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This test consists of 5 short answer questions, 10 short essay questions, and 1 (of 3) essay topics.

Short Answer Questions

1. What reason does Becky give for breaking up with the narrator?

2. Where does Missy take Harlequin's gift?

3. What does the professor dream about that night?

4. What does the professor say being left behind meant for her?

5. What decision does the narrator make?

Short Essay Questions

1. Is the professor the same person as Susan from the Narnia books?

2. Based on this story, how do you think the author feels about the problem of Susan?

3. What is the 'problem of Susan'?

4. How does the father in 'Locks' interpret the story differently from his two-year-old child?

5. Why does the father in 'Locks' feel that we owe it to ourselves to tell each other stories?

6. In 'The Day the Saucer's Came' why does the person in the poem not notice such incredible events?

7. Describe the character of Harlequin.

8. What makes it clear that the author of 'Disease Maker's Croup' is suffering from the disease himself?

9. Is 'In the End' a hopeful story or a sad one?

10. Why does Triolet say that she is a poem?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

How is fairyland represented in the stories and poems in this collection? What does the author have to say about magic?

Essay Topic 2

Discuss the theme of evil and monsters in the poems and stories in this collection. Pay particular attention to the stories 'Keepsakes and Treasures,' 'How Do You Think it Feels?' and 'The Monarch of the Glen." Also, bring in any other stories and poems you like as well. What does the author have to say about evil and human nature? Do you agree with him?

Essay Topic 3

What exactly happens in the story 'Bitter Grounds' and what does the story mean? Does it have several meanings? Is there a message in the story?

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