… WARMING UP …
1. Short stories are of many types. Match the type of story in column A with its description in column B.
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2. Complete the following story using the verbs in the brackets in their proper form :-
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One night a man had (have) a dream. He dreamt (dream) that he was walking (walk) along the beach with God. Across the sky flashed scenes from his life. For each scene, he noticed two sets of foot prints in the sand; one belonging (belong) to him and the other, to God. After the last scene had flashed (flash), he looked back at the footprints in the sand. He observed (observe) that many times along the path of his life there were (be) only one set of footprints and that it had happened (happen) at the saddest, most troubled (trouble) times of his life. He questioned (question) God about it. “God, you said (say) that once I decided (decide) to follow you, you would (will) walk with me all the way. So I don’t understand, why you left (leave) me alone, when I needed (need) you most.” God replied, “During your times of trials and sufferings, where you saw (see) only one set of footprints, they were (be) mine for it was then that I carried (carry) you in my arms.”
… FACTUAL QUESTIONS …
How many occupants did the compartment have?
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A total of five occupants were there in the compartment.
Why did the aunt have to use the word ‘Don’t’ so often?
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The children were very mischievous, bored and restless. They were smacking the cushions of the seats hence the aunt have to use the word ‘Don’t’ so often.
How did the smaller of the two girls irritate the bachelor?
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The smaller of the two girls irritated the bachelor by repetitively reciting the first line of ‘On the road to Mandalay’ in a dreamy but resolute and a very audible voice.
To which question from Cyril was aunt unable to give a reasonable answer?
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The aunt was unable to give a reasonable answer to Cyril’s question when he asked why the grass in the other field was better.
How did the children show their disapproval of their aunt’s story?
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The bigger of the small girls said it was the stupidest story she had ever heard. Cyril agreed with her that it was stupid. The smaller girl had stopped listening and was repeating her favourite line.
… PART TWO …
For which three values did Bertha win medals? What was exceptional about it?
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(1) A medal for obedience.
(2) A medal for punctuality.
(3) A medal for good behaviour.
No other child in the town where Bertha lived had as many as three medals except for Bertha.
How did the Prince reward Bertha?
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The Prince rewarded Bertha by allowing her once a week to walk in his park where no other children were allowed to go.
Why did the children approve of the prince’s decision?
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The children approved of the prince’s decision as majority of the people would have chosen flowers over animals. Also may be, the children liked animals better than they liked flowers.
Why did Bertha wish she had never come to the park?
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Bertha got the opportunity to enter the park due to her goodness. But there she met with the wolf who wanted to attack her. She was in the danger of being killed. Hence Bertha wished she had never come to the park.
Why was the wolf unable to trace Bertha?
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The scent of the myrtle was so strong that the wolf could not sniff out where Bertha was hiding. The bushes were also very thick to see her.
What gave Bertha away and how did she meet her end?
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The clinking of her medals gave Bertha away. The wolf dashed into the bush in which she was hiding, dragged her out and devoured her to the last morsel.
What impact did the story have on the children?
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The children loved the story and said it was the most beautiful story they had ever heard.
Why was their aunt annoyed at the bachelor ?
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The aunt was annoyed at the bachelor as she felt it was the most improper story to tell to young children and that he had undermined the effect of years of careful teaching. Also aunt had always probably been telling the children the advantages of having a good moral character, but in the bachelor’s story, the extremely good Bertha had met a terrible end.
… ENGLISH WORKSHOP…
1. From the story (Part I and Part II), find 4 words that begin with the prefix ‘un-’ and write their opposites.
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unable × able
unhappy × happy
unexpected × expected
uninteresting × interesting
unenterprising × enterprising
unsympathetic × sympathetic
2. Find one example of the following punctuation marks from the story and copy the sentence in which they are used – (a) colon (b) semi-colon.
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(a) Colon – Bertha was terribly frightened, and thought to herself: ‘If I had not been so extraordinarily good I should have been safe in the town at this moment.’
(b) Semi-colon – The wolf was just moving away, when he heard the sound of the medals clinking and stopped to listen; they clinked again in a bush quite near him.
3. Read the following pieces from the story and suggest a title for each as shown in the 1st one.
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4. Write your opinion, in your own words :-
(a) Why do you think the children dislike their aunt’s story?
