English Book

Notes for the T
Teacher
eacher
Beehive, a textbook in English for Class IX, is based on the new syllabus in
English which was prepared as a follow-up to the National Curriculum
Framework , 2005. The curriculum calls for an approach that is rich in
comprehensible input and adopts a language-across-the-curriculum,
multilingual perspective. This reader aims at helping the child to read for
meaning, and to learn to communicate in English with confidence and
accuracy.
Care has been taken to give a central place to the learner in the process
of teaching and learning. Learner-friendly language has been used in
the instructions, and the exercises and activities are addressed to the
child. In this process the teacher is a facilitator or a co-learner.
A rich variety of reading material has been provided to include the literary,
cultural and sociological dimensions of texts. The themes range from
childhood and adolescence, to disability, talent and achievement, to
music, science, and contemporary social and environmental concerns.
The range is as inclusive as possible, keeping in view the interest and
cognitive development of the learners. The book draws on different genres
such as story, biography and autobiography; science fiction; humour;
travelogue; and the one-act play.
The number of poems has been increased to help learners explore this
great source of language, derive the joy of learning through poetry, and
understand the music of words. An attempt has been made to include
different types of poems such as the lyric, the ballad and the humorous
poem.
The poems have been chosen for their simplicity and suitability in terms
of language and thought. We need not talk about the poet or the
background to the poem, unless the poem seems to demand it. Nor
should we attempt to exhaust all the possibilities of a poem; we should
encourage the students to begin to see some of the possibilities. They
should be guided to apprehend the poem through the visual, the auditory,
the tactile, the intellectual, or the emotional channels, and to understand
the suggestiveness of the images.
An attempt has been made to help the learner develop the skill of
predicting and anticipating what follows. Every good reader should guess
what is coming next. The task ‘Before You Read’ given at the beginning
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of each unit is designed for this purpose. Learners should be encouraged
to participate in this activity.
The section ‘Thinking about the Text’ attempts to move from surface
level understanding of the text to critical thinking. The comprehension
exercises given here try to help the learners infer meaning. There are a
few questions which ask for the readers’ judgment; they aim to bring
out the learners’ deeper understanding of the text.
In the section ‘Thinking about Language’:
• Vocabulary enrichment has been attempted through a variety of
tasks on the usage of words closely related in meaning, matching
words to meanings, word building (including phrasal verbs), and
reference to the dictionary. An activity on the use of the index has
been included.
• Attention has been drawn to grammar-in-context that emerges out of
the reading text, e.g. the use of the tenses and voice, reported speech,
conditional and subordinate clauses or phrases, and adverbs.
The communicative skills have been exercised by tasks on Speaking
and Writing. The Speaking tasks call for learners to work in pairs or
groups, (for example) to present an argument, express a viewpoint,
express contrasts, seek or give an opinion, introduce a speaker, tell a
story, enact or read out a play in parts, etc.
There are a variety of writing tasks: help writing newspaper report, an
article for a school magazine, argumentative writing, narration,
description, and picture interpretation.
A small attempt has been made to relate speech and writing by pointing
out similarities and differences. Opportunities for writing in groups and
pairs are provided to get into the task.
We have introduced the old exercise of dictation again but from a
completely different perspective. Dictation has been introduced in its
current, updated form as a variety of activities designed to integrate the
language skills of listening, prior reading, language processing and recall,
and writing, including the appropriate use of punctuation in meaningful
contexts.
Some exercises also allow scope for the learners’ languages to support
one another’s by asking for reflection on relevant words, or poems or
stories in other languages; and attempt (preliminary as they may be) to
attend to the process of translation. Activities have been suggested to
bring out the relatedness of the learners’ school subjects.
2 / Beehive
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Units 1–3
1. THE FUN THEY HAD

This story takes us to the world of the future where computers will play
a major role. Let the children talk freely about how they imagine the
schools of the future that their own children might go to. You might want
to explain the ideas of ‘virtual reality’ and ‘virtual classroom’. The term
‘virtual reality’ refers to a reality created by computer software, and a
‘virtual classroom’ is not a real classroom but one where learning is
through computer software or the Internet. The children may know what
a robot is, and be able to guess what a robotic teacher would be.
In this unit students are required to present their arguments in a debate.
The following points could be explained before the task.
• A debate is a contest between two speakers or two groups of speakers
to show skill and ability in arguing.
• A proposition, a question or a problem is required for this purpose,
which can be spoken for or against.
• To participate in a debate, one must prepare for it. So, one must
prepare an outline of the main points in the order in which one is
going to argue.
• The time limit is about four to five minutes.
• The speaker addresses the audience.
• Every topic/subject has its own vocabulary. These must be learnt.
• The speaker addresses the chair (Mr President/Madam), ‘submits’
an argument, ‘appeals’ for sympathetic understanding and support,
‘questions’ the opponent’s views, and ‘concludes’ an argument.
2. THE SOUND OF MUSIC

These biographical pieces tell us of people who have achieved success
and recognition through determination, hard work and courage. The
children may be asked to think of potential barriers to success, and of
people who have overcome them. The second part of the unit encourages
students to think about the rich heritage of Indian music, and our musical
instruments. The portraits of musicians given in the beginning may be
supplemented by others that the children can be asked to bring to class.
A comprehension exercise in Part II encourages children to find words in
the text that express attitudes (positive, negative or neutral) to events,
places, etc. Encourage the children to compare and discuss their answers.
Dictionary entries give us different kinds of information about words. Children
need help in using the dictionary to find specific kinds of information.
Notes for the Teacher / 3
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This unit has an exercise that asks students to consult a dictionary and
find out which adjective can be used before a noun, which can be used
after a verb, and which can be used in both ways. You may add some
adjectives to those suggested. Encourage the children also to find more
adjectives of the kinds mentioned. Students may wish to consult (in
addition to the Oxford Advanced Learner’s Dictionary), the Longman
Dictionary of Contemporary English, the Collins Cobuild Advanced Learner’s
English Dictionary, and the Word Master (Orient Longman), or any good
dictionary of their choice.
The Speaking exercise asks the students to imagine introducing a
celebrity guest to an audience. It can be made an authentic activity if
students are given a couple of minutes during the morning assembly to
speak to their fellow-pupils about such a person. This would give them
practice in facing an audience, and encourage them to prepare seriously,
by: (i) noting down the important points about the person to be
introduced, (ii) using appropriate phrases to introduce the person
(students should be allowed to think what phrases they want to use).
The Writing Task is an exercise in comparison. Hard work is a trait common
to Evelyn Glennie (Part I, para 5) and Bismillah Khan (Part II, para 5).
Help children identify the paragraphs that tell us about the two musicians’
goals. After they read and understand these parts of the text, they can
organise the ideas in two paragraphs, one on each musician.
3. THE LITTLE GIRL

The aim in this unit is to first read through the story at one go, not worrying
about difficult words or difficult language. Students can read the story for
homework and come to class; or the teacher can read out the story in
class; or the students can read out parts of the story in the class, one
after the other. Let them retell the story again, if necessary, in parts.
The dictionary exercise in this unit shows how a very small common
word can be used in different ways. Students might be interested in
thinking about how they use words in their own language to express
these meanings. They may also think of other words like same, small,
give and take to convey different kids of meaning. Encourage them to
consult a dictionary.
This is a story about the changing attitude of a girl child towards her
father. The Speaking and Writing exercises encourage the students to
think about the relationship between children and parents. The students
should be encouraged to say or write what they think, and not what the
teacher thinks they should say or write. The aim is not to arrive at
a ‘correct’ answer, but to let every child voice an opinion and express
her/his ideas. It is hoped that children will find the topic of personal
relevance. This will help their ideas and language to flow freely.
4 / Beehive
2024-25
un They Had
1. The FFun
BEFORE YOU READ

• The story we shall read is set in the future, when books and
schools as we now know them will perhaps not exist. How
will children study then? The diagram below may give you
some ideas.
Learning
through Virtual
computers classroom
Schools of
the Future
Robotic
Moving
teacher
e-text
• In pairs, discuss three things that you like best about your
school and three things about your school that you would
like to change. Write them down.
• Have you ever read words on a television (or computer) screen?
Can you imagine a time when all books will be on computers,
and there will be no books printed on paper? Would you like
such books better?
1. MARGIE even wrote about it that night in her diary.

On the page headed 17 May 2157, she wrote, “Today
Tommy found a real book!”
It was a very old book. Margie’s grandfather once
said that when he was a little boy his grandfather
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told him that there was a time when all stories
were printed on paper.
They turned the pages, which were yellow and
crinkly, and it was awfully funny to read words crinkly: with many
that stood still instead of moving the way they were folds or lines
supposed to — on a screen, you know. And then
when they turned back to the page before, it had
the same words on it that it had had when they
read it the first time.
2. “Gee,” said Tommy, “what a waste. When you’re
through with the book, you just throw it away, I
guess. Our television screen must have had a million
books on it and it’s good for plenty more. I wouldn’t
throw it away.”
“Same with mine,” said Margie. She was eleven
and hadn’t seen as many telebooks as Tommy had.
He was thirteen.
She said, “Where did you find it?”
“In my house.” He pointed without looking,
because he was busy reading. “In the attic.” attic: a space just
“What’s it about?” below the roof, used
as a storeroom
“School.”
3. Margie was scornful. “School? What’s there to write scornful:
about school? I hate school.” contemptuous;
showing you think
Margie always hated school, but now she hated something is
it more than ever. The mechanical teacher had been worthless
giving her test after test in geography and she had
been doing worse and worse until her mother had
shaken her head sorrowfully and sent for the County
Inspector.
4. He was a round little man with a red face and a
whole box of tools with dials and wires. He smiled
at Margie and gave her an apple, then took the
teacher apart. Margie had hoped he wouldn’t know
how to put it together again, but he knew how all
right, and, after an hour or so, there it was again,
large and black and ugly, with a big screen on which
all the lessons were shown and the questions were
asked. That wasn’t so bad. The part Margie hated
6 / Beehive
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most was the slot where she had to put homework slot: a given space,
time or position
and test papers. She always had to write them out
in a punch code they made her learn when she was
six years old, and the mechanical teacher calculated
the marks in no time.
5. The Inspector had smiled after he was finished and
patted Margie’s head. He said to her mother, “It’s
not the little girl’s fault, Mrs Jones. I think the
geography sector was geared a little too quick. Those geared (to): adjusted
things happen sometimes. I’ve slowed it up to an to a particular
standard or level
average ten-year level. Actually, the overall pattern
of her progress is quite satisfactory.” And he patted
Margie’s head again.
Margie was disappointed. She had been hoping
they would take the teacher away altogether. They
had once taken Tommy’s teacher away for nearly a
month because the history sector had blanked out
completely.
So she said to Tommy, “Why would anyone write
about school?”
6. Tommy looked at her with very superior eyes.
“Because it’s not our kind of school, stupid. This is
the old kind of school that they had hundreds and
hundreds of years ago.” He added loftily, loftily: in a superior
pronouncing the word carefully, “Centuries ago.” way
Margie was hurt. “Well, I don’t know what
kind of school they had all that time ago.” She read
the book over his shoulder for a while, then said,
“Anyway, they had a teacher.”
They had a teacher... It was a man.

The Fun They Had / 7
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“Sure they had a teacher, but it wasn’t a regular regular: here,
teacher. It was a man.” normal; of the usual
kind
“A man? How could a man be a teacher?”
“Well, he just told the boys and girls things and
gave them homework and asked them questions.”
7. “A man isn’t smart enough.”
“Sure he is. My father knows as much as my
teacher.”
“He knows almost as much, I betcha.” betcha (informal):
Margie wasn’t prepared to dispute that. She said, (I) bet you (in fast
speech): I’ m sure
“I wouldn’t want a strange man in my house to
teach me.” dispute: disagree
with
Tommy screamed with laughter. “You don’t know
much, Margie. The teachers didn’t live in the
house. They had a special building and all the
kids went there.”
“And all the kids learned the same thing?”
“Sure, if they were the same age.”
8. “But my mother says a teacher has to be adjusted to
fit the mind of each boy and girl it teaches and that
each kid has to be taught differently.”
“Just the same they didn’t do it that way then.
If you don’t like it, you don’t have to read the book.”
“I didn’t say I didn’t like it,” Margie said quickly.
She wanted to read about those funny schools.
They weren’t even half finished when Margie’s
mother called, “Margie! School!”
Margie looked up. “Not yet, Mamma.”
“Now!” said Mrs Jones. “And it’s probably time
for Tommy, too.”
Margie said to Tommy, “Can I read the book some
more with you after school?”
9. “May be,” he said nonchalantly. He walked away nonchalantly: not
whistling, the dusty old book tucked beneath showing much
interest or
his arm. enthusiasm;
Margie went into the schoolroom. It was right carelessly
next to her bedroom, and the mechanical teacher
was on and waiting for her. It was always on at the
same time every day except Saturday and Sunday,
8 / Beehive
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The mechanical teacher was flashing on the screen...
because her mother said little girls learned better

if they learned at regular hours.
The screen was lit up, and it said: “Today’s
arithmetic lesson is on the addition of proper
fractions. Please insert yesterday’s homework in the
proper slot.”
10. Margie did so with a sigh. She was thinking about
the old schools they had when her grandfather’s
grandfather was a little boy. All the kids from the
whole neighborhood came, laughing and shouting
in the schoolyard, sitting together in the schoolroom,
going home together at the end of the day. They
learned the same things, so they could help one
another with the homework and talk about it.
And the teachers were people…
The mechanical teacher was flashing on the
screen: “When we add fractions ½ and ¼...”
Margie was thinking about how the kids must
have loved it in the old days. She was thinking
about the fun they had.
ISAAC ASIMOV
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Thinking about the T
Teext
Activity
Calculate how many years and months ahead from now Margie’s
diary entry is.
I. Answer these questions in a few words or a couple of sentences each.

1. How old are Margie and Tommy?
2. What did Margie write in her diary?
3. Had Margie ever seen a book before?
4. What things about the book did she find strange?
5. What do you think a telebook is?
6. Where was Margie’s school? Did she have any classmates?
7. What subjects did Margie and Tommy learn?
II. Answer the following with reference to the story.
1. “I wouldn’t throw it away.”
(i) Who says these words?
(ii) What does ‘it’ refer to?
(iii) What is it being compared with by the speaker?
2. “Sure they had a teacher, but it wasn’t a regular teacher. It was a man.”
(i) Who does ‘they’ refer to?
(ii) What does ‘regular’ mean here?
(iii) What is it contrasted with?
III. Answer each of these questions in a short paragraph (about 30 words).
1. What kind of teachers did Margie and Tommy have?
2. Why did Margie’s mother send for the County Inspector?
3. What did he do?
4. Why was Margie doing badly in geography? What did the County Inspector
do to help her?
5. What had once happened to Tommy’s teacher?
6. Did Margie have regular days and hours for school? If so, why?
7. How does Tommy describe the old kind of school?
8. How does he describe the old kind of teachers?
IV. Answer each of these questions in two or three paragraphs (100 –150 words).
1. What are the main features of the mechanical teachers and the schoolrooms
that Margie and Tommy have in the story?
2. Why did Margie hate school? Why did she think the old kind of school must
have been fun?
10 / Beehive
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3. Do you agree with Margie that schools today are more fun than the school in
the story? Give reasons for your answer.
Thinking about Language

I. Adverbs
Read this sentence taken from the story:
They had once taken Tommy’s teacher away for nearly a month because the
history sector had blanked out completely.
The word complete is an adjective. When you add –ly to it, it becomes an adverb.
1. Find the sentences in the lesson which have the adverbs given in the box
below.
awfully sorrowfully completely loftily

carefully differently quickly nonchalantly
2. Now use these adverbs to fill in the blanks in the sentences below.
(i) The report must be read so that performance can be

improved.
(ii) At the interview, Sameer answered our questions ,

shrugging his shoulders.
(iii) We all behave when we are tired or hungry.
(iv) The teacher shook her head when Ravi lied to her.
(v) I forgot about it.
(vi) When I complimented Revathi on her success, she just smiled

and turned away.
(vii) The President of the Company is busy and will not

be able to meet you.
(viii) I finished my work so that I could go out to play.
Remember:
An adverb describes action. You can form adverbs by adding –ly to adjectives.
Spelling Note: When an adjective ends in –y, the y changes to i when you
add –ly to form an adverb.
For example: angr-y → angr-i-ly
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3. Make adverbs from these adjectives.
(i) angry (ii) happy
(iii) merry (iv) sleepy
(v) easy (vi) noisy
(vii) tidy (viii) gloomy
II. If Not and Unless
• Imagine that Margie’s mother told her, “You’ll feel awful if you don’t finish
your history lesson.”
• She could also say: “You’ll feel awful unless you finish your history lesson.”
Unless means if not. Sentences with unless or if not are negative conditional
sentences.
Notice that these sentences have two parts. The part that begins with if not or
unless tells us the condition. This part has a verb in the present tense (look at
the verbs don’t finish, finish in the sentences above).
The other part of the sentence tells us about a possible result. It tells us what
will happen (if something else doesn’t happen). The verb in this part of the
sentence is in the future tense ( you’ll feel/you will feel ).
Notice these two tenses again in the following examples.
Future Tense Present Tense
• There won’t be any books left unless we preserve them.
• You won’t learn your lessons if you don’t study regularly.
• Tommy will have an accident unless he drives more slowly.
Complete the following conditional sentences. Use the correct form of the verb.
1. If I don’t go to Anu’s party tonight,
2. If you don’t telephone the hotel to order food,
3. Unless you promise to write back, I
4. If she doesn’t play any games,
5. Unless that little bird flies away quickly, the cat
Writing
A new revised volume of Issac Asimov’s short stories has just been released.
Order one set. Write a letter to the publisher, Mindfame Private Limited, 1632
Asaf Ali Road, New Delhi, requesting that a set be sent to you by Value Payable
Post (VPP), and giving your address. Your letter will have the following parts.
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• Addresses of the sender and receiver
• The salutation
• The body of the letter
• The closing phrases and signature
Your letter might look like this:
Your address
Date (DD/MM/YY)
The addressee’s address
Dear Sir/Madam,
Yours sincerely,
Your signature
Remember that the language of a formal letter is different from the

colloquial style of personal letters. For example, contracted forms
such as ‘I’ve’ or ‘can’t’ are not used.
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Speaking
In groups of four discuss the following topic.
‘The Schools of the Future Will Have No Books and No Teachers!’
Your group can decide to speak for or against the motion. After this, each group
will select a speaker to present its views to the entire class.
You may find the following phrases useful to present your argument in the debate.
• In my opinion . . .
• I/we fail to understand why . . .
• I wholeheartedly support/oppose the view that . . .
• At the outset let me say . . .
• I’d/we’d like to raise the issue of/argue against . . .
• I should like to draw attention to . . .
• My/our worthy opponent has submitted that . . .
• On the contrary . . .
• I firmly reject . . .
Do a Project
Nowadays use of digital devices has increased and digital services have made
our cash transactions easier and smoother. Government of India has taken
initiatives to digitalise cash transactions to buy things and pay bills. Following
are some of the digital initiatives to make people use digital services.
Take up a project in groups of four to collect opinions of people on the use of

digital services in their daily life. Develop an opionnaire to collect opinions of
about forty people in your neighbourhood. Divide the work among four to collect
the opinions, tabulate the ideas and write a report about the use of digital
devices. Once the project is completed, each group may present it to the whole
class. Charts may be created and displayed on the notice board.
14 / Beehive
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The Road Not Taken
aken
Tak
This well-known poem is about making choices, and the

choices that shape us. Robert Frost is an American poet who
writes simply, but insightfully, about common, ordinary
experiences.
Two roads diverged in a yellow wood,

And sorry I could not travel both
And be one traveller, long I stood
And looked down one as far as I could
To where it bent in the undergrowth;
Then took the other, just as fair,

And having perhaps the better claim,
Because it was grassy and wanted wear;
Though as for that the passing there
Had worn them really about the same.
And both that morning equally lay

In leaves no step had trodden black.
Oh, I kept the first for another day!
Yet knowing how way leads on to way,
I doubted if I should ever come back.
I shall be telling this with a sigh

Somewhere ages and ages hence;
Two roads diverged in a wood, and I —
I took the one less travelled by,
And that has made all the difference.
ROBERT FROST
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GLOSSARY
diverged: separated and took a different direction
undergrowth: dense growth of plants and bushes
wanted wear: had not been used
hence: here, in the future
Thinking about the Poem

I. 1. Where does the traveller find himself? What problem does he face?
2. Discuss what these phrases mean to you.
(i) a yellow wood
(ii) it was grassy and wanted wear
(iii) the passing there
(iv) leaves no step had trodden black
(v) how way leads on to way
3. Is there any difference between the two roads as the poet describes them
(i) in stanzas two and three?
(ii) in the last two lines of the poem?
4. What do you think the last two lines of the poem mean? (Looking back, does
the poet regret his choice or accept it?)
II. 1. Have you ever had to make a difficult choice (or do you think you will have
difficult choices to make)? How will you make the choice (for what reasons)?
2. After you have made a choice do you always think about what might have
been, or do you accept the reality?
Time is not measured by the passing of years

but by what one does, what one feels, and
what one achieves.
JAWAHARLAL NEHRU
16 / Beehive
2024-25
2. The Sound of Music
Part I
Evelyn Glennie Listens to Sound
without Hearing It
BEFORE YOU READ

• “God may have taken her hearing but he has given her back
something extraordinary. What we hear, she feels — far more
deeply than any of us. That is why she expresses music so
beautifully.”
• Read the following account of a person who fought against a
physical disability and made her life a success story.
1. R U S H hour crowds jostle for position on the jostle: push roughly

underground train platform. A slight girl, looking slight: small and
younger than her seventeen years, was nervous yet thin
excited as she felt the vibrations of the approaching
train. It was her first day at the prestigious Royal
Academy of Music in London and daunting enough daunting: frightening
for any teenager fresh from a Scottish farm. But
this aspiring musician faced a bigger challenge than aspiring musician: a
most: she was profoundly deaf. person who wants
to be a musician
2. Evelyn Glennie’s loss of hearing had been gradual.
Her mother remembers noticing something was
wrong when the eight-year-old Evelyn was waiting
to play the piano. “They called her name and she
didn’t move. I suddenly realised she hadn’t heard,”
says Isabel Glennie. For quite a while Evelyn
managed to conceal her growing deafness from
friends and teachers. But by the time she was
eleven her marks had deteriorated and her
headmistress urged her parents to take her to a
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specialist. It was then discovered that her hearing
was severely impaired as a result of gradual nerve impaired: weakened
damage. They were advised that she should be fitted
with hearing aids and sent to a school for the deaf.
“Everything suddenly looked black,” says Evelyn.
3. But Evelyn was not going to give up. She was
determined to lead a normal life and pursue her
interest in music. One day she noticed a girl playing
a xylophone and decided that she wanted to play it xylophone: a musical
too. Most of the teachers discouraged her but instrument with a
row of wooden bars
percussionist Ron Forbes spotted her potential. He of different lengths
began by tuning two large drums to different notes.
percussionist: a
“Don’t listen through your ears,” he would say, “try person who plays the
to sense it some other way.” Says Evelyn, “Suddenly drum, the tabla, etc.
I realised I could feel the higher drum from the potential: quality or
waist up and the lower one from the waist down.” ability that can be
Forbes repeated the exercise, and soon Evelyn developed
discovered that she could sense certain notes in
different parts of her body. “I had learnt to open my
mind and body to sounds and vibrations.” The rest
was sheer determination and hard work.
4. She never looked back from that point onwards.
She toured the United Kingdom with a youth
orchestra and by the time she was sixteen, she had
decided to make music her life. She auditioned for auditioned: gave a
the Royal Academy of Music and scored one of the short performance so
that the director
highest marks in the history of the academy. She could decide whether
gradually moved from orchestral work to solo she was good enough
performances. At the end of her three-year course,
she had captured most of the top awards.
5. And for all this, Evelyn won’t accept any hint of
heroic achievement. “If you work hard and know
where you are going, you’ll get there.” And she got
right to the top, the world’s most sought-after multi-
percussionist with a mastery of some thousand
instruments, and hectic international schedule.
6. It is intriguing to watch Evelyn function so intriguing: fascinating
effortlessly without hearing. In our two-hour and curious
discussion she never missed a word. “Men with
bushy beards give me trouble,” she laughed. “It is
18 / Beehive
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It is intriguing to watch Evelyn function
so effortlessly without hearing
not just watching the lips, it’s the whole face,

especially the eyes.” She speaks flawlessly with a flawlessly: without a
Scottish lilt. “My speech is clear because I could fault or mistake
hear till I was eleven,” she says. But that doesn’t lilt: a way of
explain how she managed to learn French and speaking
master basic Japanese.
7. As for music, she explains, “It pours in through
every part of my body. It tingles in the skin, my tingles: causes a
cheekbones and even in my hair.” When she plays slight pricking or
stinging sensation
the xylophone, she can sense the sound passing up
the stick into her fingertips. By leaning against the
drums, she can feel the resonances flowing into her resonances: echoes
body. On a wooden platform she removes her shoes of sounds
so that the vibrations pass through her bare feet
and up her legs.
The Sound of Music / 19
2024-25
8. Not surprisingly, Evelyn delights her audiences. In
1991 she was presented with the Royal
Philharmonic Society’s prestigious Soloist of the Year
Award. Says master percussionist James Blades,
“God may have taken her hearing but he has given
her back something extraordinary. What we hear,
she feels — far more deeply than any of us. That is
why she expresses music so beautifully.”
9. Evelyn confesses that she is something of a
workaholic. “I’ve just got to work . . . often harder workaholic (informal):
than classical musicians. But the rewards are a person who finds it
difficult to stop
enormous.” Apart from the regular concerts, Evelyn working
also gives free concerts in prisons and hospitals.
She also gives high priority to classes for young priority: great
musicians. Ann Richlin of the Beethoven Fund for importance
Deaf Children says, “She is a shining inspiration
for deaf children. They see that there is nowhere
that they cannot go.”
10. Evelyn Glennie has already accomplished more than
most people twice her age. She has brought
percussion to the front of the orchestra, and
demonstrated that it can be very moving. She has
given inspiration to those who are handicapped,
people who look to her and say, ‘If she can do it, I
can.’ And, not the least, she has given enormous
pleasure to millions.
DEBORAH COWLEY

Teext
I. Answer these questions in a few words or a couple of sentences each.
1. How old was Evelyn when she went to the Royal Academy of Music?
2. When was her deafness first noticed? When was it confirmed?
II. Answer each of these questions in a short paragraph (30 – 40 words).
1. Who helped her to continue with music? What did he do and say?
2. Name the various places and causes for which Evelyn performs.
III. Answer the question in two or three paragraphs (100 –150 words).
1. How does Evelyn hear music?
20 / Beehive
2024-25
Part II
The Shehnai of Bismillah Khan
BEFORE YOU READ

