Three Questions

Comprehension check

Question 1.
Why did the King want to know answers to three questions?
Answer: The King thought that he would never fail if he knew the right answers to the three
questions.
Complete the following sentences by adding the appropriate parts of the sentences
given in the box.
Answer:
1. Many wise men answered the king’s questions, but their answers were so varied that
the king was not satisfied.

2. Someone suggested that there should be a council of wise men to help the king at the
right time.

3. Someone else suggested that the king should have a time table and follow it strictly.

4. The king requested the hermit to answer three questions.

5. The king washed and dressed the bearded man’s wound, but the bleeding would not
stop.
Three Questions Working with the text

Answer the following questions:

Question 1.
Why was the King advised to go to magicians?

Answer: The King was advised to go to the magicians as in order to decide the right
time to do something, one needs to know the future and only magicians can take into
the future.

Question 2.
In answer to the second question, whose advice did the people say would be important to
the King?
Answer: People said that the advice of councillors, or doctor, soldiers, and priests would be
important to the king.
Question 3.
What suggestions were made in answer to the third question?
Answer: The most important thing suggested by king’s people were science, fighting and
moreover religious worship.
Question 4.
Did the wise men win the reward? If not, why not?
Answer: No, the wise men didn’t win the reward because their answers were so different
from each other and king was not satisfied with their answers.
Question 5.
How did the king and the hermit help the wounded man?
Answer: The King with the help of hermit removed the wounded man’s clothes, washed his
wound and covered it with his handkerchief. He redressed till the blood stopped flowing.
Question 6.
(i) Who was the bearded man?
(ii) Why did he ask for the King’s forgiveness?
Answer:
(i) The bearded man was the sworn enemy of the king who had put bearded man’s brother
to death. He had taken away all his property, too.
ii) He had sworn revenge on the king. But the king had saved his life by dressing his wound.
The bearded man felt grateful and asked for forgiveness.
Question 7.
The king forgave the bearded man. What did he do to show his forgiveness?
Answer: To show his forgiveness, the king promised to send his servants and doctor to look
after him. He was happy to have made peace with the enemy. The king also promised to
return his property.

Question 8.
What were the hermit’s answers to the three questions? Write each answer
separately. Which answer do you like most, and why?

Answer: The hermit’s answers to the three questions were:

i)The right time to do something is ‘now’ because it is the only time when we can act.

ii)The most important person is the person you are with at a particular moment
because we don’t know what will happen in the future.

iii)The most important thing to do is do good to the person because we are here on
the earth for that purpose alone.

Three Questions Working with language

Question 1.
Match items in List A with their meanings in List B
 A B

(i) wounded severely injured

(ii) awoke got up from sleep

(iii) forgive pardon

(iv) faithful loyal

(v) pity feel sorry for

(vi) beds small patches of ground for plants

(vii) return give back

Question 2.
Each of the following sentences has two blanks. Fill in the blanks with appropriate
forms of the word given in brackets.

The …………………. said that only fresh evidence would make him change his
…………. (judge)
(ii) I didn’t notice any serious………………. Of opinion among the debaters, although
they …………………. from one another over small points. (differ)
(iii) It’s a fairly simple question to …………., but will you accept my ………….as
final? (answer)
(iv) It isn’t. ……………….. that ……………………should always be the mother of
invention. (necessary)
(v) Hermits are……. ………… men. How they acquire their …… no one can tell.
(wise)
 (vi) The committee has ……… ………. to make Jagdish captain of the team. The
……………. is likely to please everyone. (decide)
(vii) Asking for……………………. is as noble as willingness to …….
(forgive)

Answer:

(i) judge, judgement.

