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Question
- “The Phantom Luncheon” by Saki.
- “The Ant and the Grasshopper” by William Somerset Maugham.
Form 4 groups of the class. Every group will visit the school’s library or use internet to read both the creations of Saki and W. S. Maugham. After reading them, every group will summarise both the creations and later read out in the class.
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Solution
- “The Phantom Luncheon” by Saki.
- The Plot: A wealthy but stingy woman, Lady Gilneck, invites guests to an expensive restaurant. Her secret plan is to make them think it’s a casual “pay-for-yourself” lunch, so she can look like a grand hostess without paying a dime.
- The Twist: One guest, Sir James, catches onto her cheapness. He deliberately orders the most luxurious items on the menu, and the other guests follow his lead. When the bill arrives, Sir James loudly thanks Lady Gilneck for her incredible generosity. To avoid social embarrassment, she is forced to pay the massive bill herself.
- The Lesson: Greed and social hypocrisy will backfire when you try to trick the wrong people.
- “The Ant and the Grasshopper” by William Somerset Maugham.
- The Plot: This story flips Aesop’s famous fable on its head through two brothers. George is “the Ant hardworking, honest, and saving for the future. Tom is “the Grasshopper”, lazy, charming, and constantly borrowing money to live a life of luxury. George expects Tom to end up broke and miserable as punishment for his laziness.
- The Twist: Instead of failing, Tom charms and marries a very wealthy, elderly woman. When she dies, she leaves him an absolute fortune. Tom becomes richer than George could ever dream of being.
- The Lesson: Life isn’t always fair, and sometimes charm and luck beat hard work.
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