Chapter 5

TOM IN THE PALACE

Tom Canty, left alone in the prince's cabinet, went up to the mirror and turned himself this way and that way before it. He wanted to be like the prince. Then he sat down on one of the beautiful chairs and thought:

" If only the Offal Court boys could see me! " At the end of half an hour he began to feel restless. He was afraid. He thought:

" Someone may come and see me in the prince's clothes. "

As time went on, he became more and more restless. At last he decided to run away and look for the prince.

He opened the door of the cabinet. Six servants and two young pages bowed low before him. He shut the door quickly and began to walk up and down the room, listening to every sound. Suddenly the door was opened by a page who said: " The Lady Jane Grey. "

A young girl, richly dressed, came toward him. But she stopped suddenly and said:

" Oh, what is the matter with you, my lord? "

Tom answered: " I am not a lord, but only poor Tom Canty of Offal Court. Please let me see the prince, and he will give me back my rags. Oh, save me. "

The boy fell on his knees. The young girl cried out: " Oh, my lord, on your knees? And to me! "

Then she ran away, and poor Tom thought: " There is no help, there is no hope. Now they will come and take me. "

While he was there, groups of lords and ladies gathered in large halls, saying to each other:

" The prince is mad, the prince is mad. "

Then a lord came into the hall and said: " In the Name of the King! Let nobody listen to this foolish matter and talk about it. In the name of the king! " All talk stopped at once.

In a few moments the lords and ladies began saying to each other: " The prince! See, the prince is coming! "

Poor Tom was slowly walking past low-bowing people. Great lords were walking on either side of him and behind him the court-doctors and some servants.

1. Answer the questions.

1) How did Tom Canty feel, left alone?

2) How did he feel when he realized everything?

3) Whom did Tom ask for help?

4) What did the court-people think about the prince?

2. Find the words in the text which mean the following:

- always moving; showing signs of worry, boredom, impatience……………………………

- a piece of glass or metal having a surface that reflects an image…………………………..

- to bend forward in greeting a person…………………………………………… ………..

- the joint at the bend of the leg………………………………………………………..

- something that is, or can be, heard…………………………………………………………

- past tense of the verb " to shut" ……………………………………………………………

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