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An Angel in Disguise Summary by T.S. Arthur

Treasure Trove Poems and Short Stories Workbook Answers

An Angel in Disguise Summary by T.S. Arthur

An Angel in Disguise Summary About the Author

T.S. Arthur (6 June 1809-6 March 1885), was a popular 19th century American author. He had a distinguished writing career during which he wrote more than 150 novels. His work was basically moralistic in nature. His most famous work is his essay, ‘The Nights in a Bar-Room and What I Saw There’ (1854). He was a strong proponent of temperance.

An Angel in Disguise Summary

‘An Angel in disguise’ is an emotional story which highlights the theme of love and kindness. It takes place in a small village. A pauper woman dies at the threshold of her house due to excessive alcoholism. Her three children are left orphaned. The lady was despised by the villagers and so had no family or friend. But after her death, pity replaced anger. The villagers take up a collection and put together a modest funeral. As for the children, farmer Jones adopts John, a stout 12 year old boy, because he would help him in fieldwork.

The second born child, 10 year old Kate, a bright and active girl, was taken by Mrs. Ellis, who has looking for a bound girl. Then there was Maggie, the youngest and paralyzed one. She had fallen from the window and seriously injured her spine. She was bedridden so no one wanted to take her. They think of sending her to the poorhouse.

Mr. Joe Thompson, who worked as a wheelwright, takes pity on her. He likes children, though he is childless. His heart melts when the helpless child pleads with him. He knew his strict wife will be angry still he carries her home. He tells her that he would take her to the poorhouse the next day, somehow he manages to keep her despite of her hard hearted attitude.

Mr. Thompson requests his wife to think of Maggie’s dead mother, her loneliness, helplessness and sufferings in her life. Mrs. Thompson tried to hide her hostility while communicating with Maggie. But gradually the feeling of love and compassion emerged in her heart. She became kinder with the sweet sick girl. Maggie becomes a speck of happiness in the life of childless Thompson couple. She is a little girl with a pure, clear and light soul. They never discuss to take her to the poorhouse again. She turns out to be an angel in disguise for them.

An Angel in Disguise Summary Word Meanings:

1 Intemperance : Excessive drinking
2. Wretched : Very unhappy
3. Threshold : Door
4. Despised : Disliked
5. Scoffed at : Scorned, shown contempt
6. Denounced : Criticized harshly and publicly
7. Tumble-down : Collapsed
8. Interment : Burial
9. Stout : Brave and strong
10. Wan : Looking sick or pale
11. Soiled : Unclean, dirty
12. Hovel : A small, poorly built and often dirty house
13. Pauper : Poor
14. Ere : Before
15. Wheelwright : A maker and repairer of wheels
16. Vague : Unclear
17. Penetrated : To pass into or through
18. Brat An ill-mannered annoying child
19. Countenance : A person’s expression
20. Indignation : Anger
21. Irrepressible : Uncontrolled
22. Unwonted : Unwanted

An Angel in Disguise Summary Question and Answer

Question 1.
How did the fate of the three children change in the story, ‘An Angel in Disguise’?
Answer:
A poor woman, who is hated throughout her life by all the village people, dies in a drunken state on the threshold of her own house. Her three miserable children witness the death of their mother. The villagers take pity on her sudden death and the orphaned children, she has left behind. Suddenly, their world has changed. The villagers collect to decide on their fate.

12 years old John, is old enough to work. Farmer Jones adopts him because John would be helpful in field work. Mrs. Ellis begrudgingly adopts Kate, who is still a few years too young to go to work in a factory. Mrs. Ellis complains about the burden involved in taking responsibility of an undisciplined orphan. But no one comes up to adopt Maggie, the youngest child, as she is bedridden due to an injury which she suffered by falling down from the window and hurting her back. The villagers talk about taking her to the poorhouse.

Question 2.
How does Maggie prove to be an Angel in Disguise and for whom? 8
Answer:
Maggie, is the youngest child of a woman who died of intoxication, leaving her three young children in a wretched and miserable condition, on the mercy of others. Maggie is crippled and bed ridden after she fell and hurt her spine severely, two years back. Her other two siblings, John and Kate, are adopted by the former Jones and Mrs. Ellis respectively. But none is ready to take the liability of helpless Maggie. Some villagers assume that she will have to be taken to the poorhouse as she has no one to look after and care for her.

Mr. Joe Thompson, who is a wheelwright, takes pity on Maggie and takes her to his home. She is an embodiment of innocence, and purity. But he knows it would be very difficult to convince is wife. He draws on the Bible in order to appeal to Jane’s compassion. Seen as a burden at the first glance, Maggie turns out to be a blessing in the Thompson-home. Initially, he states the fact that he plans on taking her to the poor house possibly the next day, she agrees somehow but after spending a day and night with the small child, Mrs. Thompson’s heart grew with every moment tending to the small orphan girl. Not having a child of her own or any interests or things to take care of, lead her to become less compassionate.

Caring for the child gives her a sense of purpose and meaning in her otherwise dull housewife’s life. Thus, the little girl not only changed her attitude towards them but also brought light and joy into their home. She becomes extra careful for Maggie and gives up the idea of sending her to poorhouse. She accepts her as her child and carries her in her heart as well as arms. From a rude, ill-tempered and selfish lady, Mrs. Thompson becomes a living and compassionate person. Thompson household is filled with boundless joy which they had never experienced before. Thus Maggie, becomes an Angel in disguise’ for the Thompsons.

An Angel in Disguise Summary Extract Based Questions

Question 1.
Read the extract given below and answer the questions that follow.
“What is to be done with the children?”
That was the chief question now.
(i) Who are these ‘children’? Why is something to be done with them?
(ii) Whaf effect does Maggie’s condition have on the villagers?
(iii) Describe the three children? Who among them was the most wretched? Why? What decision is taken for
the children?
(iv) According to the villagers, what type of place was the poorhouse? How will it be for Maggie?
(v) What melted Farmer Joe’s heart and what did he do?
Answer:
(i) The children are the innocent orphaned children of a pauper woman who died due to intoxication. The three children are left with no guardian and they cannot fend for themselves. In spite of the hatred they had for the woman, they gather at her cottage, arrange for her funeral and now discuss about the fate of the children.

(ii) The villagers looked at Maggie with pitying glances and troubled thought. Mother brought her old dirty clothes and dressed her in clean attire. They were touched by the gloomy eyes and calm face of the little girl but none was ready to take a sick bedridden girl to their home.

(iii) The eldest boy John, is 12 years and old enough to work. Farmer Jones adopts the boy because he will be of good use in fieldwork.
Kate is a bright and active girl who is begrudgingly adopted by Mrs. Ellis as she is too young to work. The most wretched among them was Maggie, the youngest child who is crippled for life due to a spine injury that happened two years back. She is bedridden. Unable to decide what to do about Maggie, the villagers assume she will have to be taken to the poorhouse.

(iv) As per the villagers, the poor house was a sad place for a sick and helpless child but as far as Maggie was concerned, it would be a blessing because there she would be kept clean, have healthy food, and be doctored, something which she lacked in the past.

(v) After John and Kate were taken away, Maggie was left all alone. Joe sympathies with her and the blacksmith’s wife suggests him to take her to the poorhouse. After thinking for a while Joe entered the hovel, where Maggie was sitting upright after some painful effort, but terrorized due to her loneliness. She urged Mr. Thomson not to leave her there all alone.

Question 2.
Read the extract given below and answer the questions that follow.
“A bond had already corded itself around them both, and love was springing into life.”
(i) Who are the ‘both’ referred in the above lines? What type of a bond corded between them and when?
(ii) Does he expect to be warmly welcomed by his wife? What happens when he reaches home?
(iii) What explanation does Joe give to his wife for his action?
(iv) What instructions were given to the speaker by the listener? How does Mrs. Joe behave in Joe’s absence and presence?
(v) How does Maggie emerge as an ‘Angel in Disguise’ for the Thompson couple?
Answer:
(i) One of them is the poor crippled orphan girl Maggie and the other is Mr. Joe Thompson, a wheelwright. After Maggie’s mother’s funeral, the villagers return to their daily work. Maggie’s siblings are taken away and she is left alone in her bed in the hovel. Joe, who still lingers there, feels pity when the child pleads with him in fear. He decides to take her home. As he wraps the child in bedclothes and carries her in his arms some tender feeling of affection enters deep into his heart.

(ii) Joe’s wife Jane Thompson is a stern lady with ‘vinegar’ temperament. She is irritated and displeased at the arrival of the girl. She calms down only when Joe tactfully convinces her that he would carry the girl to the poorhouse the next day.

(iii) Joe told his wife that women’s heart are sometimes so hard that every woman at the funeral turned away from the sick helpless child and walked off, discarding her in the old hut, presuming to be sent to a poorhouse. And as she could not go there on her own, Joe carried her to his house till the formalities at the poorhouse were completed.

