Flamingo Prose Chapter 4 The Rattrap English - Flamingo Prose Chapter 4 The Rattrap

The young girl opened the package, which was so badly done up that the contents came into view at once. She gave a little cry of joy. She found a small rattrap, and in it lay three wrinkled ten kronor notes. But that was not all. In the rattrap lay also a letter written in large, jagged characters -
"Honoured and noble Miss, “Since you have been so nice to me all day long, as if I was a captain, I want to be nice to you, in return, as if I was a real captain -for I do not want you to be embarrassed at this Christmas season by a thief; but you can give back the money to the old man on the roadside, who has the money pouch hanging on the window frame as a bait for poor wanderers.
“The rattrap is a Christmas present from a rat who would have been caught in this world's rattrap if he had not been raised to captain, because in that way he got power to clear himself.
"Written with friendship
and high regard,
"Captain von Stahle.”
1.Why did the contents of the package come into view at once?
a) It was opened by mistake
b) The package was poorly done up
c) The young girl was too excited
d) The stranger revealed the contents
2.What did the package contain?
a) A Christmas tree
b) A bag of chocolates
c) A small rattrap and money
d) A letter and a necklace
3.Who is referred to as the 'rat' in the above passage?
a) The young girl
b) The ironmaster
c) The stranger
d) The crofter
4.What is the ‘bait for poor wanderers'?
a) The rattrap
b) The roadside inn
c) The money pouch
d) The window frame
5.Find the word from the passage which is the synonym of 'delight'.
a) Sorrow
b) Regret
c) Joy
d) Displeasure
6.Find the word from the passage which is the antonym of 'disrespect'.
a) Contempt
b) Rudeness
c) Disregard
d) Esteem

When, at about ten o'clock, they drove back from the church, the young girl sat and hung her head even more dejectedly than usual. At church she had learned that one of the old crofters of the ironworks had been robbed by a man who went around selling rattraps.
“Yes, that was a fine fellow you let into the house,” said her father. “I only wonder how · many silver spoons are left in the cupboard by this time.”
The wagon had hardly stopped at the front steps when the ironmaster asked the valet whether the stranger was still there. He added that he had heard at church that the man was a thief. The valet answered that the fellow had gone and that he had not taken anything with him at all. On the contrary, he had left behind a little package which Miss Willmansson was to be kind enough to accept as a Christmas present.
1.What had the young girl learned at the church?
a) A new recipe
b) Someone had a birthday
c) A crofter had been robbed by a rattrap seller
d) The church schedule
2.What did her father wonder?
a) How many silver spoons were left in the cupboard
b) If it would snow
c) What was for dinner
d) Why the church service was so long
3.What did the ironmaster ask his valet?
a) If he could prepare lunch
b) If he heard about the church service
c) If the stranger was still there
d) If he could go for a walk
4.What had the stranger left behind?
a) A note of apology
b) A bag of money
c) Stolen goods
d) A Christmas present
5.Find the word from the passage which means 'in hopelessness'.
a) Cheerfully
b) Dejectedly
c) Energetically
d) Gloomily
6.Find the word from the passage which is opposite to 'same'.
a) Similar
b) Different
c) Identical
d) Unchanged

As soon as they got up from the table he went around to each one present and said thank you and good night, but when he came to the young girl she gave him to understand that it was her father's intention that the suit which he wore was to be a Christmas present he did not have to return it; and if he wanted to spend next Christmas Eve in a place where he could rest in peace, and be sure that no evil would befall him, he would be welcomed back again.
The man with the rattraps did not answer anything to this. He only stared at the young girl in boundless amazement. The next morning the ironmaster and his daughter got up in good season to go to the early Christmas service. Their guest was still asleep, and they did not disturb him.
1.What did he go around saying to each one present there?
a) Merry Christmas
b) Thank you and good night
c) Happy New Year
d) Good morning
2.What did the young girl make him understand?
a) He had to return the suit
b) The suit was a Christmas present
c) He was not welcome
d) He had to leave immediately
3.For what would he be welcomed again?
a) Thanksgiving
b) New Year's Eve
c) Christmas Eve
d) Halloween
4.Where did the ironmaster and his daughter go the next morning?
a) Shopping
b) To work
c) To the early Christmas service
d) To visit friends
5.Find the word from the passage which means 'gift'.
a) Present
b) Surprise
c) Reward
d) Donation
6.Find the word from the passage which is opposite to 'limited'.
a) Restricted
b) Finite
c) Confined
d) Unlimited

