The Greyhound
After H.Griffiths
Chapter 4
The old man lived in a poor house in a street not far from the square. When he opened
the door Jamie smiled from ear to ear.
“Hello,” said Jamie, “I’ve come for the dog.”
The old man looked at Jamie and said nothing.
“Silver Light,” said Jamie. “You told me I could take him for a walk in the park
this morning.”
“The dog?” said the old man. “Oh, yes … Come in, come in.”
“Has he forgotten what he told me yesterday?” thought Jamie. He doesn’t want me to
take Silver to the park. He doesn’t trust me. I wonder why he thinks so. He supposes I
may ill-treat the dog. But I promised to take care of the dog and I’ll try to do my
best!
The old man took Jamie to his room. There was a bed along the wall. Silver was on the bed.
He opened his eyes when Jamie came into the room, then he closed them again. He was not
interested in the boy.
“Well,” said the man. “There he is.”
“Shall I take him to the park?” asked Jamie.
“Do what you like,” answered the man. “Wait …” He looked round his room. There
was a round table in the middle of the room. Near the table there was a crooked chair with
the old man’s coat on it. The old man took something out of the pocket of his coat.
“Take this string,” he said to Jamie, “and tie it to his collar, then he will go
with you. Come back when you like.”
Jamie took the string and tied it to Silver’s collar. Silver did not even look at Jamie.
The boy wanted to say something to the dog but he did not know how to talk to dogs or what
to say. Really, he did not know how to take care of a dog at all.
At last he said, “Come on, Silver boy! We are going for a walk.”
Jamie knew that the word “walk” usually made other dogs bark and jump: a walk was the
most wonderful thing in the life of a dog. But Silver was different. He opened his eyes,
looked at Jamie and got up slowly from the bed.
Jamie said good bye to the old man and went out of the house with Silver. The old man
closed the door behind him. It was Sunday. It was only half past nine. There was nobody in
the street. “It’s a pity that no one can see me with Silver,” thought Jamie but that
did not reduce his joy.
Jamie was happy. He was about to jump for joy. He was in the street with
a dog for the first time in his life. Jamie loved Silver very much. He looked at the dog
and smiled from ear to ear. He wanted to be friends with Silver. Oh, how much he wanted
that!
Jamie saw a bench and sat down on it. Slowly Silver sat down near the bench, too.
“Silver, you are a very nice dog. I like you very much. I want to be your friend,”
said Jamie. But Silver did not turn his eyes upon Jamie and did not even want to listen to
the boy. Jamie was disappointed and upset. “Why doesn’t he like me? Why doesn’t he
look at me? Why doesn’t he listen to me?” Jamie thought.
Jamie stood up and said, “Silver! Come on, boy!”
But Silver did not get up. He did not even move and still paid no attention to Jamie.
“Silver! Don’t you like walks, Silver?” Jamie spoke again. “Let’s go!”
Silver simply ignored Jamie’s words.
Jamie pulled at the string, but it did not help, Silver did not get up.
“Come on, Silver,” Jamie said again and again. “A walk! Don’t you want to walk?
What’s the matter?” He pulled at the string again and begged, “Come on, Silver!
Don’t be afraid of me. I’ll bring you back home after our walk. Good boy, come on!”
Jamie did not know what to do. Now he was glad that there was nobody in the street. Nobody
saw that the dog did not want to listen to the boy. Jamie got angry.
“Look here, bad dog,” Jamie said at last. “Don’t make me angry. We are going to
the park because your master wanted me to take you there. Do you understand?”
The greyhound got up slowly and walked behind Jamie. It seemed that the dog understood
everything. Jamie was surprised. He could not help admiring the dog’s cleverness. He was
not angry any more. Now he understood why Silver did not obey him. Silver missed the old
man very much. The old man would always be between Silver and Jamie, because the old man
was Silver’s master and his best friend. Now Jamie was ashamed that he had been
about to lose his temper and almost shouted at the dog.
“There’s a good boy,” said Jamie, “let’s go to the park!”
