Advertisements
Advertisements
Question
What are the precious things mentioned in the story? Why are they precious?
Advertisements
Solution
There are two precious things in the story: the Prince’s leaden heart and the dead swallow.
They were both precious because they were kind and selfless. The Prince was sad as he saw so many people suffering in his city. He gave away his ruby, sapphires and all his gold to them. He did not think about himself for once. He was more concerned about the well-being of his people even though he was dead.
The little swallow was precious because it showed kindness by carrying the Prince’s messages to the poor and deciding to stay back for the Prince when he was blind, though he knew that he would face difficulties in winter, which was fast approaching. It actively participated in helping the poor and needy in the city. The swallow was so precious that when it died and fell down at the Prince’s feet, the Prince’s leaden heart broke into two.
When God asked one of his angels to bring him the two most precious things in the city, the angel brought him the leaden heart and the dead bird. God said that the little bird would forever sing in His garden of Paradise and the Happy Prince would praise Him in His city of gold.
APPEARS IN
RELATED QUESTIONS
Match the meanings with the words/expressions in italic, and write the appropriate
meaning next to the sentence.
I got a fright when I realised how close I was to the cliff edge.
Thinking about the Poem
What does the poet like to do when it rains?
Is Lushkoff a willing worker? Why, then, does he agree to chop wood for Sergei?
Read the poem silently.
Two roads diverged in a yellow wood,
And sorry I could not travel both
And be one traveller, long I stood
And looked down one as far as I could
To where it bent in the undergrowth;
Then took the other, as just as fair,
And having perhaps the better claim,
Because it was grassy and wanted wear;
Though as for that the passing there
Had worn them really about the same,
And both that morning equally lay
In leaves no step had trodden black.
Oh, I kept the first for another day!
Yet knowing how way leads on to way,
I doubted if I should ever come back.
I shall be telling this with a sigh
Somewhere ages and ages hence:
Two roads diverged in a wood, and II
took the one less travelled by,
And that has made all the difference.
About the Poet
Robert Frost (1874-1963) was born in San Franscisco, Frost spent most of his adult
life in rural New England and his laconic language and emphasis on individualism in
his poetry reflect this region. He attended Dartmouth and Harvard but never earned a
degree. As a young man with a growing family he attempted to write poetry while
working on a farm and teaching in a school. American editors rejected his submitted
poems. With considerable pluck Frost moved his family to England in 1912 and the
following year, a London publisher brought out his first book. After publishing a
second book, Frost returned to America determined to win a reputation in his own
country, which he gradually achieved. He became one of the country's best-loved
poets. Unlike his contemporaries, Frost chose not to experiment with the new verse
forms but to employ traditional patterns, or as he said, he chose "the old-fashioned
way to be new." Despite the surface cheerfulness and descriptive accuracy of his
poems, he often presents a dark, sober vision of life, and there is a defined thoughtful
quality to his work which makes it unique.
On the basis of your understanding of the poem, answer the following question
by ticking the correct choice.
In the poem 'The Solitary Reaper' to whom does the poet say, ' Stop here or gently
pass'?
On the basis of your understanding of the poem, answer the following question
by ticking the correct option.
The tone and mood of the rain in the poem reflects its_________.
The black man's face bespoke revenge
As the fire passed from his sight.
For all he saw in his stick of wood
Was a chance to spite the white.
The last man of this forlorn group
Did nought except for gain.
Giving only to those who gave
Was how he played the game.
Their logs held tight in death's still hands
Was proof of human sin.
They didn't die from the cold without
They died from the cold within.
Read the lines given above and answer the question that follow.
Why did the black man refuse to use his stick of wood?
This woman had been despised, scoffed at, and angrily denounced by nearly every man, woman, and child in the village; but now, as the fact of, her death was passed from lip to lip, in subdued tones, pity took the place of anger, and sorrow of denunciation.