• Do you know these people? What instruments do they play?
• Think of the shehnai and the first thing you’ll probably imagine
is a wedding or a similar occasion or function. The next would
probably be Ustad Bismillah Khan, the shehnai maestro,
playing this instrument.
1. EMPEROR Aurangzeb banned the playing of a musical

instrument called pungi in the royal residence for
it had a shrill unpleasant sound. Pungi became the
generic name for reeded noisemakers. Few had generic name: a name
thought that it would one day be revived. A barber given to a class or
group as a whole
of a family of professional musicians, who had access
to the royal palace, decided to improve the tonal reeded: wind
instruments which
quality of the pungi. He chose a pipe with a natural have reeds like the
hollow stem that was longer and broader than the flute, the clarinet, etc.
pungi, and made seven holes on the body of the
pipe. When he played on it, closing and opening
some of these holes, soft and melodious sounds were
2024-25
produced. He played the instrument before royalty
and everyone was impressed. The instrument so
different from the pungi had to be given a new name.
As the story goes, since it was first played in the
Shah’s chambers and was played by a nai (barber),
the instrument was named the ‘shehnai’.
Pungi Shehnai
2. The sound of the shehnai began to be considered

auspicious. And for this reason it is still played in auspicious:
temples and is an indispensable component of any promising to bring
good fortune
North Indian wedding. In the past, the shehnai was
part of the naubat or traditional ensemble of nine indispensable:
without which a
instruments found at royal courts. Till recently it piece of work cannot
was used only in temples and weddings. The credit be done
for bringing this instrument onto the classical stage ensembles
goes to Ustad Bismillah Khan. (pronounced
3. As a five-year old, Bismillah Khan played gilli-danda ‘onsomble’): things
(here, instruments)
near a pond in the ancient estate of Dumraon in considered as a group
Bihar. He would regularly go to the nearby Bihariji
temple to sing the Bhojpuri ‘Chaita’, at the end of
which he would earn a big laddu weighing 1.25 kg,
a prize given by the local Maharaja. This happened
80 years ago, and the little boy has travelled far to
earn the highest civilian award in India — the
Bharat Ratna.
4. Born on 21 March 1916, Bismillah belongs to a
well-known family of musicians from Bihar. His
grandfather, Rasool Bux Khan, was the shehnai-
nawaz of the Bhojpur king’s court. His father,
paternal ancestors:
Paigambar Bux, and other paternal ancestors were ancestors of the
also great shehnai players. father
22 / Beehive
2024-25
5. The young boy took to music early in life. At the age of
three when his mother took him to his maternal
uncle’s house in Benaras (now Varanasi), Bismillah
was fascinated watching his uncles practise the
shehnai. Soon Bismillah started accompanying his
uncle, Ali Bux, to the Vishnu temple of Benaras where
Bux was employed to play the shehnai. Ali Bux would
play the shehnai and Bismillah would sit captivated
for hours on end. Slowly, he started getting lessons on end: for a very
in playing the instrument and would sit practising long time without
stopping
throughout the day. For years to come the temple of
Balaji and Mangala Maiya and the banks of the Ganga
became the young apprentice’s favourite haunts where
he could practise in solitude. The flowing waters of
the Ganga inspired him to improvise and invent raagas
that were earlier considered to be beyond the range
of the shehnai.
6. At the age of 14, Bismillah accompanied his uncle
to the Allahabad Music Conference. At the end of
his recital, Ustad Faiyaz Khan patted the young
boy’s back and said, “Work hard and you shall make
it.” With the opening of the All India Radio in
Lucknow in 1938 came Bismillah’s big break. He
soon became an often-heard shehnai player on radio.
7. When India gained independence on 15 August 1947,
Bismillah Khan became the first Indian to greet the
nation with his shehnai. He poured his heart out
into Raag Kafi from the Red Fort to an audience
which included Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru, who later
gave his famous ‘Tryst with Destiny’ speech.
8. Bismillah Khan has given many memorable
performances both in India and abroad. His first
trip abroad was to Afghanistan where King Zahir
Shah was so taken in by the maestro that he gifted
him priceless Persian carpets and other souvenirs.
The King of Afghanistan was not the only one to be taken in by: attracted
or charmed by
fascinated with Bismillah’s music. Film director
Vijay Bhatt was so impressed after hearing souvenirs: things
given in memory of a
Bismillah play at a festival that he named a film place, person or
after the instrument called Gunj Uthi Shehnai. The event
2024-25
film was a hit, and one of Bismillah Khan’s
compositions, “Dil ka khilona hai toot gaya ...,” turned
out to be a nationwide chartbuster! Despite this chartbuster: record-
huge success in the celluloid world, Bismillah breaker
Khan’s ventures in film music were limited to two: celluloid: old-
Vijay Bhatt’s Gunj Uthi Shehnai and Vikram fashioned way of
referring to films
Srinivas’s Kannada venture, Sanadhi Apanna. “I just
venture: project that
can’t come to terms with the artificiality and
often involves risk
glamour of the film world,” he says with emphasis.
9. Awards and recognition came thick and fast.
Bismillah Khan became the first Indian to be invited
to perform at the prestigious Lincoln Centre Hall in
the United States of America. He also took part in
the World Exposition in Montreal, in the Cannes
Art Festival and in the Osaka Trade Fair. So well
known did he become internationally that an
auditorium in Teheran was named after him —
Tahar Mosiquee Ustaad Bismillah Khan.
10. National awards like the Padmashri, the Padma
Bhushan and the Padma Vibhushan were
conferred on him. conferred: given,
11. In 2001, Ustad Bismillah Khan was awarded India’s usually an award or
a degree
highest civilian award, the Bharat Ratna. With the
coveted award resting on his chest and his eyes coveted: much
glinting with rare happiness he said, “All I would desired
like to say is: Teach your children music, this is
Hindustan’s richest tradition; even the West is now
coming to learn our music.’’
12. In spite of having travelled all over the world —
Khansaab as he is fondly called — is exceedingly
fond of Benaras and Dumraon and they remain for
him the most wonderful towns of the world. A
student of his once wanted him to head a shehnai
school in the U.S.A., and the student promised to
recreate the atmosphere of Benaras by replicating
the temples there. But Khansaab asked him if he
would be able to transport River Ganga as well.
Later he is remembered to have said, “That is why
whenever I am in a foreign country, I keep yearning
to see Hindustan. While in Mumbai, I think of only
Benaras and the holy Ganga. And while in Benaras,
I miss the unique mattha of Dumraon.”
24 / Beehive
2024-25
SHEKHAR GUPTA: When Partition happened, didn’t you and your
family think of moving to Pakistan?
BISMILLAH KHAN: God forbid! Me, leave Benaras? Never! I went
to Pakistan once—I crossed the border just to say I have been
to Pakistan. I was there for about an hour. I said namaskar
to the Pakistanis and salaam alaikum to the Indians! I had a
good laugh. (Readers’ Digest, October 2005)
13. Ustad Bismillah Khan’s life is a perfect example of

the rich, cultural heritage of India, one that devout: believing
effortlessly accepts that a devout Muslim like him strongly in a religion
and obeying its laws
can very naturally play the shehnai every morning and following its
at the Kashi Vishwanath temple. practices
[Ustad Bismillah Khan passed away on 21 August 2006 at

the age of ninety after a prolonged illness. He was given a
state funeral and the Government of India declared one day
of national mourning.]

Teext
I. Tick the right answer.
1. The (shehnai, pungi ) was a ‘reeded noisemaker.’
2. (Bismillah Khan, A barber, Ali Bux) transformed the pungi into a shehnai.
3. Bismillah Khan’s paternal ancestors were (barbers, professional musicians).
4. Bismillah Khan learnt to play the shehnai from (Ali Bux, Paigambar Bux,
Ustad Faiyaaz Khan).
5. Bismillah Khan’s first trip abroad was to (Afghanistan, U.S.A., Canada).
II. Find the words in the text which show Ustad Bismillah Khan’s feelings about
the items listed below. Then mark a tick (4) in the correct column. Discuss your
answers in class.
Bismillah Khan’s feelings about Positive Negative Neutral

1. teaching children music
2. the film world
3. migrating to the U.S.A.
4. playing at temples
5. getting the Bharat Ratna
6. the banks of the Ganga
7. leaving Benaras and Dumraon
2024-25
III. Answer these questions in 30– 40 words.
1. Why did Aurangzeb ban the playing of the pungi?
2. How is a shehnai different from a pungi?
3. Where was the shehnai played traditionally? How did Bismillah Khan change
this?
4. When and how did Bismillah Khan get his big break?
5. Where did Bismillah Khan play the shehnai on 15 August 1947? Why was
the event historic?
6. Why did Bismillah Khan refuse to start a shehnai school in the U.S.A.?
7. Find at least two instances in the text which tell you that Bismillah Khan
loves India and Benaras.

I. Look at these sentences.
• Evelyn was determined to live a normal life.
• Evelyn managed to conceal her growing deafness from friends and teachers.
The italicised parts answer the questions: “What was Evelyn determined to do?”
and “What did Evelyn manage to do?” They begin with a to-verb (to live, to conceal).
Complete the following sentences. Beginning with a to-verb, try to answer the
questions in brackets.
1. The school sports team hopes (What does it hope to do?)
2. We all want (What do we all want to do?)
3. They advised the hearing-impaired child’s mother (What

did they advise her to do?)
4. The authorities permitted us to (What did the authorities

permit us to do?)
5. A musician decided to (What did the musician decide

to do?)
II. From the text on Bismillah Khan, find the words and phrases that match these
definitions and write them down. The number of the paragraph where you will
find the words/phrases has been given for you in brackets.
1. the home of royal people (1)
2. the state of being alone (5)
3. a part which is absolutely necessary (2)
26 / Beehive
2024-25
4. to do something not done before (5)
5. without much effort (13)
6. quickly and in large quantities (9) and

III. Tick the right answer.
1. When something is revived, it (remains dead/lives again).
2. When a government bans something, it wants it (stopped/started).
3. When something is considered auspicious, (welcome it/avoid it).
4. When we take to something, we find it (boring/interesting).
5. When you appreciate something, you (find it good and useful/find it of
no use).
6. When you replicate something, you do it (for the first time/for the second
time).
7. When we come to terms with something, it is (still upsetting/no longer
upsetting).
IV. Dictionary work
• The sound of the shehnai is auspicious.
• The auspicious sound of the shehnai is usually heard at marriages.
The adjective auspicious can occur after the verb be as in the first sentence,
or before a noun as in the second. But there are some adjectives which can be
used after the verb be and not before a noun. For example:
• Ustad Faiyaz Khan was overjoyed.
We cannot say: *the overjoyed man.
Look at these entries from the Oxford Advanced Learner’s Dictionary (2005).
elder adi., noun awake adj., verb

adjective 1 [only before noun] adjective [not before noun] not
(of people, especially two asleep (especially immediately
members of the same family) before or after sleeping): to be
older: my elder brother • his half/fully awake; to be wide
elder sister 2 (the elder) used awake. I was still awake when
without a noun immediately after he came to bed.
it to show who is the older of two
people: the elder of their two
sons 3 (the elder) (formal) used
before or after sb’s name to show
that they are the older of two
people who have the same name:
the elder Pitt • Pitt, the elder.
2024-25
Consult your dictionary and complete the following table. The first one has been
done for you.
adjective only before noun not before noun both before and
after the verb be
indispensable ✔
impressed
afraid
outdoor
paternal
countless
priceless
Use these words in phrases or sentences of your own.
Speaking
I. Imagine the famous singer Kishori Amonkar is going to visit your school. You
have been asked to introduce her to the audience before her performance. How
would you introduce her?
Here is some information about Kishori Amonkar you can find on the Internet.
Read the passage and make notes of the main points about:
• her parentage
• the school of music she belongs to
• her achievements
• her inspiration
• awards
Padma Bhushan Kishori Amonkar, widely considered the finest female
vocalist of her generation, was born in 1931, daughter of another great artist,
Smt. Mogubai Kurdikar. In her early years she absorbed the approach and
repertoire of her distinguished mother’s teacher Ustad Alladiya Khan. As her
own style developed, however, she moved away from Alladiya Khan’s ‘Jaipur-
Atrauli gharana’ style in some respects, and as a mature artist her approach
is usually regarded as an individual, if not unique, variant of the Jaipur
model.
Kishori Amonkar is a thinker, besotted by what she calls the mysterious
world of her raagas. She dissects them with the precision of a perfectionist,
almost like a scientist, until the most subtle of shades and emotions emerge
and re-emerge.
She is very much inspired by the teachings of the ancient Vedic sages,
written at a time when vocal music was highly devotional in character. This
28 / Beehive
2024-25
soul searching quality of her music, coupled with a very intellectual approach
to raaga performance has gained her quite a following in India and has helped
to revive the study of khayal.
Significant awards bestowed on this artist include the Sangeet Natak
Akademi Award (1985), the Padma Bhushan (1987), and the highly coveted
Sangeet Samradhini Award (considered one of the most prestigious awards
in Indian Classical Music) in 1997.
II. Use your notes on Kishori Amonkar to introduce her to an imaginary audience.
You may use one of the following phrases to introduce a guest:
I am honoured to introduce.../I feel privileged to introduce.../We welcome you...
Writing
“If you work hard and know where you’re going, you’ll get there,” says Evelyn
Glennie.
You have now read about two musicians, Evelyn Glennie and Ustad Bismillah
Khan. Do you think that they both worked hard? Where did they want to ‘go’ ?
Answer these questions in two paragraphs, one on each of the two musicians.
Whenever you see darkness, there is extraordinary

opportunity for the light to burn brighter.
BONO
2024-25
W ind
The wind blows strongly and causes a lot of destruction.

How can we make friends with it?
Wind, come softly.

Don’t break the shutters of the windows.
Don’t scatter the papers.
Don’t throw down the books on the shelf.
There, look what you did — you threw them all down.
You tore the pages of the books.
You brought rain again.
You’re very clever at poking fun at weaklings.
Frail crumbling houses, crumbling doors, crumbling rafters,
crumbling wood, crumbling bodies, crumbling lives,
crumbling hearts —
the wind god winnows and crushes them all.
He won’t do what you tell him.
So, come, let’s build strong homes,
Let’s joint the doors firmly.
Practise to firm the body.
Make the heart steadfast.
Do this, and the wind will be friends with us.
The wind blows out weak fires.
He makes strong fires roar and flourish.
His friendship is good.
We praise him every day.
SUBRAMANIA BHARATI
[translated from the Tamil by
A.K. Ramanujan]
Subramania Bharati (1882 –1921) is a great Tamil poet, famous

for his patriotism in the pre-Independence era.
A.K. Ramanujan is a Kannada and English poet, well known for
his translation of classical and modern poetry.
2024-25
GLOSSARY
poking fun: making fun of
rafters: sloping beams supporting a roof
winnow: blow grain free of chaff; separate grain from husk by blowing on it

I. 1. What are the things the wind does in the first stanza?
2. Have you seen anybody winnow grain

at home or in a paddy field? What is the
word in your language for winnowing?
What do people use for winnowing?
(Give the words in your language,
if you know them.)
3. What does the poet say the wind god winnows?

4. What should we do to make friends with the wind?
5. What do the last four lines of the poem mean to you?
6. How does the poet speak to the wind — in anger or with humour? You must
also have seen or heard of the wind “crumbling lives”. What is your response
to this? Is it like the poet’s?
II. The poem you have just read is originally in the Tamil. Do you know any such
poems in your language?
The tree on the mountain takes whatever the

weather brings. If it has any choice at all, it is in
putting down roots as deeply as possible.
CORRIE TEN BOOM
Wind / 31
2024-25
3. The Little Girl
BEFORE YOU READ

• Do you feel you know your parents better now, than when
you were much younger? Perhaps you now understand the
reasons for some of their actions that used to upset you earlier.
• This story about a little girl whose feelings for her father
change from fear to understanding will probably find an echo
in every home.
1. TO the little girl he was a figure to be feared and a figure to be feared:

avoided. Every morning before going to work he came a person to be feared
into her room and gave her a casual kiss, to which
she responded with “Goodbye, Father”. And oh,
there was a glad sense of relief when she heard the
noise of the carriage growing fainter and fainter
down the long road!
In the evening when he came home she stood
near the staircase and heard his loud voice in the
hall. “Bring my tea into the drawing-room... Hasn’t
the paper come yet? Mother, go and see if my paper’s
out there — and bring me my slippers.”
2. “Kezia,” Mother would call to her, “if you’re a good
girl you can come down and take off father’s boots.”
Slowly the girl would slip down the stairs, more slip down: come
slowly still across the hall, and push open the down quietly and
unwillingly
drawing-room door.
By that time he had his spectacles on and looked
at her over them in a way that was terrifying to
the little girl.
“Well, Kezia, hurry up and pull off these boots
and take them outside. Have you been a good
girl today?”
“I d-d-don’t know, Father.”
2024-25
“You d-d-don’t know? If you stutter like that
Mother will have to take you to the doctor.”
3. She never stuttered with other people — had quite
given it up — but only with Father, because then given it up: stopped
she was trying so hard to say the words properly. doing it
“What’s the matter? What are you looking so
wretched about? Mother, I wish you taught this child
not to appear on the brink of suicide... Here, Kezia, wretched: unhappy
carry my teacup back to the table carefully.” on the brink of
He was so big — his hands and his neck, suicide: about to
especially his mouth when he yawned. Thinking commit suicide
about him alone was like thinking about a giant.
4. On Sunday afternoons Grandmother sent her down
to the drawing-room to have a “nice talk with Father
and Mother”. But the little girl always found Mother
reading and Father stretched out on the sofa, his
handkerchief on his face, his feet on one of the best
cushions, sleeping soundly and snoring.
The little girl always found Mother reading and

Father stretched out on the sofa.
The Little Girl / 33
2024-25
She sat on a stool, gravely watched him until he
woke and stretched, and asked the time — then
looked at her.
“Don’t stare so, Kezia. You look like a little
brown owl.”
One day, when she was kept indoors with a cold,
her grandmother told her that father’s birthday was
next week, and suggested she should make him a
pin-cushion for a gift out of a beautiful piece of
yellow silk.
5. Laboriously, with a double cotton, the little girl laboriously: with a lot
stitched three sides. But what to fill it with? That of effort or difficulty
was the question. The grandmother was out in the

garden, and she wandered into Mother’s bedroom wandered into: went
into, by chance
to look for scraps. On the bed-table she discovered
scraps: small pieces
a great many sheets of fine paper, gathered them of cloth or paper,
up, tore them into tiny pieces, and stuffed her case, etc. that are not
then sewed up the fourth side. needed
That night there was a hue and cry in the house. hue and cry: angry
protest
Father’s great speech for the Port Authority had
been lost. Rooms were searched; servants
questioned. Finally Mother came into Kezia’s room.
“Kezia, I suppose you didn’t see some papers on
a table in our room?”
“Oh yes,” she said, “I tore them up for my
surprise.”
“What!” screamed Mother. “Come straight down
to the dining-room this instant.”
6. And she was dragged down to where Father was
pacing to and fro, hands behind his back.
“Well?” he said sharply.
Mother explained.
He stopped and stared at the child.
“Did you do that?”
“N-n-no”, she whispered.
“Mother, go up to her room and fetch down the
damned thing — see that the child’s put to bed
this instant.”
34 / Beehive
2024-25
7. Crying too much to explain, she lay in the shadowed
room watching the evening light make a sad little
pattern on the floor.
Then Father came into the room with a ruler in
his hands.
“I am going to beat you for this,” he said.
“Oh, no, no”, she screamed, hiding under the
bedclothes.
He pulled them aside.
“Sit up,” he ordered, “and hold out your hands.
You must be taught once and for all not to touch
what does not belong to you.”
“But it was for your b-b-birthday.”
Down came the ruler on her little, pink palms.
8. Hours later, when Grandmother had wrapped her
in a shawl and rocked her in the rocking-chair, the
child clung to her soft body.
“What did God make fathers for?” she sobbed.
“Here’s a clean hanky, darling. Blow your nose.
Go to sleep, pet; you’ll forget all about it in the
morning. I tried to explain to Father but he was too
upset to listen tonight.”
But the child never forgot. Next time she saw
him she quickly put both hands behind her back
and a red colour flew into her cheeks.
9. The Macdonalds lived next door. They had five
children. Looking through a gap in the fence the
little girl saw them playing ‘tag’ in the evening. tag: a children’s
The father with the baby, Mao, on his shoulders, game of catching one
another
two little girls hanging on to his coat pockets
ran round and round the flower -beds, shaking
with laughter. Once she saw the boys turn the
hose on him—and he tried to catch them laughing
all the time.
Then it was she decided there were different
sorts of fathers.
Suddenly, one day, Mother became ill, and she
and Grandmother went to hospital.
The little girl was left alone in the house with
Alice, the cook. That was all right in the daytime,
2024-25
The little girl saw through a gap the Macdonalds
playing ‘tag’ in the evening.
but while Alice was putting her to bed she grew

suddenly afraid.
10. “What’ll I do if I have a nightmare?” she asked. “I nightmare: a bad
often have nightmares and then Grannie takes me dream
into her bed—I can’t stay in the dark—it all gets
‘whispery’…”
“You just go to sleep, child,” said Alice, pulling
off her socks, “and don’t you scream and wake your
poor Pa.”
36 / Beehive
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But the same old nightmare came — the butcher
with a knife and a rope, who came nearer and
nearer, smiling that dreadful smile, while she could
not move, could only stand still, crying out,
“Grandma! Grandma!” She woke shivering to see
Father beside her bed, a candle in his hand.
“What’s the matter?” he said.
11. “Oh, a butcher — a knife — I want Grannie.” He
blew out the candle, bent down and caught up the
child in his arms, carrying her along the passage
to the big bedroom. A newspaper was on the bed.
He put away the paper, then carefully tucked up
the child. He lay down beside her. Half asleep still,
still with the butcher’s smile all about her it seemed, tucked up: covered
she crept close to him, snuggled her head under up nicely in bed
his arm, held tightly to his shirt.
Then the dark did not matter; she lay still. snuggled: moved into
“Here, rub your feet against my legs and get a warm, comfortable
position, close to
them warm,” said Father. another person
12. Tired out, he slept before the little girl. A funny feeling
came over her. Poor Father, not so big, after all —
and with no one to look after him. He was harder
than Grandmother, but it was a nice hardness. And
every day he had to work and was too tired to be a
Mr Macdonald… She had torn up all his beautiful
writing… She stirred suddenly, and sighed.
“What’s the matter?” asked her father. “Another
dream?”
“Oh,” said the little girl, “my head’s on your heart.
I can hear it going. What a big heart you’ve got,
Father dear.”
KATHERINE MANSFIELD
2024-25
Teext
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 (iii) father comes home
of understanding (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
II. Answer the following questions in one or two sentences.

1. Why was Kezia afraid of her father?
2. Who were the people in Kezia’s family?
3. What was Kezia’s father’s routine
(i) before going to his office?
(ii) after coming back from his office?
(iii) on Sundays?
4. In what ways did Kezia’s grandmother encourage her to get to know her
father better?
III. Discuss these questions in class with your teacher and then write down your
answers in two or three paragraphs each.
1. Kezia’s efforts to please her father resulted in displeasing him very much.
How did this happen?
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?
3. How does Kezia begin to see her father as a human being who needs her
sympathy?

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
38 / Beehive
2024-25
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)
(ii) I was to be invited to the party. (extremely pleased and
excited about)
(iii) She was at the birth of her granddaughter. (extremely happy)
(iv) The coach was with his performance. (satisfied about)
(v) She was very with her results. (happy about something
that has happened)
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.
(iii) Their project is full of big ideas.

(iv) Cricket is a big game in our country.
(v) I am a big fan of Lata Mangeskar.
(vi) You have to cook a bit more as my friend is a big eater.
(vii) What a big heart you’ve got, Father dear.
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.
2024-25
We use verbs of reporting to advise, order, report statements, thoughts,
intentions, questions, requests, apologies, manner of speaking and so on.
1. Underline the verbs of reporting in the following sentences.
(i) He says he will enjoy the ride.
(ii) Father mentioned that he was going on a holiday.
(iii) No one told us that the shop was closed.
(iv) He answered that the price would go up.
(v) I wondered why he was screaming.
(vi) Ben told her to wake him up.
(vii) Ratan apologised for coming late to the party.
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.
Speaking
Form pairs or groups and discuss the following questions.
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?
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
Writing
Has your life been different from or similar to that of Kezia when you were a
child? Has your perception about your parents changed now? Do you find any
change in your parents’ behaviour vis-à-vis yours? Who has become more
understanding? What steps would you like to take to build a relationship based
on understanding? Write three or four paragraphs (150–200 words) discussing
these issues from your own experience.
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R ain on the Roof
When the sky is covered with dark clouds and it starts raining,
have you ever listened to the patter of soft rain on the roof ?
What thoughts flashed through your mind as you heard this
melody of nature? Read the poem to find out what the poet
dreamed of while listening to the rain.
When the humid shadows hover

Over all the starry spheres
And the melancholy darkness
Gently weeps in rainy tears,
What a bliss to press the pillow
Of a cottage-chamber bed
And lie listening to the patter
Of the soft rain overhead!
Every tinkle on the shingles

Has an echo in the heart;
And a thousand dreamy fancies
Into busy being start,
And a thousand recollections
Weave their air-threads into woof,
As I listen to the patter
Of the rain upon the roof.
Now in memory comes my mother,

As she used in years agone,
To regard the darling dreamers
Ere she left them till the dawn:
O! I feel her fond look on me
As I list to this refrain
Which is played upon the shingles
By the patter of the rain.
COATES KINNEY
2024-25
GLOSSARY
tinkle: short, light ringing sounds
shingles: rectangular wooden tiles used on roofs
woof: weft, i.e. the threads woven across the loom
ere: old poetic word for ‘before’
refrain: a repeated part of a song or a poem; here, the sound of the rain
list: old poetic word for ‘listen’

I. 1. What do the following phrases mean to you? Discuss in class.
(i) humid shadows
(ii) starry spheres
(iii) what a bliss
(iv) a thousand dreamy fancies into busy being start
(v) a thousand recollections weave their air-threads into woof
2. What does the poet like to do when it rains?
3. What is the single major memory that comes to the poet? Who are the “darling
dreamers” he refers to?
4. Is the poet now a child? Is his mother still alive?
II. 1. When you were a young child, did your mother tuck you in, as the poet’s
did?
2. Do you like rain? What do you do when it rains steadily or heavily as
described in the poem?
3. Does everybody have a cosy bed to lie in when it rains? Look around you and
describe how different kinds of people or animals spend time, seek shelter
etc. during rain.
All that I am or ever hope to be, I owe to my

angel Mother.
ABRAHAM LINCOLN
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Notes for the Teacher
Teacher
Units 4 –6
4. A TRULY BEAUTIFUL MIND

The story of Einstein tries to show him as a human being, a fairly
ordinary person who had his likes and dislikes, his streaks of rebellion,
and his problems. The class can think about how a ‘great person’ was
perceived before being recognised as ‘great’: it is not as though great
people are born with a special sign that allows us to recognise them
instantly! What qualities in a person, then, make them a genius or a
great person?
You can take the help of a science teacher to explain Einstein’s Theory
of Relativity, to talk about Einstein, and build inter-subject cooperation.
The exercise of matching headings to paragraphs in the lesson is useful
for finding the topic sentence or to scan a paragraph for specific
information. Students may be asked to provide a different heading if
they feel some other point is equally important.
Students should be guided to write a newspaper report. Note the points
given below. Illustrate them by bringing examples from newspapers into
the class, and ask students to bring their own examples.
• A report should have:
1. A headline
2. Name of the reporter e.g. ‘By a Staff Reporter’, etc.
3. Place, date, source (the source may also be given at the end of the
report).
• The beginning is usually an expansion of the headline. The middle
paragraph gives the details. It is followed by the conclusion or the
summing up.
• The report should be brief, but the headline and the style should be
eye-catching.
• Sometimes important points are given in a box in the centre of the
report.
• Regarding the language of the reports:
1. passives for past action (for example: It is found . . ., . . . has been
unearthed.)
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2. present tense for statements (The document contains…, The
manuscript describes…)
This unit has a passage for dictation, an anecdote. Dictation is an
exercise that requires the individual participation of each student. It
fosters unconscious thinking, and draws attention to language form.
Students can also be given opportunities for self or peer correction after
the dictation.
• Students should first read the passage silently, noticing the use of
punctuation marks.
• The passage to be dictated should be read aloud twice in the class
with proper intonation, and pauses between meaningful phrases.
• The passage is read a third time for students to check through.
5. THE SNAKE AND THE MIRROR

‘The Snake and the Mirror’ is a complex story of self-discovery that is
humorously told. The narrator is a vain and foolish young man who in
a moment of crisis realises that he is “poor, foolish and stupid”. The
questions are designed to help the students notice the humour in the
narration.
This unit has a formal, expository passage for dictation. Students should
be encouraged to learn the spellings of unfamiliar words beforehand.
The dictation of such passages also encourages the development of
grammar in the students’ minds, as they recall complex language.
The Writing task is based on a sketch from a photograph that tells a
story. Encourage the students to read the words given alongside the
sketch. Let the students form pairs or groups to talk freely about the
sketch before they start writing.
A new kind of activity introduced in this lesson is to compare two
translations of the beginning of a story. This activity suggests to the
students that language is not ‘fixed’; there are different ways of
experiencing an idea, which also lead to small changes in the idea that
is expressed. This activity should be done as a fun activity.
6. MY CHILDHOOD
The autobiographical account of childhood embodies the themes of
harmony and prejudice, tradition and change. The questions guide the
children to identify the instances of the themes.
A map reading activity is given in this unit. Students will find out the
geographical location of Dhanushkodi and Rameswaram, and
the languages spoken at that time by different communities. This
44 / Beehive
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will develop a critical understanding of how life and society in
the deep south changed and developed over the years. Dhanuskodi
and Rameswaram are on an island, the Pamban Island, off the
Tamil Nadu coast.
The dictionary work encourages children to identify the contexts, literal
and metaphorical, in which the given words occur. You may find other
such words to add to the exercise.
The dictation exercise in this unit requires the rearrangement of jumbled
paragraphs. Ideally this kind of dictation should be carried out with
passages that the students have not seen before.
The teacher dictates the three parts of the given passage, in random
order, one to each group in class, for example part two first, then part
three, and finally part one. The class has to share information in order
to put the text together in the right order. This can be a class activity
directed by the teacher.
The Speaking exercise includes an activity requiring students to ask
other people for their opinion on the topic.
Notes for the Teacher / 45
2024-25
4. A Truly Beautiful Mind
Truly
BEFORE YOU READ

• Who do you think of, when you hear the word ‘genius’? Who
is a genius — what qualities do you think a genius has?
• We shall now read about a young German civil servant who
took the world by storm about a hundred years ago. In the
summer of 1905, the 26-year-old published in quick succession
four ground-breaking papers: about light, the motion of
particles, the electrodynamics of moving bodies, and energy.
His work took up only a few pages in scientific journals, but
changed forever our understanding of space, time and the
entire cosmos — and transformed the name ‘Einstein’ into a
synonym for genius.
• Fifty years after his death, Albert Einstein’s genius still reigns.
1. ALBERT Einstein was born on 14 March 1879 in the

