she became
very interested - but not in what Framton was saying.
'Here they are!' she cried. 'They are just in time for tea. Look, they are
covered with mud up to their eyes!'
Framton shivered and looked at Vera. His look seemed to say, 'Oh, I
am really sorry for your poor aunt!' But the girl was looking out the
window, and she looked horrified. Framton became terrified. He turned
around and looked out the window too.

6. It was almost dark, but Framton could see three men walking across
the lawn towards the window. They all carried guns. One of the three men
had a white raincoat over his arm. There was also a small dog. They did not
say a word. When they were near the window one of them began to sing,
'Bertie, why do you bound?'
Framton jumped up from his chair. He picked up his coat, and ran out
of the house, to the road and was never seen again.
'Here we are, my dear,' said the man who was carrying the white
raincoat over his arm. 'I'm sorry we are a little muddy. Who was that man
who ran away?'
'A very strange man. His name is Framton Nuttel,' said Mrs
Sappleton. 'He only wanted to talk about his bad health, and then he ran
away without saying goodbye and without apologising, as if he had seen a
ghost.'
'I think he ran away because he saw the dog,' said Mrs Sappleton's
niece calmly. 'He told me that he was very afraid of dogs. When he was in
India many years ago, he was attacked by a pack of wild dogs. He ran into a
cemetery, and had to spend the night in a newly dug grave. The dogs
growled and snarled above him for the entire night. So you can understand
why he is so afraid of dogs.'
Inventing fantastic stories was Vera's speciality.

7. THE PENANCE
CHAPTER ONE
The Beast
Octavian Ruttle was an active, friendly person. He liked people and it
was important to him that people liked him. For example, there were three
children who lived in the house next to his. Octavian thought that he should
know their names, their birthdays and their favourite toys. But he only
knew that their parents lived in India, and that they lived with their aunt and
uncle. Occasionally, Octavian saw that the three children were looking
down from the wall that divided the two properties. They never said
anything; they just watched carefully everything he did.
Octavian was a farmer. He had pigs, chickens, and other animals. One
day Octavian looked in the chicken coop and found some blood and
feathers. Some animal had killed one of his chickens. More and more
chickens were killed. Octavian looked carefully for the animal that was
killing his chickens.
One day he saw a cat walking around the coop. He was sure that the
cat was the killer. Unfortunately, the cat belonged to the three children.
Octavian went to the children's house, and explained his problem to their
uncle. The uncle agreed that the cat had to be killed. 'The children will be
upset but you don't have to tell them,' was the uncle's last word on the
matter.
The next day, Octavian waited for the cat. When it arrived he shot at it
with his hunting rifle - and missed it. The cat tried desperately to escape.
Octavian shot again and missed it again. Then the cat ran out into a field
where there was a large oak tree. It climbed up the tree and now it was
trapped. Octavian walked up to the tree, pointed his rifle at the cat, and
shot. This time he did not miss and the dead cat fell to the ground. Octavian
told the gardener to bury it near the oak tree.
Octavian felt very bad about killing the cat but he had to do it: it was
killing his chickens. He walked slowly back to his house. And as he walked
near the wall he looked up and saw that the three children were staring at

8. him. They had seen everything! Now they were looking at Octavian. Their
expressions showed how much they hated him.
'I am sorry, but I had to do it,' said Octavian sincerely.
'Beast!' was the answer the three children gave with great intensity.
He saw that it was impossible to explain the situation to the children
at that moment. He decided to wait a few days before he tried to make
peace with them.
Two days later he went to the sweet-shop and asked for a large box of
chocolates. He didn't want the first two boxes that the shopkeeper showed
him; one had a picture of a cat on the cover, and the other had a picture of
some chickens. Finally the shopkeeper brought him a box decorated with
flowers. Octavian sent the box to the children and later received a note
saying that they had received the present.
The next day he felt much better when he went to look at his chicken
coops and pigsties. He saw that the three children were looking down from
the wall, but they were not looking at him. Then Octavian noticed that here
and there in the grass were pieces of chocolate and their shiny wrappers. It
looked like a greedy child's paradise.
The children had thrown his presents back at him.

