NCERT Textbook - Villa For Sale | English Class 9 PDF Download

 Page 1


103
1. If you could  buy your dream house today, what are some specific features  you
would want for your house? Write them in the bubbles below.
Well ventilated
proper sunlight
My dream house
2. Discuss  with your partner the similarities and differences between your dream
houses.
3. Now, read the play.
List of Characters
Julliette - The owner of the villa
Maid - Juliette’s maid
Gaston - A shrewd businessman
Jeanne - His young wife
Mrs Al Smith - A rich American lady
The scene represents the salon of a small villa near Nogent-sur-Marne.
When the curtain rises, the MAID and JULIETTE are discovered.
discovered : seen on the stage as the curtain is raised
D.1   Villa For Sale
                        by  Sacha Guitry
DRAMA
Unit
Page 2


103
1. If you could  buy your dream house today, what are some specific features  you
would want for your house? Write them in the bubbles below.
Well ventilated
proper sunlight
My dream house
2. Discuss  with your partner the similarities and differences between your dream
houses.
3. Now, read the play.
List of Characters
Julliette - The owner of the villa
Maid - Juliette’s maid
Gaston - A shrewd businessman
Jeanne - His young wife
Mrs Al Smith - A rich American lady
The scene represents the salon of a small villa near Nogent-sur-Marne.
When the curtain rises, the MAID and JULIETTE are discovered.
discovered : seen on the stage as the curtain is raised
D.1   Villa For Sale
                        by  Sacha Guitry
DRAMA
Unit
104
Maid: Won’t Madame be sorry?
Juliette: Not at all. Mind you, if someone had
bought it on the very day I placed it for
sale, then I might have felt sorry because
I would have wondered if I hadn’t been a
fool to sell at all. But the sign has been
hanging on the gate for over a month now
and I am beginning to be afraid that the
day I bought it, was when I was the real
fool.
Maid: All the same, Madame, when they brought
you the ‘For Sale’ sign, you wouldn’t let them put it up. You waited until it was
night. Then you went and hung it yourself, Madame.
Juliette: I know! You see, I thought that as they could not read it in the dark, the house
would belong to me for one more night. I was so sure that the next day the
entire world would be fighting to purchase it. For the first week, I was annoyed
every time I passed that ‘Villa for Sale’ sign. The neighbours seemed to look at
me in such a strange kind of way that I began to think the whole thing was going
to be much more of a sell than a sale. That was a month ago and now, I have
only one thought, that is to get the wretched place off my hands. I would sacrifice
it at any price. One hundred thousand francs if necessary and that’s only twice
what it cost me. I thought, I would get two hundred thousand but I suppose I
must cut my loss. Besides, in the past two weeks, four people almost bought it,
so I have begun to feel as though it no longer belongs to me. Oh! I’m fed up with
the place, because nobody really wants it! What time did those agency people
say the lady would call?
Maid: Between four and five, Madame.
Juliette: Then we must wait for her.
Maid: It was a nice little place for you to spend the weekends, Madame.
Juliette: Yes . . . but times are hard and business is as bad as it can be.
Maid: In that case, Madame, is it a good time to sell?
Juliette: No, perhaps not.  But still. . . there are moments in life when it’s the right time to
buy, but it’s never the right time to sell. For fifteen years everybody has had
money at the same time and nobody wanted to sell. Now nobody has any money
and nobody wants to buy. But still. .. even so ... it would be funny if I couldn’t
manage to sell a place here, a stone’s throw from Joinville, the French Hollywood,
when all I’m asking is a paltry hundred thousand!
sell : disappointment due to failure or trickery.
wretched : extremely bad or unpleasant
paltry :  an amount, too small to be considered important or useful.
Drama
Page 3


103
1. If you could  buy your dream house today, what are some specific features  you
would want for your house? Write them in the bubbles below.
Well ventilated
proper sunlight
My dream house
2. Discuss  with your partner the similarities and differences between your dream
houses.
