WHAT HAS HAPPENED TO LULU BY CHARLES CAUSLEY

What has happened to Lulu, mother? 
What has happened to Lu? 
There's nothing in her bed but an old rag-doll 
And by its side a shoe. 

Why is her window wide, mother, 
The curtain flapping free, 
And only a circle on the dusty shelf 
Where her money-box used to be? 

Why do you turn your head, mother, 
And why do tear drops fall? 
And why do you crumple that note on the fire 
And say it is nothing at all? 

I woke to voices late last night, 
I heard an engine roar. 
Why do you tell me the things I heard 

Were a dream and nothing more? 

I heard somebody cry, mother, 
In anger or in pain, 
But now I ask you why, mother, 
You say it was a gust of rain. 

Why do you wander about as though 
You don't know what to do? 
What has happened to Lulu, mother? 
What has happened to Lu?

It is poem told in a child's voice about his older sister running away. A child is asking his/her mother what has happened to his/her sister, Lulu. There is nothing in her room, and her money-box has gone, with only an open window and old rag-doll left behind. His/her mother is crying and burning a note. He/She thinks he/she heard voices and a car in the middle of the night, but his mother tells him/her that he/she was only dreaming.

Based on the poem, answer the questions below.

1. Where is the setting of the poem?

2. Who is asking what has happened to Lulu?

3. In stanza 1, what can be seen on Lulu's bed?

4. In Stanza 2

• What does the line "the curtain flapping free" indicate?
• What did Lulu take with her?

5. In stanza 3, why do you think the persona's mother crumples the note?

6. In stanza 3, why do you think the mother says, "It is nothing at all?'

7. Which line in stanza 3, suggest the mother is crying?

8. From stanza 4, "I woke to voices late last night". Whose voices the persona may have heard that woke him up?

9. In stanza 5, what does the phrase "gust of rain" being compared to?

10. In stanza 6, how does the persona 's mother feel?

11. What is the persona's mother doing in stanza 6 and why do you think she reacts that way? Give a reason for your answer.

12. Lulu has left the house. Give two reasons why do you think Lulu decided to do so?

13. In your opinion, what do you thinks had happened to Lulu?

14. The number of teenagers running away from home is on the rise. What could be the factors that contribute to this?

15. In your opinion, why do you thinl teenahers run away? Give two reasons.