9. CHAPTER TWO
Un-Beast
Octavian felt even worse when he found more blood and feathers in
the coop. Apparently, the cat was innocent; some other animal was the real
killer. The cat had probably come near the coop looking for rats. The
children learned from the servants that the real killer was not their cat, and
one day Octavian found a piece of paper on which was written: 'Beast. Rats
eaten your chickens.' Now more than ever he wished to find some way to
make peace with the children.
One day he had an inspiration. His two-year-old daughter Olivia
usually spent a couple of hours with him while her nursemaid ate lunch.
About the same time the children appeared on the wall. Octavian walked
with Olivia near the wall and he saw that the children seemed very
interested.
'My Olivia,' thought Octavian, 'will be able to succeed where I have
failed.'
He brought Olivia a large yellow dahlia. Then he looked up at the
children on the wall and asked, 'Do you like flowers?' They nodded their
heads solemnly.
'Which do you like best?' he asked.
'Those with all the colours, over there,' answered the children,
pointing to a group of sweet peas at the other end of the garden. Octavian
ran happily to get the flowers for the children. He pulled up lots and lots of
flowers of all different colours, and then he returned to the wall to give
them to the children. But there was no one on the wall. The children had
gone, and, what is more, Olivia had gone too.
Down in the meadow, the three children were pushing a go-cart very
fast towards the pigsties; it was Olivia's go-cart and she was on it. Octavian
stared for a moment at the rapidly moving group, and then started to run
after them. When he arrived at the pigsties he saw the children climbing on

10. the roof with Olivia. They were old buildings and could not support
Octavian's weight.
'What are you going to do with her?' he shouted. It was obvious from
the expression on their faces that they were going to do something bad.
'We are going to cook her over a fire,' said one of the boys who had
obviously read English history.
'Throw her down and the pigs will eat all of her except the palms of
her hands,' said the other boy, who had obviously read Biblical history.
The last proposal alarmed Octavian the most. He had heard of cases
where pigs had eaten small children.
'You wouldn't do such a horrible thing to my little Olivia?' he shouted.
'You killed our little cat,' replied the children.
'I'm very sorry that I did,' said Octavian.
'We will be very sorry when we kill Olivia,' said the girl, 'but we can't
be sorry until we have killed her.'
Before Octavian could think of an answer to this child-logic, he saw
Olivia fall from the roof into the muck below. He went quickly over the
wall of the pigsty to rescue his daughter but found himself trapped in the
muck. He could hardly move. At first Olivia was almost happy to be in the
slippery muck. But when she began to sink she realised that she was not at
all happy, and she began to cry. Octavian battled with the muck, but he
could not move.
'I can't reach her in time,' he shouted. 'She'll die in the muck. Won't
you help her?'
'No one helped our cat,' the children reminded him.
'I'll do anything to show you that I am really and truly sorry,' cried
Octavian.
'Will you stand wearing only your white shirt by the cat's grave?'
'Yes,' screamed Octavian.
'Holding a candle?' asked one of the boys.

11. 'And saying, 'I'm a miserable Beast'?' asked the girl.
'Yes, yes!' answered Octavian.
'For a long, long time?' asked the girl.
'For half an hour,' said Octavian anxiously. He had read that a German
king had done penance by standing outside in only his shirt for five days
and five nights at Christmas-time. Fortunately, the children had not read any
German history and half an hour seemed like enough time to them. They
threw down a ladder and Octavian was able to save Olivia.
That evening he went to the oak tree where the cat was buried. He
was wearing only a shirt. In one hand he had a candle, and in the other hand
he had a watch. He stood there for half an hour saying, 'I'm a miserable
Beast. I'm a miserable Beast. I'm a miserable Beast.' He was sure that the
three children were watching him.
The next morning Octavian was very happy when he found a piece of
paper next to the wall, on which was written the message 'Un-Beast.'

12. MORLVERA
CHAPTER ONE
The Adventuress
The Olympic Toy Emporium had a large shop window in an
important West End street. No one called it the more familiar and exciting
name of toyshop. Its toys were incredible but not toys that children really
liked. For example, the animal toys looked like scientific models and not
friendly companions to take to bed.
One of the dolls in the window looked like a model in a fashion
magazine. She wore a skirt and leopard-skin accessories.
Unlike a model in a fashion magazine, this doll had a terrible
expression on her face. She seemed to have a really horrible character and
you could imagine hundreds of stories about her in which she had unworthy
ambitions and a great desire for money.
As a matter of fact, two poor children, Emmeline, aged ten and Bert,
aged seven, had stopped on their way to St James's Park. They did not like
her much because she was rich and they were poor, and because she had
such a terrible expression on her face. Emmeline gave the doll a terrible
reputation; she got her ideas from the conversations of her mother's friends
about romantic novels.
'She is a bad one,' declared Emmeline, 'and her husband hates her.'
'He hits her a lot,' said Bert with enthusiasm.
'No, he doesn't, because he's dead. She poisoned him slowly so that no
one would know. Now she wants to marry a lord with lots and lots of
money. He's already got a wife, but she's going to poison her too.'
'She's a bad one,' said Bert with growing hostility.
'Her mother hates her,' continued Emmeline, 'because she's so
sarcastic. She's greedy too. If there is fish for dinner, she eats her own share
and her little girl's share too, and her little girl is delicate.'

