Correct Answer: The little boy said to his teacher, "Ma'am, were you always good as a child?"

Solution : The correct solution is the third option.

Explanation : When converting reported speech to direct speech, it is crucial to choose an appropriate reporting verb, make necessary changes in pronouns and tenses, and ensure the structure of the question is accurate.

The steps of conversion are as follows:

• The reporting verb "asked" is changed to "said".
• The past perfect tense "had been" is changed to the simple past tense "were".
• The statement is changed to an interrogative sentence starting with "were".
• The third-person pronoun "she" is changed to the second-person pronoun "you".
• The words of the speaker are enclosed in the inverted commas.

So, the correct sentence would be: The little boy said to his teacher, 'Ma'am, were you always good as a child?