The Veldt: a graded reading (Ray Bradbury)

Famous science fiction

1. Frankenstein, Mary Shelley (1818)

2. The War of the Worlds, H. G. Wells (1898)

3. Nineteen Eighty-Four, George Orwell (1949)

4. I, Robot, Isaac Asimov (1950)

5. Solaris, Stanisław Lem (1961)

6. Dune, Frank Herbert (1965)

7. Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep?, Philip K. Dick (1968)

8. Roadside Picnic, Arkady and Boris Strugatsky (1972)

Which of these stories have you heard of?

Pick one or two of the stories and tell me what they're about (in short).

Many of these stories have been turned into films. Have you seen any of the films?

What other sci-fi books / movies have you read / seen?

The author and the story

By photo by Alan Light, CC BY 2.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php? curid=1566877

Ray Bradbury (1920–2012)

Ray Bradbury was born in 1920 in Waukegan, a small town in Illinois, USA. In 1934 his family moved to Los Angeles. After school, his family didn't have enough money to send him to university, so he educated himself in public libraries. He went to the library several days a week for years, and later he said that the library was his university. At the same time, he was selling newspapers on street corners and writing stories every day.

Bradbury became one of the most famous American writers of the 20th century. He wrote hundreds of short stories and several novels. His best-known book, Fahrenheit 451 (1953), is about a future world where the government burns books. He wrote the first version of it on a typewriter in a library basement. He paid ten cents for every thirty minutes of typing.

Interestingly, Bradbury never learned to drive a car, and he didn't trust many modern machines.

PICTURE

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The story

"The Veldt" first appeared in a magazine in 1950 with the title "The World the Children Made". A year later it became part of his famous collection The Illustrated Man.

The story is about a family who live in a "smart house" that does everything for them. The word veldt means the wide, open grassland of southern Africa.

Key words

• veldt: open grassland in southern Africa

• nursery: a room in a house for young children to play in

• vulture: a large bird that eats dead animals

• psychologist: a person who studies how people think and behave

Smart homes

• The story was written in 1950. What kind of technology did people have in their homes then? What did your grandparents have in their homes when they were young?

• What can a "smart home" do today?

• Would you like to live in a house that did everything for you: cooking, cleaning, even putting the children to bed? Why? Why not?

• Bradbury called the story "The World the Children Made". What do you think the story might be about?

PICTURE

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Part 1: The Happylife Home

Part 1: The Happylife Home

"George, I want you to look at the nursery," said Lydia Hadley.

"What's wrong with it?"

"I don't know. Please, just look at it."

George and Lydia Hadley lived with their two children, Peter and Wendy, in a Happylife Home. It was the most modern house in the town, and it cost them a lot of money. The house did everything for the family. It cooked their meals and washed the dishes. It cleaned the floors and made the beds. It turned on the lights when somebody walked into a room and turned them off when they left. At night it even sang the children to sleep.

The best and most expensive part of the house was the nursery. It was a large, empty room, but its walls and ceiling were special screens. When the children thought about a place, the room created it for them: the pictures, the sounds and even the smells.

George and Lydia walked down the hall to the nursery. When George opened the door, hot air hit his face. The room wasn't a room any more. They were standing in the middle of an African veldt. The yellow grass went on for miles, the sun was burning in the sky, and the air smelled of dry grass and animals.

"Look over there," Lydia whispered.

Not far away, a group of lions were eating something near a water hole. Above them, vultures were flying in slow circles. George couldn't see what the lions were eating. Suddenly, the lions stopped and turned their heads. They looked straight at George and Lydia. Then they started to walk towards them.

"Watch out!" Lydia screamed. They ran out, and George slammed the door shut.

Lydia was crying. "They nearly got us, George! They were real!"

"Of course they weren't real," George said. "It's only a machine. The walls are just screens." But his heart was beating very fast.

"The children spend too much time in that room," said Lydia. "And why are they thinking about lions all the time? Last year they always imagined Alice in Wonderland or Aladdin. And another thing… I don't feel like a mother any more. The house cooks, the house cleans, the house puts the children to bed. What do they need me for?"

George laughed nervously. "It's just a game, darling."

But later that night, while he was lying in bed, he couldn't stop thinking about the lions. They were eating something by the water hole, and he didn't want to know what it was.

