Three at Table - William Wymark Jacobs
B. Answer the questions with reference to the context.
1.
a) Who were the companions?
Ans -The companions were the old man, his wife and their son.
b) Why does the sailor describe his companion as invisible?
Ans -The narrator described his companions as invisible because the companions could not
be seen clearly in the darkness of the room.
c) what kind of behaviour prompted the sailor to make this remark?
Ans -The narrator's remark was prompted by his own difficulty in eating in the dark whereas
his companions seemed to be habitual of it.
2.
a) Who said these words?
Ans -The old man said these words.
b) Where did the boy save the children?
Ans -The boy saved the children from a burning house at the risk of his own life.
c) How did the incident affect the family?
Ans -After the son had been injured in the burning house, the family led a retired life and did
not meet other people.
C. Answer these questions.
Q1. How did the sailor get lost? Why did he go to the house despite the countryman's
warning?
Ans. - The narrator got lost because he took an unfamiliar route with several turnings. It was
also very foggy. Although the countryman had told him to avoid the house, the narrator
decided to go to the house because he was cold and tired.
Three at Table - William Wymark Jacobs
Q2. Why did the sailor hesitate to enter the house?
Ans. - The narrator hesitated to enter the house because the couple seemed to be queer-
looking, the inside of the house was gloomy and perhaps no better than what it was outside.
Also, the countryman's warning about the house
Q3. Did the sailor's hosts eat dinner in the dark every day? Why did they do so that day?
Ans. - No, the narrator's hosts did not have dinner in the dark every day. They did so that
day because they did not want the son's disfigured face to startle (shock) the narrator.
Q4. Why did the family not have company often?
Ans - The family did not have company often because the family led a retired life. They
avoided people because the villagers were scared of the old man's son.
D. Think and answer.
Q1. Why do you think the villagers believed that there was something strange in the house?
Were they correct in their belief?
Ans. - The villagers believed that there was something strange in the house because they
were scared by the disfigured face of the old man's son.
No, they were not correct in their belief because the old man's son was not scary, but brave,
gentle and generous.
Q2. Why do you think the old man finally decide to light a match?
Ans. - The old man finally decided to light a match because he did not want to hide his son in
the darkness. He was proud of his son and not ashamed of him.