The greyhound stopped again. Jamie pulled at the string slightly, and Silver went on
behind him. Silver was walking slowly and did not stop but often looked back at the old
man’s house.
When they came to the park, they walked on the grass and sat in the sun. Silver ran and
played with other dogs but never lost sight of Jamie. Jamie thought that he saw friendship
in the dog’s yellow eyes. He wanted to be friends with Silver very much. Oh, how much he
wanted that! They might soon become friends. He felt happy.
Jamie took Silver to the park every Sunday. The park was beautiful now, the grass was
green and there were flowers everywhere. There was a small lake in the centre of the park.
The water was warm and Jamie and Silver liked to watch the boys who swam in the lake.
Silver ran and jumped but he was not very strong so he got tired fast. Then they sat on
the grass in the sun and watched the people round them.
They knew each other better now and their friendship became stronger. Jamie liked patting
the dog, and always laughed when Silver began to lick him. Silver licked Jamie’s hands,
face – all bare parts of skin, and even his shoes and clothes. Jamie laughed and the
dog’s eyes shone.
But soon these morning walks with Silver were not enough for Jamie. When he took Silver
back to the old man and then went home, he was always lonely and unhappy. He wanted to
have a dog of his own. He wanted to have a dog all day, to find it at home when he came
back from school.
Every Saturday, he put his cinema money in a little box. He did not tell anybody about the
box. He counted the money every week. But the money he had saved was not enough to buy a
puppy. He began to put the money for his school dinner into the box, too. He was often
hungry, but he thought, “It’s all right. It won’t be long. Very soon I’ll have a
dog of my own.”
Days and weeks passed. One evening before going to bed, Jamie counted the money. There
were eight shillings in Jamie’s box. Jamie thought: “Now I have enough money to buy a
dog.” Then he remembered Silver and said to himself, “Of course, I want to buy Silver,
but the old man will never sell him.”
Jamie decided to go to the pet market the next day. “Tomorrow I’ll have my own dog!
I’ll have a new friend!” he thought. “And I’ll never leave Silver. Silver is my
old friend and soon I’ll have two friends.” Jamie was happy. He went to bed and soon
felt asleep. He slept with a smile on his face.
The pet market was at the other end of the city. Jamie wanted to save bus money, so he
decided to walk there. It was not easy to walk from one end of the city to the other. It
took him a very long time.
Everything was new and interesting to Jamie at the market. There were a lot of people
there. He looked right and left. People bought and sold dogs, cats, birds, and other
animals. He stopped at a place where a man sold puppies. There were six tiny puppies in
the basket. A little girl stood near the man. She had a puppy in her hands.
“Oh, Daddy, how nice he is,” she said to her father. “Please buy him for me, Daddy,
please.”
“But, Sally,” said the man, “where can we keep him? Our rooms are small. Put him in
the basket and let’s go home. You remember that Mother said you can’t have a dog.”
Sally began to cry loudly.
“All right, all right, stop crying,” said the man quickly. “How much is it?” he
asked the man who sold the puppies.
“Twenty shillings.”
The father paid the money for the puppy and happy little Sally carried it home.
“Twenty shillings! Why do they cost so much?” asked Jamie in a whisper. He had only
eight shillings. It took him more than two months to save them. But it was not enough to
buy a puppy! Jamie was about to burst into tears. He thought: “I only can buy a puppy if
I don’t go to the cinema and don’t have dinner for two more months.” A lump
rose in his throat. He did not know if he could stand it any longer.
The man interrupted his thought, “Don’t you want a puppy? How do you like this one?”
He took a puppy and gave it to Jamie. The puppy was very nice and very funny. As soon as
the puppy was in Jamie’s hands, he began to lick Jamie’s fingers. While Jamie was
holding the puppy in his hands, he remembered Silver. Suddenly Jamie realized that he did
not want a puppy. He loved Silver and wanted only him. The puppy was only a wonderful toy
but Jamie needed a big, clever dog. Now he was sure that the only dog he wanted was
Silver.
