BA ENGLISH HAND Book

Unit I
Prose
AIMS AND OBJECTIVES :
In this Unit, we are going to read the Prose writings of famous Writers.
These Prose pieces are in the form of tales, classical and fairy tales and
character sketch. These prose selections revolve around human mind, thought
and action.
After going through this Unit you will be able to:
I. Recognize the significance of the themes insisted by the writers

II. Realize the importance of values in life
III. Redefine the view of life that life is to be enjoyed, appreciated and above
all to be lived whole heartedly.
INTRODUCTION TO PROSE LESSONS:
Human beings are a bundle of emotions. The emotional bondage with

the life gives them the strength to live and face life with ease and comfort. All
the five prose selections of this unit deal with different perspectives of human
life.
The Story, ‘The Golden Touch’ (Midas touch), deals with the man’s
excessive desire to possess wealth and the result of such desire.
The Story ‘The Selfish Giant’ by Oscar Wilde insists the possession of
the value of kindness and the benefits of kindness.
‘Cinderella’, the fairy tale from Grimm’s Tales insists hope and faith are
essential aspects of life.
The passionate story ‘Lalajee’ by Jim Corbett is a portrayal of a man

noted for his promise and sincerity.
The Story ‘Face of Judas Iscariot’ by Bonnie Chamberlain brings out

beautifully with a touch of Pathos that man is a puppet in the hands of his
circumstances.
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Thus, all the five Prose lessons try to offer proper advice to mankind,
who struggle for their day today existence of life.
General scheme of presentation for Every Lesson
1.0 Introduction
1.1 Summary
1.2 Key points to be remembered
1.3 Keywords
1.4 Answers to check your progress
1.5 Explain with reference to context
1.6 Model questions (400 words)
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LESSON - 1
Prose - 1
THE GOLDEN TOUCH (Midas Touch)

TEXT:
Long ago, there lived a very rich man called Midas. Besides being rich he
was a king, and he had a little daughter called Marygold.
King Midas loved gold more than anything else in the world. He
liked being a king, chiefly because he loved his golden crown. He
loved, his daughter dearly too, and the more he loved her the more
gold he wanted for her sake.
When King Midas saw the golden light of the sun at evening, he
wished it could turn everything into real gold. When Marygold came to
him with a bunch of sweet yellow flowers, he would say, Ìf they were
as golden as they look. They would be worth picking!’
Even the roses in his garden did not please him any amore - the
largest and sweetest and most beautiful roses ever seen - because
they were not made of gold. And although the king was very fond of
music in his youth, the only music he loved now was the sound of gold
coins, one against another.
At last, King Midas could not bear to touch anything that was not
gold. He used to go down to a secret room under his palace where he
kept his precious store. He would let himself in and count his gold pieces.
He would hold the bars of gold, and admire his gold cups and plates,
until he could hardly bear to leave them.
Now in those days a great many wonderful things used to happen

just as they do today. One morning King Midas was in his treasure-
room when he noticed that the sun was shining into the room more
brightly than usual. Not only that, but a stranger stood there, smiling at
him in the light of the sunbeam. King Midas knew that he had locked
himself in as usual, and so he guessed that his visitor was no ordinary
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person. The stranger looked at the gold pieces that the king was
counting. `You seem to be a very rich man’ he said.
`But it has taken me a long time to collect this gold,’ said King
Midas. Ìf I could live a thousand years, I might have time to get richer.’
`What! aren’t you satisfied?’ asked the stranger. `What else do you
want?’ Midas thought carefully. This was a wonderful chance, and he felt
that the stranger had magical powers.
Ì am tired of collecting my riches so slowly’, he said. Ì wish
everything I touch could be turned into gold’.
`The Golden Touch!’ exclaimed the stranger. Àre you sure you
would never regret it?’
`How could I regret such a thing?’ said Midas. Ìt would give me
perfect happiness at last’.
`Very well, then’, the stranger said, as he turned to go.
`Tomorrow at sunrise you will find that you have the Golden Touch.’
The light of the sunbeam brightened so vividly that Midas closed

his eyes. When he opened them again, the stranger had gone.
Next morning, Kind Midas awoke before the dawn. He looked

eagerly to see if his bed had been turned into gold. But no; it was
exactly as it had been before. He lay, very disappointed, looking around
his room.
Suddenly, the earliest sunbeam of the rising sun shone through the
window and up to the ceiling above. It seemed to reflect its-golden light
towards him. Looking at the sheet on his bed, Midas was astonished
to find that it had become cloth of gold. The Golden touch had truly
come to him, with the first sunbeam.
King Midas got out of bed in excitement. He touched one of the

legs of the bed as he did so - and it immediately became a golden
pillar. He pulled the curtain at the window, and at once it became
golden, too. He put on his clothes, and found himself dressed in
golden cloth.
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He took up his spectacles and put them on - and he found he
could see nothing at all. The glasses had turned into gold and he could
not see through them. He took them off again.
`Never mind’, he thought to himself. `The Golden Touch is worth

more than a pair of spectacles, and Marygold will be able to read to me’.
King Midas went downstairs and into the garden. He noticed that
even the brass handle of the door became gold as soon as he turned it.
Then he went among the rose-trees that had always been his pride and
joy in the past.
When he went in to breakfast that morning he felt more

hungry than usual. While he was waiting for his eggs to be ready,
little Marygold came in crying bitterly. `Look, father!’ she cried, holding
out a golden rose. Ì went to pick you some rose and they are yellow
and hard and their sweet scent is gone’.
`Never mind, my dear’, said her father. They are worth much
more like that. Sit down and eat your breakfast’.
He poured himself a cup of coffee as he spoke. The coffee pot was a

golden one when he put it back on the table. Then he tried a spoonful of
coffee, to see if it was sweet enough. But it had become liquid gold.
`Well’ he exclaimed. He was thirsty.
`What is the matter, father?’ asked Marygold.
`Nothing, child. Drink your milk,’ Midas said.
But the eggs that he tried to eat, the first, the bread, the butter all
the food was uneatable for the king, that morning.
`How am I to have any breakfast?’ he thought. `Such costly food is

before me, and I can eat nothing!’
He looked across the table at Marygold. She was eating happily,

her tears forgotten. She looked up, saw that something was wrong, and
came around to comfort her father.
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`What is wrong, father?’ she asked.
Midas bent down and kissed his little daughter.
Then - what a terrible change came over Marygold! Her sweet

little face turned to yellow gold, her lovely hair became gold metal,
her little body hardened into a figure of solid gold. What had he done?
This story would be too sad for us all if we lingered for too long
on this terrible sight. King Midas could not bear to look at Marygold; yet
he could not leave her side. He felt so sad and sorrowful that he
wished he was the poorest man in all the world, if only his beloved
daughter could be herself again.
In despair, Midas looked about him. Suddenly he saw the

stranger that had visited him the day before.
`Well Midas’, said the stranger. `How do you like having the Golden
Touch?’
Ì have lost everything I really loved’, said King Midas. I am full of

sorrow and regret. Gold is of no use to me now’.
`So you have learnt something since yesterday?” asked the

stranger. `Now which is worth more - the Golden Touch or a cup of cold
water?’
Òh, blessed water!’ exclaimed Midas, `Will I ever taste it again’.
The Golden Touch - or a piece of bread?’ the stranger said.
À piece of bread’, answered Midas, ìs worth all the gold on earth!’
`Gold-or your own little daughter?’ asked the stranger.
Òh-my child, my child!’ cried poor Midas.
Ì would not have given one hair of her head for the power to
change the whole earth into gold!’
The stranger looked seriously at King Midas.
`You are wiser than you were’, he said. `Your heart is still flesh and
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blood. You know truly that the common things of life, which are within
everyone’s reach, are more valuable than riches. Tell me, do you
want to keep the
Golden Touch?’
`No, it is hateful to me now’, said Midas, passionately.
A fly settled on the king’s nose and immediately fell to the floor,
a small scrap of gold. Midas shuddered.
`Then go down to the end of your garden’, said the stranger, ‘

and wash yourself in the water of the river there. Then bring to me of
the same water and sprinkle it over anything that you wish to change,
back again. If you do this, truly and sincerely, you can set right again
the results of your greed of gold’.
King Midas bowed his head. When he looked up again, the

stranger had vanished. The king ran at once to the river. Without
waiting to take off his clothes, he dived in. In the coolness of the
water, he felt at once that a weight had been lifted from his heart and
body.
He came out of the river. He was free of the Golden Touch! He put
out his hand and touched a wild rose on the river’s bank, and he
found with thankfulness that it remained the sweet flower. Taking up
a water pot, he quickly filled with river water and took it back to the
palace.
I expect the servants thought it very strange to see their royal

master carrying a water pot; but that water was more precious to
Midas than an ocean of gold.
The king went straight to the golden figure of little Marygold. As he

sprinkled the water on her, the rosy colour came back to her cheeks.
She began to sneeze and shake the water from her golden hair.
Òh, father! See how wet I am - and my dress was clean this
morning!’ she said.
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Marygold did not know what had happened to her, and her father
did not tell her how wrong and foolish he had been. He took her out
into the garden, where they watered the flowers together and picked
a bunch of sweetly-scented roses.
*******
1.0 Introduction:
This is an excellent story with a beautiful moral, that one should have
greediness in his life. If greediness dominates in a person, how that person
will suffer in his life, has been wonderfully presented in this story.
1.1 Summary
(A) Long ago there lived a rich man called Midas. He was a king. He had
a little daughter called Mary Gold. He loved gold very much. He did not like
anything else other than lots and lots of gold. In fact, he liked his position as
King mainly because of his golden crown. He wanted to possess more gold.
Even if he saw the golden light of the sun, he wished that it could change
everything into gold. Even the sight of flowers in the garden did not make him
happy. He wanted them to turn into gold. Even music could not make him
happy. The only music he loved was the sound of gold coins. His liking on gold
was increasing.
Midas did not want to touch anything that was not gold. He kept a
secret room under his palace and kept all his valuable gold collection. He
visited the place everyday to touch and feel his gold collections. He would
enjoy the sight of gold bars, gold cups and plates. This gave him a sense of
pleasure and pride.
Check your progress - 1
1. The story speaks of the excessive desire of Midas for health. True/False
________________________________________________________________________
2. Who was Mary Gold?
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3. What did Midas think when he saw the evening Sun?
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4. What music did he love more?
________________________________________________________________________
5. Where did he keep his store of wealth?
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(B) One day, when Midas was in his treasure room, a wonderful thing
happened. A stranger appeared before him. Midas was very much surprised to
see the man in his secret room. But he immediately guessed that the man was
no ordinary person. The Stranger looked at his gold collection and asked
about his desire to acquire more gold. Midas was so happy and expressed his
desire to become rich quickly by turning everything into gold by his very touch.
The Stranger granted the boon ‘Golden touch’ to Midas. Midas was so happy
to have such an amazing boon.
Next morning when the sunlight shone Midas got up from his sleep and
was astonished to find that the sheet on his bed where he was sleeping had
turned into gold. He became excited and touched one of the legs of his bed and
it immediately became a golden pillar. He started touching everything and they
became gold. Even his spectacles had turned into gold. Midas was so happy
and jumped with excitement as his desire to become the richest man of the
world is going to be achieved.
Check your progress -2
1. What was the boon given by the stranger?
________________________________________________________________________
2. What was the first thing that turn into gold?
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(C) King Midas went to the garden and the rose flowers had turn into
gold with his touch. His Daughter Mary Gold cried bitterly on seeing the roses
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in gold, as she liked only the natural roses. The breakfast was on the table.
When he touched the food items on the table, everything turned into gold. The
coffee pot became golden and even the coffee had become liquid gold. Midas
felt hungry and thirsty. He looked at his daughter Mary Gold who was eating
happily in front of him. He had costly food like golden fish, golden bread and
butter. But he was unable to eat. Mary Gold saw something was wrong in her
father and came near to comfort him. Midas went down and kissed Mary Gold.
At once Mary Gold turned into gold. Midas was shocked to see his only
daughter hardened into a figure of solid gold. He tried his best to get her back
to the original form but Mary Gold remained as a golden statue. Tears rolled
and wept bitterly for loosing his darling daughter.
1. List out the things that turn into gold.
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2. What was the reaction of Mary Gold?
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3. Was he happy about the things that turn into gold?
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(D) King Midas could not bear the sight of Mary Gold. He felt very sad
and sorry for his greediness and wished to become the poorest man in the
entire world, if only his beloved daughter could become normal again. At this
very thought of regret and realization, the Stranger appeared before him and
asked whether Midas was happy with the golden touch. Midas regretted for
having such a boon and wanted to lead the normal life with his daughter by
enjoying food and water like any other common man. Again the Stranger asked
whether Midas wanted to keep his golden touch. Midas refused and wanted to
lose the power of making everything into gold by his touch. Then the Stranger
asked him to bring the water from the river nearby and to sprinkle it over
anything that Midas wish to change again. Midas ran and plunged into the
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river and took a part of river water. He went straight to the golden figure of
Mary Gold and sprinkled the water on her and she became normal. Both
Midas and Mary Gold went to the garden watering the flowers, enjoying the
sweet smell of the roses. Midas finally realized that greediness will only result
in suffering and sorrow and normal life only gives
1. Why did Midas want to be the poorest man?
________________________________________________________________________
2. Which are more valuable than riches in life?
3. What did the stranger ask Midas to-do to change back again?
___________________________________________________________________
4. What is the moral of the lesson?
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1.2 Key points to be remembered:
1. King Midas is a rich man, having excessive desire for gold.
2. He wants to possess more gold.
3. He gets a boon of Golden touch from a Stranger.
4. Midas changes everything into gold by his golden touch.
5. When he kisses his daughter, she also turns into solid gold.
6. Midas is shocked and realizes his greediness
7. The Stranger makes him to realize that there are more valuable things than
any riches in life.
8. Midas changes his mind and realizes the real values in life.
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1.3 Key words:
Bunch : a group of
Precious : worth a lot of money
Regret : feeling sad
Excitement : the feeling of happiness
Vividly : clearly
Astonish : to surprise someone very much
Despair : feeling what a situation is very bad
Vanish : disappear
Treasure : huge amount of wealth
1.4 Answers to check your progress:
(A) 1. False
2. Midas little daughter
3. He wished that sunlight would change everything into gold.
4. The sound of gold coins.
5. In a secret room under his palace.
(B) 1. Golden Touch
2. The sheet of Midas bed
(C) 1. Rose flowers, the food stuffs like coffee, fish bread and butter.
2. Mary Gold came near her father to comfort him.
3. No, he was not happy, because Mary Gold had turned into
gold.
(D) 1. On seeing Mary Gold becoming solid gold, he wished to become the
poorest man in the entire world.
2. Food and water are more precious than riches in life.
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3. The Stranger asked Midas to take water from the nearby river and
to sprinkle it on anything that Midas wished change again.
4. Excessive desire will lead to misery.
1.5 Explain with reference to the context:
1. “When King Midas saw the golden light of the sun at evening, he wished it
could touch everything into real gold.”
These lines have been taken from story ‘The Golden Touch’. In this
passage Midas’ excessive desire of gold is realized. He wants the sunlight to
change everything into gold.
2. “Look father’ she cried holding out a golden rose”.
These words are spoken by Mary Gold, King Midas daughter in ‘the
Golden Touch’. As she went to the garden, she found the solid golden roses,
without sweet scent. So she complains to her father King Midas.
3. “He felt so sad and sorrowful that he wished he was the poorest man in the
entire world, if only his beloved daughter could be herself again.”
This passage is from the lesson ‘The Golden Touch’. Midas felt sad,
when he saw Mary Gold turned into gold. He regretted for his action and
wished to be the poorest man to have his daughter herself again.
1.6 Model questions:
Answer the following in 400 words
Give a brief account of the story ‘The Golden Touch.’
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Lesson-2
Prose - 2
The Selfish Giant

- Oscar Wilde
TEXT:
Every afternoon, as they were coming from school, the children used to
go and play in the Giant’s garden.
It was a large lovely garden, with soft green grass. Here and there over
the grass stood beautiful flowers like stars, and there were twelve
peach-trees that in the spring-time broke out into delicate blossoms of
pink and pearl, and in the autumn bore rich fruit. The birds sat on the
trees and sang so sweetly that the children used to stop their games in
order to listen to them. “How happy we are here!” they cried to each
other.
One day the Giant came back. He had been to visit his friend the
Cornish ogre, and had stayed with him for seven years. After the seven
years were over he had said all that he had to say, for his conversation
was limited, and he determined to return to his own castle, When he
arrived he saw the children playing in the garden,
“What are you doing here?” he cried in a very gruff voice, and the
children ran away.
“My own garden is my own garden,” said the Giant; “any one can
understand that, and I will allow nobody to play in it but myself.” So he
built a high wall all round it, and put up a notice-board.
TRESPASSERS WILL BE PROSECUTED
He was a very selfish Giant.
The poor children had now nowhere to play. They tried to play on the
road, but the road was very dusty and full of hard stones, and they did
not like it. They used to wander round the high walls when their lessons
were over, and talk about the beautiful garden inside.
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“How happy we were there!” they said to each other.
Then the spring came, and all over the country there were little
blossoms and little birds. Only in the garden of the Selfish Giant it was
still winter. The birds did not care to sing in it as there were no
children, and the trees forgot to blossom. Once a beautiful flower put its
head out from the grass, but when it saw the notice-board it was so sorry
for the children that it slipped back into the ground again, and went off
to sleep. The only people who were pleased wee the Snow and the Frost.
“Spring has forgotten this garden,” they cried, “so we will live here all
the year round.” The Snow covered up the grass with her great white
cloak, and the Frost painted all the trees silver. Then they invited the
North Wind to stay with them, and he came. He wrapped in furs, and he
roared all day about the garden, and blew the chimney-pots down. “This
is a delightful spot,” he said, “We must ask the Hail on a visit.” So the Hail
came. Every day for three hours he rattled on the roof of the castle till he
broke most of the slates, and then he ran round and round the garden as
fast as he could go. He was dressed in grey, and his breath was like ice.
“I cannot understand why the Spring is so late in coming,” said the

Selfish Giant, as he sat at the window and looked out at his cold, white
garden; “I hope there will be a change in the weather.”
But the Spring never came, not the Summer. The Autumn gave
golden fruit to every garden. But to the Giant’s garden she gave none.
“He is too selfish,” she said. So it was always winter there, and the North
Wind and the Hail, and the Frost, and the Snow danced about through the
trees.
One morning the Giant was lying awake in bed when he heard some
lovely music. It sounded so sweet to his wars that he thought it must be
the King’s musicians passing by. It was really only a little linnet singing
outside his window, but it was so long since he had heard a bird sing in his
garden that it seemed to him to be the most beautiful music in the
world. Then the Hail stopped dancing over his head, and the North Wind
ceased roaring, and a delicious perfume came to him through the open
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casement. “I believe the Spring has come at last,” said the Giant; and he
jumped out of bed and looked out. What did he see?
He saw a most wonderful sight. Through a little hole in the wall the
children had crept in, and they were sitting in the branches of the trees. In
every tree that he could see there was a little child. And the trees were so
glad to have the children back again that they had covered themselves
with blossoms, and were waving their arms gently above the children’s
heads. The birds were flying about and twittering with delight, and the
flowers were looking up through the green grass and laughing. It was a
lovely scene, only in one corner it was still winter. It was the farthest
corner of the garden, and in it was standing a little boy. He was so small
that he could not reach up to the branches of the tree, and he was
wandering all round it, crying bitterly. The poor tree was still covered
with frost and snow, and the North Wind was blowing and roaring above
it. “Climb up! Little boy,” said the Tree, and it bent its branches down as
low as it could; but the boy was too tiny.
And the Giant’s heart melted as he looked out. “How selfish I have
been!” he said; “now I know why the spring would not come here. I will put
that poor little boy on the top of the tree, and then I will knock down the
wall, and then I will knock down the wall, and my garden shall be the
children’s playground for ever and ever.” He was really very sorry for what
he had done.
So he crept downstairs and opened the front door quite softly, and
went out into the garden. But when the children saw him they were so
frightened that they all ran away, and the garden became winter again.
Only the little boy did not run, for his eyes were so full of tears that he did
not see the Giant coming. And the Giant stole up behind him and took him
gently in his hand, and put him up into the tree. And the tree broke at
once into blossom, and the birds came and sang on it, and the little boy
stretched out his two arms and flung them round the Giant’s neck, and
kissed him. And the other children when they saw that the Giant was
not wicked any longer, came running back, and with them came the
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Spring. “It is your garden now, little children,” said the Giant, and he
took a great axe and knocked down the wall. And when the people were
going to market at twelve o’clock they found the Giant playing with the
children in the most beautiful garden they head ever seen.
All day long they played, and in the evening they came to the Giant to
bid him good-bye.
“But where is your little companion?” he said: “the boy I put into the
tree.” The Giant loved him the best because he had kissed him.
“We don’t know,” answered the children: “he has gone away.”
“You must tell him to be sure and come to-morrow,” said the Giant.
But the children said that they did not know where he lived, and had
never seen him before; and the Giant felt very sad.
Every afternoon, when school was over, the children came and played
with the Giant. But the little boy whom the Giant loved was never seen
again. The Giant was very kind to all the children, yet he longed for his
first little friend, and often spoke of him. “How I would lie to see him!” he
used to say.
Years went over, and the Giant grew very old and feeble. He could
not play about any more, so he sat in a huge arm-chair, and watched the
children at their games, and admired his garden. “I have many beautiful
flowers,” he said; “but the children are the most beautiful flowers of all.”
One winter morning he looked out his window as he was dressing.