(iv) Earlier Joe had instructed his wife to be kind to Maggie while looking to her, keeping in mind the death of her mother, her grief, pain and lonliness, that will always be a part of her life. Joe observes secretly that Jane had developed a soft comer for the little girl. In his absence she spent time with her, tending her softly and compassionately. But when Joe came, she portrayed a veil of coldness and indifference. This gives, Joe a sort of relaxation and thinks not to interfere in the bond that was developing between the two.

(v) Being childless and not having any interests or things to take care of, had made Mrs. Jane less compassionate. Caring for the orphaned girl gave a sense of purpose and meaning to her otherwise dull housewife life. Thus, her attitude towards life and the little girl changed. Her heart melts. This little girl brings light and joy in the life of the Thompson’s. Maggie becomes honey to Jane’s soul whom she carries in her arms like a precious burden.

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The Little Match Girl Summary by Hans Christian Andersen

Treasure Trove Poems and Short Stories Workbook Answers

The Little Match Girl Summary by Hans Christian Andersen

The Little Match Girl Summary About the Author

Hans Christian Anderson (2nd April, 1805 – 4th August, 1875), was a Danish writer, who enjoyed fame as a novelist, dramatist and poet, but fairy tales are his greatest contribution to world literature. Many of his stories include, ‘The Ugly Duckling’ and ‘The Princess and the Pea’, remain classics of the genre. His stories have been adapted for stage and screen, including a popular animated version of ‘The Little Mermaid’. He suffered a serious injury after falling from bed. His last publication, a collection of stories, appeased the same year. Signs of Liver Cancer started showing up and finally he died in Copenhagen.

The Little Match Girl Summary

‘The Little Match Girl’ is a sad story about a miserable young girl. The story begins on a rough cold winter evening, the wind was swirling, the sky was darkening and the snow was coming down. It was the last evening before New Year and it seems that the people were preparing to spend a nice evening in their homes with a lavish celebratiori. In this chill and darkness, a poor little girl strolled, who was bareheaded and bare feet. She was wearing her mother’s slippers but they were bigger than her size, so while crossing the road in a hurry, she lost one of them and the other one was stolen by a boy. Her feet were red and frozen due to the cold.

This little girl is out in the streets to sell matches as ordered by her strict father. She could not manage to sell any since morning but could not return home, firstly, because her father would beat her and secondly, her poor home could not provide her any shelter from the cold winds. She was lured by the appetizing smells of food, spreading from a house.

The low temperature made it impossible for her to carry on further so she curled herself up in a corner between two buildings and tucked her feet underneath herself. To keep herself warm she decided to light up one match. The lightning of the match carries her into a world of imagination. She imagines a large iron stove and tries to feel the warmth coming from it. But suddenly it disappears with the match.

The little girl’s next vision, which she sees on lighting the next match, is of a beautiful stuffed goose dinner. Suddenly, the goose hopped out from the dish with the knife and fork still in its breast and reached upto the little girl. But again the match goes out and the scene disappears.

In the next vision she finds herself sitting under the most beautifully decorated Christmas tree. Then the girl sees the falling star and thinks to herself that someone is dying because once her grandmother had told that a falling star meant that someone was going to heaven. She finally visualizes her beloved grandmother and continues to light matches, one after the other, to keep her in sight. The next day, she was found dead and frozen with a smiling face. Everyone talked about her attempts to keep herself warm but no one knew that she died a peaceful death while having happy visions and about her joining her beloved grandmother in heaven.

The Little Match Girl Summary Word Meanings:

1. Hitherto : Until now
2. Scuffled away : Moved quickly with short steps
3. Dreadfully : Very bad or unpleasant
4. Urchin : A usually poor and dirty child
5. Farthing : A former British coin with a value equal to one quarter of a penny
6. Gleaming : Shining
7. Cowered : Moved back or crouched especially for shelter
8. Venture : To risk
9. Numbed : Without sensation
10. Burnished : Polished
11. Porcelain : A hard, white substance made by baking clay, used for making utensils
12. Reeled : Whirled, moved round and round
13. Trail : A path through a forest, field
14. Lustre : Gleam, shine

The Little Match Girl Summary Question and Answer

Question 1.
How is the setting in the story, the cold and darkness, symbolic of the girl’s isolation and sadness?
Answer:
The weather was extremely cold and it was completely dark. It was the last evening of the year, the snow was falling heavily and everything seemed to be freezing. The sly was covered with dark clouds. It was a chilling environment, and it seemed that the people preferred to stay indoors due to shivering cold. The atmosphere was ‘ gloomy and somewhat scary.

‘The little match girl, as the author calls her, is barefoot and bear headed. She is out in the chilling cold selling matches. She belonged to a very poor family. She couldn’t go back to her house because her father would scold her for being unsuccessful in selling the matches. Her house too could not protect her against the cold for they had nothing but the roof above them with holes stuffed with straws and rags. She chose to freeze in the cold rather than return back home. This shows that the cold gloomy weather truly symbolised her sad, miserable life.

Question 2.
Throw a light on the visions of the little girl in the story’, ‘A Little Match Girl.’
Answer:
‘The Little Match Girl’ by Hans Christian Anderson, is a story about a small girl no older than eleven, sent out to sell matches, which was earlier considered as a form of begging. It is the dead of winter and she has little to keep herself warm. Her ill-fitting shoes had been taken from her and with the fear of going home only to be beaten for her unsuccessful sales, she curls up in the cold. As she is struggling to keep warm all she can contemplate is the thought of lighting one small match. As she does so, she is filled with feelings of warmth and safety. She sees a vision of a large iron stove. Hallucinations are one of the symptoms of severe hypothermia, which indicates that the girl is slowly drifting away. But as the match stick burns off, the stove disappears and comes into consciousness.

The second vision describes a magical New Years Eve feast. A goose dancing with knife and fork in its breast. This vision shows how hungry the small girl truly is, and if she doesn’t freeze she will surely starve. The third vision of the night, is a magnificent Christmas tree. It is brightly lit and beautifully decorated. The story describes bright coloured pictures looking down on her. As the colours and lights rise, and the tree disappears, the stars become visible, and it seems as though the lights from the tree have become the stars. The little girl then sees a star fall and claims that someone was dying, as her old grandmother had told.

The small girl drew another match and there her loving grandmother stood before her in the dark of the night with kind looks. The girl knew that if the match were to run out her grandmother would disappear just like all her other wonderful visions, so she struck the rest of the match sticks on the wall. The little girl pleads with her grandmother to take her back to heaven.

This shows that how truly close the little match girl is freezing to death and so the grandmother carries her in her arms with brightness and joy away from cold and hunger.The next morning the people found her frozen to death, matches in hand and a smile on her face. None is aware of the beautiful visions of the little girl and the splendor she has entered in.

The Little Match Girl Summary Extract Based Questions

Question 1.
Read the extract given below and answer the questions that follow.
(i) Who is ‘she’? Describe her condition? Why were the slippers not good for her?
(ii) How was the weather? What day was it? Identify the author of the story.
(iii) Why was the girl ‘the picture of misery’?
(iv) Why does the author say ’she did not think of her appearance now?
(v) Why didn’t the little girl go home? What did she do instead?
Answer:
(i) ‘She’ is the poor little girl.
She was in a miserable state because she was out in the cold selling matches bareheaded and barefoot.
The slippers were not good for her because they had been her mother’s, so obviously they were much bigger in size. Also she had lost them while running across the street in order to escape from the carriages. One was lost and the other was stolen by a boy.

(ii) It was an extremely cold day and the snow was falling. It was getting dark.
It was New Year7s Eve. The author of the story is Hans Christian Anderson.

(iii) The poor girl lost her slippers, the only warmth she had. Her feet were red and frozen because the temperature was very low. In her old apron she carried many matches to sell but couldn’t manage to sell any. The hunger and cold increased minute by minute making her shiver.

(iv) The little girl was in a miserable state. She was moving around the streets in extreme weather, without any footwear or anything to cover her head. She was shivering. The snowflakes fell on her long golden hair which curled beautifully about her neck but she little cared for her looks and appearance. Her only concern was to sell the matchboxes somehow.

(v) The poor little girl did not dare to go home, firstly, because her father would surely beat her for being unable to sell any matches and earn a single penny. Secondly, at home too there was no respite from cold as they had nothing but the roof above them and the wind easily passed through the cracks. Instead, she huddled down in a heap in a corner between two houses and tucked her little legs up under her.

Question 2.
Read the extract given below and answer the questions that follow.
“If only she dared pull just one small match from the packet, strike it on the wall and warm her fingers.”
(i) Why did she think to pull one small match from the packet? How did it feel when it was lighted? Why was it a strange light?
(ii) What vision does she see the second time she lit the match?
(iii) To whom does the little girl say ‘oh, take me with you’? What kind of relation does she share with the
listener? What had this person told the little girl?
(iv) When did she see a star falling? What truth came to her on seeing it?
(v) Did the grandmother too vanish like the other visions, leaving her alone? What good luck did the New Year bring for the little girl?
Answer:
(i) Though the girl huddled herself in a corner still she felt colder and colder. Her hands were almost numb with cold so she thought to pull one small match and light it. The match burnt with a splutter, giving out warmth. Its bright flame seemed like a tiny candle.

