The Little Girl | Question and Answer|
NCERT | Class 9 | Beehive Text Book
Thinking about the Text
Question I Given below are some emotions that Kezia felt. Match the emotions in Column A with the items in Column B.
| A | B |
| 1. fear or terror | (i) father comes into her room to give her a goodbye kiss |
| 2. glad sense of relief | (ii) noise of the carriage grows fainter |
| 3. a “funny” feeling, perhaps of understanding | (iii) father comes home |
| (iv) speaking to father | |
| (v) going to bed when alone at home | |
| (vi) father comforts her and falls asleep | |
| (vii) father stretched out on the sofa, snoring |
Answer
| A | B |
| (1) fear of terror | (i) father comes into her room to give her a goodbye kiss. |
| (iii) father comes home | |
| (iv) speaking to father | |
| (2) glad sense of relief | (ii) noise of the carriage grows fainter |
| (vi) father comforts her and falls asleep | |
| (3) a “funny” feeling, perhaps of understanding | (v) going to bed when alone at home |
| (vii) father stretched out on the sofa, snoring |
Question II Answer the following questions in one or two sentences.
Question 1 Why was Kezia afraid of her father?
Answer Kezia was afraid of her father because he used to talk to her harshly and was very strict. He always went around the home commanding everyone. He was big and hefty with his neck and hands, especially his mouth when he yawned. She was terrified by the way he looked at her over his spectacles.
Question 2 Who were the people in Kezia’s family?
Answer Kezia had a small family consisting of her mother, father, grandmother, and herself. She a cook Alice also.
Question 3 What was Kezia’s father’s routine
(i) before going to his office?
(ii) after coming back from his office?
(iii) on Sundays?
Answer (i) Kezia used to go to her room to give her a casual kiss before going to the office.
(ii) He demanded his tea in the drawing room when he returned back from the office. He asked Kezia to pull off his boot and his mother to bring him newspaper and slippers.
(iii) He would stretch out on the sofa, cover his face with a handkerchief and put his feet on cushions, and went to sleep.
Question 4 In what ways did Kezia’s grandmother encourage her to get to know her father better?
Answer Kezia’s grandmother sent her to drawing room to have a nice talk with her parents. She advised Kezia to develop her relationship with her father by communicating more. Besides, she asked her to make a gift of a pin-cushion on her father’s birthday.
Question III Discuss these questions in class with your teacher and then write down your answers in two or three paragraphs each.
Question 1 Kezia’s efforts to please her father resulted in displeasing him very much. How did this happen?
Answer One day her grandmother told her to make a pin-cushion to gift his father on his birthday . Kezia took it an opportunity to please him. So, she stitched cotton cloth three sides and looked for the things that could be stuffed into the stitched cloth. Soon she found out many sheets of paper. Actually they contained her father’s speech for the Port Authority. She tore them into pieces and stuffed her case. This infuriated her father even more and she got a beating with the ruler. Grandmother advised Kezia to develop her relationship with her father by communicating more. On Sunday, she sent her to the drawing-room but instead of talking her presence would irritate him and he would call her ‘little brown owl.’
Question 2 Kezia decides that there are “different kinds of fathers”. What kind of father was Mr Macdonald, and how was he different from Kezia’s father?
Answer Mr. Macdonald was a gentle father and had a loving and forgiving nature. He treated his kids in a friendly manner and played with them. He never punished his kids. One evening she saw him playing tag with his children. A baby was on his shoulders and two little girls were hanging on to his coat pockets. Also, she saw some boys turn the hose on Mac donald and he tried to catch them laughing all the time. It was then she decided that there are different types of father. Kezia’s father was very different from Mac donald .In Kezia’s opinion, her father was very harsh and did not talk to her affectionately. She did not want to be in front of him because she was afraid and her father never spent time with her.
Question 3 How does Kezia begin to see her father as a human being who needs her sympathy?
Answer Once her grandmother and mother left Kezia at home since they had to visit the hospital .At that night Kezia had a nightmare which made her too terrified. When she woke up, she found her father beside her bed with a candle in his hand. He asked her what the matter was. His father attends to her in that situation and takes her in his arms, and snuggles her to sleep next to him. He slept before her, and she realized that he works hard and must be so tired from the daily exhaustion. Even though he looks like a big giant ,he had no one to look after him. He also needed some sympathy and love. This alters her feelings towards her father and tells him the same by stating that he has a ‘big heart’.
Thinking about Language
Question I Look at the following sentence.
There was a glad sense of relief when she heard the noise of the carriage growing fainter…
Here, glad means happy about something.
Glad, happy, pleased, delighted, thrilled and overjoyed are synonyms (words or expressions that have the same or nearly the same meaning.) However, they express happiness in certain ways.
Read the sentences below.
• She was glad when the meeting was over.