Part 1 · True or false?

Correct the false sentences.

1. The Happylife Home was cheap.

2. The nursery could create sounds and smells, not only pictures.

3. When George opened the nursery door, the air was cold.

4. The lions walked towards George and Lydia.

5. George felt completely calm after they left the nursery.

6. Lydia was happy because the house did all the housework for her.

Part 1 · discussion

What were the vultures doing?

What did the children imagine in the nursery last year?

What was George doing when he started to think about the lions again?

What do you think the lions were eating?

What will George and Lydia do about the nursery?

How do you think Peter and Wendy will react?

Part 2: Screams in the night

Part 2: Screams in the night

The next evening, George went into the nursery alone. The lions were still there, lying in the hot sun far away.

"Aladdin and his magic lamp," George said clearly.

Nothing happened.

"Show me Aladdin!" he shouted.

The veldt stayed exactly the same. Either the room wasn't working properly, or the children did something to it.

At nine o'clock, Peter and Wendy came home. They were at a carnival all afternoon, and they were tired and happy.

"Peter," said George, "what's wrong with the nursery? Why can't I change it?"

"Nothing's wrong with it," said Peter. "It's fine."

Before anyone could stop her, Wendy ran down the hall to the nursery. A minute later, George opened the door. Now there was a cool green forest inside, with birds singing in the trees. There were no lions anywhere.

"You see?" said Peter. "There's no Africa."

After the children went to bed, George went back to the nursery. The forest was gone, and the veldt was there again. Near the door, something was lying in the grass. George picked it up. It was his old leather wallet. It was torn and wet, there were marks of big teeth on it, and there was dark blood on both sides.

George sat down at the kitchen table and thought for a long time. The next morning, he spoke to the children.

"Listen," he said. "We're going to lock the nursery for a month. Maybe longer. I think we all need a holiday from this house."

"You can't do that!" shouted Peter. "It's our room! If you lock it, I'll have to do everything myself. I'll have to tie my own shoes and brush my own teeth. I don't want to!"

"Well, you'll learn," said George.

Peter looked at his father for a long time. His eyes were cold. "You shouldn't make us angry, Father," he said quietly. Then he walked out of the room.

That night, while George and Lydia were lying in bed, they heard a terrible sound from the nursery. The lions were roaring, and somebody was screaming. Two people were screaming.

Lydia took George's hand. "Those screams," she whispered. "They sound… familiar."

George didn't answer. He was thinking exactly the same thing.

Part 2 · Choose the correct answer

1. When George asked the nursery to show Aladdin,

a) the room showed a green forest. b) the room showed Aladdin.

c) nothing changed.

2. Where were the children all afternoon?

a) at a carnival b) at school c) in the nursery

3. What did George find near the nursery door?

a) Lydia's scarf b) a toy lion c) his old wallet

4. George decided to

a) sell the house. b) lock the nursery for a month.

c) send the children to their grandparents.

5. How did Peter react to his father's decision?

a) He was very angry. b) He started to cry.

c) He agreed quietly.

Part 2 · discussion

What did the nursery look like after Wendy went in?

Why didn't Peter want the nursery to be locked?

What were George and Lydia doing when they heard the screams?

Whose screams do you think they heard? Why did the screams sound familiar?

George has a friend who is a psychologist. What do you think he will say about the nursery?

Will George keep his decision, or will he change his mind?

part 3: the psychologist

Part 3: The psychologist

The next day, George called his old friend David McClean. David was a psychologist, and he came to the house that afternoon.

"Show me the nursery," he said.

When they opened the door, the veldt was there as usual. Not far away, the lions were eating again. David watched them for a long time. He didn't say anything. He was sweating in the heat, and he looked worried.

"Let's go out," he said finally.

In the kitchen, David spoke seriously. "George, this room isn't a game any more. When the nursery was new, it helped children to play out their feelings. It was healthy. But now it's working like a channel for their thoughts. And their thoughts are about death. They're about killing. Did you do something to make the children angry recently?"

George thought. "Well… a month ago I punished Peter, and we locked the nursery for a few days."

"That's it," said David. "You see, your children love this house more than they love you. For years, the house cooked for them, played with them and put them to bed. The house became their mother and father. And when you tried to take the house away, you became their enemy."

"So what should I do?"