The light seemed strange and wonderful because the bright warm flame made the little maiden feel that she was sitting before a large iron stove with burnished brass knobs and brass ornaments. The fire burnt blissfully and warmed the girl comfortably which made her stretch out her legs to warm them too.

(ii) When she lit the second match the wall on which the light fell, became transparent like a veil, so that she could see inside the room. A snow-white table cloth was spread on the table, upon it lay splendid porcelain containing steaming roasted goose stuffed with prunes and apples. It was more captivating to watch the goose hop down from the dish, and waddle across the floor towards the girl, with knife and fork in its breast. Suddenly the match went off and the vision cleared. Only the thick, cold, damp wall was left behind.

(iii) The little girl says these words to her Grandmother whom she sees in the luster of the glowing match. Her grandmother was the only person who had loved her and was no more. She looked very gentle, kind and affectionate. She had told the little girl that when a star falls, a soul ascends to God.

(iv) When the girl struck the match for the third time, she found herself sitting under the most magnificent Christmas tree. It was much larger and more beautiful than the one which she had seen through the glass door in the rich merchant’s house. Numerous lights illuminated the green branches of the tree along with the gaily coloured balls.

As soon as she reached out for them, the match went out and the numerous candles on the Christmas tree ascended towards the sky turning into bright stars. One of them fell down leaving behind a trail of light. This made the girl believe that someone was dying. Her grandmother had told her that ‘whenever a star falls, a soul goes up to God.’

(v) The girl struck all the rest of the matches to keep her grandmother with her. The old lady took the little girl in her arms and carried her up towards heaven, away from cold, hunger or fear. The next morning, i.e., the New Year morning, the people found the little girl frozen to death. Though they sympathized with her but they were unaware of the beautiful things she had seen and the spender in which, she had entered with her grandmother. Thus, the New Year had brought heavenly joy and gladness for her.

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The Blue Bead Summary by Norah Burke

Treasure Trove Poems and Short Stories Workbook Answers

The Blue Bead Summary by Norah Burke

The Blue Bead Summary About the Author

Norah Aileen Burke (2nd August, 1907-1976), was a celebrated English novelist and non-fiction writer famous for her descriptions of life in India during the early 20th century. Her father was a forest officer in India during her early childhood. Thus, she got an ample chance to interact with the wildlife in India, which inspired her to include them in her works, the famous among them being ‘Jungle Child’ (1956), ‘Eleven Leopards’ (1965) and ‘Midnight Forests’ (1966).

The Blue Bead Summary

This story starts with a mugger crocodile lying motionless waiting for food. Beside him lay a small blue bead. In the village above the river lived a little girl, Sibia. Being poor she never owned anything but a rag. Her family could not even afford her a new needle or a handful of beads to make a necklace. She worked with her mother and other women collecting paper grass from above the river.

After a good collection was made, they would take it down to the bullock cart and sell it to the agent who would arrange for it to be sent to the paper mills. On the way lived some Gujar people, the nomadic graziers, who stayed there till their animals finished grazing at that spot. One day when the women returned back after toiling for the entire dav, Sibia decided to rest on the way. While she was resting, a Gujar woman came down to fill two pots and when she was filling them a huge crocodile attacked her, biting down on the woman’s leg, blood spreading everywhere. Quickly Sibia, who was watching .

This attack, ran over and stabbed the crocodile in the eves, the only vulnerable area, with her havfork. The crocodile swam away convulsively in pain. After having being rescued Sibia she brought her to the shore, applied sand on her wound, tied it with a rag and helped her home. When she came back to pick her things, she saw the blue bead laying in the river. She picked it up and brought it home happily and told her mom about the bead that she had found for her necklace.

The Blue Bead Summary Word Meanings :

1. Whirlpool : An area of water in a river, stream, etc. that moves very fast in a circle
2. Dislodge : To forcefully remove
3. Jostle : To push against while moving forward in a crowd
4. Rippled : Moved in small waves
5. Trilling : Twirl, revolve
6. Mugger : A freshwater crocodile found in India
7. Antediluvian : Very old or old-fashioned
8. Formidable : Very powerful or strong
9. Fend : Defend, guard
10. Putrid : Rotten, very ugly or unpleasant
11. Tepid : Not hot and not cold; lukewarm
12. Armoured hide : Thick skin which acts as a armour
13. Gharials : Crocodiles
14. Ford : A shallow part of a river etc. that may be crossed by walking
15. Perforated : Having holes
16. Starveling : Very thin due to lack of food; malnourished
17. Rancid : Having strong and unpleasant smell
18. Goosey-cold : Extreme cold that causes goosebumps
19. One anna : 1/16th of a rupee
20. Gaunt : Plain and unpleasant in appearance
21. Forebears : Forefathers
22. Swooping : To fly down through the air suddenly
23. Dawdle : To spend time idly
24. Hayfork : A long handed fork used for moving hay
25. Boulder : A very large and rounded rock
26. Lunge : A sudden forward movement
27. Darkling : In the dark
28. Heaved : Lifted or pulled with effort
29. Threshing : Striking repeatedly
30. Flail : To strike or hit in a wild and uncontrolled way
31. Prong : A long point of a fork
32. Convulsion : An uncontrolled fit
33. Wobbling : Moving unsteadily from side to side
34. Smudged : Made unclear
35. Morose : Very sad or unhappy
36. Makna elephant : Tuskless, dangerous elephant’

The Blue Bead Summary Question and Answer

Question 1.
Describe ‘Poverty’ as one of the themes of the story ‘The Blue Bead’.
Answer:
Sibia, the protagonist of the story, is a young girl of twelve years who lived in poverty. We see her as a child in rags, thin and starving. She didn’t possess even one anna, a piece or a pit to buy a handful of glass beads or one of the thin glass bangles from the bazaar. She lost her childhood in doing household work, she husked corn, gathered sticks, put dung to dry, cooked, fetched water, cut grass for fodder and accompanied her mother and other ladies to get paper grass from the cliffs above the river. Thus, we see that Sibia characterises the other poor girls and women of her group who worked hard to arrange the necessities’ of their life.

Sibia divided her chappati to make it seem more, she stood expectantly infront of sweet stalls, but couldn’t have them, her desire to wear silver threaded satin clothes was replaced with earth coloured rags and she has to wait to buy a small needle to make her necklace as hers is broken and they don’t have money to buy a mere small needle.

Question 2.
How does Sibia, a simple, young poor girl become the heroine of the story ‘The Blue Bead’? What reward does she get for her
brave act?
Answer:
In Narah Burke’s story ‘The Blue Bead’, Sibia is a poor child who has never owned much in her entire life. She was marked for work from life to death. She is very hard working. She helped her mother to make money by picking paper grass for hours, up the hill. She doesn’t have a single penny to buy a glass bead nor a needle to make her necklace.

One day, after finishing the day’s work of cutting paper grass, she stays back while all other women, along with Sibia’s mother, come back to their village. She walked down the ghats of the river, and walked across the stepping stones, but shortly after another woman came to fill her ‘gurrahs’. Suddenly, an armored mugger lunged at her leg dropping the brass ‘gurrahs’ in the river! Sibia knew she had to do something. She needed to help her! Immediately came into action. She flew towards the woman, jumping from boulder to boulder, which are normally difficult to cross, due to the big gap at some places.

She quickly jumped in the boiling bloody water, faced the strong Saurian right in the eye, and with her hayfork aimed at the crocodile’s eyes, which is the most vulnerable spot in its body.The crocodile crashed exploded the water. The convulsion made it swim away in pain. Sibia then dragged the Gujar woman out of the water, stops her wounds with sand and bound them with a rag and helped her to reach her encampment.When she came back to get her grass, sickle and fork, she saw a ‘Blue Bead’ laying in the stream and fetches it. She is overjoyed and carries it home ecstatically. Now she would be able to complete her necklace!

The Blue Bead Summary Extract Based Questions

Question 1.
Read the extract given below and answer the questions that follow.
“Now, nothing could pierce the inch-thick armoured hide. Not even rifle bullets, which would bounce off.”
(i) Who is being spoken of in the above lines? Describe him.
(ii) From whom did the baby crocodile face danger to its life? How does the crocodile store its food?
(iii) In what words has the author highlighted the power and magnificence of the crocodile?
(iv) Which are the vulnerable parts in the body of a crocodile?
(v) What is the author’s intention of mentioning a blue bead while describing the crocodile?
Answer:
(i) The creature mentioned here is the mugger crocodile. It is twice the length of a tall man. It is blackish brown above and yellowish white below. His mouth is almost the whole length of his head and tinged green, and its tail is quite huge and strong.

(ii) The baby crocodile had danger from the birds of prey and the great carnivorous fish.
The crocodile caught the food it needed and stored it till it decayed, in holes in the bank.