He did not hate the winter now, for he knew that it was merely the
Spring asleep, and that the flowers were resting.
Suddenly he rubbed his eyes in wonder and looked and looked. It

certainly was a marvelous sight. In the farthest corner of the garden was
a tree quite covered with lovely white blossoms. Its branches were golden,
and silver fruit hung down from them, and underneath it stood the little
boy he and loved.
Downstairs ran the Giant in great joy, and out into the garden. He
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hastened across the grass, and came near to the child. And when he
came quite close his face grew red with anger, and he said, “Who hath
dared to wound thee?” For on the palms of the child’s hands were the
prints of two nails, and the prints of two nails were on the little feet.
“Who hath dared to wound thee?” cried the Giant; “tell me, that I
may take my big sword and slay him.”
“Nay!” answered the child: “but these are the wounds of Love.”
“Who are thou?” said the Giant, and a strange awe fell on him, and
he knelt before the little child.
And the child smiled on he Giant, and said to him, “You let me play once
in you garden, to-day you shall come with me to my garden, which is
Paradise.”
And when the children ran in the afternoon, they found the Giant lying
dead under the tree, all covered with white blossoms.
2.0 Introduction:
In the tale ‘The Selfish Giant’, Oscar Wilde describes how human love has its
impact on even seasons. He also proves how the love of tender children can
change even a cold-hearted Giant into a lovable person.
2.1 Summary:
(A) In a village, the Children visited the Giant’s garden every afternoon
for playing. There was a lush green lawn, studded with stars like flowers. There
were twelve peach trees. During spring season the trees gave out blossoms of
pink and pearl. In autumn the trees were laden with sweet fruits. Birds sang
melodiously. At times, children suspended their games to listen to the songs of
the birds. The Children played happily, sang merrily and tasted the delicious
fruits of the garden.
The Giant, who is the owner of the garden returned from Cornish Ogre’s
castle, after enjoying his brief conversation for seven years. He saw children
playing in his garden and making lot of noise. He did not relish children
playing in his garden. As he was very selfish, he did not like children entering
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and playing his lush green garden and decided to stop them from entering his
garden. So he built a tall compound wall around his castle and he put up a
notice board “Trespassers will be prosecuted”. Children were shocked to see
the notice board and felt very sad that they could not play anymore. Nature
saw the selfishness of the Giant and the sorrow of the children. Nature wanted
to teach a lesson to the Giant. She withheld the spring and summer seasons
for years. As a result only winter and hail storm and autumn visited the
giant’s castle, which destroyed the beauty of the garden.
Check your progress-1:
1. Why did children like to play in the Giant’s garden?

_____________________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________
2. What steps did the Giant take to prevent the children from playing in his
garden?
_____________________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________
(B) The Giant could not understand why spring and summer had abandoned
his garden all through the year. He was in fact pained to see the white cloak of
his garden all through the year. He was puzzled and curious to know how the
trees outside his castle bloomed and bore fruits. One day, he heard a
melodious song of a bird. He looked out of his window. He saw his entire
garden smiling with bright flowers. On each tree some children were playing.
They had sneaked in through a little hole in the wall. But one poor tree was
still covered with frost and snow. It bore no flowers. A little boy was found
crying underneath. The tree lowered her branch to help him climb. But he was
too tiny to catch hold of the branch. The Giant’s heart melted as realized his
mistake. He entered the garden. On seeing the Giant, children climbed down
the trees and started running. But the little boy did not move. He could not see
him for his eyes were full of tears.
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Check your progrees-2:
1. Who had abandoned Giants garden?
_____________________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________
2. Describe the wonderful scene, which the Giant saw in his garden?
_____________________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________
(C) The Giant knelt down. He lifted the boy gently and put him on the
tree. The tree was overjoyed. White blossoms appeared immediately on the
tree. The little boy kissed the Giant. Birds returned to the garden. Children
who ran away came back, and climbed up the tree. The Giant announced that
it was their garden. He realized that nature had punished him for keeping the
children away from his garden. He took a big axe and knocked down the big
compound wall. People were really surprised to see the Giant play with their
children. Every child made it a point to play there from afternoon to evening.
1. Which incident melted the Giant’s heart?
_____________________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________
2. How did the Giant make the children realize that he not wicked one?
_____________________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________
(D) The selfish Giant looked around to see the tiny boy again but he
could not see him. He enquired the children about the little boy who kissed
him. They said that they did not know him. Everyday he longed to see the little
boy. Years rolled by. The Giant had become old and feeble. One day he saw the
little boy standing alone in the garden. The Giant was overjoyed. He climbed
down with haste and rushed to him. He was pained to see the nail marks on
his tender palms and toes. He became furious. He asked the little boy to tell
him who dared harm him. The little boy smiled and said they were marks of
21
love. He invited the Giant to his garden (i.e.) Paradise. The next morning the
Giant’s body was lying lifeless covered with sweet smelling white flowers.
Through this story we learn that God has created nature and beautiful
things and seasons for the use of all. Sheltering the bounty of nature for
personal use alone is a selfish action. The writer wants none to prevent fellow
citizens from enjoying the bounty of nature.
1. Why did the Giant love that particular boy?
_____________________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________
2. What did the Giant see on the palm and feet of the little boy?
_____________________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________
3. Who came and took the Giant to the paradise?
_____________________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________
- A selfish Giant owned a beautiful garden.
- He went away and returned after seven years.
- He drove the children away and constructed a wall around his garden.
- Nature’s reaction - spring did not visit Giant’s garden. Snow, frost and hail
stayed in his garden.
- The Giant realized his mistake - changed his mind – allowed children to play
– trees bloomed.
- The Giant grew old – saw prints of two nails in palms and feet of the child –
the child called them wounds of love – the child invited the Giant to Paradise
– the Giant understood the child was Jesus – Knelt before him.
22
2.3 Key words:
Gruff – rough
Frost – very glad
Hail – to greet or welcome
Castle – large building with deceives to withstand attack
Linnet – a small bird
Twittering – chirp of birds
Wicked – bad, immoral
Feeble – weak
Paradise – heaven
2.4 Answers for check your progress:
(A) 1. Giant’s garden was large and lovely. Birds sang melodiously. Star like
flowers bloomed everywhere.
2. Giant built a tall compound wall around the garden to prevent children
from playing in his garden.
(B) 1. Spring and summer
2. On every tree, the Giant could see a child. Each tree smiled with
flowers.
(C) 1. A little boy was not able to climb the tree. He was too small and so he
was crying. His tears melted the Giant's heart.
2. The Giant helped the little boy to climb the tree. The Giant broke the
high wall.
(D) 1. The boy kissed the Giant with so much love.
2. The Giant saw nail marks on the tender palms and feet of the small
boy.
3. God came in the form of little boy and took him to the Paradise.
23
1. “Spring has forgotten his garden” they cried, “So we will live here all the year
around”.
This passage is taken from “The selfish Giant” by Oscar Wilde. The Giant
did not allow children to play in his garden. So nature reacted strongly. Spring
and summer did not visit his garden. Snow and frost only stayed there. So
they express their happiness and would live there for ever.
2. “You let me play once in your garden, to-day. You shall come with me in my
garden, which is paradise”.
This passage is taken from “The Selfish Giant” by Oscar Wilde. The
Giant helped a little boy to climb the tree in his garden. The boy could not
be seen afterwards. Some days after, he saw the same boy in the garden.
The Giant saw nail marks on the palms and feet of the boy. Giant
understood it to be god. The boy invited him to go with him to the Paradise,
since he let the boy play in the garden.
2.6 Model questions :( 400 words)
1. Bring out the change of heart in “The Selfish Giant”.
24
Lesson- 3
Cinderella
TEXT:
Once upon a time… there lived an unhappy young girl.

Unhappy she was, for her mother was dead, her father had married
another woman, a widow with two daughters, and her stepmother didn’t
like her one little bit. All the nice things, kind thoughts and loving
touches were for her own daughters. And not just the kind thoughts
and love, but also dresses, shoes, shawls, delicious food, comfy beds, as
well as every home comfort. All this was laid on for her daughters.
But, for the poor unhappy girl, there was nothing at all. No
dresses, only her stepsisters hand-me-downs. No lovely dishes, nothing
but scraps. No nice rests and comfort. For she had to work hard all day,
and only when evening came was she allowed to sit for a while by the
fire, near the cinders. That is how she got her nickname, for everybody
called her Cinderella.
Cinderella used to spend long hours all alone talking to the

cat. The car said, “Meow”, which really meant, “Cheer up! You have
something neither of your stepsisters have and that is beauty.”
Cinderella sighed at the cat, “Oh dear, I’m so unhappy!”

and the cat murmured “Meow”.
Suddenly something amazing happened. In the kitchen,

where Cinderella was sitting all by herself, there was a burst of light
and a fairy appeared. “Don’t be alarmed, Cinderella,” said the fairy. “The
wind blew me your sighs.
I know you would love to go to the ball. And so you shall!”
“How can I, dressed in rags?” Cinderella replied. “The

servants will turn me away!”
25
The fairy smiled. With a flick of her magic wand… Cinderella
found herself wearing the most beautiful dress, the loveliest ever seen in
the realm. “Now that we have settled the matter of the dress,” said the
fairy, “we’ll need to get you a coach. A real lady would never go to a ball
on foot! Quick! Get me a pumpkin!” she ordered.
“Oh of course,” said Cinderella, rushing away. Then the fairy

turned to the cat. “You, bring me seven mice!”
“Seven mice!” said the cat. “I didn’t know fairies ate mice
too!”
“They’re not for eating, silly! Do as you are told!... and,

remember they must be alive!” Cinderella soon returned with a fine
pumpkin and the cat with seven mice he had caught in the cellar.
“Good!” exclaimed the fairy. With a flick of her magic wand… wonder of
wonders! The pumpkin turned into a sparking coach and the mice
became six white horses, while the seventh mouse turned into a
coachman, in a smart uniform and carrying a whip. Cinderella could
hardly believe her eyes.
“I shall present you at Court. You will soon see that the
Prince, in whose honour the ball is being held, will be enchanted by
your loveliness. But remember! Your must leave the ball into a
pumpkin, the horses will become mice again and the coachman will turn
back into a mouse… and you will be dressed again in rags and wearing
clogs instead of these dainty little slippers! Do you understand?”
Cinderella smiled and said, “Yes, I understand!”
When Cinderella entered the ballroom at the palace, a hush

fell. Everyone stopped in mid-sentence to admire her elegance, her
beauty and grace. “Who can that be?” people asked each other. The
two stepsisters also wondered who the newcomer was, for never in a
month of Sundays, would they ever have guessed that the beautiful girl
was really poor Cinderella who talked to the cat!
26
When the prince set eyes on Cinderella, he was struck by
her beauty. Walking over to her, he bowed deeply and asked her to
dance. And to the great disappointment of all the young ladies, he
danced with Cinderella all evening. “Who are you, fair maiden?” the
Prince kept asking her.
But Cinderella only replied: “What does it matter who I am!

You will never see me again anyway.”
“Oh, but I shall, I’m quite certain!” he replied.
Cinderella had a wonderful time at the ball… But, all of a

sudden, she heard the sound of a clock: the first stroke of midnight!
She remembered what the fairy had said, and without a word of goodbye
she slipped from the Prince’s arms and ran down the steps. As she ran
she lost one of her slippers, but not for a moment did she dream of
stopping to pick it up! If the last stroke of midnight were to sound…oh…
what a disaster that would be! Out she fled and vanished into the night.
The Prince, who was now madly in love with her, picked up her
slipper and said to his ministers, “Go and search everywhere for the girl
whose foot this slipper fits. I will never be content until I find her!” So
the ministers tried the slipper on the foot of all the girls… and on
Cinderella’s foot as well…
Surprise! The slipper fitted perfectly.
“That awful untidy girl simply cannot have been at the ball,”
snapped the stepmother.
“Tell the Prince he ought to marry one of my two daughters!

Can’t you see how ugly Cinderella is! Can’t you see?” Suddenly she
broke off, far the fairy had appeared. “That’s enough!” she exclaimed,
raising her magic wand.
In a flash, Cinderella appeared in a splendid dress, shining

with youth and beauty. Her stepmother and stepsister gaped at her in
amazement, and the ministers said, “Come with us, fair maiden! The
27
Prince awaits to present you with his engagement ring!” So Cinderella
joyfully went with them, and lived happily ever after with her Prince.
And as for the cat, he just said “Meow”!
*******
3.0 Introduction:
This is a story of a girl, who was troubled and ill-treated by her step-
mother. But because of her good nature, the good angel comes to her rescue
and helps her to marry the prince of that country. This story tells us that our
good nature will get us good things only.
3.1 Summary:
(A) Cinderella was a beautiful girl. But she was unhappy.

Because her mother was dead and her father married a widow, who had
two daughters. Cinderella’s step mother was partial. She treated her own
daughters in the nicest way. But she ill-treated Cinderella. She gave all
comforts to her daughters and Cinderella was not given anything good.
Only the used things like dresses, shoes were given to Cinderella. She was
not even given with good food, but only the leftovers. Moreover, she was
allowed to sit near the cinders only for a while. That’s why she got the name
Cinderella. Cinderella had no companion except a cat. She would be talking
to the cat and the cat mewed in reply. She was more or less treated as an
unpaid servant of the house. Cinderella wept many a time secretly and
regretted for her pathetic situation. She wished to live happily but there
was no way for that.
Check your progress 1:
1. What sort of a woman did Cinderella’s father marry after the

death of her mother?
_______________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________
28
2. How did the stepmother treat Cinderella?
_______________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________
3. How did Cinderella come to be called by that name?
_______________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________
(B) One day, when Cinderella was sitting near the cinder in the
kitchen, a wondrous thing happened. A fairy appeared before her.
Cinderella was shocked and surprised to see the fairy. But the fairly
consoled her and told her not to worry. The fairy assured Cinderella that
problems would soon bee solved. Further, the fairy asked Cinderella to
go to the ball arranged by the Prince of that country. Cinderella
wondered how she could go to the ball in her poor condition. With the
magic wand, the fairy made Cinderella to wear the most beautiful dress.
Cinderella looked very beautiful and then the fairy asked for a pumpkin
and seven mice alive. With the magic wand she changed the pumpkin
into beautiful coach and seven mice into six white horses and a
coachman. And the fairy put one condition that Cinderella should
return from the ball before the clock struck twelve, because, after twelve
o’clock, the coach, horses and the coachman would return to their
original form. Cinderella could not believe her eyes. And the fairy left her
at the court. When Cinderella entered the ballroom at the palace,
everybody was surprised to see the beauty of Cinderella. The two
stepsisters also wondered at the beauty of Cinderella. But nobody knew
that the beautiful girl was really Cinderella, as she was a having a new
appearance with the rich and beautiful dress.
1. Who appeared before her?
_______________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________
29
2. What was the condition laid down before her?
_______________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________
3. Did the step sisters recognize Cinderella?
_______________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________
(C) The Prince was struck by the beauty of Cinderella. He

admired her beauty and danced with her. And he wanted to know who
Cinderella was. But Cinderella replied that he would never see her again.
But the Prince was certain that he would find her. Cinderella enjoyed the
ball. Suddenly, she heard the sound of a clock striking twelve. She
remembered the condition the fairy had told her. And without even a word
she hurried from the ballroom. As she ran she lost one of her slippers and
she could not return to search for the missing sipper. The Prince, who was
madly in love with her, found the slipper missed by Cinderella and picked
it.
The Prince was so keen in finding who the beautiful girl was
and decided to marry her. He ordered his ministers to search for the foot
that the slipper fits. The ministers tried the slipper on the foot of all the
girls. At last the slipper fitted perfectly to Cinderella. The stepmother was
not ready to believe and shouted that Cinderella could not have been at the
ball. Suddenly the fairy appeared and changed Cinderella into a beautiful
girl. The stepmother and step sisters were greatly surprised. Then the
ministers took Cinderella to the Prince who married her. After that they
lived happily forever.
1. How did the Prince react to Cinderella’s beauty?
_______________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________
30
2. How did the Prince identify Cinderella at the end?
_______________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________
-Cinderella is a beautiful girl.
-Her stepmother ill-treats her.

-One day a fairy appears and makes her beautiful.
-Cinderella goes to the ball with one condition that she should return
before midnight.
-Otherwise the coach, horses and the coachman will return to their
original form.
-The clock strikes twelve and Cinderella hurries to return. In a hurry,
she misses one of her slippers.
-The Prince sends his ministers to find out the girl.
-The slipper fits perfectly to Cinderella.
-The stepmother is not ready to believe.
-The fairy appears and Cinderella becomes beautiful.
-Cinderella marries the Prince and they live happily forever.
3.3 Key words:
Grates – the bars and frame which hold the coal, wood etc.
Attic – the part of the house just below the roof
Ball – a large formal occasion for dancing
Trimmings – ornamental patterns
Brocade – ornamental cloths
Tiara – a piece of Jewell that looks like a small crown
Coiffeur – hair dresser
Awry – not in the correct position or shape
31
A) 1. Cinderella’s father married a widow with two daughters.
2. The Step-mother treated Cinderella partially.
3. Cinderella would be sitting near the cinder. So she came to be called

Cinderella.
B) 1. A fairy appeared before her.
2. Cinderella should return from the ball before 12o’clock.
3. No, they did not recognize Cinderella.
c) 1. The Prince was very much attracted by her and he fell in love with
her terribly
2. The Prince identified Cinderella with the help of the slipper missed
by her in the ball.
3.5 Explain with reference to context:-
1. “…..that is how she got her nickname, for everybody called

