“Arjun, I have brought your favourite thing. It is kept inside the refrigerator.” My mother brought the earthen pot out and held it before me. I counted and looked for the biggest one from the shining, round figures of India's most desired sweet item. "Don't eat it in one go. Here take one. Why don't you bite it and eat slowly? Why do you gulp everything down without chewing?
I avoided sleeping during the day and sneaked out of my mother's room. As I saw everyone is asleep, my mind turned into the devil's workshop in search of the prized item. I ran to the kitchen and pulled at the door of the refrigerator. I ran my hand over the eatables, mindlessly changing their places and dashed the door carelessly when I could not find the soft and syrupy sponges. I left, accidentally making a mess and leaving the water tap open.
In the evening, when my misdeeds were discovered, a visibly livid father dragged me to the center of our drawing room. To escape the beating, I feigned weeping. Hearing my sobs, my grandparents would invariably snatch me out of my father's hands. I broke free from their arms and threw my body on the bed with a thud. I did not listen to anyone's voice and pretended to be asleep.
Hands tugged me at dinner time. I refused to listen to the request of taking food. Then my parents and grandparents would coax me with various offers. My grandfather hugged me and asked, “Arjun, what will make you feel better?”
“Rasgulla! Give me at least ten.”
Why was Arjun on the verge of receiving a beating?
Answer & explanation
Correct answer: option 2
The correct answer is Option (2) → Because he made a mess in the kitchen
While searching the refrigerator, Arjun left "accidentally making a mess and leaving the water tap open". In the evening, "when my misdeeds were discovered", his angry father dragged him to the drawing room to beat him. The mess in the kitchen is what brought on the beating.
Why the Other Options are Incorrect?
Option 1: Because he refused to listen — Incorrect. Wrong time: he refused to listen at dinner time, after the threatened beating, and his family coaxed him instead of punishing him.
Option 3: Because he gulped down food without chewing — Incorrect. Wrong link: this was only his mother's gentle complaint when she gave him a rasgulla.
Option 4: Because he sneaked out of his mother's room — Incorrect. Wrong cause: sneaking out was only the beginning of his adventure; the father's anger came from the mess discovered later.