German city of Ulm, without any indication that he
was destined for greatness. On the contrary, his
mother thought Albert was a freak. To her, his head freak: a word used
seemed much too large. disapprovingly to talk
about a person who is
2. At the age of two-and-a-half, Einstein still wasn’t unusual and doesn’t
talking. When he finally did learn to speak, he uttered behave, look or think
everything twice. Einstein did not know what to do like others
with other children, and his playmates called him
“Brother Boring.” So the youngster played by himself
Otto Neugebauer, the historian of ancient mathematics, told a

story about the boy Einstein that he characterises as a “legend”,
but that seems fairly authentic. As he was a late talker, his parents
were worried. At last, at the supper table one night, he broke his
silence to say, “The soup is too hot.” Greatly relieved, his parents
asked why he had never said a word before. Albert replied,
“Because up to now everything was in order.”
2024-25
much of the time. He especially loved mechanical
toys. Looking at his newborn sister, Maja, he is said
to have said: “Fine, but where are her wheels?”
3. A headmaster once told his father that what
Einstein chose as a profession wouldn’t matter,
because “he’ll never make a success at anything.”
Einstein began learning to play the violin at the
age of six, because his mother wanted him to; he
later became a gifted amateur violinist, maintaining amateur: doing
this skill throughout his life. something for
personal enjoyment
4. But Albert Einstein was not a bad pupil. He went rather than as a
to high school in Munich, where Einstein’s family profession
had moved when he was 15 months old, and scored
good marks in almost every subject. Einstein hated
the school’s regimentation, and often clashed with regimentation: order
his teachers. At the age of 15, Einstein felt so stifled or discipline taken to
an extreme
there that he left the school for good.
stifled: unable to
5. The previous year, Albert’s parents had moved to breathe; suffocated
Milan, and left their son with relatives. After prolonged
discussion, Einstein got his wish to continue his
education in German-speaking Switzerland, in a city
which was more liberal than Munich. liberal: willing to
6. Einstein was highly gifted in mathematics and understand and
respect others’
interested in physics, and after finishing school, opinions
he decided to study at a university in Zurich. But
science wasn’t the only thing that appealed to the
dashing young man with the walrus moustache.
Einstein in 1900 at the Einstein in 1955 as we

age of 21. remember him now
A Truly Beautiful Mind / 47
2024-25
7. He also felt a special interest in a fellow student,
Mileva Maric, whom he found to be a “clever
creature.” This young Serb had come to Switzerland
because the University in Zurich was one of the few
in Europe where women could get degrees. Einstein
saw in her an ally against the “philistines”— ally: a friend or an
those people in his family and at the university associate
with whom he was constantly at odds. The couple philistines: a word
fell in love. Letters survive in which they put their used disapprovingly
to talk about people
affection into words, mixing science with who do not like art,
tenderness. Wrote Einstein: “How happy and proud literature or music
I shall be when we both have brought our work on
relativity to a victorious conclusion.”
8. In 1900, at the age of 21, Albert Einstein was a
university graduate and unemployed. He worked
as a teaching assistant, gave private lessons and
finally secured a job in 1902 as a technical expert
in the patent office in Bern. While he was supposed patent: a document
to be assessing other people’s inventions, Einstein which gives the
rights of an invention
was actually developing his own ideas in secret. He to an inventor
is said to have jokingly called his desk drawer at
work the “bureau of theoretical physics.”
9. One of the famous papers of 1905 was Einstein’s
Special Theory of Relativity, according to which time
and distance are not absolute. Indeed, two perfectly absolute: measured
accurate clocks will not continue to show the same in itself, not in
relation to anything
time if they come together again after a journey if else
one of them has been moving very fast relative to
the other. From this followed the world’s most
famous formula which describes the relationship
between mass and energy:
E = mc2
(In this mathematical equation, E stands for energy, m for mass
and c for the speed of the light in a vacuum (about 300,000 km/s).
When you sit with a nice girl for two hours, it

seems like two minutes. When you sit on a
hot stove for two minutes, it seems like two
hours —that’s relativity. – ALBERT EINSTEIN
* * *
48 / Beehive
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10. While Einstein was solving the most difficult
problems in physics, his private life was
unravelling. Albert had wanted to marry Mileva right unravelling: starting
after finishing his studies, but his mother was to fail
against it. She thought Mileva, who was three years
older than her son, was too old for him. She was
also bothered by Mileva’s intelligence. “She is a
book like you,” his mother said. Einstein put the
wedding off.
11. The pair finally married in January 1903, and had
two sons. But a few years later, the marriage
faltered. Mileva, meanwhile, was losing her faltered: became
intellectual ambition and becoming an unhappy weak
housewife. After years of constant fighting, the

couple finally divorced in 1919. Einstein married
his cousin Elsa the same year.
* * *
12.Einstein’s new personal chapter coincided with his

rise to world fame. In 1915, he had published his
General Theory of Relativity, which provided a new
interpretation of gravity. An eclipse of the sun in
1919 brought proof that it was accurate. Einstein
had correctly calculated in advance the extent to
which the light from fixed stars would be deflected deflected: changed
through the sun’s gravitational field. The newspapers direction because it
hit something
proclaimed his work as “a scientific revolution.”
13. Einstein received the Nobel Prize for Physics in
1921. He was showered with honours and invitations
from all over the world, and lauded by the press.
* * *
14. When the Nazis came to power in Germany in 1933,

Einstein emigrated to the United States. Five years
later, the discovery of nuclear fission in Berlin had
American physicists in an uproar. Many of them in an uproar: very
had fled from Fascism, just as Einstein had, and upset
now they were afraid the Nazis could build and use
an atomic bomb.
2024-25
15. At the urging of a colleague, Einstein wrote a letter
to the American President, Franklin D. Roosevelt,
on 2 August 1939, in which he warned: “A single
bomb of this type . . . exploded in a port, might very
well destroy the whole port together with some of
the surrounding territory.” His words did not fail to
have an effect. The Americans developed the atomic
bomb in a secret project of their own, and dropped
it on the Japanese cities of Hiroshima and Nagasaki
in August 1945.
16. Einstein was deeply shaken by the extent of the
destruction. This time he wrote a public missive to missive: letter,
the United Nations. In it he proposed the formation especially long and
official
of a world government. Unlike the letter to Roosevelt,
this one made no impact. But over the next decade,
Einstein got ever more involved in politics —
agitating for an end to the arms buildup and using
his popularity to campaign for peace and democracy. visionary: a person
who can think about
17. When Einstein died in 1955 at the age of 76, he
the future in an
was celebrated as a visionary and world citizen as original and
much as a scientific genius. intelligent way

Teext
1. Here are some headings for paragraphs in the text. Write the number(s) of the
paragraph(s) for each title against the heading. The first one is done for you.
(i) Einstein’s equation 9
(ii) Einstein meets his future wife
(iii) The making of a violinist
(iv) Mileva and Einstein’s mother
(v) A letter that launched the arms race
(vi) A desk drawer full of ideas
(vii) Marriage and divorce
50 / Beehive
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2. Who had these opinions about Einstein?
(i) He was boring.
(ii) He was stupid and would never succeed in life.
(iii) He was a freak.
3. Explain what the reasons for the following are.
(i) Einstein leaving the school in Munich for good.
(ii) Einstein wanting to study in Switzerland rather than in Munich.
(iii) Einstein seeing in Mileva an ally.
(iv) What do these tell you about Einstein?
4. What did Einstein call his desk drawer at the patent office? Why?
5. Why did Einstein write a letter to Franklin Roosevelt?
6. How did Einstein react to the bombing of Hiroshima and Nagasaki?
7. Why does the world remember Einstein as a “world citizen”?
8. Here are some facts from Einstein’s life. Arrange them in chronological order.
[ ] Einstein publishes his special theory of relativity.
[ ] He is awarded the Nobel Prize in Physics.
[ ] Einstein writes a letter to U.S. President, Franklin D. Roosevelt, and
warns against Germany’s building of an atomic bomb.
[ ] Einstein attends a high school in Munich.
[ ] Einstein’s family moves to Milan.
[ ] Einstein is born in the German city of Ulm.
[ ] Einstein joins a university in Zurich, where he meets Mileva.
[ ] Einstein dies.
[ ] He provides a new interpretation of gravity.
[ ] Tired of the school’s regimentation, Einstein withdraws from school.
[ ] He works in a patent office as a technical expert.
[ ] When Hitler comes to power, Einstein leaves Germany for the United
States.

I. Here are some sentences from the story. Choose the word from the brackets
which can be substituted for the italicised words in the sentences.
1. A few years later, the marriage faltered. (failed, broke, became weak).
2. Einstein was constantly at odds with people at the university. (on bad terms,
in disagreement, unhappy)
3. The newspapers proclaimed his work as “a scientific revolution.” (declared,
praised, showed)
2024-25
4. Einstein got ever more involved in politics, agitating for an end to the arms
buildup. (campaigning, fighting, supporting)
5. At the age of 15, Einstein felt so stifled that he left the school for good.
(permanently, for his benefit, for a short time)
6. Five years later, the discovery of nuclear fission in Berlin had American
physicists in an uproar. (in a state of commotion, full of criticism, in a
desperate state)
7. Science wasn’t the only thing that appealed to the dashing young man with
the walrus moustache. (interested, challenged, worried)
II. Study the following sentences.

• Einstein became a gifted amateur violinist, maintaining this skill throughout
his life.
• Letters survive in which they put their affection into words, mixing science
with tenderness.
The parts in italics in the above sentences begin with –ing verbs, and are called
participial phrases. Participial phrases say something more about the person
or thing talked about or the idea expressed by the sentence as a whole. For
example:
– Einstein became a gifted amateur violinist. He maintained this skill
throughout his life.
Complete the sentences below by filling in the blanks with suitable participial
clauses. The information that has to be used in the phrases is provided as a
sentence in brackets.
1. , the firefighters finally put out the fire. (They worked

round the clock.)
2. She watched the sunset above the mountain, (She noticed

the colours blending softly into one another.)
3. The excited horse pawed the ground rapidly, (While it

neighed continually.)
4. , I found myself in Bangalore, instead of Benaras. (I had

taken the wrong train.)
5. , I was desperate to get to the bathroom. (I had not bathed

for two days)
6. The stone steps, needed to be replaced. (They were worn

down).
7. The actor received hundreds of letters from his fans,

(They asked him to send them his photograph.)
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Writing Newspaper Reports
Here are some notes which you could use to write a report.
21 August 2005 — original handwritten manuscript of Albert Einstein
unearthed — by student Rowdy Boeynik in the University of the
Netherlands — Boeynik researching papers — papers belonging to an
old friend of Einstein — fingerprints of Einstein on these papers —
16-page document dated 1924 — Einstein’s work on this last theory —
behaviour of atoms at low temperature — now known as the Bose-Einstein
condensation — the manuscript to be kept at Leyden University where
Einstein got the Nobel Prize.
Write a report which has four paragraphs, one each on:
• What was unearthed.
• Who unearthed it and when.
• What the document contained.
• Where it will be kept.
Your report could begin like this:
Student Unearths Einstein Manuscript

21 AUGUST 2005. An original handwritten Albert Einstein manuscript
has been unearthed at a university in the Netherlands . ..
Dictation
Your teacher will dictate these paragraphs to you. Write down the paragraphs
with correct punctuation marks.
In 1931 Charlie Chaplin invited Albert Einstein, who was visiting Hollywood,
to a private screening of his new film, City Lights. As the two men drove into
town together, passersby waved and cheered. Chaplin turned to his guest and
explained: “The people are applauding you because none of them understands
you and applauding me because everybody understands me.”
One of Einstein’s colleagues asked him for his telephone number one
day. Einstein reached for a telephone directory and looked it up. “You don’t
remember your own number?” the man asked, startled.
“No,” Einstein answered. “Why should I memorise something I can so
easily get from a book?” (In fact, Einstein claimed never to memorise anything
which could be looked up in less than two minutes.)
2024-25
ak
akee Isle of Innisfree
The LLak
This well known poem explores the poet’s longing for the peace
and tranquillity of Innisfree, a place where he spent a lot of
time as a boy. This poem is a lyric.
I will arise and go now, and go to Innisfree,

And a small cabin build there, of clay and wattles made:
Nine bean-rows will I have there, a hive for the honeybee,
And live alone in the bee-loud glade.
And I shall have some peace there, for peace comes dropping slow
Dropping from the veils of the morning to where the cricket sings;
There midnight’s all a glimmer, and noon a purple glow,
And evenings full of the linnet’s wings.
I will arise and go now, for always night and day

I hear the lake water lapping with low sounds by the shore;
While I stand on the roadway, or on the pavements grey,
I hear it in the deep heart’s core.
WILLIAM BUTLER YEATS
GLOSSARY
wattles: twisted sticks for making fences, walls
glade: clearing; open space
linnet: a small brown and grey bird with a short beak

I. 1. What kind of place is Innisfree? Think about:
(i) the three things the poet wants to do when he goes back there (stanza I);
(ii) what he hears and sees there and its effect on him (stanza II);
(iii) what he hears in his “heart’s core” even when he is far away from
Innisfree (stanza III).
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2. By now you may have concluded that Innisfree is a simple, natural place,
full of beauty and peace. How does the poet contrast it with where he now
stands? (Read stanza III.)
3. Do you think Innisfree is only a place, or a state of mind? Does the poet
actually miss the place of his boyhood days?
II. 1. Look at the words the poet uses to describe what he sees and hears at
Innisfree
(i) bee-loud glade
(ii) evenings full of the linnet’s wings
(iii) lake water lapping with low sounds
What pictures do these words create in your mind?
2. Look at these words;
. .. peace comes dropping slow
Dropping from the veils of the morning to where the cricket sings
What do these words mean to you? What do you think “comes dropping
slow...from the veils of the morning”? What does “to where the cricket sings”
mean?
Health is the greatest gift, contentment

the greatest wealth, faithfulness the best
relationship.
GAUTAMA BUDDHA
The Lake Isle of Innisfree / 55
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5. The Snak Mirrror
Snakee and the Mir
BEFORE YOU READ

• Do you like to look at yourself in the mirror? What do you
think about at such times? Have you ever seen a dog, a cat
or a bird look into a mirror? What do you think it sees?
• Now read this humorous story about a doctor, a snake, and
a mirror.
1. “H AS a snake ever coiled itself round any part of

your body? A full-blooded cobra?” All of us fell silent.
The question came from the homeopath. The topic
came up when we were discussing snakes. We
listened attentively as the doctor continued with
his tale.
It was a hot summer night; about ten o’clock. I had

my meal at the restaurant and returned to my room.
I heard a noise from above as I opened the door.
The sound was a familiar one. One could say that
the rats and I shared the room. I took out my box of
matches and lighted the kerosene lamp on the table.
2. The house was not electrified; it was a small rented
room. I had just set up medical practice and my
earnings were meagre. I had about sixty rupees in meagre: small in
my suitcase. Along with some shirts and dhotis, I quantity.
also possessed one solitary black coat which I was
then wearing.
gable
3. I took off my black coat, white shirt and not-so-
white vest and hung them up. I opened the two
windows in the room. It was an outer room with
one wall facing the open yard. It had a tiled roof
gable: upper part of
with long supporting gables that rested on the beam a wall below a
over the wall. There was no ceiling. There was a sloping roof
56 / Beehive
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regular traffic of rats to and from the beam. I made
my bed and pulled it close to the wall. I lay down
but I could not sleep. I got up and went out to the
veranda for a little air, but the wind god seemed to
have taken time off.
4. I went back into the room and sat down on the
chair. I opened the box beneath the table and took
out a book, the Materia Medica. I opened it at the
table on which stood the lamp and a large mirror; a
small comb lay beside the mirror.
One feels tempted to look into a mirror when it is
near one. I took a look. In those days I was a great
admirer of beauty and I believed in making myself
look handsome. I was unmarried and I was a doctor.
I felt I had to make my presence felt. I picked up the
comb and ran it through my hair and adjusted the
parting so that it looked straight and neat.
Again I heard that sound from above.
5. I took a close look at my face in the mirror. I made
an important decision — I would shave daily and
grow a thin moustache to look more handsome. I
was after all a bachelor, and a doctor!
I looked into the mirror and smiled. It was an
attractive smile. I made another earth-shaking
decision. I would always keep that attractive smile
on my face . . . to look more handsome. I was after
all a bachelor, and a doctor too on top of it!
Again came that noise from above.
6. I got up, paced up and down the room. Then another
lovely thought struck me. I would marry.
I would get married to a woman doctor who had
plenty of money and a good medical practice. She
had to be fat; for a valid reason. If I made some silly
mistake and needed to run away she should not be
able to run after me and catch me!
With such thoughts in my mind I resumed my seat
in the chair in front of the table. There were no
more sounds from above. Suddenly there came a
dull thud as if a rubber tube had fallen to the
The Snake and the Mirror / 57
2024-25
ground ... surely nothing to worry about. Even so I
thought I would turn around and take a look. No
sooner had I turned than a fat snake wriggled over
the back of the chair and landed on my shoulder.
The snake’s landing on me and my turning were
simultaneous.
7. I didn’t jump. I didn’t tremble. I didn’t cry out. There
was no time to do any such thing. The snake
slithered along my shoulder and coiled around my
left arm above the elbow. The hood was spread out
and its head was hardly three or four inches from
my face!
It would not be correct to say merely that I sat
there holding my breath. I was turned to stone. But
my mind was very active. The door opened into
darkness. The room was surrounded by darkness.
In the light of the lamp I sat there like a stone
image in the flesh.
8. I felt then the great presence of the creator of this
world and this universe. God was there. Suppose I
said something and he did not like it . . .
I tried in my imagination to write in bright letters
outside my little heart the words, ‘O God’.
There was some pain in my left arm. It was as if a
thick leaden rod — no, a rod made of molten fire —
was slowly but powerfully crushing my arm. The
arm was beginning to be drained of all strength.
What could I do?
9. At my slightest movement the snake would strike
me! Death lurked four inches away. Suppose it
struck, what was the medicine I had to take? There
were no medicines in the room. I was but a poor,
foolish and stupid doctor. I forgot my danger and
smiled feebly at myself.
It seemed as if God appreciated that. The snake
turned its head. It looked into the mirror and saw
its reflection. I do not claim that it was the first
snake that had ever looked into a mirror. But it
was certain that the snake was looking into the
mirror. Was it admiring its own beauty? Was it trying
58 / Beehive
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Perhaps it wanted to enjoy its
reflection at closer quarters.
to make an important decision about growing a

moustache or using eye shadow and mascara or
wearing a vermilion spot on its forehead?
10. I did not know anything for certain. What sex was
this snake, was it male or female? I will never know;
for the snake unwound itself from my arm and slowly
slithered into my lap. From there it crept onto the
table and moved towards the mirror. Perhaps it
wanted to enjoy its reflection at closer quarters.
I was no mere image cut in granite. I was suddenly
a man of flesh and blood. Still holding my breath I
got up from the chair. I quietly went out through
the door into the veranda. From there I leapt into
the yard and ran for all I was worth.
“Phew !” Each of us heaved a sigh of relief. Somebody

asked, “Doctor, is your wife very fat?”
11. “No,” the doctor said. “God willed otherwise. My life
companion is a thin reedy person with the gift of a
sprinter.”
Someone else asked, “Doctor, when you ran did the
snake follow you?”
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The doctor replied, “I ran and ran till I reached
a friend’s house. Immediately I smeared oil all over
myself and took a bath. I changed into fresh clothes.
The next morning at about eight-thirty I took my
friend and one or two others to my room to move
my things from there. But we found we had little to
carry. Some thief had removed most of my things.
The room had been cleaned out! But not really, the
thief had left behind one thing as a final insult!’
12. “What was that?” I asked.
The doctor said, “My vest, the dirty one. The
fellow had such a sense of cleanliness...! The rascal
could have taken it and used it after washing it
with soap and water.”
“Did you see the snake the next day, doctor?”
The doctor laughed, “I’ve never seen it since. It
was a snake which was taken with its own beauty!” taken with: attracted by
VAIKOM MUHAMMAD BASHEER

[ translated from the Malayalam
by V. Abdulla]
Teext
I. Discuss in pairs and answer each question below in a short paragraph
(30–40 words).
1. “The sound was a familiar one.” What sound did the doctor hear? What did
he think it was? How many times did he hear it? (Find the places in the
text.) When and why did the sounds stop?
2. What two “important” and “earth-shaking” decisions did the doctor take
while he was looking into the mirror?
3. “I looked into the mirror and smiled,” says the doctor. A little later he says,
“I forgot my danger and smiled feebly at myself.” What is the doctor’s opinion
about himself when: (i) he first smiles, and (ii) he smiles again? In what way
do his thoughts change in between, and why?
II. This story about a frightening incident is narrated in a humorous way. What
makes it humorous? (Think of the contrasts it presents between dreams and
reality. Some of them are listed below.)
1. (i) The kind of person the doctor is (money, possessions)
(ii) The kind of person he wants to be (appearance, ambition)
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2. (i) The person he wants to marry
(ii) The person he actually marries
3. (i) His thoughts when he looks into the mirror
(ii) His thoughts when the snake is coiled around his arm
Write short paragraphs on each of these to get your answer.

I. Here are some sentences from the text. Say which of them tell you, that the
author: (a) was afraid of the snake, (b) was proud of his appearance,
(c) had a sense of humour, (d) was no longer afraid of the snake.
1. I was turned to stone.
2. I was no mere image cut in granite.
3. The arm was beginning to be drained of strength.
4. I tried in my imagination to write in bright letters outside my little heart the
words, ‘O God’.
5. I didn’t tremble. I didn’t cry out.
6. I looked into the mirror and smiled. It was an attractive smile.
7. I was suddenly a man of flesh and blood.
8. I was after all a bachelor, and a doctor too on top of it!
9. The fellow had such a sense of cleanliness...! The rascal could have taken
it and used it after washing it with soap and water.
10. Was it trying to make an important decision about growing a moustache or
using eye shadow and mascara or wearing a vermilion spot on its forehead.
II. Expressions used to show fear
Can you find the expressions in the story that tell you that the author was
frightened? Read the story and complete the following sentences.
1. I was turned .
2. I sat there holding .
3. In the light of the lamp I sat there like .
III. In the sentences given below some words and expressions are italicised. They
are variously mean that one
• is very frightened.
• is too scared to move.
• is frightened by something that happens suddenly.
• makes another feel frightened.
Match the meanings with the words/expressions in italics, and write the
appropriate meaning next to the sentence. The first one has been done for you.
1. I knew a man was following me, I was scared out of my wits. (very frightened)
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2. I got a fright when I realised how close I was to the cliff edge.
3. He nearly jumped out of his skin when he saw the bull coming towards him.
4. You really gave me a fright when you crept up behind me like that.
5. Wait until I tell his story — it will make your hair stand on end.
6. Paralysed with fear, the boy faced his abductors.
7. The boy hid behind the door, not moving a muscle.
IV. Reported questions
Study these sentences:
• His friend asked, “Did you see the snake the next day, doctor?”
His friend asked the doctor whether/if he had seen the snake the next day.
• The little girl wondered, “Will I be home before the TV show begins?”
The little girl wondered if/whether she would be home before the TV show
began.
• Someone asked, “Why has the thief left the vest behind?”
Someone asked why the thief had left the vest behind.
The words if/whether are used to report questions which begin with: do, will,
can, have, are etc. These questions can be answered ‘yes’ or ‘no’.
Questions beginning with why/when/where/how/which/what are reported using
these same words.
The reporting verbs we use in questions with if/whether/why/when etc.
are: ask, inquire and wonder.
Remember that in reported speech,

• the present tense changes to past tense
• here, today, tomorrow, yesterday etc. change to there, that day, the next
day, the day before, etc.
• I/you change to me/him/he, etc., as necessary.
Example: • He said to me, “I don’t believe you.”
He said he did not believe me.
• She said to him, ‘I don’t believe you.’
She told him that she did not believe him.
Report these questions using if/whether or why/when/where/how/which/what.

Remember the italicised verbs change into the past tense.
1. Meena asked her friend, “Do you think your teacher will come today?”
2. David asked his colleague, “Where will you go this summer?”
3. He asked the little boy, “Why are you studying English?”
4. She asked me, “When are we going to leave?”
5. Pran asked me, “Have you finished reading the newspaper?”
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6. Seema asked her, “How long have you lived here?”
7. Sheila asked the children, “Are you ready to do the work?”
Speaking
Using some of the expressions given above in exercise III, talk about an incident
when you were very scared. You may have a competition to decide whose story
was the most frightening.
Dictation
The following paragraph is about the Indian cobra. Read it twice and close your
book. Your teacher will then dictate the paragraph to you. Write it down with
appropriate punctuation marks.
The Indian cobra is the common name for members of the family of venomous
snakes, known for their intimidating looks and deadly bite. Cobras are
recognised by the hoods that they flare when angry or disturbed; the hoods
are created by the extension of the ribs behind the cobras’ heads. Obviously
the best prevention is to avoid getting bitten. This is facilitated by the fact
that humans are not the natural prey of any venomous snake. We are a bit
large for them to swallow whole and they have no means of chopping us up
into bite-size pieces. Nearly all snakebites in humans are the result of a
snake defending itself when it feels threatened. In general snakes are shy
and will simply leave if you give them a chance.
Writing
1. Try to rewrite the story without its humour, merely as a frightening incident.
What details or parts of the story would you leave out?
2. Read the description given alongside this sketch from a photograph in a
newspaper (Times of India, 4 September 1999). Make up a story about what
the monkey is thinking, or why it is looking into a mirror. Write a paragraph
about it.
THE FAIREST OF THEM ALL

A monkey preens itself using a piece
of mirror, in the Delhi ridge.
(‘To preen oneself ’ means to spend a lot of
time making oneself look attractive, and
then admiring one’s appearance. The word
is used in disapproval.)
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Translation
The text you read is a translation of a story by a well-known Malayalam writer,
Vaikom Muhammad Basheer.
In translating a story from one language to another, a translator must keep the
content intact. However, the language and the style differ in different translations
of the same text.
Here are two translations of the opening paragraphs of a novel by the Japanese
writer, Haruki Murakami. Read them and answer the questions given below.
A B
When the phone rang I was in I’m in the kitchen cooking spaghetti
the kitchen, boiling a potful of when the woman calls. Another
spaghetti and whistling along moment until the spaghetti is
with an FM broadcast of the done; there I am, whistling the
overture to Rossini’s The prelude to Rossini’s La Gazza
Thieving Magpie, which has to Ladra along with the FM radio.
be the perfect music for cooking Perfect spaghetti-cooking music!
pasta. I hear the telephone ring but
I wanted to ignore the tell myself, Ignore it. Let the
phone, not only because the spaghetti finish cooking. It’s
spaghetti was nearly done, but almost done, and besides,
because Claudio Abbado was Claudio Abbado and the London
bringing the London Symphony Symphony Orchestra are coming
to its musical climax. to a crescendo.
Compare the two translations on the basis of the following points.