(iii) The author has used the following words to highlight the strength and grandeur of the crocodile
“This ante diluvian saurian – this prehistoric juggernaut, ferocious and formidable, a vast force in the water, propelled by the unimaginable and irresistible power of the huge tail.”

(iv) Nothing can pierce the inch-thick armored hide of the crocodile, not even rifle bullets. The only places that are vulnerable are the eyes and the soft underarms.

(v) The story’s title is ‘The Blue Bead’. The protagonist of the story, about whom we get to know later, is earnestly in search of a bead to make a necklace for herself, and she finds this bead near the crocodile. But what all that she goes through to get it is adventurous. Thus, the Blue Bead carried great significance and is mentioned in the beginning itself.

Question 2.
Read the extract given below and answer the questions that follow.
“She was going with her mother and some other women now to get paper grass from the cliffs above the river.”
(i) Who is ‘She’? Describe the girl, her food and lifestyle.
(ii) Where and what kind of ‘finery’ had poor Sibia seen? What kind of work had Sibia done?
(iii) Where had the Gujar males gone? How does the author describe the buffaloes?
(iv) What similarity exists between the Gujars and Sibica?
(v) Who were the Gujars? Describe the Gujar women.
Answer:
(i) ‘She’ is referred to the protagonist of the story ‘Sibia’. She is a twelve year, earthy colour, thin girl with ebony hair. She had never owned anything except a rag which she had torn in two to make a skirt and a sari. She lived in such poverty that she divides her chapatti into several pieces to make it seem more and she has to wait to buy another needle when one breaks while piercing the beads. She remains bare foot and goosey-cold even in winters. She was born to labour

(ii) Sibia had seen the finery in the bazaar in the little town at the rail head which she had visited with her family after passing through the jungles. In the bazaar, she had gazed amazingly at the wonderful green and magenta coloured honey confections surrounded with dust and flies.Then she came across the cloth stall with big rolls of new cotton cloth smelling of the mills. She also saw satin sewn with real silver thread, tin trays from Birmingham, and a sari embroidered with chips looking like glass at the borders.

In the bazaar was a Kashmiri travelling merchant showing dawn-coloured silks, he also had a little locked chest with turquoises and opals in it. Amongst all of these, she loved the box which when pressed, a bell tinkled and a yellow woollen chicken jumped out.Throughout her life, Sibia seemed to be born to do various kinds of work like, husking corn, gathering sticks, putting dung to dry, cooking and weeding, fetching water and cutting grass for fodder.

(iii) The Gujar men and boys were out of camp with the herd or had gone to the bazaar to sell produce. The author describes the buffaloes as creatures of great wet noses and moving jaws and gaunt black bones.

(iv) Both, Sibia and Gujars, were junglis, as they were born and bred in the forest. For many centuries, their forefathers had lived in a similar manner, living on animals, grass and trees. They searched their food together and stored their substance in large heads and silver jewellery. They were neither Stone Age Hunters nor Modern Cultivators, but were ‘Man in the Wandering Pastoral Age’.

(v) Gujars was a tribe of nomadic graziers who temporarily camped at a place till their animals finished all the easy grazing within their reach or till they were unable to sell enough of their white butter or milk in the district, or they couldn’t find a customer for the young male buffaloes for tiger bait.The Gujar women wore trousers, tight and wrinkled at the ankles. In their ears they wore large silver rings made out of melted rupees.

Question 3.
Read the extract given below and answer the questions that follow.
“Sibia sprang from boulder to boulder she came leaping like a rock goat.”
(i) Why were the women going to the cliff above the river ?
(ii) Why was Sibia left alone? Why was she there? What made her spring into action
(iii) Why didn’t the mugger move when the women crossed the river?
(iv) Describe the crocodile’s attack and how Sibia defeated him.
(v) What was it that made Sibia overjoyed? What does this reflect about her?
Answer:
(i) Sibia, along with her mother and other women of the village went to get paper grass from above the river,which they sold in bulk to the agent who would arrange it to be sent to the paper mills.

(ii) This day when their task was done, the women went back home while Sibia dawdled around to see if the little clay cups were still there in the cave and was last to go back. In the middle of the way, she decided to take a break as she was tired and loaded. At that same moment, a Gujar woman went down to the river to fetch water in her ‘gurrahs’. Suddenly the crocodile attacks her unaware. Sibia instead of getting terrified runs to save the woman. Thus, she springs into action.

(iii) The mugger didn’t move as the noise frightens crocodiles. While crossing the river the women laughed and bickered in plenty. They girded up their skirts and jumped from stone to stone. The sickles and forks which they held over their shoulders, clanked. They quarreled with each other noisy. This scared the crocodiles which lay docile while they moved across.

(iv) As the Gujar woman comes near the water to fill her vessels, the crocodile lunges at her. His jaws closed in on the woman’s leg, spreading blood everywhere. She grabs onto the rock but the strong crocodile pulls the woman and she loses the grip. She is able to grab a log caught between two rocks. Brave Sibia jumps into action on seeing this. The crocodile splashed the water forcefully with its tail but Sibia did not hesitate. She drove her hayfork into the crocodile’s eye as fiercefully as she could. He was retreated painfully. He let go his prey and disappeared.

(v) When Sibia returns to pick her sickle and bundle of paper grass after helping the Gujar woman, she notices a blue bead in water and picks it up. She is ecstatic to get it. Her aspiration of life to make a necklace for herself is fulfilled. She feels boundless joy when she tells her mother about the bead.

But she does not even mention the fatal combat she had experienced in which she had emerged victorious. This shows that she was extremely brave and adventurous. This also highlights the fact that for poor people like Sibia, the fulfilment of little dreams is much more important and significant than saving a life.

The Blue Bead Summary by Norah Burke Read More »

My Greatest Olympic Prize Summary by Jesse Owens

Treasure Trove Poems and Short Stories Workbook Answers

My Greatest Olympic Prize Summary by Jesse Owens

My Greatest Olympic Prize Summary About the Author

Jesse Owens also known by name of James Cleveland Owens, (12 September 1913 – 31 March 1980), was an American track and field athlete who set a world record in the running broad jump which stood for 25 years and who won four gold medals at the 1936 Olympic Games in Berlin. It is the four Olympic victories that were a blow to Adolf Hitler’s intention to use the games to demonstrate Aryan superiority. Hitler refused to shake hands with Owens because he was an African American.

My Greatest Olympic Prize Summary

‘My Greatest Olympic Prize’ is a famous memoir by the well-known American Athlete, Jesse Owens. He was a member of the American team that went to Berlin for the 1936 Olympic Games. In this story, he shares his unforgettable experience during the games. Adolf Hitler was then the ruler of Germany. He was an ardent racist. He believed in the supremacy of the ‘Aryan race’. He thought that his German athletes belonged to a master race and they would perform better than the others.

Jesse Owens was a Negro. He nurtured a belief to disapprove Hitler’s theory and with this determination he went to Berlin. He trained himself for six years for these Olympics. The previous year he had already made a record in long jump. So he was pretty confident to win the medal.

An angry athlete commits mistakes. So did Jesse. He put a very bad performance during the trials. But the German athlete Luz Long, performed well and qualified for the finals. This made Jesse all the more upset. Though Luz is his opponent player but surprisingly he helps Jesse to qualify for the finals. He suggests to draw a line behind the take off board and then to jump.

In the finals, though Luz managed to break his own record but it was Jesse who won the gold medal by jumping 26 feet 5-5/16 inches. Despite Hitler’s glaring at them, Luz shook hands with Jesse and congratulated him.

Jesse recollects what Pierre de Coubertin, the founder of Olympic Games, said that the true spirit of Olympic is not winning but taking part and fighting well. Luz did not win but set up a good Olympic spirit. Thus, for Jesse Owens, the greatest Olympic prize is not the gold medal but his true and noble friendship with Luz Long.

My Greatest Olympic Prize Summary Word Meanings :

1. Sophomore : A student in the second year of high school or college
2. Startled : Surprised
3. Leaped : Jumped
4. Disgustedly : Distastefully
5. Slang : Language peculiar to a particular group of people
6. Chiseled : Having an attractive well formed shape
7. Ebb out : Decline
8. Glared : To look angrily at someone
9. Epitome : A perfect example

My Greatest Olympic Prize Summary Questions and Answers

Question 1.
How does Luz Long’s behaviour prime the words of ‘Coubertin’?
Answer:
Pierre de Coubertin was the Frenchman whose efforts were responsible for the revival of the Modern Olympic Games in 1896. He believed that the most important thing in the Olympic Games is not winning but taking part. The essential thing in life is not conquering but fighting well. And Luz Long seems to be the epitome of the very principles of Olympics and true sportsmanship.

He saw a fellow sportsman, Owens in trouble and worried, he extendedhis hand to help him.Instead of considering him his staunch opponent and without paying heed to Hitler’s anger, he became friendly with Owens. He not only guided Owens to qualify for the trials, but also was the first to congratulate him heartily on his success.