13. 'She had a little boy once,' said Bert, 'but she pushed him into the
water when nobody was looking.'
'No, she didn't,' said Emmeline, 'she sent him away to live with some
poor people, and they treat him very badly.'
'What's her name?' asked Bert, thinking that such an interesting
personality should have a name.
'Her name?' said Emmeline, thinking hard. 'Her name is Morlvera.'
She thought this seemed like the name of an adventuress in a film.
'She hasn't paid for the clothes she is wearing, and she will never pay
for them; she thinks that the rich lord will pay for them, but he won't. He
has already given her lots of jewels.'
'He won't pay for the clothes,' said Bert with conviction.
It seems that there is a limit to the weak good nature of a rich lord.

14. CHAPTER TWO
Revenge
At that moment, a motor car with servants drove up to the emporium.
A large lady and a sulky little boy stepped out. He was wearing a very white
sailor suit.
'Now Victor,' said the lady, 'come and buy a nice doll for your cousin
Bertha. She gave you a beautiful box of soldiers on your birthday, and you
must give her a present on hers.'
'Bertha is a fat little fool,' said the little boy loudly.
'Victor,' said his mother, 'you shouldn't say such things. Bertha is not a
fool, and she is not fat. You must come in and choose a doll for her.'
They then walked into the shop.
'He is in a bad temper,' exclaimed Emmeline. However, she and Bert
believed him when he said that his cousin was fat and foolish.
'I want to see some dolls,' said the mother to the shop assistant. 'It's
for a girl of eleven.'
'A fat little girl of eleven,' added Victor.
'Victor, if you say such rude things about your cousin, you will go to
bed the moment we get home, without tea.'
'This is one of the newest dolls,' said the assistant, taking Morlvera
out of the shop window. 'You won't find anything newer anywhere. It's an
exclusive design.'
'Look!' whispered Emmeline outside. 'They have taken Morlvera.'
She was both excited and a little sad. She really wanted to look at
Morlvera a little longer.
'She is probably going away in a carriage to marry the rich lord,' said
Bert.
'She's up to no good,' said Emmeline seriously.
Inside the shop, Victor and his mother bought the doll.

15. 'It's a beautiful doll, and Bertha will be very happy with it,' said
Victor's mother.
'Oh, very well,' said Victor sulkily, 'but we don't have to wait for him
to wrap it. We can take it directly to Bertha's house so that I don't have to
write, 'For dear Bertha, with Victor's love' on a piece of paper.'
'Very well,' said the mother, 'we can go to Bertha's house on the way
home. You must wish her happy birthday and give her the doll.'
'But I won't let the little beast kiss me,' said Victor.
His mother said nothing because, in the end, Victor had not acted so
badly. When he wanted, he could be terribly naughty.
Emmeline and Bert were just walking away from the window, when
Victor came out holding Morlvera. She seemed to have a look of triumph
on her face. As for Victor, he had a peaceful look on his face now. He
seemed to have accepted his defeat.
His mother got into the motor car and gave directions to the driver,
and Victor got in beside her, holding the elegantly dressed doll.
The driver started moving the car back a little bit in order to turn
around. Very secretly, very gently, very mercilessly, Victor threw the doll
over his shoulder and it fell just behind one of the wheels.
The car went over the doll and made a crunching sound as it broke.
Then the car moved forward making another crunching sound. The motor
car drove away, and Bert and Emmeline looked with scared delight at the
mess of dirty clothes, sawdust and leopard skin, which was all that
remained of the hateful Morlvera. They cheered happily and ran away from
the scene of the tragedy.
Later that afternoon in St James's Park, Emmeline said seriously to
Bert, 'I've been thinking. Do you know who he was? He was the little boy
that she had sent away to live with poor people. He came back and did that
to her.'