• the tense of narration (past and present tense)
• short, incomplete sentences
• sentence length
Which of these translations do you like? Give reasons for your choice.
64 / Beehive
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A Legend of the Northland
This poem narrates the legend of an old lady who angered

Saint Peter because of her greed.
Away, away in the Northland,

Where the hours of the day are few,
And the nights are so long in winter
That they cannot sleep them through;
Where they harness the swift reindeer

To the sledges, when it snows;
And the children look like bear’s cubs
In their funny, furry clothes:
They tell them a curious story —

I don’t believe ’tis true;
And yet you may learn a lesson
If I tell the tale to you.
Once, when the good Saint Peter

Lived in the world below,
And walked about it, preaching,
Just as he did, you know,
He came to the door of a cottage,

In travelling round the earth,
Where a little woman was making cakes,
And baking them on the hearth;
And being faint with fasting,

For the day was almost done,
He asked her, from her store of cakes,
To give him a single one.
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So she made a very little cake,
But as it baking lay,
She looked at it, and thought it seemed
Too large to give away.
Therefore she kneaded another,

And still a smaller one;
But it looked, when she turned it over,
As large as the first had done.
Then she took a tiny scrap of dough,

And rolled and rolled it flat;
And baked it thin as a wafer —
But she couldn’t part with that.
For she said, “My cakes that seem too small

When I eat of them myself
Are yet too large to give away.”
So she put them on the shelf.
Then good Saint Peter grew angry,

For he was hungry and faint;
And surely such a woman
Was enough to provoke a saint.
And he said, “You are far too selfish

To dwell in a human form,
To have both food and shelter,
And fire to keep you warm.
Now, you shall build as the birds do,

And shall get your scanty food
By boring, and boring, and boring,
All day in the hard, dry wood.”
Then up she went through the chimney,

Never speaking a word,
And out of the top flew a woodpecker,
For she was changed to a bird.
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She had a scarlet cap on her head,
And that was left the same;
But all the rest of her clothes were burned
Black as a coal in the flame.
And every country schoolboy

Has seen her in the wood,
Where she lives in the trees till this very day,
Boring and boring for food.
PHOEBE CARY
A ballad is a song narrating a story in short stanzas. Ballads

are a part of folk culture or popular culture and are passed on
orally from one generation to the next. ‘A Legend of the Northland’
is a ballad.
GLOSSARY
legend: old traditional story
Saint Peter: an apostle of Christ
provoke: make angry

I. 1. Which country or countries do you think “the Northland” refers to?
2. What did Saint Peter ask the old lady for? What was the lady’s reaction?
3. How did he punish her?
4. How does the woodpecker get her food?
5. Do you think that the old lady would have been so ungenerous if she had
known who Saint Peter really was? What would she have done then?
6. Is this a true story? Which part of this poem do you feel is the most important?
7. What is a legend? Why is this poem called a legend?
8. Write the story of ‘A Legend of the Northland’ in about ten sentences.
II. 1. Let’s look at the words at the end of the second and fourth lines, viz., ‘snows’
and ‘clothes’, ‘true’ and ‘you’, ‘below’ and ‘know.’ We find that ‘snows’ rhymes
with ‘clothes’, ‘true’ rhymes with ‘you’ and ‘below’ rhymes with ‘know’.
Find more such rhyming words.
2. Go to the local library or talk to older persons in your locality and find legends
in your own language. Tell the class these legends.
A Legend of the Northland / 67
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6. My Childhood
BEFORE YOU READ

• Can you think of any scientists, who have also been
statesmen?
• A.P.J. Abdul Kalam, whose projects in space, defence and
nuclear technology guided India into the twenty-first century,
became our eleventh President in 2002.
• In his autobiography, Wings of Fire, he speaks of his
childhood.
1. I WAS born into a middle-class Tamil family in the

island town of Rameswaram in the erstwhile Madras erstwhile: former
State. My father, Jainulabdeen, had neither much
formal education nor much wealth; despite these
disadvantages, he possessed great innate wisdom innate: inborn; (a
and a true generosity of spirit. He had an ideal quality or feeling) in
one’s nature
helpmate in my mother, Ashiamma. I do not recall
the exact number of people she fed every day, but I
am quite certain that far more outsiders ate with
us than all the members of our own family
put together.
2. I was one of many children — a short boy with
rather undistinguished looks, born to tall and
handsome parents. We lived in our ancestral house,
which was built in the middle of the nineteenth
century. It was a fairly large pucca house, made of
limestone and brick, on the Mosque Street in
Rameswaram. My austere father used to avoid all austere: simple,
inessential comforts and luxuries. However, all strict and severe
necessities were provided for, in terms of food,
medicine or clothes. In fact, I would say mine
was a very secure childhood, both materially
and emotionally.
2024-25
3. The Second World War broke out in 1939, when I
was eight years old. For reasons I have never been
able to understand, a sudden demand for tamarind
seeds erupted in the market. I used to collect the
seeds and sell them to a provision shop on Mosque
Street. A day’s collection would fetch me the princely princely sum:
sum of one anna. My brother-in-law Jallaluddin generous amount
(here, ironic)
would tell me stories about the War which I would
later attempt to trace in the headlines in Dinamani. anna: an old Indian
coin, worth about six
Our area, being isolated, was completely unaffected paise
by the War. But soon India was forced to join the
Allied Forces and something like a state of Allied Forces: the
emergency was declared. The first casualty came armies of U.K.,
U.S.A. and Russia
in the form of the suspension of the train halt at during the Second
Rameswaram station. The newspapers now had to World War
be bundled and thrown out from the moving train
on the Rameswaram Road between Rameswaram
and Dhanuskodi. That forced my cousin Samsuddin,
who distributed newspapers in Rameswaram , to
look for a helping hand to catch the bundles and, as
if naturally, I filled the slot. Samsuddin helped me
earn my first wages. Half a century later, I can still
feel the surge of pride in earning my own money for
the first time.
4. Every child is born, with some inherited
characteristics, into a specific socio-economic and
emotional environment, and trained in certain ways
by figures of authority. I inherited honesty and self-
discipline from my father; from my mother, I
inherited faith in goodness and deep kindness and
so did my three brothers and sister. I had three
close friends in my childhood — Ramanadha Sastry,
Aravindan and Sivaprakasan. All these boys were
from orthodox Hindu Brahmin families. As children,
none of us ever felt any difference amongst ourselves
because of our religious differences and upbringing.
In fact, Ramanadha Sastry was the son of Pakshi
Lakshmana Sastry, the high priest of the
Rameswaram temple. Later, he took over the
priesthood of the Rameswaram temple from his
My Childhood /69
2024-25
Our family used to arrange boats for carrying idols
of the Lord from the temple to the marriage site.
father; Aravindan went into the business of

arranging transport for visiting pilgrims; and
Sivaprakasan became a catering contractor for the
Southern Railways.
5. During the annual Shri Sita Rama Kalyanam
ceremony, our family used to arrange boats with a
special platform for carrying idols of the Lord from
the temple to the marriage site, situated in the
middle of the pond called Rama Tirtha which was
near our house. Events from the Ramayana and
from the life of the Prophet were the bedtime stories
my mother and grandmother would tell the children
in our family.
6. One day when I was in the fifth standard at the
Rameswaram Elementary School, a new teacher
came to our class. I used to wear a cap which
marked me as a Muslim, and I always sat in the
front row next to Ramanadha Sastry, who wore the
70 / Beehive
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sacred thread. The new teacher could not stomach could not stomach:
a Hindu priest’s son sitting with a Muslim boy. In could not tolerate
accordance with our social ranking as the new
teacher saw it, I was asked to go and sit on the
back bench. I felt very sad, and so did Ramanadha
Sastry. He looked utterly downcast as I shifted to downcast: sad or
my seat in the last row. The image of him weeping depressed
when I shifted to the last row left a lasting
impression on me.
7. After school, we went home and told our respective
parents about the incident. Lakshmana Sastry
summoned the teacher, and in our presence, told
the teacher that he should not spread the poison of
social inequality and communal intolerance in the
minds of innocent children. He bluntly asked the
teacher to either apologise or quit the school and
the island. Not only did the teacher regret his
behaviour, but the strong sense of conviction conviction: a strong
Lakshmana Sastry conveyed ultimately reformed opinion or belief
this young teacher.
My Childhood /71
2024-25
I always sat in the front row next
to Ramanadha Sastry.
8. On the whole, the small society of Rameswaram

was very rigid in terms of the segregation of different
social groups. However, my science teacher
Sivasubramania Iyer, though an orthodox Brahmin
with a very conservative wife, was something of a
rebel. He did his best to break social barriers so
that people from varying backgrounds could mingle
easily. He used to spend hours with me and would
say, “Kalam, I want you to develop so that you
are on par with the highly educated people of the
big cities.”
9. One day, he invited me to his home for a meal. His
wife was horrified at the idea of a Muslim boy being
invited to dine in her ritually pure kitchen. She ritually pure: kept
refused to serve me in her kitchen. Sivasubramania protected from all
outside influences
Iyer was not perturbed, nor did he get angry for the observances
with his wife, but instead, served me with of religion
72 / Beehive
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his own hands and sat down beside me to eat his
meal. His wife watched us from behind the kitchen
door. I wondered whether she had observed any
difference in the way I ate rice, drank water or
cleaned the floor after the meal. When I was leaving
his house, Sivasubramania Iyer invited me to join
him for dinner again the next weekend. Observing
my hesitation, he told me not to get upset, saying,
“Once you decide to change the system, such
problems have to be confronted.” When I visited his
house the next week, Sivasubramania Iyer’s wife
took me inside her kitchen and served me food with
her own hands.
10. Then the Second World War was over and India’s
freedom was imminent. “Indians will build their
own India,” declared Gandhiji. The whole country
was filled with an unprecedented optimism. I asked
my father for permission to leave Rameswaram
and study at the district headquarters in
Ramanathapuram.
Sivasubramania Iyer’s wife took me inside

her kitchen and served me food.
My Childhood /73
2024-25
11. He told me as if thinking aloud, “Abul ! I know you
have to go away to grow. Does the seagull not fly
across the sun, alone and without a nest?” He quoted
Khalil Gibran to my hesitant mother, “Your children
are not your children. They are the sons and daughters
of Life’s longing for itself. They come through you but
not from you. You may give them your love but not
your thoughts. For they have their own thoughts.”
A.P.J. ABDUL KALAM

[an extract from Wings of Fire]

Teext
Activity
Find Dhanuskodi and Rameswaram on the map. What
language(s) do you think are spoken there? What languages do
you think the author, his family, his friends and his teachers
spoke with one another?
Chennai
Nagappattinam
Ramanathapuram
Pamban
Island
Sri Lanka
© Government of India Copyright, 2003
74 / Beehive
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I. Answer these questions in one or two sentences each.
1. Where was Abdul Kalam’s house?
2. What do you think Dinamani is the name of? Give a reason for your answer.
3. Who were Abdul Kalam’s school friends? What did they later become?
4. How did Abdul Kalam earn his first wages?
5. Had he earned any money before that? In what way?
II. Answer each of these questions in a short paragraph (about 30 words)

1. How does the author describe: (i) his father, (ii) his mother, (iii) himself?
2. What characteristics does he say he inherited from his parents?
III. Discuss these questions in class with your teacher and then write down your
answers in two or three paragraphs each.
1. “On the whole, the small society of Rameswaram was very rigid in terms of
the segregation of different social groups,” says the author.
(i) Which social groups does he mention? Were these groups easily
identifiable (for example, by the way they dressed)?
(ii) Were they aware only of their differences or did they also naturally share
friendships and experiences? (Think of the bedtime stories in Kalam’s
house; of who his friends were; and of what used to take place in the
pond near his house.)
(iii) The author speaks both of people who were very aware of the differences
among them and those who tried to bridge these differences. Can you
identify such people in the text?
(iv) Narrate two incidents that show how differences can be created, and
also how they can be resolved. How can people change their attitudes?
2. (i) Why did Abdul Kalam want to leave Rameswaram?
(ii) What did his father say to this?
(iii) What do you think his words mean? Why do you think he spoke those
words?

I. Find the sentences in the text where these words occur:
erupt surge trace undistinguished casualty
Look these words up in a dictionary which gives examples of how they are used.
Now answer the following questions.
1. What are the things that can erupt? Use examples to explain the various
meanings of erupt. Now do the same for the word surge. What things can
surge?
My Childhood /75
2024-25
2. What are the meanings of the word trace and which of the meanings is
closest to the word in the text?
3. Can you find the word undistinguished in your dictionary? (If not, look up
the word distinguished and say what undistinguished must mean.)
II. 1. Match the phrases in Column A with their meanings in Column B.
A B
(i) broke out (a) an attitude of kindness, a readiness to

give freely
(ii) in accordance with (b) was not able to tolerate
(iii) a helping hand (c) began suddenly in a violent way
(iv) could not stomach (d) assistance
(v) generosity of spirit (e) persons with power to make decisions
(vi) figures of authority (f) according to a particular rule, principle,
or system
2. Study the words in italics in the sentences below. They are formed by prefixing
un – or in – to their antonyms (words opposite in meaning).
• I was a short boy with rather undistinguished looks. (un + distinguished)
• My austere father used to avoid all inessential comforts.(in + essential)
• The area was completely unaffected by the war.(un + affected)
• He should not spread the poison of social inequality and communal
intolerance. (in + equality, in + tolerance)
Now form the opposites of the words below by prefixing un- or in-. The prefix in-
can also have the forms il-, ir-, or im- (for example: illiterate –il + literate,
impractical – im + practical, irrational – ir + rational). You may consult a dictionary
if you wish.
adequate acceptable regular tolerant

demanding active true permanent
patriotic disputed accessible coherent
logical legal responsible possible
III. Passive Voice

Study these sentences:
• My parents were regarded as an ideal couple.
• I was asked to go and sit on the back bench.
• Such problems have to be confronted.
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The italicised verbs in these sentences are made up of a form of the verb be and
a past participle. (For example: were + regarded, was + asked, be + confronted)
These sentences focus on what happens, rather than who does what. Notice
that the doer of the action is not included in the sentences.
If necessary, we can mention the doer of the action in a by-phrase. For example:
• The tree was struck by lightning.
• The flag was unfurled by the Chief Guest.
IV. Rewrite the sentences below, changing the verbs in brackets into the passive
form.
1. In yesterday’s competition the prizes (give away) by the Principal.
2. In spite of financial difficulties, the labourers (pay) on time.
3. On Republic Day, vehicles (not allow) beyond this point.
4. Second-hand books (buy and sell) on the pavement every Saturday.
5. Elections to the Lok Sabha (hold) every five years.
6. Our National Anthem (compose) Rabindranath Tagore.
V. Rewrite the paragraphs below, using the correct form of the verb given in
brackets.
1. How Helmets Came To Be Used in Cricket

Nari Contractor was the Captain and an opening batsman for India in the
1960s. The Indian cricket team went on a tour to the West Indies in 1962.
In a match against Barbados in Bridgetown, Nari Contractor (seriously injure
and collapse). In those days helmets (not wear). Contractor (hit) on the head
by a bouncer from Charlie Griffith. Contractor’s skull (fracture). The entire
team (deeply concern). The West Indies players (worry). Contractor (rush ) to
hospital. He (accompany) by Frank Worrell, the Captain of the West Indies
Team. Blood (donate) by the West Indies players. Thanks to the timely help,
Contractor (save). Nowadays helmets (routinely use) against bowlers.
2. Oil from Seeds

Vegetable oils (make) from seeds and fruits of many plants growing all over
the world, from tiny sesame seeds to big, juicy coconuts. Oil (produce) from
cotton seeds, groundnuts, soya beans and sunflower seeds. Olive oil (use)
for cooking, salad dressing etc. Olives (shake) from the trees and (gather)
up, usually by hand. The olives (ground) to a thick paste which is spread
onto special mats. Then the mats (layer) up on the pressing machine which
will gently squeeze them to produce olive oil.
Dictation
Let the class divide itself into three groups. Let each group take down one passage
that the teacher dictates. Then put the passages together in the right order.
My Childhood /77
2024-25
To Sir, with Love
1. From Rameswaram to the Rashtrapati Bhavan, it’s been a long journey.
Talking to Nona Walia on the eve of Teacher’s Day, President Dr A.P.J. Abdul
Kalam talks about life’s toughest lessons learnt and his mission — being a
teacher to the Indian youth. “A proper education would help nurture a sense
of dignity and self-respect among our youth,” says President Kalam.
There’s still a child in him though, and he’s still curious about learning
new things. Life’s a mission for President Kalam.
2. Nonetheless, he remembers his first lesson in life and how it changed
his destiny. “I was studying in Standard V, and must have been all of 10. My
teacher, Sri Sivasubramania Iyer was telling us how birds fly. He drew a
diagram of a bird on the blackboard, depicting the wings, tail and the body
with the head and then explained how birds soar to the sky. At the end of
the class, I said I didn’t understand. Then he asked the other students if
they had understood, but nobody had understood how birds fly,” he recalls.
3. “That evening, the entire class was taken to Rameswarm shore,” the
President continues. “My teacher showed us sea birds. We saw marvellous
formations of them flying and how their wings flapped. Then my teacher
asked us, ‘Where is the birds’ engine and how is it powered?’ I knew then
that birds are powered by their own life and motivation. I understood all
about birds’ dynamics. This was real teaching — a theoretical lesson coupled
with a live practical example. Sri Siva Subramania Iyer was a great teacher.”
That day, my future was decided. My destiny was changed. I knew my
future had to be about flight and flight systems.
Speaking
Here is a topic for you to
1. think about;
2. give your opinion on.
Find out what other people think about it. Ask your friends/seniors/parents to
give you their opinion.
‘Career Building Is the Only Goal of Education.’

or
‘Getting a Good Job Is More Important than Being a Good Human Being.’
You can use the following phrases

(i) while giving your opinion:
• I think that ...
• In my opinion ...
• It seems to me that ...
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• I am of the view that ...
• As far as I know ...
• If you ask me ...
(ii) saying what other people think:

• According to some ...
• Quite a few think ...
• Some others favour ...
• Thirty per cent of the people disagree ...
• Fifty per cent of them strongly feel ...
(iii) asking for others’ opinions:

• What do you think about ...
• What do you think of ...
• What is your opinion about ...
• Do you agree ...
• Does this make you believe ...
Writing
Think and write a short account of what life in Rameswaram in the 1940s must
have been like. (Were people rich or poor? Hard working or lazy? Hopeful of
change, or resistant to it?).
Do your little bit of good where you are; it’s

those little bits of good put together that
overwhelm the world.
ARCHBISHOP DESMOND TUTU
My Childhood /79
2024-25
oreign
No Men Are FForeign
Have you ever thought of some people as strange, or other

countries as ‘foreign’? We have many ways of thinking of
other people as different from ‘us’, as ‘them.’ ‘ They’ may
belong to a different country, or speak a different language.
In this poem, however, the poet reminds us of the many ways
in which we are all the same — for we are all human.
Remember, no men are strange, no countries foreign

Beneath all uniforms, a single body breathes
Like ours: the land our brothers walk upon
Is earth like this, in which we all shall lie.
They, too, aware of sun and air and water,

Are fed by peaceful harvests, by war’s long winter starv’d.
Their hands are ours, and in their lines we read
A labour not different from our own.
Remember they have eyes like ours that wake

Or sleep, and strength that can be won
By love. In every land is common life
That all can recognise and understand.
Let us remember, whenever we are told

To hate our brothers, it is ourselves
That we shall dispossess, betray, condemn.
Remember, we who take arms against each other
It is the human earth that we defile.

Our hells of fire and dust outrage the innocence
Of air that is everywhere our own,
Remember, no men are foreign, and no countries strange.
JAMES KIRKUP
2024-25
GLOSSARY
dispossess: dislodge; deprive
defile: make dirty; pollute
outrage the innocence of: violate the purity of

1. (i) “Beneath all uniforms . . .” What uniforms do you think the poet is
speaking about?
(ii) How does the poet suggest that all people on earth are the same?
2. In stanza 1, find five ways in which we all are alike. Pick out the words.
3. How many common features can you find in stanza 2 ? Pick out the words.
4. “... whenever we are told to hate our brothers ...” When do you think this
happens? Why? Who ‘tells’ us? Should we do as we are told at such times?
What does the poet say?
I am a citizen, not of Athens or Greece, but

of the world.
SOCRATES
No Men Are Foreign /81
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Notes for the T
Teacher
eacher
Units 7–9
7. REACH FOR THE TOP

This unit has two biographical pieces that depict persistent endeavours to
reach the top. Part II of this unit is taken from a newspaper. The language is
very current and idiomatic. An exercise of matching words and phrases to
their meanings has been given as a pre-reading activity to facilitate students’
understanding and appreciation of this part of the text.
In this unit students are asked to imagine that they have to give a speech.
They may wish to read the texts of well-known speeches such as Nehru’s
‘Tryst with Destiny’. A speech is a formal use of spoken language. It must be
prepared meticulously.
The language is formal but should be made powerful by the use of balance
(“Ask not what your country can do for you, ask what you can do for your
country.” — Kennedy), imagery (“The light has gone out of our lives” — Nehru)
and other such rhetorical devices. It can be enriched by the use of examples
and anecdotes.
The Writing task of composing an article for a school magazine can be prepared
for by looking at other examples of such articles in newspapers. This task
makes a beginning in helping students to write for the print media. Encourage
them to work within a given word limit (such as 500 words, or 1000 words),
and to use everyday, contemporary language.
Help students to write a description of Santosh Yadav’s character by drawing
their attention to her background, likes and dislikes, her humanity and her
contribution to society.
8. KATHMANDU
‘Kathmandu’ is excerpted from Heaven Lake, a travelogue in which Vikram
Seth gives an account of what he saw, thought and felt when he travelled from
China to Tibet, from Heaven Lake to the Himalayas.
The map reading activity and the activity on locating the possible routes (by
road, rail or air) from Kathmandu to different places in India are designed to
link the lesson to the outside world. Students may wish to consult brochures
or travel guides, visit a travel agency or call them on the telephone, speak to
people who have been to Nepal, and so on. This is a ‘communicative’ and
‘authentic’ task.
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To prepare for the second Speaking task, students can listen to cricket/
football commentaries or eyewitness accounts of the Independence Day/
Republic Day parade in class or at home on radio or T.V. Encourage them
to observe the use of the language and follow the narration. Have a
discussion in the class on the features of the commentary (its language, its
liveliness, etc.)
A diary can be an opportunity to write freely about our life and the things
that happen to us — funny, sad, happy, embarrassing or fearful. We also
make notes on places we visit or our encounters with people.
The Writing task suggests that diary entries can form the basis of a
travelogue, and asks students to imagine a journey to Kathmandu. It may be
supplemented by an actual travelogue-writing task given after a long holiday,
or after a class trip out of the town.
9. IF I WERE YOU
This one-act play is to be read aloud in class by assigning roles to students.
Draw the students’ attention to the stage setting, stage directions, description
of the characters, their movements, gestures and tonal variations, since these
combine to bring out the effect of the play.
The play has many examples of wit and irony. Two examples are given in an
exercise. You can add a few more for the students to have a clear understanding.
The dictionary task in this unit is to help children locate the right meaning
from a dictionary for a word they come across while reading. The task draws
students’ attention to ‘signposts’ such as parts of speech that help match use
to meaning. Encourage the students to look at more entries in the dictionary
and observe the meanings of words that occur as different parts of speech
(adjective, noun, verb).
Notes for the

Reach for Teacher / 83
the Top / 83
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7. Reach for the Top
Top
Part I
Santosh Yadav
BEFORE YOU READ

• Think for a while and make a list of three to five persons you
idolise, or admire very much for their achievements. Your
idols may be from any sphere of life — sports, medicine,
media, or art and culture.
• Your teacher will then discuss your choices with you to find
out who the top five idols of your class are.
1. The only woman in the world who

has scaled Mt Everest twice was
born in a society where the birth of
a son was regarded as a blessing,
and a daughter, though not
considered a curse, was not
generally welcome. When her mother
was expecting Santosh, a travelling
‘holy man’, giving her his blessing,
assumed that she wanted a son.
But, to everyone’s surprise, the
unborn child’s grandmother, who
was standing close by, told him that
they did not want a son. The ‘holy
man’ was also surprised!
Nevertheless, he gave the requested
blessing . . . and as destiny would
have it, the blessing seemed to work.
Santosh was born the sixth child in
a family with five sons, a sister to
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five brothers. She was born in the small village of
Joniyawas of Rewari District in Haryana.
2. The girl was given the name ‘Santosh’, which means
contentment. But Santosh was not always content
with her place in a traditional way of life. She began
living life on her own terms from the start. Where
other girls wore traditional Indian dresses, Santosh
preferred shorts. Looking back, she says now, “From
the very beginning I was quite determined that if I
chose a correct and a rational path, the others
around me had to change, not me.”
3. Santosh’s parents were affluent landowners who
could afford to send their children to the best
schools, even to the country’s capital, New Delhi,
which was quite close by. But, in line with the in line with: following
prevailing custom in the family, Santosh had to or in accordance
with; according to
make do with the local village school. So, she decided
to fight the system in her own quiet way when
the right moment arrived. And the right moment
came when she turned sixteen. At sixteen, most of
the girls in her village used to get married.
Santosh was also under pressure from her parents
to do the same.
4. A marriage as early as that was the last thing on the last thing: the
least important thing
her mind. She threatened her parents that she
would never marry if she did not get a proper
education. She left home and got herself enrolled
in a school in Delhi. When her parents refused to
pay for her education, she politely informed them
of her plans to earn money by working part time to
pay her school fees. Her parents then agreed to pay
for her education.
5. Wishing always to study “a bit more” and with her
father slowly getting used to her urge for more
education, Santosh passed the high school
examinations and went to Jaipur. She joined
Maharani College and got a room in Kasturba Hostel.
Santosh remembers, “Kasturba Hostel faced the
Reach for the Top / 85
2024-25
Aravalli Hills. I used to watch villagers from my room,
going up the hill and suddenly vanishing after a
while. One day I decided to check it out myself. I check it out: find out
found nobody except a few mountaineers. I asked if (the truth)
I could join them. To my pleasant surprise, they
answered in the affirmative and motivated me to
take to climbing.”
6. Then there was no looking back for this determined
young girl. She saved money and enrolled in a
course at Uttarkashi’s Nehru Institute of
Mountaineering. “My college semester in Jaipur was
to end in April but it ended on the nineteenth of
May. And I was supposed to be in Uttarkashi on
the twenty-first. So, I did not go back home; instead,
I headed straight for the training. I had to write a headed straight for :
letter of apology to my father without whose went towards
permission I had got myself enrolled at Uttarkashi.”
7. Thereafter, Santosh went on an
expedition every year. Her climbing
skills matured rapidly. Also, she
developed a remarkable resistance to
cold and the altitude. Equipped with
an iron will, physical endurance and
an amazing mental toughness, she
proved herself repeatedly. The
culmination of her hard work and
sincerity came in 1992, just four years
after she had shyly asked the Aravalli
mountaineers if she could join them.
At barely twenty years of age, Santosh
Yadav scaled Mt Everest, becoming the
youngest woman in the world to
achieve the feat. If her climbing skills,
physical fitness, and mental strength
impressed her seniors, her concern for
others and desire to work together with Iron will, physical endurance and
them found her a special place in the mental toughness characterise
Santosh Yadav.
hearts of fellow climbers.
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8. During the 1992 Everest mission, Santosh Yadav
provided special care to a climber who lay dying at
the South Col. She was unfortunately unsuccessful
in saving him. However, she managed to save
another climber, Mohan Singh, who would have
met with the same fate had she not shared her
oxygen with him.
9. Within twelve months, Santosh found herself a
member of an Indo-Nepalese Women’s Expedition
that invited her to join them. She then scaled the
Everest a second time, thus setting a record as the
only woman to have scaled the Everest twice, and
securing for herself and India a unique place in the
annals of mountaineering. In recognition
of her achievements, the Indian government
bestowed upon her one of the nation’s top honours, top honours: highest
the Padmashri. awards
10. Describing her feelings when she was literally ‘on the enormity of the
moment: a very great
top of the world’, Santosh has said, “It took some
moment
time for the enormity of the moment to sink
sink in: be
in ... Then I unfurled the Indian tricolour and held it understood
aloft on the roof of the world. The feeling is
held it aloft: held it
indescribable. The Indian flag was flying on top of up high
the world. It was truly a spiritual moment. I felt
proud as an Indian.”
Also a fervent environmentalist, Santosh collected fervent: having
and brought down 500 kilograms of garbage from strong and sincere
feelings
the Himalayas.

Teext
I. Answer these questions in one or two sentences each. (The paragraph numbers
within brackets provide clues to the answers.)
1. Why was the ‘holy man’ who gave Santosh’s mother his blessings surprised?
(1)
2. Give an example to show that even as a young girl Santosh was not ready to
accept anything unreasonable. (2)
3. Why was Santosh sent to the local school? (3)
2024-25
4. When did she leave home for Delhi, and why? (4)
5. Why did Santosh’s parents agree to pay for her schooling in Delhi? What
mental qualities of Santosh are brought into light by this incident? (4)
II. Answer each of these questions in a short paragraph (about 30 words).

1. How did Santosh begin to climb mountains?
2. What incidents during the Everest expedition show Santosh’s concern for
her team-mates?
3. What shows her concern for the environment?
4. How does she describe her feelings at the summit of the Everest?
5. Santosh Yadav got into the recor d books both times she scaled
Mt Everest. What were the reasons for this?
III. Complete the following statements.
1. From her room in Kasturba Hostel, Santosh used to
2. When she finished college, Santosh had to write a letter of apology to her
father because
3. During the Everest expedition, her seniors in the team admired her
while endeared her to fellow climbers.
IV. Pick out words from the text that mean the same as the following words or
expressions. (Look in the paragraphs indicated.)
1. took to be true without proof (1):
2. based on reason; sensible; reasonable (2):
3. the usual way of doing things (3):
4. a strong desire arising from within (5):
5. the power to endure, without falling ill (7):
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Part II
Maria Sharapova
BEFORE YOU READ

• A Russian girl, Maria Sharapova, reached the summit of
women’s tennis when she was barely eighteen. As you read
about her, see if you can draw a comparison between her
and Santosh Yadav.
• Match the following.
something disarming quickly, almost immediately

at odds with more calm, confident and in control
than people of her age usually are
glamorous attire in contrast to; not agreeing with
in almost no time something that makes you feel friendly,
taking away your suspiciousness
poised beyond her sent off
years
packed off attractive and exciting clothes
launched causing strong feelings of sadness
heart wrenching started
• As you read, look for the answers to these questions.

– Why was Maria sent to the United States?
– Why didn’t her mother go with her?
– What are her hobbies? What does she like?
– What motivates her to keep going?
1. T H E R E is something disarming about Maria

Sharapova, something at odds with her ready smile
and glamorous attire. And that something in her
lifted her on Monday, 22 August 2005 to the world
number one position in women’s tennis. All this
happened in almost no time. Poised beyond her
years, the Siberian born teenager took just four
years as a professional to reach the pinnacle.
2024-25
Maria Sharapova won the women’s singles
at Wimbledon in 2004
2. However, the rapid ascent in a fiercely competitive

world began nine years before with a level of
sacrifice few children would be prepared to endure.
Little Maria had not yet celebrated her tenth
birthday when she was packed off to train in the
United States. That trip to Florida with her father
Yuri launched her on the path to success and
stardom. But it also required a heart-wrenching
two-year separation from her mother Yelena. The
latter was compelled to stay back in Siberia because
of visa restrictions. The nine-year -old girl had
already learnt an important lesson in life — that
tennis excellence would only come at a price.
3. “I used to be so lonely,” Maria Sharapova recalls. “I
missed my mother terribly. My father was working
as much as he could to keep my tennis-training
going. So, he couldn’t see me either.
4. “Because I was so young, I used to go to bed at
8 p.m. The other tennis pupils would come in at
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11 p.m. and wake me up and order me to tidy up
the room and clean it.
5. “Instead of letting that depress me, I became more
quietly determined and mentally tough.
I learnt how to take care of myself. I never thought
of quitting because I knew what I wanted. When
you come from nothing and you have nothing, then
it makes you very hungry and determined . . . I would
have put up with much more humiliation and insults
than that to steadfastly pursue my dream.”
6. That toughness runs through Maria even today. It
was the key to her bagging the women’s singles crown
at Wimbledon in 2004 and to her meteoric rise to
the world number one spot the following year.
7. While her journey from the frozen plains of Siberia
to the summit of women’s tennis has touched the
hearts of tennis fans, for the youngster herself there
appears to be no room for sentiment. The straight
looks and the answers she gives when asked about
her ambition make it amply clear that she considers
the sacrifices were worth it. “I am very, very
competitive. I work hard at what I do. It’s my job.”
This is her mantra for success.
8. Though Maria Sharapova speaks with a pronounced
American accent, she proudly parades her Russian
nationality. Clearing all doubts, she says, “I’m
Russian. It’s true that the U.S. is a big part of my
life. But I have Russian citizenship. My blood is
totally Russian. I will play the Olympics for Russia
if they want me.”
9. Like any number of teenaged sensations, Maria
Sharapova lists fashion, singing and dancing as her
hobbies. She loves reading the novels of Arthur Conan
Doyle. Her fondness for sophisticated evening gowns
appears at odds with her love of pancakes with
chocolate spread and fizzy orange drinks.
10. Maria Sharapova cannot be pigeon-holed or
categorised. Her talent, unwavering desire to
succeed and readiness to sacrifice have lifted her
to the top of the world. Few would grudge her the
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riches she is now reaping. This is what she has to
say about her monetary gains from tennis:
“Of course, money is a motivation. Tennis is a
business and a sport, but the most important thing
is to become number one in the world. That’s the
dream that kept me going.”

