Class 6 English Skylark Question Answers - An Uncomfortable Bed

Short Answer Questions

The author went to spend the hunting season with his friends in Picardy.

Q.2. What was the author's suspicion when his friends gave him a princely reception?

The author's suspicion was that his friends had something in store for him.

Q.3. What did the author do when he thought he might be the victim of a practical joke?

The author became watchful and restless, not letting a word, meaning, or gesture escape him.

Q.4. What precaution did the author take with the mattress on the bed?

The author caught hold of the side of the mattress cautiously, and very slowly drew it towards him.

Q.5. What happened when the author was awakened with a start?

The author was awakened with a start by the fall of a heavy body tumbling right on top of his own.

Q.6. What did the author receive on his face, neck, and chest?

The author received a burning liquid on his face, neck, and chest.

Q.7. What made the author utter a howl of pain?

The burning liquid made the author utter a howl of pain.

Q.8. What did the author feel when he stretched out his hand to find out the nature of the object on top of him?

The author felt a face, a nose, and whiskers when he stretched out his hand.

Q.9. What was the practical joke that the author's precautions had brought about?

The practical joke that the author's precautions had brought about was the valet tripping over the improvised bed in the middle of the room and falling on his stomach, spilling the author's breakfast over his face.

Q.10. How did the author's friends react when they found out what had happened?

The author's friends laughed at what had happened that day.

Long Answer Questions

The protagonist suspected that his friends had planned a practical joke on him when he arrived at the chateau in Picardy because of the princely reception and excessive mirth he received. He also smelled a practical joke in the air and was watchful, restless, and did not let a word, or a meaning, or a gesture escape him.

Q.2. What precautions did the protagonist take before going to bed to avoid being the victim of the practical joke?

Before going to bed, the protagonist took several precautions to avoid being the victim of the practical joke. Firstly, he lit all the wax candles on the mantelpiece and inspected every article in the room. He shut the wooden shutters and drew the curtains, placing a chair in front of them so as to have nothing to fear from outside. He cautiously sat down on a solid armchair and made up his mind to go to bed. He caught hold of the side of the mattress, slowly drew it towards him, and dragged all the bedclothes into the very middle of the room, facing the entrance. He then made his bed over again at some distance from the suspected bedstead and extinguished all the candles before slipping under the bedclothes.

Q.3. What happened when the protagonist was awakened suddenly from his deep sleep?

When the protagonist was awakened suddenly from his deep sleep, he received a howl of pain from a burning liquid which was poured on his face, neck, and chest. He also felt a heavy body tumbling right on top of his own and heard a dreadful noise, almost deafening him. He felt himself suffocating under the weight that was crushing him and preventing him from moving. He stretched out his hand to find out the nature of the object and felt a face, a nose, and whiskers. He launched out a blow at this face but immediately received a hail of cuffings which made him jump straight out of the soaked sheets and rush in his nightshirt into the corridor, the door of which he found open.

Q.4. How did the protagonist's precautions before going to bed actually bring about the practical joke he was trying to avoid?

The protagonist's precautions before going to bed actually brought about the practical joke he was trying to avoid because he had dragged all the bedclothes into the very middle of the room, facing the entrance. As the speaker was awakened by a body falling over him, he felt a burning hot liquid on his face, neck and chest. It made him howl with pain. At the same time, he heard a great noise, as if many plates and dishes had fallen down. After a brief struggle with the body which had fallen over him, the speaker managed to get up and rush out of the room. It was then that he realized it was morning, and in the light from the corridor, he saw that the valet, while bringing his tea, had tripped over his bed and fallen down, along with the plates he had been carrying. The hot liquid had been the tea.