Page 116 - English Expedition Class 6

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Three Men Pack for a Trip

Jerome K. Jerome

Do you pack your own things before going on a trip or does someone else do it for you? Have you
ever forgotten to pack something important and then spent the entire trip regretting it? Share your
packing experiences with the class.

Three friends, George, Harris and the author J., decide to take a boating trip down the river Thames
for a fortnight, along with the pet dog Montmorency. Before setting off , however, they need to pack
all the things they require, and the list is a rather lengthy one. Does the exercise go as planned? Read
the chapter to fi nd out.

e made a list of the things to be taken, and the next day, which was Friday, we got them
all together, and met in the evening to pack. We got a big Gladstone for the clothes,
1
Wand a couple of hampers for the victuals and the cooking utensils. We moved the table
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up against the window, piled everything in a heap in the middle of the fl oor, and sat round and
looked at it.
I said I’d pack.
I rather pride myself on my packing. Packing is one of those many things that I feel I know
more about than any other person living. (It surprises me myself, sometimes, how many of these
subjects there are.) I impressed the fact upon George and Harris, and told them that they had
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5
better leave the whole matter entirely to me. Th ey fell into the suggestion with a readiness that had
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something uncanny about it. George put on
a pipe and spread himself over the easy-chair, • What things did the three friends
and Harris cocked his legs on the table and lit gather before starting to pack?
a cigar.
• Why did the narrator brag about his
Th is was hardly what I intended. What I
packing skills?
had meant, of course, was, that I should boss
• Why did the reaction of George and
the job, and that Harris and George should
Harris seem ‘uncanny’ to the narrator?
potter about under my directions. Th eir taking

1 Gladstone: handbag named after the British politician 4 impressed the fact upon: made them understand the
William Ewart Gladstone (1809–98) importance of the fact by emphasizing it
2 hamper: a container or box with a lid 5 fell into: agreed with
3 victuals: food and drink 6 uncanny: suspiciously strange
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