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CLASS 10TH ENTIRE ENGLISH CHAPTER NOTES

FIRST FLIGHT (PROSE)
Chapter 1- A LETTER TO GOD

 Lencho, an ox of a man, a hard working farmer had an unshakable, undaunted faith

in God which remains alive till the end of the story. The hailstorm totally destroyed his
corn crops. He turns towards God for help as he is omniscient, i.e., knows
everything. He believes God sees everything, even what is deep within one's
conscience.
 He writes a letter to God demanding hundred pesos and mails it in the letterbox.
 The letter reaches the hands of the Postmaster. The Postmaster goes through it and
expresses his surprise at the letter. He was deeply moved by the writer's faith in God
and plans to respond to the letter but responding to it demands money other than
pen and paper. He collected the money with the help of the other post office
employees and various other sources. He put it in an envelope and sent it to Lencho
on the following Sunday. He even signed the Letter "God" because he did not want to
shake Lencho's faith in God.
 Lencho was not surprised to receive the letter as he had full faith that God would
surely help him. However, he was fiercely angry when he counted the money in the
envelope. All together 30 pesos were missing. He knew God could not make such a
mistake neither could He deny him the money he required. The amount must have
been misappropriated by the post office employees who were a bunch of crooks.
 The employees were shocked to hear this accusation. This proves that Lencho had
unshakable faith in God.

Chapter 2 – NELSON MANDELA:….

 Nelson Mandela, the first Black president of South Africa, after more than 3 centuries
of white rule, celebrated very vividly the grand ceremony of the first democratic non-
racial government. Being sworn in, he said radiantly that "Never, never again shall it
be that this beautiful land will again experience the oppression of one by another”.
 Nelson Mandela was sworn in as the first black president of South Africa on 10th
May 1994.
 The swearing in ceremony took place in the lovely sandstone amphitheater in
Pretoria.
 He addressed the rainbow gathering with a zest telling that never, and never again
should it be that beautiful land would experience the oppression of one by another.
He wished that freedom in Africa should reign. The army officials who could have
caught and put him in jail before were saluting him to pay respect to the newly born
democracy.
 The two national anthems were sung at the time of his swearing in ceremony. He
recalls the history and pays homage to the national martyrs who sacrificed their lives
for the sake of their motherland. He pays homage to the freedom fighters like Oliver
Tambo, Luthuli and Yusuf Dadoo. They were men of uncommon courage, wisdom
and generosity. He regards the death of thousands of people who sacrificed their
lives for the cause of courage.
 He said that the country of South Africa is rich in minerals and gems but the greatest
wealth of a country is its people. He tells no one is born hating another person
because of the colour of his skin, or his background, or his religion. If people learn to
hate, they can be taught to love too.
 In the first decade of the twentieth century and before Mandela's birth, the whites in
South Africa had erected a system of racial domination known as 'apartheid. In the
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last decade of the twentieth century, when Mandela was in his eighties, he saw that
system crumbling. So, he was overwhelmed with a sense of victory.
 Mandela described the system of government in his country in the final decade of the
twentieth century as one that recognises the rights and freedom of all people,
irrespective of the colour of their skin.
 For Mandela courage does not mean the absence of fear but a victory over fear.
According to him brave men need not be fearless but should be able to conquer fear.
 During young age freedom for Mandela meant a freedom on a personal level. The
freedom to raise a family and the freedom to earn a livelihood. After gaining
experience freedom meant a lot more to Nelson Mandela. It was a freedom for
everybody. It was freedom from fear and prejudice. Age and experience made his
perspective wider.
 Slowly Nelson Mandela's hunger for freedom turned from personal level to a broader
mass level. This changed the fearful man to a fearless rebel. He sacrificed the
comforts of a settled family life to fight for a greater cause.
 According to Mandela, in South Africa or in any nation there are two obligations for a
person. One is at the personal level towards his family. Another obligation is towards
the society. Apart from striving for personal goals a person should also work hard to
contribute something to the society.

Chapter 3- TWO STORIES ABOUT FLYING

- HIS FIRST FLIGHT

 His First Flight' by Liam O' Flaherty is a simple story about conquering fears in life.
Every journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step. However, it is most
difficult to take that first step. When we Conquer fear and move forward; we realize
that we were born with wings.
 The young seagull looked down desperately at the vast expanse of sea that
stretched down beneath his ledge. He was hungry. His parents had flown away along
with his brothers and his little sister, leaving him alone on the rock without food. They
could all fly; and he could not.
 He had tried several times to run forward to the brink of the ledge and flap his wings
but he became afraid. He was certain that his wings would not support him. His
parents had tried countless times to make him fly. But for the life of him he would not
make an attempt.
 He felt that he was going to starve to death on his ledge. Even his mother was not
looking at him. She was tearing a piece of fish with her beak. The sight of food
maddened him. He cried at her but she just screamed back mockingly.
 Suddenly, he felt the joy, seeing his mother approaching him with food. But she
halted, keeping the fish just out of his reach. Maddened by hunger, he dived at the
fish. But his mother flew upward and he started falling. A monstrous terror seized
him, but the next moment he realized that he was flying. He was born to fly and he
had made his first flight.

Chapter 3 – BLACK AEROPLANE

 The story begins when the pilot of the old Dakota aeroplane was flying at midnight
over Paris (France) towards England. He was on his way to England hoping to have
a good English breakfast with his family. He was dreaming of spending his holiday
with his family.
 But unfortunately he saw great storm-clouds ahead of him.
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 These were huge, mountain-shaped clouds. The narrator risked to enter in the
clouds. No sooner did he enter the clouds that everything turned black. All the
instruments in front of him stopped working.
 Suddenly he noticed a black aeroplane without lights on its wings close to him. The
pilot waved his hand to the narrator and asked him to follow him. The narrator
followed the pilot of the black aeroplane like an obedient child as his compass, radio,
radar and all instruments had gone completely dead. In the meantime his fuel tank
also was almost exhausted and he could fly only for another five to ten minutes. The
pilot of the Dakota started to become extremely frightened again but the black
aeroplane started going down and the pilot followed him through the clouds to
suddenly see a line of lights which was a runway at the airport.
 In this way with the help of the pilot of the black aeroplane he landed safely. When he
goes to the control room and asks about the other aeroplane he is shocked to find
out that there was no other plane flying in the sky that night.
 Many questions remain unanswered, mysterious and unsolved. The pilot was
puzzled. He wanted to know who had helped him to arrive there safely without a
compass or a radio, and without sufficient fuel in his tanks? Who was the pilot on the
strange black aeroplane, flying in the storm, without lights?

Chapter 4- FROM THE DIARY OF ANNE FRANK

 A young 13 year old girl Anne wanted to have a very intimate and close friend but
she couldn't make one. And hence she turned to make her diary, Kitty, her true
friend. Because she feels paper has more patience than people, she writes every bit
of the happenings in her life truthfully in her diary which posthumously became one of
the most important literary contributions to the world.
 She describes in her diary the days of her early childhood. When she was in class 5
she had been punished by Mr. Keesing, her Mathematics teacher, for being talkative.
She was asked to write an essay on Chatterbox' but still couldn't stop talking too
much.
 She was punished for the second time and was told to write an essay on 'An
Incorrigible Chatterbox' with all her arguments. She wrote and submitted it to the
teacher. But she didn't stop the over-talking.
 She was punished for the third time and again was told to write an essay on the
same topic. This time she submitted her essay in poetic form which described three
young ducklings being bitten to death by the father duck because they quacked too
much. This extra ordinary effort moved Mr. Keesing and then onwards she was
allowed to talk with no more punishment.
 Hence, we find a very intimate and deliberate description of her personal feelings in
the pages of her diary.