3. Now, read the play.
List of Characters
Julliette - The owner of the villa
Maid - Juliette’s maid
Gaston - A shrewd businessman
Jeanne - His young wife
Mrs Al Smith - A rich American lady
The scene represents the salon of a small villa near Nogent-sur-Marne.
When the curtain rises, the MAID and JULIETTE are discovered.
discovered : seen on the stage as the curtain is raised
D.1   Villa For Sale
                        by  Sacha Guitry
DRAMA
Unit
104
Maid: Won’t Madame be sorry?
Juliette: Not at all. Mind you, if someone had
bought it on the very day I placed it for
sale, then I might have felt sorry because
I would have wondered if I hadn’t been a
fool to sell at all. But the sign has been
hanging on the gate for over a month now
and I am beginning to be afraid that the
day I bought it, was when I was the real
fool.
Maid: All the same, Madame, when they brought
you the ‘For Sale’ sign, you wouldn’t let them put it up. You waited until it was
night. Then you went and hung it yourself, Madame.
Juliette: I know! You see, I thought that as they could not read it in the dark, the house
would belong to me for one more night. I was so sure that the next day the
entire world would be fighting to purchase it. For the first week, I was annoyed
every time I passed that ‘Villa for Sale’ sign. The neighbours seemed to look at
me in such a strange kind of way that I began to think the whole thing was going
to be much more of a sell than a sale. That was a month ago and now, I have
only one thought, that is to get the wretched place off my hands. I would sacrifice
it at any price. One hundred thousand francs if necessary and that’s only twice
what it cost me. I thought, I would get two hundred thousand but I suppose I
must cut my loss. Besides, in the past two weeks, four people almost bought it,
so I have begun to feel as though it no longer belongs to me. Oh! I’m fed up with
the place, because nobody really wants it! What time did those agency people
say the lady would call?
Maid: Between four and five, Madame.
Juliette: Then we must wait for her.
Maid: It was a nice little place for you to spend the weekends, Madame.
Juliette: Yes . . . but times are hard and business is as bad as it can be.
Maid: In that case, Madame, is it a good time to sell?
Juliette: No, perhaps not.  But still. . . there are moments in life when it’s the right time to
buy, but it’s never the right time to sell. For fifteen years everybody has had
money at the same time and nobody wanted to sell. Now nobody has any money
and nobody wants to buy. But still. .. even so ... it would be funny if I couldn’t
manage to sell a place here, a stone’s throw from Joinville, the French Hollywood,
when all I’m asking is a paltry hundred thousand!
sell : disappointment due to failure or trickery.
wretched : extremely bad or unpleasant
paltry :  an amount, too small to be considered important or useful.
Drama
105
Maid: That reminds me, there is a favour I want to ask you, Madame.
Juliette: Yes, what is it my girl?
Maid: Will you be kind enough to let me off between nine and noon tomorrow morning?
Juliette: From nine till noon?
Maid: They have asked me to play in a film at the Joinville
Studio.
Juliette: You are going to act for the cinema?
Maid: Yes, Madame.
Juliette: What kind of part are you going to play?
Maid: A maid, Madame. They prefer the real article. They say
maids are born; maids not made maids. They are giving
me a hundred francs a morning for doing it.
Juliette: One hundred francs!
Maid: Yes, Madame. And as you only pay me four hundred a
month, I can’t very well refuse, can I, Madame?
Juliette: A hundred francs! It’s unbelievable!
Maid: Will you permit me, Madame, to tell you something I’ve suddenly thought of?
Juliette: What?
Maid: They want a cook in the film as well. They asked me if I knew of anybody
suitable. You said just now, Madame, that times were hard. ... Would you like
me to get you the engagement?
Juliette: What?
Maid: Every little helps, Madame. Especially, Madame, as you have such a funny
face.
Juliette: Thank you.
Maid (taking no notice). They might take you on for eight days, Madame. That would mean
eight hundred francs. It’s really money for nothing. You would only have to peel
potatoes one minute and make an omlette the next, quite easy. I could show
you how to do it, Madame.
Juliette: But how kind of you. ... Thank God I’m not quite so hard up as that yet!
