“Packing” is a humorous prose extract from Jerome K. Jerome’s classic comic novel Three Men in a Boat, included in the ASSEB (Assam State Board of Secondary Education) Class 9 English textbook Beehive. The story revolves around the narrator Jerome and his two friends George and Harris, who attempt to pack their luggage before a river trip. What follows is a hilarious series of mishaps — lost toothbrushes, trodden butter, a squashed tomato, and a mischievous dog named Montmorency — making it one of the most entertaining chapters in the ASSEB Class 9 English syllabus.
Summary of Packing
The story begins with the narrator Jerome offering to do the packing. He proudly volunteers because he believes he is an expert packer. However, his real intention was to direct and supervise while George and Harris did the actual work. To his great irritation, both friends immediately accepted his offer and sat back comfortably — George spread himself over the easy-chair and Harris put his legs on the table — leaving Jerome to do all the work alone.
Jerome packs the bag with great confidence, but the moment he finishes strapping it up, Harris casually asks whether the boots have been packed. Jerome, annoyed, is forced to open the bag again. After repacking and strapping it shut once more, a horrible idea strikes him — he cannot remember if he packed his toothbrush. He unpacks everything searching for it, finds it inside a boot, packs everything back, and straps the bag shut again. But then he realises he has packed his spectacles, so he must open the bag a third time.
George and Harris then take over to pack the food hampers. Their packing is even more chaotic. Harris breaks a cup and George treads on the butter, which sticks to his slipper. A tomato gets squashed, pies are broken under heavy items, and salt ends up everywhere. The dog Montmorency adds to the disorder by sitting on things, putting his paw into the jam, and mistaking lemons for rats. The packing finally ends at 12:50 at night, leaving everyone exhausted and irritated.
Oral Comprehension Check
Q1. What do you think is the secret of good packing?
Answer: The real secret of good packing involves careful organisation — placing heavy items at the bottom, lighter items on top, knowing where everything is kept, and not forgetting essentials. Jerome, however, ironically demonstrates all the things one should NOT do — forgetting the toothbrush, repacking multiple times, and letting things go in haphazardly.
Q2. Why did Jerome have to reopen the bag?
Answer: Jerome reopened the bag more than once. The first time, Harris pointed out that the boots had not been packed. The second time, the horrible idea occurred to him that he might not have packed his toothbrush — he unpacked everything, found it inside a boot, then repacked. He had to open it a third time after realising he had also packed his spectacles inside.
Q3. What did George and Harris do when they took over packing the hampers?
Answer: When George and Harris took over the food hampers, they made a complete mess. Harris broke a cup, George cracked a plate. George trod on the butter and it stuck to his slipper. A tomato was squashed. Pies were broken because heavy things were packed on top. Salt ended up everywhere. Montmorency the dog added chaos by sitting on items and attacking the lemons. The packing ended only at 12:50 at night.
Q4. How did Montmorency add to the chaos during packing?
Answer: Montmorency sat on things just when they were needed, put his leg into the jam, knocked items off the table with his tail, and was persistently underfoot. When he saw a lemon, he mistook it for a rat and attacked it, killing three lemons before anyone could stop him.
Thinking about the Text
Q1. How many characters are there in the narrative? Name them.
Answer: There are four characters: Jerome (the narrator, who volunteers to pack), George (one of Jerome’s two friends), Harris (Jerome’s other friend, who deliberately waits until the bag is strapped before asking about the boots), and Montmorency (the pet dog, described as a “perfect nuisance”).
Q2. Why did Jerome volunteer to do the packing?
Answer: Jerome volunteered because he was overly confident about his packing skills and believed he knew more about packing than any other person living. His real intention was not to do all the work himself — he expected George and Harris to decline and then work under his supervision. Instead, both friends immediately and cheerfully accepted his offer and sat back, leaving Jerome to do everything alone.
Q3. What did George and Harris do when Jerome offered to pack? Did Jerome like their reaction?
Answer: George immediately spread himself over the easy-chair and Harris put his legs up on the table. Both settled down comfortably without any intention of helping. Jerome did not like their reaction at all — he was highly irritated by their complacency. He had expected them to jump up and insist on helping, with him merely directing — but they called his bluff.
Q4. What did Harris say after the bag was shut and strapped? Why do you think Harris waited until then to ask?
