The Seventh Pullet

The Seventh Pullet

—H.H. Munro

Introduction

Hector Hugh Munro was born in Burma (now Myanmar) in 1870. His mother died when he was only three years old. He joined the military Police in Burma. Then he resigned and went to England. Many of his stories reflect some unpleasant experiences of his life. They are known for his darkly humorous satires.

The Seventh Pullet is an amusing story. Blenkinthrope finds his life dull and monotonous. He tells his fellow workers about an enormous potato he has grown in his garden. But nobody listens to him. His friend Gorworth tells him that everyone's life is drab and dull. Stories about enormous potatoes and oversized fish do not excite people. He must invent some interesting and strange incidents to capture people's attention. Blenkinthrope invents stories, and becomes instantly popular. But nemesis soon overtakes him. His wife dies because, as she rightly feared, she was able to work on the card game known as Death's Head Patience. Her mother and a great aunt had died soon after they had worked out the game. Inspite of the tragedy, Blenkinthrope realises that something real and amazing has happened in his life. The Death's Head Patience has killed three persons his family. He writes an account of the history of the tragedy for the papers. But it is not printed. People do not give credence to his story. They think it is a yarn. They believe that his wife has died of a heart attack. That is the irony.

Summary

Blenkinthrope and Gorworth were two friends. Blenkinthrope was sad because his life was drab. Nothing exciting or interesting ever happened his life. He tried to engage people in conversations which he believed was about things interesting. But no one cared to listen to him. For example, he had grown an enormous potato in his garden. It weighed two pounds. He tried to tell other people about it. But no one took any interest in it. He resentfully spoke about his life to Gorworth.

Gorworth told him that the fault did not lie with him. It lay in his tab about the potato. Other people's life was as dull and uninteresting as his People were not interested in oversized potatoes and fishes. They wanted to hear about something dramatic and thrilling that had happened to the narrator himself or to someone in his family. If he told them about some exciting experiences, they would listen to him, and would be proud of their acquaintance with him. Gorworth suggested that people would excitedly talk about him if he told them something like two of his fingers were clawed by a lobster he was carrying home for supper, and that the doctor said that the whole of his hand would be amputated. Such a talk was of high order. People couldn't talk about his potato like this.

But Blenkinthrope said he could not speak of such things because they did not happen to him. Gorworth advised him that if such things did not happen to him, he could invent them. He gave him an example. He said he could say that a snake got into his poultry. He mesmerised six pullets with his dreadfully glittering eyes. Then he bit the helpless victims. But the seventh pullet was of French sort. Its eyes were covered with feathers. So it was not mesmerized. It could only see something wriggling on the floor. It pounced on the snake and pecked him to death.

At first Blenkinthrope felt that he could not act on his friend's advice because such thing did not happen to him. But he was busy thinking about it. Soon a story, with minute details began to take shape in his mind.

Next morning when he took his seat in the railway carriage with his colleagues, he told them the story. They were fascinated. They listened to him with rapt attention. They admired him. His story appeared in a poultry paper, and then in a daily newspaper. He was accepted the Munchausen of the group. He began to invent stories about his family. But soon Nemesis overtook him.

One evening Blenkinthrope found his wife sitting with a pack of cards. He thought she was playing patience game. But she told him that she was at the Death's Head patience. It was most difficult to get it out. But she was frightened too. Her mother and her great aunt had each got it out only once. Both of them had died soon after. She believed that if she ever got it out, she too would die like them. Still she continued to concetrate on it and sought Blenkinthrope's help. Blenkinthrope suggested the solution and his wife got it out. She was deeply excited and died soon after.

Inspite of the tragedy, Blenkinthrope could see that something really sensational had at last come into his life. He now wrote out a complete story entitled 'The Death's Head Patience: Card game that justified its sinister name in three generations'. He sent the story to Essex Vedette and a halfpenny daily. But his ambition to see them in print was not realised. They believed that Blenkinthrope was spinning a yarn. They believed that his wife had died of heart attack while he was attributing her death to her presentiment regarding the cardgame. His reputation as a romancer stood in his way. Blenkinthrope stopped travelling with his old companions. He travelled by an earlier train and told people his stories. He was no longer looked upon as the proud owner of the seventh pullet.

Word Meanings

Daily grind = daily routine, day-to-day work; Resentfully = indignantly; Arrested = checked; Wax = grow, increase; Piquant = lively, interesting; Acquaintances = persons know; Intimately = closely; Clawed = torn with a claw; Licensed = permitted; Unscrupulous = unprincipled; Snappishly = angrily; Pullets = poultry birds; Mesmerizing = enchanting; Absorbed = engrossed; Dominant = upper most, market; Unscrupulous = unprincipled dishonest; Deferred = submitted; Whacking = enormous, large; Loft = attic; Enormity = gross offence; Swoop = sudden attack; Chorus = all together; Glittering = shining; Diffidence = shyness; Depravity = wickedness; Mop = bundle; Pecked = struck with beak; Recounting = telling; Stoat = ermine; Grouse = complaint; Reprehensible. = not good; Person of consequence = important person; Numerous = many; Contrivance = device, plot; Vipers = venomous snake; Peregrine = a bird of prey of falcon family; Ethical standpoint = moral view; Customary = usual; Pictures queness = vividness; Neophyte = new converts; Discretion = prudence; Subdued = low, restrained; Swordstick = hollow walking stick concealing a blade of sword; Spattering = splashing; Assassination = killing; Charwoman = woman who does cleaning; Chronic = old; Intemperance = immoderation; Tacitly = implied but not spoken; Munchausen = hero of a series of adventures in a book by a German writer. He exaggerated his deeds of bravery; Credulity = believing easily; Ingenious = inventive; Whined = complained; Scrutinizing = studying; Concentration = complete attention; Coincidence = happening of two events at the same time by chance; Gave me such a turn = gave me a nervous shock; Bereavement = mourning, loss; Obtruded = thrust forward unduly; Presentiment = apprehension; Condensed = abridged

Questions You May Be Asked

Q.1 What was Blenkinthrope's complaint & what did he do about it?

