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Herman Charles Bosman

In the Withaak's shade

Easy questions to cut your teeth on!

Keith Tankard
Knowledge4Africa.com
Updated: 6 March 2014
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Oom Schalk Lourens tells the story of how, when looking after cattle in the Marico district, he lay down to rest awhile and suddenly woke to find a leopard sniffing his boots. No-one, however, will believe him . . .



READ THE FOLLOWING PASSAGE:

Overhead a lonely aasvoël wheeled, circling slowly round and round without flapping his wings, and I knew that not even a calf could pass in any part of the sky between the tip of my toe and that aasvoël without my observing it immediately. What was more, I could go on lying there under the withaak and looking for the cattle like that all day, if necessary. As you know, I am not the sort of farmer to loaf about the house when there is a man's work to be done.

The more I screwed up my eyes and gazed at the toe of my boot, the more it looked like Abjaterskop. By and by it seemed that it actually was Abjaterskop, and I could see the stones on top of it, and the bush trying to grow up its sides, and in my ears there was a far-off humming sound, like bees in an orchard on a still day. As I have said, it was very pleasant.

Then a strange thing happened. It was as though a huge cloud, shaped like an animal's head and with spots on it, had settled on top of Abjaterskop. It seemed so funny that I wanted to laugh. But I didn't. Instead I opened my eyes a little more and felt glad to think that I was only dreaming. Because otherwise I would have had to believe that the spotted cloud on Abjaterskop was actually a leopard, and that he was gazing at my boot. Again I wanted to laugh. But then, suddenly, I knew.

Have you looked at the questions
in the right column?
TEST YOURSELF!
Read the left column and then answer
the following questions:



Why is "aasvoël" written in italics? (2)

[Need help?]




Comment on the irony in the sentence, "I am not the sort of farmer to loaf about the house when there is a man's work to be done." (3)

[Need help?]




Explain how the toe of Oom Schalk Lourens's boot slowly came to look more and more like Abjaterskop. (4)

[Need help?]




What was the "far-off humming sound"? (2)

[Need help?]




Explain the "huge cloud" that appeared to settle on Abjaterskop. (4)

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Oom Schalk Lourens says, "Instead I opened my eyes a little more and felt glad to think that I was only dreaming."
  • Was he only dreaming? Explain your answer with reference to what follows in the story. (6)

[Need help?]




What causes Oom Schalk to change his opinion from "very pleasant" as he listens to the far-off humming sound, to feeling less than glad? (2)

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Why do you think Oom Schalk worries about his appearance at this time? (2)

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