Chapter 5- GLIMPSES OF INDIA

- A BAKER FROM GOA

 This lesson is a pen portrait of a traditional Goan village baker who has an
unimportant place in his vicinity. Elders in Goa are nostalgic about good old
Portuguese days, about the Portuguese, and their famous loaves of bread. Goa was
a Portuguese colony. After independence Goa became a part of India. Goa has a
distinct effect of Portuguese and Anglo-Indian culture. Christianity is one of the main
religions in Goa.
 The baker made his musical entry on the scene with the jhang, jhang' sound of his
specially made bamboo stick. One hand supported the basket on his head and the
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other banged the bamboo on the ground. He would greet the lady of the house with
"Good morning" and then place his basket on the vertical bamboo.
 During the narrator's childhood in Goa, the baker used to be his friend, companion
and guide. He used to come at least twice a day-once, when he set out in the
morning on his selling round, and then again, when he returned after emptying his
huge basket. The jingling thud of his bamboo woke the narrator up from sleep and he
ran to meet and greet him.
 Baking was an integral part of Goan life. Marriage gifts were meaningless without the
sweet bread known as the bol, just as a party or a feast loses its charm without
bread. The lady of the house must prepare sandwiches on the occasion of her
daughter's engagement. 'Cakes' and bolinhas are a must for Christmas as well as
other festivals. Thus, the presence of the baker's furnace in the village is absolutely
essential.
 The baker wore a dress known as 'kabai? It was a peculiar dress. It consisted of a
single piece frock down to the knees. Later in the childhood of the author the dress of
bakers changed. Now he wore a shirt and trousers shorter than full length but longer
than half pants.
 The baker usually collected his bills at the end of the month. Monthly accounts used
to be recorded on some wall in pencil. Baking was indeed a profitable profession in
the old days. The baker and his family never starved. He, his family and his servants
always looked happy and prosperous. Their plump physique was an open testimony
to this.

Chapter 5- COORG

 Kodagu or Coorg is a marvellous hill station located in the southern part of

Karnataka. It is represented as the Scotland of India. The people of Coorg are known
as Kodavas or Coorgies. It is a small district with distinct culture, unique customs and
traditions. Its misty hills, lush green valleys, evergreen forests, waterfalls are a pretty
sight to the eyes. It is also surrounded by coffee plantations, orange groves,
cardamom, pepper plants and dense forests.
 Kaveri, one of the major rivers of South India, takes birth at Talakaveri in Coorg.
 The people of Kodagu are known for their hospitality and bravery. The people of
Coorg are a proud martial race. Their women are beautiful. Martial race means those
who have well developed fighting skills. Coorgi homes have a tradition of hospitality,
and they are more than willing to recount numerous tales of valour related to their
sons and fathers.
 The most laidback individuals become converts to the life of high-energy adventure
with river rafting, canoeing, rappelling, rock climbing and mountain biking. Numerous
walking trails in Coorg are a favourite with trekkers.
 Macaques, Malabar squirrels, langurs and slender loris are widely found in Coorg.
Apart from them elephants are also present.
 During the monsoons, it pours enough to keep many visitors away.
 Coorg is 252 kms from Bangalore. From Mysore it is 146 kms and there is good train
connectivity between Mysore and Coorg.

Chapter 5- TEA FROM ASSAM

 Pranjol, a youngster from Assam, is Rajvir's classmate at school in Delhi. Pranjol's

father is the manager of a tea-garden in Upper Assam and Pranjol has invited Rajvir
to visit his home during the summer vacation.
 During the journey, Pranjol either read detective stories or listened to Rajvir while
Rajvir enjoyed the greenery outside and shared his knowledge about tea with
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Pranjol. Pranjol had been born and brought up in tea plantations and thus did not
have much interest in them while it was all new and exciting for Rajvir.
 Rajvir saw a lot of greenery on his way to Pranjol's house. He saw soft green paddy
fields followed by the tea bushes. He also saw a tea garden with a building in the
middle of it. Later, he passed through the tea bushes and saw tea-pluckers plucking
the tea leaves.
 Rajvir found the tea gardens very beautiful with tiny tea plants, tall trees and doll-like
tea pluckers. He liked the green and pure natural environment of the area.
 Rajvir shared many legends about tea with Pranjol which he had been reading about.
It is said that tea was discovered in China when some leaves fell into the Emperor's
boiling water and he found it had a delicious flavour. The Indian legend says that a
Buddhist monk Bodhidharma cut off his eyelids because he felt sleepy during
meditation. Ten tea plants grew out of the eyelids. The leaves from these plants
when put in water and boiled, banished sleep.
 Rajvir also shared his knowledge about the tea plantations with Mr. Barua. He told
him about the second-flush or sprouting period of tea, i.e., from May to July that
yields the best tea. His extensive knowledge about the tea plantations surprised Mr.
Barua because he did not expect it from someone who had come there for the first
time.

Chapter 6- MIJIBIL THE OTTER

 In this story the author Gavin Maxwell tells us about his pet. After the death of his
dog, he wanted another pet. Early in 1956 he travelled to Southern Iraq where he
saw some Arab people having an otter as a pet. Then, he also thought of getting an
otter. He told this to his friend. His mail was due; therefore, with a friend he went to
Basra to receive his mail. His friend collected his mail and went away. After he had
left, he received a sack in which there was something. The sack was for the narrator
and there was an otter in it. The narrator named it, Mijbil.
 First the otter slept on the floor but soon he entered the bed till the servant brought
tea. When it went to bathroom it plunged and rolled in the bath tub joyfully. The
narrator was extremely surprised when he found it struggling with the water tap. It
had learnt how to turn on the tap. It spent most of its time playing with the rubber ball
and marbles.
 The narrator was staying at Basra while he had to move to England and then to
Camusfearna. But the problem was that some of the airlines did not allow
transporting animals. Therefore, the narrator had to choose a different flight that
allowed animals on board.
 As a result, Mijbil was packed in a box of its size. The narrator went for a meal and
when he returned to his room, he noticed blood coming out from the air holes of the
box. He got frightened and hurriedly opened the box to see that Mij was almost
unconscious. He removed all the sharp edges from the box and placed it again into
the box.
 Time was passing, he was getting late but he managed to hire a taxi. There were
only ten minutes to his flight. Somehow he managed to catch the flight and boarded
the plane. The air hostess was somewhat friendly and she allowed the narrator to
place the otter on his lap. But as soon as the narrator opened the box the otter
disappeared in the plane. This frightened the passengers. But the airhostess helped
him to find Mij again.
 In London people did not recognize otters. They used to make blind guesses about it.