Jamie started for home. It began to rain. He thought about Silver. How wonderful Silver
was! How clever! Jamie needed to see Silver right now, so he changed his mind and did not
go home. Though it was raining heavily and Jamie was very tired, he ran down the street to
the house where the old man and Silver lived.
He was about to jump for joy. Он был готов прыгать от радости.
about to lose his temper… …oн начинал выходить из себя (был готов вспылить)…
A lump rose in his throat. К горлу подкатил ком.
ACTIVITIES AND EXERCISES
I. Comprehension Task
Who said what? Write the name in brackets.
1. “You told me I could take him for a walk in the park this morning.” (__________)
2. “Don’t you want a puppy? How do you like this one?” (__________)
3. “You remember that Mother said you can’t have a dog.” (__________)
4. “Come back when you like.” (__________)
5. “We are coming to the park because your master wanted me to take you there.” (__________)
6. “Twenty shillings! Why do they cost so much?” (__________)
7. “Please buy him for me, Daddy, please.” (__________)
8. “Take this string, and tie it to his collar, then he will go with you.” (__________)
9. “All right, all right, stop crying.” (_________)
10. “A walk! Don’t you want to walk? What’s the matter?” (__________)
Answers: 1. Jamie; 2. the man who sold puppies; 3. Sally’s father; 4. the old man; 5. Jamie; 6. Jamie; 7. Sally; 8. the old man; 9. Sally’s father; 10. Jamie
II. Grammar
Make the sentences negative and write yes/no-questions.
Example:
There was a bed along the wall.
Was there a bed along the wall?
There was not a bed along the wall.
1. There was a table in the middle of the room.
2. There was a small lake in the centre of the park.
3. There were eight shillings in Jamie’s box.
4. Near the table there was a crooked chair with the old man’s coat on it.
5. There were six tiny puppies in the basket.
III. Pronunciation Task
1. Look at the underlined letters of the words below. They sound 
,
not [нг]. There is no similar sound in the Russian language. Practice saying
these words.
string, strong, thing, bring, young, coming, walking, going, crying, patting, raining, morning, evening, nothing, something, everything, shilling, interesting, admiring
2. Find sentences with these words in the text, read them and mind the
pronunciation of .
IV. Vocabulary
Fill the missing prepositions: in (4); from (3); at (5); about (1); down (1); into (1); out of (2); to (3); of (2); with (1).
1. The old man lived ___ a poor house ___ a street not far ___ the square.
2. The old man looked ___ Jamie and said nothing.
3. Jamie pulled ___ the string, but it did not help, Silver did not get up.
4. Now Jamie was ashamed that he was ___ to lose his temper and almost shouted ___ the dog.
5. He opened his eyes when Jamie came ___ the room, then he closed them again.
6. He was not interested ___ the boy.
7. The old man took something ___ the pocket ___ his coat.
8. Jamie took the string and tied it ___ Silver’s collar.
9. Really he did not know how to take care ___ a dog at all.
10. He opened his eyes, looked ___ Jamie and got up slowly ___ the bed.
11. Jamie said good bye ___ the old man and went ___ the house ___ Silver.
12. There was nobody ___ the street.
13. He was about to jump ___ joy.
14. He looked ___ the dog and smiled ___ ear ___ ear.
15. Jamie saw a bench and sat ___ on it.
Answers: 1. in, in, from; 2. at; 3. at; 4. about, at; 5. into; 6. in; 7. out of, of; 8. to; 9. of; 10. at, from; 11. to, out of, with; 12. in; 13. for; 14. at, from, to; 15. down
V. Speaking
1. Have you ever been to a pet market? Describe your visit there. The following questions will help you.
1. When did you go there?
2. Did you go there alone, or with your friends, or with your parents?
3. Were there many people in the market?
4. What animals did you see there?
5. Did you go there to have a look around or buy a pet?
6. Did you see any animal which you wanted to hold in your hands?
7. Which pet do you like best of all?
8. Do you like to watch kittens, or puppies, or other animals playing with each other?
9. Are you afraid of snakes or lizards? Did you see them at the market?
10. Did you come back home with a pet?
2. Now use the same questions and ask your friend about his/her visit to an animal market.
Chapter 5
When Jamie came to the house where the old man lived he suddenly stopped. He saw a boy
on the bench near the house. The boy was seven or eight years old. He had a small cat in
his hands and was trying to put little stones into its ear.