Answer: After the bag was shut and strapped, Harris calmly asked Jerome whether the boots had been packed. Harris most likely waited deliberately until that moment because he knew it would cause maximum inconvenience to Jerome — the perfect way to deflate the so-called expert packer’s pride.
Q5. What “horrible idea” occurred to Jerome? Why?
Answer: After repacking with the boots inside, the “horrible idea” that occurred to Jerome was whether he had packed his toothbrush. Jerome confesses that his toothbrush “haunts” him every time he travels. On this occasion, he unpacked the entire bag, rummaged through all the items, and finally found the toothbrush inside one of the boots.
Q6. What does Jerome say was Montmorency’s ambition in life?
Answer: Jerome says that Montmorency’s ambition in life was to get in the way and be sworn at. His highest aim was to make people stumble over him and then curse him steadily. He was a “perfect nuisance” who wanted to make himself felt. During the packing, Montmorency lived up fully to this ambition.
Thinking about Language
Match the words and phrases with their meanings:
| Word / Phrase | Meaning |
|---|---|
| Slaving | Working very hard |
| Chaos | Complete confusion and disorder |
| Rummage | Search hurriedly and unsystematically by moving things around |
| Scrape out | Remove using a sharp tool or hard rubbing |
| Stumble over | Fall or nearly fall by catching your foot on something |
| Accomplish | Finish successfully; achieve |
| Uncanny | Strange or mysterious, especially in an unsettling way |
| Get into a row | Have a quarrel or argument |
Additional Questions
Q1. What kind of a person is Jerome? What does his behaviour during packing reveal?
Answer: Jerome is a proud, self-confident, but ultimately absent-minded and somewhat disorganised person. He volunteers to pack because he is overconfident about his abilities, yet he ends up having to unpack and repack the bag multiple times due to his forgetfulness. He is also somewhat bossy — his real intention was to direct others rather than work himself. However, his willingness to laugh at his own failures shows that he is also self-aware and witty.
Q2. How does the writer use humour in this story?
Answer: Jerome K. Jerome uses several comic techniques: (1) Situational irony — the expert packer making repeated mistakes; (2) Comic exaggeration — the toothbrush haunting Jerome every time he travels; (3) Timing — Harris asking about boots only after the bag is strapped; (4) Slapstick — George treading on the butter and the butter sticking to his slipper; (5) Absurdist comedy — Montmorency’s exaggerated “ambition” to be a nuisance.
Q3. Describe the butter incident during the packing of the hampers.
Answer: While George and Harris were packing the hampers, George accidentally trod on the butter and it stuck to the bottom of his slipper without him noticing. When Harris and George realised the butter was missing, they began searching for it everywhere — in the hamper, on the table, under things. Eventually they found it stuck to George’s slipper. They scraped it off with a knife and after debating where to put it, placed it in the kettle.
Q4. What impression of the three friends does the extract give you?
Answer: The extract gives a vivid and entertaining picture of three ordinary young men who are quite incompetent at practical tasks. Jerome is overconfident, bossy, and absent-minded. George is lazy and careless. Harris is clever and slightly mischievous — deliberately waiting for the worst moment to point out Jerome’s errors. Together, they create mayhem out of a simple task. However, their mishaps are presented so warmly and humorously that the reader cannot help but like all three of them.
Multiple Choice Questions (MCQs)
Q1. “Packing” is an extract from which book?
Answer: (b) Three Men in a Boat
Q2. Why did Jerome volunteer to do the packing?
Answer: (c) He believed he was an expert packer and wanted to boss the job
Q3. What did George do while Jerome was packing?
Answer: (a) Spread himself over the easy-chair
Q4. What was the “horrible idea” that haunted Jerome?
Answer: (b) That he had not packed his toothbrush
Q5. Where did Jerome finally find his toothbrush?
Answer: (d) Inside a boot
Q6. What happened to the butter during George and Harris’s packing?
Answer: (b) George trod on it and it stuck to his slipper
Q7. What was Montmorency’s ambition in life, according to Jerome?
Answer: (a) To get in the way and be sworn at
Q8. What did Montmorency mistake for rats?
Answer: (c) Lemons
Q9. At what time did the packing finally end?
Answer: (b) 12:50 at night
Q10. Which literary device is mainly used in the story to create humour?
Answer: (a) Situational irony and comic exaggeration