Teext
Working in small groups of 4–5 students, go back over the two passages on
Santosh Yadav and Maria Sharapova and complete the table given below with
relevant phrases or sentences.
Points of
Comparison/Contrast Santosh Yadav Maria Sharapova
1. Their humble beginning

2. Their parents’ approach
3. Their will power and strong
desire to succeed
4. Evidence of their mental
toughness
5. Their patriotism

Look at the following sentences. They each have two clauses, or two parts each
with their own subject and verb or verb phrase. Often, one part (italicised) tells
us when or why something happened.
• I reached the market when most of the shops had closed. (Tells us when I
reached.)
• When Rahul Dravid walked back towards the pavilion, everyone stood up. (Tells
us when everyone stood up.)
• The telephone rang and Ganga picked it up. (Tells us what happened next.)
• Gunjan has been with us ever since the school began. (Tells us for how long he
has been with us.)
I. Identify the two parts in the sentences below by underlining the part that gives
us the information in brackets, as shown above.
1. Where other girls wore traditional Indian dresses, Santosh preferred shorts.
(Contrasts her dress with that of others)
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2. She left home and got herself enrolled in a school in Delhi.(Tells us what
happened after the first action.)
3. She decided to fight the system when the right moment arrived.(Tells us
when she was going to fight the system.)
4. Little Maria had not yet celebrated her tenth birthday when she was packed
off to train in the United States. (Tells us when Maria was sent to the U.S.)
II. Now rewrite the pairs of sentences given below as one sentence.
1. Grandfather told me about the old days. All books were printed on paper then.
2. What do you do after you finish the book? Perhaps you just throw it away.
3. He gave the little girl an apple. He took the computer apart.
4. You have nothing. That makes you very determined.
5. I never thought of quitting. I knew what I wanted.
Dictation
Read the passage once. Then close your books. Your teacher will dictate the
story to you. Write it down with the correct punctuation and paragraphing.
The Raincoat
After four years of drought in a small town in the Northeast, the Vicar
gathered everyone together for a pilgrimage to the mountain, where they
would pray together and ask for the rain to return.
The priest noticed a boy in the group wearing a raincoat.
“Have you gone mad?” he asked. “It hasn’t rained in this region for
five years, the heat will kill you climbing the mountain.”
“I have a cold, father. If we are going to ask God for rain, can you
imagine the way back from the mountain? It’s going to be such a downpour
that I need to be prepared.”
At that moment a great crash was heard in the sky and the first
drops began to fall. A boy’s faith was enough to bring about a miracle
that not even those most prepared truly believed in.
(translated by JAMES MULHOLLAND)
Speaking
Imagine that you are Santosh Yadav, or Maria Sharapova. You have been invited
to speak at an All India Girls’ Athletic Meet, as chief guest. Prepare a short
speech to motivate the girls to think and dream big and make an effort to fulfil
their dreams, not allowing difficulties or defeat to discourage them. The following
words and phrases may help you.
• self confident/confidence/sure of yourself
• self assured/assurance/belief in yourself
• morale/boost morale/raise morale
• giving somebody a boost/fillip/lift
• demoralising/unsure of yourself/insecure/lack confidence
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Writing
Working in pairs, go through the table below that gives you information about
the top women tennis players since 1975. Write a short article for your school
magazine comparing and contrasting the players in terms of their duration at
the top. Mention some qualities that you think may be responsible for their brief
or long stay at the top spot.
Top-Ranked Women Players

I. The roll of honour of women who enjoyed life at the summit since everybody’s
favourite player, Chris Evert, took her place in 1975.
Name Ranked on Weeks as No. 1

Maria Sharapova (Russia) 22 August 2005 1
Lindsay Davenport (U.S.) October 2004 82
Amelie Mauresmo (France) 13 September 2004 5
Justine Henin-Hardenne (Belgium) 20 October 2003 45
Kim Clijsters (Belgium) 11 August 2003 12
Serena Williams (U.S.) 8 July 2002 57
Venus Williams (U.S.) 25 February 2002 11
Jennifer Capriati (U.S.) 15 October 2001 17
Lindsay Davenport (U.S.) 12 October 1998 82
Martina Hingis (Switzerland) 31 March 1997 209
Arantxa Sanchez-Vicario (Spain) 6 February 1995 12
Monica Seles (U.S.) 11 March 1991 178
Steffi Graf (Germany) 17 August 1987 377
Tracy Austin (U.S.) 7 April 1980 22
Martina Navratilova (U.S.) 10 July 1978 331
Chris Evert (U.S.) 3 November 1975 362
II. Which of these words would you use to describe Santosh Yadav? Find reasons
in the text to support your choices, and write a couple of paragraphs describing
Santosh’s character.
contented determined resourceful polite adventurous considerate

weak-willed fearful independent pessimistic patient persevering
94 / Beehive
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On Killing a Tree
Tree
You must have observed people cutting down trees. But can
they kill a tree? Is it easy to do so? Let’s read the poem and
find out what the poet says on killing a tree.
It takes much time to kill a tree,

Not a simple jab of the knife
Will do it. It has grown
Slowly consuming the earth,
Rising out of it, feeding
Upon its crust, absorbing
Years of sunlight, air, water,
And out of its leprous hide
Sprouting leaves.
So hack and chop

But this alone wont do it.
Not so much pain will do it.
The bleeding bark will heal
And from close to the ground
Will rise curled green twigs,
Miniature boughs
Which if unchecked will expand again
To former size.
No,
The root is to be pulled out —
Out of the anchoring earth;
It is to be roped, tied,
And pulled out — snapped out
2024-25
Or pulled out entirely,
Out from the earth-cave,
And the strength of the tree exposed
The source, white and wet,
The most sensitive, hidden
For years inside the earth.
Then the matter

Of scorching and choking
In sun and air,
Browning, hardening,
Twisting, withering,
And then it is done.
GIEVE PATEL
GLOSSARY
jab: sudden rough blow
leprous hide: discoloured bark
hack: cut roughly by striking heavy blows
anchoring earth: Trees are held securely with the help of the roots in the earth.
snapped out: chopped out
scorching and choking: the drying up of the tree after being uprooted

I. 1. Can a “simple jab of the knife” kill a tree? Why not?
2. How has the tree grown to its full size? List the words suggestive of its life
and activity.
3. What is the meaning of “bleeding bark”? What makes it bleed?
4. The poet says “No” in the beginning of the third stanza. What does he mean
by this?
5. What is the meaning of “anchoring earth” and “earth cave”?
6. What does he mean by “the strength of the tree exposed”?
7. What finally kills the tree?
96 / Beehive
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Read and Enjoy
Trees
I think that I shall never see
A poem lovely as a tree.
A tree whose hungry mouth is prest

Against the earth’s sweet flowing breast;
A tree that looks at God all day

And lifts her leafy arms to pray;
A tree that may in summer wear

A nest of robins in her hair;
Upon whose bosom snow has lain;

Who intimately lives with rain.
Poems are made by fools like me,

But only God can make a tree.
JOYCE KILMER
When eating fruit, think of the person who

planted the tree.
VOLTAIRE
On Killing
Reach a Tree
for the Top // 97
97
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8. Kathmandu
BEFORE YOU READ
• Do you like travelling? The writer, Vikram Seth, enjoys it very
much. In his book, Heaven Lake, he describes a long journey
from China to India, via Tibet and Nepal.
• Have you heard of places like Ajmer Sharif, Madurai, Sanchi,
Varanasi, Sarnath, or Halebid? Can you name some other
places like these?
• What do the surroundings of a holy place in your city look
like? Think about it as you read Vikram Seth’s description of
Kathmandu.
1. I GET a cheap room in the centre of town and sleep

for hours. The next morning, with Mr Shah’s son
and nephew, I visit the two temples in Kathmandu
that are most sacred to Hindus and Buddhists.
2. At Pashupatinath (outside which a sign
proclaims ‘Entrance for the Hindus only’) there is proclaim: make
an atmosphere of ‘febrile confusion’. Priests, known publicly or
officially
hawkers, devotees, tourists, cows, monkeys, pigeons
and dogs roam through the grounds. We offer a few febrile confusion:
hurried activity;
flowers. There are so many worshippers that some
complete chaos
people trying to get the priest’s attention are elbowed
aside by others pushing their way to the front. A
princess of the Nepalese royal house appears;
everyone bows and makes way. By the main gate, a
party of saf fron-clad Westerners struggle for
permission to enter. The policeman is not convinced
that they are ‘the Hindus’ (only Hindus are allowed
to enter the temple). A fight breaks out between
two monkeys. One chases the other, who jumps
onto a shivalinga, then runs screaming around the
temples and down to the river, the holy Bagmati,
98 / Beehive
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Pashupatinath Temple, Kathmandu
that flows below. A corpse is being cremated on its

banks; washerwomen are at their work and children
bathe. From a balcony a basket of flowers and
leaves, old offerings now wilted, is dropped into the
river. A small shrine half protrudes from the stone shrine: a place of
platform on the river bank. When it emerges fully, worship
the goddess inside will escape, and the evil period

of the Kaliyug will end on earth.
Kathmandu / 99
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3. At the Baudhnath stupa, the Buddhist shrine of
Kathmandu, there is, in contrast, a sense of
stillness. Its immense white dome is ringed by a
road. Small shops stand on its outer edge: many of
these are owned by Tibetan immigrants; felt bags,
Tibetan prints and silver jewellery can be bought
here. There are no crowds: this is a haven of haven: a safe place
quietness in the busy streets around.
4. Kathmandu is vivid, mercenary, religious, with
small shrines to flower-adorned deities along the
narrowest and busiest streets; with fruit sellers,
flute sellers, hawkers of postcards; shops selling
Western cosmetics, film rolls and chocolate; or
copper utensils and Nepalese antiques. Film songs
blare out from the radios, car horns sound, bicycle
bells ring, stray cows low questioningly at
motorcycles, vendors shout out their wares. I indulge
The Baudhnath Stupa, Kathmandu
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myself mindlessly: buy a bar of marzipan, a corn- marzipan: a sweet
on-the-cob roasted in a charcoal brazier on the made with grated
almond
pavement (rubbed with salt, chilli powder and
brazier: open stove
lemon); a couple of love story comics, and even a
Reader’s Digest. All this I wash down with Coca Cola
and a nauseating orange drink, and feel much the nauseating: sickening
better for it.
5. I consider what route I should take back home. If I
were propelled by enthusiasm for travel per se, per-se: by itself
I would go by bus and train to Patna, then sail up
the Ganges past Benaras to Allahabad, then up the
Yamuna, past Agra to Delhi. But I am too exhausted
and homesick; today is the last day of August. Go
home, I tell myself: move directly towards home. I
enter a Nepal Airlines office and buy a ticket for
tomorrow’s flight.
6. I look at the flute seller standing in a corner of the
square near the hotel. In his hand is a pole with
an attachment at the top from which fifty or sixty
bansuris protrude in all directions, like the quills
of a porcupine. They are of bamboo: there are cross-
flutes and recorders. From time to time he stands
the pole on the ground, selects a flute and plays
for a few minutes. The sound rises clearly above
the noise of the traffic and the hawkers’ cries. He
plays slowly, meditatively, without excessive meditatively:
display. He does not shout out his wares. thoughtfully
Occasionally he makes a sale, but in a curiously

offhanded way as if this were incidental to his offhanded: casual;
enterprise. Sometimes he breaks off playing to talk not showing much
interest in something
to the fruit seller. I imagine that this has been the
pattern of his life for years.
7. I find it difficult to tear myself away from the square.
Flute music always does this to me: it is at once
the most universal and most particular of sounds.
There is no culture that does not have its flute—
the reed neh, the recorder, the Japanese shakuhachi,
the deep bansuri of Hindustani classical music,
the clear or breathy flutes of South America,
Kathmandu / 101
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the high-pitched Chinese flutes. Each has its
specific fingering and compass. It weaves its own fingering: way of
associations. Yet to hear any flute is, it seems to placing the fingers to
play different notes
me, to be drawn into the commonality of all
compass: here, range
mankind, to be moved by music closest in its
phrases and sentences to the human voice. Its
motive force too is living breath: it too needs to
pause and breathe before it can go on.
8. That I can be so affected by a few familiar phrases
on the bansuri, surprises me at first, for on the
previous occasions that I have returned home after
a long absence abroad, I have hardly noticed such
details, and certainly have not invested them with
the significance I now do.
VIKRAM SETH
[ an extract from Heaven Lake ]

Teext
Activity
1. On the following map mark out the route, which the author
thought of but did not take, to Delhi.
Jammu &
Kashmir
Himachal Pradesh China

Punjab
Uttaranchal
Haryana
Delhi Nepal
Rajasthan Kathmandu
UP
Bihar
© Government of India Copyright, 2003
2. Find out the possible routes (by rail, road or air) from
Kathmandu to New Delhi/Mumbai/Kolkata/Chennai.
102 / Beehive
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I. Answer these questions in one or two words or in short phrases.
1. Name the two temples the author visited in Kathmandu.
2. The writer says, “All this I wash down with Coca Cola.” What does ‘all this’
refer to?
3. What does Vikram Seth compare to the quills of a porcupine?
4. Name five kinds of flutes.
II. Answer each question in a short paragraph.

1. What difference does the author note between the flute seller and the other
hawkers?
2. What is the belief at Pashupatinath about the end of Kaliyug?
3. The author has drawn powerful images and pictures. Pick out three examples
each of
(i) the atmosphere of ‘febrile confusion’ outside the temple of Pashupatinath
(for example: some people trying to get the priest’s attention are elbowed
aside...)
(ii) the things he sees
(iii) the sounds he hears
III. Answer the following questions in not more than 100 –150 words each.
1. Compare and contrast the atmosphere in and around the Baudhnath shrine
with the Pashupatinath temple.
2. How does the author describe Kathmandu’s busiest streets?
3. “To hear any flute is to be drawn into the commonality of all mankind.” Why
does the author say this?

I. Read the following sentences carefully to understand the meaning of the
italicised phrases. Then match the phrasal verbs in Column A with their
meanings in Column B.
1. A communal war broke out when the princess was abducted by the
neighbouring prince.
2. The cockpit broke off from the plane during the plane crash.
3. The car broke down on the way and we were left stranded in the jungle.
4. The dacoit broke away from the police as they took him to court.
5. The brothers broke up after the death of the father.
6. The thief broke into our house when we were away.
Kathmandu / 103
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A B
(i) break out (a) to come apart due to force

(ii) break off (b) end a relationship
(iii) break down (c) break and enter illegally; unlawful
trespassing
(iv) break away (from (d) of start suddenly, (usually a fight,
someone) a war or a disease)
(v) break up (e) to escape from someone’s grip
(vi) break into (f) stop working
II . 1. Use the suffixes -ion or -tion to form nouns from the following verbs. Make
the necessary changes in the spellings of the words.
Example: proclaim – proclamation
cremate act exhaust
invent tempt immigrate
direct meditate imagine
dislocate associate dedicate
2. Now fill in the blanks with suitable words from the ones that you have formed.
(i) Mass literacy was possible only after the of the printing
machine.
(ii) Ramesh is unable to tackle the situation as he lacks .
(iii) I could not resist the to open the letter.
(iv) Hardwork and are the main keys to success.
(v) The children were almost fainting with after being made to
stand in the sun.
III. Punctuation
Use capital letters, full stops, question marks, commas and inverted commas
wherever necessary in the following paragraph.
an arrogant lion was wandering through the jungle one day he asked the
tiger who is stronger than you you O lion replied the tiger who is more fierce
than a leopard asked the lion you sir replied the leopard he marched upto
an elephant and asked the same question the elephant picked him up in
his trunk swung him in the air and threw him down look said the lion there
is no need to get mad just because you don’t know the answer
104 / Beehive
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IV. Simple Present Tense
Study these sentences from the lesson.
• A fight breaks out between two monkeys.
• Film songs blare out from the radios.
• I wash it down with Coca-Cola.
The italicised verbs are in the simple present tense. The writer is here describing
what he saw and heard but he uses the present tense instead of the past tense.
A narration or a story can be made more dramatic or immediate by using the
present tense in this way.
Now look at the following sentences.
• A small shrine half protrudes from the stone platform on the riverbank.
• Small shops stand on the outer edge of the Stupa.
We use the simple present tense to speak about what is usually or generally
true. The sentences above describe facts. We also use the simple present tense
in sentences depicting ‘universal truths’. For example:
• The sun rises in the east.
• The earth revolves round the sun.
We can also refer to habitual actions using the simple present tense.
• He usually takes a train instead of a bus to work.
• We often get fine drizzles in winter.
In these sentences words like everyday, often, seldom, never, every month,
generally, usually, etc. may be used.
1. Fill in the blanks with the correct form of the verb in brackets.
(i) The heart is a pump that (send) the blood circulating
through our body. The pumping action (take place)
when the left ventricle of the heart (contract). This
(force) the blood out into the arteries, which
(expand) to receive the oncoming blood.
(ii) The African lungfish can live without water for up to four years. During a
drought it (dig) a pit and (enclose)
itself in a capsule of slime and earth, leaving a tiny opening for air. The
capsule (dry) and (harden), but
when rain (come), the mud
(dissolve) and the lungfish (swim) away.
(iii) MAHESH : We have to organise a class party for our teacher.

(Do) anyone play an instrument?
Kathmandu / 105
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VIPUL : Rohit (play) the flute.
MAHESH : (Do) he also act?
VIPUL : No, he (compose) music.
MAHESH : That’s wonderful!
Speaking
1. Discuss in class the shrines you have visited or know about. Speak about
one of them.
2. Imagine you are giving an eyewitness account or a running commentary of
one of the following:
(i) a game of football, cricket or hockey, or some sports event
(ii) a parade (e.g. Republic Day) or some other national event
Speak a few sentences narrating what you see and hear. Use the simple
present and the present continuous tenses. For example:
• He passes the ball but Ben gets in the way . ..
• These brave soldiers guard our frontiers. They display their skills here . ..
Writing
Diary entry for a travelogue
I. The text you read is a travelogue where the author, Vikram Seth, talks about
his visit to two sacred places in Kathmandu.
Imagine that you were with Vikram Seth on his visit to Pashupatinath temple,
and you were noting down all that you saw and did there, so that you could
write a travelogue later.
Record in point form
• what you see when you reach the Pashupatinath temple
• what you see happening inside the temple
• what you do when inside the temple
• what you see outside the temple
• what your impressions are about the place.
II. Here is your diary entry when you visited Agra. Read the points and try to write
a travelogue describing your visit to Agra and the Taj Mahal. You may add more
details.
January 2003 — rise before dawn — take the Shatabdi Express at 6.15 a.m.
from Delhi — meet a newly-married couple on train — talk about Himachal
Pradesh — get off the train — enter the once-grand city, Agra — twisted alleys
— traffic dense — rickshaws, cars, people — vendors selling religious artifacts,
plastic toys, spices and sweets — go to the Taj Mahal — constructed entirely of
white marble — magical quality — colour changes with varying of light and
shadow — marble with gemstones inside — reflection of the Taj Mahal in the
pond — school-children, tourists — tourist guides following people.
106 / Beehive
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A Slumber Did My Spirit Seal
This poem is about the death of a loved one. How does the
poet feel when he thinks about her death? How does he
imagine her to be, after death?
A slumber did my spirit seal—

I had no human fears.
She seemed a thing that could not feel
The touch of earthly years.
No motion has she now, no force—
She neither hears nor sees,
Rolled round in earth’s diurnal course
With rocks and stones and trees.
WILLIAM WORDSWORTH
GLOSSARY
diurnal: daily (“Earth’s diurnal course” is earth’s daily rotation on its axis.)

1. “A slumber did my spirit seal,” says the poet. That is, a deep sleep ‘closed
off ’ his soul (or mind). How does the poet react to his loved one’s death? Does
he feel bitter grief ? Or does he feel a great peace?
2. The passing of time will no longer affect her, says the poet. Which lines of
the poem say this?
3. How does the poet imagine her to be, after death? Does he think of her as a
person living in a very happy state (a ‘heaven’)? Or does he see her now as a
part of nature? In which lines of the poem do you find your answer?
Kathmandu / 107
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Read and Enjoy
Fear No More
Fear no more the heat o’ the sun,

Nor the furious winter’s rages;
Thou thy worldly task hast done,
Home art gone, and ta’en thy wages:
Golden lads and girls all must,
As chimney-sweepers, come to dust.
Fear no more the frown o’ the great,

Thou art past the tyrant’s stroke;
Care no more to clothe and eat;
To thee the reed is as the oak:
The sceptre, learning, physic, must
All follow this, and come to dust.
Fear no more the lightning-flash,

Nor the all-dreaded thunder-stone;
Fear not slander, censure rash;
Thou hast finished joy and moan:
All lovers young, all lovers must
Consign to thee, and come to dust.
WILLIAM SHAKESPEARE
Theresa Kane says that she likes this poem . .. because it is so

exhilarating. It sweeps me along in the splendid, stormy words,
then there is the quiet, peaceful lagoon of the last two lines of each
verse. It is a wonderful poem, as hard, proud and fierce as a rock
in a storm.
[from I Like This Poem, ed. Kaye Webb,

1979, (International Year of the Child),
Puffin Books, p. 154, 14-year-olds]
108 / Beehive
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9. If I Were YYou
Were ou
BEFORE YOU READ
• Gerrard lives alone in a lonely cottage. An intruder, who is a
criminal, enters his cottage. He intends to murder Gerrard
and take on his identity. Does he succeed?
• The following words and phrases occur in the play. Do you
know their meanings? Match them with the meanings given,
to find out.
cultured an informal expression for a

fashionable vehicle
count on unnecessary and usually harmful
engaged exaggerated
melodramatic sophisticated; well mannered
to be smart here, a tone of voice
inflection avoid
wise guy an unexpected opportunity for
success
a dandy bus trap
tradespeople a Christian religious teacher who
teaches on Sundays in Church
gratuitous (American English) a person who
pretends to know a lot
dodge depend on; rely on
lucky break (American English) an informal way
of saying that one is being too clever
Sunday-school teacher occupied; busy
frame merchants
SCENE: A small cottage interior. There is an entrance back right (which

may be curtained). Another door to the left must be a practical door. The
furniture is simple, consisting of a small table towards the left, a chair or
two, and a divan rather upstage on the right. On the table is a telephone.
If I Were You / 109
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(When the curtain rises Gerrard is standing by the table making a phone
call. He is of medium height, and wearing horn-rimmed glasses . . . He
is dressed in a lounge suit and a great coat. His voice is cultured.)
GERRARD : . .. Well, tell him to phone up directly. I must know . ..
Yes, I expect I’ll still be here, but you mustn’t count on
that ... In about ten minutes’ time. Right-ho. Goodbye.
(He puts down the phone and goes to the divan on the left, where there
is a travelling bag, and starts packing. Whilst he is thus engaged, another
man, similar in build to Gerrard enters from the right silently — revolver
in hand. He is flashily dressed in an overcoat and a soft hat. He bumps
accidentally against the table, and at the sound Gerrard turns quickly.)
GERRARD : (pleasantly) Why, this is a surprise, Mr— er —
INTRUDER : I’m glad you’re pleased to see me. I don’t think you’ll be
pleased for long. Put those paws up!
GERRARD : This is all very melodramatic, not very original, perhaps,
but…
INTRUDER : Trying to be calm and — er —
GERRARD : ‘Nonchalant’ is your word, I think.
INTRUDER : Thanks a lot. You’ll soon stop being smart. I’ll make you
crawl. I want to know a few things, see.
You’ll soon stop being smart. I’ll make you crawl.
110 / Beehive
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GERRARD : Anything you like. I know all the answers. But before we
begin I should like to change my position; you may be
comfortable, but I am not.
INTRUDER : Sit down there, and no funny business. (Motions to a
chair, and seats himself on the divan by the bag.) Now
then, we’ll have a nice little talk about yourself!
GERRARD : At last a sympathetic audience! I’ll tell you the story of
my life. How as a child I was stolen by the gypsies, and
why at the age of thirty-two, I find myself in my lonely
Essex cottage, how ...
INTRUDER : Keep it to yourself, and just answer my questions. You
live here alone? Well, do you?
GERRARD : I’m sorry. I thought you were telling me, not asking me.
A question of inflection; your voice is unfamiliar.
INTRUDER : (with emphasis) Do you live here alone?
GERRARD : And if I don’t answer?
INTRUDER : You’ve got enough sense not to want to get hurt.
GERRARD : I think good sense is shown more in the ability to avoid
pain than in the mere desire to do so. What do you think,
Mr— er —
INTRUDER : Never mind my name. I like yours better, Mr Gerrard.
What are your Christian names?
GERRARD : Vincent Charles.
INTRUDER : Do you run a car?
GERRARD : No.
INTRUDER : That’s a lie. You’re not dealing with a fool. I’m as smart
as you and smarter, and I know you run a car. Better be
careful, wise guy!
GERRARD : Are you American, or is that merely a clever imitation?
INTRUDER : Listen, this gun’s no toy. I can hurt you without killing
you, and still get my answers.
GERRARD : Of course, if you put it like that, I’ll be glad to assist you.
I do possess a car, and it’s in the garage round the corner.
INTRUDER : That’s better. Do people often come out here?
GERRARD : Very rarely. Surprisingly few people take the trouble to
visit me. There’s the baker and the greengrocer, of course;
and then there’s the milkman — quite charming, but no
one so interesting as yourself.
INTRUDER : I happen to know that you never see tradespeople.
If I Were You / 111
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GERRARD : You seem to have taken a considerable amount of trouble.
Since you know so much about me, won’t you say
something about yourself? You have been so modest.
INTRUDER : I could tell you plenty. You think you’re smart, but I’m
the top of the class round here. I’ve got brains and I use
them. That’s how I’ve got where I have.
GERRARD : And where precisely have you got? It didn’t require a
great brain to break into my little cottage.
INTRUDER : When you know why I’ve broken into your little cottage,
you’ll be surprised, and it won’t be a pleasant surprise.
GERRARD : With you figuring so largely in it, that is understandable.
By the way, what particular line of crime do you embrace,
or aren’t you a specialist?
INTRUDER : My speciality’s jewel robbery. Your car will do me a treat.
It’s certainly a dandy bus.
GERRARD : I’m afraid jewels are few and far between in the wilds of
Essex.
INTRUDER : So are the cops. I can retire here nicely for a little while.
GERRARD : You mean to live with me? A trifle sudden isn’t it; you’ve
not been invited.
INTRUDER : You won’t be here long; so I didn’t trouble to ask.
GERRARD : What do you mean?
INTRUDER : This is your big surprise. I’m going to kill you.
GERRARD : A little harsh, isn’t it?
INTRUDER : (with heavy sarcasm) Yeah, I’ll be sorry to do it. I’ve taken
a fancy to you, but it’s just got to be done.
GERRARD : Why add murder to your other crimes? It’s a grave step
you’re taking.
INTRUDER : I’m not taking it for fun. I’ve been hunted long enough.
I’m wanted for murder already, and they can’t hang me
twice.
GERRARD : You’re planning a gratuitous double, so to speak. Admitted
you’ve nothing to lose, but what have you to gain?
INTRUDER : I’ve got freedom to gain. As for myself, I’m a poor hunted
rat. As Vincent Charles Gerrard I’m free to go places and
do nothing. I can eat well and sleep and without having
to be ready to beat it at the sight of a cop.
GERRARD : In most melodramas the villain is foolish enough to delay
his killing long enough to be frustrated. You are much
luckier.
112 / Beehive
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INTRUDER : I’m O.K. I’ve got a reason for everything. I’m going to be
Vincent Charles Gerrard, see. I’ve got to know what he
talks like. Now I know. That posh stuff comes easy. This
is Mr V.C. Gerrard speaking. (Pantomime of phoning, in
imitation cultured voice.) And that’s not all. (He stands
up.) Get up a minute (Gerrard stands.) Now take a look at
me.
GERRARD : You’re not particularly decorative.
INTRUDER : No! Well, that goes for you, too. I’ve only got to wear
specs and I’ll be enough like you to get away with it.
GERRARD : What about your clothes? They’ll let you down if you’re
not careful.
INTRUDER : That’ll be all right. Yours will fit me fine.
GERRARD : That is extremely interesting, but you seem to miss the
point of my remark. I said, you were luckier than most
melodramatic villains. It was not a tribute to your
intelligence. You won’t kill me for a very good reason.
INTRUDER : So that’s what you think.
GERRARD : You’ll let me go, and thank God you didn’t shoot sooner.
INTRUDER : Come on. What’s on your mind! Better be quick. This
conversation bores me.
GERRARD : Your idea is to elude the police by killing me and taking
on my identity?
INTRUDER : Yes, I like the idea.
GERRARD : But are you sure it’s going to help you?
INTRUDER : Now listen here. I’ve got this all planned. I did a job in
town. Things went wrong and I killed a cop. Since then
I’ve done nothing but dodge.
GERRARD : And this is where dodging has brought you?
INTRUDER : It brought me to Aylesbury. That’s where I saw you in the
car. Two other people saw you and started to talk. I
listened. It looks like you’re a bit queer — kind of a mystery
man.
GERRARD : A mystery which I propose to explain.
INTRUDER : (disregarding him) You phone your orders and sometimes
you go away suddenly and come back just the same.
Those are just the things I want to do. Hearing about you
was one of my luckiest breaks.
GERRARD : Apparently you haven’t the intelligence to ask why I am
invested in this cloak of mystery.
If I Were You / 113
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INTRUDER : (preparing to shoot) As I said before, this conversation
bores me.
GERRARD : Don’t be a fool. If you shoot, you’ll hang for sure. If not as
yourself, then as Vincent Charles Gerrard.
INTRUDER : What is this?
GERRARD : This is your big surprise. I said you wouldn’t kill me and
I was right. Why do you think I am here today and gone
tomorrow, never see tradespeople? You say my habits
would suit you. You are a crook. Do you think I am a
Sunday-school teacher?
The game’s up as far as I’m concerned. Things went
wrong with me. I said it with bullets and got away.
Unfortunately they got one of my men, and found things
the fool should have burnt. Tonight I’m expecting trouble.
My bag’s packed ready to clear off. There it is.
INTRUDER : It’s a bag all right and
this is a gun all right.
What’s all this?
GERRARD : That’s a disguise outfit;
false moustaches and
what not. Now do you
believe me?
INTRUDER : (musingly) I don’t know.
GERRARD : For God’s sake clear
that muddled head of
yours and let’s go.
Come with me in the
car. I can use you. If you
find it’s a frame, you’ve
got me in the car, and
you’ve still got your gun.
INTRUDER : May be you’re right.
GERRARD : Then don’t waste time.
(Goes and picks up hat
and bag.)
INTRUDER : Careful, boss, I’m
watching you.
GERRARD : I have got a man posted
on the main road. He’ll Gerrard gives him a push
ring up if he sees the into the cupboard .. .
114 / Beehive
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police, but I don’t want to leave ... (telephone bell rings)
Come on! They’re after us. Through here straight to
the garage.
INTRUDER : How do I know that you are telling the truth?
GERRARD : Oh, don’t be a fool. Look for yourself.
(Gerrard opens door and steps away. Intruder leans forward
to inspect it, with his side towards Gerrard, but with the
revolver ready. As he turns his head, Gerrard gives him a
push into the cupboard, knocking the revolver out of his
hand. He slams the door and locks it, picks up the revolver
and goes to the phone, where he stands with the gun pointed
at the cupboard door.)
INTRUDER : (rattles door and shouts) Let me out of here!
GERRARD : Hello. Yes, speaking. Sorry I can’t let you have the props
in time for rehearsal, I’ve had a spot of bother — quite
amusing. I think I’ll put it in my next play. Listen, can
you tell our friend the Sergeant to come up here at once?
You’ll probably find him in the Public Bar.
DOUGLAS JAMES

Teext
I. Answer these questions.
1. “At last a sympathetic audience.”
(i) Who says this?
(ii) Why does he say it?
(iii) Is he sarcastic or serious?
2. Why does the intruder choose Gerrard as the man whose identity he wants
to take on?
3. “I said it with bullets.”
(i) Who says this?
(ii) What does it mean?
(iii) Is it the truth? What is the speaker’s reason for saying this?
4. What is Gerrard’s profession? Quote the parts of the play that support your
answer.
5. “You’ll soon stop being smart.”
(i) Who says this?
If I Were You / 115
2024-25
(ii) Why does the speaker say it?
(iii) What according to the speaker will stop Gerrard from being smart?
6. “They can’t hang me twice.”
(i) Who says this?
(ii) Why does the speaker say it?
7. “A mystery I propose to explain.” What is the mystery the speaker proposes
to explain?
8. “This is your big surprise.”
(i) Where has this been said in the play?
(ii) What is the surprise?