Maid: Oh, Madame, I hope you are not angry with me ?
Juliette: Not in the least.
Maid: You see, Madame, film acting is rather looked up to round here. Everybody
wants to do it. Yesterday the butcher didn’t open his shop, he was being shot all
the morning. Today, nobody could find the four policemen, they were taking part
in Monsieur Milton’s fight scene in his new film. Nobody thinks about anything
Drama
Page 4


103
1. If you could  buy your dream house today, what are some specific features  you
would want for your house? Write them in the bubbles below.
Well ventilated
proper sunlight
My dream house
2. Discuss  with your partner the similarities and differences between your dream
houses.
3. Now, read the play.
List of Characters
Julliette - The owner of the villa
Maid - Juliette’s maid
Gaston - A shrewd businessman
Jeanne - His young wife
Mrs Al Smith - A rich American lady
The scene represents the salon of a small villa near Nogent-sur-Marne.
When the curtain rises, the MAID and JULIETTE are discovered.
discovered : seen on the stage as the curtain is raised
D.1   Villa For Sale
                        by  Sacha Guitry
DRAMA
Unit
104
Maid: Won’t Madame be sorry?
Juliette: Not at all. Mind you, if someone had
bought it on the very day I placed it for
sale, then I might have felt sorry because
I would have wondered if I hadn’t been a
fool to sell at all. But the sign has been
hanging on the gate for over a month now
and I am beginning to be afraid that the
day I bought it, was when I was the real
fool.
Maid: All the same, Madame, when they brought
you the ‘For Sale’ sign, you wouldn’t let them put it up. You waited until it was
night. Then you went and hung it yourself, Madame.
Juliette: I know! You see, I thought that as they could not read it in the dark, the house
would belong to me for one more night. I was so sure that the next day the
entire world would be fighting to purchase it. For the first week, I was annoyed
every time I passed that ‘Villa for Sale’ sign. The neighbours seemed to look at
me in such a strange kind of way that I began to think the whole thing was going
to be much more of a sell than a sale. That was a month ago and now, I have
only one thought, that is to get the wretched place off my hands. I would sacrifice
it at any price. One hundred thousand francs if necessary and that’s only twice
what it cost me. I thought, I would get two hundred thousand but I suppose I
must cut my loss. Besides, in the past two weeks, four people almost bought it,
so I have begun to feel as though it no longer belongs to me. Oh! I’m fed up with
the place, because nobody really wants it! What time did those agency people
say the lady would call?
Maid: Between four and five, Madame.
Juliette: Then we must wait for her.
Maid: It was a nice little place for you to spend the weekends, Madame.
Juliette: Yes . . . but times are hard and business is as bad as it can be.
Maid: In that case, Madame, is it a good time to sell?
Juliette: No, perhaps not.  But still. . . there are moments in life when it’s the right time to
buy, but it’s never the right time to sell. For fifteen years everybody has had
money at the same time and nobody wanted to sell. Now nobody has any money
and nobody wants to buy. But still. .. even so ... it would be funny if I couldn’t
manage to sell a place here, a stone’s throw from Joinville, the French Hollywood,
when all I’m asking is a paltry hundred thousand!
sell : disappointment due to failure or trickery.
wretched : extremely bad or unpleasant
paltry :  an amount, too small to be considered important or useful.
Drama
105
Maid: That reminds me, there is a favour I want to ask you, Madame.
Juliette: Yes, what is it my girl?
Maid: Will you be kind enough to let me off between nine and noon tomorrow morning?
Juliette: From nine till noon?
Maid: They have asked me to play in a film at the Joinville
Studio.
Juliette: You are going to act for the cinema?
Maid: Yes, Madame.
Juliette: What kind of part are you going to play?
Maid: A maid, Madame. They prefer the real article. They say
maids are born; maids not made maids. They are giving
me a hundred francs a morning for doing it.
Juliette: One hundred francs!
Maid: Yes, Madame. And as you only pay me four hundred a
month, I can’t very well refuse, can I, Madame?