Chapter 7 – MADAM RIDES THE BUS

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 Valli's favourite pastime was to stand in the front doorway of her house watching
what was happening in the street outside.
 A source of unending joy for Valli was the sight of the bus that travelled between her
village and the nearest town, filled with a new set of passengers each time it passed
through her street. Her strongest desire was to ride on that bus.
 Valli found out that the town was six miles from her village. The fare was thirty paise
one way. The trip to the town took forty-five minutes. On reaching the town, I stayed
in her seat and paid another thirty paise, she could return home by the same bus.
She found out these details by listening carefully to the conversations between her
neighbours and the people who regularly used the bus. She also gained information
by asking them a few questions.
 Valli planned her visit to the town. She saved sixty paise for the fare. Finally she took
the One o'clock bus to the town.
 When the conductor of the bus stretched out his hand to help her get on the bus,
Valli said commandingly that she could get on by herself, and that she did not require
his help. She did not act like an eight year old child, but as a grown-up girl and
therefore, the conductor called her 'madam'.
 Valli stood up on her seat because her view was cut off by a canvas blind that
covered the lower part of her window. She stood up to look over the blind. She saw
that the road was very narrow, on one side of which there was the canal and beyond
it were palm trees, grassland, distant mountains, and the blue sky. On the other side,
there was a deep ditch and many acres of green fields.
 She did not get off the bus at the bus station because she had to go back on that
same bus. She took out another thirty paise from her pocket and handed the coins to
the conductor. She just wanted to ride on the bus.
 Valli did not want to go to the stall and have a drink because she did not have any
money for that. Even when the conductor offered her a cold drink free of charge, she
refused firmly and said that she only wanted her ticket. This shows that Valli had a lot
of self-respect and pride. Possibly, she did not want to take anything for free,
particularly from a stranger.
 She was overjoyed when she saw a cow running with her raised tail on the road
ahead of the bus. While returning she noticed that the body of the same cow was
crushed and bled. She was moved from within.
 The bus reached the village at three forty. She got down the bus and reached her
home. Her mother did not come to know about her journey.

Chapter 8- THE SERMON AT BENARES

 In this lesson we first get to know about the life of Gautama Buddha, who was born in
a royal family as Siddhartha. Once he saw an aged man, a sick man, a funeral
procession and a monk begging for alms. These sights moved him a lot and he
decided to become a monk and started moving in search of enlightenment. He
wandered for seven years.
 He started meditating under a peepal tree and after seven days he got enlightenment
and he came to be known as the Buddha (the Awakened or the Enlightened). He
preached his first sermon at Benares.
 Once a woman came to him requesting to bring her dead son to life. Her name was
Kisa Gotami.
 She kept running from one place to another so that someone could somehow revive
her dead child. She went from house to house, asking if she could get some
medicine that would' cure her child. She did not get it because her child was dead
and no medicine could have brought him back to life.
 Finally, a person sent her to Buddha because he was aware that Buddha would
surely help that poor woman to come to terms with her grief.
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 When she met the Buddha, he asked her to get a handful of mustard seeds from a
house where no one had lost a child, husband, parent, or friend. She went from
house to house, but could not get the mustard seeds because there was not a single
house where no one had died in the family.
 Kisa Gotami understood this the second time that death is common to all and that
she was being selfish in her grief. There was no house where some beloved had not
died. This was the learning that Buddha wanted her to understand.
 The first time round, she was only thinking about her grief and was therefore asking
for a medicine that would cure her son.
 Moral of The Lesson: 'Selfishness' means being concerned only about one's own
interest and showing complete disregard for others' welfare. Yes, it can be said that
Kisa Gotami was being 'selfish in her grief. In the light of her tragedy, she was unable
to see that death is something that strikes all things living. In this sense, she was
selfish. If we take the usual sense of the word 'selfish', then calling Kisa Gotami
selfish would be inappropriate, because every person becomes selfish in his/her
grief.

Chapter 9- THE PROPOSAL

 In the short play "A Marriage Proposal," Anton Chekov describes the odd courtship of
Lomov, who seeks a marriage with his neighbour's daughter. Lomov, aged 35, is a
long time neighbour of Chubukov. He is a landowner who has inherited property from
his aunt. Though he is well fed and healthy, he suffers from palpitations and
sleeplessness due to his nervousness.
 He has passed the critical stage of marriage. He now knows that if he will search for
an ideal woman or true love, he will never be able to marry. So he is now desperate
to marry Natalya. He thinks that she is not bad looking and has some education. He
wants to lead a steady and regular life.
 So, he visits the house of his neighbour Chubukov early morning dressed in a formal
suit. Chubukov is surprised at the unexpected arrival of Lomov in his formal dress.
Lomov asks him for Natalya's hand in marriage. Chubukov is also desperately
looking for a suitable man for his 25-year-old daughter, Natalya. As a father of a
grown-up daughter, he immediately gives Lomov joyful permission to marry Natalya.
 She is invited into the room. Lomov becomes nervous and instead of putting forward
his proposal, he begins to beat about the bush. When he says that his Oxen
Meadows touch. her Birch Woods, she begins to argue with him about the ownership
of that piece of land. After her father notices they are arguing, he joins in, and then
sends Lomov out of the house.
 Chubukov. then tells his daughter that Lomov was there to propose to her. Natalya
repents and asks her father to call him back. Lomov comes and she asks him about
his hunting program. He says that he will start hunting after harvest because his best
dog has gone lame. At this point, Natalya contradicts him again and claims that her
dog Leap is better than his dog Guess. Thus the quarrel begins again till the over-
excitement makes Lomov faint in a chair. Seeing him quiet and unmoving, Natalya
thinks that he is dead and becomes hysterical.
 At last Lomov comes into senses and Chubukov forces them to kiss each other and
accept the marriage proposal. Immediately following the kiss, Natalya and Lomov
start quarrelling. Chubukov shouts for Champagne because he wants to celebrate
their marriage and at the same time he feels free of the burden of his grown-up
daughter.

FIRST FLIGHT (POEM)

Chapter 1- DUST OF SNOW

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 Dust of snow is a beautiful poem written by the famous poet Robert Frost. Though
the. poem is very brief it has a significant meaning. This poem is about guiding a
person who has lost all hope and is very sad. The snow falls like cotton flakes and
settles on trees. When fresh it has a powdery consistency. The dust of snow falls on
the poet as a crow shakes the branch. This pleasant snow shower changes the
poet's mood. The poet was feeling negative because of some reasons and after the
snow-dust he is feeling happier. The falling of dust of snow changes the mood of the
poet. The very small act of falling snow changed his sad mood into a happy one. The
poet's initial mood can be compared to that of a hemlock tree, and the later mood is
like that of a flower. The poem thus teaches us that we should not be hopeless and
there is always an opportunity and hope to change sadness into happiness.

Chapter 2- FIRE AND ICE

 The word 'desire' in the poem indicates all type of greed and lust. In today's world
also humankind's greed is endangering the very existence of the planet earth. Desire
propels us in hot pursuit of something, hence a good comparison with fire.
The word 'hate' in the poem indicates towards hatred and indifference which is as
cold as ice. If we compare this with people's attitude towards each other in modern
times we can see the hate for each other among different communities. Hate
between two nations is a sureshot way to hasten the end of this world. Hate makes
us cold towards others' progress and we try to shut our eyes towards that progress.
The coldness of ice can numb your senses; that is why hate has been compared with
ice.

