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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 does the man say cats always do, so they need not worry about him getting hurt on the new fencing?

2. How do the intruders get past the iron bars in the suburban homes?

3. What is the gardener doing as he walks back to the house at the end of the story?

4. What did the husband tell his wife she was doing by giving things to the city people who came to the suburbs?

5. Where did the cat sleep after the serrated metal coils were installed?

Short Essay Questions

1. What did the son pretend to be the day after his mother read him a fairy tale from the book the Wise Old Witch gave him?

2. What were intruders able to do even while the alarms wailed in the suburbs, and what did they take?

3. Describe what would likely happen should someone attempt to climb the wall with the serrated metal coils installed?

4. Why were homeowners particularly crushed when intruders drank their single malt scotch?

5. What does the wife tell her husband she is worried after installing the serrated metal coils around their wall?

6. After the man and woman decided they should build a higher wall, what did the man's mother get them for Christmas? What did she get for their son?

7. Despite thinking it the ugliest, what option did the man and woman choose to enhance security after building a higher wall?

8. What did the wife do for the people who hung around looking for work outside their home? What did the housemaid think of them?

9. After building a higher wall, what did the man and woman notice the cat doing one night while discussing the latest robberies?

10. How did the son end up getting entangled in the new security fence at the end of the story?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

Write an essay about the author of “Once Upon a Time.” Who is she? What else has she written? How is “Once Upon a Time” similar or different from her other works?

Essay Topic 2

Write an essay discussing the setting and time period of “Once Upon a Time.” In what ways does the time period and setting impact your understanding of the story as well as the themes?

Essay Topic 3

Write an essay examining the ending of “Once Upon a Time.” How did the ending fit into the storyline? Do you think the ending was effective? What theme might the ending represent? What might the author have done differently?

(see the answer keys)

This section contains 745 words (approx. 3 pages at 300 words per page) View a FREE sample