“What are you doing?” said Jamie. “You mustn’t do it!”
“Why not?” the boy answered. “It’s my cat.” And he put a stone in one of its
ears.
“Stop that!” shouted Jamie, and pulled the cat away from the boy. The boy fell down
and began to cry.
“I’ll tell my mum on you,” he shouted.
“And I’ll tell her what you did to the cat,” said Jamie.
“It’s my cat and I can do what I like to do with it,” said the boy.
Very soon the door opened and a woman came out of the house. She looked at the boy and at
Jamie who held the cat in his hand.
“What’s the matter?” she asked.
“He tried to put stones in the cat’s ears and I told him to stop it,” Jamie answered
before the boy could say a word.
“Well, it’s not your cat,” said the woman. “And you stop crying, Tommy. I told you
many times not to hurt the cat. Come on in.” She took the cat from Jamie’s hands and
pulled the boy into the house and closed the door.
Jamie was very angry with the boy. He was so sorry for the cat! He hated the boys who
treated animals badly. How could he torment such a defenseless creature? “What a
heartless and cruel boy he is!” thought Jamie.
Jamie went upstairs and knocked at the old man’s door. The door did not open. Jamie
waited and then knocked again. At last the old man opened the door. He said nothing to
Jamie and went slowly back to his room.
Silver was lying on the floor near the bed. When Jamie entered the room, Silver got up and
came to him. Silver looked at Jamie with delight and licked his hand. “He is very glad
to see me. He doesn’t ignore me as he did a few weeks ago. He likes me. Of course, he
loves his master much more than me. There is nothing to do. I know that the old man will
always be between me and Silver. There is nothing to do!” thought Jamie as he patted
Silver.
Jamie looked around. The room looked much cleaner. Then Jamie noticed that a few new
pieces of furniture appeared in the room and it had become more cosy.
“I’ve cleaned the room and put everything in its place,” the old man explained.
“You see, I’m going away.”
Jamie was very sorry to hear that. “It was bad news! What if the old man finds a room
far from here?”
“Sit down, Jamie, and have some tea,” said the old man. “Put some sugar in your tea.
Now listen to me,” he added after a moment’s pause.
The old man was sipping his tea and looked at Silver and then at Jamie.
Jamie thought, “He’s going to tell me something terrible.”
“What’s the matter? Is it about Silver?” asked Jamie.
He already knew it was about Silver, and just looked at the old man and waited.
“I’m going to explain everything to you, my boy. I have to go away from here .You see
…err … my old age pension is very small. I can’t pay for the room here. So I’m
going to live in an old people’s home. I can’t say that I like the
idea, but I must live in a house. I don’t want to live in the street,” said the old
man.
“But what about Silver?” said Jamie slowly.
There was no answer for some time.
“What are you going to do with Silver?” asked Jamie.
“You see … I can’t take Silver with me there,” said the man. “And then I must
pay my landlady for the room. She says that I can give the dog to her son and she won’t
ask for the money.”
“How old is the landlady’s son?” asked Jamie. He felt something terrible could
happen.
“Seven or eight. He was playing in the yard half an hour ago. Did you see him?” asked
the old man.
Jamie understood that the old man spoke about the boy who tried to put stones into the
cat’s ear. He said, “But you can’t give him the dog. That boy is cruel, I know it.
Silver will be unhappy and I will be unhappy too. Please, sir, you can’t give Silver to
him!”
“I don’t like the boy either but what can I do? Nothing! Nothing!” said the man.