Question 2.
Why does Jesse Owens call his Olympic Prize as the’greatest’?
Answer:
Jesse Owens was a famous American athlete. He was a member of the American team that went to Berlin for the 1936 Olympic Games. Adolf Hittler was then the ruler of Germany. He was a staunch racist. He claimed the supremacy of the ‘Aryan race’, which he considered as the ‘master race’. While all other belonged to the ‘slave race’. Jesse was a Negro.

He wanted to disprove the foolish theory of Aryan Superiority with this determination, he went to Berlin. His mind is filled with winning the Olympic Gold. Nothing could shake his spirits. He had successfully trained, sweated and disciplined himself for six years, focusing on the games. He had already set the world record of 26 feet 8-1/4 inches.

But when Jesse went to the trials of the Long Jump event of the Olympic Games, Luz Long, the tall German athlete, whom Hitler had secretly kept for the final event, unnerved Jesse. He became under confident and fouled in the first two attempts of the trial. Luz Long, noticing a world record holder pathetically fouling, understood the reason behind it. Without the hesitation, despite being an opponent, he extends an arm of friendship to Owens.

He gave him a genuinely friendly advice to draw a line a few inches from the take off board to avoid over¬stepping and fouling. Owens took his advice and was able to qualify with a clear mind. In the finals, Luz long broke his past record in long jump. However, it is Jesse Owens who won the gold medal by jumping 26-feet 5, 5/16 inches.

Luz Long was the first person to congratulate Jesse, though Hitler glared at both of them. At the moment, Jesse Owens felt that the friend that he has found in Luz Long is more significant than the gold medal he won. The new and noble friendship with Luz seemed more precious to him than the ‘Greatest’ medal he received in the Olympics.

My Greatest Olympic Prize Summary Extract Based Questions

Question 1.
Read the extract given below and answer the questions that follow.
“Everyone kind of expected me to win that Olympic event hands down.”
(i) Who is ‘me’ in the above extract? Why does everyone expect him to win?
(ii) Why were nationalistic feelings running high during the 1936 Berlin Olympic Games?
(iii) What surprise confronts Jesse when he reaches there? Who had maintained this surprise and why?
(iv) What is the reason behind such bitter thoughts that arise in Jesse’s mind? Who offers Jesse a firm hand shake? What friendly advice does this person offer?
(v) What character traits of Luz Long are described here which truly need admiration?
Answer:
(i) ‘Me’ refers to the athlete ‘Jesse Owens’, who was participating in the Broad Jump competition in the Olympic Games of 1936.
Everyone expected him to win because an year ago, as a sophomore at Ohio State University, he had set the world record of 26 feet 8-1/4 inches. He had also trained and disciplined himself for 6 years.

(ii) At that time Adolf Hitler stuck to Aryan Superiority theory. He believed that his German athletes belonged to a ‘master race’ and they would perform better than other participants in the 1936 Olympics, Berlin. So, the nationalistic feeling ran high then.

(iii) As Jessie walks to the broad jump pit, he is surprised to see a tall German practising in the 26 foot range. He was not expecting such a strong competitor.It was Hitler who had secretly nurtured a very strong German athlete and kept him hidden until the final days to petrify other athletes. Hitler would have been fully aware that an angry athlete makes mistakes so that the other athletes would get nervous and make mistakes, providing more chance to his German athlete to win and prove the ‘Aryan Superiority Theory’ true.

(iv) The presence of Luz Long, the tall German athlete unnerved Jesse’s confidence. He was filled with anger and frustration and fouled badly in the first two attempts of the trial. This makes him bitter. The tall blue-eyed German broad jumper Luz Long approached Jesse and offered a firm hand shake. Luz gave him a genuinely friendly advice to draw a line a few inches from the take off board to avoid over stepping and consequently fouling.

(v) As described by Jesse, Luz Long had a lean, muscular built, clear blue eyes, blond hair and extremely handsome and crafted face. His offering good counsel to Jesse, proved that he was a true sportsman and an amazing human being. He was a strong and competent athlete too.

Question 2.
Read the extract given below and answer the questions that follow.
“I realized then, too, that Luz was the epitome of what Pierre de Coubertin, founder of the modern Olympic Games, must have in mind”
(i) Does Owen feel obliged with Luz’s help and behaviour?
(ii) What is the value of Luz’s friendship in his eyes?
(iii) What does Hitler glare at and Why?
(iv) What had Pierre de Coubertin said? Quote the lines.
(v) How does Luz prove himself to be an epitome of Pierre’s words?
Answer:
(i) Yes, Owen felt obliged to Luz as he went to thank Luz for the crucial tips he had given to Owen which helped him to qualify for the finals. They spent some time together, paving a way for a new and sincere friendship.

(ii) Owen’s dearly values his friendship with Luz as he says that one could melt down all the gold medals and cups he had but it could not equal the plating on the 24-carat friendship he felt for Luz Long.

(iii) Hitler glared at Luz Long shaking hands with Jesse to congratulate him on his victory. He was angry, firstly, due to the defeat of his athlete and secondly, his defeated athlete was congratulating his opponent and thus, breaking Hitler’s over-confidence.

(iv) Pierre de Coubertin, founder of the modern Olympic Games said, “The important thing in the Olympic Games is not winning but taking part. The essential thing in life is not conquering but fighting well.”

(v) When Luz Long noticed a world record holder pathetically fouling, he understood the reason behind it. In spite of Owens being his opponent, Luz approached him and advised him genuinely. Though this could have angered his leader, yet he showed true sportsmanship. Luz even congratulated Owens openly on his victory, unbothered by Hitler’s glares, and without a tinge of jealousy.Thus, Long was the epitome of the message of Coubertin that, not winning but taking part in Olympics is more important.

My Greatest Olympic Prize Summary by Jesse Owens Read More »

Television Summary by Roald Dahl

Treasure Trove Poems and Short Stories Workbook Answers

Television Summary by Roald Dahl

Television Summary About the Poet

Born in Wales, to Norwegian immigrant parents, Roald Dahl (13 September, 1916 – 23 Nov., 1990) was a novelist, short story writer, poet and screen writer. He also served in the Royal Air Force during the Second World War, as a fighter pilot. His works for both, children and adults, rose to prominence and became popular as one of the greatest story tellers. His first children’s book, ‘The Gremlins’, was published in 1943. The other famous stories being, ‘Charlie & the Chocolate Factory’, ‘Matilda’, ‘The Witches’ etc.

Television Summary

Television is one of the best known poems of Roald Dahl. It highlights the adverse effects of television on the children’s mind, and instead inspires them to develop passion for reading. In a very humorous manner, the poet brings to light the vitality of books and makes an appeal to the parents to replace the idiot box with good books to enhance the growth of their children’s brain, so that they can come up with creative and imaginative skills.

Television Explanation of the Poem

“The most important thing we’ve learned,
So far as children are concerned,
Is never, Never, Never let
Them near your television set-
Or better still, just don’t install The idiotic thing at all.
In almost every house we’ve been,
We’ve watched them gaping at the screen.
They loll and slop and lounge about,
And stare until their eyes pop out.
(Last week in women one’s place we saw
A dozen eyeballs on the floor.).”

Explanation: The poet begins the poem by requesting the parents to keep their children away from the monster called ‘Television’, and he also suggests that it will be far better an option to be completely away from this idiotic thing in the first place.

Sharing his personal experience, the poet says that, almost every house that he has visited, he has found children sitting hypnotized in front of the television sets. They incessantly stare at it and lie lazily without indulging into any productive task. He adds a funny exaggeration saying that, sometimes they stare so hard that their eyeballs pop out of their eyes, and once he saw a dozen eyeballs rolling on the floor in a house he visited.

Word Meanings :

1. Gaping – (Here) watching with wide open eyes
2. Loll – To lie or sit in a relaxed or lazy manner
3. Slop – To eat or drink greedily or noisily
4. Lounge – To spend time resting or relaxing

“They sit and stare and stare and side
Until they’re hypnotized by it,
Until they’re absolutely drunk
With all that shocking ghastly junk.
Oh yes, we know it keeps them still,
They don’t climb out the window still,
They never figh tor kick or punch,
They leave you free to cook the lunch
And wash the dishes in the sink.”

Explanation: The poet further says that, it is observed that the children get deeply enthralled by the horrible and senseless programmes that are displayed on the television. They seem to forget about everything in the world. They forget to play or have fun. This hampers their physical ability and growth.

For the parents it may be a bliss, as the television keeps the naughty children im. They neither climb the windows nor fight with each other. The mother too can cook or wash peaceh ilv Television can be the most convenient way of keeping the children occupied.

