English Language & Literature — CBSE Class 10 board question

Ausable cleverly invented a story about a balcony outside his window to trap Max. He claimed the room once formed part of a larger apartment, and the adjoining room's balcony now extended beneath his window. He added that it could be accessed from an empty room two doors down, and that someone had already used it the previous month. He blamed the management for failing to block it off. This convincing, detailed story made Max believe the balcony existed, so when cornered, Max jumped out of the window onto it — but there was no balcony, and he fell to his death.

Source: The Midnight Visitor, Max's Confrontation and the Balcony Story

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• The examiner wants three elements: what the fabricated story was, how Ausable made it believable (detail about the old apartment layout, the previous intruder, management's failure), and its outcome (Max jumps to his death).
• Avoid just retelling the whole plot — focus on the balcony tale specifically.
• The word "fabricated" is key: make clear Ausable invented it on the spot as a trap.
• Quoting or paraphrasing Ausable's exact explanation (two rooms, extended balcony, two doors down) earns full marks for detail.