It was raining lightly outside as the doctor walked down the steps to the street but the girl was already almost a block up the street, waiting for him. She walked too fast, however. Stopping only for a moment at each corner to make sure he saw where she was going. The girl led the doctor through the poorest part of Berlin, the section of the city around the hospital where Dr. Braun was the head surgeon. Finally, they reached an old tenement house where the girl’s mother was living. The doctor climbed upstairs up to the fifth story. As the doctor entered the room, he heard the door close softly behind him.The woman was lying in the bed. The doctor recognized her as a person who at one time worked as the maintenance staff at the hospital. She was suffering from pneumonia. When the doctor talked about the girl, daughter of the woman, Elda said that her daughter, Adelheid, had died of the flu in September just three days after her seventh birthday.
The doctor was surprised. The little girl was not there. Elda told that she had kept Heide’s shoes and shawl to remind her of Heide. The doctor got up and looked. He saw the same ragged shawl on a hook and a pair of shabby shoes on the floor. As he looked closely he found them wet. Elda said that she had been thinking about him earlier that night hoping and praying for him. As she was talking, she fell asleep. Then, touching her feverish head once more, he took his black bag, stepped out into the dark hallway, and closed the door.
A. Questions on content (page23-24)
1. How long did this story take place?Ans. This story took place on December 26, 1903. Around 115 years ago.2. What was the doctor doing doing when the doorbell rang?Ans. The doctor had dozed off when the doorbell rang.
3. Who answered the door?Ans. Dr. Braun's wife, Mr's Braun answered the door.
4. Who came to the door asking for the doctor?Ans. A little girl came to the door asking for the doctor.
5. Why did the little girl come to the doctor's hone?Ans. The little girl came to the doctor's home because her mother was sick and dying and she needed immediate medical help.
6. Where did the sick woman live?Ans. The sick woman lived in an old tenement house on the poorest side of Berlin.
7. How old was Dr. Braun when this incident too place?Ans. Dr. Braun was 67 years old when this incident took place.
8. To which floor of the tenement house did the little girl lead Dr. Braun?Ans. The little girl took Dr. Braun to the fifth floor of the tenement house.
9. What sickness did the woman have?Ans. The woman was having pneumonia.
10. Where did Elda live for three years before she returned to Berlin?Ans. Elda lived in the country for three years before she returned to Berlin.
11. What was the girl's name? What did her mother call her?Ans. The girls name was Adelheid. Her mother used to call her Heide.
12. How old was the girl when she died?Ans. The girl was six years old when she died.
13. What did the mother keep to remind her of her daughter?Ans. The mother kept her daughter's ragged shawl and shabby shoes as a rememberance .
Discussion Questions (page-27)
A. Answer the following questions.
1. If the doctor was too tired to eat or write, why was he not too tired to go to see the sick woman?Ans. Even though the doctor was too tired to eat and write, he still went to see the sick woman because he felt sorry for them and knew that her mother was in immediate need of the medical attention and also he wanted to full fill his duty as a responsible doctor where his patients were his no. 1 priority.2. Why do you think the little girl walked ahead of the doctor instead of walking with him?Ans. I think that the little girl walked ahead of the doctor instead of walking with him maybe because she was a spirit and she don't want anybody know her secret,she just wanna help her mother , because she was hurry to cure her mom so she walked ahead.
3. The story says that the doctor was trying to catch up with the little girl so he could ask her a few questions.
a. What do you think he wanted to ask her?Ans. I think that he wanted to ask her more about her and where she lived and also about her mother's whereabouts.
b. Do you think the girl wanted to answer the questions? Explain.Ans. No, the girl did not wanted to answer the questions as her only concern was to take him to her sick mother who was dying.
4. Dr. Braun interrupted the sick woman when she said, "I came back to Berlin three months ago, right after my little girl...." What do you think she was trying to say?Ans. She was actually trying to say that her daughter Heidi had passed away three months ago because of flu in september.
5. Why did the doctor have a look of surprise on his face when Elda told him that her little daughter died in september?Ans. The doctor had a surprise look on his face when Elda told him about her daughters demise in september because the same girl was with him throughout the journey directing him to the sick lady.
6. Elda said, "when I see Heide's shoes and shawl, it almost seems like she's still here with me". What do you think the doctor was thinking when he heard her say that?Ans. He thinks that the little girl's spirit is still present among them.
7. Do you think it is a good idea to keep reminders of lost loved ones as Elda did? Explain.Ans. According to me, it is a good idea to keep reminders of our lost loved ones as it would help us to console ourselves whenever we begin to miss them and make us feel better.
8. What do you think the doctor thought when he found out that the shoes were wet and the shawl damp?Ans. I think that the doctor was surprised when he found out that the shoes were wet and shawl damp while in fact it was hanging there on for months after Heide's death. And there were no possible ways of it getting damp and wet without anyone using it. And also those were the same shoes he saw the girl wearing some moments ago.
9. Elda fell asleep while she was saying, "It's strange I was thinking about you earlier tonight, hoping..... praying... that.... that...." What do you think she was trying to say?Ans. She was trying to say that, she was hoping that Dr. Braun would come over to her and cure her sickness.
10. Do you think that Elda's hoping and praying had anything to do with the doctor's coming to see her? Explain?Ans. Yes, Elda's hoping and praying had something to do with the doctor's coming to see her, because the spirit of her dead daughter hears her mother's suffering and goes to the doctor's home to call the doctor.
11.Why do you suppose the doctor did not tell Elda that night what happend?
Ans. I didnt suppose the doctor tell Elda what happend that night because he finds that the little girl spirit is just helping her mother she is not doing any harm .
12.Do you think that he told her later?
Ans. I don't think he told her later because maybe he want to let the things be as it is.
Tips for exam
* The same above questions are asked in exam but for 5 marks or sometime for 10 marks
You should elaborate the answers.
You should elaborate the answers.
* To Elaborate Every time you write a short summary in 1st paragraph,
* Now give the answer of asked questions in 2nd paragraph,
* If you don't feel bore writing answers you can make it of 3 paragraphs by concluding the main theme of answer in 3rd paragraph.
Example::2. Why do you think the little girl walked ahead of the doctor instead of walking with him?
According to the story''The House Call" ,A little girl visited Dr Emil Brawn and asked him help to cure her mother as the doctor was very tired but also he was ready to go with that little girl to cure her mother . But as explained in a story the girl is a spirit
So, I think that the little girl walked ahead of the doctor instead of walking with him maybe because she was a spirit and she don't want anybody know her secret,she just wanna help her mother , because she was hurry to cure her mom so she walked ahead.
Therefore, to keep the secret of her identity the little girl walked ahead instead of walking with him.
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