16. SREDNI VASHTAR
CHAPTER ONE
For his good
Conradin was ten years old. He lived with Mrs De Ropp, who was his
cousin and guardian. One day Mrs De Ropp called a doctor because
Conradin was always sick. The doctor came and examined him.
'This boy will only live another five years,' said the doctor.
'I agree,' said Mrs De Ropp; 'he is such an ill little boy.'
The doctor's opinion wasn't important to Conradin, but Mrs De Ropp's
was very important. She represented that large part of Conradin's world that
was unpleasant, necessary and real. The other, smaller part of his world was
represented by his imagination - his only defense against Mrs De Ropp.
'One day,' thought Conradin, 'I'm certain that I'll lose this war against
her. Tomorrow will be like today: I'll take my medicine at nine o'clock, I
won't play in the garden, I'll go to bed at seven o'clock. Every day I'll do
these things, and, in the end, I'll die.' For the moment, however, Conradin
continued to fight his battle, with imagination as his only weapon.
Mrs De Ropp did not admit to herself that she disliked Conradin; but
she was probably aware that she took pleasure in stopping him from playing
- 'for his good'. Conradin hated her but he was able to hide this hate. He
enjoyed his few pleasures very much because he knew that Mrs De Ropp
did not approve.
There was a garden behind the house, but Conradin never played
there. He knew that one of the windows of the house would open and he
would hear Mrs De Ropp shout, 'Conradin, come and take your medicine!'
or 'Conradin, come inside now. It's too cold. Do you want to get ill?' So
Conradin went to a shed in a far corner of the garden. This shed was his
place of refuge; it was in part a cathedral and in part a playroom. Conradin's
imagination had filled the shed with hundreds of interesting phantoms, but
there were also two real living creatures. One of these was a hen, to which
Conradin gave all of his affection - he had no one else. And in the back of

17. the shed there was a large hutch. This was the home of a large polecat-
ferret. Conradin was terribly afraid of this beast with sharp teeth, but it was
his most treasured possession. It was also his secret from the Woman, which
was his own private name for Mrs De Ropp. And one day he invented a
fantastic name for the beast - Sredni Vashtar, and it became his god and
religion. The Woman also had her religion, and she took Conradin to her
church once a week. But the Woman's religion was not his. Every Thursday
Conradin worshipped his god. He brought it red flowers and red fruit
because Sredni Vashtar was an impatient god that would not like the slow,
boring rituals of the Woman's religion. And on special festivals he brought
nutmeg to his god, and it was essential that the nutmeg was stolen from the
kitchen of the Woman. These festivals were not regular; they were held to
celebrate something special that happened. For example, once Mrs De Ropp
had a horrible toothache for three days and Conradin celebrated for three
days. He almost believed that Sredni Vashtar had caused the Woman's
terrible pain.
Unfortunately, the Woman noticed that he spent a lot of time in the
shed. 'It is not good for him to be there all the time. I am going to tell the
gardener to take away his hen. Then there will be no reason for him to go to
the shed,' she thought.

18. CHAPTER TWO
Teast
The next day at breakfast Mrs De Ropp turned to Conradin and said,
'Yesterday the gardener took your hen away and sold it.'
She waited for him to say something, to become angry; then she could
explain why the chicken was taken away 'for his good'. But Conradin said
nothing.
Perhaps Mrs De Ropp felt a little guilty because at tea that afternoon
there was toast on the table. Normally Conradin was not permitted to eat
toast, even though it was his favourite food. This time, however, he did not
eat the toast.
'I thought you liked toast,' she said.
'Sometimes,' said Conradin.
In the shed that evening he changed his manner of worshipping the
ferret. Before this, he had only praised his god; now he asked it for a favour.
'Do one thing for me, Sredni Vashtar.'
The thing was not specified. But Sredni Vashtar was a god, and so he
knew. Conradin looked at the place where the chicken had lived and almost
cried. Then he went back to the world he hated.
And every night in the darkness of his bedroom and every evening in
the shed Conradin said the same thing: 'Do one thing for me, Sredni
Vashtar.'
Mrs De Ropp saw that Conradin continued to go to the shed; one day
she decided to see why.
'What do you keep in that hutch?' she asked. 'I think you have some
guinea pigs. I will tell the gardener to take them away.'
The woman then went to Conradin's bedroom to find the key to the
hutch. When she found it she went directly to the hutch to complete her
discovery. From a window of the dining room Conradin could see the door
of the shed. He saw that the Woman entered. He imagined that she was