Chapter 3- A TIGER IN THE ZOO

 Stanza 1:
He stalks in his vivid stripes
The few steps of his cage,
On pads of velvet quiet,
In his quiet rage.
 In this stanza, the poet describes the appearance of the tiger in the zoo and its daily
movements. He says that the stripes stand out distinctly, even when seen from a
distance. He moves very softly and steadily. The tiger can only walk the length of its
cage, and it covers that distance in a few steps only. The underside of the tiger's
paws is as smooth as velvet.. and so the paws do not create any sound as he walks.
It seems as if all the anger that the tiger feels at being caged is also suppressed in
the same way.
 Stanza 2:
He should be lurking in shadow,
Sliding through long grass
Near the water hole Where plump deer pass.
 In this stanza, the poet imagines an alternate life for the tiger that is currently living in
a zoo. He imagines what it would be like if the tiger was living in the current life. He
says that normally, a tiger should not be moving about in clear day light, but only in
the darkness among shadowy places in a forest. The tiger should be hiding itself
behind long grass so that its prey will not be able to detect its movement. In this way,
the tiger should approach the water-hole where all the animals including the plump
deer come to drink water. In other words, the tiger should be left in the wild to hunt
and gather its own food, rather than be fed by zoo authorities.
 Stanza 3:
He should be snarling around houses
At the jungle's edge,
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Baring his white fangs, his claws,

Terrorising the village!
 In this stanza, the poet says that even though he would prefer the tiger to live in the
wild, it is not as if it would lose all touch with human civilization. Once in a while, its
day to day movements would lead it towards the outer boundary of the forest, where
a few human residences can be found. The tiger would growl in its low and
intimidating voice as it walked at the periphery of those houses showing its fangs or
claws, with the intention of scaring all the inhabitants of that village.
 Stanza 4:
But he's locked in a concrete cell,
His strength behind bars,
Stalking the length of his cage,
Ignoring visitors.
 In this stanza, the poet stops imagining the tiger's alternate life and returns to its
current life. He says that the tiger is locked up, like a prisoner in a jail, within a small
cell made up of concrete. All the strength that resides in its body is locked behind
bars of metal that make up the gate of its cell. Hundreds of people come to see the
tiger every day at the zoo, but it does not pay any heed to these visitors. Instead the
tiger prefers to walk stealthily all over its cage.
 Stanza 5:
He hears the last voice at night,
The patrolling cars,
And stares with his brilliant eyes
At the brilliant stars.
 In this stanza, the poet describes how the day ends for the tiger. It stays awake till
the very last voice of the zookeeper locking up and going home can be heard. Even
after that it does not go to sleep. All night, park rangers keep a watch over the
surroundings of the zoo while driving around in their official vehicles. The tiger stays
awake and hears the sounds made by the cars of the patrolmen. He stares at the
stars in the night sky which twinkle bright like his eyes.

Chapter 4- HOW TO TELL WILD ANIMALS

 Stanza 1:
If ever you should go by chance
To jungles in the east;
And if there should to you advance
A large and tawny beast,
If he roars at you as you're dyin'
You'll know it is the Asian Lion...
 This is an extreme situation to identify a lion. The poet says that if the roar of the
animal is so fearsome that you feel like you are dying then you can be sure that you
are near a lion.
 Stanza 2:
Or if some time when roaming round,
A noble wild beast greets you,
With black stripes on a yellow ground,
Just notice if he eats you.
This simple rule may help you learn
The Bengal Tiger to discern.
 What would you do if you are greeted by a wild animal with black stripes on a yellow
body. It is only when the animal starts eating you, can you be sure that it is a tiger.
This simple rule can help you recognize the Bengal Tiger. But it is better not to wait
to be a tiger's lunch to identify it.
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 Stanza 3:
If strolling forth, a beast you view,
Whose hide with spots is peppered,
As soon as he has lept on you,
You'll know it is the Leopard.
'Twill do no good to roar with pain,
He'll only lep and lep again.
 If you happen to see an animal with spots which gives it a salt and pepper
appearance, wait until he leaps at you. When he does leap, you will know it is a
leopard. Because. no matter how hard you cry, it will continue to pounce at you. So
be careful and don't allow it to leap.
 Stanza 4:
If when you're walking round your yard
You meet a creature there,
Who hugs you very, very hard, Be sure it is a Bear.
If you have any doubts, I guess
He'll give you just one more caress.
 Bears are thought to be good wrestlers and can give a really tight hug. Although a
friendly hug is referred to as a bear hug. But if a real bear will hug you, then it may
not feel friendly at all.
 Stanza 5:
Though to distinguish beasts of prey
A novice might nonplus,
The Crocodile you always may
Tell from the Hyena thus:
Hyenas come with merry smiles;
But if they weep they're Crocodiles.
 Some animals are famous for their weird behaviour. For example, a laughing hyena's
voice resembles a human's laughing sound. A crocodile is said to shed tears while
eating its prey. So don't wait for a hyena to laugh or for a crocodile to weep.
 Stanza 6:
The true Chameleon is small,
A lizard sort of thing;
He hasn't any ears at all,
And not a single wing.
If there is nothing on the tree,
'Tis the chameleon you see.
 A chameleon or a garden lizard is an expert at camouflage. If you are unable to see
anything on a tree then chances are a chameleon is sitting there. As it changes
colour according to its surroundings and therefore it is difficult to spot. This ability to
camouflage helps the lizard to save itself from hunters.

Chapter 5- THE BALL POEM

 This poem, by John Berryman, is about losing something that you love, and learning
to grow up.
 It is about a little boy, who for the first time in his young life, is learning what it is like
to experience grief at the loss of a much beloved possession-his ball.
 To us, the loss of a ball is of minor consequence, and our reaction to it is to say 'O
there are other balls! But to a little boy, this is not so. A dime, another ball, is
worthless. Money is external, it cannot buy back our love, nor replace the things that
we love: the things that really matter.
 In this poem, the boy's ball personifies his young days and happy innocence. In this
world, people will take balls just as they will take away our innocence and force us to
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grow up. And once we lose this innocence, we can never get it back. The message
conveyed to the little boy is that balls will be lost always, but no one buys a ball back.
 Through this poem we learn how, throughout our life, we will be forced to do things
that we don't want to do; and will lose or have to give up the things that we love. But,
despite this, we have to learn to stand up-to be strong and get on with our life-no
matter how much it hurts inside. The only way one can survive; is by learning to
accept and letting go.

Chapter 6 – AMANDA!

 Stanza 1:
Don't bite your nails, Amanda!
Don't hunch your shoulders, Amanda!
Stop that slouching and sit up straight,
Amanda!
(There is a languid, emerald sea, where the sole inhabitant is me - a mermaid,
drifting blissfully.)
 While Amanda's mother(guardian) is mouthing right behaviour lessons for her, she is
engrossed in her own world. She is dreaming of being a mermaid who is drifting
blissfully in the sea. Drifting is different from Swimming. While swimming constitutes
controlled strokes, drifting is more careless. While swimming can be pointless drifting
can be more pleasant.
 Stanza 2:
Did you finish your homework, Amanda?
Did you tidy your room, Amanda?
I thought I told you to clean your shoes,
Amanda!
(I am an orphan, roaming the street.
I pattern soft dust with my hushed, bare feet.
The silence is golden, the freedom is sweet.)
 Amanda is being asked if she has finished her homework, cleaned her room. But
Amanda is feeling like an orphan who is roaming aimlessly in a street. Like a carefree
child she is making patterns on soft dust with her bare feet. She has shut her ears to
what is being told to her and instead is enjoying the golden silence of her inner world.
 Stanza 3:
Don't eat that chocolate, Amanda!
Remember your acne, Amanda!
Will you please look at me when I'm speaking to you,
Amanda!
(I am Rapunzel, I have not a care;
life in a tower is tranquil and rare;
I'll certainly never let down my bright hair!)
 Amanda is being asked not to eat chocolate to avoid her acne and also she is being
told to be attentive while her mother (guardian) is talking to her.
Rapunzel was a princess with long golden hair. Her hair was so strong that she used
to drop her hair from the watchtower she was living in and her prince charming used
to climb up with the help of her hair.
But Amanda wants to enjoy the tranquility of her tower and doesn't want to let down
her hair. She doesn't want any prince to disturb her peace.
 Stanza 4:
Stop that sulking at once, Amanda!
You're always so moody, Amanda!
Anyone would think that I nagged at you,
Amanda!
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 Her sulky face provokes her guardian to scold her for looking so gloomy. Because
the guardian thinks everybody will come to know that Amanda had been scolded.