After that, Christmas Eve at Ramsjo passed just as it always had. The stranger did not cause any trouble because he did nothing but sleep. The whole forenoon he lay on the sofa in one of the guest rooms and slept at one stretch. At noon they woke him up so that he could have his share of the good Christmas fare, but after that he slept again. It seemed as though for many years he had not been able to sleep as quietly and safely as here at Ramsjo.
In the evening, when the Christmas tree was lighted, they woke him up again, and he stood for a while in the drawing room, blinking as though the candlelight hurt him, but after that he disappeared again. Two hours later he was aroused once more. He then had to go down into the dining room and eat the Christmas fish and porridge.
1.Why did the stranger not cause any trouble?
a) He was afraid
b) He was eating
c) He was sleeping
d) He was talking
2.When was the Christmas tree lighted?
a) In the morning
b) At noon
c) In the evening
d) Two hours later
3.Why did he blink in the drawing room?
a) The candlelight hurt him
b) He was surprised
c) He was sleepy
d) He was crying
4.Why did he go down into the dining room?
a) To sleep
b) To eat Christmas fish and porridge
c) To meet the ironmaster
d) To light the Christmas tree
5.Find the word from the passage which means ‘noiselessly'.
a) Quietly
b) Noisily
c) Rapidly
d) Angrily
6.Find the word from the passage which is opposite to 'some'.
a) All
b) Many
c) Few
d) Several

I am thinking of this stranger here,” said the young girl. “He walks and walks the whole year long, and there is probably not a single place in the whole country where he is welcome and can feel at home. Wherever he turns he is chased away. Always he is afraid of being arrested and cross-examined. I should like to have him enjoy a day of peace with us here - just one in the whole year.”
The ironmaster mumbled something in his beard. He could not bring himself to oppose her.
“It was all a mistake, of course,” she continued. “But anyway I don't think we ought to chase away a human being whom we have asked to come here, and to whom we have promised Christmas cheer.”
“You do preach worse than a parson,” said the ironmaster. “I only hope you won't have to regret this.
1.Whom is the young girl thinking about?
a) Her father
b) The ironmaster
c) The stranger
d) The parson
2.Where is the stranger welcomed and can feel at home?
a) The entire country
b) Ramsjo Iron Mill
c) Any place he turns
d) The manor house
3.Why did the young girl not want to chase the stranger away?
a) She was afraid of him
b) She had promised him Christmas cheer
c) It was a mistake
d) The ironmaster opposed it
4.What did the ironmaster hope?
a) The stranger would stay forever
b) The young girl wouldn't regret her decision
c) The stranger would leave soon
d) The parson would preach better
5.Find the word from the passage which means ‘certainly'.
a) Regret
b) Oppose
c) Anyway
d) Hope
6.Find the word from the passage which is opposite to ‘support'.
a) Preach
b) Regret
c) Oppose
d) Hope

Who was Edla? How did she change peddler`s behavior?

If the world is “nothing but a big rattrap” as the tramp stated in the story ‘The Rattrap’, who might the rattrap peddler be? Discuss.

Despite his philosophical insights, the vagabond fails to resist temptations. What would you attribute this to? Explain with reference to any instance from the text.

What might be the significance of setting the story’s events during Christmas? Justify your opinion.

Do you think the story reinforces a stereotype that women are more trusting, forgiving, and less practical than men? Comment with reference to Edla’s actions in the story.

What do we learn about the crofter’s nature from the story, ‘The Rattrap’?

Who was the owner of Ramsjö ironmill? Why did he visit the mill at night? ### Who was the owner of the ironworks and what sort of person was he?

How did the ironmaster react on seeing the stranger lying close to the furnace?

Why didn’t the stranger tell the ironmaster that he was not Nils Olof?

Why did the peddler derive pleasure from his idea of the world as a rattrap?