Page 113 - Interchange English 5

Usha had been right. The flower had disappeared in the storm. But two
other buds, unnoticed by us the day before, had opened. It was as though
FOR SAMPLE ONLY
two tiny stars had fallen to earth in the night.

I did not see Usha

that day; but the
following day, when
we met on the road,
I showed her the
fresh blossoms. And
they were still there,
two days later, when
I passed by; but so
were two goats,
grazing on the short
grass and thorny
thickets of the slope.

I had no idea if they
were partial to these
particular flowers,
but I did know that
goats would eat almost anything and I was taking no chances.

Scrambling up the steep slope, I began to shoo them away. One goat
retreated; but the other lowered his horns, gave me a baleful look, and

refused to move. It reminded me a little of my grandfather’s pet goat who
had once pushed a visiting official into a bed of nasturtiums; so I allowed
discretion to be the better part of valour, and backed away.

Just then Usha came along and, sizing up the situation, came to the
rescue. She unfurled her pretty blue umbrella and advanced on the goat
shouting at it in goat-language. (She had her own goats, at home.) The
beast retreated, and the flowers (and my dignity) were saved.

As the days grew warmer, the flowers faded and finally disappeared. I

Interchange Communicative English 5 105