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A police jeep drew up beside me. It was the tall one and the heavy one on patrol. I told
them that grandpa was ill. They asked me not to worry. They took over. The tall one
drove the jeep to the tree. The heavy one called for the fire service on his radio.

As I ran, the first drops of rain fell. Then the downpour began. The two policemen were
up in the tree. They wrapped grandpa in a blanket. There was nothing I could do but
watch and wait. I was completely wet. But I hardly noticed. I was worried about grandpa.

I was really afraid. I heard myself saying, ‘Please God! Save my grandpa.’
I could hear the fire engine. There were five firemen and each had a job to do. A search
light was turned on. A ladder was raised. One of the men went up. Grandpa was lifted

safely to the ground. He was carried into the house.
Grandpa was asleep. The heavy one spoke on his two-way radio. He was calling for an

ambulance. The rain pelted down continuously.
The ambulance arrived. Grandpa was taken to the hospital. He was kept there for two
days. The doctor said that he needed plenty of hot food and sleep. Slowly, he recovered

his health.

Meanwhile, my parents and my grandma
arrived. They were shocked to hear about
what had happened. They were angry with
him for his tough display in their absence but
his actions had spoken louder than his words.

It was ten o’ clock in the morning. Grandpa
came back to his room in our house. It was
full of sunshine and flowers. The windows

were wide open. The birds were singing in
the trees outside. I sat near the door letting in
visitors.

A cheer went up as he began to speak. ‘My
neem, sweet neem!’

—KS Nagarajan (abridged)

Revisit the text and complete the sentences.

1. Mukherjee’s face grew pale because .

2. Grandpa was wrapped in a blanket because .

3. Grandpa did not even want a cup of coffee because .

4. A band was marching on the street because .

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