11th Std THE BROWNING VERSION

THE BROWNING VERSION

Short Answer questions

1.Why did Taplow stay back at school on the last day of his form?

Ans. Taplow had come back to school to do extra work. He was ordered by his teacher Mr Crocker-Harris. The boy had missed a day the previous week. So Crocker-Harris had called him to pay for it and make up for the loss.

2. Who are the two teacher-characters in the play? What information do you get about them?

Ans. The two teachers arc Mr Crocker-Harris and Frank. Crocker-Harris teaches the Latin language while Frank teaches science. Crocker-Harris is middle-aged and strict. Frank is a young science teacher. The students are scared of Crocker-Harris. Frank wonders how Crocker-Harris had managed to over-awe the students, though he does not even beat them; Frank is envious of him.

3. Taplow has a grudge against his Latin master, Crocker-Harris. Why?

Ans. Taplow is a young boy in the fifth form. He loves to play golf on a fine day. But he dare not disobey Mr Crocker-Harris who had called him to school a day before the final results were to be declared. Taplow is made to do extra work to make up for his absence one day the previous week. His promotion is to be decided by Crocker-Harris.

Taplow’s grudge is that Crocker-harris is overstrict and even Inhuman. He does not give the boy any assurance about his promotion in spite of calling him to do extra work.

4. How does Taplow make fun of his teacher? Why? Who encourages him to ridicule Mr Crocker-Harris?

Ans. Taplow is a young boy, studying in the fifth form. His final result is to be announced the next day. He asks Mr Crocker-Harris about his chances for promotion. But Crocker-Harris gives him a vague answer. He tells the boy that he would get what he deserves, no less and no more. Moreover, Mr Crocker-harris has called Taplow to do extra work even on the last day of school. This irritates the boy and he makes fun of his teacher in front of Mr Frank. Taplow is encouraged by Frank to mimic Crocker-Harris’s voice and repeat his words. This is how he tries to hit back at the teacher.

5. Taplow says that Crocker-harris is hardly human. What makes him say that?

Ans. Taplow is a little-outspoken boy. He speaks out his mind honestly. His personal equation with Crocker-Harris is not smooth. One day Mr Crocker-Harris told a Latin joke in the class and no one laughed at it because not a single student understood it, including Taplow. Still, Taplow laughed out of politeness; but then his teacher asked him to explain the joke. This makes Taplow feel that he is hardly human.

6. How does Frank read Taplow’s motive behind doing extra work?

Ans. Frank is a science teacher who knows well the nature of his colleague. He does not approve of Crocker-Harris’s step to call a boy to do extra work on the last day of school. He points out that Taplow can now hope to get his promotion through doing extra work.

7. What is meant by ‘remove’ in English schools?

Ans. In English schools, the word ‘remove’ means promotion to the next higher class. Much depended on the rating given by Crocker-Harris to Taplow. So the boy is nervous and afraid about his result.

8. How does Taplow recount the incident of Crocker-Harris’s joke in the class?

Ans. One day Mr Crocker-Harris told a Latin joke in the class. No student laughed at it because no one understood it. Taplow was no exception. Still, he laughed at the poor joke out of common politeness. Crocker-Harris cornered him. He asked Taplow to explain the joke to other boys. That was Crocker-Harris’s way of dealing with the boys. He did not like it even if someone tried to help him.

9. What does Taplow think of Mr Crocker-Harris?

Ans. Taplow, the fifth form boy, is a good judge of persons, especially his teachers. He ridicules Crocker-Harris whom he calls ‘hardly human’. He mocks his master by mimicking his voice and words. He is mortally afraid of Crocker-Harris. He dare not disobey or go Against the wishes of Crocker-Harris. But at the same time, he has a word of praise as well for his teacher. He tells Frank that Crocker-harris never beats a boy although he is shrivelled up like a nut at heart. And he is not a ‘sadist’. Like one or two other teachers who got pleasure out of giving pain. Crocker-Harris’s drawback was that he hated it even when people tried to like him. Taplow finally tells Frank that in spite of all this he did like Crocker-Harris better than other teachers.

10. How does Taplow react on the arrival of Mrs Crocker-Harris?

Ans. Taplow was frightened to see Millie. His fear was that she must have heard what he had been saying about Mr Crocker-Harris. In case, she reports the matter to her husband. Taplow will miss his promotion.

11. How does Taplow finally get back his freedom?

Ans. It is Mrs Millie Crocker-Harris who finally comes to the rescue of Taplow. She reports that Crocker-Harris will not be back early. Hence, Taplow had better go. He can at least run away for 15 minutes and come back later. She assures the boy that no harm will come to him. She gives him a doctor’s prescription and tells him to bring medicines for Mr Crocker-Harris. This being a good excuse, Taplow goes out free from fear.
Short Answer questions

Long Answer Questions

1. What brings Taplow to the staff room? Who does he meet there?

Ans. Taplow, a fifth-grade student, goes to school on the last day. He is called by Mr Crocker-Harris to do extra work for missing a day the previous week. He is waiting for the Latin teacher in the staff room. Frank, the young science teacher, arrives and starts talking to him. They discuss Crocker-harris. In fact, Frank is envious of Crocker-Harris hold on the young boys. He encourages Taplow to give his honest opinion about his master. And Taplow makes some negative remarks. He levels several charges against Crocker-Harris. He calls him ‘hardly human’, a poor teacher of Latin, and a person who hates people to be liked by them. Taplow finally meets Mrs Crocker-Harris who sends him to the chemist to bring some medicines. This way, Taplow feels relieved and gets his freedom for a while.

2. What impression do you form of Frank and Mrs Crocker-Harris?

Ans. Frank is a young science teacher at the school. We get to know about him from his conversation with the boy Taplow. On the whole, he appears to be a mean and petty person. He envies Crocker-Harris, who keeps his students under control. He provokes Taplow to comment on his teacher and also to imitate his voice. This is unbecoming of a teacher to discuss his colleague with a boy. He suggests to Taplow to slip away because Crocker-Harris is late in coming and the weather is fine. Mrs Millie Crocker-Harris is a kind hearted and easy going person. She is very smart. She rescues Taplow by sending him out on an errand.

3. What is your assessment of Taplow as a student? Write his brief character-sketch as well.

Ans. Taplow, a student of the fifth form, is 16 years old. He is very talkative and outspoken. He gets carried away easily. On being provoked by Frank, he opens his heart out and speaks  Critically about his Latin teacher. He is mortally afraid of Crocker-Harris although the master never beats any boy. He dare not ‘cut’ his master because Crocker-Harris might even follow him to his home. He calls Crocker-harris secretive and one who can not be easily pleased. Crocker-Harris refuses to tell the boy about his final result before the stipulated time. Taplow crosses the limit when he says that Crocker-harris is ‘hardly human’. On the whole, Taplow is quite honest and gullible. He ridicules his teacher and mimics his voice. He uses derogatory words for his teacher. He discusses one teacher with another foolishly. His actions show that he is not mature enough.

4. Who is Millie? What is her role in the play?

Ans. Millie is the wife of Mr Crocker-Harris. She is a thin woman in her late thirties. But she dresses smartly and speaks confidently. As she enters the school premises, she stands for a while behind a curtain to overhear the conversation between Taplow and Frank. Even if she has heard them, she gives no hint of it. She is quite unlike her harsh husband. She is kind and gentle. She tells Taplow to go and enjoy himself. But the boy dare not cut Crocker-Harris. So she finds an excuse to free him. She asks him to go to the chemist to bring some medicines for his master. She smilingly agrees to take the blame on herself if Crocker-Harris is angry. Thus, she outshines all the other three characters in the story.

5. Who are the two teacher-characters in the play? What information do you get about them?
Ans. The two teachers are Mr Crocker-Harris and Frank. Crocker-Harris teaches the Latin language while Frank teaches science. Crocker-Harris is middle-aged and strict. Frank is frank enough.Frank is a young science teacher at the school. We get to know about him from his conversation with the boy Taplow. On the whole, he appears to be a mean and petty person.
Tallow added, inside he is like a nut; he hates people to like him; he is hardly human; gives a vague answer to the boy about his result. But Taplow has a word of praise also for his teacher. He doesn’t beat the boys. He is not a sadist. He abides by the rules of the school and never declares the result before time. Still, all the boys in the class are scared to death of Crocker-Harris. Taplow finally admits that he likes Crocker-Harris spite of being scared of him.

10th Std THE SERMON AT BENARAS

THE SETMONS AT BENARAS

1)What is the theme or Central Idea of the Lesson The Sermon at Benares
OR
Do the Literary Analysis of the story The Sermon at Benares.

‘Sermon At Benares’ is the story of an unfortunate woman Kisa Gotami. She had lost her only one. In her grief, she carried the dead body of her son from one place to another. In the end, she came to Lord Buddha. She needed the medicine that could cure her son. The Buddha asked her to bring him a handful of mustard seed from a house where no one had lost a child, husband, parent or friend. Kisa Gotami didn’t find a house where some beloved one had not died in it. She thought to herself that it was the fate of mankind. Death was inevitable. Nobody can avoid dying. The world is afflicted with death and decay. The wise don’t grieve. `He who has overcome all soon will become free from sorrow, and be blessed.’

2)Give the Character Sketch of Gautama Buddha.

Gautama Buddha is the founder of the religion Buddhism. He was a spiritual teacher who had gained enlightenment of seeing the world’s pains and greed. Buddha preached that human life is very short and it is full of sorrows and pains. He cleared that our brief life is full of troubles and pains. Everyone on this earth has to one day meet with death.

3)Through the story of Kisa Gotami, what did the Buddha try to preach to the common man?

Ans. Buddha said that death is common to all mortals. Those who are born must die one day. You cannot avoid it. Death is certain. He taught this, through the story of Kisa Gotami, Kisa was a common woman whose son had died. She could not believe it and carried her son to neighbours requesting them to give her medicine to cure him. People thought that she was not in her senses. She approached Buddha. He asked her to procure a handful of mustard seeds but he put a condition that they should be procured from a house where no death has ever taken place. Kisa could not find such a house. She, sad and depressed, sat on the sideways and watched city lights that flickered and extinguished. It made her realize that human lives flicker and extinguish as well and that death is an unavoidable phenomenon. She thought herself to be selfish for thinking only about her grief.

Extract Based / comprehension test Questions and Answers of The Sermon at Benares

Read the extracts and answer the questions that follow.

