An H. G. Wells story about a man who can see, in a valley of people who cannot — and who is king?
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These are the new words for this story. Match each word (1–8) to its meaning (A–H). Say your answers out loud — "I think 1 is D" — then check.
1 = B (a valley) · 2 = A (blind) · 3 = C (to fall) · 4 = F (a saying)
5 = H (to fit in) · 6 = D (an outsider) · 7 = G (strange) · 8 = E (to belong)
These two also come up in the story. Read the sentence, guess the meaning, then reveal.
Read each part. Then try the questions from memory, and talk about the last one.
High in the mountains, there was a hidden valley. Long ago, people came to live there. But then rocks fell and closed the only way out. An illness came, and slowly all the people lost their sight. Their children were born blind too. After many, many years, no one in the valley could see. And nobody could even remember what "seeing" was.
The blind people lived well. Their houses had no windows. They knew every path with their feet and hands. Their ears were very good, and they could hear a person from far away. For them, this was a normal life. It was not sad.
One day, a man from outside fell into the valley. His name was Nunez. He was climbing a mountain, he slipped on the ice, and he fell a long way down into the snow. He was hurt, but he was alive. When he found the blind people, he thought of an old saying: "In the country of the blind, the one-eyed man is king." Nunez could see, and these people could not. "So I will be their king," he thought.
1. Why were all the people in the valley blind?
2. What did Nunez think when he found the blind people?
1. An illness came and the people slowly lost their sight. Their children were born blind too, so after many years no one could see.
2. He remembered the saying "the one-eyed man is king". He thought that, because he could see, he would be their king.
But it did not go the way Nunez wanted. He told the people about the sky, the light and the colours. But they did not understand. For them, these were only strange words. They thought Nunez was a new, wild man, and that his head was not right. His talk about "seeing" was nonsense to them. The more he talked, the more they were sure something was wrong with him.
His "gift" did not help him at all. In the dark houses, Nunez could not walk well and he fell over things. But the blind people moved easily and fast. They knew every path. They could hear him coming. When he said, "But I can see!", they gave him simple jobs, and he could not do them. Slowly, Nunez understood a hard truth. He was not a king. He was the slowest and the most helpless person in the valley. He was an outsider, and his eyes did not help him at all.
1. What did the blind people think about Nunez and his talk of "seeing"?
2. Why did his eyes not make him powerful?
1. They thought he was a new, wild man and that his head was not right. His talk of light and colours was nonsense to them.
2. Their world was made for blind people, with no light. They moved easily in the dark, but he fell over things. So his eyes made him the most helpless person, not the strongest.
Time passed. Nunez fell in love with a young woman of the valley. Her name was Medina-saroté, and she loved him too. But her family was worried. To them, Nunez was a strange man with strange ideas about "seeing". They did not want her to marry him.
Then the wise men of the valley thought they had the answer. They said the problem was the two strange things in his face — his eyes. "If we take out his eyes," they said, "he will be calm and normal. Then he can marry her and belong here." They asked Nunez, in a kind and gentle way, to give up his eyes.
For love, Nunez almost said yes. But on the morning of the operation, he walked outside alone. He looked at the world one more time: the gold light on the rocks, the blue sky, the white mountains. He knew he could not give this up — not even for love. So he did not stay. He began to climb up and out of the valley, back to the light and the wide world outside.
1. What did the wise men want to do to Nunez, and why?
2. What did Nunez choose to do in the end?
1. They wanted to take out his eyes. They believed his eyes were the problem, and that without them he would be normal and could marry Medina-saroté.
2. He almost said yes for love, but he looked at the sky and mountains and could not give up seeing. He chose to climb out of the valley to the world outside.
The whole story is about one question: who can do what? English uses can and could to talk about ability — what you are able to do.
Read the meaning in brackets and complete the sentence.
1. The blind people are very quick in the dark. They hear a stranger from far away. (present — yes, able to)
2. When Nunez arrived, he walk well in the dark houses. He fell over things. (past — not able to)
3. Long ago, before the illness, the people see. (past — yes, able to)
4. Sorry, I help you now — I am too busy today. (present — not able to)
1. can (present ability — yes)
2. couldn't / could not (past ability — no)
3. could (past ability — yes)
4. can't / cannot (present ability — no)
Put the verb in the correct form after can, can't, could or couldn't. Then read it out loud.
1. Nunez can (see) the sky, but the blind people cannot.
2. The blind people could (find) every path in the dark.
3. Nunez couldn't (do) the simple jobs they gave him.
1. see (can + base verb)
2. find (could + base verb)
3. do (couldn't + base verb)
Fill each gap with can, can't, could or couldn't. Read it aloud when you finish.
The blind people see, but they lived very well. Nunez thought, "I see, so I will be the king." But in the dark houses he even walk without falling. In the end, he stay in the valley, because he did not want to give up his eyes.
couldn't (past — not able to) · can (present — he is able to) · couldn't (past — not able to) · couldn't (he was not able / not willing to stay)
Use can / can't for now, and could / couldn't for the past.
You know the story and the words. Now let's think about what it means. H. G. Wells wrote this story in 1904, but the questions are still important today.
Everyone knows the saying: "In the country of the blind, the one-eyed man is king." We think the man who can see will be the boss. But Wells turns this idea around. In his valley, seeing is not power. It is just different — and the group treats different as "wrong".
Look at the blind people. They are not weak or sad. They are clever and strong, and they are happy in a world made for them. It is Nunez who cannot cope. The story asks a big question: is "normal" just what most people do? And is the different person really wrong — or only alone?
Do all three tasks out loud. Use the timer to keep talking.
Tell the story of The Country of the Blind in your own words. Use these steps to help you: a hidden valley where everyone is blind → Nunez falls in and thinks he will be king → his eyes do not help him, and the people think he is strange → they want to take his eyes so he can marry → he chooses to climb out and keep his sight.
Try to use can / can't and could / couldn't, and some of the key words (valley, blind, saying, outsider, fit in, belong, strange).
In the valley, most people are blind, so they think seeing is strange and wrong. Is "normal" just what most people do? Should a group ask a person to change, only because they are different? Say what you think, and give a reason.
Talk about a time when someone had to choose between fitting in and staying the same. Use can / can't and could / couldn't.
Not sure what to talk about? Choose one: