Narayan
Swami’s father won’t let him have a lamp but allows him to keep the door open and
suggests he sleep on the bench if he is worried about scorpions.
Swami rages mentally at the causes of his ordeal – the newspaper and the boy who
escaped the tiger.
Swami tries to pretend he is asleep but his father insists he get up and move to the
office room.
His father is told by his mother to leave Swami where he is, much to Swami’s relief.
When he awakes from his nightmare, he feels terrified and is horrified to sense
something moving in the room.
The next night, he goes to bed in his old place next to grandma before his father returns
home.
In fear for his life he attacks the ‘devil’ by biting it. The devil turns out to be a burglar.
After lying awake for ages, imagining the worst and frightened by the shadows and night
noises, he moves to a more secure place under the bench.
Swami is challenged by his father to prove his courage by sleeping alone in the office
room.
Extension questions:
1. What methods does Swami use to get out of his father’s challenge?
3. Write two more sentences to add to this summary of the key events in the story.
© www.teachit.co.uk 2012 15856 1
‘The Hero’ by R. K. Narayan
Correct order:
Swami is challenged by his father to prove his courage by sleeping alone in the office
room.
Swami tries to pretend he is asleep but his father insists he get up and move to the
office room.
Swami’s father won’t let him have a lamp but allows him to keep the door open and
suggests he sleep on the bench if he is worried about scorpions.
Swami rages mentally at the causes of his ordeal – the newspaper and the boy who
escaped the tiger.
After lying awake for ages, imagining the worst and frightened by the shadows and night
noises, he moves to a more secure place under the bench.
When he awakes from his nightmare, he feels terrified and is horrified to sense
something moving in the room.
In fear for his life he attacks the ‘devil’ by biting it. The devil turns out to be a burglar.
The next night, he goes to bed in his old place next to grandma before his father returns
home.
His father is told by his mother to leave Swami where he is, much to Swami’s relief.