Cinderella”
This passage is from the lesson ‘Cinderella’. Cinderella was a

beautiful girl. She was motherless and her stepmother ill-treated her.
She was not given good food and clothes. She worked hard all day. In
the evenings, she was allowed to sit near the cinders. That’s why she got
the name Cinderella.
2. “Who can that be?” people asked each other.
This passage is taken from the lesson “Cinderella”. Cinderella

was a beautiful girl. She was motherless and her stepmother ill-treated
her. A fairy appeared before her and changed her into a beautiful girl.
She attended dance party arranged by the Prince. In the party
everybody admired her beauty.
3.6 Model question (400 words)
Narrate the story of Cinderella.
32
Lesson-4
Prose - 4
LALAJEE
- Jim Corbett
Text:
The passenger steamer was late in arriving from Samaria hat. I was standing
on the landing stage, watching the passengers disembark and hurry up
the ramp to the broad gauge train, which I had arranged to detain a few
minutes for them. Last to leave the steamer was a thin man with eyes
sunk deep in their sockets, wearing a patched suit which in the days of
long ago had been white, and carrying a small bundle tied up in a
coloured handkerchief. By clutching the handrail of the gangway for
support, he managed to gain the landing stage, but he turned off at the
ramp, walked with slow and feeble steps to the edge of the river, and was
violently and repeatedly sick. Having stooped to wash his face, he opened
his bundle, took from it a sheet, spread it on the bank, and lay down with
the Ganges water lapping the soles of his feet. Evidently he had no
intention of catching the train, for when the warning bell rang and the
engine whistled, he made no movement. He was lying on his back, and
when I told him he had missed his train he opened his sunken eyes to look
up at me and said, ‘I have no need of trains, Sahib, for I am dying.
It was the mango season, the hottest time of the year, when cholera is
always at its worst. When the man passed me at the foot of the gangway
I suspected he was suffering from cholera, and my suspicions were
confirmed when I saw him being violently sick. In reply to my questions the
man said he was travelling alone, and had no friends at Mokameh Ghat,
So I helped him to his feet and led him the two hundred yards that
separated my bungalow from the Ganges. Then I made him comfortable in
my punkah coolie’s house, which was empty, and detached from the
servant’s quarters.
33
I had been at Mokameh Ghat ten years, employing a large labour force.
Some of the people lived under my supervision in houses provided by me,
and the balance lived in surrounding villages. I had seen enough of cholera
among my own people and also among the villagers to make me pray that
if I ever contracted the hateful and foul disease some Good Samaritan
would take pity on me and put a bullet through my head, or give me an
overdose of opium.
Few will agree with me that of the tens of thousands of people reported as
having died of cholera each year at least half die not of cholera but of
fear.
We who lives in India, as distinct from those who visit the country for
a longer or shorter period, are fatalists, believing that a man cannot die
before his allotted time. This, however, does not mean that we are
indifferent to epidemic disease. Cholera is dreaded throughout the land,
and when it comes in epidemic form as many die of stark fear as die of the
actual disease.
There was no question that the man in my Punkah coolie’s house was
suffering from a bad attack of cholera and if he was to survive, his faith
and my crude treatment alone would pull him through; for the only
medical aid within miles was a brute of a doctor, as callous as he was
inefficient, and whose fat oily throat I am convinced I should have one day
had the pleasure of cutting had not a young probationer clerk, who had
been sent to me to train, found a less messy way of removing this medico
who was hated by the whole staff.
I could not spare much time to nurse the thin man for I already had three
cholera patients on my hands. From my servants I could expect no help,
for they were of a different caste to the sufferer, there was no
justification for exposing them to the risk of infection. However this did not
matter, provided I could instill sufficient confidence into the man that my
treatment; was going to make him well. To this end I made it clear of
cremating him, but to make him well, and that it was only with his
cooperation that this could be effected. That first night I feared that in
34
spite of our joint efforts he would die, but towards morning he rallied
and from then on his condition continued to improve and all the
remained to be done was to build up his strength which cholera drains out
of the human body more quickly than any there disease.
At the end of a week he was able to give me his story.
He was a Lala, a merchant, and at one time possessed a flourishing grain

business; then he made the mistake of taking, as partner a man about
whom he knew nothing. For a few years the business prospered and all
went well, but one day when he returned from a long journey he found the
shop empty, and his partner gone. The little money in his possession was
only sufficient to meet his personal debts, and bereft of credit he had to
seek employment. This he found with a merchant with whom he had
traded, and for ten years he had worked on seven rupees a month, which
was only sufficient to support himself and his son-his wife having died
shortly after his partner robbed him. He was on his way from Muzaf-
farpur to Gaya, on his master’s business, when he was taken ill in the
train. As he got worse on board the ferry steamer, he had crawled ashore to
die on the banks of the sacred Ganges.
Lalajee- I never knew him by any other name- stayed with me for about a
month, and then one day, he requested permission to continue his journey
to Gaya. The request was made as we were walking through the sheds,
for Lalajee was strong enough now to accompany me for a short distance
each morning when I set out for work and when I asked him what he would
do if on arrival at Gaya he found his master had filled his place, he said he
would try to find other employment, ‘Why not try to get someone to help
you to be a merchant again?’
I asked and he replied: ‘The thought of being a merchant once again, and
able to educate my son, is with me night and day, Sahib, but there is no
one in all the world who would trust me a servant on seven rupees a
month and without any security to offer, with the five hundred rupees I
should need to give me a new start’.
35
The train for Gaya left at 8.00p.m and when that evening I returned to the
bungalow a little before that hour, I found Lalajee with freshly washed
clothes, and a bundle in his hand a little bigger than the in he had
arrived with, waiting in the veranda to say goodbye to me. When I put a
ticket for Gaya and five one-hundred rupee notes into his hand he,
like the man with the coal grimed face, was tongue-tied. All he could do
was to keep glancing from the notes in his hand to my face, until the bell
that warned passengers the train would leave in five minutes rang; the ,
putting his head on my feet, he said; ‘within one year your slave will
return you this money’.
And so Lalajee left me, taking with him the greater part of my savings.
That I would see him again I never doubted, for the poor of India never
forget a kindness; but the promise Lalajee has made was, I felt sure,
beyond his powers of ccomplishment. In this I was wrong, for returning late
one evening I saw a man dressed in spotless white standing un my
veranda. The light from the room behind him was in my eyes, and I did
not recognize him until he spoke. It was Lalajee, come a few days before
the expiry of the time limit he had set himself. That night as he sat on the
floor near my chair he told me of his trading transactions, and the success
that had attended them. Starting with a few bags of grain and being content
with a profit of only four annas per bag he had gradually, and steadily, built
up his business until he was able to deal in consignments up to thirty tons
in weight, on which he was making a profit of three rupees per ton. His son
was in a good school, as he could now afford to keep a wife he had
married the daughter of a rich merchant of Patna; all this he had
accomplished in a little under twelve months. As the time drew near for
his train to leave he laid five one-hundred rupee notes on my knee. Then,
he took a bag from his pocket, held it out to me and said, ‘This is the
interest, calculated at twenty-five per cent, that I owe you on the money
you lent me. I believe I deprived him of half the pleasure he had
anticipated from his visit when I told him it was not our custom to
accept interest from our friends.
@@@@@@@@@
36
4.0 Introduction:
A) Lieu Colonel Jim Corbett was serving as an Official for twenty years
in Indian railways. Jim Corbett is a well known writer portraying the Indian
culture, tradition and especially the Indian forests. The present lesson is
taken from his book, ‘My India’, where he portrays a man who kept his
promise and sincerity.
4.1 Summary:
Jim Corbett was serving as an official in Indian Railways. Only with his
clearance the trains leave the station. Usually Corbett waits for the passengers
from the steamers to alight the train, in order to help the passengers. One
day, a Streamer from Samaria carrying passengers had arrived late. The
passengers hurried up to catch the train, which was detained by Corbett for
few minutes. Corbett was watching everyone leaving the steamer. Last to leave
the steamer was a thin man, in a tattered condition and with the very look any
one can say that he is suffering form some disease, may be affected by
Cholera, a dreaded disease. He was too weak to walk. He walked slowly to the
edge of the river and spread the blanket on the bank of the river Ganges. He
laid himself on it. Corbett cautioned him that he would miss the train. The
thin man answered feebly that he had no intention to catch the train.
It was summer season, the hottest time of the year, where Cholera hits
always at its worst. Corbett understood that the thin man at the foot of the
gangway was terribly sick. He took pity on him. He enquired the thin man to
know, whether he has any relatives or friends in that place. Since no one was
there in Mokameh Ghats to help him, Corbett decided to help him and cure his
disease. He helped the thin man to get up. He made the thin man to stay in
one of his coolie’s house, which was empty and away from other quarters and
provided him all possible help, including food and medicine.
Check your progress – 1
1. What was Jim Corbett?
________________________________________________________________________
37
2. Where did Corbett meet Lalajee and what was his condition?
_____________________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________
(B) Cholera hits every year during summer. This worst disease killed
tens and thousands of people. But half of them died, not due to Cholera but of
fear. Since Corbett had been living in Mokameh Ghats for ten years, he
witnessed the dangers of the epidemic disease. Corbett thought that the thin
man could be saved only by some crude treatment and fate. And this
treatment could always be carried out on the thin man, only if he had the
confidence in Corbett. Surprisingly the thin man started showing some signs of
Improvement and was responding to the crude treatment. Corbett did
everything to the thin man, as other servants belonging to different community
refused to come near the thin man. The thin man’s condition improved at the
end of the week and he was able to give his pathetic story to Corbett.
Check your progress 2
1. What kind of disease was Cholera?
__________________________________________________________________
2. What was the hope of Corbett in the thin man?
_________________________________________________________________
(C) He was Lalajee, a flourishing grain merchant. Unluckily he had a

crooked fellow as his partner. Initially the business flourished with much
profit. But one day, when Lala returned home from another town, he found
that his partner has taken away all the money and shop was empty. Lalaji
understood that he has been cheated by his partner. As a result he became
poor all at once and struggled to maintain his family. Then he managed to get
a job on seven rupees a month. This was a very difficult job and found it
difficult to manage the family with the ordinary salary he received. It was
during one of his business trips, Lalaji was taken ill seriously. As his
condition got worse, he wanted to die on the banks of the sacred Ganges.
38
1. How did Lalajee become poor?
_____________________________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________
2. Why did Lalajee come to Mokameh Ghat?
_____________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________
(D) Lalajee stayed with Corbett for about a month. One day, he
expressed his desire to go back to Gaya. Corbett asked him what he would do
at Gaya, if Lalajee’s master had appointed another man in his place. Lalajee
replied that he would find some other job. Corbett asked Lalajee to become a
merchant again for which he replied that no one would offer security for five
hundred rupees, if he had to start the business again. Lalajee got ready to go
to Gaya. Corbett gave him the train ticket for Gaya and also five hundred
rupees. Lalajee was tongue-tied and putting his head on Corbett’s feet, he
promised to return the money within a year.
1. What did Lalajee do when Corbett gave him five hundred rupees?
__________________________________________________________________
2. What promise did Lalajee give to Corbett?
___________________________________________________________________
(E) Jim Corbett had given him the greater part of his savings. He
thought that he would not see Lalajee again but he was sure that he would not
be in a position to keep his promise. But Corbett was wrong in his opinion.
Because Lalajee came to see Corbett a few days before the expiry of the time
limit. Lalajee explained about his business and the profits out of it. And he
returned the five hundred rupees. Also he took a bag containing interest
money for the five hundred rupees. Corbett refused to accept the interest,
since it was not his custom to accept interest from friends. Lalajee offered his
39
help to Corbett on any occasion. For nearly eleven years, till Corbett left
Mokameh Ghat, Lalajee sent a big basket of the choicest mangoes from his
garden, as a mark of gratitude to Corbett and also to prove his continuous
success in business.
1. Did Lalajee keep up his promise?
_____________________________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________
2. Why did Lalajee send Mangoes every year?
_____________________________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________
3. If you were Lalajee what would you have done?
_____________________________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________
1. Jim Corbett saved a man called Lalajee from a dreadful disease called
Cholera
2. Lalajee was a grain merchant
3. He was cheated by his partner. So he became poor.
4. No one was ready to help him.
5. Corbett gave him five hundred rupees to start his business again.
6. Lalajee promised to return the money back in a year.
7. Corbett was not sure of Lalajee’s promise. But to his surprise Lalajee
returned his money along with the interest. Corbett didn’t accept the
interest.
8. And then, Corbett received a basket full of choicest mangoes from Lalajee till
he left the place Mokameh Ghat.
40
4.3 Keywords
Landing stage : platform on which passengers and goods are landed.
Disembark : Got down from ship or boat
Ramp : stopping way from one level to another such as the one
in a hospital
Gangway : movable bridge connecting the ship side to the land
Good Samaritan : a person who helps others in distress. This expression
is from the Bible.
Fatalists : A fatalists is one who believes that events are decided
by fate.
Rallied : recovered health, strength
Bereft of credit : unable to speak

1. i) Corbett was an official in Indian Railways.
ii) Corbett met Lalajee in the seamen and he was terribly affected by
Cholera
2. i) A deadly disease
ii) Crude treatment and fate
3. i) Lalajee’s partner cheated and robbed the money. So Lalajee became
poor.
ii) He wanted to die on the banks of the River Holy Ganges. So he came
to Mokameh Ghat.
4. i) Lalajee was stunned and tongue-tied.
ii) Lalajee promised Corbett that he would return the money within one
year.
5. i) yes: Lalajee kept his promise by coming before the expiry of the time
limit.
ii) As a token of love, Lalajee sent mangoes every year till Corbett left
Mokameh Ghat.
iii) _____________________________________________(Free completion)
41
4.5 Explain with reference to context:
“So I helped him to his feet and led him the two hundred yards that separated
my bungalow from the Ganges”
This passage is taken from the lesion ‘Lalajee’ by Jim Corbett. On

seeing the poor health condition of Lalajee, affected by Cholera. Corbett
helped him and made him to stay in one of his coolie’s house.
2. “Why not try to get someone to help to a merchant again?”
This passage is taken from the lesion, ‘Lalajee’ by Jim Corbett. And
these words are spoken by Corbett. When Lalajee wanted to go back to
Gaya, Corbett asked him whether he could get, help from anyone to
become a merchant again.
3. “Until I left Mokameh Ghat, every year a big basket of choicest mango’s
from Lalajee’s garden.”
This passage is taken from the lesson, ‘Lalajee’ by Jim Corbett.

Lalajee as a taken of love and affection sent a big basket of Choicest
mango’s from his garden. Because of Corbett’s timely help, he attained
his ambition in becoming a successful merchant again.
4.6 Model questions:
Narrate the story of Lalajee in your own words.
42
Lesson- 5
Prose - 5
Face of Judas Iscariot

- Bonnie Chamberlain
TEXT:
An old priest told me this story when I was very young. I have since
wondered many times where it came from. No one has been able to tell
me.
Centuries ago a great artist was engaged to paint a mural for the
cathedral in a Sicilian town. The subject was the life of Christ. Fr many
years the artist laboured diligently, and finally the painting was finished
except for the two most important figures: the Christ Child and Judas
Iscariot. He searched far and wide for models for those two figures.
One day while walking in an old part of the city he came upon some
children playing in the street. Among them was a 12 year old boy whose
face stirred the painter’s heart. It was the face of an angel-a very dirty one,
perhaps, but the face he needed.
The artist took the child home with him, and day after day the
boy sat patiently until the face of the Christ Child was finished.
But the painter still found no one to serve as model for the
portrait of Judas. For years, haunted by the fear that his masterpiece
would remain unfinished, he continued his search.
The story of the unfinished masterpiece spread afar, and many

men, fancying themselves of wicked countenance, offered to pose as models
for the face of Judas. But in vain the old painter looked for a face that would
serve to show Judas as he had envisioned him-a man warped by life,
enfeebled by surrender to greed and lust.
They one afternoon as he sat in the tavern over his daily glass of
wine, a gaunt and tattered figure staggered across the threshold and fell
upon the floor, ‘Wine, wine,’ he begged. The painter lifted him up, and
43
looked into a face that startled him. It seemed to bear the marks of every
sin of mankind.
Greatly excited, the old painter helped the profligate to his feet.
‘Come with me,’ he said, ‘and I will give you wine, and food and
clothing.’ Here at last was the model for Judas. For many days and part
of many nights the painter worked feverishly to complete his masterpiece.
As the work went on a change came over the model. A strange

tension replaced the stuporus languor, and his bloodshot eyes were fixed
with horror on the painted likeness of himself.
One day, perceiving his subject’s agitation, the painter paused in his
work.
‘My son, I’d like to help you’, he said. ‘What troubles you so?’
The model sobbed and buried his face in his hands. After a long
moment he lifted pleading eyes to the old painter’s face.
‘Do you not then remember me? Years ago I was your model for the
Christ Child.’
5.0 Introduction:
Bonnie Chamberlain heard this story told by an old priest when he was very
young. But he did not know the origin of the story. This story tells us that
good and bad present in the same man and it is in the hands of an individual
to project himself in the way he wanted.
5.1 Summary:
(A) Centuries ago a great artist was engaged to paint the life of Jesus
Christ for the Cathedral in a town in Sicily. The artist worked very hard and
meticulously and found suitable models for his painting. The artist finally
finished the painting. But it was incomplete, as he was not able to find out
suitable models for the Christ child and Judas Iscariot. He searched for the
models. One day, as he was walking in the City, he saw children playing in the
street. Among the children, he found a 12 year old boy as a model for the
44
Christ child. His face looked like an angel. It had all the Godly nature. The
face of the boy was dirty, but it glowed with brightness, which moved the heart
of the Artist. He took the boy home with him and finished the painting of the
child Christ. Yet the painting was incomplete, since he could not get any model
for Judas Iscariot. He was afraid that the painting would remain unfinished.
The story spread everywhere and many men came posing themselves as model
for Judas. But the painter could not find anyone suitable. . He was looking for
a model with a face filled with wickedness, greed and lust.
1. Who told the story to the writer?
_____________________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________
2. What was the theme of the painting by the artist?
_____________________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________
3. Why was the painting incomplete?
_____________________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________
4. Why did the artist choose the twelve year old boy?
_____________________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________
5. Why was the artist unhappy?
_____________________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________
(B) Many years rolled the artist was unhappy, that he could not find
anyone for Judas. He was unhappy and feared that his painting would remain
incomplete. One day the artist was sitting in the club, having his drink.
Suddenly he saw a man, a miserable drunkard, staggering across the entrance
of the club. The artist took pity on the man and lifted him, and to his utter
45
shock, the face of the man had the marks of every sin of mankind as he
expected for the face of Judas. The Painter bought him wine and took the man
to his house. The artist was very happy that he found the most suitable model
for Judas Iscariot. He completed his masterpiece. As the work went on, a
change came over the model. The artist understood the restlessness of the
model and he asked him what troubled him. The model wept and said that he
had himself posed for the Christ child in the picture.
1. What was the imagination of the artist about Judas Iscariot?
_____________________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________
2. Why was the artist shocked?
_____________________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________
3. Why did the artist give wine, food and clothing to the drunken man?
_____________________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________
4. At what speed did the painter work to finish his masterpiece?
_____________________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________
5. What was the truth that the model revealed to the artist?
_____________________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________
- This is the story of a man’s fall.
- A great artist is painting a wall painting on the life of the Christ.
- He completes the pictures except for the face of Christ child and Judas
Iscariot.
46
- At last, he gets a model for the child Christ.
- A model for Judas is missing.
- Years later he finds a drunken man suitable for the Judas.
- As the painting is in progress, the model recalls that he posed for the Christ
child
-Thus, the story takes an unexpected end.
5.3 Key words:
Mural – a large wall painting

Cathedral – a big church
Model – a person who poses for an artist, usually for payment.
Haunted – troubled constantly
Masterpiece – an artist’s best work
Countenance – face
Enfeebled – made weak
Gaunt – corrupted
Profligate – a very immoral man
(A) 1. An old priest told the story.
2. The life of Jesus Christ.
3. The painter was not able to get the models for the child Christ and Judas
Iscariot.
4. The artist chose the twelve year old boy as a model for the child Christ.
5. The artist was unhappy because he was not able to get the model for
Judas Iscariot.
(B) 1. A man warped by life, a victim of greed and lust.
2. He met man in the bar who had the marks of every sin of mankind.
3. To make the drunken man as his model for Judas Iscariot.
47
4. He worked days and nights to finish his masterpiece.
5. The model told that he had himself posed for the Christ in the picture.
5.5 Explain to reference to context:
1. “For years, haunted by the fear that his masterpiece would remain
unfinished he continued his search”.
This passage is from the lesson “The Face of Judas Iscariot” by Bonnie
Chamberlain. A great artist is painting a mural on the life of Christ child and
Judas Iscariot. He gets a twelve year old boy for the Christ child. But a model
for Judas is missing. So the artist fears that his masterpiece would remain
incomplete.
2. “Do you not then remember me? Years ago I was your model for the Christ
child”.
This passage is taken from the lesson “The Face of Judas Iscariot” by
Bonnie Chamberlain; a great artist is painting a mural on the life of the Christ.
He gets a model for the Christ child but not for Judas. After several years, he
meets a drunken man and found to be suitable for the face of Judas Iscariot.
As the painting is in progress, the model recalls that he was the model for the
Christ child.
Narrate the story “the Face of Judas Iscariot”.
48
Unit-II
POETRY
Aims and objectives :
In this unit, we have a collection of poems by famous poets. Though the

definitions of poetry are varied, at least we can have some of the
characteristics of poetry before us. Poetry is an art. It is primarily concerned
with human experiences. The experiences which a poet expresses, must have
more than a temporary or local interest, they must possess universality. They
should also arouse emotions. Wordsworth defined poetry as “emotions
recollected in tranquility”.
After reading this Unit you will be able to:
Recognize the role of nature in human life.
1. Develop a more humane feeling for fellow beings.
2. Describe your views of life.
3. Compare and contrast your views of life and poet’s.
4. Recognize the ideal behaviour of human life.
5. Realize the patriotic feelings.
6. Specify how the poets want man to have contact with God and nature.
7. State the difference between the views of the poets.
INTRODUCTION TO POEMS:
‘Lucy Gray’ by Wordsworth deals with the theme of solitude and living with
nature.
‘Matilda’ by Hillarie Belloc makes us to realize the result of a foolish

behaviour.
49
‘The Ballad of Father Gilligan’ by W.B.Yeats deals with how God helps those
who help others.
‘Laugh and be merry’ by John Masefield asks us to be happy, since life is

short.
‘An Incident of the French camp’ by Robert Browning deals with the patriotic
feelings of a soldier.
General scheme of presentation for every poem:
1.0 Introduction
1.1 Summary.
1.3 Keywords.
1.4 Answers to check your progress.
1.5 Explain with reference to context.
1.6 Model question (400 words).
50
Lesson – 6
Poem - 1
LUCY GRAY or SOLITUDE

