Once a man, brought up in high moral standards, was visiting a friend out of town. He was to return to London by train, but it was quite a way to the station from the friend’s house, and the only way to get there was by a horse-cart.
The inmates of the estate where he was visiting were very friendly, but their domestic establishment was quite erratic. In the moment of emergency the groom, whose duty was to harness a horse, was nowhere to be found. So Theodor — for this was the man’s name, — was compelled to assist the vicar’s daughter to harness the horse. The stable was full of mice, and Theodor shuddered with disgust — he hated mice.
In the train his ruffled feelings gradually ebbed. He found a compartment, where theonly other travelling companion was a lady. She was about the same age as himself. The lady was more inclined to sleep than to talk. Hardly had the train gathered speed, when Theodor discovered, that there was one more passenger in the compartment, who was utterly unwelcomed. It was a mouse, which had evidently got under his clothes in the stables.
When it became clear that it was impossible to shake the mouse off, Theodor understood that he would have to undress to remove the mouse. He timidly looked at the lady, who was still sleeping and fixed the ends of the railway-rug to the racks on both sides of the compartment. When the mouse was disposed of, he discovered, to his horror, that the lady was wide awake. He blushed, still covered by the rag. The lady’s eyes were fixed on Theodore.
The young felt terribly awkward. The train was nearing London, and Theodor was wriggling under the rug, trying to pull on his trousers. The train was pulling into the station. In a desperate jesture Theodor threw off the rag, rose and put his clothes in order. Avoidong the lady’s look, he took his travelling case and prepared to leave the train. He heard the lady’s voice behind his back. The lady was asking him to get her a porter and put her into the cab. She said she was sorry to trouble him, but, she said, being blind made it awfully difficult to travel.
ANSWER THE QUESTIONS:
1) Why did Theodor have to visit the stables?
2) What did Theodor’s friend do?
EXPLAIN IN ENGLISH THE MEANING OF THE FOLLOWING WORDS AND EXPRESSIONS:
1) inmates; 2) erratic; 3) was nowhere to be found; 4) ruffled feelings ebbed; 5) was utterly unwelcomed; 6) the mouse was disposed of.
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