19. opening the door of the sacred hutch and trying to see what was hidden
inside. Perhaps she would put her hand inside. Conradin said his prayer for
the last time. But he knew as he prayed that he did not really believe that
the polecat-ferret was a god.
'I'm sure that she will come out in a minute,' Conradin thought, 'with
the hutch in her hand. She will have a smile on her face. I hate her smile!
Then she will call the gardener and tell him to take away my wonderful
god, who is not even a real god. She will win because she always wins, and
I will grow sicker and sicker. And she will be right and the doctor will be
right. And I will die.'
Conradin began to sing loudly to his god:
Sredni Vashtar went forth, His thoughts were red thoughts and his
teeth were white. His enemies called for peace, but he brought them death.
Sredni Vashtar the Beautiful.
And then he stopped singing and went near the window. He could see
that the door of the shed was still open. Time went very slowly, one minute,
two minutes, three minutes..., but it went. He watched the birds in the
garden. They flew in little groups from tree to tree. He counted them, one,
two, three, four, five..., and then he counted them again. A maid came in
with the table for tea, and still Conradin watched. Minutes were moving and
there was hope for the first time. Perhaps victory was near. He started
singing again, 'Sredni Vashtar went forth, His thoughts were red thoughts
and...' And then he saw what he wanted to see: the long yellow-and-brown
beast came out from the shed into the bright sunlight. Its fur was dark with
blood. Conradin fell on his knees. The great polecat-ferret went to a small
stream in the garden. It drank, crossed a little bridge, and then vanished.
'Tea is ready,' said the maid. 'Where is Mrs De Ropp?'
'She went down to the shed a half an hour ago,' said Conradin. The
maid left the room to call Mrs De Ropp. When she had gone Conradin
opened a drawer, pulled out a toasting fork, and started to toast a piece of
bread. While he was toasting the bread and putting enormous quantities of

20. delicious butter on it, he listened to the noises that came from downstairs.
He heard the maid screaming, people running in and out, and, finally, he
heard men carrying some heavy object into the house.
Then he heard the maid say, 'Who will tell the boy the terrible news. I
can't. Oh it's just too horrible.' And while the servants debated the matter,
Conradin made himself another piece of toast.

21. TOBERMORY
CHAPTER ONE
A Great Discovery
Lady Blemley knew that her house-party was going to be difficult to
organise because it would continue for several days and the guests would
have to sleep in her large house. She always tried to invite guests who were
talented and entertaining. Some people were invited because they were
good at playing cards, others because they were good at acting, and others
because they were good at playing the piano. After all, it was difficult to
entertain guests for three or four days. To this particular house-party Lady
Blemley invited Cornelius Appin. People said that he was clever; and, in
fact, Cornelius seemed like the name of a clever man. But when he was at
the party Lady Blemley could not understand why people thought he was
clever. He said very little.
One afternoon it was raining and all the guests were in the living
room.
Cornelius Appin said, 'I have made the most important scientific
discovery in the history of the world. I have worked on this particular
problem for many years.'
'What is this fantastic discovery?' asked Sir Wilfrid, another one of
Lady Blemley's guests.
'I have taught animals how to speak our language,' explained
Cornelius.
'Do you have an example of your work here?' asked Sir Wilfrid, who
obviously did not believe Cornelius.
'Yes, I do. Lady Blemley's cat, Tobermory. Tobermory is my best
student,' answered Cornelius.
'How can we possibly believe,' continued Sir Wilfrid, 'that you have
discovered how to teach animals to talk?'

22. 'Well,' explained Cornelius, 'I have worked on this problem for many
years. I have experimented with thousands and thousands of animals. Seven
months ago I began to work with cats. Cats are the perfect animals for my
work: they live with us but they are still like wild animals. And there are
cats who are more intelligent than other cats. Tobermory is one of these
intelligent cats: in fact, he is a Super-cat. He is the first animal that I have
taught to speak perfectly.'
All the guests looked at Cornelius. Nobody said a word. They thought
he was crazy, or a liar.
Finally, after a minute or two, Miss Resker said, 'I understand. You
have taught Tobermory to say and understand very simple sentences like
'Go!' or 'Come!' That's very interesting.'
'No, no,' said Cornelius patiently, Tittle children learn short sentences
first. But Tobermory is a very intelligent animal. I taught him to speak
English perfectly and completely. His English is as good as your English.'
Now everybody was sure that Cornelius was a liar.
'I think we should see the cat and then we can judge for ourselves,'
suggested Lady Blemley.
Sir Wilfrid left the room and went to look for the cat. Everyone began
to think that Cornelius was a good ventriloquist. They waited for this
interesting show of ventriloquism to begin.
A minute later, Sir Wilfrid came back in the room. His face was
white. He was obviously very excited.
'It's true! It's true!' he shouted.
The other guests could see that Sir Wilfrid was telling the truth and
they asked him what had happened.
'Well, I found Tobermory sleeping on a chair in the smoking-room. I
told him to come to the living room immediately. He opened his eyes
slowly and looked at me.
'Then he said, 'I'll come when I want to. Now, go away!' I almost
fainted!'

