6. Why did he run out of the house? 7. What did the man tell him about Miss Emily?
An odd thing happened to me last Sunday. It was such a beautiful day that I decided to go for a leisurely drive in the country.
On the way back home, my motor stopped. I was out of gasoline on a lonely road far from a town. I decided to walk until I found someone who could sell me a gallon or two of gasoline.
I had walked almost a mile before I finally found a big house near
the road. I was glad to see it because it was starting to get dark.
I knocked on the door and a little old lady with long white hair answered. She said, “I’ve been waiting for you for a long time. Come in. Tea is almost ready.” “But I only came for some gasoline,” I answered. I couldn’t imagine
what she was talking about.
“Oh, Alfred! Gasoline? You used to prefer tea.” I quickly explained that my car was out of gasoline, but she didn’t seem to hear me. She just kept calling me Alfred and talking about how long it had been since she had seen me. She was behaving very strangely and I was anxious to leave. As soon as she went to get the tea I went out of the house as fast as I could.
Fortunately, there was another house down the road, and I was able to buy several gallons of gasoline. When I told the man about my experience, he said, “Oh, that’s Miss Emily. She lives by herself in that big house. She’s peculiar, but she wouldn’t hurt anyone. She’s still waiting for the man she was supposed to marry thirty years ago. The day before their wedding he went away and never came back.”
Questions
1. Why did the man in the story decide to go for a drive? 2. Where was he when his motor stopped?
3. What was wrong with his car?
4. What did he decide to do?
5. What did the old lady say to him?