Roald Dahl short stories

Lamb to the Slaughter

Mary Maloney, a housewife devoted to making a sweet home for her husband, and heavily pregnant with their first child, awaits her husband Patrick's return home from his job as local police detective. Mary is very much content in her marriage and believes her husband to be as well. When he returns Mary notices that he is uncharacteristically aloof, and assumes that he is tired from work. After having more to drink than usual, Patrick reveals to Mary what is making him act strangely. Although it is not explicitly said, one can infer that Patrick asked for a divorce as he states that "she will be looked after".

Seemingly in a trance, Mary fetches a large leg of lamb from the deep-freezer in the cellar to cook for their dinner. Patrick, his back to Mary, angrily calls to her not to make him any dinner, as he is going out. While he is looking out of the window...

(Read the story in class!)

Lamb to the Slaughter.pptx

The Landlady

Billy Weaver arrives in Bath after taking the train from London. He’s never been to the town before, but he’s due to start a new job there soon and he’s excited at the prospect. He heads toward The Bell and Dragon, which is a pub he’s been told he could spend the night at. On the way though, he notices a sign in the window of a nearby house: “BED AND BREAKFAST.” Billy looks in the window and notices that it’s a charming house, with a roaring fire and a little dog curled up asleep on the rug. On an impulse, he decides to check it out and rings the bell. It is answered immediately a little old lady who invites him to enter and tells him the room rate. As it’s less than half what he was prepared to pay, Billy decides to stay. She tells him that he is the only guest as she takes him to his room. When he goes downstairs to sign the guest-book, he notices that there are only two names in the entire book. The names are over two years old… and what’s more, they strike him as being familiar. As he struggles to remember where he’s heard the names before, the landlady brings him a cup of tea. He seems to remember that one of them was an Eton schoolboy that disappeared, but she assures him that her Mr. Temple was different...

Week 3 and 4 The Landlady.pptx

The Hitchhiker

The narrator is driving to London is his lovely new BMW when he picks up a hitchhiker. The man, who looks rather like a rat, mentions that he’s going to the horse races, but not to bet or work the ticket machines. The narrator is intrigued and says that he’s a writer. They get to talking about the car, and the narrator proudly states that it can hit one hundred and twenty-nine miles per hour. The hitchhiker doubts that, so once they hit a straight patch of road, the narrator steps on the gas. They’re almost there when a policeman on a motorcycle zooms past and signals them to stop. The cop is a bit of a bully and threatens to have the narrator thrown in prison. He takes down his address and also the address of the hitchhiker. Then he gives them a ticket and leaves and they continue on their way. The narrator is worried about the ticket, but the hitchhiker says it will be fine...

Read the stories!

Lamb to the Slaughter:

Lamb to the Slaughter.pdf

The Landlady:

landlady_text.pdf

The Hitchhiker:

The Hitchhicker -Roald Dahl.pdf

Extra Work

Week 3 and 4 Landlady lesson 2 - Who is Billy Weaver.doc
Week 3 and 4 TENSION in Landlady EAL.docx
Week 3 and 4 Landlady lesson 3 - Foreshadowing Sheet.doc
Week 3 and 4 TONE in Landlady EAL.docx

Extension work

Please use the PowerPoint and Booklet attached as extra work or homework!

Lesson 1 - Roald Dahl.pptx
Roald Dahl Title Page.docx
Year 7 - End of Term Workbooklet.docx