(ii) difference, differed
(iii) answer, answer
(iv) necessary, necessity
(v) wise, wisdom
(vi) decided, decision
(vii) forgiveness, forgive

Three Questions Speaking and Writing

Question 1.
Imagine you are the King. Narrate the incident of your meeting the hermit. Begin like
this:
The wise men answered my questions, but I was not satisfied with their answers.
One day I decided to go and meet the hermit….
Answer:
The wise men answered my questions, but I was not satisfied with their answer. One
day I decided to go and meet the hermit who was known for his wisdom. When I
reached his hut, he was digging the earth. He greeted me and kept digging. I put my
questions before him but he even kept mum. He was feeling tired. I took the spade
and started digging for him. I repeated my request for answering the questions. Just
then a bearded man came there. I had to redress his wound and consoled him. The
hermit served him with food and shelter. Before coming back, I repeated my
questions to the hermit. At last the sage gave answers to my satisfaction. I have
made peace with my enemy by then.

Question 2.
Imagine you are the hermit. Write briefly the incident of your meeting the king. Begin
like this:
One day I was digging in my garden. A man in ordinary clothes came to see me. I
knew it was the king…
Answer:
One day I was digging in my garden. A man in ordinary clothes came to see me. I
knew it was the King, but kept digging. I worked hard and got tired. He put three
questions before me to answer, but I kept mum. He asked me to give my spade and
he started digging.Just then I saw a bearded man coming and made the king turn
around. I with the help of king dressed the wounded bearded man and took him in
the hut. I served him with food and he slept. The king repeated his questions. Only
then I gave the answers to his satisfaction. He regarded me with a bow head and
went to his capital.
 The Squirrel
The Squirrel Working with the poem
Question 1.
Why does the poet say the squirrel “wore a question mark for tail?” Draw a squirrel,
or find a picture of a squirrel sitting on the ground. How would you describe its tail?

Answer: The poet says so because the bushy tail of the squirrel is curled back on its
body and looks similar to the shape of a question mark.

I would describe it as a slide in the park which is soft and so much fun.

Question 2.
Do we usually say that an animal ‘wears ‘a tail? What do we say? (Think. Does an
animal wear a coat? Consult a dictionary if you like, and find out how ‘wear’ is used
in different ways.)

Answer: We usually say that the animal ‘has’ a tail rather than using the expression
‘wear’. The dictionary meaning of ‘wear’ suggests something of an outer covering for
instance clothes.

Question 3.
“He liked to tease and play.” Who is teasing whom? How?

Answer: Here the poet is teasing the squirrel along with his friends whenever they
went a little closer to the squirrel, the squirrel would run away in the other direction.

A Gift of Chappals

A Gift of Chappals Comprehension check

Question 1.
What is the secret that Meena shares with Mridu in the backyard?
Answer: Meena tells her that they had found a kitten outside the gate that morning.
The small cat was lying inside a torn football lined with sacking and filled with sand. It
was a secret that their mother did not know.

Question 2.
How does Ravi get milk for the kitten?
Answer: Ravi got the milk from Patti who wanted the tumbler back. Ravi pretended
that he would wash it himself. He then brought the tumbler in the backyard and
emptied it in the coconut shell.

Question 3.
Who does he say the kitten’s ancestors are? Do you believe him?
Answer: Ravi said that one of the descendants of the Egyptian cat-Goddess was a
stowaway in a pallava ship. The descendant of this cat was the Mahabalipuram Rishi
cat and their kitten had descended from the Mahabalipuram Rishi cat. His story is
unbelievable.

Question 5.
What was the noise that startled Mridu and frightened Mahendrar ?
Answer: The noise that started Mridu and frightened Mahendran was an unusual
‘kreeching’ sound. It was actually Lalli’s attempts at learning to play the violin.

A Gift of Chappals Comprehension check

Question 1.
The music master is making lovely music. Read aloud the sentence in the text that
expresses this idea.
Answer: The music master’s note seemed to float up and settle perfectly into the
invisible tracks of melody. It was like the wheel of the train fitting smoothy into the
rails and whizzing along.

Question 2.
Had the beggar come to Rukku Manni’s house for the first time? Give reasons for
your answer.
Answer: No, the beggar had been coming to Rukku Manni’s house for the last one
week. Rukku Manni asked Ravi to send him away. The beggar himself confirms this
by saying that he had survived for a week because of Rukku Manni’s kindness.

