English ( Three Men in a Boat ) for Class 9

The men had a pleasant stay at Oxford for two days, where the dog had a total of twenty-five fights, and thought he has gone to heaven.

The narrator feels that the boats that are let for hire on the Thamas above Marlow are very good, so long as they are handled with care, they rarely come to pieces or sink. Also they are complete with necessary arrangements and are devoid of any ornamentation. However the man in the hired-up boat is modest for he likes to keep under the trees out of the way of other boats and do the sailing either early morning or during the night. The narrator recounts an incident related to the boats which he had taken few summer back. The boat the men wanted to hire was a double sculling skiff but they were offered “The pride of Thames” which didn’t even look like a boat, more a wreck. The men paid thirty-five shillings for six days for a boat which they fastened together with some pieces of strings, and plastering the shabbier places with wall-paper.

The weather drastically changed from beautiful sunlight to raining heavily on the third day. Everything in the boat becomes damp, even the dinner eludes the men. To uplift the mood, George plays banjo, but soon his songs get the three men mournful, and the dog also howls. The weather is same the next day, George advises them to board a train from the Pangbourne because it is not wise to stay in the boat.

 When the men reached Paddington, they went direct to the restaurant and enjoyed their supper and raised a toast and came to an agreement that they had a pleasant trip down the River Thamas from London to Oxford and back, enjoying loads of adventures and the various historical sites and cities along the way.

From Streatley, the friends row to Culham and camp in the boat for the night. The journey includes long uninterrupted stretches anywhere above Teddington, and the Oxford Club with no locks. It is enjoyed by the professional rowers, but regretted by the pleasure seekers. The narrator recounts anecdotes going through a lock at Hampton Court that involved George and him. It so happened that since it was a glorious day and the lock was crowded, a photographer had setup at the lock to take pictures of the people mingling on the lock. George and the narrator also pose, while being unaware that the nose of their boat has become caught under part of the lock, and the rising water is threating to flip their boat. Just as the photographer snaps the photo, they push away and the photographer captures them with falling over, feel dangling in the air.

For the remaining trip the narrator describes the various beautiful sheltered towns and valleys nestled alongside winding rivers between Culham and Oxford, that they pass through.

The area near Streatley and Goring is known to be Fishing Centre where the friends stayed for two days for fishing because the river abounds in various types of fishes like eels, dace, pike, roach etc.

The writer explains the fishermen’s psychology and the stories about their skills. He tried to become a good fisherman, but an experienced fisherman advised him not to try that as he did not have enough imagination to become a Thames angler. He was advised that a good fis:ierman must have the ability to tell lies and that too without an iota of shame.

The writer and George stopped at a riverside inn where there was a huge trout in a dusty old glass case which was fixed very high above the chimney piece. The trout was eighteen pounds and six ounces—said a man. It was found 16 years ago just below the bridge with a minnow. Thereafter many people came in the pub — a middle aged individual, a local carrier and a landlord. All these people claimed that they had caught the biggest fish and each time the size of the fish became bigger and bigger. But the landlord laughed at the claims of the other persons and said that he had caught the fish when young. He was a truant and when the news of his catching the fish spread, it rescued him from being beaten.

The trout was really the most astonishing, George had never seen. So being excited, he climbed up on the back of a chair to get a view of it. The chair slipped but George firmly held the trout case to save himself But the trout-case fell down with a crash where George and the chair also fell on the trout-case. The trout was shattered and strewn into several pieces. The trout was made of plaster-of-paris.

The friends reached Reading in a steam launch at eleven, a town famous for old places and the scene of many great events. The launch steam was the narrator’s, which he preferred because it was a delight being towed, instead of rowing themselves. However it was a bit off putting because other small boats kept getting in the way of the launch, making them ease or stop at intervals. The friends have a lovely ride from Maple Dushan to Streatley, and the launch dropped them at Grotto from where the narrator took the sculls. However it hadn’t been long when George suddenly gave a cry of terror his face absolutely blanched for he had noticed a dead body of a woman on the water! It was later the friends learnt that a tragedy had befallen on the woman, for she was scorched on love. Thereafter the men had lunch in streatly at a place called the Bull, much to Montmorency’s delight.

Each friend was of the view that he was doing much more work than the other two so sometimes an argument took place amongst them. Harris’ opinion was that it was he alone who had been doing much work while George blamed that Harris slept and ate which the writer supported. Their argument ended with an agreement that George and Harris should scull up past Reading and the writer tow the boat from there, although he was little reluctant to do the hard labour.

The three friends started to discuss about their rowing experiences where they each recounted their stories of their first efforts in the art of oars-man-ship and various other boat cruises they had undertaken over the years.

Just after lunch the friends reached Ship lake. They decided that since it was too late to go to Reading, they agreed to stay the night at one of the Ship lake island, since they had time on their hands they decided to cook Irish stew for supper. Since George volunteered to cook, Harris and the narrator decided to peel the potatoes, thinking it to be an easy job. But the harder they peeled and scrapped them, they left a mess. So in the end they added all the odds and ends from their hamper to make a pot of a flavored stew.

After supper George and the narrator went to Henley but Harris stayed behind because of a Bad Stomach, accompanied by his drink and a pipe. However while returning from Henley the two friends lost their way. They shouted at way inlet for Harris since he was at the boat but they only heard silence. They were feeling cold and miserable because rain was lashing down making them soaked to their skin.

However just when they had given up hope, they caught a slight glimmer flickering on the opposite bank among the trees. Soon they realized that it was their boat so they yelled and immediately heard Montmorency barking. Somehow they boarded the boat but Harris had strangeness around him and on enquiring, they learnt that he had a fight with the swans but he defeated them with skill and courage. However, next morning, a sober Harris had no clue of anything of the previous night.