23. CHAPTER TWO
Some Terrible Discoveries
Now everybody believed Cornelius. They began to ask him lots of
questions. Cornelius smiled. He was very happy with his first success. At
that moment, when everybody was asking Cornelius questions, Tobermory
walked into the room. None of the guests said a word. They felt
embarrassed in front of a talking cat.
Finally, the hostess - Lady Blemley - said nervously, 'Would you like
some milk, Tobermory?'
'Yes, I'm a little thirsty,' said the cat indifferently.
Everyone in the room was shocked. And Lady Blemley's hand shook
as she poured Tobermory some milk.
'I'm sorry, but I've spilt most of the milk on the carpet,' apologised
Lady Blemley.
'I don't care,' responded Tobermory, 'it's not my carpet.'
The room was silent for another minute. Then Miss Resker asked
Tobermory if it was difficult to learn to speak. The cat looked at Miss
Resker for a minute. Then he looked out the window. It was obvious that he
considered Miss Resker's question ridiculous.
'What do you think of human intelligence?' asked Mavis Pellington
stupidly.
'Human intelligence in general, or do you want to know about some
particular person?' asked Tobermory.
'Uh... well... my intelligence. What do you think of my intelligence?'
asked Mavis with a nervous laugh.
'Well, you put me in an embarrassing position,' said Tobermory. But
he did not look embarrassed. 'Anyway, I'll answer you. When Lady Blemley
told Sir Wilfrid that she wanted to invite you to this party he said, 'Mavis
Pellington is the stupidest woman in the world. Why are you inviting her?'
Lady Blemley replied, 'Sir Wilfrid, I am inviting her because she is stupid. I

24. have this old car that I want to sell and Mavis Pellington is the only person
stupid enough to buy it.''
Lady Blemley, of course, said that Tobermory was a liar. But Mavis
Pellington did not believe her: that morning she had bought Lady Blemley's
old car.
Major Barfield tried to change the subject.
He said, 'Tobermory, do you want to tell us about your girlfriend, the
striped cat that lives near the stable?'
Everyone immediately understood that he had made a terrible
mistake.
'It is not polite to ask people about their love affairs.' replied
Tobermory coldly. 'Do you want me to talk about what I have seen during
this party? I'm sure that you wouldn't like that, would you?' There was a
moment of general panic. Almost all the guests had some private love affair.
They all thought, 'If Tobermory says what he has seen, I'll be in trouble.'
Tobermory's dinner was in two hours, but Lady Blemley said,
'Tobermory, why don't you ask the cook if your dinner is ready?'
'Thanks,' responded Tobermory, 'but I have just had tea. I don't want
to die of indigestion.'
'Cats have nine lives, Tobermory,' said Sir Wilfrid, trying to be funny.
'Possibly,' was the answer, 'but only one liver.'
'Lady Blemley, are you going to permit this cat to talk about us with
the servants?' said Mrs Cornett, another guest.
The panic was general. Everyone remembered that Tobermory often
walked outside their windows. It was obvious that he had seen and heard
everything that happened in their bedrooms. Some guests became white
with fear. Others, like Odo Finsberry, who was studying to be a minister of
the Church, ran out of the room.
All the guests thought, 'If Tobermory tells everything he knows, there
will be terrible scandals.'
Finally, Agnes Resker said dramatically, 'Why did I come to this
house-party?'

25. Tobermory had the answer:
'I know why you came. Yesterday you said to Mrs Cornett that Lady
Blemley's parties were very boring but the food was delicious. You told her
that you came for the good food. In fact, you said that everyone came for
the food.'
'That is not true. You are a liar! Mrs Cornett, tell the truth. Did I say
that? Tell the...'
'Then Mrs Cornett told Bertie van Tahnn what you said,' continued
Tobermory, 'and he said that Agnes Resker went anywhere she could get
free food, and then...'
Fortunately for the guests, at that moment Tobermory stopped his
story. He had seen his enemy, a big yellow tomcat. He jumped out the
window, and ran after it.
All the guests looked at Cornelius angrily. He had caused all this
trouble.
'Do you think Tobermory will teach other cats to talk?' they asked
Cornelius.
'It's possible,' replied Cornelius. 'Maybe he has taught his girlfriend,
the cat that lives in the stables. But I don't think he has taught any other
cats. At least, not yet.'
'Lady Blemley,' said Mrs Cornett, 'I know that you and your husband
like Tobermory very much, but he and his friend the stable cat must be
killed.'
'I have not enjoyed this last half hour either,' said Lady Blemley. 'Yes,
it is true that my husband and I like Tobermory very much. Well, we liked
him before he learned to talk, and tell our secrets. Anyway, I agree that he
must be killed as soon as possible.'
'We can put poison in his food,' said Sir Wilfrid, 'and I will go and
drown the stable cat.'
'What about my great discovery?' Cornelius said with great emotion. 'I
have worked for many years!'