Question 3.
“A sharp V-shaped line had formed between her eyebrows.” What does it suggest to
you about Rukku Manni’s mood?
Answer: Generally, the v-shaped eyebrow is formed when a person is angry. Thus,
this suggests that she was angry when she came to know about the missing
chappals.

A Gift of Chappals Working with the text

Question 1.
Complete the following sentences.
(i) Ravi compares Lalli’s playing the violin to
(ii) Trying to hide beneath the tray of chillies, Mahendran
(iii) The teacher played a few notes on his violin, and Lalli
(iv) The beggar said that the kind ladies of the household
(v) After the lesson was over, the music teacher asked Lalli if
Answer:
(i) ….. the derailing of a train going completely off track.
(ii) …. tipped a few chillies over himself.
(iii) …. stumbled behind him on her violin, which looked quite helpless and unhappy
in her hands.
(iv) …. had fed his body and soul together on for a whole week and he could not
believe that they would turn him away.
(v) …. she had seen his chappals.

Question 2.
Describe the music teacher, as seen from the window.
Answer: The music-master had a bald head with a fringe of oiled black hair falling
around his ears. He appeared to be a skeleton-like figure. A gold chain shone on his
fluffy neck and a diamond ring gleamed on his finger. He was beating his big toe on
the floor frequently as the music went on.

Question 3.
(i) What makes Mridu conclude that the beggar has no money to buy chappals?
(ii) What does she suggest to show her concern ?
Answer: (i) Mridu concluded that the beggar had no money to buy chappals
because he had pink, peeling blisters on his bare feet.

(ii) Mridu asked Ravi if he had any pair of old slippers that they could give to the
beggar. She suggested that he needs something on his feet.

Question 4.
“Have you children….” she began, and then, seeing they were curiously quiet, went
on more slowly, “seen anyone lurking around the verandah ?”
(i) What do you think Rukku Manni really wanted to ask?
(ii) Why did she change her question ?
(iii) What did she think had happened ?
Answer:
(i) Rukku Manni wanted to ask the children whether they had hidden the chappals
anywhere.
(ii) Rukku Manni changed her question because she noticed the children were
curiously quiet and she suspected that they must have done something with the
chappals.
(iii) She thought that something extreme had happened in the house regarding the
chappals.

Question 5.
On getting Gopu Mama’s chappals, the music teacher tried not to look too happy. Why?
Answer: The music-master wanted to show that he was angry on the loss of his so called
new and expensive chappals. He was happy getting them, but was trying to show his
disappointment at what the children had done.

Question 6.
On getting a gift of chappals, the beggar vanished in a minute. Why was he in such a hurry
to leave?
Answer: The beggar was in a hurry to leave after getting the chappals because he knew
that the children have got them for him without seeking permission of the elders. He feared
they might be taken back from him, so he left in a hurry.
Question 7.
Walking towards the kitchen with Mridu and Meena, Rukku Manni began to laugh. What
made her laugh?
Answer: Rukku Manni was laughing imagining Gopu Mama without his chappals. He had
the habit of taking out his shoes immediately after coming home and putting on those
chappals. She laughed wondering how he would react after knowing the entire incident.

A Gift of Chappals Working with language

Question 1.
Read the following sentences:

Rewrite each of the following pairs of sentences as a single sentence. Use ‘if’ at the
beginning of the sentence.

(i) Don’t tire yourself now. You won’t be able to work in the evening.
(ii) Study regularly. You’ll do well in the examination.
(iii) Work hard. You’ll pass the examination in the first division.
(iv) Be polite to people. They’ll also be polite to you.
(v) Don’t tease the dog. It’ll bite you.

Answer:
(i) If you tire yourself now, you won’t be able to work in the evening.
(ii) If you study regularly, you’ll do well in the examination.
(iii) If you work hard, you’ll pass the examination in the first division.
(iv) If you are polite to people, they’ll also be polite to you.
(v) If you tease the dog, it’ll bite you.

Question 2.
Fill in the blanks in the following paragraph. Today is Sunday. I’m wondering whether
I should stay at home or go out.