Chapter 7- THE TREES

 Stanza 1:
The trees inside are moving out into the forest,
the forest that was empty all these days
where no bird could sit
no insect hide
no sun bury its feet in shadow
the forest that was empty all these nights
will be full of trees by morning.
All night the roots work
to disengage themselves from the cracks
in the veranda floor.
 The poet has tried to describe their emotions in artificial forests. The gardens we
make inside our drawing rooms are like artificial forests. The trees from indoors are
moving outside into the empty treeless forest.
These lines also explain that three things that cannot happen in a treeless forest are
the sitting of a bird on trees, the hiding of insects and the sun burying its feet in the
shadow of the forest.
The sun radiates heat and the given words create a picture of the hot, radiating sun
cooling its feet in the cool shadow of the forest. The sun's 'feet' refers to its rays that
reach the earth.
The roots of the trees work all night to disengage themselves from the cracks in the
veranda floor.
The trees are kept somewhere else during the night, where they try to escape
through the cracks of the veranda floor.
 Stanza 2:
The leaves strain toward the glass
small twigs stiff with exertion
long-cramped boughs shuffling under the roof
like newly discharged patients
half-dazed, moving
to the clinic doors.
 The leaves are trying to push through the glass window pane as if trying to escape
captivity. The leaves make efforts to move towards the glass, while the small twigs
get stiff with exertion.
 The branches are feeling cramped under the roof. This reminds the poet of a patient
who is being discharged from a clinic and is moving in a daze towards the clinic door.
 Stanza 3:
I sit inside, doors open to the veranda
writing long letters
in which I scarcely mention the departure
of the forest from the house.
The night is fresh, the whole moon shines
in a sky still open
the smell of leaves and lichen
still reaches like a voice into the rooms.
 The poet is seated at her writing desk, writing long letters about the preparation of
the trees.
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The poet does not mention about the trees and their preparation to go out of the
house because she is willing that they go out. It seems that the poet had been
preparing these trees to go out.
The trees that make long and discrete preparations to go out of the rooms symbolise
the poet's suppressed feelings. By writing a long letter and letting it go out, the poet
is trying to free herself.
Outside the captivity the night is full of freshness and the moon is shining. The smell
of leaves and lichen is reaching those inside the captivity like a voice coming from far
away.
 Stanza 4:
My head is full of whispers
which tomorrow will be silent.
Listen. The glass is breaking.
The trees are stumbling forward
into the night. Winds rush to meet them.
The moon is broken like a mirror,
its pieces flash now in the crown
of the tallest oak.
 This is like a dream come true for those trees in captivity. The glass pane has broken
and the trees are escaping. Now the moon is shining on top of the oak tree. It seems
that the moon has broken like a mirror and its pieces have fallen all over the head of
the oak tree to give it a crown of shining silver.
In the beginning of the third stanza, the poet says that the whole moon is shining in
the open sky in the fresh night. However, at the end of the stanza, she describes the
moon as broken into many pieces such as a shattered mirror.
This change is caused by the trees that have made their way from her home to
outside. Their branches have risen into the sky, blocking the moon, which is why the
moon seems to be broken into many pieces. These pieces can be seen flashing at
the top of the tallest oak tree.

Chapter 8- FOG

In this small poem the poet has compared the fog with a cat. Cats are very popular
pets in western countries. Fog comes like a cat, silently; making no sound with its
feet. The fog sits like a cat on its haunches looking over the harbour and the city. The
typical style of a cat sitting lazily over a wall is termed as a haunch. After sometimes
the fog moves on to another place.

Chapter 9- THE TALE OF CUSTARD THE DRAGON

 Stanza 1:
Belinda lived in a little white house,
With a little black kitten and a little grey mouse,
And a little yellow dog and a little red wagon,
And a realio, trulio, little pet dragon.
 In this stanza, we are introduced to Belinda who lives with her pets in a white house.
These pets are a black kitten, a gray mouse, a yellow dog and a dragon. They all use
a red wagon when they want to go out somewhere.
 Stanza 2:
Now the name of the little black kitten was Ink,
And the little grey mouse, she called him Blink,
And the little yellow dog was sharp as Mustard,
But the dragon was a coward, and she called him Custard.
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 This stanza tells us that the kitten being black is known as Ink, the mouse being tiny
as Blink, the dog being yellow as Mustard, and the dragon being cowardly as
Custard.
 Stanza 3:
Custard the dragon had big sharp teeth,
And spikes on top of him and scales underneath,
Mouth like a fireplace, chimney for a nose,
And realio, trulio, daggers on his toes.
 It is clear from this stanza that Custard was a full-grown dragon and could easily
defend himself against any danger, for he had sharp teeth, spikes on his back, scales
beneath his belly and dagger-like toes. He could also breathe fire.
 Stanza 4:
Belinda was as brave as a barrel full of bears,
And Ink and Blink chased lions down the stairs,
Mustard was as brave as a tiger in a rage,
But Custard cried for a nice safe cage.
 In this stanza; we are told that Belinda, Ink, Blink and Mustard were all brave, even
though they were much smaller in size than Custard, but that Custard was so
cowardly that he preferred to be caged if that would keep him safe.
 Stanza 5:
Belinda tickled him; she tickled him unmerciful,
Ink, Blink and Mustard, they rudely called him Percival,
They all sat laughing in the little red wagon
At the realio, trulio, cowardly dragon.
 This stanza tells us that Belinda and the others all made fun of Custard Ifor being so
afraid all the time. Belinda tickled him and Ink, Blink and Mustard ironically compared
him with the brave knight called Percival, I who had been in the service of King Arthur
to show him how unlike Percival he really was.
 Stanza 6:
Belinda giggled till she shook the house,
And Blink said Week!, which is giggling for a mouse,
Ink and Mustard rudely asked his age,
When Custard cried for a nice safe cage.
 In this stanza, we are told that whenever Custard wanted to be put in a cage, Belinda
and Blink giggled to their heart's content, and Ink and Mustard asked him how old he
was that he was scared of every little thing.
 Stanza 7:
Suddenly, suddenly they heard a nasty sound,
And Mustard growled, and they all looked around.
Meowch! cried Ink, and ooh! cried Belinda,
For there was a pirate, climbing in the winda.
 In this stanza, the poet describes a particular incident when Belinda and her pets all
heard an unpleasant sound. Mustard, sensing trouble, started growling. Ink and
Belinda cried out in horror, and finally they saw that a pirate was climbing into their
house through a window.
 Stanza 8:
Pistol in his left hand, pistol in his right,
And he held in his teeth a cutlass bright,
His beard was black, one leg was wood;
It was clear that the pirate meant no good.
 This stanza tell us that the pirate had guns in both hands and a knife between his
teeth. He also had a beard and a wooden leg. All in all, his appearance was quite
sinister and spelt danger.
 Stanza 9:
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Belinda' paled, and she cried, Help! Help!