- William Wordsworth
Text:
Oft I had heard of Lucy Gray:

And, when I crossed the wild,
I chanced to see at break of day
The solitary child.
No mate, no comrade Lucy knew;

She dwelt on a wide moor,
--The sweetest thing that ever grew
Beside a human door!
You yet may spy the fawn at play,

The hare upon the green;
But the sweet face of Lucy Gray
Will never more be seen.
"To-night will be a stormy night--

You to the town must go;
And take a lantern, Child, to light
Your mother through the snow."
"That, Father! will I gladly do:

'Tis scarcely afternoon--
The minster-clock has just struck two,
And yonder is the moon!"
51
At this the Father raised his hook,
And snapped a faggot-band;
He plied his work;--and Lucy took
The lantern in her hand.
Not blither is the mountain roe:

With many a wanton stroke
Her feet disperse the powdery snow,
That rises up like smoke.
The storm came on before its time:

She wandered up and down;
And many a hill did Lucy climb:
But never reached the town.
The wretched parents all that night

Went shouting far and wide;
But there was neither sound nor sight
To serve them for a guide.
At day-break on a hill they stood

That overlooked the moor;
And thence they saw the bridge of wood,
A furlong from their door.
They wept--and, turning homeward, cried,

"In heaven we all shall meet;"
--When in the snow the mother spied
The print of Lucy's feet.
52
Then downwards from the steep hill's edge
They tracked the footmarks small;
And through the broken hawthorn hedge,
And by the long stone-wall;
And then an open field they crossed:

The marks were still the same;
They tracked them on, nor ever lost;
And to the bridge they came.
They followed from the snowy bank

Those footmarks, one by one,
Into the middle of the plank;
And further there were none!
--Yet some maintain that to this day

She is a living child;
That you may see sweet Lucy Gray
Upon the lonesome wild.
O'er rough and smooth she trips along,

And never looks behind;
And sings a solitary song
That whistles in the wind.
-Wordsworth
6.0 Introduction:
A) William Wordsworth (1770-1850) is a very famous poet belonging to

the Romantic Age. He is a nature poet. His famous works are ‘Lucy Gray or
Solitude’ and ‘The Prelude’.
During his stay in Germany in 1798-99 Wordsworth wrote a number of

poems including Lucy poems. The Lucy poems constitute a group of poems
53
which are uniquely charming, simple and full of pathos. These poems are in
the form of ‘Lyrical Ballads’ each of which tells a story and presents it
dramatically. The Lucy poems deal with the theme of solitude. They present
Lucy as a solitary girl living in close touch with nature, away from all contact
with human society.
6.1 Summary
In the first of the ’Lucy’ poems, called Lucy Gray, Lucy is described as a
little girl, who lived a lonely life with her parents in the countryside. She seems
to be the embodiment of the spirit of Nature, growing in beauty like a flower
and dying naturally.
Wordsworth says that Lucy Gray is a little girl, living all alone. She has
two friends and no companions. Like a beautiful flower, which has flowered at
the doorstep, Lucy is also in ‘the sweetest thing’. One day, she disappeared
and she was heard no more. The sweetest face of Lucy was never seen.
Check your progress-1
1. How does Lucy lives?
_____________________________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________________
2. Why does Wordsworth call Lucy as ‘the sweetest thing’?
_____________________________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________
3. What happens to her one day?
_____________________________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________
(B) One stormy night Lucy’s father asked her to go to the town to help
her mother who had gone to the town. Further he asked her to take a lantern.
Lucy happily agreed to do so. She started walking in the snow. She found it
was very difficult to walk on the mountain and slipped on the powdery snow.
Suddenly the storm came and she wandered up and down. And she missed
54
her path and she never reached the town. Her parents were shouting and
searching for Lucy. And there was no sign of Lucy.
1. What does Lucy’s father ask?
_____________________________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________
2. Does Lucy find the way easy?
_____________________________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________
3. Does she reach the town?
_____________________________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________
(C) Lucy’s father wept bitterly and cried that they all would meet in
heaven. Her mother found footprints of Lucy in the snow. And they started
following the footprints. They traced it from the steep hill’s edge to open fields.
They found the same footprints there and followed them and they were led to a
bridge and to the banks of the river. After that they found no footprints. And
there was no sign of Lucy. Till to-day people believe that Lucy is a living child
and one could see her near the mountain. And some times one could hear
Lucy singing all alone
1. What do Lucy’s parents do?
_____________________________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________________
2. Do they find Lucy?
_____________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________
55
3. What does the poet say about Lucy?
_____________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________
- Lucy was a lonely girl. There were no friends for her.
- one day Lucy’s father asked her to go to town to guide her mother
home from the town.
- It was a storming night and Lucy missed her way.
- Next day her parents searched for her but she was not found.
-The footprints of the Lucy were found out, but not Lucy.
- Even to-day the passers see Lucy and hear the song of Lucy.
6.3 Key words:
Solitary : lonely
Comrade : friend
Moor : an open area of land and not used for farming.
Yonder : there
(A) 1. Lucy lived all alone, without friends and companies.
2. Her face looked like a beautiful flower. So he called her as ‘the

sweetest thing’.
3. She disappeared one day.
(B) 1. Lucy’s father asked her to go to the town to help her mother to come
back home safely.
2. No she found it very difficult. Since the mountain was covered with
snow
3. No she didn’t reach the town, because she missed the path.
56
(C) 1. She cried bitterly and suddenly found the footprints of Lucy on the
snow.
2. No they are not able find her.
3. The poet says that Lucy is a living child. The passers by could see
her and sometimes they could hear the song of Lucy.
1. No mate, no comrade Lucy know
She dwelt on a wide moor,
The sweetest thing that every grew
Beside a human door.
These lines are taken from ‘Lucy Gray’ by William Wordsworth. In this poem
Wordsworth describes the life of a little girl called ‘Lucy Gray’. She was a lonely
child. And there were two friends for her. And she was a like a flower that has
flowered outside the house.
2. Yet some maintain that to this day
She is living child
These lines are taken from ‘Lucy Gray’ by William Wordsworth. She was a
lonely child. On a snowy and stormy evening when she took a lantern to guide
her mother home from the town, she lost her way and was probably drowned
in the river. In the above lines, the poet Wordsworth says that the spirit of the
child lives on.
6.6 Model question (400 words):
Narrate the story of the ballad “Lucy Gray”
57
58
Lesson – 7
Poem - 2
MATILDA
WHO TOLD LIES AND WAS BURNED TO DEATH
TEXT:
Matilda told such Dreadful Lies,

It made one Gasp and Stretch one’s Eyes; Her
Aunt, who, from her Earliest Youth, Had kept a
Strict Regard for Truth, Attempted to Believe
Matilda:
The effort very nearly killed her,
And would have done so, had not She
Discovered this Infirmity.
For once, towards the Close of Day,
Matilda, growing tired of play,
And finding she was left alone, Went
tiptoe to the Telephone
And summoned the Immediate Aid Of
London’s Noble Fire-Brigade. Within an
hour the Gallant Band Were pouring in on
every hand,
From Putney, Hackney Downs, and Bow. With
Courage high and Hearts a glow, They galloped,
roaring through the Town,
‘Matilda’s House is Burning Down!’ Inspired by
British Cheers and Loud Proceeding from the
Frenzied Crowd, They ran their ladders through
a souse Of windows on the Ball Room Floor;
And took Peculiar Pains to Souse
The Pictures up and down the House, Until
Matilda’s Aunt succeeded
In showing them they were not needed; And
even then she had to pay
59
To get the Men to go away!
It happened that a few Weeks later

Her Aunt was off to the Theatre
To see that Interesting Play
The Second Mrs.Tanqueray.
She had refused to take her Niece
To hear this
Entertaining Piece: A
Deprivation Just and
Wise
To Punish her for Telling
Lies. That Night a Fire
did break out –
You should have heard Matilda Shout!
You should have heard her Scream
and Bawl, And throw the window up
and call
To People passing in the
Street— (The rapidly
increasing Hear
Encouraging her to
obtain
Their confidence) – But
all in vain! For every time she
shouted ‘Fire!’ They
only answered ‘Little Liar!’
And therefore when her Aunt
returned, Matilda, and the
House, were Burned.
- Hillarie Belloc
7.0 Introduction:
(A) This poem is by Hillarie Belloc (1870-1953). He is an essayist,

novelist, historian and a writer of light verse. This poem is a simple poem with
60
his characteristic humour. The poem tells the story of a young girl whose lies
cost her own life. “Cry Wolf” is the English idiom which means “raise false
alarms”. Like the boy in the fable who cried “wolf! Wolf!”, Matilda used to give
false alarms. So she had to suffer and even die because of having cried wolf too
often.
7.1 Summary:
Matilda, a young girl was in the habit of telling dreadful lies. Matilda
developed the habit of telling lies just for fun and to have a sensational play.
Her aunt who was greatly regarded truth could not see through the lies of
Matilda. In fact, the discipline imposed by her Aunt to be very truthful,
compelled Matilda to create lies in a convincing way. In her simplicity she took
everyone to believe in her lies. She would have lost her life if she had not
discovered Matilda’s weakness for lies. The poet says,
“MATILDA told such dreadful lies; It made one gasp, and stretch one’s
Eyes;”
(A) Check your progress:
1. What was the habit of Matilda?
_____________________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________
2. Who brought up Matilda?
_____________________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________
3. What did her Aunt try to teach Matilda?
_____________________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________
(B) One evening Matilda was playing in the street and suddenly
realized that all her playmates have left her alone and hence she became tired
of play. Seeing that she was alone, she wanted play a trick and tiptoed to the
telephone. She rang up London’s Noble Fire-Brigade and summoned its
61
immediate aid saying that her house was on fire. Within an hour the gallant
man of the Fire-Brigade arrived at her house from Putney, Hackney Downs, and
Bow. The fire brigade galloped, roared through the Town with lotsofCourage and
glowing hearts. They did not even wait to see if the house was on fire. With the
help of ladders they mounted on the first floor and began directing their water-
jets on the house. So, all the pictures in the house were soaked with water.
Matilda’s Aunt was shocked to the happenings, it took sometime for Matilda’s
aunt to realize what has happened and she had to pay some money to send
them away.
(B) Check your progress:
1. What was the lie told by Matilda?
_____________________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________
2. Briefly describe the over-enthusiasm by the Fire-Brigade.
_____________________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________
(C) A few weeks later she was alone in the house. Her aunt had been
gone to see the play “The Second Mrs. Tanqueray”, a very interesting
entertainer. She purposely did not take her niece with her on that occasion, to
give some punishment. She showed her displeasure to the liar-Matilda.
Suddenly Matilda realized that smoke was coming from her house. She went
inside to find that the house was really caught fire. Matilda without knowing
the action to be taken, madly shouted for help. But the people in the street
passed by, saying that it was another prank of the little liar. People refused to
believe the words of Matilda. They thought that it was one of the tricky lies of
Matilda. As such Matilda could not get any help from anyone. It was too late
when her aunt returned from the drama. The house had been burnt down,
and Matilda along with it. What a sad and pitiable end it was for Matilda! Lies
therefore are not to be told even for fun.
62
(C) Check your progress:
1. What was the punishment given by her aunt?
_____________________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________
2. Why did the people called Matilda as a “Little Liar”?
_____________________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________
3. What is the moral of the poem?
_____________________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________
1. It is the story of a mischievous little girl Matilda

2. She was a hopelessly bad liar
3. One day she befools the Fire-Brigade by raising the false alarm that her
house was on fire.
4 Latter, one day when the aunt was away at the theatre, the house was really
on fire.
5. She cried for help and nobody listened to her. They thought that it is one
more prank by her.
6. The house was burnt down, and Matilda along with it.
7.3 Keywords:
Stretch one’s eyes : store in wild surprise

Infirmity : weakness
On every hand : from every possible direction
Galloped : going in full speed
Frenzied : excited
Souse : to throw water on
Deprivation : loss
Bawl : cry or shout loudly
63
(A) 1. Matilda had a very bad habit of telling lies.
2. Aunt brought up Matilda.
3. Her aunt tried to teach Matilda to speak truth, but in vain.
(B) 1. She informed the Fire-Brigade that her house was on fire.
2. The Fire-Brigade men came from all the nearby stations and started
making arrangements to put out the fire. They did not even wait to see
if the house was on fire.
(C) 1. Her aunt went to the theatre, leaving Matilda at home alone as a
punishment for lying.
1) And took peculiar pains to souse

The Pictures up and down the House. Until Matilda aunt
succeeded In showing them they were not needed.
These lines are taken from the poem ‘Matilda’ by Hillarie Belloc. Belloc
describes the action of the men of London Fire-Brigade at the house of Matilda.
In their enthusiasm, they did not even see if the house was on fire. They
directed their water-jets on the house. This spoiled the picture in the house.
Matilda’s aunt had to stoop them and pointed out that their services were not
needed.
2) For every time she shouted ‘Fire’, they only answered “Little Liar”
These lines are from the poem Matilda by Hilaire Belloc. He tells the story of a
mischievous little girl who is also a bad liar meeting with a tragic end. Once,
Matilda raised a false alarm saying that her house was on fire. A few weeks
later her house was really on fire. She screamed and shouted out to the people
in the street. They passed by saying that it was another prank of the liar.
1. Narrate how Matilda’s lies cost her own life.
64
Lesson – 8
Poem- 3
The Ballad of Father Gilligan

- W.B Yeats
TEXT:
The old priest Peter Gilligan

Was weary night and day;
For half his flock were in their beds, Or
under green sods lay.
Once, while he nodded on a chair, At the

moth-hour of eve,
Another poor man sent
for him, And he began to
grieve,
‘I have no rest, nor joy, nor

peace, For people die
and die;’
And after cried he, ‘God
forgive! My body spake,
nor I !’
He knelt, and leaning on the chair

He prayed and fell asleep;
And the moth-hour went from the
fields, And stars began to peep.
They slowly into millions

grew, And leaves shook
in the wind;
65
And God covered the world with
shade, And whispered to
mankind.
Upon the time of sparrow-

chirp When the moths came
once more, The old priest
Peter Gilligan
Stoop upright on the floor.
‘Mavrone, Mavrone! the man has died

While I slept on the chair’;
He roused his horse out of its sleep, And
rode with little care.
He rode now as he never

rode, By rocky land fen;
The sick man’s wife opened the door:

‘Father ! you come again !’
‘And is the poor man dead?’ he cried.

‘He died an hour ago.’
In grief swayed to and fro.
‘When you were gone, he turned and died

As merry as a bird.’
He knelt him at that word.
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‘He who hath made the night of stars
For souls who tire and bleed,
Sent one of His great angels down
To help me in my need.
‘He who is wrapped in purple robes,

With planets in His care,
Had pity on the least of things
Asleep upon a chair.’
- William Butler Yeats
8.0 Introduction :
(A) W.B.Yeats was born near Dublin in 1865. He was educated in

London but returned to Ireland in 1880 and soon began his literary career. As
an ardent follower of Irish National Movement, he did much to assist in the
creation of a national theatre. In 1923 he was awarded the Nobel Prize for
literature. Yeats was an accomplished poet. His poetic art and his mastery of
language and rhythm grew steadily throughout his career. Yeats is regarded as
one of the chief exponents of the symbolist movement in England.
8.1 Summary:
‘The Ballad of Father Gilligan’ is an Irish poem by Yeats. It tells a plain

story beautifully, and the supernatural touch in the poem adds much more
appeal to the poem.
Father Gilligan was a parish priest. He loved his fellow men and
dedicated his life for the welfare of others. In fact, he devoted his life in the
service of his parishioners. Once, it so happened that the people of his parish
were stuck with a strange disease. No one could understand the nature of the
disease and no medicine could treat the disease. Father Gilligan tried his best
to save the lives of the people of his parish. But half of the people of his parish
died of it and the others were at the doors of death. It was a terrible time for
Gilligan. He had to nurse the sick, conduct the funerals and pray for the soul
67
of the dying. It was such a painful job, because he was bleeding in his heart for
the suffering fellow human beings. One evening Father Gilligan was sitting on
his chair utterly exhausted by the heavy call of duty. He was mentally and
physically weak. Just then there was call of a poor man in his death-bed who
was in need of the service of the Father. The father became very sad at the
tragic happenings of his parish.
(A) Check your progress:
1. Who was Father Gilligan?
_____________________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________
2. Why was it a terrible time?
_____________________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________
3. Who sent for Father Gilligan?
_____________________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________
(B) Father Gilligan complained that he had lost his rest, joy and peace.
He for a moment thought of skipping the call. But soon he begged God to
forgive him, as he realized. Though his body had become weak, his spirit was
ever willing to serve the poor. While he was thus pleading with God, he fell
asleep without his knowledge, due to heavy work and sleeplessness. When he
woke up the next morning, he was reminded of the call of the dying poor man.
He felt ashamed at his attitude. He at once mounted on his horse and rode by
a Rocky lane and continued without stopping for a breath. He was determined
to reach the sick man and do the service.
(B) Check your progress:
1. How did he react to the call of the poor man?
_____________________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________
68
2. Did he attend the poor man?
_____________________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________
3. What did he do when he woke up?
_____________________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________
(C) When he reached the house, the sick man’s wife opened the door for
him, was surprised to see him again. She told him that her husband died
merrily and peacefully an hour after he had left. She was very thankful to
Father Gilligan for helping her husband to die comfortably and happily by his
wonderful service and prayers.
Father Gilligan had at once understood the hand of God in this episode.
He knelt at once and thanked God for having sent one of His great angels as
Father Gilligan, a poor priest who lay asleep on the chair. Thus the story tells
us that God always loves those who ‘tire and bleed’ for the sake of their
fellowmen.
(C) Check your progress:
1. Why was the sick man’s wife surprised to see Father Gilligan?
_____________________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________
2. Why did the Father thank God?
_____________________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________
-Father Gilligan was an old Priest.
-His parish was attacked by an epidemic.
-He had to work day and night and was tired.
-He had no rest.
69
-A poor man sent for him. Father Gilligan felt tired and fell asleep.
-He woke up and realized his mistake.
-He went to the sick man’s house
-The sick man’s wife was surprised to see the Father again.
-Father Gilligan understood that God had helped him by sending one of
His angels as Father Gilligan.
8.3 Key words:
Flock – parishioners
Under the sod – in the grave
The moth hour of eve – the time of the day when moths come out
Twilight – the faint light after sunset and before sunrise
Millions grew – many more stares appeared in the sky
Mavrone - Irish word for ‘my dear one’
A) 1. Father Gilligan was a parish priest
2. Half of the people of his parish died of a strange disease and the
others were at the door of death.
3. The call was from a poor man who was in his death-bed
B) 1. Father Gilligan complained that he had lost his rest, joy and peace but
regretted later for saying so.
2. No. He fell asleep without his knowledge.
3. He at once mounted on his horse and rode by a Rocky lane
C) 1. The sick man’s wife was surprised to see Father Gilligan, because
Father has left their house just an hour beck.
2. He thanked God for having sent one of His great angels as Father
Gilligan
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8.5 Explain with reference to context:
1. And after, cried he, “God forgive!
My body spake, not I!”
These lines are taken from the poem ‘The Ballad of Father Gilligan’, by
W.B.Yeats. These words of Father Gilligan addressed ton God while praying to
him soon after he was sent for by a poor man in his death-bed. Father Gilligan
on hearing the call from a dying man, felt sad. He began to complain that he
had lost his rest, joy and peace as his men were dying every-day. But soon he
knelt and prayed to God to forgive him for his complaint. He told God that only
his exhausted body grumbled and not his spit. His spirit was ever willing to
serve.
2. “He who hath made the night of stars,
For souls, who tire and bleed,
Sent one of his great angels down
To help me in my need.”
These lines are taken from the poem ‘The Ballad of Father Gilligan’, by
W.B.Yeats. Father Gilligan I touched by the mercy shown to him by God. God
has created the universe for the sake of the good souls who tire and bleed in
the service of the poor. He has sent one of His angels down to help him when
he was utterly tired and unable to perform the duty to the poor man in his
death-bed.
Explain how God came to the rescue of Father Gilligan.
71
72
Lesson – 9
Poem - 4
LAUGH AND BE MERRY

