9th std A Legend of the Northland

9th std A Legend of the Northland

Extract Based Questions

Read the extract given below and answer the questions that follow:

Question 1:
He came to the door of a cottage In travelling round the earth Where a little woman was making cakes And baking them on the hearth

A) Who does “he” refer to in the first line ?
B) What request did “he” make to the woman ?
C) Was the little woman rewarded or punished ? Why ?

Answer:

A) “He” refers to Saint Peter in the first line.
B) “He” requested the woman to give him a cake.
C) The little woman was punished since she was highly stingy, miserly, greedy and mean.

Question 2:
He came to the door of a cottage
In travelling round the earth
Where a little woman was making cakes
And baking them on the hearth.

A) What was Saint Peter doing ?
B) What was the little woman making ?
C) What is a hearth ?

Answer:

A) Saint Peter was travelling.
B) The little woman was baking cakes.
C) Hearth is a fire-place.

Question 3:
Then Saint Peter grew angry
For he was hungry and faint ‘
And surely such a woman Was enough to provoke a saint

A) Why was Saint Peter about to faint ?
B) How did the woman provoke Saint Peter ?
C) What is the rhyming scheme of the given stanza ?

Answer:

A) Saint Peter was about to faint as he had been preaching and fasting.
B) The woman provoked Saint Peter by not giving him the cakes that were baked for him.
C) The rhyming scheme of the given stanza is abcb.

Question 4:
He came to the door of a cottage In travelling round the earth Where a little woman was making cakes And baking them on the hearth.

A) What was Saint Peter doing ?
B) What was the little woman making ?
C) What is a hearth ?

Answer:

A) Saint Peter was travelling.
B)The little woman was baking cakes.
C)Hearth is a fire-place or oven to cook or bake things.

Question 5:
And being faint with fasting For the day was almost done
He asked her, from her store of cakes,
To give him a single one.

A) Who is “He” in the extract ?
B) What did he ask her to give him ?
C) Trace a word from the extract that means “weak”.

Answer:

A) “He” referred to in the extract is Saint Peter.
B) He asked her to give him one cake from her store.
C) The word from the extract means faint.

Question 6:
And being faint with fasting,
For the day was almost done,
He asked her, from her store of cakes,
To give him a single one.

A) Who is “He” in the passage ?
B) Why was he fainting ?
C) What is meant by “the day was almost done” ?

Answer:

A) “He” in the passage is Saint Peter.
B)  He was fainting due to fasting.
C) “The day was almost done” means that the day had finished or passed.

Short Answer Type Questions

Question 7:
Why does the poet say that the hours of the day are few ?
Answer:
In the poem, the poet uses a name Northland. In the area of Northland, the nights are longer and the days are shorter. As a result there are very few hours in a day.

Question 8:
Who came knocking at the door of the old woman? Why was he there ?
Answer:
In the Northland an old lady Lived in a cottage. She was baking cakes when St. Peter came knocking at her door. He had become weak with fasting and travelling. He was actually looking for some food.

Question 9:
Is this a true story? Which part of the poem do you think is really important ?
Answer:
This is a legend. It is not a true story. Even the poet feels that it is not true. The most important part of the poem is the point when we realize that the old woman is very greedy. She could not part with her cakes for a hungry man.

Question 10:
Is this poem correct in being known as a legend? Explain.
Answer:
A legend is a semi true story which has been passed on from person-to-person through ages. This legend has an important meaning or symbolism for the culture in which it originates. A legend includes an element of truth or is based on historic facts but with mythical qualities. The saint in turn curses the old woman. This poem can also be regarded as a folktale which again is a story told from one generation to another.

Value Based Questions

Question 11:
Why did the woman bake a little cake ?
Answer:
The woman in the poem has been shown as a highly stingy, miserly, greedy and mean by nature. Whenever, she took out cake from the hearth, they appeared to be larger than the original size. Hence, she baked a very small cake for Saint Peter.

Question 12:
Greed is a quality which God does not like. Discuss it in the context of the poem.
Answer:
Greed is considered to be a sin. This has been clearly brought out in the poem. In a legend of the Northland greed has no end. This is evident in the behaviour of the old lady when she was asked for a cake by Saint Peter. She could not even give him a wafer thin slice. This angered St. Peter and he cursed her to be a woodpecker. One should always be able to share with others as God has been so kind to give us so much.