I. Consult your dictionary and choose the correct word from the pairs given in
brackets.
1. The (site, cite) of the accident was (ghastly/ghostly).
2. Our college (principle/principal) is very strict.
3. I studied (continuously/continually) for eight hours.
4. The fog had an adverse (affect/effect) on the traffic.
5. Cezanne, the famous French painter, was a brilliant (artist/artiste).
6. The book that you gave me yesterday is an extraordinary (collage/college) of
science fiction and mystery.
7. Our school will (host/hoist) an exhibition on cruelty to animals and wildlife
conservation.
8. Screw the lid tightly onto the top of the bottle and (shake/shape) well before
using the contents.
II. Irony is when we say one thing but mean another, usually the opposite of what
we say. When someone makes a mistake and you say, “Oh! that was clever!”,
that is irony. You’re saying ‘clever‘ to mean ‘not clever’.
Expressions we often use in an ironic fashion are:

• Oh, wasn’t that clever!/Oh that was clever!
• You have been a great help, I must say!
• You’ve got yourself into a lovely mess, haven’t you?
• Oh, very funny!/ How funny!
We use a slightly different tone of voice when we use these words ironically.
Read the play carefully and find the words and expressions Gerrard uses in an
ironic way. Then say what these expressions really mean. Two examples have
116 / Beehive
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been given below. Write down three more such expressions along with what
they really mean.
What the author says What he means
Why, this is a surprise, Mr — er — He pretends that the intruder is a

social visitor whom he is welcoming.
In this way he hides his fear.
At last a sympathetic audience! He pretends that the intruder wants
to listen to him, whereas actually
the intruder wants to find out
information for his own use.
Dictionar
Dictionaryy Use
A word can mean different things in different contexts. Look at these three
sentences:
• The students are taught to respect different cultures.
• The school is organising a cultural show.
• His voice is cultured.
In the first sentence, ‘culture’ (noun) means way of life; in the second, ‘cultural’
(adjective) means connected with art, literature and music; and in the third,
‘cultured’ (verb) means sophisticated, well mannered. Usually a dictionary helps
you identify the right meaning by giving you signposts.
Look at the dictionary entry on ‘culture’ from Oxford Advanced Learner’s
Dictionary, 2005.
If I Were You / 117
2024-25
(Noun, verb, adjective, adverb, synonyms, etc. are signposts which help you
locate the right meaning and usage, and give information about the part of
speech that the word is.)
Look up the dictionary entries for the words sympathy, familiarity, comfort, care,
and surprise. Use the information given in the dictionary and complete the table.
Noun Adjective Adverb Verb Meaning
sympathy
familiarity
comfort
care
surprise
Speaking
1. Imagine you are Gerrard. Tell your friend what happened when the Intruder
broke into your house.
[Clues : Describe (i) the intruder — his appearance, the way he spoke, his
plan, his movements, etc., (ii) how you outwitted him.]
2. Enact the play in the class. Pay special attention to words given in italics
before a dialogue. These words will tell you whether the dialogue has to be
said in a happy, sarcastic or ironic tone and how the characters move and
what they do as they speak. Read these carefully before you enact the play.
Writing
I. Which of the words below describe Gerrard and which describe the Intruder?
smart humorous clever

beautiful cool confident
flashy witty nonchalant
Write a paragraph each about Gerrard and the Intruder to show what qualities
they have. (You can use some of the words given above.)
II. Convert the play into a story (150 – 200 words). Your story should be as exciting
and as witty as the play. Provide a suitable title to it.
118 / Beehive
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1. The Lost Child
A child goes to a fair with his parents. He is happy

and excited and wants the sweets and toys
displayed there. But his parents don’t buy them for
him. Why then does he refuse when someone else
offers them to him?
IT was the festival of spring. From the wintry shades of narrow

lanes and alleys emerged a gaily clad humanity. Some walked,
some rode on horses, others sat, being carried in bamboo and
bullock carts. One little boy ran between his father’s legs,
brimming over with life and laughter.
2024-25
“Come, child, come,” called his parents, as he lagged behind,
fascinated by the toys in the shops that lined the way.
He hurried towards his parents, his feet obedient to their call,
his eyes still lingering on the receding toys. As he came to where
they had stopped to wait for him, he could not suppress the desire
of his heart, even though he well knew the old, cold stare of refusal
in their eyes.
“I want that toy,” he pleaded.
His father looked at him red-eyed, in his familiar tyrant’s way.
His mother, melted by the free spirit of the day was tender and,
giving him her finger to hold, said, “Look, child, what is before you!”
It was a flowering mustard-field, pale like melting gold as it
swept across miles and miles of even land.
A group of dragon-flies were bustling about on their gaudy
purple wings, intercepting the flight of a lone black bee or butterfly
in search of sweetness from the flowers. The child followed them
in the air with his gaze, till one of them would still its wings and
rest, and he would try to catch it. But it would go fluttering,
flapping, up into the air, when he had almost caught it in his
hands. Then his mother gave a cautionary call: “Come, child,
come, come on to the footpath.”
He ran towards his parents gaily and walked abreast of them
for a while, being, however, soon left behind, attracted by the
little insects and worms along the footpath that were teeming out
from their hiding places to enjoy the sunshine.
“Come, child, come!” his parents called from the shade of a
grove where they had seated themselves on the edge of a well. He
ran towards them.
A shower of young flowers fell upon the child as he entered
the grove, and, forgetting his parents, he began to gather the
raining petals in his hands. But lo! he heard the cooing of doves
and ran towards his parents, shouting, “The dove! The dove!” The
raining petals dropped from his forgotten hands.
“Come, child, come!” they called to the child, who had now
gone running in wild capers round the banyan tree, and gathering
him up they took the narrow, winding footpath which led to the
fair through the mustard fields.
2 / Moments
2024-25
As they neared the village the child could see many other
footpaths full of throngs, converging to the whirlpool of the fair,
and felt at once repelled and fascinated by the confusion of the
world he was entering.
A sweetmeat seller hawked, “gulab-jaman, rasagulla, burfi,
jalebi,” at the corner of the entrance and a crowd pressed round
his counter at the foot of an architecture of many coloured sweets,
decorated with leaves of silver and gold. The child stared open-
eyed and his mouth watered for the burfi that was his favourite
sweet. “I want that burfi,” he slowly murmured. But he half knew
as he begged that his plea would not be heeded because his
parents would say he was greedy. So without waiting for an answer
he moved on.
A flower-seller hawked, “A garland of gulmohur, a garland of
gulmohur!” The child seemed irresistibly drawn. He went towards
the basket where the flowers lay heaped and half murmured, “I
want that garland.” But he well knew his parents would refuse to
buy him those flowers because they would say that they were
cheap. So, without waiting for an answer, he moved on.
A man stood holding a pole with yellow, red, green and purple
balloons flying from it. The child was simply carried away by the
rainbow glory of their silken colours and he was filled with an
overwhelming desire to possess them all. But he well knew his
parents would never buy him the balloons because they would
say he was too old to play with such toys. So he walked on farther.
A snake-charmer stood playing a flute to a snake which coiled
itself in a basket, its head raised in a graceful bend like the neck
of a swan, while the music stole into its invisible ears like the
gentle rippling of an invisible waterfall. The child went towards
the snake-charmer. But, knowing his parents had forbidden him
to hear such coarse music as the snake-charmer played, he
proceeded farther.
There was a roundabout in full swing. Men, women and
children, carried away in a whirling motion, shrieked and cried
with dizzy laughter. The child watched them intently and then he
made a bold request: “I want to go on the roundabout, please,
Father, Mother.”
The Lost Child / 3
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There was no reply. He turned to look at his parents. They were
not there, ahead of him. He turned to look on either side. They
were not there. He looked behind. There was no sign of them.
A full, deep cry rose within his dry throat and with a sudden
jerk of his body he ran from where he stood, crying in real fear,
“Mother, Father.” Tears rolled down from his eyes, hot and fierce;
his flushed face was convulsed with fear. Panic-stricken, he ran
to one side first, then to the other, hither and thither in all
directions, knowing not where to go. “Mother, Father,” he wailed.
His yellow turban came untied and his clothes became muddy.
Having run to and fro in a rage of running for a while, he
stood defeated, his cries suppressed into sobs. At little distances
on the green grass he could see, through his filmy eyes, men and
women talking. He tried to look intently among the patches of
bright yellow clothes, but there was no sign of his father and
mother among these people, who seemed to laugh and talk just
for the sake of laughing and talking.
He ran quickly again, this time to a shrine to which people
seemed to be crowding. Every little inch of space here was
congested with men, but he ran through people’s legs, his little
sob lingering: “Mother, Father!” Near the entrance to the temple,
however, the crowd became very thick: men jostled each other,
heavy men, with flashing, murderous eyes and hefty shoulders.
The poor child struggled to thrust a way between their feet but,
knocked to and fro by their brutal movements, he might have
been trampled underfoot, had he not shrieked at the highest
pitch of his voice, “Father, Mother!” A man in the surging crowd
heard his cry and, stooping with great difficulty, lifted him up
in his arms.
“How did you get here, child? Whose baby are you?” the man
asked as he steered clear of the mass. The child wept more
bitterly than ever now and only cried, “I want my mother, I
want my father!”
The man tried to soothe him by taking him to the roundabout.
“Will you have a ride on the horse?” he gently asked as he
approached the ring. The child’s throat tore into a thousand shrill
sobs and he only shouted, “I want my mother, I want my father!”
4 / Moments
2024-25
The man headed towards the place where the snake-charmer
still played on the flute to the swaying cobra. “Listen to that
nice music, child!” he pleaded. But the child shut his ears with
his fingers and shouted his double-pitched strain: “I want my
mother, I want my father!” The man took him near the balloons,
thinking the bright colours of the balloons would distract the
child’s attention and quieten him. “Would you like a rainbow-
coloured balloon?” he persuasively asked. The child turned his
eyes from the flying balloons and just sobbed, “I want my mother,
I want my father!”
The man, still trying to make the child happy, bore him to the
gate where the flower-seller sat. “Look! Can you smell those nice
flowers, child! Would you like a garland to put round your neck?”
The Lost Child / 5
2024-25
The child turned his nose away from the basket and reiterated
his sob, “I want my mother, I want my father!”
Thinking to humour his disconsolate charge by a gift of
sweets, the man took him to the counter of the sweet shop.
“What sweets would you like, child?” he asked. The child turned
his face from the sweet shop and only sobbed, “I want my
mother, I want my father!”
MULK RAJ ANAND
T HINK A BOUT I T
1. What are the things the child sees on his way to the fair?
Why does he lag behind?
2. In the fair he wants many things. What are they? Why does
he move on without waiting for an answer?
3. When does he realise that he has lost his way? How have his
anxiety and insecurity been described?
4. Why does the lost child lose interest in the things that he
had wanted earlier?
5. What do you think happens in the end? Does the child find
his parents?
T ALK ABOUT I T
How to ensure not to get lost.
S UGGESTED R EADING
l The Coolie by Mulk Raj Anand
l ‘Kabuliwallah’ by Rabindranath Tagore
6 / Moments
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2. The Adventures of Toto
Have you ever had a baby monkey as a pet? Toto

is a baby monkey. Let’s find out whether he is
mischievous or docile.
GRANDFATHER bought Toto from a tonga-driver for the sum of five

rupees. The tonga-driver used to keep the little red monkey tied
to a feeding-trough, and the monkey looked so out of place there
that Grandfather decided he would add the little fellow to his
private zoo.
Toto was a pretty monkey. His bright eyes sparkled with
mischief beneath deep-set eyebrows, and his teeth, which were a
pearly white, were very often displayed in a smile that frightened
the life out of elderly Anglo-lndian ladies. But his hands looked
dried-up as though they had been pickled in the sun for many
years. Yet his fingers were quick and wicked; and his tail, while
adding to his good looks (Grandfather believed a tail would add
to anyone’s good looks), also served as a third hand. He could
use it to hang from a branch; and it was capable of scooping up
any delicacy that might be out of reach of his hands.
Grandmother always fussed when Grandfather brought home
some new bird or animal. So it was decided that Toto’s presence
should be kept a secret from her until she was in a particularly
good mood. Grandfather and I put him away in a little closet opening
into my bedroom wall, where he was tied securely — or so we
thought — to a peg fastened into the wall.
A few hours later, when Grandfather and I came back to
release Toto, we found that the walls, which had been covered
with some ornamental paper chosen by Grandfather, now stood
out as naked brick and plaster. The peg in the wall had been
wrenched from its socket, and my school blazer, which had been
hanging there, was in shreds. I wondered what Grandmother
2024-25
would say. But Grandfather didn’t worry; he seemed pleased
with Toto’s performance.
“He’s clever,” said Grandfather. “Given time, I’m sure he could
have tied the torn pieces of your blazer into a rope, and made his
escape from the window!”
His presence in the house still a secret, Toto was now
transferred to a big cage in the servants’ quarters where a number
of Grandfather’s pets lived very sociably together — a tortoise, a
pair of rabbits, a tame squirrel and, for a while, my pet goat. But
the monkey wouldn’t allow any of his companions to sleep at
night; so Grandfather, who had to leave Dehra Dun next day to
collect his pension in Saharanpur, decided to take him along.
Unfortunately I could not accompany Grandfather on that trip,
but he told me about it afterwards. A big black canvas kit-bag
was provided for Toto. This, with some straw at the bottom, became
his new abode. When the bag was closed, there was no escape.
Toto could not get his hands through the opening, and the canvas
was too strong for him to bite his way through. His efforts to get
out only had the effect of making the bag roll about on the floor
or occasionally jump into the air — an exhibition that attracted a
curious crowd of onlookers on the Dehra Dun railway platform.
Toto remained in the bag as far as Saharanpur, but while
Grandfather was producing his ticket at the railway turnstile,
Toto suddenly poked his head out of the bag and gave the ticket-
collector a wide grin.
The poor man was taken aback; but, with great presence of
mind and much to Grandfather’s annoyance, he said, “Sir, you
have a dog with you. You’ll have to pay for it accordingly.”
In vain did Grandfather take Toto out of the bag; in vain did
he try to prove that a monkey did not qualify as a dog, or even
as a quadruped. Toto was classified a dog by the ticket-collector;
and three rupees was the sum handed over as his fare.
Then Grandfather, just to get his own back, took from his
pocket our pet tortoise, and said, “What must I pay for this, since
you charge for all animals?”
The ticket-collector looked closely at the tortoise, prodded it
with his forefinger, gave Grandfather a pleased and triumphant
look, and said, “No charge. It is not a dog.”
8 / Moments
2024-25
When Toto was finally accepted by Grandmother he was given
a comfortable home in the stable, where he had for a companion
the family donkey, Nana. On Toto’s first night in the stable,
Grandfather paid him a visit to see if he was comfortable. To his
surprise he found Nana, without apparent cause, pulling at her
halter and trying to keep her head as far as possible from a
bundle of hay.
Grandfather gave Nana a slap across her haunches, and she
jerked back, dragging Toto with her. He had fastened on to her
long ears with his sharp little teeth.
Toto and Nana never became friends.
A great treat for Toto during cold winter evenings was the
large bowl of warm water given him by Grandmother for his bath.
He would cunningly test the temperature with his hand, then
gradually step into the bath, first one foot, then the other (as he
had seen me doing), until he was into the water up to his neck.
The Adventures of Toto/ 9
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Once comfortable, he would take the soap in his hands or feet,
and rub himself all over. When the water became cold, he would
get out and run as quickly as he could to the kitchen-fire in order
to dry himself. If anyone laughed at him during this performance,
Toto’s feelings would be hurt and he would refuse to go on with
his bath. One day Toto nearly succeeded in boiling himself alive.
A large kitchen kettle had been left on the fire to boil for tea
and Toto, finding himself with nothing better to do, decided to
remove the lid. Finding the water just warm enough for a bath,
he got in, with his head sticking out from the open kettle. This
was just fine for a while, until the water began to boil. Toto then
raised himself a little; but, finding it cold outside, sat down again.
He continued hopping up and down for some time, until
Grandmother arrived and hauled him, half-boiled, out of the kettle.
If there is a part of the brain especially devoted to mischief, that
part was largely developed in Toto. He was always tearing things to
pieces. Whenever one of my aunts came near him, he made every
effort to get hold of her dress and tear a hole in it.
One day, at lunch-time, a large dish of pullao stood in the
centre of the dining-table. We entered the room to find Toto stuffing
himself with rice. My grandmother screamed — and Toto threw a
plate at her. One of my aunts rushed forward — and received a glass
of water in the face. When Grandfather arrived, Toto picked up the
dish of pullao and made his exit through a window. We found
him in the branches of the jackfruit tree, the dish still in his
arms. He remained there all afternoon, eating slowly through the
rice, determined on finishing every grain. And then, in order to
spite Grandmother, who had screamed at him, he threw the dish
down from the tree, and chattered with delight when it broke into
a hundred pieces.
Obviously Toto was not the sort of pet we could keep for long.
Even Grandfather realised that. We were not well-to-do, and could
not afford the frequent loss of dishes, clothes, curtains and
wallpaper. So Grandfather found the tonga-driver, and sold Toto
back to him — for only three rupees.
RUSKIN BOND
10 / Moments
2024-25
Glossary
turnstile: a mechanical gate consisting of
revolving horizontal arms fixed to a vertical
post, allowing only one person at a time to
pass through
halter: a rope or strap placed around the head
of a horse or other animal, used for leading or tethering it
T HINK A BOUT I T
1. How does Toto come to grandfather’s private zoo?

2. “Toto was a pretty monkey.” In what sense is Toto pretty?
3. Why does grandfather take Toto to Saharanpur and how?
Why does the ticket collector insist on calling Toto a dog?
4. How does Toto take a bath? Where has he learnt to do
this? How does Toto almost boil himself alive?
5. Why does the author say, “Toto was not the sort of pet we
could keep for long”?
T ALK ABOUT I T
Do you have a pet? Is your pet mischievous? Tell the class
about it.
S UGGESTED R EADING
l My Family and Other Animals by Gerald Durrell
l ‘Grandfather’s Private Zoo’ by Ruskin Bond
l Jungle Book by Rudyard Kipling
The Adventures of Toto/ 11
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3. Iswaran the Storyteller
One night Mahendra woke up from his sleep and

saw “a dark cloudy form”. He broke out into a cold
sweat. Was it a ghost?
THE story was narrated to Ganesh by a young man, Mahendra by

name. He was a junior supervisor in a firm which offered on hire
supervisors at various types of construction sites: factories, bridges,
dams, and so on. Mahendra’s job was to keep an eye on the activities
at the work site. He had to keep moving from place to place every
now and then as ordered by his head office: from a coal mining
area to a railway bridge construction site, from there after a few
months to a chemical plant which was coming up somewhere.
2024-25
He was a bachelor. His needs were simple and he was able to
adjust himself to all kinds of odd conditions, whether it was an
ill-equipped circuit house or a makeshift canvas tent in the
middle of a stone quarry. But one asset he had was his cook,
Iswaran. The cook was quite attached to Mahendra and followed
him uncomplainingly wherever he was posted. He cooked for
Mahendra, washed his clothes and chatted away with his master
at night. He could weave out endless stories and anecdotes on
varied subjects.
Iswaran also had an amazing capacity to produce vegetables
and cooking ingredients, seemingly out of nowhere, in the middle
of a desolate landscape with no shops visible for miles around.
He would miraculously conjure up the most delicious dishes made
with fresh vegetables within an hour of arriving at the zinc-sheet
shelter at the new workplace.
Mahendra would be up early in the morning and leave for
work after breakfast, carrying some prepared food with him.
Meanwhile Iswaran would tidy up the shed, wash the clothes,
and have a leisurely bath, pouring several buckets of water over
his head, muttering a prayer all the while. It would be lunchtime
by then. After eating, he would read for a while before dozing
off. The book was usually some popular Tamil thriller running
to hundreds of pages. Its imaginative descriptions and narrative
flourishes would hold Iswaran in thrall.
His own descriptions were greatly influenced by the Tamil
authors that he read. When he was narrating even the smallest
of incidents, he would try to work in suspense and a surprise
ending into the account. For example, instead of saying that
he had come across an uprooted tree on the highway, he would
say, with eyebrows suitably arched and hands held out in a
dramatic gesture, “The road was deserted and I was all alone.
Suddenly I spotted something that looked like an enormous
bushy beast lying sprawled across the road. I was half inclined
to turn and go back. But as I came closer I saw that it was a
fallen tree, with its dry branches spread out.” Mahendra would
stretch himself back in his canvas chair and listen to Iswaran’s
tales uncritically.
Iswaran the Storyteller/ 13
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“The place I come from is famous for timber,” Iswaran would
begin. “There is a richly wooded forest all around. The logs are
hauled on to the lorries by elephants. They are huge well-fed
beasts. When they turn wild even the most experienced mahout
is not able to control them.” After this prologue Iswaran would
launch into an elaborate anecdote involving an elephant.
“One day a tusker escaped from the timber yard and began to
roam about, stamping on bushes, tearing up wild creepers and
breaking branches at will. You know, sir, how an elephant behaves
when it goes mad.” Iswaran would get so caught up in the
excitement of his own story that he would get up from the floor
and jump about, stamping his feet in emulation of the mad elephant.
“The elephant reached the outskirts of our town; breaking the
fences down like matchsticks,” he would continue. “It came into
the main road and smashed all the stalls selling fruits, mud pots
and clothes. People ran helter-skelter in panic! The elephant now
entered a school ground where children were playing, breaking
through the brick wall. All the boys ran into the classrooms and
shut the doors tight. The beast grunted and wandered about,
pulling out the football goal-post, tearing down the volleyball net,
kicking and flattening the drum kept for water, and uprooting
the shrubs. Meanwhile all the teachers had climbed up to the
terrace of the school building; from there they helplessly watched
the depredations of the elephant. There was not a soul below on
the ground. The streets were empty as if the inhabitants of the
entire town had suddenly disappeared.
“I was studying in the junior class at that time, and was
watching the whole drama from the rooftop. I don’t know what
came over me suddenly. I grabbed a cane from the hands of one
of the teachers and ran down the stairs and into the open. The
elephant grunted and menacingly swung a branch of a tree which
it held in its trunk. It stamped its feet, kicking up a lot of mud
and dust. It looked frightening. But I moved slowly towards it,
stick in hand. People were watching the scene hypnotised from
nearby housetops. The elephant looked at me red-eyed, ready to
rush towards me. It lifted its trunk and trumpeted loudly. At that
moment I moved forward and, mustering all my force, whacked
14 / Moments
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its third toenail on the quick. The beast looked stunned for a
moment; then it shivered from head to foot — and collapsed.”
At this point Iswaran would leave the story unfinished, and
get up mumbling, “I will be back after lighting the gas and warming
up the dinner.” Mahendra who had been listening with rapt
attention would be left hanging. When he returned, Iswaran
would not pick up the thread of the story right away. Mahendra
would have to remind him that the conclusion was pending.
“Well, a veterinary doctor was summoned to revive the animal,”
Iswaran would shrug casually. “Two days later it was led away by
its mahout to the jungle.”
“Well, how did you manage to do it, Iswaran — how did you
bring down the beast?”
“It has something to do with a Japanese art, I think, sir. Karate
or ju-jitsu it is called. I had read about it somewhere. It temporarily
paralyses the nervous system, you see.”
Not a day passed without Iswaran recounting some story
packed with adventure, horror and suspense. Whether the story
was credible or not, Mahendra enjoyed listening to it because
of the inimitable way in which it was told. Iswaran seemed to
more than make up for the absence of a TV in Mahendra’s
living quarters.
One morning when Mahendra was having breakfast Iswaran
asked, “Can I make something special for dinner tonight, sir?
After all today is an auspicious day — according to tradition we
prepare various delicacies to feed the spirits of our ancestors
today, sir.”
That night Mahendra enjoyed the most delicious dinner and
complimented Iswaran on his culinary skills. He seemed very
pleased but, unexpectedly, launched into a most garish account
involving the supernatural.
“You know, sir, this entire factory area we are occupying was
once a burial ground,” he started. Mahendra was jerked out of
the pleasant reverie he had drifted into after the satisfying meal.
“I knew on the first day itself when I saw a human skull lying
on the path. Even now I come across a number of skulls and
bones,” Iswaran continued.
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He went on to narrate how he sometimes saw ghosts at night.
“I am not easily frightened by these things, sir. I am a brave
fellow. But one horrible ghost of a woman which appears off
and on at midnight during the full moon... It is an ugly creature
with matted hair and a shrivelled face, like a skeleton holding a
foetus in its arms.”
Mahendra shivered at the description and interrupted rather
sharply, “You are crazy, Iswaran. There are no such things as
ghosts or spirits. It is all a figment of your imagination. Get your
digestive system examined — and maybe your head as well. You
are talking nonsense.”
He left the room and retired for the night, expecting Iswaran
to sulk for a couple of days. But the next morning he was surprised
to find the cook as cheerful and talkative as ever.
From that day on Mahendra, for all his brave talk, went to bed
with a certain unease. Every night he peered into the darkness
16 / Moments
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outside through the window next to his bed, trying to make sure
that there was no movement of dark shapes in the vicinity. But
he could only see a sea of darkness with the twinkling lights of
the factory miles away.
He had always liked to admire the milk-white landscape on
full-moon nights. But after hearing Iswaran’s story of the female
ghost he avoided looking out of his window altogether when the
moon was full.
One night, Mahendra was woken up from his sleep by a low
moan close to his window. At first he put it down to a cat
prowling around for mice. But the sound was too guttural for a
cat. He resisted the curiosity to look out lest he should behold
a sight which would stop his heart. But the wailing became
louder and less feline. He could not resist the temptation any
more. Lowering himself to the level of the windowsill he looked
out at the white sheet of moonlight outside. There, not too far
away, was a dark cloudy form clutching a bundle. Mahendra
broke into a cold sweat and fell back on the pillow, panting.
As he gradually recovered from the ghastly experience he
began to reason with himself, and finally concluded that it
must have been some sort of auto suggestion, some trick that
his subconscious had played on him.
By the time he had got up in the morning, had a bath and
come out to have his breakfast, the horror of the previous night
had faded from his memory. Iswaran greeted him at the door
with his lunch packet and his bag. Just as Mahendra was
stepping out Iswaran grinned and said, “Sir, remember the other
day when I was telling you about the female ghost with a foetus
in its arms, you were so angry with me for imagining things?
Well, you saw her yourself last night. I came running hearing
the sound of moaning that was coming from your room...”
A chill went down Mahendra’s spine. He did not wait for
Iswaran to complete his sentence. He hurried away to his office
and handed in his papers, resolving to leave the haunted place
the very next day!
R.K. LAXMAN
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Glossary
in thrall: the state of being in someone’s power
depredations: attacks which are made to destroy something
guttural sound: sound produced in the throat; harsh-sounding
feline: relating to cats or other members of the cat family
T HINK A BOUT I T
1. In what way is Iswaran an asset to Mahendra?
2. How does Iswaran describe the uprooted tree on the highway?
What effect does he want to create in his listeners?
3. How does he narrate the story of the tusker? Does it appear
to be plausible?
4. Why does the author say that Iswaran seemed to more than
make up for the absence of a TV in Mahendra’s living quarters?
5. Mahendra calls ghosts or spirits a figment of the imagination.
What happens to him on a full-moon night?
6. Can you think of some other ending for the story?
T ALK A BOUT I T
Is Iswaran a fascinating storyteller? Discuss with your friends
the qualities of a good storyteller. Try to use these qualities and
tell a story.
S UGGESTED R EADING
l ‘The Story Teller’ by Saki (H.H. Munro)