- John Masefield
TEXT:
Laugh and be merry, remember, better the world with a song, Better the
world with a blow in the teeth of a wrong.
Laugh, for the time is brief, a thread the length of a span.
Laugh, and be proud to belong to the old proud pageant of man.
Laugh and be merry: remember, in olden time,

God made Heaven and Earth for joy He took in a rhyme,
Made them and filled them full with the strong red wine of His mirth, The
splendid joy of the stars; the joy of the earth.
So we must laugh and drink from the deep blue cup of the sky, Join the
jubilant song of the great stars sweeping by,
Laugh, and battle, and work, and drink of the wine outpoured
In the dear green earth, the sign of the joy of the Lord.
Laugh and be merry together, like brothers akin, Guesting awhile in the
rooms of a beautiful inn,
Glad till the dancing stops, and the lilt of the music ends. Laugh till the
game is played; and be you merry, my friends.
- John Masefield
9.0 Introduction:
John Masefield (1878-1967) was born in Herefordshire, England. John

Masefield wrote essays, plays and books for young. His best-known works are
“Salt Water Ballads” and “Reynard the Fox”. In “Laugh and be Merry”, the poet
advocates a philosophy of joyous living and facing life as it comes. He argues
that even God has made heaven and earth for His own joy.
73
9.1 Summary:
(A) Life is miserable to most of us. The opportunities of being happy are
very less in our life. But the poet, through this wonderful poem wants us to
laugh at the worries of life. Is it possible to do so? The poet effectively answers
that it is better to fight the wrongs openly than to worry about them. This is
because human beings are going to live on this earth for a short period, which
is like the length and breath of a thread. Therefore, the poet advocates to
human being live it happily, by neglecting all the worries and troubles and find
the source of joy in everything. The poet further advocates that everyone
should be proud like men of the past, living happily and leading a contended
and happy life.
1. Why does the poet want us to be merry?
_____________________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________
2. To what does the poet compare the life of man?
_____________________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________
(B) God has created heaven and earth for us to feel happy. God has
created human beings to live happily on this earth and make this earth as
heaven. One has to remember this fact. In an inspired mood, He created the
earth and filled it with the wine of joy. So our life is full of heavenly and earthly
happiness. One has to enjoy it. So one should laugh and drink from the cup of
happiness. Stars produce heavenly music during revolution. Let us join them
and enjoy that divine music. It is our duty to keep laughing while battling or
working without worrying about the result. According to the Poet our life is
only a game and one should play it in our green earth.
74
1. With what intention God has made heaven and earth?
_____________________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________
2. Why God did create stars?
_____________________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________
(C) The poet motivates the readers to live cheerfully. He calls our
world as an inn. We are travelers only staying in it for a short period. No one
can stay in an inn for a longer period as it is not one’s own house. Hence, our
stay should end at a particular point to return to the home from where we
have come from. As such, no body is the owner of this land, except God. So,
the poet advises that let us all live like brothers. Our life is only a dance or
music and it has to stop one day. It is only a lively game. So, everyone should
play it and live by laughing and keeping himself and herself joyful.
The poet tells the truth of this earth and the very purpose of the
creation and advises the human beings to live harmoniously without any
differences
1. To what does the poet compare the earth in the last stanza?
_____________________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________
2. What are the other comparisons of life made by the poet in the last two
lines?
_____________________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________
75
3. What is your opinion about life?
_____________________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________
1. The poet presents an outlook on human sorrow and happiness.
2. The poet advices us to laugh at the worries of life.
3. Life is like the length and breath of a thread. It is only short.
4. God has created the Universe with full of joy. Our duty is to keep laughing.
Life is only a game
5. People are like travelers in an inn. It is a short stay. Enjoy it without

worrying.
(A) 1. Our life is short, like the length and breath of a thread. Therefore the
poet wants us to be merry.
2. Life of man is compared to the thread of a span.
(B) 1. God has made heaven and earth for us to feel happy
2. Stars produce a heavenly music during their revolution. So God created

stars.
(C) 1. The poet compares the earth to an inn.
2. He compares people as travelers; life to dance and life is a lively game.
3. _____________________________________________ (Free completion)
9.4 Keywords:
Blow in the teeth : against the full force
Brief : life is short
Span : distance
Pageant : procession
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Thyme : song
Mirth : joy
Jubilant : happy
Akin : similar
Lilt : raising and falling sound
Guesting awhile : blowing strong
1. “Better the world with a blow in the teeth of wrong,
Laugh, for the time is brief, a thread the length of a span”
This passage is taken from ‘Laugh and be Merry’ by John Masefield.

Masefield speaks of human sorrow and happiness. He wants us to laugh at the
worries of life. It is better to fight wrongs openly than to worry about them. Our
life is very short like the length and breath of a thread.
2. “Join the jubilant song of the great stars sweeping by
Laugh, and battle, and work sand drink of the wine out poured”
This passage is taken from ‘Laugh and be Merry’ by John Masefield. Masefield
speaks of human sorrow and happiness. One should enjoy the life and live it
happily. It is very short. God has created heaven and earth for us to feel
happy. Stars produce a heavenly music during their revolution. Let us join
them and enjoy that divine music as well as the earthly happiness.
3. “Guesting a While in the rooms of a beautiful inn
Glad till the dancing stops, and the lilt of the music ends
Laugh till the game is played, and be you merry my friends.”
This passage is taken from ‘Laugh and be Merry’ by John Masefield. Masefield
speaks of human sorrow and happiness. Our life is full of worries. So we have
77
to live it happily as it is short. The poet calls the world an inn. We are travelers
only staying in it for a short period. So, let us live like brothers. Our life is only
a dance or music. It has to stop one day. It is only a lively game. It has to be
played. So live laughing and keeping yourself merry, the poet advocates.
Bring out John Masefield’s views of life.
78
Lesson – 10
Poem – 5
AN INCIDENT OF THE FRENCH CAMP

- Robert Browning
TEXT:
You know, we French storm’d Ratisbon: A mile

or so away
On a little mound, Napoleon
Stood on our storming-day;
With neck out-thrust, you fancy how, Legs
wide, arms lock’d behind,
As if to balance the prone brow
Oppressive with its mind.
Just as perhaps he mus’d “My plans

That soar, to earth may fall,
Let once my army leader Lannes
Waver at yonder wall,”—
Out ‘twixt the battery smokes there flew
A rifer, bound on bound
Full-galloping; or bridle drew
Until he reach’d the mound.
Then off there flung in smiling joy; And

held himself erect
By just his horse’s mane, a boy: Your
hardly could suspect—
(So tight he kept his lips compress’d, Scarce
any blood came through)
You look’d twice ere you saw his breast
Was all but shot in two.
79
“Well”, cried he, “Emperor, by God’s grace
We’ve got you Ratisbon!
The Marshal’s in the market-place, And
you’ll be there anon
To see your flag-bird flap his vans
Where I, to heart’s desire,
Perched him!” The chief’s eye flashed; his plans
Soared up again like fire.
The chief’s eye flashed; but presently

Softened itself, as sheathes
A film the mother-eagle’s eye
When her bruised eaglet breathes;
“You’re wounded!” “Nay,” the soldier’s pride
Touched to the quick, he said:
“I’m killed, Sire!” And his chief
beside, Smiling the boy fell dead.
- Robert Browning
10.1 Summary:
(A) This poem is written by an English poet Robert Browning (1812-

1889). His poems breathe a cheerful optimism and they are a stirring call to
great endeavor. His style, because of the weight of his thoughts, often becomes
very interesting to read. The range of his characters and subjects are wide.
In this poem he tells the story of the self-sacrifice of a brave young

French Soldier. Napoleon, the Emperor was eagerly waiting for the news of the
French attack on Ratisbon, a city in Austria. The Soldier rode fast to meet his
Emperor with the news of victory. But he had been shot through his chest. He
was alive only to report the news and the proud part he played in putting up
their national flag in the market place of the town.
80
The French attacked the city of Ratisbon. Napoleon, the Emperor was
about a mile away. He was standing on a little mound. He was in his usual
posture of neck thrust forward, legs wide and arms tied back. He was in deep
thinking and only the sky was the limit to his ambitious plans. Yet they would
all fail if they did not succeed in the war on that particular day. He was
therefore wafting anxiously to get the message to know whether his general
Lannes would take Ratisbon that day.
1. Where was Napoleon standing?
_____________________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________
2. Why was he in deep thinking?
_____________________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________
(B) Napoleon was anxiously waiting for the news of their attack on
Ratisbon. Then a rider was seen coming out of the smoke of the battle. He
stopped just in front of the Emperor and got down. He held himself erect only
by holding on tightly to the mane of his horse. With an effort of will power he
seemed to prevent the blood flowing from his wound. He had been shot
through his chest. But the Emperor did not notice it at first. The Soldier had
brought the happiest news. He was keen on delivering it with his last breath.
1. How did the young soldier come and stand before Napoleon?
_____________________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________
2. What was the condition of the young soldier?
_____________________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________
81
(C) The Soldier told the Emperor that by the grace of God they had
taken Ratisbon city. The Marshal was in the market place. The Soldier himself
had put up the flag there. The golden eagle seemed to flap his wings and fly.
Napoleon’s anxiety was relieved. His eyes shone with hope again. But he was
surprised to see the wound of the soldier as Napoleon thought that the Soldier
was a mere messenger and asked him whether he was wounded. The young
man was hurt to hear that he had been mistaken to be only a messenger of the
news. Saying that he had been killed, he fell dead with a smile on his lips. He
was so happy to have made that great sacrifice for the sake of his Nation and
the Emperor.
1. What was the message brought by the young Soldier?
_____________________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________
2. Why was he pride hurt?
_____________________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________
-It is the story of a brave young soldier.
-Napoleon fought a battle against the Austrians.
-The Austrian’s defended bravely the town of Ratisbon.
-But Napoleon’s army captured the town in the end.
-In this poem, a young soldier comes to tell Napoleon that the town of
Ratisbon has been captured.
- Napoleon thought that the boy was a messenger
- Napoleon noticed the wound of the boy on the chest
-Napoleon asked the boy if he was wounded.
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-The boy’s pride was hurt. He said that he was not merely wounded
but killed.
-Then he fell dead smiling by the side of his Emperor.
10.3 Key words:
Mound – a small hill
Storming day – the day of their attack on Ratisbon
Bound on bound – leap after leap
Battery smoke – clouds of smoke made by the firing guns
Mane - Hair of the horse
Flung – leaped
Flag-bird – the French flag with eagle on it
Sheathes – covers
Touched to the quick – being mortally wounded
(A) 1. Napoleon was standing on a little mound.
2. Napoleon was in deep thinking. Only the sky was the limit to his
ambitious plans. He knew that all his plans would come to nothing if his
general Marshal Lannes failed to capture Ratisbon.
(B) 1. The young Soldier came galloping on his horse. He stopped just in front
of the Emperor and got down. He held himself erect before Napoleon only
by holding the horse’s mane.
2. The soldier was wounded and he was about to die.
(C) 1. The young soldier proudly said that Ratisbon was captured.
2. Napoleon thought the soldier to be only a bringer of the news. He asked

if the soldier was wounded. This hurt the pride of the young dying Soldier.
83
10.5 Explain with reference to the context:-
1. “A mile or so away,
On a little mound, Napoleon
Stood on our storming-day: “ (2-4)
This passage is from Incident of the French Camp by Robert Browning. It is
about the French attack on the German town of Ratisbon. In this passage
there is an account of where Napoleon was on that day.
2. “My plans
That soar, to earth may fall,
Let once my army leader Lannes
Waver at yonder wall” (9-12)
about the French attack on the German town of Ratisbon. In this passage
Napoleon had ambitions plan to bring the whole of Europe under his rule.
They soared high. But they would fall if his general did not take Ratisbon that
day.
3. “And, his chief beside,

Smiling the boy fell dead.” (39-40)
about the French attack on the German town of Ratisbon. In this passage, the
soldier who brought the news of victory to the Emperor had been shot through
his breast. He had proudly put up their flag in the market-place. With a smile
he died before the Emperor.
10.6 Model question (400 words):-
Narrate how the young Soldier brought the news of victory to Napoleon.
84
Unit-III
SHORT STORIES
Aims and Objectives:
A short story takes a slice of life and explores it in all its complexity. In
it we find a few characters only. Psychological intensity is the feature of a short
story. Many short stories depend on the incident and plot. A short story has a
turning point which makes us enjoyable or sad. This unit deals with three
short stories written by famous writers.
After reading this unit you will be able to:
I) Analyse the qualities that the character in the story exhibit.
II) Discuss how the title of the story suits the plot.
III) Illustrate the need for compassion and love.
IV) Analyse the human relationships in the modern age.
V) Recognize the fact that some strangers might cause a major

change in our lives.
INTRODUCTION TO SHORT STORIES:
‘A Day’s wait’ by Ernest Hemingway, an American writer, deals with a

boy whose misunderstanding leads him to a miserable condition.
‘A Tattered Blanket’ by Kamala Das an Indian writer, portrays how

modern life has broken up the joint family system.
‘The Eyes are not Here’ by Ruskin Bond, an Indian of British origin,
explores the experience of the blind, but does it with much skill and tact.
85
General Plan of Study for Every short story
1.0 Introduction
1.1 Summary
1.3 Keywords
1.5 Model questions (400 words)
86
Lesson – 11
Story -1
A DAY’S WAIT
- Ernest Hemingway
TEXT:
He came into the room to shut the windows while we were still in
bed and I saw he looked ill. He was shivering, his face was white, and
he walked slowly as though it ached to move.
‘What’s the matter, Schatz?’
‘I’ve got a headache.’
‘You better go back to bed.’
‘No. I’m all right.’
‘You go to bed. I’ll see you when I’m dressed.’
But when I came downstairs he was dressed, sitting by the fire, looking
a very sick and miserable boy of nine years. When I put my hand on his
forehead I knew he had a fever.
‘You go up to bed,’ I said, ‘you’re sick.’
‘I ’m all right,’ he said.
When the doctor came he took the boy’s temperature.
‘What is it?’ I asked him.
‘One hundred and two.’
Downstairs, the doctor let three different medicines in different

coloured capsules with instructions for giving them. One was to bring
down the fever, another a purgative,
The third to overcome an acid condition. The germs of influenza can

only exist in an acid condition, he explained. He seemed to know all about
influenza and said there was nothing to worry about if the fever did not
87
go above one hundred and four degrees. This was a light epidemic of flu
and there was no danger if you avoided pneumonia.
Back in the room I wrote the boy’s temperature down and made a note
of the time to give the various capsules.
‘Do you want me to read to you?’
‘All right. If you want to,’ said the boy. His face was very white and
there were dark areas under his eyes. He lay still in the bed seemed very
detached from what was going on.
I read aloud from Howard Pyle’s Book of Pirates; but I could see he was
not following what I was reading.
‘How do you feel, Schatz?’ I asked him.
‘Just the same, so far,’ he said.
I sat at the foot of the bed and read to myself while I waited for it to be
time to give another capsule. It would have been natural for him to go to
sleep, but then I looked up he was looking at the foot of the bed, looking
very strangely.
‘Why don’t you try to go to sleep? I’ll wake you up for the medicine.’
‘I’d rather stay awake.’
After a while he said to me, ‘You don’t have to stay in here with me,
Papa, if it bothers you.’
‘It doesn’t bother me.’
‘No, I mean you don’t have to stay if it’s going to bother you.’
I thought perhaps he was a little lightheaded and after giving him

the prescribed capsules at eleven o’clock I went out for a while.
It was a bright, cold day, the ground covered with a sleet that had frozen
so that it seemed as if all the bare trees, the bushes, the cut brush and
all the grass and the bare ground has been varnished with ice. I took the
young Irish setter for a little walk up the read and along a frozen
88
creek, but it was difficult to stand or walk on the glassy surface and
the red dog slipped and slithered and I fell twice, hard, once dropping
my gun and having it slide away over the ice.
We flushed a covey of quail under a high clay bank with overhanging

brush and I killed two as they went out of sight over the top of the bank.
Some of the covey lit in trees, but most of them scattered into brush
piles and it was necessary to jump on the ice-coated mounds of brush
several times before they would flush. Coming out while you were
poised unsteadily on the icy, springy brush they made difficult shooting
and I killed to, missed five, and started back pleased to have found a
covey close to the house and happy there were so many left to find on
another day.
At the house they said the boy had refused to let any one come into
the room.
‘You can’t come in,’ he said. ‘You mustn’t get what I have.’
I went up to him and found him in exactly the position I had left
him, white-faced, but with the tops of his cheeks flushed by the fever,
starting still, as he had stared, at the foot of the bed.
I took his temperature.
‘What is it?’
‘Something like a hundred,’ I said. It was one hundred and two and
four-tenths.
‘It was a hundred and two,’ he said.
‘Who said so?’
‘The doctor.’
‘Your temperature is all right,’ I said. ‘It’s nothing to worry about.’
‘I don’t worry,’ he said, ‘but I can’t keep from thinking.’
‘Don’t think,’ I said. ‘Just take it easy.’
89
‘I’m taking it easy,’ he said and looked straight ahead. He was
evidently holding tight onto himself about something.
‘Take this with water.’
‘Do you think it will do any good?’
‘Of course it will’.
I sat down and opened the Pirate book and commenced to read but I
could see he was not following, so I stopped.
‘About what time do you think I’m going to die?’ he asked.
‘What?’
‘About how long will it be before I die?’
‘You aren’t going to die. What’s the matter with you?’
‘Oh, yes, I am. I heard him say a hundred and two.’
He had been waiting to die all day, ever since nine o’clock in the
morning.
‘You poor Schatz,’ I said. ‘Poor old Schatz. It’s like miles and
kilometers. You aren’t going to die. That’s a different thermometer. On
that thermometer thirty-seven is normal. On this it’s ninety-eight.’
‘Are you sure?’
11.0 Introduction:
(A) Ernest Hemingway is a very famous American novelist. He was born

in Illinois, America in 1899. He began to earn his own living at the age of
sixteen working in various capacities. He served in the army during the First
World War. He was awarded Nobel Prize for literature for his novel “The old
man and the sea”. He died in 1961. Hemingway has a characteristic style
marked by short and effective sentences. “A Day’s wait” is a story where a boy
is ill, thinks he will die and prepares himself to die. It is all because he has a
wrong idea about thermometers.
90
11.1 Summary:
Schatz was a boy of nine years old. One day, when he entered the room
of his father, his father observed that he looked ill. But the Schatz said he was
all right. However his father brought the doctor. When the doctor came, he
took the Schatz’s temperature with a thermometer. Thermometer was a new
concept in that area and many had many ideas about it. The young boy was
also having strange ideas about the thermometer. After assessing the
temperature the doctor said that it was one hundred and two. He left three
different medicines. He said it was a light epidemic of flu and there was no
danger. Schatz’s father looked after him very carefully. He gave him the
medicine regularly and read aloud some interesting books. After sometime the
father left Schatz alone hoping that he would sleep well with the help of the
medicine.
1. Who said ‘one hundred and two’ and what does it mean by it?
_____________________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________
2. How old was Schatz at the time this story?
_____________________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________
(B) It was a bright cold day. The ground was covered with snow. All
the bare trees and bushes appeared as if they are painted with ice. The father
started out with a gun and his dog. Both the dog and the master went on the
road. When they tried to walk on the frozen river it slipped and both fell down.
However he managed to get up. He shook the bushes and frightened the birds.
The birds flew up. He tired to shoot some. But it was difficult because of snow.
Anyhow he killed two and came home with the hunted birds.
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1. Where did the father go and what for?
_____________________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________
2. Did he kill any animals?
_____________________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________
(C) After his return, the father asked Schatz to swallow some capsules.
The boy asked if it would do any good to improve his health. The father was
surprised at this question. The boy’s next question surprised him more. For,
the boy asked at what time he would die. The father could not answer him
immediately and was shocked to hear such strange words from his son’s
mouth. But he guessed that something should have happened that the boy is
frightened. On further talking, the father found out that the boy thought that
he would die because his temperature was one hundred and two. The boy said
that he had heard in the school, from his classmates, telling that nobody
would live with forty four degrees. And the boy told him that as he was having
102 he would definitely die.
The father understood the whole thing and laughed at the boy loudly to
dispel his fear. He then explained to him how the Fahrenheit thermometer and
the Centigrade thermometer differed like kilometers and miles. The boy
realized his mistake and all his fear was due to his misunderstanding of the
facts on thermometer. This story tells us that we should clarify anything
before come to a conclusion.
1. ‘About what time do you think I’m going to die?” why did Schatz ask this
question?
_____________________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________
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2. In what way had Schatz misunderstood boys in the school?
_____________________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________
3. What are the two kinds of thermometers?
_____________________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________
4. “It’s like miles and kilometers” what does ‘it’ refers to?
_____________________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________
-Schatz was a nine year old boy.
-He fell ill and the temperature was one hundred and two.
-He thought he was going to die
-He had heard boys telling in the school that no one could live with forty-
four degrees.
-He asked father when he would die.
-His father was puzzled and understood his belief
-He explained the difference between Fahrenheit thermometer and the

centigrade thermometer.
-The boy was relieved at last.
11.3 Key words:
Shivering – trembling
Miserable – very unhappy
Epidemic – a disease, when it becomes widespread.
Light headed – dizzy or feverish
Prescribed – advised
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Flushed – become red, blushing
Thermometer – instrument for measuring temperature
(A) 1. The doctor said “one hundred and two” and he meant the body
temperature of the boy.
2. Schatz was nine years old.
(B) 1. Father went out for hunting.
2. Yes, he killed two birds.
(C) 1. He thought he would die because his temperature was hundred and two.
2. The boys in the school told him that nobody would live with forty four
degrees.
3. Fahrenheit thermometer and the centigrade thermometer.
4. ‘It’ refers to temperature.
Why did Schatz think he was going to die and how did his father point out he
was mistaken?
94
Lesson – 12
Story - 2
Tattered Blanket
- Kamala Das
TEXT:
When he reached the house in a jeep owned by the Government of

India unexpectedly one evening, his old mother made an unsuccessful
attempt to rise from her easy-chair.
Kamalam, who had come to our house, asked in a panic-stricken voice,

just go out and see who has come.
The widowed daughter was seated on a ledge with a towel covering

her head and cold ears; and so most reluctantly she rose to walk up to
the door and peer into the darkness outside.
A stout balding man was walking towards the porch.
Gopi? She asked him in a raucous voice, what kind of a visit is this,
without writing about your coming?....
Who is it, Kamalam? asked the mother.