1.”The Buddha preached his first sermon at the city of Benares, most holy of the dipping places on the River Ganges; that sermon has been preserved and is given here. It reflects the Buddha’s wisdom about one inscrutable kind of suffering.”

(a) Name the holiest of the dipping places on the River Ganges where the Buddha preached his first sermon.

(b) What does Buddha’s first sermon reflect?

(c) What did Gautama do after getting on light emend?

(d) How was he known as then?

Ans. (a) The holiest of the dipping places on the River Ganges where the Buddha preached his first sermon was at Benares.

(b) Buddha’s wisdom about one inscrutable kind of suffering.

(c) After getting enlightenment, he began to teach and share his new understandings with the common people.

(d) As he started preaching, he was known as Buddha, meaning, the awakened or the enlightened one.

2. “Kisa Gotami became weary and hopeless and sat down at the wayside watching the lights of the city, as they flickered up and were extinguished again. At last the darkness of the night reigned everywhere.”

(a) Why do you think Kisa Gotami became weary and hopeless?

(b) How many sons did Kisa Gautami have?

(c) What did she notice while sitting at the wayside?

(d) What message did she get from the flickering and extinguishing lights of the city?

Ans. (a) It was because she could not find a house where no one had died.

(b) Kisa Gautami had only one son.

(c) She noticed the flickering lights of the city.

(d) Their lives flicker up and are extinguished.

3. At twelve, he was sent away for schooling in the Hindu sacred scriptures and years later he returned home to marry a princess. They had a son and lived for ten Y befitting royalty. At about the age of twenty-five, the prince heretofore shielded from sufferings of the world, while out hunting chanced upon a sick man, then an aged than a funeral procession, and finally a monk begging for alms. These sights so move that he at once became a beggar and went out into the world to seek enlighten concerning the sorrows he had witnessed.

(a) What happened at the age of twelve?

(b) What happened when he was out hunting?

(c) Where was he sent away for schooling?

(d) When did he marry?

Ans. (a) At twelve, he was sent away for schooling in the Hindi; sacred seen

(b) He saw a sick man, then human image man and then a funeral procession-

(c) He was sent away for Schooling in the Hindu sacred scriptures.

(d) He married at the age en after completing his schooling.

4. At about the age of tweet e, the prince, hereto the world, while out hunting chanced upon a sick man, then an aged man than a farmer the procession, and finally a monk begging for alms. These sights so moved him that he at once ante a beggar and went out into the world to seek enlightenment concerning the sorrows he had witnessed. He wandered for seven years and finally sat down under a fig tree, where he vowed to stay until enlightenment came. Enlightened after seven days, he renamed the tree the Buddha Tree (Tree of Wisdom) and began to teach and to share his new understandings. At that point, he became known as the Buddha (the Awakened or the Enlightened).

(a) When was Gautam Buddha’s first encounter with suffering?

(b) How did he react to it?

(c) Why did the prince have no experience of the sufferings of the world till the age of twenty-five?

(d) What effect did the sights have on him?

(a) Gautam Buddha’s first encounter was when he went out hunting.

(b) He renounced the worldly comforts and left home to seek enlightenment from these Sorrows.

(c) This was because he was shielded from the sufferings of the world.

(d) He went out for enlightenment.

5. Buddha said, “The life of mortals in this world is troubled and brief and combined with pain. For there is not any means by which those that have been born can avoid dying; after reaching old age there is death; of such a nature are living beings. As ripe fruits are early in danger of falling, so mortals, when born, are always in danger of death. As all earthen vessels made by the Potter end in being broken, so is the life of mortals. Both young and adult, both those who are fools and those who are wise, all fall. into the power of death, all are subject to death.”

(a) What did the Buddha say about the life of the people?

(b) What does a ripe fruit fear?

(c) What happens after reaching age?

(d) What, according to Buddha, death is avoidable?

Ans. (a) The life of people is troubled and brief and combined with pain.

(b) A ripe fruit fears the danger of falling.

(c) There is death after birth.

(d) There is not any means by which those that have been born, can avoid dying.

6. Kisa Gotami had an only son and he died. In her grief she carried the dead child to all her neighbours, asking them for medicine, and the people said, “She has lost her senses dead.” At length, Kisa Gotamimet a man who replied to her request; “I can’t give thee! nines for thy child, but I know a physician who can.” And the girl said, “Pray to tell me, sir, o is it?” And the man replied, “Go to Sakyamuni, the Buddha.” Kisa Gotami repaired to tile Buddha and cried: “Lord and Master, give me the medicine that will cure my boy”.

(a) Why was Kisa Gotami in grief?

(b) What did she ask of all her neighbours?

(c) What had happened to Kisa Gotami’sonly son?

(d) Who did she carry her dead child to in her grief?

Ans. (a)Kisa Gotami was in grief because her son was dead.

(b) She asked them for medicine.

(c) He was dead.

(d)In grief she carried her dead child to all her neighbours.

7. Of those who, overcome by death, depart from life, a father cannot save his son, for kinsmen their relations. Mark ! While relatives are looking on and lamenting deeply, one by one mortal are carried off, like an ox that is led to the slaughter. So the world is afflicted with death and decay, therefore, the wise do not grieve, knowing the terms of the world. Not from weeping nor from grieving will anyone obtain peace of mind; on the contrary, his pain will be the greater and his body will suffer. He will make himself sick and pale, yet the dead are not saved by his lamentation.

(a) What is the fate of mortals?

(b) Why do the wise not grieve?

(c) Why does the writer compare mortals with an ox?

(d) How does ‘lamentation’ harm a person?

Ans. (a) The fate of mortals is death.

(b) Wise does not grieve because they know the terms of the world that one who is must die one day. They neither weep nor grieve.

(c) Both of them have to die and are led to ‘slaughter’.

(d) It makes one sick and pale; one does not get peace of mind.

8. The Buddha answered: “I want a handful of mustard seeds.” And when the girl in joy promised to procure it, the Buddha added: “The mustard seeds must be taken house where no one has lost a child, husband, parent or friend.”

(a) Identify ‘I’ in the passage.

(b) What did the Buddha ask the girl for?

(c) What was the condition imposed on the girl?

(d) In this way, what did the Buddha want Kisa Gotami to understand?

Ans. (a)'I’ in the passage is Gautama Buddha.

(b) To procure mustard seeds.

(c) The condition was that no one in the family had lost a man from the house.

(d) Buddha wanted Kisa Gotami to understand that all men who live have to die. pea is inevitable and cannot be avoided.


Answer the following questions in 30-40 words:

1. Who is referred to as “wise” by the Buddha in his sermons?
Buddha preached in his sermons that everything that is born will die one day. Death is inevitable: both young and adult or fools and wise are subject to death.
According to Buddha, people who realise and accept this fact and do not lament are wise.

2. How did the Buddha teach Kisa Gotami the truth of life?
Buddha changed Kisa’s thinking with the help of a simple act—asking her to
procure a handful of mustard seeds from the house where no one had died. She could not understand it. But, gradually she understood that death is inevitable.

3. Describe the life of Gautama Buddha before enlightenment.
Buddha was earlier a prince and lived in luxury. When he encountered suffering and grief, it made him sad. He renounced everything and went in search of way to get rid of suffering. He wandered for seven years. Then, one day, he sat under a fig tree and vowed not to leave until he was enlightened.

4. What moved Siddhartha Gautama to seek the path of enlightenment?
While going for hunting Siddhartha Gautam saw a sick man, an old man, a funeral procession and a monk begging. This encounter with the sufferings of human beings moved him to seek the path of enlightenment.

5. What did the Buddha preach to the people?
Buddha said that death is common to all mortals. You cannot avoid it. No amount of weeping and lamenting can bring back a dead. So wise men don’t grieve.
Weeping and lamenting rather spoil one’s health. To gain peace in life, one must not lament, complain or grieve about their loss.


Short answer type questions :

Answer the following questions in 30-40 words:
1. Kisa compared human life to an inanimate object. What is it and why does she do so?

Ans. Kisa compared human life with the lights of the city which flicker up and extinguished again and the darkness of the night spreads everywhere. Similarly, the human takes birth, flickers up and then extinguished the life of the remains. She compared so because the darkness of sadness spreads in use she was as in great grief of the death of his

2. Where and when did Siddhartha become the Buddha?

Ans. At the age of 25, Siddhartha came across a sick man then an old man, age sight moved funeral procession and finally a monk.he left his palace and wandered for seven years to find enlightenment . He finally attained peace and enlightenment and renamed himself as Buddha.

3. Which people are referred to as “wise” by the Buddha in his sermons?

Ans. Buddha preached in his sermons that everything that is born will come to its end. Death is inevitable: both young and adult or fools and wise are subject to death. But the people who do not grieve knowing the terms of the world are called wise people. Wise people neither weep nor grieve.

4. Why was Kisa Gotamis remorseful?

Ans. Kisa Gotami’s only son had died. She was grief-stricken. Carrying the dead son, she went to all her neighbours to get some medicine that would cure her son. A man sent her to the Buddha who asked her to procure a handful of mustard seeds from a house where no one had died, but she couldn’t find such a house and was thus sad.

5. Why was Gautama known as the Buddha?

Ans. Gautama sat under a pipal tree until he attained enlightenment. After seven days he got enlightenment and began to teach and share his new understandings. So he came to be known as the Buddha (the Awakened or the Enlightened).


6. How did the Buddha teach Kisa Gotami the truth of life?

Ans. Buddha changed Kisa’s thinking with the help of a simple act by asking her to procure a handful of mustard seeds from that house where none had died. She could not understand it. But, gradually she understood that death is inevitable.

7. Describe the life of Gautama Buddha before enlightenment.

Ans. Buddha was earlier a prince and lived in luxury. When he encountered suffering and grief, it made him sad and sorrowful. He renounced everything and went in search of riddance from suffering. He wandered for seven years. Then, one day, he sat under a fig tree and vowed not to leave until he was enlightened.

8. To seek peace one has to draw out the arrow of lamentation. State two values projected through the statement.

Ans.No lamenting can bring someone’s dear and near ones back to life. Neither can they stop one’s death. Lamenting tells upon one’s health. He becomes sick and pale. He loses appetite and interest in life. One has to learn that death is inevitable.

9. What sights moved Siddhartha Gautama to seek the path of enlightenment?

Ans. While going for hunting Gautam saw a sick man, an old man, a funeral procession and a monk begging. This encounter with the sufferings and grief moved him and he left to seek the path of enlightenment.