• The chief guest was pleased to announce the name of the winner.
1. Use an appropriate word from the synonyms given above in the following sentences. Clues are given in brackets.
(i) She was by the news of her brother’s wedding. (very pleased)
(i) Delighted / Thrilled
(ii) I was to be invited to the party. (extremely pleased and excited about)
(ii) delighted
(iii) She was at the birth of her granddaughter. (extremely happy)
(iii) overjoyed / Glad
(iv) The coach was with his performance. (satisfied about)
(iv) pleased
(v) She was very with her results. (happy about something that has happened)
(v) happy
Question 2 Study the use of the word big in the following sentence.
He was so big — his hands and his neck, especially his mouth…
Here, big means large in size.
Now, consult a dictionary and find out the meaning of big in the following sentences. The first one has been done for you.
(i) You are a big girl now. older
(ii) Today you are going to take the biggest decision of your career .
(ii) Determination
(iii) Their project is full of big ideas.
(iii) Innovative / idealist
(iv) Cricket is a big game in our country.
(iv) Biggest / popular
(v) I am a big fan of Lata Mangeskar.
(v) Fanatic / Great
(vi) You have to cook a bit more as my friend is a big eater.
(vi) Glutton / Gourmand
(vii) What a big heart you’ve got, Father dear.
(vii) Generous , Heartier
II Verbs of Reporting
Study the following sentences.
• “What!” screamed Mother.
• “N-n-no”, she whispered.
• “Sit up,” he ordered.
The italicised words are verbs of reporting. We quote or report what someone
has said or thought by using a reporting verb. Every reporting clause contains
a reporting verb. For example:
• He promised to help in my project.
• “How are you doing?” Seema asked
We use verbs of reporting to advise, order, report statements, thoughts, intentions, questions, requests, apologies, manner of speaking and so on.
Question 1 Underline the verbs of reporting in the following sentences.
(i) He says he will enjoy the ride.
(i) He says he will enjoy the ride.
(ii) Father mentioned that he was going on a holiday.
(ii) Father mentioned that he was going on a holiday.
(iii) No one told us that the shop was closed.
(iii) No one told us that the shop was closed.
(iv) He answered that the price would go up.
(iv) He answered that the price would go up.
(v) I wondered why he was screaming.
(v) I wondered why he was screaming.
(vi) Ben told her to wake him up.
(vi) Ben told her to wake him up.
(vii) Ratan apologised for coming late to the party.
(vii) Ratan apologised for coming late to the party.
Question 2 Some verbs of reporting are given in the box. Choose the appropriate verbs and fill in the blanks in the following sentences.
| were complaining | shouted | replied |
| remarked | ordered | suggested |
(i) “I am not afraid,” the woman.
(ii) “Leave me alone,” my mother .
(iii) The children that the roads were crowded and noisy.
(iv) “Perhaps he isn’t a bad sort of a chap after all,” the master.
(v) “Let’s go and look at the school ground,” the sports teacher.
(vi) The traffic police all the passers-by to keep off the road.
Answer (i) “I am not afraid,” replied the woman.
(ii) Leave me alone,” my mother shouted.
(iii) The children were complaining that the roads were crowded and noisy.
(iv) “Perhaps he isn’t a bad sort of a chap after all,” remarked the master.
(v) “Let’s go and look at the school ground,” suggested the sports teacher.
(vi) The traffic police ordered all the passers-by to keep off the road.
Speaking
Form pairs or groups and discuss the following questions.
Question 1 This story is not an Indian story. But do you think there are fathers, mothers, and grandmothers like the ones portrayed in the story in our own country?
Answer There is no doubt that the Indian families too have such fathers, mothers and grandmothers. The parents (father and mother) get employed to provide the children with all the worldly comforts. But they fail to comprehend the psychology of the tiny tots and make them feel isolated. Children need parents’ time and love. They want that then- parents should interact with them humbly and without hurting their feelings. The characters act similar to the individuals we observe in India. They have their cultural hierarchy built upon similar grounds. Men are seen as the leaders of the society and family, who, irrespective of their decisions, must be supported by the obedient women and girls in the house. Their say is final and must be followed diligently.
Question 2 Was Kezia’s father right to punish her? What kind of a person was he? You might find some of these words useful in describing him:
| undemonstrative | loving | strict | hard-working | responsible | unkind |
| disciplinarian | short-tempered | affectionate | caring | Indifferent |
Answer Kezia’s father was not right to punish her. He should have understood that she was only a child and a child tends to make mistakes. A child’s mistake should always be mended. Kezia’s father gives us an image of a strict and emotionless father in the beginning. He ordered everything around the home. He was a short-tempered person. He punished Kezia for her mistakes and never had proper communication with her. His methods created nothing but fear. By the end of the story, we get to know that he had a gentle heart and was actually an affectionate and caring person.
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