What does Horace Danby like to collect?

Do you think this is a real-life episode, or mere fiction? Or is it a mixture of both?

“Griffin was rather a lawless person.” Comment.

“Ausable did not fit any description of a secret agent Fowler had ever read.” What do secret agents in books and films look like, in your opinion? Discuss in groups or in class some stories or movies featuring spies, detectives and secret agents, and compare their appearance with that of Ausable in this story. (You may mention characters from fiction in languages other than English. In English fiction you may have come across Sherlock Holmes, Hercule Poirot, or Miss Marple. Have you watched any movies featuring James Bond?)

How does Ausable manage to make Max believe that there is a balcony attached to his room? Look back at his detailed description of it. What makes it a convincing story?

Horace Danby was a meticulous planner but still he faltered. Where did he go wrong and why?

What kind of a person do you think the narrator, a veterinary surgeon, is? Would you say he is tactful as well as full of commonsense?

What was the cause of Matilda’s ruin? How could she have avoided it?

The course of the Loisels’ life changed due to the necklace. Comment.

Bholi’s story must have moved you. Do you think girl children are not treated at par with boys? You are aware that the government has introduced a scheme to save the girl child as the sex ratio is declining. The scheme is called Beti Bachao Beti Padhao, Save the Girl Child. Read about the scheme and design a poster in groups of four and display on the school notice board.

How does he treat the dog?

Who befriends him? Where does he take him?

For what unusual reasons is Bholi sent to school?

“Horace Danby was good and respectable — but not completely honest”. Why do you think this description is apt for Horace? Why can’t he be categorised as a typical thief?

Why was he wandering the streets?

Who is the real culprit in the story?

Does Bholi enjoy her first day at school?

Noodle avoids offending Think-Tank but at the same time he corrects his mistakes. How does he manage to do that?

How did his mother help him?

What does he say about Lutkins?

Did you begin to suspect, before the end of the story, that the lady was not the person Horace Danby took her to be? If so, at what point did you realise this, and how?