10. What did the Buddha preach to the people?

Ans. Buddha said that death is common to all mortals. You cannot avoid it. No amount of Weeping and lamenting can bring back a dead. So wise men don’t grieve. Weeping and Lamenting rather spoil one’s health. To overcome sorrow, become free of sorrow.

11. What happened to Kisa Gotami’s son? What did she ask her neighbours to give her?

Ans. When her son died, Kisa Gautama went from house to house in order to ask for as everyone said that she was out of her senses to invite for her son. But she didn’t get any it2nat her son was dead.

12. How do weeping and grieving affect us in the Sermon at Benares?
Ans. Weeping and grieving bring no gains. It rather spoils one’s health and gives truer ‘, I Only you take out the arrow of lamentation and get composed you will get peace of overcome sorrow, become free of sorrow. I again go from house to house after she speaks with the Buddha.

13. Mention the incidents which prompted Prince Siddhartha to become a beggar.

Ans. Siddhartha while going for hunting saw a sick man, an old man, a funeral procession and a monk begging. This was his first encounter with suffering and grief. It made him sad and he immediately renounced everything.

14. What did Kisa Gotami learn in the end?

Ans. Kisa Gotami wandered from house to house to get a handful of mustard seeds but could not find it. She realized that death is common to all. All living beings have to die. She had been selfish in her grief.

15. What is Gautam Buddha’s opinion about death?

Ans. Buddha says that the world is a valley of death. There is a path that leads man to immortality reality that has been cleansed of all selfishness. Death is common to all. One who is born will die as well. Death is imminent. The life of mortals in this world is troubled and brief and combined with pain.

16. Who was Gautam Buddha? When and where was he born?

Ans. Gautam Buddha was the earlier prince, Siddhartha who got enlightenment under a fig tree and was then named as Gautam Buddha. He was born as a prince in North India.

17. Kisa Gotami was selfish and grief-stricken. Justify.

Ans. Kisa Gotami lost her only son. In her grief, she carried her dead child everywhere and asked people to cure him. As instructed by Buddha she went door to door to get a handful of mustard seeds with condition that there should not be any loss of a child. Husband, parent or friend. In her grief, she forgot that everyone had to suffer such type of loss in his or her family Death is common to all. But in her grief, she became selfish and tried to full fill the condition that was impossible.

18. What does she ask for the second time around? Does she get it? Why not?

Ans. Buddha asked her to procure a handful of mustard seeds but he put a condition that it should be procured from a house where no death had ever taken place. She went from house to house but could not find such a residence.

Q.19. Who was Gautama Buddha?

Ans. Gautama Buddha was a prince in northern India. His full name was Siddhartha Gautama and he was sent away for schooling at the age of twelve. He married Yashodhara when he returned after four years.

Q.20. How did Siddhartha Gautama get the name of Buddha?

Ans. Siddhartha Gautama sat under a big peepal tree, where he vowed to stay until enlightenment came. He was enlightened after seven days. He began to teach and share his new understandings. Then he came to be known as Buddha.

Q.21. What did Buddha ask the lady to do?

Ans. Buddha asked the lady to bring a handful of mustard-seeds. But these must be taken from a house where no one had ever lost a child, husband or a friend. Then he would be able to help her.

Q.22. What does Gautama Buddha say about the life and death of human beings?

Ans. Gautama Buddha says that the life of human beings in this world is troubled, brief and combined with pain. It is because there is not any means by which those that have been born can avoid dying.

Q.23. Can an aggrieved person get peace of mind by weeping or grieving?

Ans. No, nobody can get peace of mind by weeping or grieving. Rather, his pain will be greater and his body will suffer by doing so. He will make himself sick and pale.

Q.24. Where did Buddha preach his first sermon?

Ans. After attainment of enlightenment, Buddha preached his first sermon at the holy city of Banaras which is situated on the sacred river Ganges.

Q.25. With what does Buddha compare the death and decay of human beings?

Ans. Gautama Buddha says that just as ripe fruit are liable to fall, so mortals when horn arc always in danger of death. An earthen vessel made by the potter end in being broken, the life of all mortals will ultimately meet death.

Q26. Describe the early life of Gautama Buddha.

Ans. Gautama Buddha began life as a prince. He was named Siddhartha Gautama. He was sent away for schooling in the Hindu sacred scriptures at twelve. When he returned home, he was married to a princess. He lived in royal luxury, shielded from the sufferings up to the age of twenty-five.

Q27. What were the sights that moved and shocked Gautama?

Ans. Prince Gautama had been deliberately shielded from all the sufferings of the world. One day he chanced upon a sick man, then an aged man and then a funeral procession. Finally, he saw a monk begging for alms. These sights moved him. He went out into the world to seek the solution of all these sufferings. He wanted to seek enlightenment.

Q28.What did Kisa Gotami do when her only son died? What did her neighbours think about her?

Ans. Kisa Gautami’s only son had died. She was overwhelmed with grief She carried the dead child to all her neighbours. She asked them for the medicine to cure her son. The neighbours thought she had lost her senses. A dead child could never be cured.

Q29.How did Kisa Gotami go to the Buddha? What did Buddha ask Gotami to do?

Ans. A man advised Kisa Gotami to go to Sakyamuni, the Buddha. He was the physician who could cure her dead son. She went to the Buddha. He asked Kisa Gotami to bring a handful of mustard seeds from a house. The house must be such where no one had lost a child, husband, parent or friend.

Q 30. Did Kisa Gotami get a handful of mustard seeds as directed by the Buddha?

Ans. Poor Kisa Gotami went from house to house. The people pitied her and were ready to give a handful of mustard seeds to her. But, she couldn’t find a house where no one had lost a child, husband, parent or friend.

Long answer type questions:

Answer the following questions in 100-120 words:

1)“To seek peace one should draw out the arrow of lamentation.” What do you infer from the Buddha’s statement?
Buddha said that death is common to all mortals. Those who are born must die one day. You cannot avoid it. Death is certain. As ripe fruits fall off the trees and meet an end so do the lives of the mortals. Life of a man is like an earthen pot that breaks and meets its end. No amount of weeping and lamenting can bring a dead back to life. So, wise men don’t grieve. They understand that it is the law of nature. Also, weeping and lamenting bring no gains. It rather spoils one’s health and gives more pain. If only you take out the arrow of lamentation and get composed you will get peace of mind.

2. Describe the journey of Siddhartha Gautama becoming the Buddha.
Gautama Buddha began his life as a royal prince. He was named Siddhartha Gautama. At twelve, Gautama was sent away for schooling in the Hindu sacred
scriptures. At the age of sixteen, he returned home to marry a princess. The prince was deliberately shielded from all sufferings of the world. But this attempt failed when the prince while out hunting chanced upon a sick man. Then, he saw an aged man. He also chanced to see a funeral procession. Finally, he saw a monk, begging for alms. These sights of suffering, sickness and decay shocked and moved the prince. He wanted to seek the final solution of all these sorrows and sufferings. He wandered for seven Years in search of enlightenment. Finally, he sat down under a fig tree. He meditated there until he was enlightened after seven days. He renamed the tree as Bodhi Tree or the Tree of Wisdom. He became known as the Buddha or the Enlightened one. Then Buddha gave his first sermon at Benares on the River Ganges.

Questions from the text book.

Answer the following questions in 30-40 words:
1. Who is referred to as “wise” by the Buddha in his sermons?
Buddha preached in his sermons that everything that is born will die one day. Death is inevitable: both young and adult or fools and wise are subject to death. According to Buddha, people who realise and accept this fact and do not lament are wise.

2. How did the Buddha teach Kisa Gotami the truth of life?
Buddha changed Kisa’s thinking with the help of a simple act—asking her to
procure a handful of mustard seeds from the house where no one had died. She could not understand it. But, gradually she understood that death is inevitable.

3. Describe the life of Gautama Buddha before enlightenment.
Buddha was earlier a prince and lived in luxury. When he encountered suffering and grief, it made him sad. He renounced everything and went in search of way to
get rid of suffering. He wandered for seven years. Then, one day, he sat under a fig tree and vowed not to leave until he was enlightened.

4. What moved Siddhartha Gautama to seek the path of enlightenment?
While going for hunting Siddhartha Gautam saw a sick man, an old man, a funeral procession and a monk begging. This encounter with the sufferings of human beings moved him to seek the path of enlightenment.

5. What did the Buddha preach to the people?
Buddha said that death is common to all mortals. You cannot avoid it. No amount of weeping and lamenting can bring back a dead. So wise men don’t grieve. Weeping and lamenting rather spoil one’s health. To gain peace in life, one must not lament, complain or grieve about their loss.

Thinking about the Text

1. Why did Prince Siddhartha leave the palace and become a beggar?

Once Prince Siddhartha, while hunting saw a sick man, then an aged man, then a funeral procession and finally a monk begging for alms. Looking at this, he left the palace and became a beggar to search for enlightenment.

2. When her son dies, Kisa Gotami goes from house to house. What does she ask for?Does she get it? Why not?

When Kisa Gotami’s son died, she went from house to house, asking if she could get some medicine that would cure her child.No, she did not get it because her child was dead and no medicine could havebrought him back to life.

3. What does Kisa Gotami understand the second time that she failed to understand the first time? Was this what the Buddha wanted her to understand?

Kisa Gotami understood the second time that death is common to all and that she was being selfish in her grief. There was no house where some beloved had not died. Yes, this is what the Buddha wanted her to understand.so Buddha's way of preaching helped her to accept and understand the brutal truth of her son's death.

4. Why do you think Kisa Gotami understood this only the second time? In what way did the Buddha change her understanding?

At the first , she was only thinking about her grief and was therefore asking for a medicine that would cure her son. When she met the Buddha, he asked her to get a handful of mustard seeds from a house where no has died. He did this purposely to make her realize that there was not a single house where no beloved
had died, she felt dejected that she could not gather the mustard seeds. Then, when she sat and thought about it, she realized that the fate of men is such that they live and die. Death is common to all. This was what the Buddha had intended her to understand.

10th Std THE HACK DRIVER

THE HACK DRIVER

Read the extracts given belle carefully and answer the questions that follow:

1.I” ll tells you what. I’ve got a hack to get it out and we can drive around together and find liking know most of the places flee out”.

(a) Who does refer to here?

(b) Why did the lawyer come to fad Lukens?

(c) Who befriends him in New Mullion?