But Mustard fled with a terrified yelp,
Ink trickled down to the bottom of the household,
And little mouse Blink strategically mouseholed.
 In this stanza, we see that Belinda became pale and started to cry for help, Mustard
ran away shrieking in terror, Ink hid in the basement or cellar, and Blink went into his
mousehole.
 Stanza 10:
But up jumped Custard, snorting like an engine,
Clashed his tail like irons in a dungeon,
With a clatter and a clank and a jangling squirm
He went at the pirate like a robin at a worm.
 In this stanza, we are told that Custard surprised everyone with his actions. He
jumped up and started snorting in indignation and anger. In fact, it sounded like an
engine revving. Then Custard beat his tail against the floor, and that sounded like the
metal chains in a dungeon being banged against one another. Finally, he charged
towards the pirate in the same way that a bird charges at a worm that it will eat.
 Stanza 11:
The pirate gaped at Belinda's dragon,
And gulped some grog from his pocket flagon,
He fired two bullets but they didn't hit,
And Custard gobbled him, every bit.
 In this stanza, we are shown the pirate's reaction to Custard The dragon. He knew
that he had no chance of winning against a dragon, so he just stared at Custard with
wide eyes and drank some grog from his flagon, preparing to be eaten alive. He
feebly fired two shots at Custard from his pistol, but his aim was off. And finally,
Custard ate him up in one bite.
 Stanza 12:
Belinda embraced him, Mustard licked him,
No one mourned for his pirate victim
Ink and Blink in glee did gyrate
Around the dragon that ate the pirate.
 In this stanza, we are told that Belinda gave Custard a hug and Mustard licked him.
So both Belinda and the dog expressed approval in their own way. Nobody spared a
thought for the pirate who had been eaten. Instead, Ink and Blink started dancing in a
happy mood.
 Stanza 13:
But presently up spoke little dog Mustard,
I'd have been twice as brave if I hadn't been flustered
And up spoke Ink and up spoke Blink,
We'd have been three times as brave, we think,
And Custard said, I quite agree
That everybody is braver than me.
Belinda still lives in her little white house,
With her little black kitten and her little grey mouse,
And her little yellow dog and her little red wagon,
And her realio, trulio, little pet dragon.
 In this stanza, After they all had expressed their gratitude towards Custard, they had
a change of mind. The little dog Mustard said he had not been able to do anything
because of some confusion, otherwise he would have been twice as brave as
Custard. Both Ink and Blink also said they too would have been three times braver
than Custard. To this, the dragon agreed that all of them were more brave than him.
We are told that everything has gone back to normal again. Belinda is living once
again in peace with her pets in her white house.
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 Stanza 14:
Belinda is as brave as a barrel full of bears,
And Ink and Blink chase lions down the stairs,
Mustard is as brave as a tiger in a rage,
But Custard keeps crying for a nice safe cage.
 In this stanza, we are told that Belinda, Ink, Blink and Mustard are still brave despite
knowing that the pirate could have easily killed them all. On the other hand, Custard
is still a coward and still longs for a safe cage.

Chapter 10- FOR ANNE GREGORY

 This poem is based on the conversation between a young woman and a young man.
She wants to be loved for herself alone not for her yellow coloured hair and physical
appearance. The poet has brought out the difference between loving someone for
the external beauty and the inherent inner beauty.
 The young man says that he has been thrown into a state of hopelessness by the
young woman's great honey colored ramparts at her ear. He remarks that he would
never love her alone but his love was for her yellow hair. Her ear is compared to a
rampart or a wall built to defend a castle, having a broad top with a walk-way.
 The young woman says that she can get a hair-dye and dye her hair in brown, or
black or carrot color. She wants to do so because the young man in despair may love
her for her own sake and not for the yellow colour of her hair.
 The young man says that he heard an old religious man announce solemnly the
previous night that he had found a passage from the holy book to prove that only
God could love the young lady for her own sake and not for her yellow hair.

FOOTPRINTS WITHOUT FEET

Chapter 1- A TRIUMPH OF SURGERY

 Tricki was a small dog and was excessively loved by his mistress, Mrs. Pumphrey
who was a rich and emotional lady and loved him so much that she overfed him.
 As a result Tricki became fat but Mrs. Pumphrey believed that he became lazy
because he suffered from malnutrition.
 Tricki had put on a lot of weight which made him lethargic. When Dr. Herriot saw the
fat dog like a bloated sausage he was shocked. He advised her to cut down on the
sweet things.
 He made a plan and told Mrs. Pumphrey that Tricki needed treatment for an ailment
which was possible only in the hospital. He told her that Tricki needed immediate
hospitalization and he needed to keep him under observation at his surgery for a
fortnight.
 The doctor knew that Mrs. Pumphrey would not be able to keep the dog on a proper
diet. When the greedy dog went to the hospital he had to remain hungry. He was
given food at fixed intervals. Soon he shed a lot of his extra body weight and became
quite active. He recovered completely and was transformed into a hard muscled dog.
 James Herriot treated the dog without medicine, or surgery.
When Tricki was at home he was pampered by Mrs. Pumphrey. He had a luxurious
life where he was served with cream cakes, chocolate and horlicks. But when he
came to the doctor he became all right. When Mrs. Pumphrey saw her active dog she
thanked the doctor. She was happy and filled with gratitude. She felt that it was a
triumph of surgery.

Chapter 2- THE THIEF’S STORY

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 Anil was a young writer. He was living his life very carelessly. He was writing for
magazines and earning money to run his life.
 Hari Singh took up a job with Anil and began to stay with him. Anil promised him that
he would teach him how to write and add numbers. He also taught him how to cook
tasty food. Hari Singh would go to buy things of daily need and made a profit of one
rupee each day. Anil was aware of this but he did not mind it. Both continued to live
together happily.
 A month passed. One day he saw Anil had bought a bundle of notes. He saw him put
them under the mattress. As Hari saw the bundle of notes, the thief in him awakened
and he decided to rob Anil that night. After finishing his dinner, Anil went to sleep
peacefully. Hari could not sleep, he woke up. He crept to the bed and slipped his
hand under the mattress. He found the notes and ran away on the road. Hari Singh
made up his mind that he would directly go to the railway station and would catch the
Lucknow Express. He thought that Anil would not be able to catch him if he ran away
from the city. Hari Singh reached the railway station, when Lucknow Express was
about to depart.
 Suddenly the good human being in him called out to him. The inner voice told him not
to betray the faith of Anil. The train was moving but Hari did not dare to catch it. He
remembered the innocent face of Anil and shuddered to think what Anil would think
about him. Anil would not worry about the money but he might feel bad that a man
who he had done so much for had broken his faith. There was conflict in the mind of
Hari Singh. He did not want to lose Anil's faith. He knew that Anil was a simple` man.
Moreover Anil was teaching him how to write and add numbers which could change
his life. He could become a respectable person in the society.
 He left the railway station. He came to the maidan and sat on the bench. Just then it
started raining heavily. It was the month of November and chilly wind started blowing.
 Then he went to the Clock Tower to save himself from the rain. He sat there under
the tower. Suddenly he remembered his notes. He touched the notes held by the
string of his pyjamas and found that all the notes were wet. He crept back again into
Anil's house and secretly put back the money under the mattress. The next day Anil
woke up, prepared tea for Hari and himself. He handed over fifty rupee note to Hari
and told him that he would be regularly paid now. Hari took the note and found that it
was still wet. He understood that Anil knew about the last night's episode.