Neighbours went hastily to the old tumble-down hut, in which she had secured little more than a place of shelter from summer heats and winter cold: some with grave-clothes for a decent interment of the body; and some with food for the half-starving children, three in number. Of these, John, the oldest, a boy of twelve, was a stout lad, able to earn his living with any farmer. Kate, between ten and eleven, was bright, active girl, out of whom something clever might be made, if in good hands; but poor little Maggie, the youngest, was hopelessly diseased. Two years before a fall from a window had injured her spine, and she had not been able to leave her bed since, except when lifted in the arms of her mother.
“What is to be done with the children?” That was the chief question now. The dead mother would go underground, and be forever beyond all care or concern of the villagers. But the children must not be left to starve.
Read the extract given below and answer the question that follow.
What was a matter of concern now that the woman was dead?
“You haven’t brought home that sick brat!” Anger and astonishment were in the tones of Mrs. Joe Thompson; her face was in a flame.
“I think women’s hearts are sometimes very hard,” said Joe. Usually Joe Thompson got out of his wife’s way, or kept rigidly silent and non-combative when she fired up on any subject; it was with some surprise, therefore, that she now encountered a firmly-set countenance and a resolute pair of eyes.
“Women’s hearts are not half so hard as men’s!”
Joe saw, by a quick intuition, that his resolute bearing h«d impressed his wife and he answered quickly, and with real indignation, “Be that as it may, every woman at the funeral turned her eyes steadily from the sick child’s face, and when the cart went off with her dead mother, hurried away, and left her alone in that old hut, with the sun not an hour in the sky.”
“Where were John and Kate?” asked Mrs. Thompson.
“Farmer Jones tossed John into his wagon, and drove off. Katie went home with Mrs. Ellis; but nobody wanted the poor sick one. ‘Send her to the poorhouse,’ was the cry.”
“Why didn’t you let her go, then. What did you bring her here for?”
“She can’t walk to the poorhouse,” said Joe; “somebody’s arms must carry her, and mine are strong enough for that task.”
Read the extract given below and answer the question that follow.
Does the attitude of the villagers convey some truth about society at large?
Joe did not see the Guardians of the Poor on that day, on the next, nor on the day following. In fact, he never saw them at all on Maggie’s account, for in less than a week Mrs. Joe Thompson would as soon leave thought of taking up her own abode in the almshouse as sending Maggie there.
What light and blessing did that sick and helpless child bring to the home of Joe Thompson, the poor wheelwright! It had been dark, and cold, and miserable there for a long time just because his wife had nothing to love and care for out of herself, and so became soar, irritable, ill-tempered, and self-afflicting in the desolation of her woman’s nature. Now the sweetness of that sick child, looking ever to her in love, patience, and gratitude, was as honey to her soul, and she carried her in her heart as well as in her arms, a precious burden. As for Joe Thompson, there was not a man in all the neighbourhood who drank daily of a more precious wine of life than he. An angel had come into his house, disguised as a sick, helpless, and miserable child, and filled all its dreary chambers with the sunshine of love.
Read the extract given below and answer the question that follow.
Who was the angel? Why does the author say she was disguised?
What roused the pride of the animals and made them reconcile to the new arrangement? In the meanwhile, what sudden decision was taken by the pigs? What do we learn about Napoleon at this juncture?
What reception did Ile get wizen he reached the address that had been advertised? Whom did tit house belong to?
(i) The man insisted on buying the doves because he was fond of birds. Do you agree?
(ii) How had he earned the five dollars he had?
Discuss the following topic in groups
Most people keep dogs and cats as pets. Can you think of some unusual pets that people keep?
What was the noise that startled Mridu and frightened Mahendran?
Why do the fathers find trees useful?
Describe the Cat and the Dad situation in the beginning and at the end of the poem.
Multiple Choice Question:
What does the word ‘soars’ in the above extract mean?
Can there be a good reason behind staying silent when everybody is talking?
In the short story, The Story of an Hour, it is Josephine who breaks the tragic news of Brently Mallard’s death to Mrs Mallard because ______.