(d)Where dim the hack drivers take him?

Ans. (a) I refer, to the hack driver.

(b)The lawyer came to find Lukens as he had the summons to serve him.

(c), He befriended a hack driver who a red-faced man about forty having pleasant was paid charming personality.

(d) He offered to help him find Lutkins. He took him to various places which Lutkins frequently visited.

2. I loved him for this. By myself, I might never have found Lutkins. With the hack briers knowing help, I was sure of getting my man. I took him into my confidence and told him that I wanted to serve the summons on Lutkins-which the man had refused to be a witness when his information would have quickly settled our case. The driver listened earnestly. In the end, he hit me on the shoulder and laughed.

(a) ‘I loved him for this’. Who do T and him’ refer to?

(b) What did the lawyer tell Bill?

(c) Why did the narrator love him?

(d)What does the hack driver say about Lutkins?

Ans. (a) I refers to the young lawyer and he stands for the hack driver.

(b) The lawyer told Bill that he wanted to serve the summons to Lutkins.

(c) The narrator loved him because he was very open-minded, friendly and ready to help a stranger.

(d) He told the lawyer that Lutkins was a careless, dishonest wanderer. He was not really bad but it was hard to recover money from him.

3. What really hurt me was that when I served the summons, Lutkins and his mother laughed at me as though 1 were a bright boy of seven. With loving kindness, they begged me to go with them to a neighbour’s house for a cup of coffee.

(a) Who is?

(b) What hurts the lawyer?

(c) Why did Lutkins take the lawyer to his neighbour’s house?

(d) Do you think the lawyer was gullible?

Ans. (a) ‘I’ is the lawyer

(b) The laughter and behaviour of Lutkins and his mother hurt the lawyer.

(c) This was because Lutkins’ neighbours were anxious to meet the lawyer as they had missed seeing the lawyer the previous day.

(d) Yes, I think the lawyer was gullible. He was tricked and be fooled by the hack driver.

4. We left that peaceful scene of meadows and woods and resumed our search of Oliver Ida tins. We could not find him. At last, Bill cornered a friend of Lutkins and made him admit what came out to his mother’s farm, three miles north.” We drove out there, laying plans.

(a) Who are ‘We’?

(b) Why are ‘we’ searching for Oliver Lutkins?

(c) Why could the lawyer not find Lutkins?

(d) What character traits of the lawyer do these lines reveal?

Ans. (a) ‘We’ stands for the lawyer and the hack driver.

(b) They wore searching Oliver Lutkins to serve him the summons.

(r) Lutkins is the hack driver himself with whom the lawyer spends the whole day.

(d) The lawyer is a nature-lover, simple and over-trusting person.

5. Some of the larger and more self-confident ones even beat me up. I hated this unpleasant work and the side of city life it revealed to me.

(a) Who was the speaker here?

(b) What was the unpleasant work he is talking about?

(c) Why did he hate the work?

(d) What job did the narrator get after graduation?

Ans. (a) the narrator of the story ‘The Hack Driver’.

(b) He was a junior assistant clerk.

(c) It was because he had the job of serving summons to the guilty persons, who sometimes were more powerful than the narrator, and so beat him up.

(d) The narrator got the job of a junior assistant clerk in a big law firm.


1)Give the character sketch of Oliver Lutkins.

Oliver Lutkins is a crook who lives in the country town of New Mullion. Though he lives in a small town, he easily cheats the lawyer who comes to serve a summons on him. He pretends to be Bill Magnuson, the hack driver and manages to cheat the narrator of his money. He manages to convey the lawyer that it is very difficult to trace Lutkins. He takes the lawyer to many shops but does not allow the lawyer to directly talk with the people. Over a few hours, Bill takes the narrator all over the town where they keep missing Lutkins by small periods of time. He is also a friendly person. When the lawyer comes to New Multi on a second time, Lutkins invites the lawyer for a cup of coffee in his friend’s house. Bill painted Lutkins as a dishonest person. He owed money to a lot of people. He had a talent for dishonesty. Though he lived in a rural town, he managed to trick and mislead a lawyer belonging to the city.

2. Give the character sketch of The Narrator.

And.The narrator is a lawyer who hates city life. He thinks of pursuing a career in a small town. He goes to New Mullion to serve a summons on Oliver Lutkins. We find him gullible, and he is easily misled by Lutkins himself, who poses as the hack driver, Bill. Bill takes money from the lawyer and gives misleading information about Lutkins. He visits a number of places in New Mullion with Bill but is not able to meet Lutkins. Since he visited new Mullion for an important matter, he failed to be careful in carrying out his job. The narrator appears to be a novice and not a seasoned legal mind. He had a romantic view of country (rural) life but was easily conned by crooks in New Mullion.

Short Answer Type Important Questions

Answer the following questions in 30-40 words:

1. Why do you think Bill offered to help the narrator find Lutkins?

Ans. Bill himself was Lutkins. He knew that the lawyer is searching for him. He wanted to play a prank on him and offered to help him find Lutkins. Even he made some money in this process and made him wander here and there. He and his mother made a fool of the narrator and had great laughter.

2. The writer wasn’t very fond of new mullion when he reached the place. What made him grow fond of the village and its people?

Ans. Initially, the writer did not like the village. His eager expectations of a sweet and simple country village were severely disappointed but the friendly behaviour of Bill made him grow fond of the village and its people. He was so open and full of warmth and affection that the writer was touched.

3.’But he was no more dishonest than I’. Elaborate the statement with reference to ‘The HackDriver’.                                                                 
Ans. The lawyer charged a handsome amount from his firm to visit new mullion. He was given some amount to expend in the process of searching Lutkins. But he paid very little money to the hack driver. Bill already knew that the lawyer was searching for him, still, he made him wander here and there, and even charged him two dollars an hour for six hours, including one hour of his lunchtime. This made the lawyer utter these words.

4. Write the plan suggested by Bill for lunch and state the reason behind it.

Ans. The lawyer felt hungry and wanted to eat something in a restaurant but Bill suggested him to take lunch at his home cooked by his wife. He told him that it will cost him cheaper than the restaurant because she won’t charge him more than half a dollar. He did so because he wanted to make some money out of it. Secondly, it will take nearly cur hour to go there and have lunch so ho will be charged another two dollars for it. Thus it was a good business for him.

5. What qualities of the hack driver impressed the young lawyer?

Ans. The hack driver’s cheerful face and friendly manner made the lawyer conclude that he liked people. The hack driver’s openness, again made the lawyer glow in the warmth of affection.

6. Describe the feelings of the young lawyer when he came to know the reality of the hack driver at last.

Ans. As long as the lawyer did not know that the hack driver was Lutkins himself, he enjoyed the hack driver’s company and glowed in the warmth of his affection. But as the identity of the hack driver was revealed, the lawyer felt very quite hurt. This was especially when Lukens and his mother laughed at the lawyer as though h he rye was a boy when he served the summons. Later, however, he acknowledged their loving kindness too.

7. On his way back, the narrator did not worry about his failure to find Lukens. What was the reason behind his carefree attitude?

Ans. On his way back, the lawyer did not worry about the failure of his mission, for he was too busy thinking about Bill Magnuson, the hack driver. In fact, he even started considering his return to New Mullion to practice law. He found Bill deep and richly human and pictured an honest and happy life in the village.

8. Discuss the character of the young lawyer as depicted in the chapter The Hack Driver’?

Ans. The narrator who is a lawyer is a man who could be taken for a ride very easily. He easily gets flattered by affection and warmth and fails to apply logic to even essential things. The hack driver who is Lukens himself, whom the narrator wants to meet, thus dupes him very easily. The gullible nature of the narrator invites our sympathy for him.

9. The hack driver at New Mullion befriended the lawyer. What did he do after that?

Ans. After befriending the lawyer, the hack driver who was Lukens himself offered to ‘search for’ Lukens to whom the lawyer had to serve the summon. He first took the lawyer to Fritz’s shop, then to Mustafa’s and Gray’s barber shops and then to the poolroom. Later, he took the lawyer to his wife for lunch for half a dollar and finally to `Lukens’ mother.

10. How did Bill paint a picture of people in words?

Ans. The Bill, the hack driver was very talkative. He won his confidence. He drove him to various places telling that the villagers would help him in fading Lukens.

11. Why was the lawyer happy about the day?

Ans. The lawyer was asked to go to a small village, New Mullion, to serve the summons to Lutkins. He was happy to go as he had expected the countryside town to be green and refreshing -a respite from the crowded, noisy, dry atmosphere of the city. Hence he was happy.

12. How was the hack driver recognized?

Ans. Next morning, the lawyer was sent back to New Mullion with a man who knew Lutkins by face. At the station, the lawyer saw Bill talking to Lutkin's mother in a friendly manner. He was surprised or rather shocked to know that Bill was no other but Lutkins himself.

13. What did the hack driver tell the narrator about Lutkins’ mother?

Ans.  He said that she was nine feet tall and four feet thick as a cat and could talk sharp. She was a real terror. Once, she almost took off his skin because he did not treat the box she had given to him to carry as delicately as a box of eggs.

14. Why could the lawyer not find Lutkins?

Ans. The lawyer could not find Lutkins because the hack driver, Bill himself was Lutkins. ‘Inca the lawyer had not seen or met him before, he could not identify him and Lutkins took adman tautly. Anti nerved a practical joke on him.

15. Does the narrator serve the summons that day? If’ not, why?

Ans. The narrator could not serve the summons that day as he could not find ‘, Aka’s, ‘it did not know that the hack driver named Bill was actually Lutkins himself and was making a practical joke on him in the name of helping him in searching Lutkins.

16. How did Lutkins' mother receive the narrator?

Ans. The hack driver took him to the farm of Lutkins' mother. He introduced the lawyer and told her that he had come to serve summons to Lutkins and had legal right to search the property. The mother got irritated and attacked him with hot iron rods. Both got scared and ran away.

17. How did the hack driver describe Lutkins?

Ans. The hack driver told the narrator that Lutkins was very popular among the fellow villagers. He was a careless, dishonest wanderer and could be seen here, there, everywhere. He was always up to one thing or the other. He owed money to several people.

18. Why did the young lawyer wish to return to New Mullion?

Ans. Although the young lawyer failed to serve summons to Lutkins, he was so much impressed with the warmth and helpful nature of the country people that he felt excited. He planned to practice at New Mullion and leave his job.

