I think the answer is the wire must be part of a closed circuit.
Is there a way where u can post the story
One theme for the story The Exercise would be:
Strict teacher way in educating his student
The story tells us about a teacher that often uses corporal punishment such as caning to teach discipline to his student.
One of the subject of this story is when a young boy is punished because rather than doing his homework himself, he asks his father to do it.
Hope this helped you out!! :)