ON THE FACE OF IT

by
SUSAN HILL
ABOUT THE AUTHOR- SUSAN HILL
Susan Hill, CBE (born 5 February 1942) is an
English author of fiction and non-fiction
works. Her novels include The Woman in
Black, The Mist in the Mirror, and I'm the King
of the Castle, for which she received the
Somerset Maugham Award in 1971. She was
appointed Commander of the Order of the
British Empire (CBE) in the 2012 Birthday
Honours for services to literature.
Derry entered the garden of Mr lamb
The story begins with a teenage boy entering a garden. His
face is burnt on one side due to an accident when acid fell on
half of his face. He has gone there to hide himself as he is
afraid of facing people. He fears being teased by others for
having such a face. But when he enters, he finds someone
already present there. He tries to leave the place but he is
stopped by the old man, Mr. Lamb, the owner of the garden.
Derry feels guilty for entering the garden without permission.
Mr. Lamb welcomes him and tells him not to leave just
because of his presence.
Derry wants to leave as he thinks people don’t like his face and
moreover ,they get afraid of his looks. But Mr. Lamb insists him
to stay there. They enter into a conversation that how Derry is not
liked by anyone and how he hates people behaving like this with
him. Mr. Lamb tries to console him. He tells him that he has a tin
leg and kids make fun of him. Still he is not depressed and enjoys
his life. They both talk about various things and this leads to
revelation of Derry’s fear, depression and hatred about his being
in such condition.
But Mr. Lamb keeps on telling him
to think of the positive things. Soon
they become friends and Mr. Lamb
asks him to help him in plucking
the crab apples of his garden. Derry
tells him that he had come too far
from his home and hadn’t told
anything about this to his mother.
Mr. Lamb tells him to take permission from his mother. Derry finds it
difficult and this leads to a small quarrel between both of them. At last
Derry tells him that he would come back after taking his mother’s
permission. His mother does not want him to go back but he comes back
again to fulfill his promise. Meanwhile Mr. Lamb climbs the ladder on his
own to pluck the crab apples as he was sure that Derry would not return.
He was disabled and it was difficult for him to climb. Mr. Lamb falls from
his ladder and dies. Derry, on the other hand, returns to the garden to help
him. When he enters the garden, he sees Mr. Lamb lying on the ground.
Derry tries hard to make him move but did not get any response from him.
Finally he comes to know that he is dead and starts crying.
The life changing statements of Mr lamb that brought a
transformation in Derry
Mr Lamb fell down and died but his peculiar words
transformed Derry
 Let's Quizz....!

Q1- Who has written On The Face Of It?

A) Susan Hill B) William Sydne
Q2- What is this play featuring?
A) an old man and a small boy meeting in old man's garden
B) gossip of the old man at the beach
Q3- Who is Mr. Lamb?
A) a middleaged man B) an old man
Q4- What were Derry and Mr. Lamb victims of?
A) vision impairment B) Physical impairment