Q19. What kind of a job was the narrator usually entrusted with? Why wasn’t he satisfied with his job in the city?

Ans. The narrator was a junior assistant clerk in a magnificent law firm. He was sent, not to prepare legal briefs but to serve the summons. He had to act like a cheap private detective. It wasn’t easy and safe to go to the ‘dirty’ and ‘shadowy’ corners of the city. Sometimes he was even beaten up by toughs. He hated his job and working in such a hostile environment in the city.

Q20. Why did he consider fleeing to his home town?

Ans. Serving summons in the dirty and shadowy corners of the city was quite an unpleasant job. On many occasions, he was beaten up by the musclemen and toughs. He even considered fleeing to his home town because it was more pleasant and safe to work there. He could have been a real lawyer there without going through the job of a cheap detective.

Q21. Why did the lawyer rejoice at his new assignment?

Ans. Working in the dirty and shadowy parts of the city was becoming more dangerous and difficult for the lawyer. He was overjoyed when his law firm sent him out forty miles out in the country to a town called New Mullion. He was to serve a summons on a man called Oliver Lutkins. They needed this man as a witness in a legal case. The idea of visiting a country town with cleaner surroundings was quite a welcome and romantic diversion for him.

Q22. Why was the narrator disappointed when he got to New Mullion? What was the only ‘agreeable sight’ about the place?

Ans. The narrator had formed quite a romantic and pleasant picture of this country town called New Mullion. When he reached there, his eager expectations were belied. He was very much disappointed. Its streets were narrow rivers of mud. Its shops were either badly painted or not painted at all. The only agreeable sight about the place was the delivery man at the station who called himself Bill.

Q23. What impression did the narrator (the lawyer) form of Bill when he met him for the first time?

Ans. The narrator found the delivery man at the station as the only ‘agreeable sight’ in New Mullion. The man called himself Bill and he was a hack driver. He was about forty. He looked red-faced and cheerful. He looked thick in the middle. His working clothes were dirty and worn out. His manners were pleasant and friendly. The narrator was happy to meet such a man.

Q24. What did the narrator tell Bill and what was his reply about Oliver Lutkins?

Ans. The narrator himself told Bill the purpose of his visit to New Mullion. He told him that he had come there in search of a man named Oliver Lutkins. Bill seemed to be a little surprised and asked, “Lutkins?” Then he replied that he saw Lutkins around there about an hour ago. It was difficult to catch him. He was always up to something or the other. Perhaps he could be found in the back of Fritz’s shop trying to set up a poker game. Bill told the lawyer that he knew the places Lutkins usually could be found in.

Q25. Why did the narrator feel that Bill had already made it his own task to find Oliver Lutkins for him?

Ans. The narrator found Bill very open and friendly. He ‘glowed with warmth’ of his affection. Bill wanted the business but his kindness was real. He offered his carriage for two dollars an hour. The narrator was happy to pay to such a good fellow. Bill assured the narrator that he knew about all the places where Lutkins usually could be found out. The narrator began to feel that Bill had made it his own task to find Oliver Lutkins for him.

Q26. Why did the narrator feel that ‘Bill seemed to admire Lutkins for dishonesty? Why did he feel that if he had been a policeman, he would have regretted sending him to jail?

Ans. Bill told the narrator that Oliver Lutkins was “not really bad”. He was a hard fellow to be caught. He was always up to something or the other. He played a lot of pokers. He was good at deceiving people. The narrator felt that Bill seemed to admire Lutkins’ talent for dishonesty. Had he been a policeman, he would have regretted sending Bill to jail.

Q27. Why did the narrator and Bill proceed to Fritz and why did Bill ask him to keep out of sight behind him?

Ans. Bill told the narrator that probably Oliver Lutkins was trying to start a poker game in the back of Fritz’s shop. Bill led him there and he asked the narrator to hide behind him. Fritz hesitated and then admitted that Lutkins was there a little while ago. Bill kept the narrator behind him because he didn’t want him to talk to any person directly. Had he done so, Bill would have been exposed at once that he was playing a double role. He was Lutkins himself.

Q28. What information did the narrator get after visiting Gustaf? Gray’s barber shops and other places in New Mullion?

Ans. They drove to Gustaf’s barbershop. Again Bill entered first. The lawyer remained at the door. Gustaff replied angrily that he hadn’t seen him. If they found him, they could collect the money he owed him. Then, Bill took him to Gray’s shop. Perhaps, Lutkins had gone there for a shave. They were told that they missed Lutkins by only five minutes. They got the same answer at the pool room and elsewhere in the town.

Q29. Why did the narrator feel that Bill’s helpfulness for him was not entirely of brotherly love?

Ans. The narrator began to understand that Bill’s helpfulness for him was not completely of brotherly love. He was a perfect businessman. The narrator paid him for six hours, including the lunch hour. Bill was paid 2 dollars for an hour. But the narrator realised that Bill was not more dishonest than him. He charged the whole amount from the firm.

Q30. Why did Bill take the narrator to Bill’s terrible mother in the end? Why had she once ‘almost’ taken Bill’s skin off?

Ans. In the end, Bill stopped a friend of Lutkins. He made him admit that Oliver had gone to his mother’s farm. Bill told the narrator that Oliver Lutkins’ mother was a terror. Once, he faced her anger because she felt that Bill had not handled her trunk with proper care. She almost took his skin off. She was 9 feet tall and 4 feet thick and quick as a cat.

Q31. Describe the narrator’s encounter with Lutkins’ terrible mother. Why was he asked to move out immediately by Bill?

Ans. Bill drove the narrator into a poor farmyard. There they were faced by a huge and cheerful old woman. Bill bravely went up to her and asked about her son, Oliver Lutkins. She shouted that she didn’t know anything about him. Bill told her that they had a legal right to search the house. This made her famous. She went inside and came out with an iron rod from the hearth. She threatened to burn them alive if they dared to do such a thing. Bill asked the narrator to go out at once before she could murder them.

Q32. Why did the narrator worry very little about his failure and considered returning to New Mullion to practice law?

Ans. The narrator worried very little about his failure to trace Oliver Lutkins. He was busy thinking about Bill Magnuson. He considered returning to New Mullion to practise law. After all, he could find such honest and human people like Bill only in New Mullion. He would feel honoured to have soft-spoken and wise neighbours like Fritz and Gustaff and a hundred others. He pictured an honest, happy and a new way of life there.

Extrapolative answers

Answer the following questions in 100-120 words:

1. The hack driver misguided the lawyer and led him on the wrong path. How could the lawyer be proactive?
The hack driver misguided the lawyer and openly drove him all over the
village. He took him places such as Gustaff’s barber shop, Gray’s barber shop, pool room, and his mother’s farmyard. He charged him two dollars an hour for all his visits. He himself talked low of Lukens and did not allow him to meet anyone directly.
The lawyer could have been more protective in some ways. He should have talked to more people rather than enjoy a whole day at the expense of the
firm. He should not have hidden behind the hack driver but should have tried
to talk once to the villagers. He should not have given the lead to the hack
driver. Instead, he should have led this visit himself, inquiring with more and
more people.

2. Narrate the narrator’s first visit to New Mullion.
The author/lawyer was sent to New Mullion to serve summons to Lutkins. At the station, he met a cheerful hack driver who was Lutkins himself. He took advantage of the situation as the author who had never met Lutkins before could not identify him. The fun-loving Lutkins introduced himself as Bill. He offered him all his help to find Lukens. He took him all over the village but in vain. He entertained the author with his lucid description of the village folk, charged him two dollars per hour and half a dollar for food. The author was impressed by the warm affection, kind and helpful nature of Bill and the
hospitality and cooperation of the villagers. He thought of leaving his present job and starting his legal practice at New Mullion.

3. Why was the narrator sent to New Mullion? Why didn’t he succeed in his mission on his
first visit?
The narrator was a junior assistant clerk in a magnificent legal firm. His job was not to prepare legal briefs but to serve the summons. He was sent to New Mullion, a country town about forty miles away from his city. He was to serve a summons to a person named Oliver Lutkins. Lutkins was needed in a legal case as a witness.
The narrator’s first visit to New Mullion was a complete failure. He couldn’t
find even a trace of Oliver Lutkins. Actually, the delivery man and the hack driver Bill, who met him at the station, were responsible for this failure. Bill be-friended the lawyer assuring him that he knew the places where Lutkins usually used to hang about. He told a lie that he had seen Lutkins just an hour ago.
Then, Bill drove the narrator to the different parts of the town and meeting
different people there. Actually, Bill planned the whole false drama the
moment he came to know that the narrator was searching for Oliver Lutkins.
Everywhere he went, he kept the narrator standing behind him at the door. He didn’t allow him to interrogate people directly about Lutkins. They drove toFritz’s, to Gustaff’s, Gray’s barber shop and to the poolroom. Everywhere they
got the same answer that Lutkins had left only a while ago. All this was pre-
planned by Bill and the search was bound to end in failure.

4. Give a character-sketch of the narrator or the lawyer of the story, ‘The Hack Driver’?
The narrator was a junior assistant clerk in a magnificent law firm. His work was not to prepare legal briefs but to serve the summons. The narrator was fed up with his job as he had to visit many dirty and shadowy corners of the city.
On several occasions, he was attacked and beaten up by musclemen and toughs of these areas. He even considered fleeing to his country town.
The narrator was highly gullible. He didn’t behave like a seasoned legal mind.
He was so much impressed with Bill that he became totally dependent on him.
He failed to keep his mission a secret to himself. By disclosing that he had
come to serve a summons on Oliver Lutkins, he gave the crafty and clever Bill enough space and time to confuse and misdirect his search. Bill, who was Oliver Lutkins himself, drove him aimlessly without allowing the narrator to talk directly to the people. He feared lest he should be exposed.
The narrator had a romantic yearning for country life and its people. After his
first visit, he didn’t mind his failure but planned to come to New Mullion again
to start his legal practice there. The narrator proved himself a novice and not a seasoned legal mind. When he served summons, Lutkins and his mother laughed at him as if he were a seven-year-old boy.