This is me, Mother, Gopi, said the man. I had to come to Trivandrum for
a meeting and I thought I would motor down and stay the night here.
Who is this Kamalam, who is this man, asked the mother again
nervously.
Why are you getting so disturbed, Amma, this is only Gopi, have you
forgotten your son Gopi. He is here to see you, said the widow.
- The man bent forward to touch with his cheek his mother’s
wrinkled forehead.
Amma, this is me, your son Gopi, he said gently.
Gopi, what does this mean, asked the mother. Is the boy’s school
closed?
Mother is like this, these days, said the sister. Occasionally, she
forgets everything. Her mind blanks out. But sometimes she
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remembers only too clearly. Then she asks me why you have not
written for such a long time. I tell her that you had written and that all
of you are well. You, Vimala and the children. How can I tell her that
you stopped writing a year ago? What is the use hurting mother’s
feelings?
Last year, I got a promotion, said the man. After that I have always been
on the move. I hardly get any time to read or write.
You could have asked Vimala to write letters, said his sister, or is she
as busy as yourself?
Who are you talking with, asked the old lady, who has come in a car?
Didn’t I tell you, Amma, that it is Gopi, asked the younger woman.
Gopi? Is he not in Delhi, asked the mother.
Yes, Amma, I have just come from Delhi, the man said.
The old lady lowered her voice and asked her daughter, whom has
he married?
Vimala. Don’t you remember Vimala, the Collector’s daughter, asked

the sister of the man.
I forgot the name, said the mother apologetically, has he written to us

this week, Kamalam?
Yes, his letters are regular, said the daughter.
When his letters get delayed, I feel wretched, said the old lady.
He knows it, said the daughter. That is why he writes every week.
Didn’t I tell you how it was with her, asked Kamalam turning to her
brother. But you are far away and probably don’t care...
Who is standing here, asked the mother. Who is this man who has come
by car?
This is me, your son Gopi. I came up to Trivandrum on official work

and thought that...
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Where does your mother live, asked the old lady. Is she anyone I know?
She lives close by, he said.
I can never explain things to Amma, said the sister in exasperation.
The man lifted his bag onto the ledge and opened it. It contained
two shirts, a pair of terylene trousers, some pieces of underwear, his
shaving kit and a few files.
Do you know Gopi, asked the old lady. He is in Delhi. He is a

Government official. The astrologers told me that he had framed
Kesari Yogam. That is why he gets promotions so frequently. He gets two
thousand and five hundred rupees every month. You must have surely
heard of him.
Yes, I know him, said the man.
Please tell him that I want a new blanket, said the old mother, tell
him that I cannot stand the cold in the mornings. When I catch a cold
it does not leave me for at least a fortnight. Ask him to send me a
blanket at once. A red blanket. I had one like that years ago. He had
given it to me when he came home from his college hostel in Madras
for the summer vacation. That was years ago. It got torn and
tattered. I cannot use it any longer. It is now like a fisherman’s net, it
is if no use as a blanket. I want a new red blanket.
I will tell him, said the man.
Don’t forget, reminded the old lady, the mornings are very cold. I am
afraid of catching a cold. Let me go and lie down for a few minutes. I
am tired. My back aches...
When the old lady had gone in to lie down, the man’s sister turned to
face him.
Why have you come, she asked him. It is not merely to see Amma, is
it?
My expenses have increased, the man said, now I have four children
and I can’t make both ends meet. I have to maintain my status and
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live decently. I want to sell my share of the property and carry the
money back to Delhi to put it in a fixed deposit.
You will sell your land and leave of us. Then, we shall never be able to
see you again, said the sister.
No, no, I shall come once a year to see Amma, he said. Whenever I
get a chance to come to Kerala I shall took you up.
A chance to come to Kerala, exclaimed the widow, a sob rising in

her throat. Is this not the first visit after five years? Amma is
eighty-five years old. She is not likely to live much longer. How
could you have stayed away from her for such a long time? What
kind of a son are you, anyway?
But Amma does not remember me, he said with a laugh. But did you
remember your mother, asked his sister.
He did not answer.
12.0 Introduction:
(A) Kamala Das or Madhavi Kutty as she is known to the Malayalam

literary world is a prose writer and an activist. Ende Katha (My story), her
autobiography is considered a classic of its kind. She is concerned about the
moral degradation of contemporary life. Her stories are mostly about human
relationships with some stress on the condition of women. “Tattered Blanket”
is a representative story of Kamala Das’s concern for women.
12.1 Summary:
In a village there lived an eighty five years old woman. She had a son,
working in Delhi and a widowed daughter. Her son Gopi visited her rarely. But
the widowed daughter Kamalam stayed with her and took care of her. These
two women lived without much support and help from Gopi. The old woman
was sick and due to old age she was not in her normal mental position. She
required some medical treatment in a good hospital, but such facilities were
not available and affordable.
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One evening, unexpectedly and surprisingly, Gopi, her son visited her.
The old woman was not able to recognize him and spoke to him as if he was a
stranger. Kamalam helped her mother to realize his visit, but the weak old
woman was not able to recognize. The old woman was all the time speaking
about her son and pronouncing the name of him. She was expressing her
innate love and affection on her son, who was living at Delhi. The old woman
was narrating her experiences with her son and the prattling everything to her
son without recognizing that she was talking everything to her son only.
Kamalam narrated the fading memory of their mother. And she pleaded
to her brother to show more kindness to the old woman by making frequent
visits. But he replied that he was busy with his work. The old woman went on
talking about her son, his work and his family. And she asked her daughter
whether he wrote to her regularly, otherwise, she said that she felt wretched, if
his letters got delayed. She spoke about him highly that he had Kesari Yogam,
which helped him to get quick promotions in the government job. Her son
listened to everything and was not at all moved.
1. How old was the old woman? What was her condition?
_____________________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________
2. Who helped her?
_____________________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________
3. Who visited her one day unexpectedly?
_____________________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________
4. Give an account of Gopi’s relationship with his mother.
_____________________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________
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(B) Without realizing that she was speaking to her son, the old lady
requested him to inform her son to get her a blanket. The one given by him
earlier was tattered. As the mornings were cold, she felt that she would catch
cold. This is the most important part of the story. The old lady still kept the
blanket given by her son though it was tattered. And she wanted another
blanket only through her son. Then, the old lady left the place. Then his sister
Kamalam asked him to tell the purpose of his visit. She knew very well that her
brother wouldn’t have come just to see them. He replied that he had come
there to ask for his share of property, as the life in Delhi was expensive. So he
wanted his share of property. For this the sister felt that he would not
remember them once for all, if only the property is divided. She pleaded him, to
visit once in a while at least for their mother’s sake. He replied that his mother
would not remember him. She immediately said that he did not remember her
also.
This moving story tells the affection of parents on children and also
educates the youngsters not to go after money always and show some affection
on elders.
1. What did the old woman ask for?
_____________________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________
2. What was the purpose of her son’s visit?
_____________________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________
3. Do you find any significance in the title of the story?
_____________________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________
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-This is story of an old woman
-She is a senile woman.
-Her daughter takes care of her.
-Her son, who is in Delhi, visits her rarely.
-He suddenly visits, but the mother could not recognize him
-The old women without recognizing him and asks for a blanket, since
the old blanket given by her son thirty years ago, was tattered.
-He asks for his share of property but his sister tells him that he will
forget them.
-The tattered blanket stands as a symbol for the strained relationship

which the son has towards his mother.
12.3 Key words:
Exasperation – extreme irritation
Panic – a sudden fear
Peer – to look very closely or searchingly
Raucous – loud and harsh
Reluctantly – unwillingly
Tatter – to be torn and ragged
(A) 1. The old woman was eighty-five years old. She was senile.
2. Her widowed daughter Kamalam helped her.
3. Her son Gopi visited her one day.
4. He visited her rarely and never wrote letters. He was busy with his work
in Delhi. He had strained relationship with his mother.
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(B) 1. The old woman asked for a blanket. Since the old one was in tattered
condition.
2. He had come there to ask for his share of property. So that he could
manage his family in Delhi.
3. Yes, The blanket is a useful thing, protecting us from cold. It gives us

warmth. So also a mother wraps her children with her love and affection.
Here the mother who has become senile is like a tattered blanket, which
was useful once and now is of no use.
12.5 Model question (400 words):
Narrate the story ‘The Tattered Blanket’.
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Lesson - 13
Story – 3
The Eyes Are Not There

-Ruskin Bond
TEXT:
I had the compartment to myself up to Rohana, and then a girl got in.
The couple who saw her off were probably her parents; they seemed very
anxious about her comfort, and the woman gave the girl detailed
instructions as to where to keep her things, when not to lean out of the
window, and how to avoid speaking to strangers. They said their good-byes;
the train pulled out of the station.
As I was totally blind at the time, my eyes sensitive only to light and
darkness, I was unable to tell what the girl looked like; but I knew she
wore slippers from the way the slapped against her heels. It would take me
some time to discover something about her looks, and perhaps I never
would. But I liked the sound of her voice and even the sound of her
slippers.
‘Are you going all the way to Dehra?’
I must have been sitting in a dark corner, because my voice startled her.
She gave a little exclamation and said, “I didn’t know anyone else was
here”.
Well, it often happens that people with good eyesight fail to see what is
right in front of them. They have too much to take in, I suppose.
Whereas people who cannot see (or see very little) have to take in only the
essentials, whatever registers most tellingly on their remaining senses.
I didn’t see’ you either,’ I said.’ But I heard you come in.’
I wondered if I would be able to prevent her from discovering that I was

blind. I thought; Provided I keep to my seat, it shouldn’t be too difficult.’
103
The girl said,’ I m getting down at Saharanpur. My aunt is meeting me
there.’
Then I had better not be too familiar, I said.’ Aunts are usually formidable
creatures’.
‘Where are you going?’, She asked. ‘To Dehra, and then to Mussoorie’.
‘Oh, how much lucky you are, I wish I were going to Mussoorie. I love the
hills. Especially in October’.
‘Yes, this is the best time,’ I said, calling on my memories. ‘The hills are
covered with wild dahlias, the sun is delicious, and at night you can sit
in front of a log-fire and drink a little brandy. Most of the tourists have
gone, and the roads are quiet and almost deserted. Yes, October is the
best time.’
She was silent, and I wondered if my words had touched her….,whether

she thought me a romantic fool. Then I made a mistake.
‘What is it like?’, I asked.
She seemed to find nothing strange in the question. Had she noticed already
that I could not see? But her next question removed my doubts.
‘Why don’t you look out of the window?’ she asked.
I moved easily along the berth and felt for the window-ledge. The window
was open, and I faced it, making a pretence of studying the landscape.
I heard the panting of the engine, the rumble of the wheels and, in my
mind’s eye, I could see the telegraph-posts, flashing by.
‘Have you noticed,’ I ventured,’ that the trees seem to be moving while we
seem to be standing still?’.
‘That always happens’, she said. ‘Do you see any animals?’. Hardly any
animals were left on the forests near Dehra.
I turned from the window and faced the girl and for a while we sat in
silence.
104
‘You have an interesting face’, I remarked. I was becoming quite daring,
but it was a safe remark. Few girls can resist flattery.
She laughed pleasantly, a clear, ringing laugh.
‘It’s nice to be told I have an interesting face. I’m tired of people telling me I
have a pretty face!
Oh!, so you do have a pretty face, thought I, and aloud I said: Well. An
interesting face can also be pretty.’
‘You are a very gallant young man,’ she said. ‘But why you are so serious?’
I thought then, that would try to laugh for her; but the thought of laughter
only made me feel troubled and lonely.
‘We’ll soon be at your station,’ I said.
Thank goodness it’s a short journey. I can’t bear to sit in a train for more
than two or three hours.’
Yet I was prepared to sit there for almost any length of time, just to
listen to her talking. Her voice had the sparkle of mountain stream. As
soon as she left the train she would forget our brief encounter; but it
would stay with me for the rest of the journey, and for some time after.
The engine’s whistle shrieked, the carriage wheels changed their sound
and rhythm. The girl got up and began to collect her things. I wondered if
she wore her hair in a bun, or if it was plaited, or if it hung loose over her
shoulders, or if it was cut very short.
The train drew slowly into the station. Outside, there was the shouting of
porters and vendors and high- pitched female yoke near the carriage
door which must have belonged to the girl’s aunt. ‘Good-bye,’ said the girl.
She was standing very close to me, so close that the perfume of her hair
was tantalizing. I wanted to raise my hand and touch her hair; but she
moved away, and only the perfume still lingered where she had stood.
‘You may break, you may shatter the vase if you will. But the scent of the
roses will linger there still…………’
105
There was some confusion in the doorway. A man getting into the
compartment, stammered an apology. Then the door banged shut, and
the world was shut again. I returned to my berth. The guard blew his
whistle and we moved off. Once again, I had a game to play and a new
fellow-traveler.
The train gathered speed, the wheels took up their song, the carriage
groaned and shook. I found the window and sat in front of it, staring into
the daylight that was darkness for me.
So many things were happening outside the window. It could be a fascinating

game, guessing what went on out there.
The man who had entered the compartment broke into my reverie.
You must be disappointed, he said, ‘I am sorry I’m not as attractive a

travelling companion as the one who just left’.
‘She was an interesting girl’, I said. ‘Can you tell me-did she keep her hair
long or short?’
‘I don’t remember, he said, sounding puzzled .’It was her eyes I noticed,
not her hair. She had beautiful eyes-but they were of no use to her, she
was completely blind. Didn’t you notice?’
@@@@@@@
13.0 Introduction:
The author Ruskin Bond beautifully describes the experience of a blind

man in managing to hide his blindness from others, while traveling in a train.
13.1 Summary:
(A) The narrator was a totally blind person. He was sensitive only to
light and darkness. But he is clever enough to guess the situation by the
sounds of the movements of others. Once he was travelling in a train. He was
the only one in the compartment. At the Rohana station, a girl got in and her
parents gave her elaborate instructions, as she was going alone. The narrator,
though he was not able to see her, he imagined the situation. After sometime
106
he started talking to her. The girl was at first startled but she spoke to the
narrator nicely. The narrator did not want to reveal that he was blind. He
spoke to him as if he was a man with normal eye-sight. The narrator and the
girl started discussing about the beauty of the mountains in Mussoorie. The
narrator from his memory described the beauty of mountains. The girl asked
the narrator to look outside the window to see the beauty of nature and the
narrator pretended to see the beauty. Thus, the narrator made every attempt
to appear like a man with normal eye-sight. The girl could not recognize his
blindness, but the conversation was going on so smoothly.
1. Who entered the compartment when the author was travelling to Rohana?
_____________________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________
2. Why was the writer unable to say what the girl looked like? What did he like
about her?
_____________________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________
3. What, according to the author, would prevent the girl from discovering that
he was a blind?
_____________________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________
4. Why did the girl say that the writer was lucky?
_____________________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________
(B) As they were continuing their journey, the narrator took some more
courage and praised the face of the girl. The girl took it positively and thanked
the narrator for commenting that she had an interesting face. And she also
appreciated the boldness of the narrator for making such a comment. The
narrator felt for her and wished to travel with her hearing her sweet voice. The
narrator thoroughly enjoyed her company and wished that it can continue for
107
some more time. He thought that she would forget about him as soon as she
left the train. And then the station where the girl has to get down was nearing.
The girl was getting ready to get down. The narrator imagined about her
appearance and could not make it clear. And then the girl bid him good-bye
and he could only smell the perfume of the girl. Then the girl got down. And
there was some confusion in the doorway. The narrator heard a man making
an apology, who was about to get into the compartment. The train again
started moving. The narrator was eager to know about the girl. So he started
talking to the fellow traveler and asked whether the girl kept her hair long or
short. For which he replied that he did not see the hair, but he noticed her
eyes, which were very beautiful. Further he told that the eyes were no use to
her, because she was completely blind.
In this story the author has beautifully narrated very interestingly and
emotionally the meeting and conversation of a blind man and blind girl without
revealing their blindness.
1. What did the author tell the girl about her face? What was her reaction?
_____________________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________
2. What happened when the girl was about to get off the train?
_____________________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________
3. What makes this story both enjoyable as well as bit sad?
_____________________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________
-The narrator who is blind is travelling in a train when a girl enters his
compartment.
-He thinks over what kind of person she might be.
108
-To pass the time, they began a conversation during which the speaker tries to
conceal his blindness.
-When the girl gets off the compartment a new passenger gets in.
-The narrator tries to find out more about the girl from the new passenger.
-He discovers that the girl was also blind.
13.3 Key words:
Compartment – to divide space within a larger space
Slapped against her heels – to hit or bang against the heels of the feet
Exclamation – a tone of surprise
Essential – that which is necessary and important
Register – that which remains or sticks to a surface or mind
Formidable – something that makes one feel fear or respect
Tantalizing – a feeling or sensation that you want something
(A) 1. A girl entered the compartment when the author was travelling to
Rohana.
2. The writer was totally blind. So he was unable to say what the girl looked
like. He liked her voice
3. He thought of sitting in the same place so that the girl would not find
him that he was blind.
4. When heard the writer was going to Mussoorie, she said that the writer
was lucky.
(B) 1. The author told that the girl had an interesting face. She was happy to
hear the comment.
2. When the girl was about to get off the train, a man dashed against her by
mistake.
109
3. The author to hide the fact that he was a blind without knowing the girl
who travelled along with him was also blind.
Narrate the story ‘The Eyes are not here’.
110
Unit -IV
PLAYS
Aims and objectives:
A play is like a short story. In this fast pace of living and in a world of
Science and Technology, plays, one act plays and short stories consume so
much of time. A one-act play can be completed in twenty to thirty minutes in
one sitting. It is supremely flexible and brevity is its hallmark. The playwright
concentrates on a single situation episode or a critical moment in the life of a
character, treating it in the most effective manner.
After reading this you will be able to:
I) Describe the story element of the play.