26. 'Why don't you go to the zoo,' said Mrs Cornett, 'and teach the
elephants to talk. Elephants are very intelligent animals, but they do not
hide under your chair and they do not sit outside your bedroom window!'
Cornelius tried to persuade them not to kill Tobermory and destroy all
his scientific work. No one listened to him. In fact, many of the guests
thought that poison should be put in Cornelius's food.
That night at dinner all the guests were quiet. Lady Blemley tried to
create conversation. But no one talked. They were all watching Tobermory's
bowl. Inside the bowl was some delicious meat and poison. But Tobermory
still did not come back.
After dinner, still no Tobermory. The servants came and announced
that the window of the kitchen was open as usual for Tobermory. Nine
o'clock, no Tobermory. Ten o'clock, no Tobermory. At eleven o'clock one of
the guests got up to go to bed. Before leaving the room he said, 'Tobermory
probably went to the local newspaper to tell everything he has seen and
heard during this house-party. Good night!'
It was not a good night.
The next morning all the guests asked the servants the same question,
and the servants gave the guests the same answer: 'No, Tobermory has not
returned.'
Breakfast was even more depressing than dinner the night before. But,
before it was over, the gardener walked into the room with Tobermory's
dead body.
'His enemy, the big tomcat, killed him,' explained the gardener.
Tobermory was Cornelius Appin's first and only successful student. A
few weeks later Lady Blemley read in the newspaper that an elephant in the
Dresden Zoological Garden had killed an Englishman. The newspaper said
that the elephant was usually gentle and calm, but that the Englishman had
apparently provoked it. The name of the Englishman was C. Appin.'
As one of Lady Blemley's guests said, 'If he was trying to teach that
elephant German irregular verbs, he deserved to die.'

27. THE INTERLOPERS
CHAPTER ONE
Enemies
One winter night a man stood in a forest in the Carpathian Mountains.
He was carrying a rifle and it seemed that he was waiting and listening for
some wild animal. But Ulrich von Gradwitz was looking for a human
enemy.
Ulrich had a lot of land. This land was full of all different kinds of
wild animals, but he always guarded carefully one particular area of this
land. It was mountainous and not many animals lived there. So why did
Ulrich guard this land so carefully?
Many years ago Ulrich's grandfather and a neighbour, Heinrich
Znaeym, had both wanted the same portion of land. They went to court and
Ulrich's grandfather won the case. Heinrich Znaeym, however, did not
accept the court's decision; he continued to hunt on the land. The two
families began fighting. Ulrich and Heinrich Znaeym's grandson, Georg,
hated each other passionately. When they were boys they wanted to kill
each other. Now they were men, and they each wanted the other to suffer.
This night Ulrich and his forest guards were out looking for Georg
and his men. It was a stormy night and the wind was strong. Ulrich saw
deer running from the contested area of land. Normally, during a storm deer
stay in one place, so he knew that his enemy was near.
He told his guards to wait at the top of a hill and walked off into the
woods and down the hill by himself. He listened carefully for the sound of
branches breaking.
'I hope,' he said to himself, 'I will meet Georg Znaeym tonight man to
man. If I kill him here, no one will ever know.'
At that moment, as Ulrich walked around the trunk of a gigantic tree,
he came face to face with Georg Znaeym.
The enemies stared at each other for a long, silent moment. Each man
had a rifle in his hand, each man had hate in his heart, and each man had

28. murder in his thoughts. But it is difficult for a civilised man to shoot his
neighbour in cold blood. They had to say something. At this moment,
however, the wind blew particularly hard and there was a crash: a gigantic
tree fell on top of the two men. Ulrich von Gradwitz could not move. One
arm was probably broken and the other arm was partly under the trunk. His
legs were under a large branch. His face was badly cut, and he had to blink
several times to move the blood from his eyes.
Almost next to him lay Georg Znaeym, alive and fighting to move.
Ulrich could see that he was in almost the same condition.
Ulrich was both happy to be alive and angry at his situation. Georg
was almost blind from the blood that flowed into his eyes from cuts on his
forehead. He stopped moving for a moment to listen, and then he laughed
angrily.
'So you weren't killed,' said Georg, 'but you're caught anyway. That's
very funny: Ulrich von Gradwitz caught in his stolen forest. Now that is
real justice!'
And he laughed again angrily and ironically.
'I'm caught in my own forest,' replied Ulrich. 'When my men come to
release me, you'll be sorry that you were caught poaching here in my forest.'
Georg was silent for a moment; then he answered quietly.
'Are you sure that your men will find you first? I have men, too, in the
forest tonight. They're near, and they'll find me first. When they pull me
out, perhaps, by accident of course, they'll push the trunk on top of you.
Your men will find you dead under this tree. Then, because I am a
gentleman, I shall send my condolences to your family.'
'That's a good idea,' said Ulrich angrily and ironically. 'I told my men
to follow me after ten minutes. Seven of those ten minutes have gone by
already, and when they come I'll remember your idea! Only I can't decently
send condolences to your family: after all, you were poaching on my land.'
'Good,' growled Georg, 'good. We shall fight to the death, just you and
I and our guards, with no interlopers. Death and damnation to you, Ulrich
von Gradwitz.'