5. Bill or Oliver Lutkins was a complete contrast to the narrator. How did a seasoned crook like Lutkins outwit the gullible lawyer proving him a novice and just a bright boy of seven?
Certainly, both the main characters of the story are totally different. Bill or
Lutkins manoeuvres and plots under the garb of friendliness. The narrator is
outwitted and deceived due to his gullibility. Bill (Lutkins) knows how to
confuse and misdirect the narrator’s search for Oliver Lutkins. He befriends the lawyer convincing him that he is the only person in New Mullion who can help him in finding out Oliver Lutkins. He overpowers the narrator’s capacity for reasoning and thinking. The narrator becomes a soft target of cunning Lutkins. He allows giving Lutkins all the space and time that he needed to plan out and scheme things. The narrator became just a willing puppet in Bill’s hands.
Actually, he danced to his tunes. Bill’s pretensions clouded the narrator’s
wisdom and sense of discretion. Bill (Lutkins) was not a crook and fraud but an honest man full of human values for him. The cunning Lutkins had the last
laugh. When the narrator served summons, Lutkins and his mother laughed as if he were a seven-year-old boy.

10th Std The Necklace

The Necklace

Extract based questions

1)He wants to the police and to the cab offices, and put an advertisement in the newspapers, offering a reward. She waited all day in a state of bewilderment before this frightful disaster. Lisle returned in the evening, his face pale; he had discovered nothing.

(a) What did he do?

(b) For what did he offer a reward?

(c) What was the cause of Matilda’s ruin?

(d) How could she have avoided it?

Ans. (a) He went to the police and to the cab office and put an advertisement in the newspapers.

(b) He offered a reward to find the lost necklace.

(c) Her weakness for admiration, pleasure and vanity became the cause of her ruin.

(d) Matilda could have avoided this entire suffering if’ she had tried to live within her means and controlled her wild desires for short-lived pleasure.

2. He threw around her shoulders the modest wraps they had carried whose poverty clashed with the elegance of the ball costume. She wished to hurry away in order not to be noticed by the other women who were wrapping themselves in rich furs.

(a) Who is she?

(b) What was the cause of her inferiority complex?

(c) How can you say that Mr Loisel was a loving husband?

(d) Why do you think the tendency to show off becomes a curse for Matilda?

Ans. (a) ‘She’ is Matilda.

(b) She thought that they are poor and all the guests of the party belong to the upper class. This was the cause for her inferiority complex.

(c) When his wife was enjoying the dance and gratifying her vanity through the admiration of the men-folk, he waited patiently.

(d) She wasted her youth and suffered for ten long years only because of her vanity. He will desire for short-lived pleasure had become a curse for her.

3. And she responded, “I am vexed not to have a jewel, nothing to adorn myself with. I shall have such apoverty-stricken look. I would prefer not to go to this party.” He replied, “You can wear some natural flowers. In this season they look very chic.”

(a) Why was she vexed then?

(b) Which party is she referring to?

(c) Who is ‘she’ in the above lines?

(d) Why did she not want to go to the party?

Ans. (a) She was vexed because she did not have any jewel to adorn herself with.

(b) She is referring to the party hosted by The Minister of Public Instruction for which her husband got an invitation.

(c) In the above lines she is Matilda.

(d) She was grieved for her poverty-stricken look. She felt that she did not have a proper Party dress and a jewel for the party.

4. She suffered incessantly, feeling born for all delicacies and luxuries. She Suffered from the poverty of her apartment, the shabby walls and the worn chairs. All these things tortured and angered her.

(a) Who is she?

(b) Why did she suffer?

(c) Why does she feel tortured?

(d) What character traits of Matilda do the above lines reveal?

Ans. (a) She stands for Matilda.

(b) She was very beautiful and felt born for all delicacies and luxuries which she was not having. This made her suffer.

(c) She was unhappy with the poverty of her house. The shabby walls and the worn chairs tortured and angered her.

(d) Matilda was an unhappy and discontented person.

Answer the following questions in 30-40 words:

1. What, do you think, were the feelings of Madam Forester when she came to know that Matilda returned her a diamond necklace in place of an artificial one?

Ans. Matilda borrowed a necklace from Madam Frostier to wear at a party. She lost it somewhere and in that place returned a diamond necklace to her. She was unaware of the fact that it was an artificial one. Madam Forester was shocked to know the whole story. Madam Frostier thought that situation could be avoided if Matilda had the dare to accept the truth and share it with Madam Forester.

2. Madam Loisel was intoxicated with pleasure at the ball. Give three reasons to support yourAnswer.                               

Ans. Madam Loisel was intoxicated with pleasure at the ball. She danced with enthusiasm. She received everyone’s admiration and flattery. She looked the prettiest of all: elegant, gracious, smiling and full of joy.

3. How would you feel if you were in Matilda’s place and had lost somebody’s such a valuable possession?

Ans. Matilda borrowed a necklace from Madam Forester to wear in a ball. She lost it the same night. She was too much upset at the incident and tried to find it everywhere in the fold of dress, in the cloak, in the pockets and everywhere. Even Mr Loisel went to search it at midnight. They even could not sleep all night. They went to the police and even to the cab-office and put an advertisement in the newspaper offering a reward.

If I had been in Matilda’s place I would have done all the above-said efforts for such a valuable possession.

4. What changes occurred in Mime Loisel after 10 years?

Ans. Madam Loisel now knows the horrible life of necessity. She sent away her maid and learned the odious work of a kitchen She washed the dishes and the clothes on her own, She took down wastes to the street and brought up the water stopping at each landing to breathe. They changed their lodging and rented some rooms in the attic.

She seemed old now and became strong and hard women. Her hair badly dressed, her skirts awry, her hands red and spoke in a loud voice.

5.Mme. Loisel lost the necklace that Mme. Forestier had Lent her. If it would have been you at madame Loisel’ place, what would have been your first and foremost step?

Ans. If I had been at Madam Loisel’s place firstly I would not have borrowed the necklace. I would have been satisfied with the assets that I possessed. Secondly, if I had borrowed and lost it. I would have told that Madam Forester. Then I would have known at that very time that it was not a real diamond but an artificial only.  which would have saved 10 long years from being ruined as Madam Loisel’s life was.

6. How was Mr Loisel able to arrange 36,000 francs?

Ans. Loisel possessed eighteen thousand francs, which his father had left for him. Rest of the money he borrowed from usurers and a whole race of lenders. He made ruinous promises for that. And to repay this debt they had to change their lodgings. Madam Loisel had to do all tedious jobs like washing. Grocery shopping, and carrying water upstairs herself.

7. Why did Mme Loisel go to visit her friend, my Forester?

Ans. Mme Loisel visited her friend Mine Forester twice. First, she went to her house to borrow a diamond necklace for the ball which she lost the same day. Secondly, she visited her house to return the necklace that she had bought for 36,000 francs in compensation for the lost necklace.

8. Why did Madam Loisel leave the ball in a hurry? What does it show about her character?

Ans. Madam Loisel left the ball in a hurry because her husband threw the modest wraps around her shoulders, whose poverty clashed with the elegance of the ball costume. She did not want to be noticed by the other woman who was wrapping themselves in rich furs. It shows the hypocrisy and showoff life of madam Loisel. It shows her dissatisfaction, anger and frustration with life.

9. How did M. Loisel and Madame Loisel manage to buy a diamond necklace to return it to Madam Forester? What were the consequences?

Ans. Mr Loisel and Madam Loisel spent all their saving i.e. eighteen thousand francs, which his father had saved for him. Rest of the money they borrowed from usurers with ruinous promises. They had to arrange 36,000 francs for the new diamond necklace. All this ruined their life. Mme Loisel had to do all odd jobs to save money. They had to change these lodgings Mr Loisel had to work till late at night after office hours, putting the books of some merchant or to copy pages at five soups a page to earn extra money.

10. Why did Matilda change her lifestyle after the ball?

Ans. Matilda borrowed a necklace from her friend for the ball but she lost it after it. It was a diamond necklace. It completely changed her course of life. She and her husband had to struggle hard to repay the debt taken to buy a new necklace.

11. Why do you think that Mr. Loisle was a loving husband?                                       

Ans. Mr M. Loisle was a simple and poor clerk. He made every effort and sacrifice to make his wife happy. He sacrificed his 400 francs that he had saved to buy a gun for himself in order to buy a new party dress for his wife. It proves that he was a loving husband.

12. Why was Matilda sad after the ball?

Ans. Matilda was sad after the ball because she had lost the diamond necklace which she had borrowed from her friend Mme. Forester. She had to pay a very heavy price for it.

13. How had Mme Loisel’s sacrifices all been in vain?       

Ans. Mme. Loisel’s sacrifices proved to be all in vain as Mrs Forester, when she met her after ten years, told her that the necklace was of fake diamonds worth only 500 francs. Poor Loisel had wasted their 10 years to repay the loss of a fake necklace.

14. What did the Loisel do to replace the necklace?

Ans. They had to save every single penny in order to repay the huge loan they had taken for the diamond necklace. Mrs Loisel sent away all the maids and did all the household work herself. They changed their lodging and shifted to a cheap rented room.

15. What were the reasons for Matilda’s unhappiness?

Ans. Matilda was a pretty young lady but belonged to a poor family. She was married to a petty clerk. Her poverty and lack of recognition made her angry and unhappy.

16. What was the cause of her ceaseless suffering?

Ans. Mrs Loisel was very beautiful. She wanted to lead a life of comfort and luxury. She wanted to enjoy life. But she was married to a clerk. She lived in a simple house and led an ordinary life. This was the cause of her ceaseless suffering.

17. What did her husband bring home one evening? Why was he so elated?

Ans. One evening, her husband brought home an invitation card. They were invited to a party at the residence of the Minister of Public Instruction. He was so elated because he thought that it would make his wife happy.

18. How did Matilda get the jewels to wear to the ball?

Ans. Matilda went to her friend Madame Forestier’ s house. She told her the story of her distress. She borrowed a necklace of diamonds from her. In this way, slit: got jewels for the ball.

19. What happened at the ball? Was her dreamt fulfilled?

Ans. At the ball, Madame Loisel was a great success. She was the prettiest of all women. She was full of joy. All the men noticed her and asked her name. Her victory was complete. Her dream was fulfilled.

20. Why was she not delighted on receiving the ‘invitation to the party?

Ans. Mrs Loisel wanted to lead a life of luxury. She wanted to attend parties. One day her husband got an invitation to attend the party given by the Minister of Public Instruction. But she did not have a good dress to wear at the party. So she was not happy to get the invitation.

21. Why was her husband saving money?

Ans. Her husband was fond of shooting birds. He wanted to take part in shooting larks next summer. Some of his friends were also going for shooting. So he was saving money. He wanted to purchase a gun with that money.

