Page 15 - English Class 06

II

NEW MEDICINE FOR TOM

Tom was not feeling well. He could not sleep as well as he used to. He could not eat as
much as he used to. He did not want to run away from school. Sometimes, he did not want

to play. He was troubled and sad.
“The boy is ill”, Aunt Polly thought, “I must give him some medicine.” Aunt polly was
fond of all kinds of medicines. She had a lot of books on this subject. Her newest idea was

this: when a boy was ill, he must bathe in cold water everyday. And so every morning she
made Tom stand outside in the yard . Then she threw ice-cold water over him. After that, she
wrapped him in a wet sheet and made him lie in bed. Tom did not get better. He got worse,
Aunt Polly tried a new idea. She threw hot water over him instead of cold. That did not help

Tom either.

What would you do if your were Tom?

yard : area of land
wrapped : to cover
path : way

Now this time, Aunt polly heard about a new medicine. It was called painkiller. It had the
taste of fire. All the same, Aunt Polly made Tom drink it. Three spoonfuls after each meal.
Tom hated it. When his aunt was not looking, he quickly poured the medicine into a hole in

the floor. Tom was busy doing this one day when the cat came in. Tom poured some of the
medicine into its mouth. At once it jumped high into the air. It started dancing on its back
legs. It rushed about the room, breaking everything in its path . It ran about as if it were

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