Juliette: A hundred francs! It’s unbelievable!
Maid: Will you permit me, Madame, to tell you something I’ve suddenly thought of?
Juliette: What?
Maid: They want a cook in the film as well. They asked me if I knew of anybody
suitable. You said just now, Madame, that times were hard. ... Would you like
me to get you the engagement?
Juliette: What?
Maid: Every little helps, Madame. Especially, Madame, as you have such a funny
face.
Juliette: Thank you.
Maid (taking no notice). They might take you on for eight days, Madame. That would mean
eight hundred francs. It’s really money for nothing. You would only have to peel
potatoes one minute and make an omlette the next, quite easy. I could show
you how to do it, Madame.
Juliette: But how kind of you. ... Thank God I’m not quite so hard up as that yet!
Maid: Oh, Madame, I hope you are not angry with me ?
Juliette: Not in the least.
Maid: You see, Madame, film acting is rather looked up to round here. Everybody
wants to do it. Yesterday the butcher didn’t open his shop, he was being shot all
the morning. Today, nobody could find the four policemen, they were taking part
in Monsieur Milton’s fight scene in his new film. Nobody thinks about anything
Drama
106
else round here now. You see, they pay so well. The manager is offering a
thousand francs for a real beggar who has had nothing to eat for two days.
Some people have all the luck! Think it over, Madame.
Juliette: Thanks, I will.
Maid: If you would go and see them with your hair slicked back the way you do when
you are dressing, Madame, I am sure they  would engage you right away.
Because really, Madame, you look too comical!
Juliette: Thank you! (The bell rings) I am going upstairs for a moment. If that is the lady,
tell her I will not be long. It won’t do to give her the impression that I am waiting
for her.
Maid: Very good, Madame. (Exit JULIETTE, as she runs off to open the front door)
Oh, if I could become a Greta Garbo! Why can’t I? Oh!
(Voices heard off, a second later, the MAID returns showing in GASTON and JEANNE)
Maid: If you will be kind enough to sit down, I will tell Madame you are here.
Jeanne: Thank you.
(Exit MAID)
Gaston: And they call that a garden! Why, it’s a yard with a patch of grass in the middle!
Jeanne: But the inside of the house seems very nice, Gaston.
Gaston: Twenty-five yards of Cretonne and a dash of paint… you can get that anywhere.
Jeanne: That’s not fair. Wait until you’ve seen the rest of it.
Gaston: Why should I? I don’t want to see the kitchen to know that the garden is a myth
and that the salon is impossible.
Jeanne: What’s the matter with it?
Gaston: Matter? Why, you can’t even call it a salon.
Jeanne: Perhaps there is another.
Gaston: Never mind the other. I’m talking about this one.
Jeanne: We could do something very original with it.
Gaston: Yes, make it an annex to the garden.
Jeanne: No, but a kind of study.
Gaston: A study? Good Lord! You’re not thinking of going in for studying are you?
Jeanne: Don’t be silly! You know perfectly well what a modern study is.
Gaston: No, I don’t.
Greta Garbo: a Swedish actress during Hollywood’s silent period
Cretonne : a heavy printed cotton or liner fabric used in furnishings.
annex : addition; extension
Drama
Page 5


103
1. If you could  buy your dream house today, what are some specific features  you
would want for your house? Write them in the bubbles below.
Well ventilated
proper sunlight
My dream house
2. Discuss  with your partner the similarities and differences between your dream
houses.
3. Now, read the play.
List of Characters
Julliette - The owner of the villa
Maid - Juliette’s maid
Gaston - A shrewd businessman
Jeanne - His young wife
Mrs Al Smith - A rich American lady
The scene represents the salon of a small villa near Nogent-sur-Marne.
When the curtain rises, the MAID and JULIETTE are discovered.
discovered : seen on the stage as the curtain is raised
D.1   Villa For Sale
                        by  Sacha Guitry
DRAMA
Unit
104
Maid: Won’t Madame be sorry?
