In this reported speech question, the indirect sentence is Mother told me that I should listen to her first and then do anything as I pleased, and you must find the direct form that correctly expresses the same advice with appropriate pronouns and modal verbs. Choose the option that best reconstructs the original direct speech.

Introduction / Context:
This question tests your ability to move from indirect speech back to direct speech while correctly handling pronouns and modal verbs. The indirect sentence Mother told me that I should listen to her first and then do anything as I pleased reports advice that a mother gave to her child. To reconstruct the original direct speech, we must return to the second person form that the mother used and adjust pronouns and verbs so that the sentence sounds natural when spoken directly.

Given Data / Assumptions:

• Indirect speech: Mother told me that I should listen to her first and then do anything as I pleased.
• The reporting verb is told in the past.
• The reported clause contains I should listen to her and do anything as I pleased.
• In direct speech, Mother would address her child as you, not I.

Concept / Approach:
When converting from indirect to direct speech, the first person pronoun I in the reported clause may become you if the original speaker was addressing another person, as is the case here. The pronoun her referring to Mother becomes me in direct speech because Mother speaks about herself. The phrase as I pleased is a backshifted form of as you please. The modal should remains the same in direct speech. The aim is to reconstruct a sentence that a mother would naturally say to her child, which is You should listen to me first and then do anything as you please.

Step-by-Step Solution:
First, observe that Mother told me marks the child as the listener and Mother as the speaker. Second, note that in indirect speech the clause uses I should listen to her, where I refers to the child and her refers to Mother. Third, convert I back to you and her back to me to reflect Mother speaking directly. Fourth, change as I pleased to as you please, reversing the backshift so that it again refers directly to the child in the present like normal advice. Fifth, insert these adjustments into the direct quote: Mother said to me, "You should listen to me first and then do anything as you please."

Verification / Alternative check:
To verify, convert the candidate direct sentence back into indirect speech. From Mother said to me, "You should listen to me first and then do anything as you please" we would write Mother told me that I should listen to her first and then do anything as I pleased. You becomes I, me becomes her, and the present form please becomes the backshifted form pleased. This matches the given indirect sentence, which confirms that the reconstructed direct sentence is correct.

Why Other Options Are Wrong:
Option A, with I should listen to me first, is illogical because a speaker normally does not tell someone I should listen to me; the pronouns are incorrectly aligned.

Option B, with He should listen to her first, introduces third person pronouns he and her, which do not fit the original relationship where Mother is speaking directly to her child.

Option C, "You should listen to me first and then do anything I pleased", keeps you for the child but incorrectly keeps pleased instead of please, which would not normally be used in direct speech giving present advice.

Common Pitfalls:
Learners often find it difficult to reverse pronoun changes when moving from indirect to direct speech, especially when there are several pronouns in the sentence. Another common error is forgetting to reverse tense backshift for parts like as I pleased, which should return to as you please in direct speech. Practising careful tracking of who is speaking and who is being addressed helps to avoid these mistakes.

Final Answer:
The direct sentence that correctly reconstructs the mother's advice is Mother said to me, "You should listen to me first and then do anything as you please."