29. 'The same to you, Georg Znaeym, forest-thief, poacher.'
But both men knew that it was a question of chance which man's
guards would come first.

30. CHAPTER TWO
Friends
Now the two men had stopped trying to get free. Ulrich tried with his
partially free arm to pull out his wine-flask. After a few minutes he finally
succeeded. Then after another few minutes he succeeded in pulling off the
stopper. He drank a little. It was truly wonderful. In this cold weather the
wine warmed his body. Then he looked with pity at Georg, who was
fighting not to scream in pain.
'Can you reach the flask if I throw it to you?' Ulrich asked suddenly.
'There's good wine in it and there's no reason why we should suffer. Let us
drink, even if tonight one of us dies.'
'No, I can't see anything because I have dried blood on my eyes,' said
Georg. 'And in any case I don't drink wine with an enemy.' Ulrich was silent
for a few minutes, listening to the sound of the wind. An idea was gradually
formulating in his brain. This idea grew clearer every time he looked at
Georg fighting against his pain. In the pain that Ulrich was feeling the old
hate was beginning to die.
'Neighbour,' Ulrich said, 'you can do what you want if your men come
first. It was a fair agreement. But I've changed my mind. If my men come
first, they will help you first, as though you were my guest. We have fought
all our lives over this stupid portion of forest. Tonight lying here thinking, I
have come to the conclusion that we have been fools. What is so important
about this portion of forest? Neighbour, if you help me end this fight, I'll
ask you to be my friend.'
Georg Znaeym was silent for a long time. Ulrich began to think that
he had fainted because of the pain. Then Georg spoke slowly.
'Everyone would be shocked if we rode into town together. Nobody
can remember a Znaeym and a von Gradwitz talking to each other as
friends. And there will be peace among the forest guards and their families
if we end the fight tonight. And if we choose to make peace among our
families, there is no one who will interfere, no interlopers from outside. You
could come to my house at Christmas and I could come to your castle on

31. other holidays. I would never hunt on your land, if you didn't invite me; and
you could come and hunt ducks in my marshes. There is nobody around
here who can stop us if we want to make peace. I have always thought that I
wanted to hate you. But I changed my mind when you offered me your
wine-flask. Ulrich von Gradwitz, I will be your friend.'
Then they were both silent. They were thinking about the wonderful
changes this new peace would bring. In the cold, dark forest, with the wind
blowing, they waited for the help that would free both of them. And each
man wanted his men to come first, so that he could be the first to help his
new friend.
Then the wind stopped for a moment and Ulrich spoke.
'Let's shout for help,' he said. 'Now that the wind has stopped, they
might hear us.'
'It will be difficult in this forest,' replied Georg, 'but let's try. Together,
then.'
The two men shouted together for help.
'Together again,' said Ulrich a few minutes later.
'I heard something that time, I think,' said Ulrich.
'I only heard the wind,' said Georg.
There was silence again for a few minutes, and then Ulrich shouted
joyfully.
'I can see people coming through the forest.'
Both men shouted again.
'They can hear us! They've stopped. Now they've seen us. They're
running down the hill toward us,' cried Ulrich.
'How many are there?' asked Georg who could not see because of the
dried blood on his eyes.
'I can't see distinctly,' said Ulrich; 'nine or ten.'
'Then they're your men,' said Georg. 'I only had seven men with me
tonight.'

32. 'They are running quickly. What brave men! said Ulrich gladly.
'Are they your men?' asked Georg. 'Are they your men?' he repeated
impatiently as Ulrich did not answer.
'No,' said Ulrich with a laugh. But it was the idiotic laugh of a man
who is very afraid.
'Who are they?' asked George quickly, trying to see what the other
man would have preferred not to see.
'Wolves.'
- THE END -
Hope you have enjoyed the reading!