Juliette: Not at all. Mind you, if someone had
bought it on the very day I placed it for
sale, then I might have felt sorry because
I would have wondered if I hadn’t been a
fool to sell at all. But the sign has been
hanging on the gate for over a month now
and I am beginning to be afraid that the
day I bought it, was when I was the real
fool.
Maid: All the same, Madame, when they brought
you the ‘For Sale’ sign, you wouldn’t let them put it up. You waited until it was
night. Then you went and hung it yourself, Madame.
Juliette: I know! You see, I thought that as they could not read it in the dark, the house
would belong to me for one more night. I was so sure that the next day the
entire world would be fighting to purchase it. For the first week, I was annoyed
every time I passed that ‘Villa for Sale’ sign. The neighbours seemed to look at
me in such a strange kind of way that I began to think the whole thing was going
to be much more of a sell than a sale. That was a month ago and now, I have
only one thought, that is to get the wretched place off my hands. I would sacrifice
it at any price. One hundred thousand francs if necessary and that’s only twice
what it cost me. I thought, I would get two hundred thousand but I suppose I
must cut my loss. Besides, in the past two weeks, four people almost bought it,
so I have begun to feel as though it no longer belongs to me. Oh! I’m fed up with
the place, because nobody really wants it! What time did those agency people
say the lady would call?
Maid: Between four and five, Madame.
Juliette: Then we must wait for her.
Maid: It was a nice little place for you to spend the weekends, Madame.
Juliette: Yes . . . but times are hard and business is as bad as it can be.
Maid: In that case, Madame, is it a good time to sell?
Juliette: No, perhaps not.  But still. . . there are moments in life when it’s the right time to
buy, but it’s never the right time to sell. For fifteen years everybody has had
money at the same time and nobody wanted to sell. Now nobody has any money
and nobody wants to buy. But still. .. even so ... it would be funny if I couldn’t
manage to sell a place here, a stone’s throw from Joinville, the French Hollywood,
when all I’m asking is a paltry hundred thousand!
sell : disappointment due to failure or trickery.
wretched : extremely bad or unpleasant
paltry :  an amount, too small to be considered important or useful.
Drama
105
Maid: That reminds me, there is a favour I want to ask you, Madame.
Juliette: Yes, what is it my girl?
Maid: Will you be kind enough to let me off between nine and noon tomorrow morning?
Juliette: From nine till noon?
Maid: They have asked me to play in a film at the Joinville
Studio.
Juliette: You are going to act for the cinema?
Maid: Yes, Madame.
Juliette: What kind of part are you going to play?
Maid: A maid, Madame. They prefer the real article. They say
maids are born; maids not made maids. They are giving
me a hundred francs a morning for doing it.
Juliette: One hundred francs!
Maid: Yes, Madame. And as you only pay me four hundred a
month, I can’t very well refuse, can I, Madame?
Juliette: A hundred francs! It’s unbelievable!
Maid: Will you permit me, Madame, to tell you something I’ve suddenly thought of?
Juliette: What?
Maid: They want a cook in the film as well. They asked me if I knew of anybody
suitable. You said just now, Madame, that times were hard. ... Would you like
me to get you the engagement?
Juliette: What?
Maid: Every little helps, Madame. Especially, Madame, as you have such a funny
face.
Juliette: Thank you.
Maid (taking no notice). They might take you on for eight days, Madame. That would mean
eight hundred francs. It’s really money for nothing. You would only have to peel
potatoes one minute and make an omlette the next, quite easy. I could show
you how to do it, Madame.
Juliette: But how kind of you. ... Thank God I’m not quite so hard up as that yet!
Maid: Oh, Madame, I hope you are not angry with me ?
Juliette: Not in the least.
Maid: You see, Madame, film acting is rather looked up to round here. Everybody
wants to do it. Yesterday the butcher didn’t open his shop, he was being shot all
the morning. Today, nobody could find the four policemen, they were taking part
in Monsieur Milton’s fight scene in his new film. Nobody thinks about anything
Drama
106
else round here now. You see, they pay so well. The manager is offering a
thousand francs for a real beggar who has had nothing to eat for two days.