A.1 Blenkinthrope complained about his monotonous & drab life. He was resentful because nothing interesting or exciting ever happened in his life. If there was something which he considered exciting, & tried to share it with his companions, no one ever cared to listen to him. For instance, he had grown an over-sized potato in his garden. He tried to tell about it to others. But no one was interested. Blenkinthrope told all this to his friend Gorworth who suggested that he should try to tell people some strange & spicy incidents that happened to him personally, or to anyone of his family. People's own life was so dull, that they craved to hear about such exciting & sensational things. He also suggested to Blenkinthrope some stories which he could tell others. His advice was that if something did not happen to him, he should invent it. Blenkinthrope invented stories. He told how a snake got into his poultry, hypnotized six pullets and then killed them. But the seventh pullet killed the snake. It was not hypnotized because it could not see snake's glittering eyes. His story was remarkably received. People liked to hear his stories. He invented ever new stories, to meet the demand of his companions. Soon he was tacitly accepted as Munchausen of the group.

Q.2 Describe the events that led to the death of Blenkinthrope's wife.

Ans. Blenkinthrope wife was fond of playing the cardgame called patience-game. One evening, when Blenkinthrope came home he found his wife completely engrossed in her cards. She told her husband that it was the Death's Head patience she was playing. It was the most difficult game and she had never got it out. Indeed she was even scared of doing it. She was afraid that if she were ever able to get it out, she would die. Her fears were not entirely unfounded. He mother too had similar fears. She could get it out once, and died of excitement soon after. Her great aunt too had got it out only once and had died the same night.

Blenkinthrope advised her that if she had such fears she should not try to get it out. But his wife continued trying nevethless. When Blenkinthrope came into the room again, his wife was still at it. She said she was excited because she felt she had almost done it. There was only one hitch. It was the five of diamonds. Blenkinthrope looked at her cards and suggested to move the eight clubs on the open nine. Then she could move the five onto the six. His wife was overjoyed. She followed his suggestion and got the Death's Head patience out.

But her presentiment proved to be true. Like her mother, she too died immediately.

Q.3 Discuss the irony of the story.

Ans. Blenkinthrope's life was monotonous and commonplace. Nothing of interest, ever happened in his life. He could never engage the attention of his companions because he could tell nothing but plain facts in a plain manner.

His friend, Gorworth suggested to him that if something unusual did not happen in his life, he should try to invent it. He gave him practical suggestion also, Blenkinthrope did not believe his friend. He did not even believe that he would ever be able to do it. But his mind was busy in giving shape to stories. His stories were instant succeess. His account appeared in newspapers. His companions demanded more marvels. He worked hard and invented ever-new stories. His companions tacitly accepted him the greatest romancer, an inventor of exaggerated and exciting fiction. But then came the Nemesis.

Blenkinthrope's wife died because she had the presentiment that if she ever succeeded at the cardgame knows as the Death's Head patience, she would die. Her mother and her great aunt had died soon after they had got it out.

Inspite of the tragedy, Blenkinthrope realised that something really interesting and extraordinary had happened in his life. His mind began to work at the story. He wrote the story. He attributed the cause of his wife's death to the Death's Head patience, the card game had claimed the third person in his family. Bue the irony was that his friends were not convinced.They accused him of wanting to gain widespread publicity even in his bereavement. They believed his wife had died of heart failure, and not in a sensational manner as Blenkinthrope had tried to put it.

Q.4 What is the significance of the title of the story? Write a detailed answer.

Ans. the seventh pullet plays a crucial role in the life of the chief character in the story. Blenkinthrope found life dull & drab. Nobody cared to listen to his great achievement of growing a two-pound potato in his garden. His friends Gorworth told him that stories of growing oversized potatoes & catching large fresh water fish did not interest people. They wanted to hear about some strange and exciting experiences. He advised him that if he did not have an actual experience, he could invent one. When Blenkinthrope narrated the story of how a snake mesmerized six pullets in his poultry and killed them, his companions were as spell bound as the pullets themselves.

But when he told them how the seventh pullet killed the snake, Blenkinthrope earned the reputation of a great story teller. People did not believe that he had told a true story. But they found it thrilling and entertaining. His stories were always in demand. He had to tell more stories to entertain his friends. The seventh pullet was a turning point in his life. His life was no longer dull. But this reputation cost him heavily. When his wife died of Death's Head patience, he tried to get it printed, But nobody believed it was a true story. They thought Blenkinthrope was trying to cash on his wife's death. So it was bad. No one ever liked him for it. His life became as dull as ever. So the seventh pullet played the crucial role in his life. The story of the death of his wife proved to be the seventh pullet in his life. It put an end to his success.