He didn’t say anything for some time.
“Listen, Jamie,” said the old man at last. “I’ll tell you what you can do. You can
make friends with the little boy. Then you will come and play with him and Silver.”
“Never!” said Jamie.
“Jamie, can you understand me? I must pay his mother five pounds. Where can I get the
money? I can’t find the money in the street,” said the man.
“I’ll find the money,” said Jamie. He had no time to think about what he said.
“I’ll find the money. When I get five pounds, you’ll sell Silver to me. Will you do
that? Will you wait a little? I’ll get the money, I know I will.”
“But where? But how?” asked the old man in surprise.
“I’ll get it! I don’t know either how or where, but I know only that I must get it.
I’ll buy Silver. Please don’t give him to that boy. Please wait a little.”
Jamie ran out of the room. It was raining hard, but Jamie did not notice it. He was
bothered by the thought that he might part with Silver. He suddenly burst into tears. Big
cold drops of rain mixed with his teardrops and just rolled down his face. But he knew
that crying could not help to solve the problem and tears could not remedy that bad
situation. He had to get five pounds. Then he and Silver could never be parted.
Jamie had no idea where he could get so much money. He had eight shillings. Cora had
two shillings. Their birthdays were not soon. “I need the money now and I can’t wait
for my birthday. If I don’t get it this week, the old man will go to the old people’s
home and Silver will go to that cruel boy,” thought Jamie on his way to school.
All day at school Jamie tried to think of a plan. He did not leave the classroom at
lunchtime. He did not even go to the schoolyard between lessons. When the last lesson was
over, everybody ran out, but Jamie remained in the classroom. He couldn’t make a plan.
He did not know where to get money. It meant a complete failure. He sat
near the window and thought, “Tomorrow I’ll lose Silver and I’ll never see him
again. I’ll be lonely again.”
Jamie was tired and unhappy. He could not solve his problem himself and there was nobody
to give him a good piece of advice. He was down in the mouth.
Suddenly the door opened and Hilliard appeared in the classroom.
“I haven’t seen you for ages! How are you?” said Hilliard with a cheerful smile
which proved that he had no problems at all. There was a pocket knife in his hand as usual
and he played with it from time to time.
Jamie did not think that Hilliard was his real friend. He did not trust him fully but he
wanted to tell somebody about his troubles and Hilliard wanted to listen. So Jamie told
him the story from the day when he first saw the greyhound, and he finished it with the
words: “If I haven’t the money tomorrow, the old man will give Silver to the boy and
I’ll never see him again.”
“So you want five pounds,” said Hilliard when the story was over.
“Yes, but I’ve never had so much money,” said Jamie sadly.
“Well, you’re only a kid,” said Hilliard. Then he put his hand into his pocket and
took a lot of notes out. Some of the notes fell down on the floor and some of them onto
the desk in front of Jamie’s face.
“How much do you want? Is this enough for you?” said he and held out a five-pound
note.
Jamie was surprised. “Oh, Hilliard!” It was all he could say. He was going to take the
money and thank Hilliard, but something stopped him. He asked, “Where did you get all
this money?”
“Stop asking questions. Take the note and Silver will be yours!” said Hilliard
triumphantly.
“But Hilliard, I can’t take the money. How will I pay you back?” asked Jamie.
“I don’t ask you to give it back very soon. May be you can do something for me one
day, that’s all,” answered Hilliard. He smiled at Jamie.
But Jamie could not smile at Hilliard. He knew it was not right to take the money. But he
remembered Silver, the old man, the landlady, and her son … So he took the five-pound
note.
“Thank you, Hilliard! Thank you so much! I’ll do something for you whenever you want!
I promise I will!” said Jamie in a trembling voice. He was worrying very much.
“Take the money and use it as you want. But don’t tell anybody about it,” said
Hilliard and went out of the classroom.
Jamie froze with a five-pound note in his hand. He could not move for some time. “Silver
will be mine!” he thought. Jamie was on cloud nine. He flew out of the classroom
like a shot and ran to the old man’s house.