l Ghost Stories (ed.) Ruskin Bond
l ‘The Canterville Ghost’ by Oscar Wilde
l ‘Pret in the House’ by Ruskin Bond
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4. In the Kingdom of Fools
It is believed that fools are so dangerous that only

very wise people can manage them. Who are the
fools in this story? What happens to them?
IN the Kingdom of Fools, both the king and the minister were idiots.
They didn’t want to run things like other kings, so they decided to
change night into day and day into night. They ordered that everyone
should be awake at night, till their fields and run their businesses
only after dark, and go to bed as soon as the sun came up. Anyone
who disobeyed would be punished with death. The people did as
they were told for fear of death. The king and the minister were
delighted at the success of their project. One day a guru and his
disciple arrived in the city. It was a beautiful city, it was broad
daylight, but there was no one about. Everyone was asleep, not a
mouse stirring. Even the cattle had been taught to sleep by day.
The two strangers were amazed by what they saw around them
and wandered around town till evening, when suddenly the whole
town woke up and went about its nightly business.
The two men were hungry. Now that the shops were open,
they went to buy some groceries. To their astonishment, they
found that everything cost the same, a single duddu — whether
they bought a measure of rice or a bunch of bananas, it cost a
duddu. The guru and his disciple were delighted. They had never
heard of anything like this. They could buy all the food they
wanted for a rupee.
When they had cooked and eaten, the guru realised that this
was a kingdom of fools and it wouldn’t be a good idea for them to
stay there. “This is no place for us. Let’s go,” he said to his disciple.
But the disciple didn’t want to leave the place. Everything was
cheap here. All he wanted was good, cheap food. The guru said,
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“They are all fools. This won’t last very long, and you can’t tell
what they’ll do to you next.”
But the disciple wouldn’t listen to the guru’s wisdom. He
wanted to stay. The guru finally gave up and said, “Do what you
want. I’m going,” and left. The disciple stayed on, ate his fill every
day — bananas and ghee and rice and wheat, and grew fat like a
street-side sacred bull.
One bright day, a thief broke into a rich merchant’s house. He
had made a hole in the wall and sneaked in, and as he was carrying
out his loot, the wall of the old house collapsed on his head and
killed him on the spot. His brother ran to the king and complained,
“Your Highness, when my brother was pursuing his ancient trade,
a wall fell on him and killed him. This merchant is to blame. He
should have built a good, strong wall. You must
punish the wrongdoer and compensate the family
for this injustice.”
The king said, “Justice will be done. Don’t
worry,” and at once summoned the owner of
the house.
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When the merchant arrived, the king questioned him.
“What’s your name?”
“Such and Such, Your Highness.”
“Were you at home when the dead man burgled your house?”
“Yes, My Lord. He broke in and the wall was weak. It fell on him.”
“The accused pleads guilty. Your wall killed this man’s brother.
You have murdered a man. We have to punish you.”
“Lord,” said the helpless merchant, “I didn’t put up the wall.
It’s really the fault of the man who built the wall. He didn’t build
it right. You should punish him.”
“Who is that?”
“My Lord, this wall was built in my father’s time. I know the
man. He’s an old man now. He lives nearby.”
The king sent out messengers to bring in the bricklayer who
had built the wall. They brought him, tied hand and foot.
“You there, did you build this man’s wall in his father’s time?”
“Yes, My Lord, I did.”
“What kind of a wall is this that you built? It has fallen on a
poor man and killed him. You’ve murdered him. We have to punish
you by death.”
Before the king could order the execution, the poor bricklayer
pleaded, “Please listen to me before you give your orders. It’s true
I built this wall and it was no good. But that was because my
mind was not on it. I remember very well a dancing girl who was
going up and down that street all day with her anklets jingling,
and I couldn’t keep my eyes or my mind on the wall I was building.
You must get that dancing girl. I know where she lives.”
“You’re right. The case deepens. We must look into it. It is not
easy to judge such complicated cases. Let’s get that dancer,
wherever she is.”
The dancing girl, now an old woman, came trembling to
the court.
“Did you walk up and down that street many years ago, while
this poor man was building a wall? Did you see him?”
“Yes, My Lord, I remember it very well.”
“So you did walk up and down, with your anklets jingling.
You were young and you distracted him, so he built a bad wall.
In the Kingdom of Fools/ 21
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It has fallen on a poor burglar and
killed him. You’ve killed an innocent
man. You’ll have to be punished.”
She thought for a minute and said,
“My Lord, wait. I know now why I was
walking up and down that street. I
had given some gold to the goldsmith
to make some jewellery for me. He
was a lazy scoundrel. He made so
many excuses, said he would give it
now and he would give it then and
so on all day. He made me walk up
and down to his house a dozen times.
That was when this bricklayer saw me. It’s
not my fault, My Lord, it’s the damned
goldsmith’s fault.”
“Poor thing, she’s absolutely right,”
thought the king, weighing the evidence.
“We’ve got the real culprit at last. Get the
goldsmith, wherever he is hiding. At once!”
The king’s bailiffs searched for the
goldsmith, who was hiding in a corner of
his shop. When he heard the accusation
against him, he had his own story to tell.
“My Lord,” he said, “I’m a poor
goldsmith. It’s true I made this dancer
come many times to my door. I gave her
excuses because I couldn’t finish making
her jewellery before I finished the rich
merchant’s orders. They had a wedding
coming, and they wouldn’t wait. You know
how impatient rich men are!”
“Who is this rich merchant who kept
you from finishing this poor woman’s
jewellery, made her walk up and down,
which distracted this bricklayer, which
made a mess of his wall, which has now
22 / Moments
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fallen on an innocent man and killed him?
Can you name him?”
The goldsmith named the merchant, and
he was none other than the original owner of
the house whose wall had fallen. Now justice
had come full circle, thought the king, back to
the merchant. When he was rudely summoned
back to the court, he arrived crying, “It wasn’t
me but my father who ordered the jewellery!
He’s dead! I’m innocent!”
But the king consulted his minister and ruled
decisively: “It’s true your father is the true
murderer. He’s dead, but somebody must be
punished in his place. You’ve inherited
everything from that criminal father of yours,
his riches as well as his sins. I knew at once,
even when I first set eyes on you, that you were
at the root of this horrible crime. You must die.”
And he ordered a new stake to be made
ready for the execution. As the servants
sharpened the stake and got it ready for the
final impaling of the criminal, it occurred to
the minister that the rich merchant was
somehow too thin to be properly executed on
the stake. He appealed to the king’s common
sense. The king too worried about it.
“What shall we do?” he said, when
suddenly it struck him that all they needed
to do was to find a man fat
enough to fit the stake. The
servants were immediately sent
all over the town looking for a
man who would fit the stake,
and their eyes fell on the
disciple who had fattened
himself for months on bananas
and rice and wheat and ghee.
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“What have I done wrong? I’m innocent. I’m a sanyasi!” he cried.
“That may be true. But it’s the royal decree that we should
find a man fat enough to fit the stake,” they said, and carried him
to the place of execution. He remembered his wise guru’s words:
“This is a city of fools. You don’t know what they will do next.”
While he was waiting for death, he prayed to his guru in his heart,
asking him to hear his cry wherever he was. The guru saw
everything in a vision; he had magic powers, he could see far,
and he could see the future as he could see the present and the
past. He arrived at once to save his disciple, who had got himself
into such a scrape through love of food.
As soon as he arrived, he scolded the disciple and told him
something in a whisper. Then he went to the king and addressed
him, “O wisest of kings, who is greater? The guru or the disciple?”
“Of course, the guru. No doubt about it. Why do you ask?”
“Then put me to the stake first. Put my disciple to death after me.”
24 / Moments
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When the disciple heard this, he understood and began to
clamour, “Me first! You brought me here first! Put me to death
first, not him!”
The guru and the disciple now got into a fight about who should
go first. The king was puzzled by this behaviour. He asked the
guru, “Why do you want to die? We chose him because we needed
a fat man for the stake.”
“You shouldn’t ask me such questions. Put me to death first,”
replied the guru.
“Why? There’s some mystery here. As a wise man you must
make me understand.”
“Will you promise to put me to death if I tell you?” asked the
guru. The king gave him his solemn word. The guru took him
aside, out of the servants’ earshot, and whispered to him, “Do you
know why we want to die right now, the two of us? We’ve been all
over the world but we’ve never found a city like this or a king like
you. That stake is the stake of the god of justice. It’s new, it has
never had a criminal on it. Whoever dies on it first will be reborn as
the king of this country. And whoever goes next will be the future
minister of this country. We’re sick of our ascetic life. It would be
nice to enjoy ourselves as king and minister for a while. Now keep
your word, My Lord, and put us to death. Me first, remember?”
The king was now thrown into deep thought. He didn’t want
to lose the kingdom to someone else in the next round of life. He
needed time. So he ordered the execution postponed to the next
day and talked in secret with his minister. “It’s not right for us to
give over the kingdom to others in the next life. Let’s go on the
stake ourselves and we’ll be reborn as king and minister again.
Holy men do not tell lies,” he said, and the minister agreed.
So he told the executioners, “We’ll send the criminals tonight.
When the first man comes to you, put him to death first. Then do
the same to the second man. Those are my orders. Don’t make
any mistake.”
That night, the king and his minister went secretly to the
prison, released the guru and the disciple, disguised themselves
as the two, and as arranged beforehand with loyal servants, were
taken to the stake and promptly executed.
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When the bodies were taken down to be thrown to crows and
vultures the people panicked. They saw before them the dead
bodies of the king and the minister. The city was in confusion.
All night they mourned and discussed the future of the
kingdom. Some people suddenly thought of the guru and the
disciple and caught up with them as they were preparing to leave
town unnoticed. “We people need a king and a minister,” said
someone. Others agreed. They begged the guru and the disciple
to be their king and their minister. It didn’t take many arguments
to persuade the disciple, but it took longer to persuade the guru.
They finally agreed to rule the kingdom of the foolish king and
the silly minister, on the condition that they could change all the
old laws.
From then on, night would again be night and day would again
be day, and you could get nothing for a duddu. It became like any
other place.
[A Kannada folktale from A.K. Ramanujan’s

Folk Tales from India]
26 / Moments
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Glossary
bailiff: a law officer who makes sure that the decisions of a court
are obeyed
scrape: a difficult situation that one has got into
T HINK A BOUT I T
1. What are the two strange things the guru and his disciple
find in the Kingdom of Fools?
2. Why does the disciple decide to stay in the Kingdom of Fools?
Is it a good idea?
3. Name all the people who are tried in the king’s court, and give
the reasons for their trial.
4. Who is the real culprit according to the king? Why does he
escape punishment?
5. What are the Guru’s words of wisdom? When does the disciple
remember them?
6. How does the guru manage to save his disciple’s life?
T ALK ABOUT I T
In Shakespeare’s plays the fool is not really foolish. If you have

read or seen Shakespeare’s plays such as King Lear, As You Like
It, Twelfth Night, you may talk about the role of the fool.
Do you know any stories in your language about wise fools, such
as Tenali Rama or Gopal Bhar? You can also read about them in
Ramanujan’s collection of folk tales.
S UGGESTED R EADING
l Tales from Shakespeare by Charles and Mary Lamb

l Folk Tales from India: A Selection of Oral Tales from Twenty-
two Languages Selected and Edited by A.K. Ramanujan
l Classic Folk Tales from Around the World Edited by Robert Nye
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5. The Happy Prince
The Happy Prince was a beautiful statue. He was

covered with gold, he had sapphires for eyes, and a
ruby in his sword. Why did he want to part with all
the gold that he had, and his precious stones?
HIGH above the city, on a tall column, stood the statue of the
Happy Prince. He was gilded all over with thin leaves of fine gold,
for eyes he had two bright sapphires, and a large red ruby glowed
on his sword hilt.
One night there flew over the city a little swallow. His friends
had gone away to Egypt six weeks before, but he had stayed
behind; then he decided to go to Egypt too.
All day long he flew,
and at night time he
arrived at the city.
“Where shall I put
up?” he said. “I hope
the town has made
preparations.”
Then he saw the
statue on the tall column.
“I will put up there,”
he cried. “It is a fine
position with plenty of
fresh air.” So he alighted
just between the feet of
the Happy Prince.
“I have a golden
bed-r oom,” he said
softly to himself as he
looked round, and he
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prepared to go to sleep; but just as he was putting his head under
his wing a large drop of water fell on him. “What a curious thing!”
he cried. “There is not a single cloud in the sky, the stars are
quite clear and bright, and yet it is raining.”
Then another drop fell.
“What is the use of a statue if it cannot keep the rain off ?” he said.
“I must look for a good chimney pot,” and he determined to fly away.
But before he had opened his wings, a third drop fell, and he
looked up, and saw — Ah! What did he see?
The eyes of the Happy Prince were filled with tears, and tears
were running down his golden cheeks. His face was so beautiful
in the moonlight that the little swallow was filled with pity.
“Who are you?” he said.
“I am the Happy Prince.”
“Why are you weeping then?” asked the swallow. “You have
quite drenched me.”
“When I was alive and had a human heart,” answered the
statue, “I did not know what tears were, for I lived in the Palace,
where sorrow is not allowed to enter. My courtiers called me the
Happy Prince, and happy indeed I was. So I lived, and so I died.
And now that I am dead they have set me up here so high that I
can see the ugliness and all the misery of my city, and though my
heart is made of lead yet I cannot choose but weep.”
‘What! Is he not solid gold?’ said the swallow to himself. He
was too polite to make any personal remarks.
“Far away,” continued the statue in a low musical voice, “far
away in a little street there is a poor house. One of the windows is
open, and through it I can see a woman seated at a table. Her
face is thin and worn, and she has coarse, red hands, all pricked
by the needle, for she is a seamstress. She is embroidering flowers
on a satin gown for the loveliest of the Queen’s maids of honour,
to wear at the next Court ball. In a bed in the corner of the room
her little boy is lying ill. He has a fever, and is asking his mother
to give him oranges. His mother has nothing to give him but river
water, so he is crying. Swallow, Swallow, little Swallow, will you
not bring her the ruby out of my sword hilt? My feet are fastened
to this pedestal and I cannot move.”
The Happy Prince/ 29
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“I am waited for in Egypt,” said the swallow. “My friends are
flying up and down the Nile, and talking to the large lotus flowers.
Soon they will go to sleep.”
The Prince asked the swallow to stay with him for one night
and be his messenger. “The boy is so thirsty, and the mother so
sad,” he said.
“I don’t think I like boys,” answered the swallow. “I want to go
to Egypt.”
But the Happy Prince looked so sad that the little swallow was
sorry. “It is very cold here,” he said. But he agreed to stay with
him for one night and be his messenger.
“Thank you, little Swallow,” said the Prince.
The swallow picked out the great ruby from the Prince’s sword,
and flew away with it in his beak over the roofs of the town.
He passed by the cathedral tower, where the white marble angels
were sculptured. He passed by the palace and heard the sound of
dancing. A beautiful girl came out on the balcony with her lover.
“I hope my dress will be ready in time for the State ball,” she
said. “I have ordered flowers to be embroidered on it, but the
seamstresses are so lazy.”
He passed over the river, and saw the lanterns hanging on the
masts of the ships. At last he came to the poor woman’s house
and looked in. The boy was tossing feverishly on his bed, and the
mother had fallen asleep, she was so tired. In he hopped, and
laid the great ruby on the table beside the woman’s thimble. Then
he flew gently round the bed, fanning the boy’s forehead with his
wings. “How cool I feel!” said the boy, “I must be getting better;”
and he sank into a delicious slumber.
Then the swallow flew back to the Happy Prince, and told him
what he had done. “It is curious,” he remarked, “but I feel quite
warm now, although it is so cold.”
“That is because you have done a good action,” said the Prince.
And the little swallow began to think, and then fell asleep. Thinking
always made him sleepy.
When day broke he flew down to the river and had a bath.
“Tonight I go to Egypt,” said the swallow, and he was in high
30 / Moments
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spirits at the prospect. He visited all the monuments and sat a
long time on top of the church steeple.
When the moon rose he flew back to the Happy Prince.
“Have you any commissions for Egypt?” he cried. “I am
just starting.”
“Swallow, Swallow, little Swallow,” said the Prince, “will you
stay with me one night longer?”
“I am waited for in Egypt,” answered the swallow.
“Swallow, Swallow, little Swallow,” said the Prince, “far away
across the city I see a young man in a garret. He is leaning over a
desk covered with papers, and in the glass by his side there is a
bunch of withered violets. His hair is brown and crisp, and his
lips are red as a pomegranate, and he has large and dreamy eyes.
He is trying to finish a play for the Director of the Theatre, but he
is too cold to write any more. There is no fire in the grate, and
hunger has made him faint.”
“I will wait with you one night longer,” said the swallow, who
really had a good heart. He asked if he should take another ruby
to the young playwright.
“Alas! I have no ruby now,” said the Prince. “My eyes are all
that I have left. They are made of rare sapphires, which were
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brought out of India a thousand
years ago.” He ordered the
swallow to pluck out one of
them and take it to the
playwright. “He will sell it to the
jeweller, and buy firewood, and
finish his play,” he said.
“Dear Prince,” said the
swallow, “I cannot do that,” and
he began to weep.
“Swallow, Swallow, little
Swallow,” said the Prince, “do
as I command you.”
So the swallow plucked out
the Prince’s eye, and flew away
to the young man’s garret. It
was easy enough to get in, as there was a hole in the roof. Through
this he darted, and came into the room. The young man had his
head buried in his hands, so he did not hear the flutter of the
bird’s wings, and when he looked up he found the beautiful
sapphire lying on the withered violets.
“I am beginning to be appreciated,” he cried. “This is from some
great admirer. Now I can finish my play,” and he looked quite happy.
The next day the swallow flew down to the harbour. He sat on
the mast of a large vessel and watched the sailors working. “I am
going to Egypt,” cried the swallow, but nobody minded, and when
the moon rose he flew back to the Happy Prince.
“I have come to bid you goodbye,” he cried.
“Swallow, Swallow, little Swallow,” said the Prince, “will you
not stay with me one night longer?”
“It is winter,” answered the swallow, “and the snow will soon
be here. In Egypt the sun is warm on the green palm trees, and
the crocodiles lie in the mud and look lazily about them.”
“In the square below,” said the Happy Prince, “there stands a
little matchgirl. She has let her matches fall in the gutter, and
they are all spoiled. Her father will beat her if she does not bring
home some money, and she is crying. She has no shoes or
32 / Moments
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stockings, and her little head is bare. Pluck out my other eye,
and give it to her, and her father will not beat her.”
“I will stay with you one night longer,” said the swallow, “but I
cannot pluck out your eye. You would be quite blind then.”
“Swallow, Swallow, little Swallow,” said the Prince, “do as I
command you.”
So he plucked out the Prince’s other eye, and darted down
with it. He swooped past the matchgirl, and slipped the jewel into
the palm of her hand.
“What a lovely bit of glass!” cried the little girl; and she ran
home, laughing.
Then the swallow came back to the Prince. “You are blind
now,” he said, “so I will stay with you always.”
“No, little Swallow,” said the poor Prince, “you must go away
to Egypt.”
“No, I will stay with you always,” said the swallow, and he
slept at the Prince’s feet.
All the next day he sat on the Prince’s shoulder, and told him
stories of what he had seen in strange lands.
“Dear little Swallow,” said the Prince, “you tell me of marvellous
things, but more marvellous than anything is the suffering of
men and women. There is no Mystery so great as Misery. Fly over
my city, little Swallow, and tell me what you see there.”
So the swallow flew over the great city, and saw the rich making
merry in their beautiful houses, while the beggars were sitting at
the gates. He flew into dark lanes, and saw the white faces of
starving children looking out listlessly at the black streets. Under
the archway of a bridge two little boys were lying in each other’s
arms to try and keep themselves warm. “How hungry we are!”
they said. “You must not lie here,” shouted the watchman, and
they wandered out into the rain.
Then he flew back and told the Prince what he had seen.
“I am covered with fine gold,” said the Prince. “You must take
it off, leaf by leaf, and give it to the poor; the living always think
that gold can make them happy.”
Leaf after leaf of the fine gold the swallow picked off, till the
Happy Prince looked quite dull and grey. Leaf after leaf of the
2024-25
fine gold he brought to the poor, and the children’s faces grew
rosier, and they laughed and played in the street. “We have bread
now!” they cried.
Then the snow came, and after the snow came the frost. The
streets looked as if they were made of silver. Everybody went about
in furs, and the little boys wore scarlet caps and skated on the ice.
The poor little swallow grew colder and colder, but he would
not leave the Prince, he loved him too well. He picked up crumbs
outside the baker’s door when the baker was not looking, and
tried to keep himself warm by flapping his wings.
But at last he knew that he was going to die. He had just
enough strength to fly up to the Prince’s shoulder once more.
“Goodbye, dear Prince!” he murmured. “Will you let me kiss your
hand?
“I am glad that you are going to Egypt at last, little Swallow,”
said the Prince. “You have stayed too long here but you must kiss
me on the lips, for I love you.”
“It is not to Egypt that I am going,” said the swallow. “I am going
to the House of Death. Death is the brother of Sleep, is he not?”
And he kissed the Happy Prince on the lips, and fell down
dead at his feet.
At that moment a curious crack sounded inside the statue, as
if something had broken. The fact is that the leaden heart had
snapped right in two. It certainly was a dreadfully hard frost.
Early the next morning the Mayor was walking in the square
below in company with the Town Councillors. As they passed the
column he looked up at the statue. “Dear me! How shabby the
Happy Prince looks!” he said.
“How shabby, indeed!” cried the Town Councillors, who always
agreed with the Mayor and they went up to look at it.
“The ruby has fallen out of his sword, his eyes are gone, and
he is golden no longer,” said the Mayor. “In fact, he is little better
than a beggar!”
“Little better than a beggar,” said the Town Councillors.
“And here is actually a dead bird at his feet!” continued the
Mayor. “We must really issue a proclamation that birds are not
34 / Moments
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to be allowed to die here.” And the Town Clerk made a note of
the suggestion.
So they pulled down the statue of the Happy Prince. “As he is
no longer beautiful he is no longer useful,” said the Art Professor
at the University.
Then they melted the statue in a furnace. “What a strange
thing!” said the overseer of the workmen at the foundry. “This
broken lead heart will not melt in the furnace. We must throw it
away.” So they threw it on a dust heap where the dead swallow
was also lying.
“Bring me the two most precious things in the city,” said God
to one of His Angels; and the Angel brought Him the leaden
heart and the dead bird.
“You have rightly chosen,” said God, “for in my garden of
Paradise this little bird shall sing for ever more and in my city
of gold the Happy Prince shall praise me.”
OSCAR WILDE
2024-25
Glossary
seamstress: a woman who makes a living by sewing
thimble: a metal or plastic cap with a closed end,
worn to protect the finger and push the needle in
sewing
garret: small dark room at the top of the house
T HINK ABOUT I T
1. Why do the courtiers call the prince ‘the Happy Prince’? Is he
really happy? What does he see all around him?
2. Why does the Happy Prince send a ruby for the seamstress?
What does the swallow do in the seamstress’ house?
3. For whom does the prince send the sapphires and why?
4. What does the swallow see when it flies over the city?
5. Why did the swallow not leave the prince and go to Egypt?
6. What are the precious things mentioned in the story? Why are
they precious?
T ALK ABOUT I T
The little swallow says, “It is curious, but I feel quite warm now,
although it is so cold.” Have you ever had such a feeling? Share
your experience with your friends.
S UGGESTED R EADING
l ‘ The Selfish Giant’ by Oscar Wilde.
l ‘How Much Land Does a Man Require?’ by Leo Tolstoy
36 / Moments
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6. Weathering the Storm in Ersama
The cyclone that hit Orissa in October 1999

killed thousands of people and devastated
hundreds of villages. For two dreadful nights
Prashant, a young man, was marooned on the
roof of a house. On the third day he decided to
go to his village. Did he find his family?
ON 27 October 1999, seven years after his mother’s death,