Chapter 3- THE MIDNIGHT VISITOR

 This is a common story of a secret agent. What is uncommon is the way the author
describes this secret agent. He is not even very healthy.. He carries no guns.
Ausable is a secret agent and is accompanied by Fowler. Fowler was disappointed
with Ausable because he did not fit the description of any secret agent Fowler had
ever read about. Fowler, a young and romantic writer, could not imagine that a secret
agent could be so very fat like Ausable and would house himself in a dingy, small
room on the top floor. Fowler believes that stereotypically an agent should be thin
and tall which is an appearance trait that Ausable does not possess. He is no
linguistic genius-everybody could tell where he comes from because of his foreign
accent. He lives in a small hotel, communicates with his comrades by ordinary
telephone. There seems to be nothing mysterious, romantic or even exciting in his
life or his operations. No pistol fire, no dark-eyed beauties, no drug or poison.
 Ausable wins over a very critical situation due to his sheer presence of mind. Ausable
had ordered a drink and knew that it was the waiter knocking at the door. Being a
clever and sharp man he immediately thought of a plan. He told Max it was the police
who had come to check on him. He asked Max to jump out of the window into the
balcony. But actually there was no balcony on the other side of window and Max fell
down with a thud, thus leading to his end. Ausable did not use any kind of physical
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force to get rid of Max. Max due to his fear of punishment by the police jumps to his
death from the non-existing balcony that Ausable had told Max about. Ausable had
planned everything smartly to fool the conniving Max who was unable to compete
with Ausable's intelligence throughout the story.
 Fowler who believed that appearance played an important role in a secret agent's life
was astonished by the strong presence of mind and intelligence of Ausable. Fowler
was finally able to understand the power of intelligence over violence and that one
should not judge a book by its cover.
 But towards the end of the story Fowler's feelings undergo a change and he begins
to take a favourable response towards Ausable. This is so because he did realise
that in a difficult situation it is more important to be alert and have presence of mind
than to be physically strong. Ausable's intelligence proved to Fowler that one should
never judge people by the way they look because appearances can be very
misleading.

Chapter 4- A QUESTION OF TRUST

 This is a story about a robber named Horace Danby. He was about fifty-years old. He
was unmarried. He used to get attacks of hay fever during summer. He used to make
locks. He used to break one safe every year in order to arrange money for his hobby
of rare and expensive books. He would steal once in a year for the books and then
he would purchase books of his choice.
 He chose a house at Shotover Grange for his next robbery. He studied the house
looking at its rooms, its electrical wiring, etc. There was jewellery of around fifteen
thousand pounds in the safe of this house. The money after the sale of these jewels
would bring him enough money for his books.
 One day he saw the servants going for a movie and he planned to enter the house.
The family, as it is, was away to London. With his tools on his back, he entered the
house. But the flowers on the table made his nose tickle and he sneezed. Then he
put on his gloves and started the robbery. When he was trying to break open the safe
another young lady appeared there. She told him that she was the wife of the owner.
She told him that her husband was away. Horace got frightened and started begging
her pardon as he hated prison very much.
 Finally, the two reached a deal. The deal was that Horace would break open the safe
and hand over the jewellery to the lady for the night party and she would let him go.
Horace agreed. But he removed his gloves and then he started his work thinking that
the lady was really the wife of the owner. Thus his fingerprints were left all over the
house.
 He makes a promise to the lady that he will never rob again. He handed over the
jewellery to the young lady and went home. But after some days, he again started
planning a robbery to fulfill his desire of having rare books. But he could not
implement his plans as a policeman came to arrest him. His finger prints were found
all over the house and his plea that the owner's wife had asked him to break the safe
went unheard in the court of law. The owner's wife was an old woman who said that
he was a liar and he was sent to the prison.
 Now Horace is an assistant librarian in the prison. He often thinks of the sweet young
lady in the red dress who said she was the owner's wife and tricked him. He gets
very angry when any one talks about the 'honour among thieves!

Chapter 5- FOOTPRINTS WITHOUT FEET

 Griffin, a Scientist discovers a rare drug which can make a person invisible.
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 He was not liked by his landlord and the landlord wanted to eject him. Griffin decided
to take revenge on the landlord. He swallowed the drug and put the house on fire. He
took his clothes off and became invisible and ran away.
 Now, he could see everyone but no one could see him. He was safe from being
caught. But he was without clothes and it was very cold. He passed the night in a
London store. He stole goods and money from the store. He had a meal there and
slept overnight.
 The next morning two attendants came into the store found him and chased him
away.
He was again homeless and without clothes.
 He then loots the shopkeeper of a theatrical company and catches a train to a village
called Iping. He stayed at an inn. He stole money from the clergy man's desk.
 Suspicion falls on the scientist when he pays the rent. Mrs. Hall finds the room of the
scientist opened. She wants to look into the room. A hat springs up and hits on her
face. The chair of the room comes to life and forces Mr. and Mrs. Hall out of the
room.
 Suddenly Griffin appears from nowhere. When Mr. and Mrs. Hall enquire about the
theft Griffin gets angry. He removes the bandages and his nose falls. Now he was
headless.
 A policeman named Jaffers was called to arrest the headless man but he is wounded
by the invisible scientist. A strange fight took place. Griffin took off his bandages, his
glasses and his hat. People were horrified. Griffin hits the policeman. He manages to
free himself and runs away.

Chapter 6 – THE MAKING OF A SCIENTIST

 Richard H. Ebright published his theory of how cells work in an article in the
Proceedings of the National Academy of Science at the age of twenty two.
 Richard H. Ebright grew up in Reading in Pennsylvania. There he was not able to do
anything. He was not able to play football or baseball too. But he said that there he
could do one thing-collect things. So he collected things.
 In Kindergarten, Ebright collected butterflies. He also collected rocks, fossils, and
coins. He would observe the sky at night too. He would live with his mother, who
encouraged his interest in learning. She would take him on trips, bought him a
telescope, microscope, cameras, mounting materials, and other materials required
for learning. He lost his father when he was in third grade. His mother would call him
Richie. His mother would discuss with him every night and give him mental exercise
instead of physical exercise which he wanted to learn.
 By the time he was in the second grade, Ebright had collected all twenty-five species
of butterflies found around his hometown.
Richard said that this would have been end of his butterfly collection. But his mother
gave him a children's book called "The Travels of Monarch X" That book, which told
how monarch butterflies migrate to Central America, opened the world of science to
Richard.
 At the end of book readers were invited to help study butterfly migration They were
asked to tag butterflies for research by Dr. Frederick A. Urquhart of the University of
Toronto, Canada. Anyone who found a tagged butterfly was asked to send the tag to
Dr. Urquhart.
 If you tried to catch them one by one, you won't catch very much. So Richard raised
a flock of butterflies. He would catch a female monarch, take her eggs, and raise
them in his basement through their life cycle, from egg to caterpillar to pupa to adult
butterfly. Then he would tag the butterflies' wings and let them go. For several years
his basement was home to thousands of monarchs in different stages of
development.
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 He got a hint of what real science is when he entered a county science fair and lost.
He said that, "it was a sad feeling to sit there and not get anything while everybody
else had won something". His entry was slides of frog tissues, which he showed
under a microscope. He realized that winners had tried to do real experiments. And
he decided that for the next year, he had to do something extraordinary than others.
So he asked Dr. Urquhart for suggestions and back came a stack of suggestions.
 For his eighth grade project, Ebright tried to find the cause of a viral disease that kills
nearly all monarch caterpillars every few years. Ebright thought the disease might be
carried by a beetle. So he rose caterpillars in the presence of beetles. But he didn't
get any real result. He went ahead and showed that he had tried the experiment.
 The next year his science fair project was testing the theory that viceroy butterflies
copy monarchs. The theory was that viceroys look like monarchs because monarchs
don't taste good to birds. Viceroys, on the other hand, do taste good to birds. So the
more they look like monarchs, the less likely they are to become a bird's dinner.
 Ebright's project was to see whether, in fact, birds would eat monarchs. He found
that a starling would not eat ordinary bird food. It would eat all the monarchs it could
get. (Ebright said later research by other people showed that viceroys probably do
copy the monarch.) This project was placed first in the zoology division and third
overall in the county science fair.
 In his second year in high school, Richard Ebright began the research that led to his
discovery of an unknown insect hormone. Indirectly, it also led to his new theory on
the life of cells. The question he tried to answer was simple: What is the purpose of
the twelve tiny gold spots on a monarch pupa?
 "Everyone assumed the spots were just ornamental," Ebright said. “But Dr. Urquhart
didn't believe it."
 To find the answer, Ebright and another excellent science students first had to build a
device that showed that the spots were producing a hormone necessary for the
butterfly's full development.
 This project won Ebright first place in the county fair and entry into the international
Science and Engineering Fair. There he won third place for zoology. He also got a
chance to work during the summer at the entomology laboratory of the Walter Reed
Army Institute of Research. As a high school junior, Richard Ebright continued his
advanced experiments on the monarch pupa. That year his project won first place at
the International Science Fair and gave him another chance to work in the army
laboratory during the summer.