Word Meanings :

1. Hypnotized — Enthralled, bedazzled
2. Ghastly — Very shocking or horrible
3. Junk — Trash

“But did you ever stop to think,
‘ To wonder just exactly what
This does to your beloved tot?
It rots the sense in the head!
It kills imagination dead!
It clogs and clutters up the mind!
It makes a child so dull and blind
He can no longer understand
A fantasy, A fairyland!
His Brain becomes as soft as cheese!
His powers of thinking rust and freeze!
He cannot think-he only sees!.”

Explanation: But then the poet raises an important question for the parents, whether they have ever tried to consider what effect is this idiot box is casting on the soft minds of their beloved ones. Then he moves on to answer it in a clear cut manner, which he writes in capital letters, so as to lay stress on it. The poet says that watching too much television destroys the senses of the children. They are not able to imagine or visualize things because their minds get choked with unnecessary facts. They lose their power of judgement and imagination. They stop thinking innovatively. They only depend on the television for learning things. ‘ The childhood fantasies and fairyland stories lose their beauty. The thought process seems to get jammed or rusted.

Word Meanings :

1. Clogs – Block, hinder .
2. Clutters – To fill or cover with many things

“All right!” you’ll cry. ‘All right!’ you’ll say,
‘But if we take the set away,
What shall we do to entertain?
Our darling children? Please explain!’
We’ll answer this by asking you,
‘What used the darling ones to do?
‘ ‘How used they keep themselves contented
Before this monster was invented?’
Have you forgotten? Don’t you know?”

Explanation: Now the poet discusses the dilemma the parents would face. They will question the kind of substitute of entertainment they should provide to their dear children if they take the TV sets away from them. The poet answers the parents with a reverse question, about what they used to do before the invention of the television, and how did they keep themselves occupied and entertained.

Word Meaning :

1. Contended – Satisfied, occupied

“We’ll say it very loud and slow:
They… USED… TO… READ! They’d READ and READ.
AND READ and READ, and then proceed
To READ some more. Great Scott! Cadzooks!
One half their lives were reading books!
The nursery shelves held books galore!
Books cluttered up the nursery floor!
And in the bedroom, by the bed,
More boos were waiting to be read!”

Explanation: Very calmly the poet recommends the parents to install a lovely bookshelf in place of the modem monster i.e., the television, ignoring all objections. He recollects the times when the children were fond of reading. They indulged in incessant reading. Their life was surrounded with books. The nursery shelves and floors were full of books scattered here and there. There were books waiting to be read in the bedroom. The children too, took keen interest in reading them.

Word Meaning :

1. Galore – In large numbers or amounts

“Such wondrous, fine, fantastic tales
Of dragons, gypsies, queens, and whales
And treasures isles, and distant shores
Where smugglers rowed with muffled oars,
And pirates wearing purple pants,
And sailing ships and elephants,
And cannibals crouching ’round the pot,
Stirring away at something hot.
(it smells so good, what can it be?
Good gracious, it’s Penelope.)
The younger ones had Beatrix Potter
With Mr. Tod, the dirty rotter,
And Squirrel Nutkin, Pigling Bland,
And Mrs. Tiggy-Winkle and-
Just How the Camel Got His Hump,
And How the Monkey Lost his Rump,
And Mr. Toad and bless my soul,
There’s Mr. Rat and Mr. Mole
Oh, books, what books they used to know,
Those children living long ago!”

Explanation: Here, the poet talks about the popular adventurous books and their interesting characters that the children admired in those days. They enjoyed the story of dragons, gypsies, queens, whales, treasure islands, smugglers, elephants, cannibals etc. The poet gets nostalgic speaking about the fantasy characters like, Beatrix Potter, Mr. Tod, Squirrel Nutkin, Mrs. Tiggy Winkle, Mr. Camel, Mr. Rat, etc.

Word Meanings:

1. Tales – Stories
2. Gypsies – Wanderers
3. Isles – Islands
4. Muffled – Quietened sound
5. Crouchin – Bending or bowing with servility

“So please, oh please, we beg, we pray,
Go throw your TV set away,
And in its place you can install
A lovely bookshelf on the wall.
Then fill the shelves with lots of books,
Ignoring all the dirty looks,
The screams and yells, the bites and kicks,
And children hitting you with sticks-
Fear hot, because we promise you
That, in about a week or two
Of having nothing else to do,
They’ll now begin to feel the need
Of having something to read.”

Explanation: The poet ardently pleads to the parents to discard their television sets; replacing them with book shelves. Initially, the children will protest. They will frown, shout and kick in frustration – but the parents need to be patient and soon they will observe that, when the children will have nothing else to busy themselves with they will gradually get closer to books.

Word Meaning :

1. Yells – Screams

“And once they start-oh boy, oh boy!
You watch the slowly growing joy
That fills their hearts. They’ll grow so keen
They’ll wonder what they’d ever seen
In that ridiculous machine,
That nauseating, foul, unclean,
Repulsive television screen!
And later, each and every kid
” Will love you more for what you did. ”

Explanation: The poet gets fills with ecstasy to think about the result. He says that once the children begin to read, they will get so accustomed to the habit that they will take pleasure in reading. They would feel aroused when they will realise that there was nothing fun coming out of the filthy and disgusting television. And when they will grow up, they will appreciate and will be grateful for saving them from the clutches of the idiotic box and introducing them to the world of books. They will discover the real joy of reading books.

Word Meaning :

1. Ridiculous – Absurd

Television Summary Questions and Answers

Question 1.
Read the extract given below and answer the questions that follow :
‘All right!’ you’ll cry. ‘All right!’ you’ll say
‘But if we take the set away
What shall we do to entertain
Our darling children? Please explain!’
(Television, Roald Dahl)

(i) What important lesson does the poet say he has learnt at the start of the poem ?
(ii) Describe some of the scenes that the poet says he has seen in houses which have televisions.
(iii) List the ways in which television viewing affects the mind of a ‘beloved tot’.
(iv) What other activity does the poet recommend to entertain? Mention two ways in which this activity would benefit them.
(v) What does the poet advise readers to do at the end of the poem? What does he assure them will happen if they followed his suggestion? What would you say is the central idea in this poem ?
Answer:
(i) The most important lesson the poet says he has learnt is that, while raising children, we should strictly keep ‘ them away from television sets, or better still, the idiotic thing; i.e. the television should not be installed in the house at all.

(ii) The poet, Roald Dahl, seems to have undertaken a long research on the bad effects of television by visiting a large number of households. He says that in most of the houses that he visited, he found the children lazying about all day and staring at the television screen without doing any productive work. He exaggerates amusingly when he says that he has seen the children stare so hard that their eyeballs fall off and a dozen such eyeballs seem to be rolling about on the floor in one house that he visited recently.

(iii) The poet conveys strongly the ill-effects of watching television on the minds of our beloved tots. He says that watching too much television fills up the mind of the children with useless facts, while at the same time, destroying their ability to create or understand the world of fantasy and imagination. It takes away their ability to think. Their brain becomes as soft as cheese. Television logs and clutters up the organised thought process of a growing child. Gradually their thinking and analyzing power freezes and gets rusty.

(iv) The poet recommends ‘Reading as the other activity to entertain children.
Firstly, reading will keep the children busy and they will also stop watching ‘the idiotic box’ and the junk it offers.
Secondly, reading would open a world of knowledge and fantasies for the children which would provide them ultimate joy and entertainment.

(v) The poet advises the readers to remove their television set and replace it with a book shelf and fill it with lots of books. The poet, Roald Dahl, now assures the readers that once the children will start reading books, they will grow so keen for reading that they will discover the real joy, and will wonder what they had found in that silly machine. They will love and thank their parents for ushering them into the wonderful world of books.

The central idea conveyed by the poet is his concern over how excessive watching of television can harm the children, their thinking power, their imaginative faculty and their realization of real joy. They get deprived of outdoor sports and also of reading.

He suggests replacing television with books which would initially arise hostility in children for this act.

Question 2.
Read the extract given below and answer the questions that follow :

The most important thing we’ve learned,
So far as children are concerned,
Is never, Never, Never let
Them near your television set-
Or better still, just don’t install
The idiotic thing at all.
In almost every house we’ve been,
We’ve watched them gaping at the screen.
They loll and slop and lounge about,
And stare until their eyes pop out.
(Last week in women one’s place we saw
A dozen eyeballs on the floor.)
They sit and stare and stare and side
Until they’re hypnotized by it,
Until they’re absolutely drunk
With all that shocking ghastly junk.
Oh yes, we know it keeps them still,
They don’t climb out the window still,
They never fight or kick or punch,
They leave you free to cook the lunch
And wash the dishes in the sink-
But did you ever stop to think,
To wonder just exactly what
This does to your beloved tot?