Prashant had gone to the block headquarters of Ersama, a small
town in coastal Orissa, some eighteen kilometres from his village,
to spend the day with a friend. In the evening, a dark and
menacing storm quickly gathered. Winds beat against the houses
with a speed and fury that Prashant had never witnessed before.
Heavy and incessant rain filled the darkness, ancient trees were
2024-25
uprooted and crashed to the earth. Screams rent the air as people
and houses were swiftly washed away. The angry waters swirled
into his friend’s house, neck deep. The building was of brick and
mortar and was strong enough to survive the devastation of the
wind’s velocity of 350 km per hour. But the cold terror of the
family grew with the crashing of trees that had got uprooted and
fallen on their house, some time in the middle of the night,
damaging its roof and walls.
The crazed destruction wrought by the cyclone and the surge
of the ocean continued for the next thirty-six hours, although wind
speeds had reduced somewhat by the next morning. To escape
the waters rising in the house, Prashant and his friend’s family
had taken refuge on the roof. Prashant will never forget the shock
he experienced at his first glimpse of the devastation wrought by
the super cyclone, in the grey light of the early morning. A raging,
deadly, brown sheet of water covered everything as far as the eye
could see; only fractured cement houses still stood in a few places.
Bloated animal carcasses and human corpses floated in every
direction. All round even huge old trees had fallen. Two coconut
trees had fallen on the roof of their house. This was a blessing in
disguise, because the tender coconuts from the trees kept the
trapped family from starving in the several days that followed.
For the next two days, Prashant sat huddled with his friend’s
family in the open on the rooftop. They froze in the cold and incessant
rain; the rain water washed away Prashant’s tears. The only thought
that flashed through his mind was whether his family had survived
the fury of the super cyclone. Was he to be bereaved once again?
Two days later, which seemed to Prashant like two years, the
rain ceased and the rain waters slowly began to recede. Prashant
was determined to seek out his family without further delay. But
the situation was still dangerous, and his friend’s family pleaded
with Prashant to stay back a little while longer. But Prashant
knew he had to go.
He equipped himself with a long, sturdy stick, and then started
on his eighteen-kilometre expedition back to his village through
the swollen flood waters. It was a journey he would never forget.
He constantly had to use his stick to locate the road, to determine
38 / Moments
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where the water was most shallow. At places it was waist deep,
and progress was slow. At several points, he lost the road and
had to swim. After some distance, he was relieved to find two
friends of his uncle who were also returning to their village. They
decided to move ahead together.
As they waded through the waters, the scenes they witnessed
grew more and more macabre. They had to push away many
human bodies — men, women, children — and carcasses of dogs,
goats and cattle that the current swept against them as they moved
ahead. In every village that they passed, they could barely see a
house standing. Prashant now wept out loud and long. He was
sure that his family could not have survived this catastrophe.
Eventually, Prashant reached his village, Kalikuda. His heart
went cold. Where their home once stood, there were only
remnants of its roof. Some of their belongings were caught,
mangled and twisted in the branches of trees just visible above
the dark waters. Young Prashant decided to go to the Red Cross
shelter to look for his family.
Among the first people he saw in the crowd was his maternal
grandmother. Weak with hunger, she rushed to him, her hands
outstretched, her eyes brimming. It was a miracle. They had
long given him up for dead.
Quickly word spread and his extended family gathered around
him, and hugged him tight in relief. Prashant anxiously scanned
the motley, battered group. His brother and sister, his uncles
and aunts, they all seemed to be there.
Weathering the Storm in Ersama/ 39
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By the next morning, as he took in the desperate situation in
the shelter, he decided to get a grip over himself. He sensed a
deathly grief settling upon the 2500 strong crowd in the shelter.
Eighty-six lives were lost in the village. All the ninety-six houses
had been washed away. It was their fourth day at the shelter. So
far they had survived on green coconuts, but there were too few
to go around such a tumult of people.
Prashant, all of nineteen years, decided to step in
as leader of his village, if no one else did. He organised
a group of youths and elders to jointly pressurise the
merchant once again to part with his rice. This time
the delegation succeeded and returned triumphantly,
wading through the receding waters with food for the
entire shelter. No one cared that the rice was already
rotting. Branches from fallen trees were gathered to
light a reluctant and slow fire, on which to cook the
rice. For the first time in four days, the survivors at
the cyclone shelter were able to fill their bellies. His
next task was to organise a team of youth volunteers to
clean the shelter of filth, urine, vomit and floating
carcasses, and to tend to the wounds and fractures of
the many who had been injured.
On the fifth day, a military helicopter flew over the
shelter and dropped some food parcels. It then did
not return. The youth task force gathered empty
40 / Moments
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utensils from the shelter.
Then they deputed the
children to lie in the sand
left by the waters around
the shelter with these
utensils on their stomachs,
to communicate to the
passing helicopters that they
were hungry. The message
got through, and after that
the helicopter made regular
rounds of the shelter,
airdropping food and other
basic needs.
Prashant found that a
large number of children had
been orphaned. He brought
them together and put up a
polythene sheet shelter for
them. Women were mobilised
to look after them, while the
men secured food and
materials for the shelter.
As the weeks passed,
Prashant was quick to
recognise that the women
and children were sinking
deeper and deeper in their
grief. He persuaded the women to start working in the food-for-
work programme started by an NGO, and for the children he
organised sports events. He himself loved to play cricket, and so
he organised cricket matches for children. Prashant engaged,
with other volunteers, in helping the widows and children to pick
up the broken pieces of their lives. The initial government plan
was to set up institutions for orphans and widows. However, this
step was successfully resisted, as it was felt that in such
institutions, children would grow up without love, and widows
2024-25
would suffer from stigma and loneliness. Prashant’s group believed
orphans should be resettled in their own community itself, possibly
in new foster families made up of childless widows and children
without adult care.
It is six months after the devastation of the super cyclone.
This time Prashant’s wounded spirit has healed simply because
he had no time to bother about his own pain. His handsome,
youthful face is what the widows and orphaned children of his
village seek out most in their darkest hour of grief.
HARSH MANDER
Glossary
menacing: dangerous and harmful
incessant: unceasing; continual
swirled: moved or flowed along with a whirling motion
carcasses: dead bodies of animals
bereaved: lost a close relation or friend through his/her death
remnants: small remaining quantities
motley: disparate; varied in appearance or character
tumult: uproar of a disorderly crowd
T HINK A BOUT I T
1. What havoc has the super cyclone wreaked in the life of the
people of Orissa?
2. How has Prashant, a teenager, been able to help the people
of his village?
3. How have the people of the community helped one another?
What role do the women of Kalikuda play during these days?
4. Why do Prashant and other volunteers resist the plan to set
up institutions for orphans and widows? What alternatives
do they consider?
42 / Moments
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5. Do you think Prashant is a good leader? Do you think young
people can get together to help people during natural
calamities?
T ALK A BOUT I T
Talk about the preparedness of the community for a natural

disaster.
(You can talk about evacuation plans and rehabilitation; permanent
safe shelters; warning systems; relief efforts; building materials
to withstand cyclone/flood/earthquake, i.e. safe housing; peoples’
organisation of their own rescue; the survival instinct, etc.)
S UGGESTED R EADING
l ‘A Home on the Street’ by Harsh Mander
l ‘Paying for His Tea’ by Harsh Mander
l Eton Munda Won the Battle by Mahasweta Devi
2024-25
7. The Last Leaf
It is autumn. The wind is blowing hard and it is

raining heavily. All the leaves on an ivy creeper
have fallen, except one. Why doesn’t the last
leaf fall?
SUE and Johnsy, two young artists, shared a small flat. The flat
was on the third storey of an old house.
Johnsy fell very seriously ill in November. She had pneumonia.
She would lie in her bed without moving, just gazing out of the
window. Sue, her friend, became very worried. She sent for the
doctor. Although he came every day there was no change in
Johnsy’s condition.
One day the doctor took Sue aside and asked her, ”Is anything
worrying Johnsy?”
“No,” replied Sue. “But why do you ask?”
The doctor said “Johnsy, it seems, has made up her mind that
she is not going to get well. If she doesn’t want to live, medicines
will not help her.”
Sue tried her best to make Johnsy take an interest in things
around her. She talked about clothes and fashions, but Johnsy
did not respond. Johnsy continued to lie still on her bed. Sue
brought her drawing-board into Johnsy’s room and started
painting. To take Johnsy’s mind off her illness, she whistled
while working.
Suddenly Sue heard Johnsy whisper something. She quickly
rushed to the bed and heard Johnsy counting backwards. She was
looking out of the window and was saying, “Twelve!” After sometime
she whispered “eleven”, then “ten”, then “nine”, “eight”, “seven”. Sue
anxiously looked out of the window. She saw an old ivy creeper
climbing half-way up the brick wall opposite their window. In the
strong wind outside, the creeper was shedding its leaves.
2024-25
“What is it, dear?” Sue asked.
“Six,” whispered Johnsy. “They are falling faster now. Three days
ago there were almost a hundred leaves. There are only five left now.”
“It is autumn,” said Sue, “and the leaves will fall.”
“When the last leaf falls, I will die,” said Johnsy with finality.
“I have known this for the last three days.”
“Oh, that’s nonsense,” replied Sue. “What have old ivy leaves
to do with your getting well? The doctor is confident that you will
get better.”
Johnsy did not say anything. Sue went and brought her a
bowl of soup.
“I don’t want any soup,” said Johnsy. “I am not hungry… Now
there are only four leaves left. I want to see the last one fall before
it gets dark. Then I will sleep forever.”
Sue sat on Johnsy’s bed, kissed her and said, “You are not
going to die. I can’t draw the curtain for I need the light. I want to
finish the painting and get some money for us. Please, my dear
The Last Leaf/ 45
2024-25
friend,” she begged Johnsy, “promise not to look out of the window
while I paint.”
“All right,” said Johnsy. “Finish your painting soon for I want
to see the last leaf fall. I’m tired of waiting. I have to die, so let me
go away peacefully like one of those poor, tired leaves.”
“Try to sleep,” said Sue. “I have to paint an old miner. I will
call Behrman up to be my model.”
Sue rushed down. Behrman lived on the ground floor.
He was a sixty-year-old painter. His lifelong dream was to
paint a masterpiece but that had remained a dream. Sue poured
out her worries to Behrman. She told him how Johnsy was
convinced that she would die when the last leaf fell.
“Is she stupid?” asked Behrman. “How can she be so foolish?”
“She is running a high temperature,”complained Sue. “She
refuses to eat or drink and that worries me a lot.”
“I will come with you and see Johnsy,” Behrman said.
They tiptoed into the room. Johnsy was sleeping. Sue drew
the curtains together and they went to the next room. She peeped
out through the window. There was only one leaf on the creeper.
It was raining heavily and an icy-cold wind was blowing. It seemed
as though the leaf
would fall any minute
now. Behrman did not
say a word. He went
back to his room.
Johnsy woke up
next morning. In a
feeble voice she asked
Sue to draw the
curtains. Sue was
nervous. She drew
back the curtains very
reluctantly.
“Oh!” Sue exclaimed
as she looked at the
vine creeper. “Look,
there is still one leaf
46 / Moments
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on the creeper. It looks quite green and healthy. In spite of the storm
and the fierce winds, it didn’t fall.”
“I heard the wind last night,” said Johnsy. “I thought it would
have fallen. It will surely fall today. Then I’ll die.”
“You won’t die,” said Sue energetically. “You have to live for
your friends. What would happen to me if you die?”
Johnsy smiled weakly and closed her eyes. After every hour or
so she would look out of the window and find the leaf still there.
It seemed to be clinging to the creeper.
In the evening, there was another storm but the leaf did not
fall. Johnsy lay for a long time looking at the leaf. Then she called
out to Sue.
“I have been a bad girl. You have looked after me so lovingly
and I have not cooperated with you. I have been depressed and
gloomy. The last leaf has shown me how wicked I have been. I
have realised that it is a sin to want to die.”
Sue hugged Johnsy. Then she gave her lots of hot soup and a
mirror. Johnsy combed her hair and smiled brightly.
In the afternoon the doctor came. After examining his patient he
told Sue, “Johnsy now has the will to live. I am confident she’ll recover
soon. Now I must go downstairs and see Behrman. He is also suffering
from pneumonia. But I am afraid, there is no hope for him.”
The next morning
Sue came and sat on
Johnsy’s bed. Taking
Johnsy’s hand in hers
she said, “I have
something to tell you.
Mr Behrman died
of pneumonia this
morning. He was ill for
only two days. The first
day the janitor found him
on his bed. His clothes
and shoes were wet and
he was shivering. He
had been out in that
stormy night.”
The Last Leaf/ 47
2024-25
Then they found a ladder and a lantern still lighted lying near
his bed. There were also some brushes and green and yellow
paints on the floor near the ladder. “Johnsy dear,” said Sue, “look
out of the window. Look at that ivy leaf. Haven’t you wondered
why it doesn’t flutter when the wind blows? That’s Behrman’s
masterpiece. He painted it the night the last leaf fell.”
O. HENRY
Glossary
janitor: a person whose job is to look after a building
T HINK A BOUT I T
1. What is Johnsy’s illness? What can cure her, the medicine or
the willingness to live?
2. Do you think the feeling of depression Johnsy has is common
among teenagers?
3. Behrman has a dream. What is it? Does it come true?
4. What is Behrman’s masterpiece? What makes Sue say so?
T ALK ABOUT I T
Have you ever felt depressed and rejected? How did you overcome
such feelings? Share your experience with your classmates.
S UGGESTED R EADING
l ‘The Gift of the Magi’ by O.Henry
l ‘Dusk’ by Saki (H.H. Munro)
l Chicken Soup for the Teenage Soul on Tough Stuff: Compiled
and edited by Jack Canfield, Mark Victor Hansen, Kimberly
Kirberger
48 / Moments
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8. A House Is Not a Home
This story reflects the challenges of being a teenager,

and the problems of growing up. How does the author
overcome his problems?
MY first year of high school felt awkward. After leaving junior

high at the head of my class with all the seniority the upper grade
levels could afford me, it felt strange starting over as a freshman.
The school was twice as big as my old school, and to make matters
worse, my closest friends were sent to a different high school. I
felt very isolated.
I missed my old teachers so much that I would go back and
visit them. They would encourage me to get involved in school
activities so that I could meet new people. They told me that in
time I would adjust and probably end up loving my new school
more than I had my old one. They made me promise that when
that happened I would still come by and visit them from time to
time. I understood the psychology in what they were saying, but
I took some comfort in it nonetheless.
One Sunday afternoon, not long after I had started high
school, I was sitting at home at our dining-room table doing
homework. It was a cold and windy fall day, and we had a fire
going in our fireplace. As usual, my red tabby cat was lying on
top of all my papers, purring loudly and occasionally swatting at
my pen for entertainment’s sake.
She was never far from me. I had rescued her when she was
a kitten, and somehow she knew that I was the one responsible
for giving her ‘the good life’.
My mother kept stoking the fire to keep the house nice and
warm. Suddenly, I smelled something strange, and then I noticed
it... smoke pouring in through the seams of the ceiling. The smoke
began to fill the room so quickly that we could barely see. Groping
2024-25
our way to the front door, we all ran out into the front yard. By
the time we made our way outside, the whole roof was engulfed
in flames and it was spreading quickly. I ran to the neighbours to
call the fire department, while I watched my mother run back
into the house.
My mother then ran out of the house carrying a small metal
box full of important documents. She dropped the case on the
lawn and, in a crazed state, ran back into the house. I knew what
she was after. My father had died when I was young, and I was
certain that she was not going to let his pictures and letters go up
in flames. They were the only things that she had to remember
him by. Still I screamed at her, “Mom! No!”
I was about to run after her when I felt a large hand hold me
back. It was a fireman. I hadn’t even noticed that the street had
already filled with fire trucks. I was trying to free myself from his
grasp, yelling, “You don’t understand, my mother’s in there!”
He held on to me while other firefighters ran into the house.
He knew that I wasn’t acting very logically and that if he were to
let go, I’d run. He was right.
“It’s all right, they’ll get her,” he said.
He wrapped a blanket around me and sat me down in our
car. Soon after that, a fireman emerged from our house with
50 / Moments
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my mom in tow. He quickly took her over to the truck and put
an oxygen mask on her. I ran over and hugged her. All those
times I ever argued with her and hated her vanished at the
thought of losing her.
“She’s going to be okay,” said the fireman. “She just
inhaled a little smoke.” And then he ran back to fight the fire
while my mother and I sat there dazed. I remember watching
my house burn down and thinking that there was nothing I
could do about it.
Five hours later, the fire was finally out. Our house was almost
completely burned down. But then it struck me ... I hadn’t seen
my cat. Where was my cat? Much to my horror, I realised that
she was nowhere to be found. Then all at once it hit me — the
new school, the fire, my cat — I broke down in tears and cried
and cried. I was suffering loss, big time.
The firemen wouldn’t let us go back into the house that night.
It was still too dangerous. Dead or alive, I couldn’t imagine leaving
without knowing about my cat. Regardless, I had to go. We piled
into the car with just the clothes on our backs and a few of the
firemen’s blankets, and made our way to my grandparents’ house
to spend the night.
The next day, Monday, I went to school. When the fire broke
out, I was still wearing the dress I had worn to church that morning
but I had no shoes! I had kicked them off when I was doing my
homework. They became yet another casualty of the fire. So I had
to borrow some tennis shoes from my aunt. Why couldn’t I just
stay home from school? My mother wouldn’t hear of it, but I was
totally embarrassed by everything. The clothes I was wearing
looked weird, I had no books or homework, and my backpack
was gone. I had my life in that backpack! The more I tried to fit in,
the worse it got. Was I destined to be an outcast and a geek all my
life? That’s what it felt like. I didn’t want to grow up, change or
have to handle life if it was going to be this way. I just wanted to
curl up and die.
I walked around school like a zombie. Everything felt surreal,
and I wasn’t sure what was going to happen. All the security I
had known, from my old school, my friends, my house and my
cat had all been ripped away.
A House Is Not a Home/ 51
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When I walked through what used to be my house after school
that day, I was shocked to see how much damage there was —
whatever hadn’t burned was destroyed by the water and chemicals
they had used to put out the fire. The only material things not
destroyed were the photo albums, documents and some other
personal items that my mother had managed to heroically rescue.
But my cat was gone and my heart ached for her.
There was no time to grieve. My mother rushed me out of the
house. We would have to find a place to live, and I would have to
go buy some clothes for school.
We had to borrow money from my grandparents because there
were no credit cards, cash or even any identification to be able to
withdraw money from the bank. Everything had gone up in smoke.
That week the rubble that used to be our house was being
cleared off the lot. Even though we had rented an apartment
nearby, I would go over to watch them clear away debris, hoping
that my cat was somewhere to be found. She was gone. I kept
thinking about her as that vulnerable little kitten. In the early
morning when I would disturb her and get out of bed, she would
tag along after me, climb up my robe and crawl into my pocket to
fall asleep. I was missing her terribly.
It always seems that bad news spreads quickly, and in my
case it was no different. Everyone in high school, including the
teachers, was aware of my plight. I was embarrassed as if somehow
I were responsible. What a way to start off at a new school! This
was not the kind of attention I was looking for.
The next day at school, people were acting even more strange
than usual. I was getting ready for gym class at my locker. People
were milling around me, asking me to hurry up. I thought it
strange, but in the light of the past few weeks, nothing would
surprise me. It almost seemed that they were trying to shove me
into the gym — then I saw why. There was a big table set up with
all kinds of stuff on it, just for me. They had taken up a collection
and bought me school supplies, notebooks, all kinds of different
clothes — jeans, tops, sweatsuits. It was like Christmas. I was
overcome by emotion. People who had never spoken to me before
were coming up to me to introduce themselves. I got all kinds of
invitations to their houses. Their genuine outpouring of concern
52 / Moments
2024-25
really touched me. In that instant, I finally breathed a sigh of
relief and thought for the first time that things were going to be
okay. I made friends that day.
A month later, I was at my house watching them rebuild it.
But this time it was different — I wasn’t alone. I was with two of
my new friends from school. It took a fire for me to stop focusing
on my feelings of insecurity and open up to all the wonderful
people around me. Now I was sitting there watching my house
being rebuilt when I realised my life was doing the same thing.
While we sat there on the curb, planning my new bedroom,
I heard someone walk up to me from behind and say, “Does this
belong to you?” When I turned around to see who it was, I couldn’t
believe my eyes. A woman was standing there holding my cat! I
leapt up and grabbed her out of the woman’s arms. I held her
2024-25
close to me and cried into that beautiful orange fur. She purred
happily. My friends were hugging me, hugging the cat and
jumping around.
Apparently, my cat had been so freaked by the fire that she
ran over a mile away. Her collar had our phone number on it, but
our phones had been destroyed and disconnected. This wonderful
woman took her in and worked hard to find out whose cat it was.
Somehow, she knew this cat was loved and sorely missed.
As I sat there with my friends and my cat curled up in my
lap, all the overwhelming feelings of loss and tragedy seemed to
diminish. I felt gratitude for my life, my new friends, the kindness
of a stranger and the loud purr of my beloved cat. My cat was
back and so was I.
ZAN GAUDIOSO
Glossary
stoking the fire: feeding and tending the fire
zombie: a dull and apathetic person
surreal: strange; bizarre
milling around: moving in an aimless manner
shove: push hard
T HINK A BOUT I T
1. What does the author notice one Sunday afternoon? What is
his mother’s reaction? What does she do?
2. Why does he break down in tears after the fire?
3. Why is the author deeply embarrassed the next day in school?
Which words show his fear and insecurity?
4. The cat and the author are very fond of each other. How has
this been shown in the story? Where was the cat after the
fire? Who brings it back and how?
5. What actions of the schoolmates change the author’s
understanding of life and people, and comfort him
54 / Moments
2024-25
emotionally? How does his loneliness vanish and how does
he start participating in life?
6. What is the meaning of “My cat was back and so was I”?
Had the author gone anywhere? Why does he say that he
is also back?
T ALK ABOUT I T
Have any of your classmates/schoolmates had an experience

like the one described in the story where they needed help?
Describe how they were helped.
S UGGESTED R EADING
l Her Story So Far: Tales of the Girl Child in India edited by

Monica Das
l Modern Hindi Stories edited by Indu Jain
l Malgudi Days by R.K. Narayan
2024-25
9. The Beggar
What induced the beggar, Lushkoff, to change his

ways? Let’s read and find out.
“KIND sir, have pity; turn your attention to a poor, hungry man!
For three days I have had nothing to eat; I haven’t five copecks
for a lodging, I swear it before God. For eight years I was a
village schoolteacher and then I lost my place through intrigues.
I fell a victim to calumny. It is a year now since I have had
anything to do.”
The advocate, Sergei, looked at the ragged, fawn-coloured
overcoat of the suppliant, at his dull, drunken eyes, at the red
spot on either cheek, and it seemed to him as if he had seen this
man somewhere before.
“I have now had an offer of a position in the province of Kaluga,”
the mendicant went on, “but I haven’t the money to get there.
Help me kindly; I am ashamed to ask, but — I am obliged to
by circumstances.”
Sergei’s eyes fell on the man’s overshoes, one of which was
high and the other low, and he suddenly remembered something.
“Look here, it seems to me I met you the day before yesterday
in Sadovya Street,” he said; “but you told me then that you were
a student who had been expelled, and not a village schoolteacher.
Do you remember?”
“N-no, that can’t be so,” mumbled the beggar, taken aback. “I
am a village schoolteacher, and if you like I can show you
my papers.”
“Have done with lying! You called yourself a student and even
told me what you had been expelled for. Don’t you remember?”
Sergei flushed and turned from the ragged creature with an
expression of disgust.
2024-25
“This is dishonesty, my dear sir!” he cried angrily. “This is
swindling — I shall send the police for you, damn you!”
“Sir!” he said, laying his hand on his heart, “the fact is I was
lying! I am neither a student nor a schoolteacher. All that was
fiction. Formerly I sang in a Russian choir and was sent away
for drunkenness. But what else can I do? I can’t get along
without lying. No one will give me anything when I tell the truth,
what can I do?”
“What can you do? You ask what you can do?” cried
Sergei, coming close to him. “Work! That’s what you can do!
You must work!”
“Work — yes. I know that myself; but where can I find work?”
“How would you like to chop wood for me?”
“I wouldn’t refuse to do that, but in these days even skilled
wood-cutters find themselves sitting without bread.”
“Will you come and chop wood for me?”
“Yes sir, I will.”
“Very well; we’ll soon find out.”
Sergei hastened along, rubbing his hands. He called his cook
out of the kitchen.
“Here, Olga,” he said, “take this gentleman into the wood-shed
and let him chop wood.”
The scarecrow of a beggar shrugged his shoulders, as if in
perplexity, and went irresolutely after the cook. It was obvious
from his gait that he had not consented to go and chop wood
because he was hungry and wanted work, but simply from pride
and shame and because he had been trapped by his own words.
It was obvious, too, that his strength had been undermined by
vodka and that he was unhealthy and did not feel the slightest
inclination for toil.
Sergei hurried into the dining-room. From its windows one
could see the wood-shed and everything that went on in the yard.
Standing at the window, Sergei saw the cook and the beggar come
out into the yard by the back door and make their way across the
dirty snow to the shed. Olga glared wrathfully at her companion,
shoved him aside with her elbow, unlocked the shed, and angrily
banged the door.
The Beggar/ 57
2024-25
Next he saw the pseudo-teacher seat himself on a log and
become lost in thought with his red cheeks resting on his fists.
The woman flung down an axe at his feet, spat angrily, and,
judging from the expression of her lips, began to scold him. The
beggar irresolutely pulled a billet of wood towards him, set it up
between his feet, and tapped it feebly with the axe. The billet
wavered and fell down. The beggar again pulled it to him, blew
on his freezing hands, and tapped it with his axe cautiously, as if
afraid of hitting his overshoe or of cutting off his finger; the stick
of wood again fell to the ground.
Sergei’s anger had vanished and he now began to feel a little
sorry and ashamed of himself for having set a spoiled, drunken,
perhaps sick man to work at menial labour in the cold.
An hour later Olga came in and announced that the wood had
all been chopped.
“Good! Give him half a rouble,” said Sergei. “If he wants to he
can come back and cut wood on the first day of each month. We
can always find work for him.”
On the first of the month the waif made his appearance and
again earned half a rouble, although he could barely stand on his
legs. From that day on he often appeared in the yard and every
58 / Moments
2024-25
time work was found for him. Now he would shovel snow, now put
the wood-shed in order, now beat the dust out of rugs and
mattresses. Every time he received from twenty to forty copecks,
and once, even a pair of old trousers were sent out to him.
When Sergei moved into another house he hired him to help
in the packing and hauling of the furniture. This time the waif
was sober, gloomy, and silent. He hardly touched the furniture,
and walked behind the wagons hanging his head, not even making
a pretence of appearing busy. He only shivered in the cold and
became embarrassed when the carters jeered at him for his
idleness, his feebleness, and his tattered, fancy overcoat. After
the moving was over Sergei sent for him.
“Well, I am happy that my words have taken effect,’” he said,
handing him a rouble. “Here’s for your pains. I see you are sober
and have no objection to work. What is your name?’”
“Lushkoff.”
“Well, Lushkoff, I can now offer you some other, cleaner
employment. Can you write?’”
“I can.”
“Then take this letter to a friend of mine tomorrow and you
will be given some copying to do. Work hard, don’t drink, and
remember what I have said to you. Goodbye!”
Pleased at having put a man on the right path, Sergei tapped
Lushkoff kindly on the shoulder and even gave him his hand at
parting. Lushkoff took the letter, and from that day forth came
no more to the yard for work.
Two years went by. Then one evening, as Sergei was standing
at the ticket window of a theatre paying for his seat, he noticed a
little man beside him with a coat collar of curly fur and a worn
sealskin cap. This little individual timidly asked the ticket seller
for a seat in the gallery and paid for it in copper coins.
“Lushkoff, is that you?” cried Sergei, recognising in the little
man his former wood-chopper. “How are you? What are you doing?
How is everything with you?”
“All right. I am a notary now and am paid thirty-five roubles
a month.”
The Beggar/ 59
2024-25
“Thank Heaven! That’s
fine! I am delighted for
your sake. I am very, very
glad, Lushkoff. You see,
you are my godson, in a
sense. I gave you a push
along the right path, you
know. Do you remember
what a roasting I gave you,
eh? I nearly had you
sinking into the ground at
my feet that day. Thank
you, old man, for not
forgetting my words.”
“Thank you, too.” said
Lushkof f. “If I hadn’t
come to you then I might
still have been calling
myself a teacher or a
student to this day. Yes, by flying to your protection I dragged
myself out of a pit.”
“I am very glad, indeed.”
“Thank you for your kind words and deeds. I am very grateful
to you and to your cook. God bless that good and noble woman!
You spoke finely then, and I shall be indebted to you to my
dying day; but, strictly speaking, it was your cook, Olga,
who saved me.”
“How is that?”
“When I used to come to your house to chop wood she used to
begin: ‘Oh, you sot, you! Oh, you miserable creature! There’s
nothing for you but ruin.’ And then she would sit down opposite
me and grow sad, look into my face and weep. ‘Oh, you unlucky
man! There is no pleasure for you in this world and there will be
none in the world to come. You drunkard! You will burn in hell.
Oh, you unhappy one!’ And so she would carry on, you know, in
that strain. I can’t tell you how much misery she suffered, how
many tears she shed for my sake. But the chief thing was — she
60 / Moments
2024-25
used to chop the wood for me. Do you know, sir, that I did not
chop one single stick of wood for you? She did it all. Why this
saved me, why I changed, why I stopped drinking at the sight of
her I cannot explain. I only know that, owing to her words and
noble deeds, a change took place in my heart; she set me right
and I shall never forget it. However, it is time to go now; there
goes the bell.” Lushkoff bowed and departed to the gallery.
ANTON CHEKHOV
Glossary
copeck (also spelt kopeck): Russian coin equal to one hundredth
of a rouble
calumny: the making of false and defamatory statements about
someone in order to damage his/her reputation
suppliant (or supplicant): a person making a humble plea to
someone in power or authority
mendicant: beggar
swindling: cheating a person of money
perplexity: state of being puzzled; bewilderment
irresolutely: hesitantly; undecidedly
billet: here, a thick piece of wood
waif: a homeless person
shovel: remove snow with a shovel (a tool resembling a spade
with a broad blade and typically upturned sides)
roasting (an informal or humorous word): here, scolding
sot: a habitual drunkard
T HINK A BOUT I T
1. Has Lushkoff become a beggar by circumstance or by choice?
2. What reasons does he give to Sergei for his telling lies?
3. Is Lushkoff a willing worker? Why, then, does he agree to
chop wood for Sergei?
The Beggar/ 61
2024-25
4. Sergei says, “I am happy that my words have taken effect.”
Why does he say so? Is he right in saying this?
5. Lushkoff is earning thirty five roubles a month. How is he
obliged to Sergei for this?
6. During their conversation Lushkoff reveals that Sergei’s cook,
Olga, is responsible for the positive change in him. How has
Olga saved Lushkoff?
TALK ABOUT IT
How can we help beggars/abolish begging?
SUGGESTED READING
l ‘The Man with the Twisted Lip’ by Arthur Conan Doyle
l The Three Sisters by Anton Chekhov
62 / Moments
2024-25

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Notes for the T

1. THE FUN THEY HAD

2. THE SOUND OF MUSIC

3. THE LITTLE GIRL

BEFORE YOU READ

1. MARGIE even wrote about it that night in her diary.

They had a teacher... It was a man.

because her mother said little girls learned better

I. Answer these questions in a few words or a couple of sentences each.

Thinking about Language

awfully sorrowfully completely loftily

(i) The report must be read so that performance can be

(ii) At the interview, Sameer answered our questions ,

(iii) We all behave when we are tired or hungry.

(v) I forgot about it.

(vi) When I complimented Revathi on her success, she just smiled

(vii) The President of the Company is busy and will not

(viii) I finished my work so that I could go out to play.

The Fun They Had / 11

1. If I don’t go to Anu’s party tonight,

2. If you don’t telephone the hotel to order food,

3. Unless you promise to write back, I

4. If she doesn’t play any games,

5. Unless that little bird flies away quickly, the cat

The addressee’s address

Remember that the language of a formal letter is different from the

The Fun They Had / 13

Take up a project in groups of four to collect opinions of people on the use of

This well-known poem is about making choices, and the

Two roads diverged in a yellow wood,

Then took the other, just as fair,

And both that morning equally lay

I shall be telling this with a sigh

Thinking about the Poem

Time is not measured by the passing of years

BEFORE YOU READ

1. R U S H hour crowds jostle for position on the jostle: push roughly

not just watching the lips, it’s the whole face,

Thinking about the T

BEFORE YOU READ

1. EMPEROR Aurangzeb banned the playing of a musical

2. The sound of the shehnai began to be considered

The Sound of Music / 23

13. Ustad Bismillah Khan’s life is a perfect example of

[Ustad Bismillah Khan passed away on 21 August 2006 at

Thinking about the T

Bismillah Khan’s feelings about Positive Negative Neutral

The Sound of Music / 25

Thinking about Language

1. The school sports team hopes (What does it hope to do?)

2. We all want (What do we all want to do?)

3. They advised the hearing-impaired child’s mother (What

4. The authorities permitted us to (What did the authorities

5. A musician decided to (What did the musician decide

1. the home of royal people (1)

2. the state of being alone (5)

3. a part which is absolutely necessary (2)

5. without much effort (13)

6. quickly and in large quantities (9) and

elder adi., noun awake adj., verb