Chapter 7 – THE NECKLACE

 Matilda is born in a low-class family; with no money for dowry and is married to
Monsieur Loisel, a clerk from the Board of Education. Matilda-now Madame Loisel-
had always felt like she should have been upper class, and is unhappy in her married
life. She hates their home, their food, and her lack of fine clothing and jewellery.
 One evening, her husband excitedly presents her with an invitation to attend an event
at the Minister of Public Instruction's home. To the surprise of M. Loisel, Mme. Loisel
throws the invitation away in dismay, weeping and complaining that she has nothing
to wear to such an event. Her husband offers to give her the money for something
suitable, but as the day of the ball approaches, she is still dismayed. When asked
why, she replies that she is embarrassed to attend the ball without any jewels. Her
husband suggests that she asks to borrow some jewels from her rich friend, Madame
Forestier. She agrees and goes to see her friend the next day, greedily choosing one
of Madame Forestier's finest necklaces.
 At the ball, Madame Loisel is a hit-elegant, joyful, and noticed. She and M. Loisel
return home at nearly 4 o'clock in the morning, and only when they arrive home does
Mme. Loisel realize she has lost the necklace.
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 After a week with no news, M. Loisel proclaims that they must replace it, and the
couple finds a replacement for 36,000 francs. Loisel has 18,000 francs from his
father's will and borrows the remaining sum, bit-by-bit making "ruinous promises"
along the way. After all this, Madame Loisel is able to return the newly bought
necklace in the original case, apparently rousing no suspicion.
 To pay off the debt, both Monsieur and Madame Loisel work tirelessly and after ten
years, they are finally able to pay off all of their debts. One day, while taking a walk,
Madame Loisel runs into Madame Forestier. She approaches her old friend, but
Mme. Forestier almost doesn't recognize her.
 In sudden emotion, Madame Loisel reveals her entire story of losing the necklace,
replacing it, and working off the cost of the replacement ever since. In response,
Madame Forestier replies that the original necklace contained no actual diamonds
but rather fake diamonds, meaning the original necklace cost no more than 500
francs.
 MATILDA LOISEL
A beautiful woman who yearns for a life of luxury and wealth. When she is invited to
a fancy party, she borrows a necklace from her wealthy friend Madame Forestier
because she refuses to go to the party without expensive jewels and a beautiful
gown. After a night of happiness, during which she immerses herself in the life of
glamour that she believes she deserves, she spends the next ten years paying for
her fleeting happiness as a result of losing the borrowed necklace.
 MONSIEUR LOISEL
Matilda's devoted husband who is content with his humble lifestyle. He finds it
completely incomprehensible that Matilda does not accept their lifestyle; nonetheless,
he appeases her desires for glamour and fun because he wishes for her to be happy.
 MADAME FORESTIER
Matilda's wealthy friend. Every time Matilda visits her, Matilda is consumed with
jealousy. Madame Forestier lends Matilda the necklace for the party; eventually, we
discover that the necklace contained fake diamonds.

Chapter 8- BHOLI

 The protagonist in this story is a young girl named Bholi who is ugly and who
stammers.
As she is different from her siblings, she does not get proper care in her family.
 Bholi's real name was Sulekha but she was called Bholi, the simpleton as she was a
backward child. After her education Bholi changed to Sulekha and her assertiveness
during her marriage is her announcement to the world that she is no more a Bholi but
Sulekha.
 Bholi was the fourth daughter of Ramlal who had seven children. Bholi remained a
backward child due to an injury on her head when she was ten months old. She was
fair and pretty at birth but when she was two years old, she had an attack of smallpox
which left deep black marks all over her body. She started speaking only when she
turned five but she stammered when she spoke and as a result she was always
mimicked or made fun of by the other children. Therefore, Bholi talked very little.
 Unlike Ramlal's other children, she was not healthy and strong. She was frightened
at first when her father wanted to take her to school. But when she was bathed and
given fresh clothes to wear, she began to believe that she was being taken to a place
better than her home.
 Bholi did not know what exactly a school was and what happened there, but when
she saw girls like her present there, she was glad. She hoped that one of those girls
would become her friend. In the class when her teacher asked her name, she tried to
tell her but the girls started laughing when she stammered. She cried and kept her
head down throughout the class.
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 When her teacher called out her name softly after the class was over, she was very
touched because no one had ever spoken to her in such soft voice. The teacher was
very encouraging and friendly to her and this helped her gain confidence. She started
seeing a ray of hope for a new life. After years of gaining education and with the help
of her teacher, Bholi turned into a confident girl. She no longer stammered and could
speak properly. She even had the courage to refuse marrying the lame old man
because he was greedy and asked money from her father to marry her.
 On seeing her father worried about her marriage, she said that he need not worry as
she would teach in the same school where she learnt so much and would take care
of him and her mother in their old age.

Chapter 9 – THE BOOK THAT SAVED THE EARTH

 The Book That Saved The Earth' is a play full of creativity and imagination.
 The different characters like Think-Tank, Noodle, Oop, Omega, lota etc. play the
Martian living beings. The play is set in the 25th century. The play tells us in detail
how "the book' successfully saved the Earth from Martian invasion.
 Think-Tank who is the mightiest and the most brilliant among all the Martians is the
commander-in-chief. Think-Tank conducts the manned space probe in order to ask
them their position. He asks them to show him the place closely. They were in a
library full of different books. But they fail to understand where they were and what
were these (the books) objects.
 Think-Tank tries to show his intelligence and tells his crew that the thing in question
was a sandwich. Then one of the crew members even eats the corner of a book to
confirm the views of Think-Tank.
 After some time. Noodle suggests to Think-Tank that it (the book) was not for eating
but for communication with ears. After some time Noodle again suggests to Think-
Tank that it was not for ear communication but for eye communication.
 They make several wild guesses about the book and finally arrive at the conclusion
that it must be a communication device for the earthlings.
 They try to decode what is written in the book. The book is full of nursery rhymes. As
Oop starts reading the book of nursery rhymes to Think-Tank he senses trouble.
Their encoding tells them that earthlings must have been on a mission to attack the
Mars.
 He decides against the invasion of Earth. Fearing the attack on Mars, they
immediately leave Earth and fly away to the distant Alpha Centauri.