22. Why was Matilda married to a clerk?

Ans. Matilda belonged to a family of clerks. Her parents were not rich. They did not have a big dowry for Matilda. She had no means to be married to a rich and famous man. So she was married to Loisel who was a clerk.

23. How did Matilda’s husband obtain an invitation to attend the party?

Ans. Matilda’s husband was a clerk in the office of the Board of Education. The Minister of Public Instruction was giving a dance party. Clerks were not being invited to the party. But Matilda’s husband tried his best and obtained an invitation to attend the party.

24. Describe Matilda’s experience at the dance party.

Ans. Matilda looked very charming at the dance party. All the men at the party looked at her. They asked her name. Everybody wanted to be introduced to her. The officers at the party wanted to dance with her. She danced with joy. She had a great sense of victory.

25. When did the party end? What did Matilda find when she reached home?

Ans. The party ended at four o’clock in die morning. Matilda and her husband reached home. Matilda stood before the mirror. She wanted to see heme If again with the necklace. But she was shocked to find that she had lost the necklace.

26. What efforts did Matilda and her husband make to look for the lost necklace?

Ans. They looked into the folds of Mati Ida’s dress, in the folds of her cloak and in her pockets. Her husband searched the whole route by which they had come home. He returned at seven o’clock. He informed the police. He went to the newspaper’s office to announce a reward. But the lost necklace was not found.



1)Give the character sketch of Matilda.

 Matilda is a pretty, young lady. She wanted to lead a rich and luxurious life. But she was born into a humble family and had to marry an ordinary man. She felt sad about her petty economic and social status. When Matilda got an invitation to a ball, she wanted to pretend as a rich woman. She gave in to vanity. She disregarded the advice of her humble husband. She is a woman who sought the praise and admiration of others. She feels very happy when men and women appreciated her beauty and grace at the dance ball. Matilda is a woman lacking wisdom and prudence. Just to show off a day at the ball, she loses her borrowed necklace. This leads to enormous suffering for her and her husband for a number of years. She does not understand the importance of living within one’s means.

2)Give the character sketch of Mr Loisel.

Mr Loisel is a simple man working as a clerk. He loves his wife and does everything to make her happy. He gets an invitation to a ball with his wife. When his wife wants a costly necklace, he suggests she should borrow a necklace from her rich friend, Madame Forestier. When Matilda loses her necklace, he uses his hard-earned savings to buy a new necklace. He starts working very hard to repay the debt they had incurred. Mr Loisel is ready to make an enormous sacrifice to maintain his family. He is a man who believes in living a life within one’s means. Unfortunately, because he is lenient towards his wife, he has to undergo much of the sufferings.

10th Std The fog

The fog

Answer the following question in 100-150 words:

1. What metaphor has the poet used in the poem ‘Fog’? Do you think it is appropriate? (COMPULSORY)

Ans. In the poem Tog’, Carl Sandburg has metaphorically compared the fog to a cat. The first strange thing about the metaphor is the comparison of a phenomenon with a living animal. Perhaps the poet wants to emphasize the silent nature and mysterious ways of the fog, so he has compared the fog to a cat. A cat does not make a sound when it walks. So also is the fog, but its presence is apparent. Its “silence” is very much like that of a cat moving on its little feet. Then the fog stays in its place looking over the harbour and city which creates a hazy atmosphere all around. The way it sits is very much like a cat sitting on its haunches, looking here and there before it makes a move. This is as if the fog remains a silent spectator of the happenings in the city. Whatever the purpose may be, both the fog as well as a cat make their impression and make their presence felt. The comparison of the fog to a cat seems very appropriate because, reading the poem, one feels that truly, the fog approaches stealthily, just like a cat.

Q2. How does Carl Sandburg describe the arrival, stay and departure of the fog through the image of a metaphorical cat?

Ans. The poet employs a double image. The fog is converted into a cat and the cat morphs back into the fog. The arrival of the fog is silent and sudden. It comes as if from nowhere. Its arrival is like a small cat. It sits and stays for a while. It engulfs everything in its all-embracing fold. It spreads its fold everywhere from the harbour to the city. It sits silently as a cat sits on its haunches. The fog stays but not for long. A cat never stays at one place for a long time. So, the fog moves ahead no one knows where. Carl Sandburg describes the raw aspect of nature, the all-embracing and prevailing fog. Its silent power is felt everywhere from the harbour to the city.


Read the following stanza and answer the questions that follow :

STANZA 1

The fog comes

on little cat feet.

It sits looking

over harbour and city

on silent haunches

and then moves on.

Questions :

(a) How does the fog come?

(b) Where does the fog look and how?

(c) What does the fog do in the end?

(d) For what does ‘it’ stand in the third line?

(e) Name the poem and the poet.

Answers :

(a) The fog comes on little cat feet.

(b) It looks over the port and the city. It is like a cat sitting on its haunches.

(c) In the end, the fog marches on.

(d) ‘It’, here, is the little cat as well as the fog.

(e) The name of the poem is ‘Fog’ and the poet’s name is Carl Sandburg.

Stanza-2: (Page 115)

The fog comes on little cat feet.

It sits looking over harbour and city on silent haunches and then moves on.

Questions:

(a) Why does the poet use the metaphor of a cat?

(b) How does the fog enter?

(c) How does it sit and what does it look?

(d) How does it depart?

Answers:

(a) The poet uses the metaphor of the cat because the fog changes into a cat and the cat morphs back into the fog.

(b) The fog enters silently like a little cat.

(c) The fog sits silently on its haunches overlooking the harbour and the city.

(d) The fog stays for a while and departs silently.

Answer the following question in 30-40 words:

1. The poet actually says that the fog is like a cat”, With reference to the poem, ‘Fog’ explain this statement.

Ans. The fog is compared to a cat. He says a cat does not make a sound when it walks so also is the fog. But its presence is apparent. Its ‘Silence’ is very much like that of a cat moving on its little feet. The way the fog sits is very much like a cat sitting on its haunches, looking here and there.

Q.2. How does the poet make the fog like a living creature?

Ans. The poet describes the fog as a cat. He does so through a metaphor. The fog is the cat itself. As a cat jumps and lights on its soft silently, the fog also comes down noiselessly. Then it moves on like a cat.

Q.3. How is the fog like a cat? What three things suggest it?

Ans. Three things suggest that the fog is like a cat. Like a cat, the fog comes silently. The fog is looking over the harbour and the city like a cat does so sitting on its haunches. Thirdly, it moves as the cat moves.

Q.4. How does the poet describe the fog’s movements?

Ans. The poet describes the fog as a cat. Like a cat, the fog comes silently and slowly. It is sitting on its haunches. And then it moves on.

Q5. How does the poet employ the double imagery of the fog and the cat?

Ans. The poetic device of metaphor is very effectively used in the poem. The fog is converted into a cat and the cat is morphed back into the fog. The silent arrival of the fog is like a little cat. The fog stays there sitting like the cat on its haunches.

Q6. Describe the similarities that have been mentioned in the poem between the fog and a cat.

Ans. It is a dual image that changes and merges again in the original. The fog changes into a cat and the cat changes into the fog. Both of them come silently unseen and suddenly. Both engulf everything underneath them. The fog engulfs everything, the harbour and the city in its fold. The fog sits silently as a cat sits on its haunches. Then it disappears and moves ahead.

Q7. Which aspect of nature Carl Sand-burg presents in the poem ‘Fog’?

Ans. The poet presents nature in its raw and natural state. The fog comes as if from nowhere. It comes suddenly and silently like a little cat. The fog’s power is overwhelming. It engulfs everything, the city and the harbour in its all-embracing fold. Then following the law of change, it disappears, no one knows where.

Q8. Does the poet actually say that the fog is like a cat? Then how do we know that the fog is like a cat?

Ans. The poet compares fog to a cat. A cat comes without making any noise and goes away. In the same way, the fog comes and spreads slowly and silently over harbour and city.

Q9. What three things tell us that the fog is like a cat?

Ans. (i) The fog comes slowly and silently like a cat.

(ii) The cat sits on its haunches for some time looking around and then moves away as it came.

(iii) Similarly, the fog spreads over the harbour and city for some time. Finally, it moves away like a cat.

Q10. The fog comes on like cat feet. How does the poet compare the fog with a cat? What poetic device is used here?

Ans. The cat comes silently and slowly. In the same way, the fog also comes slowly and silently. The poetic device used here is personification. The fog has been personified.

10th Std Madam rides the bus

Madam rides the bus

Extract based questions

1.”Listen, child,” said the voice, “You shouldn’t stand like that. Sit down.” Sitting down, she looked to see who had been talking to her. It was an elderly man who had honestly been concerned for her, but she was annoyed by his attention. “There’s nobody here who’s a child,” she said haughtily. “I’ve paid my thirty paise like everyone else.”

(a) Who is the child mentioned in the passage?

(b) How did the girl prove to the elderly man that she was not a child?

(c) Why didn’t Valla want to make friends with the elderly woman?

(d) What does Valla tell the elderly man when he calls her a child?

Ans. (a)The child mentioned in the passage is Valli.

(b) She said that she had paid thirty paise like every other passenger and was not a child.

(c) Valli didn’t like the physical appearance of the elderly woman.

(d) Valli told him that she was not a child as she had paid the same amount of the bus ticket as everyone else had paid.

2. “The conductor nodded and she was overcome with sadness. What had been a lovable, Zestful creature just a little while ago had now suddenly lost its charm and its life and looked so horrible …”

(a) Why is ‘she’ overcome with sadness?

(b) What had happened to the creature?

(c) Why is she so sad?

(d) When did she see the cow earlier?

Ans. (a) She had just seen a young cow dead.

(b) It had been struck by a fast-moving vehicle.

(c) The cow that was full of joy and life a while ago, is lying dead-looking horrible.

(d) She saw the cow earlier while going from her village on her bus journey.

3. Over many days and months, Vallilistened carefully to conversations between her neighbours and people who regularly used the bus, and she also asked a few discreet questions here and there. This way she picked up various small details about the bus journey. The town was six miles from her village. The fare was thirty paise one way —”which is almost nothing at all.”

(a) What conclusion was made by Valli on the basis of information?

(b) What were the sources of information for her?

(c) Whose conversations did Valli listen?

(d) What information did she want to get?

Ans. (a) The town was six miles from her village and the fare was thirty paise one way.

(b) Conversations between her neighbours and people who regularly travelled by bus.