II) Demonstrate your understanding of the characters.
III) Demonstrate some of the techniques used by the playwright.
IV) Illustrate the reasons for sympathizing and appreciating the
characters.
INTRODUCTION TO ONE ACT PLAYS:
This unit has two plays. The play “The Informer” by Bertolt Brecht is
noted for its comic effects, out of a seemingly tense situation. Similarly, ‘The
Trial scene’ in the Play “The Merchant of Venice” by William Shakespeare is a
stage play of light and amusing characters with a happy conclusion.
Contents
1.0 Introduction
1.2 Let us sum up
1.3 Key words
1.5 Model question
111
112
Lesson – 14
One-Act Play – 1
THE INFORMER
-Bertolt Brecht
Text:
ONE ACT PLAY
Characters
Husband Wife Boy Maid
It is a rainy Sunday afternoon. Father, mother, and child have just finished
lunch. MAID enters.
Maid : Herr and Frau Klimbtsch want to know if you’re at

home, sir.
HUSBAND (snapping) : We’re not.
(The MAID goes out.)
WIFE : You should have gone to the phone yourself. They

know we couldn’t possibly have gone out yet.
HUSBAND : Why couldn’t we have gone out.
WIFE : Because it’s raining.
HUSBAND : That’s not a reason.
WIFE : What would we have gone out for? They’ll certainly

wonder about that now.
HUSBAND : There are plenty of places to go to.
WIFE : Then why don’t we go?
HUSBAND : Where should we go to?
WIFE : If only it weren’t raining.
113
HUSBAND : And where on earth should we go if it weren’t
raining?
WIFE : In the old days you could at least arrange to meet

somebody. (There is a pause.) It was a mistake not to
go to the phone. Now they know we don’t want them
here.
HUSBAND : What if they do?
WIFE : Why, then it means we’re dropping them just when

everybody is dropping them. I don’t like it.
HUSBAND : We’re not dropping them.
WIFE : Then why shouldn’t they come here?
HUSBAND : Because this Klimbtsch fellow bores me stiff.
WIFE : In the old days he didn’t bore you.
HUSBAND : ‘In the old days’. Don’t keep saying that. You make me
nervous.
WIFE : At any rate you wouldn’t have cut him in the old
days just because his case is being looked into by the
school inspectors,
HUSBAND : Are you suggesting I’m a coward? (There is a pause.)

All right.
Call them and say we’ve just come back because of

the rain. (The WIFE remains seated.)
WIFE : Shall we ask the Lemkes if they want to come over?
HUSBAND : So they carbtell us we’re not kee11 enough on Civil

Defence?
WIFE (to the BOY) : Klaus-Heinrich! Leave the radio alone.
(The BOY turns to the newspapers.)
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HUSBAND : It’s certainly a catastrophe to have rain today. You
just can’t live in a country where it’s a catastrophe
when it rains.
WIFE : Is it wise to throw remarks like that around?
HUSBAND : Within my own four walls I can make whatever

remarks I please. In my own home I can say what
I....
(He is interrupted. The MAW comes in with the coffee things. There
is silence while she is in the room.)
Must we have a maid whose father is Block Warden?
WIFE : I think we’ve talked about that enough. Last time

you said it had its advantages.
HUSBAND : I’ve said a lot of things. Only say something of the

sort to your mother and we’ll be in a wonderful
mess.
WIFE : What I say to my mother. ...
(The MAID ‘interrupts them again as she brings in the coffee.) Leave
it now, Emma, you can go. I’ll look after this.
MAID : Thanks very much, Madame. (She goes out.)
Boy (looking up from the paper) : Do all priests do this, Papa?
HUSBAND : What?
Boy : What it says here.
HUSBAND : What is it you’re reading? (He snatches the paper out of

his hand.)
Boy : Our Group Leader told us we could all know

what it says in this paper.
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HUSBAND : I don’t care what the Group Leader said. I decide
what you can read and what you can’t.
WIFE : Here’s ten cents, Klaus-Heinrich, go buy yourself

something.
Boy : But it’s raining. (He hangs around near the

window, undecided.)
HUSBAND : If these reports of the priest trials don’t stop, I won’t

order this paper any more .
WIFE : And which one will you subscribe to? It’s in all of
them.
HUSBAND : If all the papers carry filth like that, I’ll read none. I
couldn’t know less of What’s going on in the world?
WIFE : A house cleaning doesn’t hurt once in a while.
HUSBAND : House cleaning! That’s just politics.
WIFE : Anyway it’s no concern of .ours: we’re Lutherans.
HUSBAND : It’s not a matter of indifference for our people -if

they can’t think of a church without also thinking of
such abominations.
WIFE : Then what should they do if such things happen?
HUSBAND : What should they do? Maybe they might look to

their own affairs. It may not all be as clean as it
might be in their own Brown House, so I fear.
WIFE : But that goes to prove our people has recovered its
health, Karl.
HUSBAND : If that’s what health looks like, give me disease.
WIFE : You’re nervous today. Did anything happen at

school?
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HUSBAND : What should happen at school? And please stop
telling me I’m nervous. That’s what makes me so.
WIFE : We shouldn’t always be quarrelling, Karl. In the old

days....
HUSBAND : I was waiting for it: ‘in the old days!’ I didn’t want
my child’s mind poisoned in the old days and I
don’t want it poisoned now!
WIFE : Where is he anyway?
HUSBAND : How do I know?
WIFE : Did you see him leave?
HUSBAND : No.
WIFE : I don’t understand where he can have gone.

(Shouting.) Klaus- Heinrich! (She runs out and is heard
shouting. She returns) Well, he’s out.
HUSBAND : Why all. Earth shouldn’t he be out?
WIFE : Why, because it’s simply pouring...
HUSBAND : Why are you so nervous if the boy goes out once in
a while?
WIFE : What have you been sayi11g?
HUSBAND : What’s that got to do with it?
WIFE : You’re so uncontrolled these days.
HUSBAND : I certainly am not uncontrolled these days, but, even

if I were, what has that got to do with the boy being
out?
WIFE : Oh, you know they listen.
HUSBAND: So what?
WIFE : So what? What if he tells tales? You know what’s
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drummed in to them at the Hitler Youth. They’re
under orders to report everything. Strange he left so
quietly.
HUSBAND : Nonsense!
WIFE : Didn’t you notice it, when he’d left?
HUSBAND : He was at the window quite a while.
WIFE : I wonder what he overheard.
HUSBAND : He knows what happens to people who get

denounced.
WIFE : What of the boy the Schmulkes told about? His father
must be in the concentration camp still. If only we
know how long he was in the room.
HUSBAND : Oh, that’s all nonsense. (He goes through the other room
and shouts for the BOY)
WIFE : I can’t believe he’d just go off without saying a word.

He isn’t like that.
HUSBAND : Maybe he’s at some school friend’s.
WIFE : In that case he can only be at the Mumrnermann’s.

I’ll p hone. (She phones.)
HUSBAND : I regard the whole thing as a false alarm.
WIFE (at the phone) : This is Frau Studienrat Furcke. Good afternoon,
FrauMummermann. Is Klaus-Heinrich at your place?-
He isn’t?- Then I just can’t think where the boy
is-Tell me, Frau Mummermann, is the club room of
thy Hitler Youth open Sunday afternoon?-It is?-
Thanks, I’ll try there. (She hangs up. The couple sit in
silence.)
HUSBAND : What can he have heard after all?
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WIFE : You talked about the paper. You shouldn’t have said
that about the Brown House. He’s such a
nationalist.
HUSBAND : And what may I have said about the Brown House?
WIFE: You can hardly have forgotten: that it’s not
clean!
HUSBAND : That can’t be interpreted as an attack. To say: it’s

not clean, or rather as I more moderately put it, not
quite clean, which certainly makes a difference, a
considerable difference, why, that’s more of a
jocular observation, idiomatic and popular, one
might almost say a colloquialism. It means little
more than that probably, even there, something is
not always, and unde r all circumstances, as
the Ftihre r wishes it. I intentionally indicated
the merely probable character of my allegation by
using the expression: ‘it may not all be quite’- quite
in the mildest sense- ‘clean’. This was my
formulation of the matter. May be! Not: is! I can’t
say that anything there is not clean, there’ no proof.
But wherever there are men, there are imperfections.
I never suggested anything more than that, and that
only in the mildest form. The Ftihrer himself on a
certain occasion said much the same thing a good
deal more sharply!
WIFE : I don’t understand. You don’t have to talk this way

to me.
HUSBAND : I wish I didn’t. I’m not sure what’ you yourself say, in
the way of gossip, about the things you’ve heard
between these four walls, insignificant things,
probably only said in a moment of excitement.
Naturally I’m far from accusing you of spreading
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frivolous tales against your husband and I don’t for a
moment assumes the boy would do anything
against his father. But unfortunately there is an
important distincti0l1 between doing wrong and
knowing you do it.
WIFE : Now please stop! Watch your tongue! You said one
can’t live in Hitler Germany.
All along, I’ve been trying to remember whether you

said that before or after what you said about the
Brown House.
HUSBAND : I didn’t say it at all.
WIFE : You go on as if I were the police! What can the boy

have heard? That’s what tortures me.
HUSBAND : The expression ‘Hitler Germany’ is not in my

vocabulary.
WIFE : And about the Block Warden and about the papers
being full of lies and what you said recently about
Civil Defense-the boy hears nothing positive at all!
That certainly isn’t good for a young mind. Youth
can only be perverted by such talk. The Fuhrer
always stresses: ‘Germany’s youth is Germany’s
future’. The boy doesn’t run off and turn informer.
He isn’t made that way. I feel bad.
HUSBAND : He’s revengeful.
WIFE : What can he take revenge for?
HUSBAND : God knows. There’s always something. Maybe

because I took his green frog away from him.
WIFE : That was a week ago.
HUSBAND : He remembers.
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WIFE : Why did you take it?
HUSBAND : Because he caught no flies for it. Just let it starve.
WIFE : He really has too much to do, though.
HUSBAND : That’s not the frog’s fault!
WIFE : But he never said anything about that. And just

now I gave him ten cents. Why, he gets everything
he wants.
HUSBAND : Bribery.
WIFE : What do you mean?
HUSBAND : They’ll say we tried to bribe him to ‘keep his

mouth shut.
WIFE : What do you think they can do to you?
HUSBAND : Oh, everything. There are no limits to what they can

do. Good God! ‘Educator of the youth!’ I fear them.
To be a teacher in such circumstances!
WIFE : But there’s nothing against you.
HUSBAND : There’s something against everyone. All are

suspect. If suspicion exists, one is suspected.
Suspicion need only exist.
WIFE : A child is not a reliable witness. A child has no idea

what he’s saying.
HUSBAND : That’s your opinion. Since when have they needed a

witness for anything?
WIFE : Can’t we figure out what you must have meant

by your remarks? I mean: then it will be clear he
misunderstood.
HUSBAND : What could I have said? I can’t remember. It’s the

fault of the damned rain ... .It makes you
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disgruntled. After all 1’d be the last to say anything
against the spiritual revival the German people have
experienced! I saw it coining in 1932.
WIFE : Karl, we haven’t time to talk. We must straighten

everything out at once. We haven’t a moment to lose.
HUSBAND : I can’t think it of Klaus-Heinrich.
WIFE : Now first this matter of the Brown House and

the filth.
HUSBAND : said nothing about filth.
WIFE : You said the paper is full of filth and you intend to
cancel you subscription.
HUSBAND : Yes, the paper, not the Brown House,
WIFE : Mightn’t you have said you disapprove of such

filth in the churches? And you think it’s quite
possible the very men no”” on trial invented the
atrocity stories about the Brown House and they
said that it wasn’t clean? Therefore, they should
have looked to their own affairs? Above all, you told
the boy to leave the radio and read the paper
instead because you take the stand that youth in the
Third Reich should note with open eyes what is going
on?
HUSBAND : All this wouldn’t help in the least.
WIFE : Karl, don’t let your courage fail you. You must be
strong, as the Fuhrer always.
HUSBAND : I can’t stand in the dock with my own flesh and

blood in the witness stand giving evidence against
me!
WIFE : You mustn’t take it this way.
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HUSBAND : It is unpardonably careless to have anything ‘to do-
with the Klimbtsches!
WIFE : Why? Nothing’s happened to him yet.
HUSBAND : But an investigation is pending.
WIFE : An investigation is pending for a lot of people.

What would happen if they were all in despair?
HUSBAND : Do you think the Block Wardyn has ‘anything against

us?
WIFE : You mean if inquiries are made? He ‘got a box of

cigarettes on his birthday and a splendid tip at New
Year’s.
HUSBAND : The Gauffs next door gave fifteen marks!
WIFE : They read Vonvarts as late as ’32 and in May ’33 they
put out the black-white-and- red flag. (The Telephone
rings.)
HUSBAND : The telephone!
WIFE : Shall I go?
HUSBAND : I don’t know.
WIFE : Who can it be?
HUSBAND : Wait a while. If it rings again, you can answer it.

(They wait. It does not ring again.) This isn’t living.
WIFE : Karl!
HUSBAND : You borne me a Judas. He sits at the table

listening while he drinks the soup we place before
him! He commits to memory the conversation of his
own parents! He’s an informer!
WIFE : You mustn’t say that! (There is a pause.) Do you think

we should make preparations?
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HUSBAND : Do you think they’ll come with him now?
WIFE : It’s quite impossible.
HUSBAND : Maybe I should put on my lion Cross?
WIFE : By all means, Karl. (He brings the cross and puts it
on ‘with trembling fingers.) There’s nothing against
you at school?
HUSBAND : How should I know? I’m willing to teach everything

they want taught. But What do they want taught? If
only I ever knew! How do I know how they want
Bismarck to have been if they’re so slow bringing out
the new text-books? Can’t you give the maid another
ten marks? She’s always listening too.
WIFE (nods) : And the picture of Hitler. Shall we hang it over your
desk? It’ll look better.
HUSBAND : Yes, do that. (The WIFE begins to move the

pictures.) But if the boy says we hung it specially,
it’ll all end in consciousness of guilt. (She puts the
picture back where it was.) Wasn’t that the door?
WIFE : I heard nothing.
HUSBAND : There!
WIFE : Karl! (She throws her arms around him.)
HUSBAND : Don’t lose your nerve. Pack me some underwear.

(The door is heard opening.
HUSBAND and WIFE stand close together, petrified, in the

corner of the room. The door opens and in comes the
BOY, a bag of chocolates in his hand. There is a
silence.’)
Boy : What’s the matter?
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WIFE : Where have you been? (The BOY points to the bag of
chocolates.)
Have you only been buying chocolate?
Boy : Sure. What do you think? (He walks, munching, across

the room and out. His parents look after him searchingly.)
HUSBAND : Do you think he’s telling the truth? (The WIFE

shrugs her shoulders)
************
14.0 Introduction:
(A) Bertolt Brecht (1898-1956), born at Anoberg, is an outstanding

dramatist of this century. From the beginning, he was a great believer in the
socialist cause and condemned the Nazi movement. Brecht is pre-eminently a
theatre artist and in his plays he celebrates the cowardliness of an ordinary
man and satirizes the aspects of capitalist society. He plays in one way or
other to treat the theme of revolutionary struggle.
14.1 Summary:
‘The Informer’ is a scene from the chronicle of life under the Nazis
during the middle thirties. The play is the unique comedy issuing from the
tragic and oppressive conditions in fascist Germany. It is an incisive portrayal
of the psychology of the schoolmaster and his wife in an atmosphere
surcharged with fear, distrust and suspicion. Brecht has fully used the comic
potential of a tragic situation.
It is a rainy Sunday afternoon. Karl, a school teacher, his wife and his
son Klaus Heinrich have just finished their lunch. The maid informs them that
Karl’s friends Herr and Frau Klimbtsch want to meet them. Karl asks the maid
to inform them that he is not at home. His wife tells that they won’t believe
since it is raining and she feels that Karl himself should have attended the
phone. Karl is unwilling and his wife says that he has changed a lot these
days. Karl is irritated and they continue to argue, since they are not in a
position to meet friends as they like. The boy is tuning the radio and his
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mother asks him to leave the radio. The boy then starts reading the
newspaper. Suddenly Karl makes a remark that it is very difficult to live in a
country where one would not even enjoy the rains. His wife asks him not to
comment in such a way. For which Karl says that he has got every right to say
in his own home. The maid comes in with the coffee things and after she leaves
the room Karl remarks whether it is right to have a maid whose father is a
Nazi.
1. Who is Karl?
2. What does he ask the maid to do?
3. Why Karl is irritated?
4. What is their son doing?
5. Which word denotes that they are under the rule of Hitler?
(B) The boy is reading a newspaper. And he enquires about the news
regarding the trials of the Priest. Karl gets irritated again and says that he
would stop the paper. His wife asks him not to be nervous and feels that her
husband has got some problem at the school. And she gives money to her son
to get something. As the husband and wife are discussing, suddenly they
126
notice that the boy is missing. They become tensed and start searching for the
boy. They doubt that the boy would be an informer of the Hitler Youth Club.
There is a heated argument between the husband and wife about the matter
they discussed in the presence of the boy about Hitler’s rule. They find fault
with each other, each posing themselves as innocent and blaming the other.
1. What is the enquiry made by the boy while reading the newspaper?
2. What was the reply of Karl to the boy?
3. What is the reaction of his wife?
4. What does she do to the boy?
5. What is the doubt of both husband and wife?
(C) Both husband and wife strongly come to a conclusion that the boy
would definitely inform the Hitler Youth Club that his parent’s are against
Hitler’s rule. They think that they will take revenge upon them for being strict
towards him. They regret for what they have told and have done to him. And
they discuss about the arrangement to be made in case if they are caught by
Hitler’s army. They are anxious and worried and Karl says that his wife has
borne him a Judas. Tension increases. Karl puts on his iron-cross. He
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grumbles that he did everything at school and is submissive and polite. They
change the picture of Hitler from hall to above their desk. Again they keep it in
the same place. Suddenly they hear the sound of the door opening. Husband
and wife stand close together, extremely frightened, in the corner of the room.
The door opens and in comes the boy, with a bag of chocolates in his hand. His
mother asks him where he has been and the boy replies that he has gone out
to buy chocolate. And Karl is not ready to believe and doubts whether the boy
is telling the truth or not.
1. What do they expect?
2. Why do they think that the boy will take revenge upon them?
3. How does Karl call his son?
4. Brief the happenings towards the end of the play.
-Karl is a schoolteacher
-He is very much irritated because he has no freedom
-He passes some comments about Hitler’s rule to his wife
-They suddenly notices that their son is missing
-He strongly suspects him to be an informer of Hitler’s youth club
-He prepares himself to be arrested by the Hitler’s men
-Suddenly the boy enters with a bag of chocolates which bought from a
shop
-But Karl does not believe him
14.3 Keywords:
Snapping : to make a biting movement; irritable.
Catastrophe : sudden disaster.
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Lutherans : follows of Martin Luther, leader of the Reformation
in Germany
Abomination : hatred and disgust
False alarm : a warning of something which does not in fact

happen.
Frivolous : not serious; playful.
Figure out : understand.
Disgruntled : dissatisfied and sulky.
Straighten out : sort out; resolve.
Judas : the disciple who betrayed Christ for thirty pieces of

silver
Informer : a person who informs against a crime.
Bismarck : the first chancellor of German Empire constituted in

1871.
Lose one’s nerve : lose one’s balance or courage.
Petrified : frightened; terrified.
(A) 1. Karl is a school teacher.
2. He asks the maid to inform that he is not at home to his friend.
3. Karl feels that he does not freedom to do as he likes.
4. He is tuning the radio.
5. Nazi.
(B) 1. He enquires about the trials of the print.
2. Karl shouts that he is going to stop the newspaper.
3. His wife feels that her husband has got some problem at the school.
And that’s why he is in irritable mood.
129
4. She gives ten cents to the boy and asks him to buy some thing.
5. As they are arguing, they noticed suddenly that the boy is missing. At
once, they doubt that the boy would be a member of Hitler’s youth club.
(C)1. They expect that they will be arrested by the Hitler’s man at anytime.
2. Since they are strict with him, they think the boy will take revenge upon
them.
3. Karl calls his son Judas.
4. Karl and his wife make preparations to meet the Nazi men. Suddenly
they hear sound of the door opening. They are extremely frightened. And to
their surprise, the boy enters with a bay of chocolates. The wife is relived
but Karl is not ready to believe the boy.
14.6 Model question:
How does Brecht bring out the comic effects out of a seemingly tense
situation?
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Lesson – 15
Play - 2
The Merchant of Venice

