Seventeen Oranges
Bill Naughton
Introduction :
William John Francis Naughton was an Irish born British playwright. One of his famous short stories was "Seventeen Oranges".
Characters:
1. I - Bill Naughton
2. Clem Jones - Narrator's friend
3. Pongo - Policeman
Summary:
The narrator was fond of oranges. He was driving a little pony cart for the Swift Delivery Company, so he often went in and out of the dock
He took the things only when he found them. But his friend Clem Jones was not like him. He was a planned thief. One day he was coming out of the dock and carrying a box. Then Pongo (policeman) enquired him about the box. He said that inside the box there was a cat. Pongo asked him to open to. But Jones refused to do because he said that if he opened it, it would run away. Then with an angry face, pongo said that there was something in the box and ordered him to open it. Then at last he opened it. A ship's cat jumped out from the box and ran back into the dock. Then Clem also ran after the cat. Two minutes later, Clem came back with the same box and held it tightly. Now, Pongo allowed Calm to go out of the dock (because he already checked). When he went out of the dock, he smiled. Then he opened the box in his kitchen, it was full of "Dutch cheese".
But the narrator was not so lucky. One day he took oranges and kept them under his apron. Now, Pongo caught him red-handed because his apron string broke and pockets were bulging. Pongo took him into his cabin for enquired and he looked his pockets. There were seventeen Oranges. Pongo counted it and placed it on the table. He asked so many questions to the narrator, but he didn't open his mouth. Because he knew that if he opened, they should consider the word as evident. So he didn't open his mouth. So Pongo went out to bring another policeman for investigation. He locked the door and went.
Now, the narrator was so much worried. He was thinking about his job and his father. Because he was a thief now, so there would be a chance to go to prison. He thinks that he cannot escape from there. He was thinking and thinking. One light spark arrived in his mind that insists he "Eat the Oranges". Then he started to eat that. He peeled it and put it in his mouth. Only the small seeds were left. His mind again insists him to eat that seeds too. He don't have enough time to peel it so he took a knife from his pocket and started to cut it into large pieces. There were still three oranges remaining when he heard Pongo voice outside. He started to eat so fast. He was lucky because pongo and another policeman had seen some cart and they were talking to the driver. This gave him some more time. Suddenly the door open. Pongo said to the policeman that Clem was a thief. When he saw the table there were no oranges. He was shocked and enquired about it. But Clem didn't open his mouth. The policeman said that he could smell that but couldn't find where it was. Pongo can sense that, it was hard to explain that. There was no evidence against him, so they let him go free.
The next day, the narrator told the incident, Clem. Clem said that policemen don't have the right to lock a person in the dock. The narrator also knows that, but he doesn't have time to think about it. And he felt very weak due to eating so many oranges.
Moral :
A clever person can manage a tricky situation.
