3. T h e M o u s e t r a p
The Mousetrap is a murder/mystery play by Agatha Christie. This play has been running continuously since 1952. It is known
for its surprising ending which the audience is traditionally asked not to reveal after leaving the theatre. The play is based on a
short story, itself based on a short radio play called “Three Blind Mice”, broadcast in 1947 (both by Agatha Christie).
1. What do you know about Agatha Christie?
2. The following murders were committed in the play “The Mousetrap”. Read the description of the murders and add adverbs
and adjectives to improve the descriptions.
Murder 1
CAREFULLY, REALLY, HEAVILY, INTRIGUING, SUDDENLY, ANGRILY, UNSURPRISINGLY, SOFTLY,
UNFORTUNATELY, SCARED
It was 74 Culver Street. ___________________, an ___________ man rang the bell. ___________________, he was wearing
a hat, an overcoat, a muffler and gloves. It was ____________cold. It was snowing _______________. Mrs Casey, the
landlady, who was washing the dishes in the basement, said _______________: “There isn’t any peace here”. She went up the
stairs and opened the door. The man asked softly: “Are you Mrs Lyon?”. He seemed to have a bad cold and lost his voice.
“On the second floor”, she answered.
The man went up the stairs to the second floor to see Mrs Lyon. He began to whistle ______________. The tune he was
whistling was “Three blind mice”.
Some minutes later the landlady went upstairs and found Mrs Lyon strangled on the floor. _______________, Mrs Casey didn’t
see the man go out. There was a note ______________pinned to the murdered woman, it said: “This is the first”. Below was a
drawing of three mice and a piece of music: “Three blind mice, see how they run…”. The landlady was absolutely ___________.
2.2. Answer the questions:
1. Who died?
2. How did she die?
3. What was the murderer wearing?
4. What was the weather like?
5. What was the landlady doing when the murderer rang the bell?
6. Where did the victim live?
7. What was the murderer doing while he was going up the stairs to the second floor?
8. Draw the note the murderer left.
9. What will happen next? What do you think?
Murder 2
TERRIFYING, HIGHER, SLOWLY, QUICKLY, HARDLY, INTERESTING, SUDDENLY, NERVOUSLY
Mrs Boyle was in the library trying to find something ______________ on the radio. She was alone. _____________ the door
opened _______________ behind her. She turned ___________________ .
“Oh, it’s you!”, she said with relief. “I can’t find anything to listen to”, she complained as usual.
The belt of the raincoat was slipped round her neck _________________ . She ____________realized its significance.
The knob of the radio amplifier was turned ______________. But there wasn't much noise. The killer was too expert for that.
Some minutes later Molly, the hostess, found Mrs Boyle strangled in the library. The situation was really __________________.
2.3. Answer the questions:
10. Who died?
11. How did she die?
12. Did the victim know the killer?
13. What was the victim doing when she was murdered?
14. Where was she murdered?
15. Did Mrs Boyle use to complain?
16. Who was Molly?

4. 3. Listen to the nursery rhyme “Three blind mice” and fill in the gaps with the words: DID, WIFE, RUN (X2), TAILS.
VIDEO “Three blind mice” http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HrBHyC1xbCk
Three Blind Mice - Red Nichols and his Five Pennies 1950: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5JEgevvO49s
4. Read the plot summary:
The Mousetrap
Molly and Giles Ralston got married recently. They lived in England, near London. The young couple was the
owner of a house which they converted into a guesthouse “Monkswell Manor”. They were busy preparing for the
arrival of their first guests. They were nervous because they were new in the business and they were also worried
about the weather. There was a terrible blizzard.
Despite the snow, the guests started to arrive. Christopher Wren arrived first. He was an obviously neurotic
young man who speaks a lot and with a familiarity that makes Molly and Giles feel uncomfortable. The next to
arrive was Mrs. Boyle, a generally unpleasant person who was dissatisfied with everything and everyone. Next
came Major Metcalf, a middle-aged man who was very military in manner and appearance. The next to arrive was
Miss Casewell, a young woman who was a bit masculine. Then an unexpected guest, Mr. Paravicini, arrived
announcing that his car had overturned in a snowdrift.
The next day, Molly received a phone call from the police. A sergeant was going to be sent to the guesthouse
for protection. Nobody knew why the sergeant was coming. Everybody was nervous and puzzled. Soon the police
detective, Sergeant Trotter, arrived on skis. He explained that a woman called Mrs Lyon (but her real name was
Maureen Gregg) was murdered in London. A few years back, the courts sent 3 children for care and protection to
this woman’s house. The children were terribly abused by her and one of them died. The killer left a note pinned to
the murdered woman saying that “three blind mice” would be murdered. The police also found another piece of
paper with two addresses: “74 Culver Street” and “Monkswell Manor”.
Three blind mice. Three blind mice.
See how they _____. See how they ____.
They all ran after the farmer's _____
Who cut off their ____ with a carving knife
____ you ever see such a sight in your life
As three blind mice?