Jamie said good-buy to the old man for the last time and took the dog.
It was wonderful to walk in the street with Silver. He had a dog at last! A dog of his
own!
“Now,” thought Jamie, “I’ll always have him with me when I walk in the street.”
He smiled from ear to ear on his way home. It was a nice evening. Jamie wanted to dance in
the street because he was so happy. Almost every minute he stopped and said to the dog,
“Silver, my Silver! You are my own dog now!”
When he saw his house he got nervous. He was afraid that his mother could be against
Silver. He thought, “Will she agree to have Silver, or will she say no? I hope she will
agree when she sees Silver. Silver is wonderful and very, very clever! Of course, she will
agree when she sees how much I love him.”
...an old people’s home дом престарелых
It meant a complete failure. Это означало полный провал.
He was down in the mouth. Он был как в воду опущенный.
…was on cloud nine …был на седьмом небе (от счастья)
He flew out of the classroom like a shot… Он пулей вылетел из класса…
ACTIVITIES AND EXERCISES
I. Comprehension Task
Who did it?
1. …had a small cat in his hands and tried to put little stones into its ear.
2. …pulled the cat away from the boy.
3. …took the cat from Jamie’s hands, and pulled the boy into the house, and closed the door.
4. …looked at Jamie with delight and licked his hand.
5. …cleaned the room and put everything in its place.
6. …was sipping his tea and looked at Silver and then at Jamie.
7. All day at school…tried to think of a plan.
8. …put his hand into his pocket and took a lot of notes out.
9. …flew out of the classroom like a shot and ran to the old man’s house.
10. …said good bye to the old man for the last time and took the dog.
Answers: 1. The landlady’s son; 2. Jamie; 3. The landlady; 4. Silver; 5. The old man; 6. The old man; 7. Jamie; 8. Hilliard; 9. Jamie; 10. Jamie
II. Grammar. Countable and uncountable nouns
1. We need to know if nouns are countable or uncountable so that we can use a/an, or the, or (-). Put the following words in the correct column.
bench, news, house, tea, year, sugar, stone, furniture, moment, idea, rain, drop, tear, problem, birthday, shilling, house, thought, pause, money, pound, advice, smile, greyhound
Countable ______________ |
Uncountable ______________ |
2. When we’d like to say about one item or part of a whole we use some words (partitives).
Example:
milk – a bottle of milk;
news – a piece of news;
money – a heap of money; etc.
Write partitives with the rest of the uncountable nouns:
_________________________________________
_________________________________________
_________________________________________
_________________________________________
_________________________________________
_________________________________________
_________________________________________
_________________________________________
_________________________________________
_________________________________________
_________________________________________
III. Pronunciation Task
The letters below in bold are silent. If you are not sure of the pronunciation of these words check the phonetic transcription in a dictionary. Practice saying these words.
where |
answer |
eight |
know |
IV. Vocabulary
Compound nouns and adjectives. Take one word from column A and one word from column B to form a compound noun or adjective. Compound words are written:
as two words;
as one word;
as two words joined by a hyphen.
A pocket |
B room |
Answers: 1. pocket knife; 2. landlady; 3. classroom; 4. lunchtime; 5. birthday; 6. old age (pension); 7. five-pound note; 8. greyhound
V. Speaking
1. What do you think of people who treat animals badly? Answer the following questions.
1. Do you think they are cruel and heartless?
2. Why do some children treat animals badly?
3. Do you think their parents know about it?
4. Have you ever seen anyone who tormented an animal? What did you do or say to stop that? / What would you do if you saw someone who tormented an animal?
5. Have you taught your dog (pet) to obey your commands?
6. What do you usually do when the dog does not want to do what you tell him?
7. Do you lose your temper or stay calm?
8. Do you shout at your dog?
9. Do you beat your dog with a stick?
10. How do you punish your dog?
2. Now use the same questions and ask your friend about his attitude towards people who treat animals badly and about his own pet.