Discuss in groups and answer the following questions in two or three paragraphs (100 −150 words)

1. Of the three, Jerome, George and Harris, who do you think is the best or worst packer? Support your answer with details from the text.

2. How did Montmorency ‘contribute’ to the packing?

3. Do you find this story funny? What are the humorous elements in it?

(Pick out at least three, think about what happens, as well as how it is described.)

1. All three friends, Jerome, George and Harris prove to be bad at packing things.

However, if we compare them, Jerome is by far the best at packing. Though he is unable to remember whether he has packed his toothbrush; accidentally packs his tobacco pouch and forgets to pack the boots, he is far than the other two.

On the other hand, George and Harris mismanage the whole process. They keep things behind them and then fail to find them; pack heavy things on food items; break and smash things; sprinkle salt over everything; step over food items; etc. This shows their incompetent packing skills.

2. The packing escapade was already a messy job and Montmorency's contribution made it even more tiresome. He did his level best to be a “perfect nuisance”.

He came and sat down on things just when they were about to be packed. According to the narrator, the dog had a belief that whenever Harris or George reached out their hand for anything, it was his cold damp nose they wanted.

Montmorency put his leg into the jam and disturbed the teaspoons.  He pretended that the lemons were rats and went into the hamper to kill three of them before being hit with a frying pan by Harris.

3. Yes, this story is definitely funny. Not only is the way in which the three friends pack for their trip quite mirthful, but the way the author narrates all the incidents is also entertaining.

Though Jerome takes pride in his packing skills, he unpacks and re-packs the same things three times, much to the amusement of his friends and readers.

Also, when his friends start to pack the hamper, they create an even bigger havoc. They pack in a haphazard manner, sit on butter and squash things, etc. The behaviour and attitude of Montmorency towards life is one more example of humour in the story.