Page 102 - ENGLISH 10

Reading II
Read this narrative essay about an unexpected incident.
A Scary Secret of Two Sisters
One autumn, my sister and I made a blunder. She was ten and I was sixteen. We
planned to really enjoy our holiday because we were together but away from
home. Our excitement lasted till the end of our journey and taught us an
important lesson.
We felt very excited and grown up as we were on the way to the home town of
our grandparents in a cart. Fresh and cool breeze touched our body and our
soul. When we reached the lodge, we were disappointed. Although it was
expensive, it was not clean and well furnished. It had a tin roof. The room

where we were going to spend our night was small. I did not ¿nd it cozy. In
spite of a small window that was facing towards the North, the room was not as
airy as we expected. Both of us disliked it. We asked our granny “Is there any
hotel? We like to stay somewhere else, but not here.” When we asked about
another option, our grandfather replied, “No, there is not any guest house or
hotel nearby.” Their reply annoyed us but we could not make any further request
further. After we unpacked our suitcases, our grandmother warned us not to go
outside till their return. “We won’t,” my sister promised, but I knew that she
was telling a lie. We had already decided to go out.
We went out of the lodge as soon as our grandparents were out of our sight.
CDCtreet it was already dusk. The view of
When we reached a narrow gravelled s
the setting sun was very pleasant. Birds were returning to their nests. We could
Curriculum Development Centre
hear children playing soccer nearby, but the little street was quiet. There was no
sign of any hotel. Suddenly, a thug stepped out from the bush. He growled,
“Don’t move!” He was tall and lanky. His black beard and dirty, curly
hair was disgusting. He was wearing a black face mask and spectacles. When
he came very close to us, we could smell cigarettes and a terrible smell of
alcohol in his breath. I shivered. My little sister was terri¿ed. We were speechless.

He said, “Give me your chain.” So I did. Then he turned to my sister and said,
“Your earrings!” Without uttering any word, she gave her best gold earrings.
Snatching my hand bag, he jumped into the bush and vanished. Then, we cried
and cried.
After sometime we recollected ourselves and ran back to the lodge. We did not
feel safe until we got into our room and locked the door behind us. Though the
man looted our precious things, he taught us a good lesson. We had disobeyed
our elders which we were not supposed to do. Despite their warning, we walked
out in a place which was new for us. Before this horrible experience, we
did not use to listen to our parents and elders. How stupid we were! We now
learned that we should obey them because their experience and knowledge are
our guidelines for a better life. After this incident, we became more obedient.
However, we decided not to tell the scary incident to our grandparents or even
our parents. We knew that they would punish us even though we had learned a
lesson. That dangerous adventure is still a secret that I only share with my sister.
(Adapted from Savage and Mayer’s “Effective Academic Writing”)
ENGLISH, Class 10 97