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Question
Your partner and you may now be able to answer the question.
The speaker in this poem is a school-going child. Every day he happens to meet the hawker selling bangles, the gardener digging away at the garden, and the watchman walking the street all night.
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Solution
The little child is innocent. He watches the people keenly around him. He is sick of checks on his movement. He wants to enjoy the same freedom as do the hawker, the gardener, and the watchman. They do what they like.
The child says:
- I wish I were a hawker, spending my day in the road.
- I wish I were a gardener, digging away at the garden.
- I wish I were a watchman walking the street all night.
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The teacher will read out the story of a young girl about a special day.
One day our teacher announced that there was a surprise awaiting us the next day. We were asked to get whatever little pocket money we could.
The next day our teacher said, 'Today is Grandparents' Day' and you will be meeting many grandparents who do not live with their families. Yes, we were going to an Old Age Home! On the way we bought a nice big cake, chart paper and balloons. We entered an old, big building. Later we were taken into a hall and were allowed to decorate it.
We blew balloons and hung them around the hall. We cut out chart paper, wrote quotes, drew pictures and stuck them on the wall. Then came in all the grey–haired sweethearts, some alone, some couples, some in groups ans settled down.
It was time to welcome them. Robert, who was a good speaker, greeted them and told them that we had come along to make their day a little special. We gathered in front and started singing songs for them. Most of the people were single grandparents whose spouses had expired. The other few were couples; many of them were smiling and singing along too. But there were a few who sat without any expression. While some of us sang the others sat beside them and spoke to them.
Two of us cut the cake into several pieces to be distributed. We were informed by the caretaker that there were diabetic people amongst them and they couldn't have sweets. He said they could have fruit instead the non-diabetics and fruit to those who were diabetic. Many of them missed their grand children. One of them told me that her son was in the U.S. and as he found it difficult to look after her, he had left her at this Home.
While returning home we realized that our grandparents are lonely and insecure. They spend their second childhood in their old age homes. Most of those living in old age homes do not complain. It is left to us to decide how happy their old age can be. We do not need any special day to make them feel their worth. If you have never told them how much you love them, say it before it's too late.
(b) List any three feelings of the old people in this story.
- _____________________________
- _____________________________
- _____________________________
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- We can make our grandparents happy by ________________
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The play is based on an incident in novelist Victor Hugo's 'Les Miserables.' You may
want to read the novel to get a better idea of the socio-economic conditions of the times
and how people lived. Another novel that may interest you is 'A Tale of Two Cities' by
Charles Dickens.
Divide yourselves into two groups in the class and read a book each. Later you
can share your views on the book each group had selected. Choose an incident
from the novel to dramatise and present before the class.
"Now tell us what 'twas all about,"
Young Peterkin, he cries;
And little wilhelmine looks up
with wonder-waiting eyes;
"Now tell us all about the war,
And what they fought each other for."
"It was the English," Kaspar cried,
"Who put the French to rout;
But what they fought each other for,
I could not well make out;
But everybody said,"quoth he,
"That 'twas a famous victory.
Read the lines given above and answer the question that follow.
Why does Kasper repeat the line ‘twas a great victory?
“There were three animals altogether,” he explained. “There were two goats and a cat and then there were four pairs of pigeons.”
“And you had to leave them?” I asked.
“Yes. Because of the artillery. The captain told me to go because of the artillery.” “And you have no family?” I asked, watching the far end of the bridge where a few last carts were hurrying down the slope of the bank.
“No,” he said, “only the animals I stated. The cat, of course, will be all right. A cat can look out for itself, but I cannot think what will become of the others.”
“What politics have you?” I asked.
“I am without politics,” he said. “I am seventy-six years old. I have come twelve kilometers now and I think now I can go no further.”
“This is not a good place to stop,” I said. “If you can make it, there are trucks up the road where it forks for Tortosa.”
“I will wait a while,” he said, “ and then I will go. Where do the trucks go?” “Towards Barcelona,” I told him.
“I know no one in that direction,” he said, “but thank you very much.
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Most terribly cold it was; it snowed, and was nearly quite dark, and evening— the last evening of the year. In this cold and darkness there went along the street a poor little girl, bareheaded, and with naked feet. When she left home she had slippers on, it is true; but what was the good of that? They were very large slippers, which her mother had hitherto worn; so large were they; and the poor little thing lost them as she scuffled away across the street, because of two carriages that rolled by dreadfully fast.
One slipper was nowhere to be found; the other had been laid hold of by an urchin, and off he ran with it; he thought it would do capitally for a cradle when he some day or other should have children himself. So the little maiden walked on with her tiny naked feet, that were quite red and blue from cold. She carried a quantity of matches in an old apron, and she held a bundle of them in her hand. Nobody had bought anything of her the whole livelong day; no one had given her a single farthing. She crept along trembling with cold and hunger—a very picture of sorrow, the poor little thing!
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Does the author give us a glimpse into the Victorian society?
What do you think of Antonio and of Shylock 1vi' regard to the signing of the bond?
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Nasir lives in a city.
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……………. when you are crossing the main road.