If I …………. (go) out, I …………. (miss) the lovely Sunday lunch at home. If I
……………. (stay) for lunch, I………………… (miss) the Sunday film showing at
Archana Theatre. I think I’ll go out and see the film, only to avoid getting too fat.
Answer:
Today is Sunday. I’m wondering whether I should stay at home or go out. If I go out,
I will miss the lovely Sunday lunch at home. If I stay for lunch, I will miss (miss) the
Sunday film showing at Archana Theatre. I think I’ll go out and see the film only to
avoid getting too fat.

Question 3.
Complete each sentence below by appropriately using any one of the following:
If you want to/if you don’t want to/if you want him to

(i) Don’t go to the theatre……………

(ii) He’ll post your letter…………………..
(iii) Please use my pen …………..
(iv) He’ll lend you his umbrella……..
(v) My neighbour, Ramesh, will take you to the doctor
(vi) Don’t eat it ……
Answer:

(i) if you don’t want to (ii) if you want him to (iii) if you want to
(iv) if you want him to
(v) if you want him to

A Gift of Chappals Speaking and Writing

Question 1.
Discuss in small groups.
(i) If you want to give away something of your own to the needy, would it be better to ask
your elders first?
(ii) Is there someone of your age in the family who is very talkative? Do you find her/ him
interesting and impressive or otherwise? Share your ideas with others in t group.
(iii) Has Rukku Manni done exactly the same as the children? In your opinion, then, is it right
for one party to blame the other?

i ans.) If there is something that belongs to us we can give or share it to anyone without
seeking advice of the elders. But it depends on the purpose and the value of the item that we
are giving away to someone. We should decide it on the basis of the situation we are in.

ii ans) yes, my younger brother is talkative but not at all boring. He has good presence of
mind. He is joyful and people enjoy his company.

Iii ans) Rukku Manni had been put in a embarrassing situation by the children. The music
teacher’s chappals had gone missing from their home. She had to compensate for their act
by giving Gopu Mama’s chappals to the teacher. It was right on her part to be upset.

Children and Rukku Manni did the same so, it was not right for either of them to blame on
each other.

The Rebel
The Rebel Working with the poem

Question 1.

Answer the following questions:

(i) If someone doesn’t wear a uniform to school, what do you think thee teacher will
say?
Answer:
The teacher will say that one should not do it again in future. He may punish the
student for not wearing the uniform.

(ii) When everyone wants a clear sky, what does the rebel want most?
Answer: When everyone wants a clear sky, the rebel wants rain the most.

(iii) If the rebel has a dog for a pet, what is everyone else likely to have ?
Answer: If the rebel has a dog for a pet, then everyone else is likely to have a cat.

(iv) Why is it good to have rebels?

Answer: It is good to have rebels because they are different from others and provide a
source of mischief and amusement to others.

(v) Why is it not good to be a rebel oneself?

Answer: It is not good to be a rebel oneself because then the others would laugh at us and
we would be scolded and met with indifference by everyone we disagree with.

(vi) Would you like to be a rebel? If yes, why? If not, why not?
Answer: No, I do not want to be a rebel in general. A rebel would not get regard and respect
in the surrounding.

Question 2.
Find in the poem an antonym (a word opposite in meaning) for each of the following words.
(i) long ………………
(ii) grow …………
(iii) quietness ………….
(iv) sober. ……………..
(v) lost ………
Answer:
(i) long – short
(ii) grow – die
(iii) quietness – noisy
(iv) sober – fantastic
(v) lost – found

Question 3.
Find in the poem lines that match the following. Read both one after the other.
(i) The rebel refuses to cut his hair.
(ii) He says cats are better.
(iii) He recommends dogs.
(iv) He is unhappy because there is no sun.
(v) He is noisy on purpose.
Answer:
(i) The rebel refuses to cut his hair
when everyone has short hair.

(ii) He says cats are better

When everyone loves dog.

(iii) He recommends dog

When everyone loves cat

(iv) He is unhappy because there is no sun

When everyone wishes for sun

(v) He is noisy on purpose

When everyone wishes to be quiet.