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Aunt’s story was uninteresting and unenterprising. Aunt could not satisfy the questions that the children asked. Aunt always prefer to say a story of goodness that the children had been hearing since infant life. Hence the children disliked their aunt’s story.
(b) Why did they appreciate and praise the stranger’s story?
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Unlike their aunt’s story, the stranger’s story had novelty, detailed description and surprise ending to it which the children found fascinating. Hence they appreciated and praised the stranger’s story.
(c) Do you think Bertha should have met such a gory end to her life? Justify your answer.
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No, I don’t think Bertha should have met such a gory end to her life because she never harmed anyone and throughout her little life she had been extremely good to everyone. She could have been taught to let go of her pride.
(d) What did the aunt fail to realise in Bertha’s story?
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Aunt failed to see Bertha’s pride in herself; she saw that Bertha was good, but had a gory end. She failed to realise that it was punishment for Bertha’s pride.
(e) What is that one vice which nullifies all virtues that a person has?
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According to the story, one vice which nullifies all virtues that a person has, is ones pride.
(f) Write down two or three proverbs / axioms that suit the message in Bertha’s story.
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(1) “Pride goes before a fall.”
(2) “Too much ego will kill your talent.”
(3) “Happiness blooms in the presence of self-respect, and the absence of pride.”
5. Write 3 to 5 sentences about each of the following characters.
The Aunt
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The aunt was a prudent woman, who liked discipline. She wanted to instill the lessons of kindness and generosity in the children, but she was very strict with her ways of teaching. She did not take any particular interest in telling the children the story, which shows that she wanted to impart those teachings only.
The Bachelor
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The bachelor was a realistic and an irritable man. The fact that he could not handle the children making a lot of noise shows that he did not have any prior experience of dealing with kids. He was very bold and upfront about the aunt’s failure at storytelling and also took up the challenge of narrating a story to the children.
Cyril
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Cyril was the young boy, who was travelling with his two sisters and his aunt. His continuous questioning irritated his aunt a lot. His questions were logical which show that he was smart. He also expressed his disapproval with the aunt’s story very strongly and showed his acceptance of the bachelor’s story.
Bertha
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Bertha was a good-hearted and generous girl and the main character in the bachelor’s story. She had been given three medals of goodness and even the prince had appreciated and honoured her kindness. She was well-loved and respected by everyone. But, she was very proud of her medals and used to wear them on her dress all the time. Although she was a kind person, her pride was the reason that she suffered such a tragic death.
6. Say whether you agree or disagree.
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(a) The children would have behaved well in the train if their aunt had scolded them harshly. Disagree.
(b) The youngest child was most irritating. Agree.
(c) Being a bachelor, the stranger had no patience with children. Agree.
(d) The children showed disinterest even in the bachelor’s story-telling, throughout. Disagree.
(e) Bertha was very good but very proud too. Agree.
(f) The prince had rare, uncommon likes and dislikes. Disagree.
(g) The wolf could not trace Bertha because she was behind a myrtle bush. Agree.
(h) The bachelor had narrated an improper story to the children. Disagree.
7. ‘The Storyteller’ has a story within a story. Search from the Internet or your library books for other stories which have another story within. Enlist at least 3 to 5 of them.
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(1) The Arabian nights
(2) The Solitaire Mystery
(3) The Princess Bride
(4) House of leaves
(5) Invisible cities
8. List all the verbs related to the verb ‘say’ or ‘tell’ from the story. Note where they occur. Rewrite at least 3 of the speeches near which they occur using indirect speech.
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Demanded, exclaimed, admitted, protested, suggested, said, persisted, recited, asked, quoted.
Directed Speech:
(1) “Were there any sheep in the park?” demanded Cyril.
Indirect Speech:
(1) Cyril asked in a demanding tone if there were any sheep in the park.
Directed Speech:
(2) “Was she pretty?” asked the bigger of the small girls.
Indirect Speech:
(2) The bigger of the small girls asked whether she was pretty.
Directed Speech:
(3) “But there is lots of grass in that field,” protested the boy.
Indirect Speech:
(3) The boy protested that there was lots of grass in that field.