First Year English Notes Sindh Board THE WOLVES OF CERNOGRATZ

THE WOLVES OF CERNOGRATZ

Q 1)    What did the Conrad ask his sister?

Conrad, who was a prosperous Hamburg merchant and had a stronger imagination than the rest of his family, asked his sister if there were any old legends attached to the castle.

Q 2)    What did the Baroness think the legend was?

The Baroness told that the there was a story about that castle when anyone died in the castle so all the dogs in the village and all the wild beasts in the forest started to howl all night long. On the other hand, she disagreed with that story by telling the incident of the death of her mother in law that on that occasion no howling was heard.

Q 3)    What was the real story of Wolves of Cernogratz?

The real story of Cernogratz was that whenever any family member of Cernogratz died in his home castle so before his death a large number of wolves gathered there and started to howl. Some dogs from the castle and farm also started to howl in anger and fear and when the soul of his person left his body so a tree was crushed down in a park that was authentication that this man has died.

Q 4)    At what precise moment would a tree fall in the park?

According to the story when the soul of any Cernogratz family’s member left his body a tree would crush down in the park.

Q 5)    How did the governess know the real story?

The old governess knew the real story because she was the member of Cernogratz family. She told them that when her ancestors had become poor so they had to live the castle. She had to go out and give the lesson and for that, she took another name "Fraulein Schmidt" but her real name was “Amalie von Cernogratz".

Q 6)    Why were the Baron and the Baroness angry with Amalie?

The Baron and the Baroness were angry with Amalie because of her way to talk in front of them and their guests. They thought that she just knew a little bit about the Cernogratz family and pretending to be an important person before them. They also thought that due to her old age she would be passed work very soon so she was trying to get their sympathies.

Q 7)    When did the governess fall ill?

The old governess Amalie fall seriously ill after the Christmas and totally stayed in her room. Due to that, she was not able to move to do any sort of work.

Q 8)    What was the first sign of the presence of the wolves?

The first sign of the presence of the wolves was when the small woolly lapdog named "Wappi" started to leap suddenly down from its cushion and shivering under the sofa. At the same time, an outburst of angry barking dogs came in the castle yard and at some distances.

Q 9)    Why did the governess insist on having her window open?

The old governess ‘Amalie' insisted Baroness on having her window open because she wanted to hear her family death music. She told that she was the last member of her family, dying at that old castle and these wild beasts came from far and wide to sing the death music of her family so she wanted to hear gladly.

Q 10)  What kind of story is ‘The Wolves of Cernogratz’?

The Wolves of Cernogratz was written by Hector Hugh Munro, who is generally known as his pen name Saki and is considered the master in short stories That story is basically a fiction about the supernatural forces and strange happenings. The story about the German family named Cernogratz and their ancestral castle. They had to sell off their castle because of any misfortune or their fate turned down, abandoned their castle and started to live by changing their names. After some passage of time that castle was bought by the Gruebel family.

Q 11)  How did Cenogratz legend prove true?

Baron, Baroness Gruebel and all of the guests who had there to celebrate the New Year's festivities did not trust on the story of the old governess named Fraulein Schmidt when she told about the reality of herself that her real name was Amalie von Cernogratz and the real story that was attached to that castle. But after the Christmas when old governess had become seriously ill and was about to die so all of sudden the howling of large number wolves started to hear and after some time the voice of splitting and falling of tree in the nearest park was heard so it had been proved that the old governess was telling the real story about the supernatural forces and strange happening that belonged to only Cernogratz family.

Q 12) Why did Baroness go to the old governess's room?

When all of sudden the howling of wolves was heard that all of the people had become so strange because that was the sign of the exactness of that story which was told by the old governess before some days so Baroness rushed towards the old governess's room and found her at her bed with the long-delayed happiness to her face in spite of her miserable state.

Q 13)  What reasons did the Baroness give for the legend to be false?

Baroness heard the story about the castle which she bought that if anyone died in that castle so all the night the wild beasts started to howl and bark but she denied with that story because according to her when her mother in law died in last spring at that castle so nothing happened as she heard so she believed that the story and legend it had been attached, all are meaningless and that all things are just to increase the dignity place without costing anything.

Q 14) Why did Amalie change her name in the story “The Wolves of Cernogratz"?

Amalie who belonged to one of the most gracious and prosperous German family named Cernogratz but when that family’s fortune had turned against them so they had to sell off their old and ancestral castle and all the members had changed their names and started jobs for their survival. Amalie von Cernogratz's father had told her all about the events which had been occurred after that tragedy; the reasons for changing their names and all about the supernatural forces which belonged to their family.

Q 15) Who was Fraulein Schmidt and who celebrated her death?

Fraulien Schmidt was the old governess of the Baron and Baroness Gruebel but in actual she belonged to one of the most gracious and prosperous German family, named Cernogratz but due to misfortune with her family, they all had to change their name and lead a simple life and her actual name was Amalie von Cernogratz and at the time of her death super natural forces in form of howling of wolves were started to hear that was the tradition of his family and when the reality had been disclosed in front of the Baron and Baroness at the time of Amelie's death so they thought to make affiliation with Cernogratz family at Ama1ie's obituary in the newspaper.