Raintree 3 What's Happened to the Clock

 Summary: What's Happened to the Clock

The characters in this play are Julia, Robert and their mother. At the beginning

of the play, the children are arranging their train set. By the time they finish

putting together the set, they realize that it is time for bed. The children are

upset that they always have to finish playing when they reach the best part.

Robert gets an idea. He decides to push the clock by one hour so that they get an

extra hour to play. He says Mother will never find out. Their mother does seem

surprised, but does not say anything. The next morning, everything seems to be

normal, including the clock. The children do not say anything. Again, they start

playing and soon it is bedtime. They are tempted to change the time on the

clock again but they don’t. As they lay in their beds ready to go to sleep, they

hear the church bell and realize that they have lost one full hour of play. Robert

asks their mother if she tricked them. She says that she played the same trick

that they had played on her—she had only pushed the time forward instead of

backward. The children feel guilty for what they did and say sorry to their

mother. Ever since, no one has ever touched the clock in Julia and Robert’s

house.

UNIT 10: WHAT’S HAPPENED TO THE CLOCK?

Warm Up

1. c 2. d 3. b 4. a

Embedded Questions

● No, they take a long time to do it.

● The previous day, Robert and Julie had to stop their painting before they could finish it because it

was time for bed.

● Frown (free response)

● Around 9:15

● In the morning, the children notice that the clock is back to normal. If they ask their mother about

it, she will come to know that they had changed it the previous night.

● They are again playing with their railway set.

● Gloomy - Dull

● No, her mother has not scolded her but Julie is feeling bad about what she has done.

● Mother has moved the time forward by one hour.

● No, they will not do it ever, because the children have learned their lesson.

Comprehension

A. 1. At the beginning of the story, Julie and Robert are playing with their train set.

2. No, Julie and Robert were not happy about the time they got to play in the evenings.

3. Robert changed the time of the clock, quarter past nine to quarter past eight, to get one extra

hour to play.

4. No, Robert and Julie did not get extra time to play the next day. They actually got one hour less.

B. 1. After changing the time on the clock, Julie and Robert felt guilty and a little ashamed at what they

had done.

2. Yes, the clock showed the correct time the next morning. The eight o’clock siren goes off far away

in the town. The clock says eight o’clock too.

3. The next day, after playing Julie and Robert are in their bedroom. The church clock begins to strike.

It strikes nine times, showing us that it is only nine o’clock and not ten o’clock. That is when they

realise that they have come to bed an hour early and missed a whole hour’s play.

4. Robert says this. He is talking about the church clock.

5. Robert says this when he and Julie realise that their mother had changed the time on the clock to

one hour earlier. She played the same trick that the children had played on her but the other way

round. Robert says he is glad because it made him realise his mistake.

6. Mother says this to Robert and Julie. The lesson is that we must never trick any one and dishonesty

never pays.

C. 1. Julie thinks that her mother would never guess that she and Robert had changed the timing in the

clock. But she is not right in thinking so. Her mother does find out about the trick.

2. Free response

D. Suggested answers (Accept any logical answer)

1. No. They are busy cheating each other.

2. Yes.

3. No. He must talk about it gently to Sid.

Grammar

A. 2. The sun – subject; shines bright – predicate

3. Grandmother – subject; is telling us a story – predicate

4. These people – subject; are waiting for the bus – predicate

5. You – subject; are a nice person – predicate

B. 2. a 3. e 4. c 5. d

C. Free response

Vocabulary

2. beeped 3. chirping 4. hushed 5. zoomed

Writing

 Robert and Julie wanted to play for some more time. First Robert checked if his mother was nearby.

Next, he changed the time in the clock by turning its hands back. Then, told their mother it was not

bedtime. Finally, the children got an hour of extra playtime.

WHAT’S HAPPENED TO THE CLOCK?

A. Answer in brief.

1. How were Julie and Robert planning to set up their new railway set on the playroom floor?

 Ans: Julie and Robert were planning to put all the rails out, then put up the station and then the

tunnel. And finally they wanted to put the engine with the carriages and get the train moving.

2. Did the children feel good after they had put the clock back?

 Ans: The children did not feel good and wished that they had not put the clock back. They had

tricked their mother which was not a nice thing to do.

3. What did their mother say when the children complained about missing a whole hour’s play?

 Ans: Their mother said that the playroom clock said ten o’clock and if they went by that the

previous day, they had to go by it that day too.

B. Answer in detail.

1. Why were Julie and Robert upset after they had set up their new railway set on the playroom

floor?

 Ans: After they had set up their new railway set, it was only five minutes to their bedtime and

they had just come to the nicest part of all—getting the train going. They always seemed to have

to go to bed just when they were in the middle of something exciting, so they were upset.

2. How did Julie and Robert’s mother teach them a lesson?

 Ans: The children’s mother understood that they had set the clock back by one hour to gain extra

playtime. So, she played the same trick on them, but the other way round. The children had turned

the clock back and their mother turned it ahead and they lost one hour of playing time. This

taught them not to do wrong things again.

C. Read the lines and answer the questions.

1. There! We’ve got another hour to play!

 a. Who said this and to whom?

 b. How did they get that extra hour to play?

 c. Did they do the right thing?

 Ans: a. Robert said this to Julie.

 b. Robert set the clock back by one hour to gain extra playtime.

 c. They did not do the right thing as they cheated their mother.

2. “It is getting near your bedtime, you two. What does the clock say?”

 a. Who asked this and to whom?

 b. What did the clock say?

 c. What did mother think?

 Ans: a. Mother asked this to Robert and Julie.

 b. The clock said half-past eight.

 c. Mother thought that it was later than that and that it was close to their bedtime. She

asked if the clock had stopped.