(c) Conversations between the neighbours and people who regularly used the bus.

(d) She wanted to get all the details about the bus journey including the distance from the town, the fare and the total time required to reach the town and come back to the village, when the bus drove back after having stopped in the town for some time.


4. But for Valli, standing at the front door was every bit as enjoyable as any of the elaborate games other children played. Watching the street gave her many new unusual experiences. The most fascinating thing of all was the bus that travelled between her and the nearest town. It passed through her street each hour, once going to the town and once coming back the sight of the bus, filled each time with a new set of passengers, was 8 source of unending joy for Valli.

(a) What was Valli’s favourite pastime?

(b) Why did she watch the street?

(c) What was the source of unending joy for Valli?

(d) What gave Valli new unusual experiences?

Ans. (a) Standing at the door, watching the street.

(b) She watched the street because it gave her many new unusual experiences.

(c) This was to watch the bus and the people going on the bus.

(d) Watching the street gave her many new unusual experiences.

5. Her first journey—what careful, painstaking, elaborate plans she had to make for it; she had thriftily saved whatever stray coins came her way, resisting every temptation to buy peppermints, toys, balloons, and the like, and finally she had saved a total of sixty paise. How difficult it had been, particularly that day at the village fair, but she had resolutely stifled a strong desire to ride the merry-go-round, even though she had the money.

(a) Who does ‘her’ refer to in the passage?

(b) Where was her first journey made to?

(c) What did she do to make it a reality?

(d) How did she save the money for the bus fare?

Ans. (a) 'Her' refers to Valli in the above extract.

(b) Her first journey was made to the Town.

(c) She made a detailed plan with utmost care , risk and pain to turn her dream into a reality.

(d) She thriftily saved every penny, relisted temptation to buy things for her liking or taking a ride on the merry-go-round.

9. Suddenly she saw a young cow lying dead by the roadside, just where it had been struck by some fast-moving vehicle. “Isn’t that the same cow that ran in front of the bus on our trip to town ?” she asked the conductor. The conductor nodded, and she was overcome with sadness.

(a) Whom does ‘she’ refer to?

(b) How does the presence of the cow affect her mood during her return journey?

(c) What kind of a person is Valli?

(d) When was Valli overcome with sadness?

Ans. (a) Valli, an eight-year-old girl.

(b) She is sad and sits quietly after seeing the dead cow.

(c) She is a kind and sensitive girl. Her spirits are dampened and she becomes sad to see a dead cow.

(d) When the conductor nodded in support of her query.


1) Give the character sketch of Valliammai. (To be written Compulsorily)

 Valliammai emerges as a very clever, sensitive, self-respecting and fun-loving girl. She was just eight years old. She was a determined girl with a commanding nature. She was very curious about things. He favourite pastime was standing in the front doorway of her house. She was mature, clever and practical beyond her years. Saving sixty paise was not an easy job for a girl of her age. She was determined to resist any temptation that came in her way. Valli didn’t like being called a ‘madam’ or ‘a child’. She was a great planner and planned things after knowing all the necessary details about them.
She took the risk only to fulfill her dream which shows how determined and passionate she was about it.

Answer the following questions in 30-40 words:
1. How did Valli react when she saw the dead cow by the roadside?

Ans. On her return journey, Valli saw a dead cow lying in the middle of the road. It was lying sprawled in a pool of blood, legs spread out, and lifeless eyes staring a horrible scene. She felt sad and this made her lose all the enthusiasm.

2. What was the most fascinating thing for Valli?

Ans. The most fascinating thing for Valli was the bus that travelled between and the nearest town.

3. Why does Valli refuse to look out of the window on her way back?

Ans. Valli refused to look out of the window on her way back because the memory of the dead cow haunted her,the sight itself was painstaking dampening her enthusiasm.

4. Why does Valli find information about the bus to the town?

Ans. Valli gathered information about the bus because she wanted to take at least ride in the bus that was fascinating for her.


5. Why was the conductor of the bus amused while talking to Valli?

Ans. The conductor of the bus was a jolly person who was fond of joking. Quote two instances to amused while talking to Valli who pretended to be a grown person.

6.” Valli enjoyed each moment of her bus ride.”elucidate.

Ans. Indeed, Valli enjoyed each moment of her bus ride,first, Valla devoured everything with her eyes,on viewing the outside view she sighed, “Oh, it was all so wonderful.so she thoroughly enjoyed everything except the cow's death.

7. Give examples from the text to show that Valli was a meticulous planner.

Ans. Valli was a meticulous planner. She listened carefully to the conversations between her neighbours and people who regularly used the bus and also asked discreet questions. She picked up various small details about the bus journey and then planned it.


8. How can you say that the conductor was a good-natured jolly fellow? Support your answer with examples.

Ans. The conductor was a fun loving, jolly fellow. For instance-when Valli refused his help to board the bus he said jokingly, “Don’t be angry with me, fine madam… Everyone move aside please — make way for madam’.

9.What information did Valli collect for her first bus ride?

Ans. Valla gathered all the minute details about the bus journey. She gathered that she required sixty paise to buy tickets for the up and down journey and that the bus would take ninety minutes from village to town and back. She carefully listened to the conversations of the passengers and villagers to get the details.

10. What made Valli sad on her return journey?

Ans. On her return journey, Valli saw a dead cow lying in the middle of the road. It was lying sprawled in a pool of blood, legs spread out, lifeless eyes staring—a horrible scene. She felt sad.

11.What was the most fascinating thing for Valli?

Ans. Valli’s source of unending joy was to have a bus ride. That was her tiny wish which grew into a strong desire with the passage of time. Her desire turned into a longing as she wistfully stared at the faces of the passengers who got on or off the bus.

12. What was Valli’s favourite pastime?

Ans. Vales favourite pastime was to stand in the front doorway of her house. She did not play like most other children because there were no playmates of her age on her street. Watching the street also gave her many unusual experiences which were equally enjoyable.

13. Give two reasons why Valli found the elderly woman on the bus, repulsive.

Ans. Valla did not want to make friends with the elderly woman because she found her repulsive as she had big holes in her earlobes and was wearing ugly earrings. She could the beetle nut the woman was chewing.

14. Why did Valli not get off from the bus when it stopped at the bus stand?

Ans. Vales sole purpose was to enjoy the bus ride. She neither had the money to buy anything from the shops at the town nor the courage to get down at the strange among at rangers.

15. Why does the conductor refer to Valli as ‘madam’?

Ans. The conductor was worldly wise and a man of jovial nature. He judges the little girl ’s innocent behaviour. Being fun to love and also not to make the girl unhappy, he calls Valla as ‘Madam’, though she was a girl of eight years only.

Q.16. Write down the conductor’s advice to Valli?

Ans. Calling Valli a child. the conductor requested her to sit down. It will make her comfortable. Standing up, again and again, can make her fall and get hurt because the bus can make a sharp turn.

Q.17. How did Valli manage to leave the house?

Ans. Valli knew that after lunch her mother would nap for about one to four or so. It was Valli’s habit to engage these hours for her excursions and move outside the village.

Q.18. What did Valli calculate and plan?

Ans. Valli calculated and planned that if she took one o’clock afternoon bus. she would reach the town at one forty-five. On reaching town if she stayed in her scat and paid another thirty paise she could return home by the same bus by about two forty-five.

Q.19. What type of person was the conductor?

Ans. the conductor was a very wise man and knew how to tackle and talk with the passenger. He was fond of jokes and in his jolly tone interrogated Valli many times.

Q.20. What did Valli’s mother say about the things happening without our knowledge?

Ans. Valli’s mother said that so many things happen amidst us and in the world outside. We cannot know about everything. Even when we know about something we often can’t understand it completely.

Q21. What was the favourite pastime of Valli?

Ans. Valliammai or Valli was eight years old. Her favourite pastime was standing in the front doorway of her house. From there, she watched what was happening in the street outside. For her, standing at the front door was as enjoyable as any of the games other children played.

Q22.    What was the most fascinating thing for Valli?

Ans. The most fascinating thing for Valli was the bus that travelled between her village and the nearest town. The sight of the bus was a source of unending joy for her. Each time she used to see a new set of passengers, it was a very thrilling experience for her.

Q23.    What was the tiny wish that crept into Valli’s head?

Ans The sight of the bus was the most fascinating thing for Valli. Day after day she watched the bus. A tiny wish crept into her head. She wanted to ride on that bus.  At least, just once. This wish became so strong that it grew into an overwhelming desire.

Q24.Why did Valli listen to the conversations? What did she get from them?

Ans.    Valli was anxious to know more and more about the bus journey. She had nourished a strong desire to enjoy a bus ride from her village to the nearest town. She listened to the neighbours and people who regularly used the bus. She was collecting the necessary details from them to plan out her bus journey. Such details could help her in her mission.

Q25. How did Valli calculate and plan the bus journey?

Ans. Valli had gathered all the necessary details about the bus journey from those who regularly used the bus. The town was six miles from her village. The one-way fare was thirty paise. The trip to the town took forty-five minutes. If she took the one o’clock bus, she could reach the town at one forty-five. She calculated that she could be back home by about two forty-five.

Q26.How did Valli board the bus? Why did she say, ‘I can get on by myself’?

Ans. When Valli sighted the bus she shouted ‘Stop the bus! Stop the bus!’ She raised her tiny hand ‘commandingly’. The bus slowed down and finally stopped. She told the conductor that she wanted to go to the town and she tried to hand over the money. The conductor seeing that she was just a child, stretched out his hand to help her up. Valli replied that she could get on by herself and didn’t need any help.

Q27.Why was Valli overcome with shyness and avoided everyone’s eyes?

Ans. It was the slack time of the day. There were only six or seven passengers on the bus. They were all looking at Valli and laughing with the conductor. Valli was overcome with shyness. She tried to avoid everyone’s eyes. She walked quickly to an empty seat and sat down.

Q28.What did Valli see when she peered over the blind?

Ans. Valli found that a canvas blind cut off her view. So, she peered over the blind to look outside. The bus was going along the bank of a canal. Beyond its palm trees and grassland and distant mountains. And then, there were acres of green fields as far as her eyes could see.

Q29.Why didn’t Valli like the remark of the elderly man? What did she say to him?

Ans. An elderly man saw Valli standing on the bus He asked her to sit down. He had honestly felt concerned for her. Valli didn’t like to be called herself a ‘child’. She retorted that she was not a child. She had paid thirty paise like everyone else.