Name ______________________________________________________ Date ____________________________ Page 1

Reading Comprehension:
Adaptation of
The Open Window by Saki
Read the adaptation of this short story by Saki, first published in 1914. Then answer the the questions that follow.

“My aunt will be down shortly, Mr. Nuttel,” said a very “Her tragedy?” asked Framton; somehow in this restful
self-possessed young lady of fifteen. “In the meantime, country spot tragedies seemed out of place.
you must try and put up with me.” “You may wonder why we keep that window wide open
Framton Nuttel smiled politely. Privately, he doubted on an October afternoon,” said the niece, indicating a
whether these formal visits to a series of total strangers large French window that opened on to a lawn.
would help calm his nerves, as they were supposed to. “It is warm for this time of year,” said Framton. “But has
“I know how it will be,” his sister had said as he was that window got anything to do with the tragedy?”
preparing to migrate to this rural retreat. “You will bury
“Out through that window, three years ago today, my
yourself there and speak to no one; your nerves will be
aunt’s husband and two brothers went off for their day
worse than ever from moping. I shall give you letters
of hunting. They never came back. In crossing the moor,
of introduction to the people I know there. Some of
all three were trapped in a treacherous piece of bog. It
them were quite nice.” Framton wondered whether Mrs.
had been dreadfully wet that summer, and places that
Sappleton, the lady to whom he was presenting one of
were safe in other years gave way without warning. Their
the letters of introduction, came into the “nice” division.
bodies were never recovered.” Here the child’s voice lost
“Do you know many of the people round here?” asked its self-possessed note and became falteringly human.
the niece, after a sufficient period of silence. “Poor aunt always thinks they’ll come back someday,
“Hardly a soul,” said Framton. “My sister stayed here, some they and the little brown spaniel that was lost with them,
four years ago. She gave me letters of introduction to some and walk in at that window just as they used to do. She
people here.” He said this with a tone of distinct regret. keeps the window open every evening till dusk. Poor
“Then you know practically nothing about my aunt?” aunt, she often talks of how they went out, her husband
pursued the self-possessed young lady. with his white coat, and her youngest brother singing
‘Bertie, why do you bound?’* as he always did to tease
“Only her name and address,” admitted the caller. her, because it got on her nerves. You know...on still,
The child said, “Her great tragedy happened just three quiet evenings like this, I sometimes get a creepy feeling
years ago; that would be since your sister’s time.” that they will all walk in through that window...”
*This is a reference to the song “Bertie the Bounder” that was popular when this story was written.

Find worksheets, games, lessons & more at education.com/resources

Reading Comprehension:
Adaptation of
The Open Window by Saki
Continue reading. Then answer the questions that follow.

She broke off with a little shudder. It was a relief to In the deepening
Framton when the aunt bustled into the room with a twilight, three
whirl of apologies for being late. figures walked
“I hope Vera has been amusing you,” Mrs. Sappleton across the lawn
said. “And I hope you don’t mind the open window. My toward the window,
husband and brothers will be home soon from hunting. one of them wearing
They come in this way so as not to make a mess of the a white coat. A
carpets.” She rattled on cheerfully about her husband brown spaniel was
and brothers’ hunting pursuits. To Framton it was all close at their heels.
purely horrible. His hostess was clearly distracted, her Noiselessly they
eyes constantly straying to the open window and the neared the house;
lawn beyond. What an unfortunate coincidence that he then a voice chanted
paid his visit on this tragic anniversary. out of the dusk,
“Bertie, why do you
bound?”
Framton grabbed wildly at his stick and hat; the hall
door, the gravel drive, and the front gate were dimly
noted stages in his headlong retreat. A cyclist coming
along the road had to run into the hedge to avoid an
immediate collision.
In a desperate effort to turn the talk to a less ghastly “Here we are, my dear,” said the man with the white
topic, Framton announced, “The doctors have ordered coat, coming in through the window. “Not too terribly
me complete rest, an absence of mental excitement, and muddy. Who was that who bolted out as we came up?”
avoidance of all strenuous exercise.” Framton labored “A most extraordinary man, a Mr. Nuttel,” said Mrs.
under the delusion that total strangers were hungry for Sappleton. “Only talked about his illnesses, and dashed
details of his ailments. off without a word when you arrived. One would think
“Is that so?” said Mrs. Sappleton, just barely stifling a he’d seen a ghost.”
yawn. Then she suddenly brightened into alert attention. “I expect it was the spaniel,” said the niece calmly. “He
“Here they are at last!” she cried. “Just in time for tea!” told me he had a horror of dogs. He was once chased
Framton shivered and turned toward the niece with into a cemetery by a pack of vicious dogs along the
a look of sympathetic comprehension. But the child Ganges. He spent the night in a newly dug grave, the
was staring out the open window with dazed horror. creatures snarling above him. Enough to make anyone
Framton swung round in his seat and looked in the lose their nerve.”
same direction. Romance at short notice was her specialty.

Find worksheets, games, lessons & more at education.com/resources

Reading Comprehension:
Adaptation of
The Open Window by Saki
Answer the following questions about the adaptation of “The Open Window” by Saki.

1. Which of the following statements best reflects the 6. Use text evidence to support your choice of one of the
central idea of the story? adjectives in Question 5.
a. A woman is confused by a man’s strange behavior. ________________________________________________________
b. A girl plays a trick on an unsuspecting stranger. ________________________________________________________
c. A man recovers from an illness that affects ________________________________________________________
his nerves.
d. A woman’s long-lost family returns from the dead. 7. Vera knows things that Framton Nuttel does not.
Describe the effect of this knowledge disparity on Mr.
2. In paragraphs 1, 5, and 11, the author uses the word Nuttel’s view of the men’s arrival.
“self-possessed” in reference to the niece. What does
________________________________________________________
this word indicate about the girl?
________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________
3. At the beginning of the story, how does Framton
Nuttel feel about being at the Sappleton home? 8. Throughout most of the story, the reader is as unaware
Support your answer with evidence from the text. of Vera’s deceitfulness as is Mr. Nuttel. At what point
might the reader suspect the deceit, and at what point
________________________________________________________
can the reader be sure of it?
________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________
9. How does the author use dramatic irony at the end
4. In paragraphs 3 and 5, Vera asks Mr. Nuttel two of the story? What effect does it have?
questions that seem like polite conversation. After
________________________________________________________
reading the entire story, what is the significance of
these questions? ________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________ ________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________ ________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________
10. What does the last sentence of the passage, “Romance
________________________________________________________
at short notice was her specialty,” indicate about Vera?
5. Which three adjectives below describe the character of a. Vera does not like living with her aunt and uncle.
Framton Nuttel? b. Vera has a knack for making people fall in love.
a. nervous c. malicious e. outgoing c. Vera enjoys reading romantic love stories.
b. deceitful d. gullible f. self-involved d. Vera has a talent for creating extraordinary tales.

Find worksheets, games, lessons & more at education.com/resources