🧛 Dracula – Chapter 7 (Adapted, ~600 words)
Title: Lucy’s Strange Illness
Lucy was getting worse. Mina was very worried. Although Lucy didn’t remember her sleepwalking, she now looked pale and weak. She often held her hand to her throat, where the small red marks were still visible.
Mina wrote in her journal:
“Lucy’s health is failing. She walks and talks like she’s in a dream. Her mother thinks it’s the sea air, but I know something is wrong.”
One morning, Lucy could not get out of bed. Her skin was very cold, and her lips looked blue. Mina quickly sent a telegram to Arthur Holmwood, Lucy’s fiancé.
Arthur came at once. Shocked by Lucy’s condition, he called his friend, Dr. John Seward, who worked at a mental hospital nearby.
Dr. Seward examined Lucy but didn’t know what was wrong.
“She is losing blood,” he said. “But there is no bleeding. I need help.”
He sent a message to his old teacher, Professor Abraham Van Helsing, a wise man from Amsterdam who knew about rare and strange diseases.
Van Helsing arrived the next day. He was kind but serious. After looking at Lucy, he turned to the others.
“We must act fast. She needs a blood transfusion. Who will give their blood?”
Arthur stepped forward without hesitation. They gave Lucy a transfusion, and at once her face turned pink, and she began to breathe better.
Everyone felt relieved, but Van Helsing seemed worried. He gave Mina a piece of garlic and told her to put it around Lucy’s neck and in her room.
“Garlic?” Mina asked, surprised.
“Yes,” Van Helsing said. “It will protect her. Do not remove it.”
Mina promised to follow his instructions exactly.
The next day, Van Helsing returned to find the garlic gone—and Lucy weaker than before.
“What happened to the garlic?” he asked.
Lucy’s mother explained she had removed it because it smelled bad. Van Helsing did not scold her, but his face showed fear.
They tried another blood transfusion, this time using Dr. Seward’s blood. Lucy got better again.
But at night, her condition worsened. Each time she seemed to improve, she would suddenly grow weak again, always with new marks on her neck.
Van Helsing began to stay at the house every night. He said nothing of his theories, but Mina could tell he was afraid—afraid of something not natural.
She continued to write in her journal:
“Something evil is hurting Lucy. I feel it. I don’t know what it is—but it comes at night.”
📘 Glossary
| Word | Meaning |
|---|---|
| Pale | Having little color in the face |
| Telegram | A message sent quickly by wire (used before phones) |
| Fiancé | A man engaged to be married |
| Mental hospital | A hospital for people with mental illness |
| Blood transfusion | Giving blood from one person to another |
| Garlic | A plant used in cooking, also believed to protect from evil in legends |
| Protect | To keep safe from harm |
| Worsen(ed) | To get worse |
| Remove(d) | Taken away |
| Evil | Very bad or harmful; connected with dark or bad powers |
❓ Comprehension Questions
-
What was happening to Lucy’s health?
-
Who did Mina call to help Lucy?
-
Why did Van Helsing use garlic?
-
What happened when Lucy’s mother removed the garlic?
-
How did Lucy keep getting better and then worse?
-
Why did Van Helsing stay overnight at the house?
✅ Answers
-
Lucy was growing weak, pale, and cold, with red marks on her neck.
-
Mina first called Arthur, who brought Dr. Seward, who then called Professor Van Helsing.
-
Garlic was used to protect Lucy from harm (possibly supernatural).
-
Lucy became weaker again, and new marks appeared on her neck.
-
After a transfusion, she improved, but at night she grew worse with new symptoms.
-
Van Helsing believed something unnatural was attacking Lucy at night and wanted to protect her.
No comments:
Post a Comment