5. Sergeant Trotter believed that someone at the guesthouse had a connection to the murder. The murderer could
be one of the guests or the owners of the guesthouse. The guests, as well as the Ralstons, said they didn’t know
anything about the case. Gradually, everyone became a bit suspicious of everyone else. Later, Mrs. Boyle,
remembered privately with Major Metcalf that she was once a magistrate on the bench. In fact, she was the one
who had sent those children to the place where they were so miserably abused.
Suspicion at Monkswell Manor grew rapidly. To their surprise, the telephone no longer worked. They couldn’t
leave the house because of the weather, they were trapped there. They were frightened.
Suddenly, Molly heard a scream coming from the library and entered to find Mrs. Boyle strangled on the floor.
Soon, everyone became suspicious of everyone else. Giles accused Christopher Wren of being the most likely to
be the killer since he is about the same age the oldest of the abused children would be now. Molly thought that the
killer may be the father of the abused children and therefore wouldn’t necessarily be a young person. Trotter is
suspicious of Giles Ralston because he found a London newspaper in the pocket of Giles’s overcoat. Trotter was
also suspicious of Miss Casewell, who, in turn, saw something strange in his behavior. Everyone knew a murderer
is among them, the third blind mouse was in danger.
So, who is the next victim? Will the murderer be unmasked in time to stop more deaths?
Adapted from: http://www.bard.org/Education/studyguides/Mousetrap/mousesyn.html
5. Complete the following chart with descriptions and facts about each character:
Characters Facts / Descriptions
Molly
Giles
Christopher Wren
Mrs. Boyle
Major Metcalf
Miss Casewell
Mr. Paravicini
Sergeant Trotter
Mrs Lyon /
Maureen Gregg
6. See the trailer of the play: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TWVUhh71mj4&feature=youtu.be

6. 7. Order the following events:
The telephone was cut off. Suspicion at Monkswell Manor grew rapidly.
Molly and Giles met. They were trapped inside the guesthouse.
There was a terrible blizzard. Sergeant Trotter arrived at the guesthouse.
They opened a guesthouse: “Monkswell Manor” The murder left a note. It said that “3 blind mice” would die.
The first guests arrived. Soon, they got married.
3 children were abused (one died) The murder wanted to take revenge.
Mrs. Boyle is murdered in the library. Mrs Lyon is murdered in London.
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
11
12
13
14
8. What were these characters doing when Mrs Boyle was murdered?
Mr. Paravicini Molly Christopher Wren Giles
(whistle) (try to fix)
Major Metcalf
(the cellar)
9. After the play:
1. Who was the murderer? What did he want?
2. Who was the guest that had a connection to the abused children?
3. Did the third mouse die? Why?/ Why not?
4. How does the story end? Write a paragraph summarizing the main events. (Include linkers, adverbs and adjectives!)
What were they doing when Mrs Boyle was murdered?
Mr. Paravicini ______________________________________________
Molly _____________________________________________________
Christopher Wren ___________________________________________
Giles ______________________________________________________
Major Metcalf ______________________________________________