Some people have all the luck! Think it over, Madame.
Juliette: Thanks, I will.
Maid: If you would go and see them with your hair slicked back the way you do when
you are dressing, Madame, I am sure they  would engage you right away.
Because really, Madame, you look too comical!
Juliette: Thank you! (The bell rings) I am going upstairs for a moment. If that is the lady,
tell her I will not be long. It won’t do to give her the impression that I am waiting
for her.
Maid: Very good, Madame. (Exit JULIETTE, as she runs off to open the front door)
Oh, if I could become a Greta Garbo! Why can’t I? Oh!
(Voices heard off, a second later, the MAID returns showing in GASTON and JEANNE)
Maid: If you will be kind enough to sit down, I will tell Madame you are here.
Jeanne: Thank you.
(Exit MAID)
Gaston: And they call that a garden! Why, it’s a yard with a patch of grass in the middle!
Jeanne: But the inside of the house seems very nice, Gaston.
Gaston: Twenty-five yards of Cretonne and a dash of paint… you can get that anywhere.
Jeanne: That’s not fair. Wait until you’ve seen the rest of it.
Gaston: Why should I? I don’t want to see the kitchen to know that the garden is a myth
and that the salon is impossible.
Jeanne: What’s the matter with it?
Gaston: Matter? Why, you can’t even call it a salon.
Jeanne: Perhaps there is another.
Gaston: Never mind the other. I’m talking about this one.
Jeanne: We could do something very original with it.
Gaston: Yes, make it an annex to the garden.
Jeanne: No, but a kind of study.
Gaston: A study? Good Lord! You’re not thinking of going in for studying are you?
Jeanne: Don’t be silly! You know perfectly well what a modern study is.
Gaston: No, I don’t.
Greta Garbo: a Swedish actress during Hollywood’s silent period
Cretonne : a heavy printed cotton or liner fabric used in furnishings.
annex : addition; extension
Drama
107
Jeanne: Well . .. er.. . it’s a place where . .. where one gathers . ..
Gaston: Where one gathers what?
Jeanne: Don’t be aggravating, please! If you don’t want the house, tell me so at once
and we’ll say no more about it.
Gaston: I told you before we crossed the road that I didn’t want it. As soon as you see a
sign ‘Villa for Sale’, you have to go inside and be shown over it.
Jeanne: But we are buying a villa, aren’t we?
Gaston: We are not!
Jeanne: What do you mean, ‘We are not’? Then we’re not looking for a villa?
Gaston: Certainly not. It’s just an idea you’ve had stuck in your head for the past month.
Jeanne: But we’ve talked about nothing else....
Gaston: You  mean, you’ve  talked   about  nothing  else. I’ve never talked about it. You
see, you’ve talked about it so much, that you thought that we are talking. . .. You
haven’t even noticed that I’ve never joined in the conversation. If you say that
you are looking for a villa, then that’s different!
Jeanne: Well... at any rate . . . whether I’m looking for it or we’re looking for it, the one
thing that matters anyway is that I’m looking for it for us!
Gaston: It’s not for us . . . it’s for your parents. You are simply trying to make me buy a
villa so that you can put your father and your mother in it. You see, I know you.
If you got what you want, do you realize what would happen? We would spend
the month of August in the villa, but your parents would take possession of it
every year from the beginning of April until the end of September. What’s more,
they would bring the whole tribe of your sister’s children with them. No! I am
very fond of your family, but not quite so fond as that.
Jeanne: Then why have you been looking over villas for the past week?
Gaston: I have not been looking over them, you have, and it bores me.
Jeanne: Well...
Gaston: Well what?
Jeanne: Then stop being bored and buy one. That will finish it. We won’t talk about it any
more.
Gaston: Exactly!
Jeanne: As far as that goes, what of it? Suppose I do want to buy a villa for papa and
mamma? What of it?
Gaston: My darling. I quite admit that you want to buy a villa for your father and mother.
But please admit on your side that I don’t want to pay for it.
Jeanne: There’s my dowry.
Drama