Marlow is one of the pleasant centers along an account of its historical importance and natural beauty. The friends had a pleasant night at Crown, and woke up fresh in the morning. The narrator thinks Marlow is a pleasant town with rich history and beautiful natural beauty. He recollects that once he had gone to Haymarket where he witnessed a row between various breeds of dogs, started by a fox-terrier. He doesn’t blank Montmorency for his tendency to row with cats but wished he had not started on the morning he had taken him for a walk in Marlow.

However it looked as if Montmorency wasn’t finished for the day, for in the street he had an encounter with the most disreputable cat whose facial expression sent shivers in the dog, that he quietly backed out. Before departing from Marlow the friends bought few food items, and the narrator regards that as one of their greatest success for they had such a lot of things that they had to use extra pair of hands—man and animal, to carry their possessions towards the boat. About a mile from Marsh Lock, the friends received a shock. It so happened that Harry gripped the beefsteak pie between his knees and was carving it when he asked for a spoon. The writer and George moved round to take a spoon out of the hamper but when they look around again, Harris and the pie were gone. They got worried and turned to search the place where he was last and froze when they saw Harris’ head sticking bold upright among the tall grass. He was very angry and blamed the writer and George.

Actually, Harris was perching on the verge of a small gully which it was hidden with a long grass and when he turned a little back, he had fallen into the gully. He believed and accused that it was cor spiracy hatched by the writer and George.

After breakfast the three friends did the washing up and then resumed through with their boat journey. Passing to the Magna Charta Island from Picnic Point to old Windsor Lock— a rich picturesque town to Boveny. All the way to Datchet when the friends recalled an incident that long back they had a trip to Datchet just before August Bank Holiday. But for them it turned an unpleasant trip because being back holiday the town was full therefore they had problem getting an accommodation. However they took up residence for the night at someone’s private home. In Monkey Island the friends had lunch, where they had a funny encounter with a pineapple tin. Thereafter they sailed and reached Marlow, where they left their boat and went at the Crown— a hotel for night.

Near Magna Charta island
George towed the boat upto  Staines. At half- past seven they sculled up close to the left bank and looked for a spot to stop at. They had originally intended to camp at Magna Charta Island. But somehow they did not like to look at the scenery and wanted to have their supper and go to bed.

Pitching the tent
George suggested that they should pitch the’ tent before eating supper. They thought it to be an easy task and it did not take them just ten minutes. To drop the hoops into the sockets was a dangerous task. George and Harris helped each other to fix the covering. George did his part all right, but it was new work for Hams, and he bungled it. Finally the cover was fixed after half an hour.

Behaviour after supper
They boiled the water and made supper in dead silence which lasted f minutes. After it they felt contented and felt that they were quarrelsome and before supper. After taking the supper they loved each other and everybody. George wondered why they couldn’t be always happy and generous like that and why they couldn’t remain away from sins and temptations. The narrator said that he always longed for this kind of life. George related a story about his father. He said that once his father travelled with another fellow through Wales. They stopped at a little inn, where they joined the other fellows and spent the evening with them.

The narrator’s outing at night
They went to bed at ten but the narrator could not sleep. The sound of the lapping water round the boat and the wind among the branches kept him restless and disturbed. He put on whatever clothes he could and crept under the canvas on to the bank. It was a glorious night. The moon had sunk and left the quiet earth alone with the stars. It was full of comfort and of strength. The day had been full of fret and care and their hearts had been full of evil and bitter thoughts. The world had seemed so hard and wrong to them. Night, like some great loving mother, gently laid her hand upon their fevensh heads and removed their pain.

The story of a knight
The writer narrated the story of a good knight who was lost in the forest. The name of the dark forest was Sorrow. The good knight was shown a vision, about which nothing could be said. They could not tell about it.

George’s experience of towing
Jim and Harris made George work. He towed them till Runnymede. The narrator considered tow- lines strange. He described how he got into a mess when he dealt with them himself. Once he and his friends were going down in Bovericy. They saw two men who were looking for their boat which had gone off when they were disentangling their tow-line. He also remembers how George tied a tow-line to the boat of a young couple and made them tow four bulking chaps in another boat for a long time. The girl was shocked when she could not see her aunt. Hams asked if they had recovered the old lady. George replied that he did not know. In fact they towed the wrong boat.

Bad towing by girls
The narrator said that being towed by girls was the most exciting experience. It took three girls to tow always, two to hold the rope, and third one to run round and round. They generally began by getting themselves tied up. They got the line round their legs and had to sit down on the path and to undo each other and then they twisted it round their necks, and were nearly strangled. At the end of a hundred yards, they were naturally breathless. They sat down on the grass and laughed. In the meantime the boat drifted out midstream. This was the dullest moment.

The boat trip with a Cousin
The narrator, then, describes what happened when he was out with a young lady, his on a river trip down goring. It was half when they reached Benson’s lock. She was reach home before evening. The narrator drew out a map and found that they were just a mile and half to the next lock, Wallingford. They rowed on and passed the bridge and never looked at a lock. The girl thought that they had lost their way and began to cry. The narrator pulled on for another mile. Then he began to get nervous himself. He still went on pulling however, and still no lock came in sight and the river grew more and more gloomy and mysterious under the gathering shadows of the night. Suddenly they heard the sweet sounds of an accordion. A boat came along. The narrator asked the occupants if they could tell him the way to Wallingford lock. They told him that there was no Wallingford lock for the last one year. They were very close to Cleeve now. The narrator thanked him and wished them a pleasant trip. They got home in time for supper.