(i) What is the most important things that the poet has learnt? What is the common view in almost every household?
(ii) What amusing exaggeration does the poet make here?
(iii) The poet has used two words to indicate the children’s addiction to T.V. What are they? What is referred to as ‘ghastly junk’?
(iv) How does television keep the children calm?
(v) How do the parents benefit when the children are occupied with the television set? What important question does the poet pose for the parents?
Answer:
(i) The most important thing that the poet has learnt in that the children should be kept away from the television set or not to install the television set at all. The poet says that in most houses he has visited, he has found the children lazing about all day starting at the television with undisturbed concentration.
(ii) The poet humorously remarks that sometimes the children store at the television so hard that their eyeballs fall off and he saw at someone’s place, dozen such eyeballs lying on the floor.
(iii) The two words the poet has used to indicate their addiction to the TV are ‘hypnotized’ and ‘drunk’. The “ghastly junk’ refers to the irrelevant stuff that the children watch, which are mostly unreal and inappropriate for their age.
(iv) The poet understands that the television keeps the naughty children calm. They do not do nasty things like climbing a window or jumping over it, which could accidentally hurt them. Television diverts them from getting into a fight and thus, hitting or kicking each other.
(v) Children’s occupancy with the television set allows the parents to do household chores like, cooking and washing dishes without any disturbance. The poet now questions the parents whether they ever realise exactly what harm this idiotic box does to their dear child.

Q. 3. Read the extract given below and answer the questions that follow :

“IT ROTS THE SENSE IN THE HEAD!
IT KILLS IMAGINATION DEAD!
IT CLOGS AND CLUTTERS UP THE MIND!
IT MAKES A CHILD SO DULL AND BLIND
HE CAN NO LONGER UNDERSTAND
A FANTASY, A FAIRYLAND!
HIS BRAIN BECOMES AS SOFT AS CHEESE!
HIS POWERS OF THINKING RUST AND FREEZE!
HE CANNOT THING- HE ONLY SEES!

All right!’ you’ll cry. ‘All right!’ you’ll say,
‘But if we take the set away,
What shall we do to entertain
Our darling children? Please explain!’
We’ll answer this by asking you,
‘What used the darling ones to do ?
‘How used they keep themselves contented
Before this monster was invented?’
Have you forgotten ? Don’t you know?
We’ll say it very loud and slow :
They… USED… TO… READ! They’d READ and READ.
AND READ and READ, and then proceed To READ some more. Great Scott! Cadzooks!
One half their lives were reading books!
The nursery shelves held books galore!
Books cluttered up the nursery floor!
And in the bedroom, by the bed,
More boos were waiting to be read!’

(i) What effect does the television cast on a child’s innocent mind?
(ii) Explain the line- HE CANNOT THINK – HE ONLY SEES!”
(iii) As per the poet’s anticipation, what could be the parents response if they are threatened against the dangers of television?
(iv) What question does the poet raise to the parents?
(v) Does he provide any solution to the problem? If yes, what is it? Which all places were filled with bool ?
Answer:
(i) According to the poet, watching television all the time is harmful in numerous ways. It rots the senses of the child and kills his imaginative power. It causes a confusion in his mind. He becomes dull and inactive. He no longer understands a fairy tale or able to think innovatively. It also effects his eyesight and numbs the brain.

(ii) Excessive watching of television makes the child’s brain as soft as cheese. He believes blind-v whatever he watches or hears in it. He does not use his own logic to analyse and interpret things. Television destroys a child’s ability to think, he keeps staring at the television screen.

(iii) The poet, Roald Dahl, expects that the parents might agree to take away the television from their children but will surely ask, how are they supposed to keep their children occupied and entertained in the absence of television.

(iv) In response to the parent’s question as to how they should entertain their dear children if remove the T.V. sets, the poet raises a counter question asking them what they used to do to keep themselves entertained when television sets was not invented.

(v) Yes, the poet himself provides the answer. He reminds us that children, in earlier times, used to ‘Read’ a lot of books. Amazingly, the people then spent half of their lives in reading books.

The books then filled the Nursery shelves. They were scattered on the Nursery floor. In the bedroom too, the books waited bedside, to be read.

Question 4.
Read the extract given below and answer the questions that follow :

Such wondrous, fine, fantastic tales
Of dragons, gypsies, queens, and whales
And treasures isles, and distant shores
Where smugglers rowed with muffled oars,
And pirates wearing purple pants,
And sailing ships and elephants,
And cannibals crouching ’round the pot,
Stirring away at something hot.
(it smells so good, what can it be?
Good gracious, it’s Penelope.)
The younger ones had Beatrix Potter
With Mr. Tod, the dirty rotter,
And Squirrel Nutkin, Pigling Bland,
And Mrs. Tiggy-Winkle and –
Just How the Camel Got His Hump,
And How the Monkey Lost his Rump,
And Mr. Toad and bless my soul,
There’s Mr. Rat and Mr. Mole
Oh, books, what books they used to know,
Those children living long ago!
So please, oh please, we beg, we pray,
Go throw your TV set away,
And in its place you can install
A lovely bookshelf on the wall.
Then fill the shelves with lots of books,
Ignoring all the dirty looks,
The screams and yells, the bites and kicks,
And children hitting you with sticks-
Fear not, because we promise you
That, in about a week or two
Of having nothing else to do,
They’ll now begin to feel the need
Of having something to read.

(i) What books did the children read in earlier times?
(ii) Who were cannibals? What were they seen doing?
(iii) Who was the famous author of children’s books? Who were the well known characters and the animals?
(iv) What was the content of the stories of the camel and the monkey ?
(v) What earnest appeal does the poet make and to whom? What should they do instead?
Answer:
(i) In earlier times, the children read wonderful stories of dragons, gypsies, queens, whales, smugglers, etc. They also reaid about treasure islands and far off lands where the sea-pirates hid their loot/treasure and themselves.
(ii) Cannibals were man-eating humans. They danced around a pot stirring and cooking their prey.
(iii) Roald Dahl, here, makes a reference to another author of children’s books- Beatrix Potter. Her books are famous for featuring animals and colourful illustrations. Mr. Tod— the rotter, Nutkin, the squirrel Bland the piglet, Mrs. Tiggy Winkle, the monkey, the camel, Mr. Toad, Mr. Rat and Mr. Mole, decorated the stories of Beatrix.
(iv) The stories tell about how the camel got his hump and how the monkey lost his lump.
(v) The poet begs and prays to the parents to remove their television sets and replace them with a nice bookshelf on the wall.

Question 5.
Read the extract given below and answer the questions that follow :

And once they start-oh boy, oh boy!
You watch the slowly growing joy
That fills their hearts. They’ll grow so keen
They’ll wonder what they’d ever seen
In that ridiculous machine,
That nauseating, foul, unclean,
Repulsive television screen!
And later, each and every kid
Will love you more for what you did.

(i) What according to the poet, will be the reaction of the children?
(ii) How does the poet suggest the parents to face the repulsive behaviour of their children? What promise does he make?
(iii) What thought makes the poet excited? Name the poet
(iv) How will the thoughts of the children change about the television?
(v) What reward will the parents get finally?
Answer:
(i) When the parents will remove their dear television sets, the children will get repulsive, they will object giving harsh looks to their parents, and will shout and scream, bite and kick and hit with sticks.
(ii) The poet tells the parents to be patient and not to fear. He assures them that within a week or two when the children will not find anything else to do, they will finally turn to the books for reading.
(iii) The poet is elated to imagine the pleasure the children will find once they begin reading books. The poet is Roald Dahl.
(iv) Once the children start seeking joy in the books, they will reach a stage when they will wonder what they had found in that silly machine called television. It will seem to them disgusting, dirty and irritating.
(v) Finally, when the children will discover the real joy of reading books, they will love and respect their parents for providing them an opportunity to discover the world of wonderful books and saving them from the hypnotism of the ridiculous television. They will realize that books give them knowledge, wisdom, imagination and more pleasure rather than what television could offer.

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Daffodils Summary by William Wordsworth

Treasure Trove Poems and Short Stories Workbook Answers

Daffodils Summary by William Wordsworth

Daffodils Summary About the Poet

William Wordsworth (7 April, 1770 – 23 April, 1850) was a British poet who was associated with the Romantic movement of the 19th Century along with Robert Southey and Samuel Coleridge, the group referred as the ‘Lakeland Poets’. Wordsworth was a keen observer of nature and had an excellent skill to pen down the beauty of nature artistically, yet in a simple and straight forward manner. He began publishing at the age of 23 with a collection of poetries like ‘Descriptive Sketches’. In 1798, he published ‘Lyrical Ballads’ along with Coleridge, followed by ‘Elegiac Stanzas’ and ‘Poems, in Two Volumes’ in 1803 and 1805 respectively. He was considered as ‘Britain’s Poet Laureate’. For Wordsworth, poetry was “the spontaneous overflow of powerful feelings.”

Daffodils Summary

Wordsworth considered nature, a place representing the ultimate source of joy and knowledge. The poem ‘Daffodils’ appreciates the beauty of nature. The poet states that the recollection of the wonderful sight of thousands of daffodils, dancing joyfully, cleans the soul and uplifts the spirit of the speaker when he later finds himself feeling empty and gloomy.