"Switch it off," said David. "Not only the nursery. The whole house. Take the family away for a while. Cook your own breakfast, clean your own floors. Start living a real life again."

That evening, George went from room to room and turned off every switch. The kitchen stopped working, the lights went out, and the nursery screens went dark.

When the children found out, they went crazy. Wendy was crying and screaming. Peter was kicking the furniture and shouting at his father. "I hate you! You can't kill the house!"

But George didn't change his mind. Soon the whole house was silent. It felt like a big, empty, dead body.

Part 3 · True or false?

Correct the false sentences.

1. David came to the house a week after George called him.

2. David looked relaxed while he was watching the lions.

3. David said the nursery was a channel for the children's thoughts.

4. A month before, George punished Peter.

5. David said the children loved their parents more than the house.

6. George switched off only the nursery.

Part 3 · discussion

According to David, why did George become the children's enemy?

What advice did David give George?

What were Wendy and Peter doing when the house went silent?

What will the children do now?

Will the family leave the house? Where might they go?

Do you think the story will have a happy ending? Why? Why not?

Part 4: One more minute

Part 4: One more minute

The family decided to leave the next day. George and Lydia were packing their suitcases when the children came into the bedroom.

"Please, Father," said Peter. His voice was soft and sweet now. "Just one more minute in the nursery. Only one minute. Just to say goodbye."

"Oh, George, let them," said Lydia. "One minute can't hurt anybody."

George was tired. He didn't want any more fights. "All right," he said. "One minute. Then we leave."

He switched the nursery back on, and the children ran down the hall.

George and Lydia continued packing. They were closing the last suitcase when they heard the children's voices.

"Mother! Father! Come quickly! Quickly!"

They ran down the hall and into the nursery. The veldt was there, hot and bright, but there was no sign of Peter or Wendy.

"Peter? Wendy?" George called.

Suddenly, the door slammed shut behind them. George turned and pulled the handle. It was locked.

"Peter! Open the door!" he shouted, banging on it with his fists.

From the other side, they heard Peter's calm voice. "We won't let you switch off the house."

Then Lydia touched George's arm. He turned around.

The lions were standing up. Slowly, quietly, they were walking towards them through the yellow grass.

George and Lydia screamed. And at that moment they understood why the screams in the night sounded so familiar.

Later that afternoon, David McClean arrived at the house. Nobody answered the front door, so he walked in and went to the nursery.

The children were sitting in the middle of the veldt. They were having a picnic lunch.

"Hello, children," said David. "Where are your mother and father?"

Peter and Wendy smiled at him. "They'll be here soon," said Peter.

In the distance, near the water hole, the lions were finishing their meal. Above them, the vultures were waiting in the sky.

Wendy picked up a teapot and politely asked David if he would like a cup of tea.

Part 4 · Choose the correct answer

1. What were George and Lydia doing when the children came to their bedroom?

a) sleeping b) packing their suitcases

c) having dinner

2. Why did George agree to switch the nursery back on?

a) He didn't want any more fights. b) David told him to.

c) He wanted to see the lions again.

3. When George and Lydia ran into the nursery,

a) the children were sitting in the grass. b) the room was dark.

c) the children weren't there.

4. Who locked the door?

a) the house b) the children c) David

5. When David arrived,

a) the children were having a picnic. b) the children were crying.

c) the lions were sleeping.

Part 4 · discussion

Why did Peter's voice sound "soft and sweet" this time?

What did George and Lydia finally understand?

What did Wendy offer David?

About the story

• Who is really responsible for what happened: the children, the parents, or the house? Why?

• Lydia said, "I don't feel like a mother any more." Why did she feel like this? Was she right?

• Which moment in the story surprised you most? Which moment frightened you most?

• Bradbury wrote this story in 1950. Which of his "predictions" came true? Think about screens, virtual reality, smart homes and children's technology.

• Some parents today worry that children spend too much time with screens. Do you think "The Veldt" is still relevant? Why? Why not?

• If you could change the ending, what would happen?

PICTURE

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Reading the original

• This was a simplified version of the story. What do you think the original language is like?

• Would you like to read the original story in English now that you know what happens? Why? Why not?

• What is easier to read in English: a story you already know, or a story you don't know? Why?

• Which other science fiction story would you like to read?

PICTURE

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