Reading Comprehension

Making Difficult Decisions

Have you ever thought that luck rules our lives and the decisions we make? Or that we should let other people make decisions for us? My friend Dan did, until he read a story entitled ‘Eyes Knows’. The story really changed his opinion. It is about a young boy named Harry who owns a strange robot toy. When he touches the robot’s nose, its eyes spin and their colour changes to either green or red.

One day, Harry overhears his father saying that he is moving to another town, and that his parents are going to divorce soon. He becomes depressed and feels so helpless that he decides to let the robot make all his decisions for him. If the eyes turn green, the decision is a ‘yes’. If they turn red, it is a ‘no’.

At first, the robot seems to have the ability to make good decisions and Harry becomes very confident that it can help him. When he has to decide whether to wear red socks or green socks, he touches the robot’s nose. The eyes indicate that he should wear green. Similarly, when he has to choose between muesli or cornflakes for breakfast, he allows the robot to decide for him.

One morning, Harry puts the robot in his bag and leaves for school. On the way, he sees a trail of caterpillars crossing the path, where they could be trampled on by pedestrians. Harry uses the robot to decide whether to rescue them or not. At the direction of the robot, the rescue takes place and is seen by an old lady who offers Harry a reward for his kindness. Then again, Harry asks the robot whether he should accept the reward or not. The robot says yes, and Harry accepts the reward.

On the way home, Harry passes a hamburger shop. On seeing the hamburgers in the display stand, Harry suddenly feels hungry. He has an evil thought. He wonders if he can just steal the hamburger from the display stand. As usual, he asks the robot to decide for him whether to steal the hamburger or not. The robot says yes to stealing. Harry steals the hamburger.

Unknown to Harry, the shopkeeper is observing him. As soon as Harry takes the hamburger, he makes a call to his friend who is a policeman. As Harry is leaving the shop, the policeman arrives and questions Harry. “I was just following what the robot told me to do,” says Harry with tears in his eyes. The policeman is not amused. He tells Harry that he should not let a robot decide for him. “You are a smart boy. Why should you listen to a robot?” he asks.

Harry thinks about what the policeman said. That night, he throws the robot outside the house through his bedroom window.

The next morning, Harry’s parents asks with whom Harry wanted to live after their divorce. Harry tearfully tells them that he loves both his parents equally, and that he doesn’t want to leave one for the other.

Harry’s parents feel very guilty about what they are doing to him. They decide that they would give their marriage one more chance. They would see a marriage counselor and try to solve their differences. When they convey their decision to Harry, he is overjoyed. He is really happy that he did not ask the robot to take a decision for him this time.