Daffodils Explanation of the Poem

Stanza 1. “I wandered lonely as a cloud
That floats on high o’er vales and hills,
When all at once I saw a crowd,
A host, of golden daffodils;
Beside the lake, beneath the trees,
Fluttering and dancing in the breeze.”

Explanation: In the first stanza we find the poet roaming aimlessly like a cloud over valleys and hills. Here, we find a touch of melancholy in his tone. Suddenly, he happens to come across a large number of daffodils growing under the trees near the lake. By comparing himself to a cloud, the poet signifies his closeness with nature that surrounds him. The daffodils were dancing and inviting the poet to join and enjoy the breeze flowing in the fields.

Word Meanings :

1. Vales — Valleys
2. Host — Group, a large number
3. Fluttering — Moving in quick succession, flapping rapidly

Stanza 2. “Continuous as the stars that shine
And twinkle on the milky way,
They stretched in never-ending line
Along the margin of a bay:
Ten thousand saw lata glance,
Tossing their heads in sprightly dance.”

Explanation: Here, the poet compares the daffodils along the bay with the stars stretched in a continuous line in the galaxy, like the Milky Way. Their shine is contrasted to the twinkling of the stars. The poet seems to be profoundly charmed by the swaying movement of the flowers due to the breeze and he remarks that the flowers seem to dance in exuberance.

Word Meanings:

1. Never-ending — Unlimited, continuous
2. Glance — Look
3. Tossing — Moving back and forth or sideways
4. Sprightly — Lively, cheerful

Stanza 3. “The waves beside them danced; but they
Out-did the sparkling waves in glee:
A poet could not but be gay,
In such a jocund company:
I gazed – and gazed – but little thought
What wealth the show to me had brought.”

Explanation: The poet personifies the waves in the bay and says that they too were happily dancing along with the daffodils, but the daffodils outshone the waves by showing joy and cheerfulness. The poet cannot prevent himself from being elated in such a happy company. The sight of the dazzling daffodils seems to enrich the life of the poet with joy and tranquility, so he could not take his eyes off them.

Word Meanings :

1. Out-did — Defeated
2. Sparkling — Glittering
3. Jocund — Merry
4. Gazed — Stared

Stanza 4. “For oft, when on my couch I lie
In vacant or in pensive mood,
They flash upon that inward eye
Which is the bliss of solitude;
And then my heart with pleasure fills,
And dances with the daffodils.”

Explanation: The last stanza clarifies why the poet was so enthralled by the daffodils. The sight of the dancing daffodils remains dormant in the poet’s sub-conscious mind and, whenever he was in a vacant or lonely mood, lying on his couch, the memory of the daffodils raised his low spirits, filling his mind with immense pleasure and thus, he feels elated. Daffodils have left an everlasting precious memory in the poet’s mind. They become a ‘bliss of solitude’ i.e., ‘the blessing of being alone’, for him.

Word Meanings :

1. Vacant – Unoccupied
2. Pensive – Quietly sad or thoughtful
3. Bliss – Complete happiness
4. Solitude – Loneliness; seclusion

Daffodils Summary Questions and Answers

Question 1.
Read the extract given below and answer the questions that follow :

” I wandered lonely as a cloud
That floats on high o’er vales and hills,
When all at once I saw a crowd,
A host, of golden daffodils;
Beside the lake, beneath the trees,
Fluttering and dancing in the breeze.”

(i) Whom has the poet compared himself with? Name the figure of speech used here.
(ii) What does the poet come across on his way? Which movements are associated with what he finds?
(iii) What transition of mood does the speaker undergo?
(iv) Give the meaning of-
(a) wondered (b) fluttering
(v) Describe the beauty of the daffodils as illustrated by the poet in the first stanza. Name the figure of speech is used here.
Answer:
(i) The poet compares himself with the cloud that floats all alone, atop many hills and valleys.
The figure of speech used here is ‘Simile’.

(ii) The poet suddenly comes across a crowd of golden daffodils growing under the trees beside the lake.
The daffodils were ‘fluttering’ and ‘dancing’ in the breeze.

(iii) The first two lines of the poem describe that the poet was ‘lonely’, but the sight of the beautiful daffodils drew the speaker towards a positive progression of mood. He no longer feels lonely.

(iv) (a) walk leisurely (b) flapping rapidly

(v) The poet sees a huge number of daffodils which looked like golden in colour, due to the sunlight falling on them. They were in a joyous mood as they seemed to be waving and dancing.

The figure of speech used here is ‘Personification’.

Question 2.
Read the extract given below and answer the questions that follow:

“Continuous as the stars that shine
And twinkle on the milky way,
They stretched in never-ending line
Along the margin of a bay:
Ten thousand saw lata glance,
Tossing their heads in sprightly dance.”

(i) What are the daffodils compared to in the second stanza? Which quality do both share?
(ii) How are they stretched?
(iii) Describe in your words the poet’s feeling when he sees a host of golden daffodils.
(iv) Give the meaning of-
(a) Milky Way (b) bay
(v) How many of them does the poet see and what are they busy doing?
Answer:
(i) The daffodils resemble the stars that shine in the Galaxy like the Milky Way. The daffodils seem to be as unlimited as the stars in the Galaxy.
(ii) They are stretched in an infinite line along the edge of the bay.
(iii) The poet felt ecstatic to see a host of golden daffodils by the side of the lake under the trees, shaking their head in a joyful dance. On seeing them, the poet’s imagination travelled to another world to find a comparison. He was reminded of the stars twinkling in the Milky Way at night.
(iv) (a) the Galaxy which the sun and the solar system are a part of, and which contain the myriads of stars that create the light of the Milky Way.
(b) a small body of water set off from the main body.
(v) The poet sees a large flower bed of daffodils; around ten thousand of them rejoicing and dancing out of alacrity, in the breeze.

Question 3.
Read the extract given below and answer the questions that follow:
“The waves beside them danced; but they
Out-did the sparkling waves in glee:
A poet could not but be gay,
In such a jocund company:
I gazed—and gazed—but little thought
What wealth the show to me had brought.”

(i) Who was competing with, the daffodils in dancing? What was the competition and who won?
(ii) Give the meaning of ‘Jocund’. How will any poet be effected in such a company?
(iii) Why does the poet say ‘I gazed had brought’?
(iv) Give the meaning of
(a) glee (b) sparkling
(v) Which ‘show’ does the poet refqf to? What question arises in his mind?
Answer:
(i) The waves of the river flowing beside the daffodils were accompanied with dancing and competing with them. But the daffodils defeated the waves in the show of happiness through dancing.

(ii) Jocund means ‘lively and happy’. In such a cheerful and joyous company, i.e., in the presence of such beautiful and gay flowers, the poet cannot prevent himself from being ecstatic.

(iii) The poet was moving about aimlessly over the high valleys and hills watching the beautiful nature when he comes across a great number of golden daffodils expressing their joy by flattering. The poet feels delighted at this sight and stops to gaze at them. He is surprised as he is unable to decide what treasure the present moment has brought him.

(iv) (a) a strong feeling of happiness (b) shining bright and lively

(v) The ‘show’ of ‘beautiful dancing golden daffodils’ keeps the poet mesmerized.
The poet fails to understand what happiness did this continuous gazing bring to him and what enormous treasure he was accumulating in his mind.

Question 4.
Read the extract given below and answer the questions that follow :

“For oft, when on my couch I lie
In vacant or in pensive mood,
They flash upon that inward eye
Which is the bliss of solitude;
And then my heart with pleasure fills,
And dances with the daffodils.”

(i) How does the memory of the daffodils make the poet happy when his mind is devoid of happiness?
(ii) What does the poet mean by ‘bliss of solitude’?
(iii) What impact do the daffodils leave on the poet?
(iv) Give the meaning of
(a) couch (b) pensive
(v) What happens to the poet’s mind when he recalls the memory of the daffodils?
Answer:
(i) The vista of the daffodils has soaked the mind of the poet. Later, when the poet laid on his couch either in a lonely or sad mood, the entire panorama that he saw in the woods appeared before his eyes and he experienced an ecstatic pleasure, which he had actually enjoyed in the past.

(ii) ‘Bliss of solitude’ means the blessing of loneliness. The poet explains that, whenever he is away from the hustle-bustle of the real world and in a lonely mood, the spiritual vision of daffodils flashes in his mind and fills his heart with extreme happiness.

(iii) William Wordsworth, who is popularly known as a nature poet, is left overjoyed by the daffodils. He is so moved that he personifies them, by exaggerating their presence. Throughout the poem, we find him talking about his happiness in the company of the flowers. He is extremely charmed by their beauty and the memory remained with him always as, ‘The bliss of Solitude’.

(iv) (a) A long piece of furniture to sit or lie down (b) Quielty sad or thoughtful

(v) When the poet’s mind is unrestrained by the disturbing elements of the real world, he revives the pleasant and soothing memory of the daffodils which become of a source of joy and inspiration for him, and he feels his heart elated and dancing with the daffodils. Thus, the daffodils become an eternal memory of extraordinary delight for Wordsworth.

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