Act IV scene I
- William Shakespeare
ACT IV
SCENE I. Venice. A court of justice.
Enter the DUKE, the Magnificoes, ANTONIO, BASSANIO, GRATIANO,
SALERIO, and others
DUKE : What, is Antonio here?
ANTONIO
Ready, so please your grace.
DUKE
I am sorry for thee: thou art come to answer
A stony adversary, an inhuman wretch
uncapable of pity, void and empty
From any dram of mercy.
ANTONIO
I have heard
Your grace hath ta'en great pains to qualify
His rigorous course; but since he stands obdurate
And that no lawful means can carry me
Out of his envy's reach, I do oppose
My patience to his fury, and am arm'd
To suffer, with a quietness of spirit,
The very tyranny and rage of his.
131
DUKE
Go one, and call the Jew into the court.
SALERIO
He is ready at the door: he comes, my lord.
Enter SHYLOCK
DUKE
Make room, and let him stand before our face.
Shylock, the world thinks, and I think so too,
That thou but lead'st this fashion of thy malice
To the last hour of act; and then 'tis thought
Thou'lt show thy mercy and remorse more strange
Than is thy strange apparent cruelty;
And where thou now exact'st the penalty,
Which is a pound of this poor merchant's flesh,
Thou wilt not only loose the forfeiture,
But, touch'd with human gentleness and love,
Forgive a moiety of the principal;
Glancing an eye of pity on his losses,
That have of late so huddled on his back,
Enow to press a royal merchant down
And pluck commiseration of his state
From brassy bosoms and rough hearts of flint,
From stubborn Turks and Tartars, never train'd
To offices of tender courtesy.
We all expect a gentle answer, Jew.
SHYLOCK
I have possess'd your grace of what I purpose;
And by our holy Sabbath have I sworn
To have the due and forfeit of my bond:
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If you deny it, let the danger light
Upon your charter and your city's freedom.
You'll ask me, why I rather choose to have
A weight of carrion flesh than to receive
Three thousand ducats: I'll not answer that:
But, say, it is my humour: is it answer'd?
What if my house be troubled with a rat
And I be pleased to give ten thousand ducats
To have it baned? What, are you answer'd yet?
Some men there are love not a gaping pig;
Some, that are mad if they behold a cat;
And others, when the bagpipe sings i' the nose,
Cannot contain their urine: for affection,
Mistress of passion, sways it to the mood
Of what it likes or loathes. Now, for your answer:
As there is no firm reason to be render'd,
Why he cannot abide a gaping pig;
Why he, a harmless necessary cat;
Why he, a woollen bagpipe; but of force
Must yield to such inevitable shame
As to offend, himself being offended;
So can I give no reason, nor I will not,
More than a lodged hate and a certain loathing
I bear Antonio, that I follow thus
A losing suit against him. Are you answer'd?
BASSANIO
This is no answer, thou unfeeling man,
To excuse the current of thy cruelty.
SHYLOCK
I am not bound to please thee with my answers.
133
BASSANIO
Do all men kill the things they do not love?
SHYLOCK
Hates any man the thing he would not kill?
BASSANIO
Every offence is not a hate at first.
SHYLOCK
What, wouldst thou have a serpent sting thee twice?
ANTONIO
I pray you, think you question with the Jew:
You may as well go stand upon the beach
And bid the main flood bate his usual height;
You may as well use question with the wolf
Why he hath made the ewe bleat for the lamb;
You may as well forbid the mountain pines
To wag their high tops and to make no noise,
When they are fretten with the gusts of heaven;
You may as well do anything most hard,
As seek to soften that--than which what's harder?--
His Jewish heart: therefore, I do beseech you,
Make no more offers, use no farther means,
But with all brief and plain conveniency
Let me have judgment and the Jew his will.
BASSANIO
For thy three thousand ducats here is six.
SHYLOCK
What judgment shall I dread, doing
134
Were in six parts and every part a ducat,
I would not draw them; I would have my bond.
DUKE
How shalt thou hope for mercy, rendering none?
SHYLOCK
What judgment shall I dread, doing no wrong?
You have among you many a purchased slave,
Which, like your asses and your dogs and mules,
You use in abject and in slavish parts,
Because you bought them: shall I say to you,
Let them be free, marry them to your heirs?
Why sweat they under burthens? let their beds
Be made as soft as yours and let their palates
Be season'd with such viands? You will answer
'The slaves are ours:' so do I answer you:
The pound of flesh, which I demand of him,
Is dearly bought; 'tis mine and I will have it.
If you deny me, fie upon your law!
There is no force in the decrees of Venice.
I stand for judgment: answer; shall I have it?
DUKE
Upon my power I may dismiss this court,
Unless Bellario, a learned doctor,
Whom I have sent for to determine this,
Come here to-day.
SALERIO
My lord, here stays without
A messenger with letters from the doctor,
New come from Padua.
135
DUKE
Bring us the letter; call the messenger.
BASSANIO
Good cheer, Antonio! What, man, courage yet!
The Jew shall have my flesh, blood, bones and all,
Ere thou shalt lose for me one drop of blood.
ANTONIO
I am a tainted wether of the flock,
Meetest for death: the weakest kind of fruit
Drops earliest to the ground; and so let me
You cannot better be employ'd, Bassanio,
Than to live still and write mine epitaph.
Enter NERISSA, dressed like a lawyer's clerk
DUKE
Came you from Padua, from Bellario?
NERISSA
From both, my lord. Bellario greets your grace.
Presenting a letter
BASSANIO
Why dost thou whet thy knife so earnestly?
SHYLOCK
To cut the forfeiture from that bankrupt there.
GRATIANO
Not on thy sole, but on thy soul, harsh Jew,
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Thou makest thy knife keen; but no metal can,
No, not the hangman's axe, bear half the keenness
Of thy sharp envy. Can no prayers pierce thee?
SHYLOCK
No, none that thou hast wit enough to make.
GRATIANO
O, be thou damn'd, inexecrable dog!
And for thy life let justice be accused.
Thou almost makest me waver in my faith
To hold opinion with Pythagoras,
That souls of animals infuse themselves
Into the trunks of men: thy currish spirit
Govern'd a wolf, who, hang'd for human slaughter,
Even from the gallows did his fell soul fleet,
And, whilst thou lay'st in thy unhallow'd dam,
Infused itself in thee; for thy desires
Are wolvish, bloody, starved and ravenous.
SHYLOCK
Till thou canst rail the seal from off my bond,
Thou but offend'st thy lungs to speak so loud:
Repair thy wit, good youth, or it will fall
To cureless ruin. I stand here for law.
DUKE
This letter from Bellario doth commend
A young and learned doctor to our court.
Where is he?
NERISSA
He attendeth here hard by,
To know your answer, whether you'll admit him.
137
DUKE
With all my heart. Some three or four of you
Go give him courteous conduct to this place.
Meantime the court shall hear Bellario's letter.
Clerk
[Reads]
Your grace shall understand that at the receipt of
your letter I am very sick: but in the instant that
your messenger came, in loving visitation was with
me a young doctor of Rome; his name is Balthasar. I
acquainted him with the cause in controversy between
the Jew and Antonio the merchant: we turned o'er
many books together: he is furnished with my
opinion; which, bettered with his own learning, the
greatness whereof I cannot enough commend, comes
with him, at my importunity, to fill up your grace's
request in my stead. I beseech you, let his lack of
years be no impediment to let him lack a reverend
estimation; for I never knew so young a body with so
old a head. I leave him to your gracious
acceptance, whose trial shall better publish his
commendation.
DUKE
You hear the learn'd Bellario, what he writes:
And here, I take it, is the doctor come.
Enter PORTIA, dressed like a doctor of laws

Give me your hand. Come you from old Bellario?
138
PORTIA
I did, my lord.
DUKE
You are welcome: take your place.
Are you acquainted with the difference
That holds this present question in the court?
PORTIA
I am informed thoroughly of the cause.
Which is the merchant here, and which the Jew?
DUKE
Antonio and old Shylock, both stand forth.
PORTIA
Is your name Shylock?
SHYLOCK
Shylock is my name.
PORTIA
Of a strange nature is the suit you follow;
Yet in such rule that the Venetian law
Cannot impugn you as you do proceed.
You stand within his danger, do you not?
ANTONIO
Ay, so he says.
PORTIA
Do you confess the bond?
139
ANTONIO
I do.
PORTIA
Then must the Jew be merciful.
SHYLOCK
On what compulsion must I? tell me that.
PORTIA
The quality of mercy is not strain'd,
It droppeth as the gentle rain from heaven
Upon the place beneath: it is twice blest;
It blesseth him that gives and him that takes:
'Tis mightiest in the mightiest: it becomes
The throned monarch better than his crown;
His sceptre shows the force of temporal power,
The attribute to awe and majesty,
Wherein doth sit the dread and fear of kings;
But mercy is above this sceptred sway;
It is enthroned in the hearts of kings,
It is an attribute to God himself;
And earthly power doth then show likest God's
When mercy seasons justice. Therefore, Jew,
Though justice be thy plea, consider this,
That, in the course of justice, none of us
Should see salvation: we do pray for mercy;
And that same prayer doth teach us all to render
The deeds of mercy. I have spoke thus much
To mitigate the justice of thy plea;
Which if thou follow, this strict court of Venice
Must needs give sentence 'gainst the merchant there.
140
SHYLOCK
My deeds upon my head! I crave the law,
The penalty and forfeit of my bond.
PORTIA
Is he not able to discharge the money?
BASSANIO
Yes, here I tender it for him in the court;
Yea, twice the sum: if that will not suffice,
I will be bound to pay it ten times o'er,
On forfeit of my hands, my head, my heart:
If this will not suffice, it must appear
That malice bears down truth. And I beseech you,
Wrest once the law to your authority:
To do a great right, do a little wrong,
And curb this cruel devil of his will.
PORTIA
It must not be; there is no power in Venice
Can alter a decree established:
'Twill be recorded for a precedent,
And many an error by the same example
Will rush into the state: it cannot be.
SHYLOCK
A Daniel come to judgment! yea, a Daniel!
O wise young judge, how I do honour thee!
PORTIA
I pray you, let me look upon the bond.
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SHYLOCK
Here 'tis, most reverend doctor, here it is.
PORTIA
Shylock, there's thrice thy money offer'd thee.
SHYLOCK
An oath, an oath, I have an oath in heaven:
Shall I lay perjury upon my soul?
No, not for Venice.
PORTIA
Why, this bond is forfeit;
And lawfully by this the Jew may claim
A pound of flesh, to be by him cut off
Nearest the merchant's heart. Be merciful:
Take thrice thy money; bid me tear the bond.
SHYLOCK
When it is paid according to the tenor.
It doth appear you are a worthy judge;
You know the law, your exposition
Hath been most sound: I charge you by the law,
Whereof you are a well-deserving pillar,
Proceed to judgment: by my soul I swear
There is no power in the tongue of man
To alter me: I stay here on my bond.
ANTONIO
Most heartily I do beseech the court
To give the judgment.
142
PORTIA
Why then, thus it is:
You must prepare your bosom for his knife.
SHYLOCK
O noble judge! O excellent young man!
PORTIA
For the intent and purpose of the law
Hath full relation to the penalty,
Which here appeareth due upon the bond.
SHYLOCK
'Tis very true: O wise and upright judge!
How much more elder art thou than thy looks!
PORTIA
Therefore lay bare your bosom.
SHYLOCK
Ay, his breast:
So says the bond: doth it not, noble judge?
'Nearest his heart:' those are the very words.
PORTIA
It is so. Are there balance here to weigh
The flesh?
SHYLOCK
I have them ready.
143
PORTIA
Have by some surgeon, Shylock, on your charge,
To stop his wounds, lest he do bleed to death.
SHYLOCK
Is it so nominated in the bond?
PORTIA
It is not so express'd: but what of that?
'Twere good you do so much for charity.
SHYLOCK
I cannot find it; 'tis not in the bond.
PORTIA
You, merchant, have you any thing to say?
ANTONIO
But little: I am arm'd and well prepared.
Give me your hand, Bassanio: fare you well!
Grieve not that I am fallen to this for you;
For herein Fortune shows herself more kind
Than is her custom: it is still her use
To let the wretched man outlive his wealth,
To view with hollow eye and wrinkled brow
An age of poverty; from which lingering penance
Of such misery doth she cut me off.
Commend me to your honourable wife:
Tell her the process of Antonio's end;
Say how I loved you, speak me fair in death;
And, when the tale is told, bid her be judge
Whether Bassanio had not once a love.
144
Repent but you that you shall lose your friend,
And he repents not that he pays your debt;
For if the Jew do cut but deep enough,
I'll pay it presently with all my heart.
BASSANIO
Antonio, I am married to a wife
Which is as dear to me as life itself;
But life itself, my wife, and all the world,
Are not with me esteem'd above thy life:
I would lose all, ay, sacrifice them all
Here to this devil, to deliver you.
PORTIA
Your wife would give you little thanks for that,
If she were by, to hear you make the offer.
GRATIANO
I have a wife, whom, I protest, I love:
I would she were in heaven, so she could
Entreat some power to change this currish Jew.
NERISSA
'Tis well you offer it behind her back;
The wish would make else an unquiet house.
SHYLOCK
These be the Christian husbands. I have a daughter;
Would any of the stock of Barrabas
Had been her husband rather than a Christian!
Aside
We trifle time: I pray thee, pursue sentence.
145
PORTIA
A pound of that same merchant's flesh is thine:
The court awards it, and the law doth give it.
SHYLOCK
Most rightful judge!
PORTIA
And you must cut this flesh from off his breast:
The law allows it, and the court awards it.
SHYLOCK
Most learned judge! A sentence! Come, prepare!
PORTIA
Tarry a little; there is something else.
This bond doth give thee here no jot of blood;
The words expressly are 'a pound of flesh:'
Take then thy bond, take thou thy pound of flesh;
But, in the cutting it, if thou dost shed
One drop of Christian blood, thy lands and goods
Are, by the laws of Venice, confiscate
Unto the state of Venice.
GRATIANO
O upright judge! Mark, Jew: O learned judge!
SHYLOCK
Is that the law?
PORTIA
Thyself shalt see the act:
For, as thou urgest justice, be assured
146
Thou shalt have justice, more than thou desirest.
GRATIANO
O learned judge! Mark, Jew: a learned judge!
SHYLOCK
I take this offer, then; pay the bond thrice
And let the Christian go.
BASSANIO
Here is the money.
PORTIA
Soft!
The Jew shall have all justice; soft! no haste:
He shall have nothing but the penalty.
GRATIANO
O Jew! an upright judge, a learned judge!
PORTIA
Therefore prepare thee to cut off the flesh.
Shed thou no blood, nor cut thou less nor more
But just a pound of flesh: if thou cut'st more
Or less than a just pound, be it but so much
As makes it light or heavy in the substance,
Or the division of the twentieth part
Of one poor scruple, nay, if the scale do turn
But in the estimation of a hair,
Thou diest and all thy goods are confiscate.
GRATIANO
A second Daniel, a Daniel, Jew!
Now, infidel, I have you on the hip.
147
PORTIA
Why doth the Jew pause? take thy forfeiture.
SHYLOCK
Give me my principal, and let me go.
BASSANIO
I have it ready for thee; here it is.
PORTIA
He hath refused it in the open court:
He shall have merely justice and his bond.
GRATIANO
A Daniel, still say I, a second Daniel!
I thank thee, Jew, for teaching me that word.
SHYLOCK
Shall I not have barely my principal?
PORTIA
Thou shalt have nothing but the forfeiture,
To be so taken at thy peril, Jew.
SHYLOCK
Why, then the devil give him good of it!
I'll stay no longer question.
PORTIA
Tarry, Jew:
The law hath yet another hold on you.
It is enacted in the laws of Venice,
148
If it be proved against an alien
That by direct or indirect attempts
He seek the life of any citizen,
The party 'gainst the which he doth contrive
Shall seize one half his goods; the other half
Comes to the privy coffer of the state;
And the offender's life lies in the mercy
Of the duke only, 'gainst all other voice.
In which predicament, I say, thou stand'st;
For it appears, by manifest proceeding,
That indirectly and directly too
Thou hast contrived against the very life
Of the defendant; and thou hast incurr'd
The danger formerly by me rehearsed.
Down therefore and beg mercy of the duke.
GRATIANO
Beg that thou mayst have leave to hang thyself:
And yet, thy wealth being forfeit to the state,
Thou hast not left the value of a cord;
Therefore thou must be hang'd at the state's charge.
DUKE
That thou shalt see the difference of our spirits,
I pardon thee thy life before thou ask it:
For half thy wealth, it is Antonio's;
The other half comes to the general state,
Which humbleness may drive unto a fine.
PORTIA
Ay, for the state, not for Antonio.
SHYLOCK
Nay, take my life and all; pardon not that:
149
You take my house when you do take the prop
That doth sustain my house; you take my life
When you do take the means whereby I live.
PORTIA
What mercy can you render him, Antonio?
GRATIANO
A halter gratis; nothing else, for God's sake.
ANTONIO
So please my lord the duke and all the court
To quit the fine for one half of his goods,
I am content; so he will let me have
The other half in use, to render it,
Upon his death, unto the gentleman
That lately stole his daughter:
Two things provided more, that, for this favour,
He presently become a Christian;
The other, that he do record a gift,
Here in the court, of all he dies possess'd,
Unto his son Lorenzo and his daughter.
DUKE
He shall do this, or else I do recant
The pardon that I late pronounced here.
PORTIA
Art thou contented, Jew? what dost thou say?
SHYLOCK
I am content.
150
PORTIA
Clerk, draw a deed of gift.
SHYLOCK
I pray you, give me leave to go from hence;
I am not well: send the deed after me,
And I will sign it.
DUKE
Get thee gone, but do it.
GRATIANO
In christening shalt thou have two god-fathers:
Had I been judge, thou shouldst have had ten more,
To bring thee to the gallows, not the font.
Exit SHYLOCK
DUKE
Sir, I entreat you home with me to dinner.
PORTIA
I humbly do desire your grace of pardon:
I must away this night toward Padua,
And it is meet I presently set forth.
DUKE
I am sorry that your leisure serves you not.
Antonio, gratify this gentleman,
For, in my mind, you are much bound to him.
Exeunt Duke and his train
151
BASSANIO
Most worthy gentleman, I and my friend
Have by your wisdom been this day acquitted
Of grievous penalties; in lieu whereof,
Three thousand ducats, due unto the Jew,
We freely cope your courteous pains withal.
ANTONIO
And stand indebted, over and above,
In love and service to you evermore.
PORTIA
He is well paid that is well satisfied;
And I, delivering you, am satisfied
And therein do account myself well paid:
My mind was never yet more mercenary.
I pray you, know me when we meet again:
I wish you well, and so I take my leave.
BASSANIO
Dear sir, of force I must attempt you further:
Take some remembrance of us, as a tribute,
Not as a fee: grant me two things, I pray you,
Not to deny me, and to pardon me.
PORTIA
You press me far, and therefore I will yield.
To ANTONIO
Give me your gloves, I'll wear them for your sake;
To BASSANIO
152
And, for your love, I'll take this ring from you:
Do not draw back your hand; I'll take no more;
And you in love shall not deny me this.
BASSANIO
This ring, good sir, alas, it is a trifle!
I will not shame myself to give you this.
PORTIA
I will have nothing else but only this;
And now methinks I have a mind to it.
BASSANIO
There's more depends on this than on the value.
The dearest ring in Venice will I give you,
And find it out by proclamation:
Only for this, I pray you, pardon me.
PORTIA
I see, sir, you are liberal in offers
You taught me first to beg; and now methinks
You teach me how a beggar should be answer'd.
BASSANIO
Good sir, this ring was given me by my wife;
And when she put it on, she made me vow
That I should neither sell nor give nor lose it.
PORTIA
That 'scuse serves many men to save their gifts.
An if your wife be not a mad-woman,
And know how well I have deserved the ring,
She would not hold out enemy for ever,
153
For giving it to me. Well, peace be with you!
Exeunt Portia and Nerissa
ANTONIO
My Lord Bassanio, let him have the ring:
Let his deservings and my love withal
Be valued against your wife's commandment.
BASSANIO
Go, Gratiano, run and overtake him;
Give him the ring, and bring him, if thou canst,
Unto Antonio's house: away! make haste.
Exit Gratiano
Come, you and I will thither presently;

And in the morning early will we both
Fly toward Belmont: come, Antonio.
Exeunt
************
15.0 Introduction:
(A) William Shakespeare (1564-1616) is considered to be the greatest

British dramatist. As a dramatist, Shakespeare excels in character-drawing; a
genial attitude to life is seen throughout, and however improbable the plot
invests it credibility.
15.1 Summary:
The Merchant of Venice is a comedy. Antonio borrows 3000 ducats from

Shylock, who makes a condition that if he failed to repay the loan within three
weeks, Shylock could cut a pound of flesh from Antonio’s body. The money is
154
used by Antonio’s friend Bassanio to help him marry Portia, a wealthy heiress
from Belmont. Bassanio succeeds by marrying Portia. He receives that
Antonio’s ships are lost at the sea. He was unable to repay the debt to Shylock
who wants to cut a pound of flesh from Antonio’s body. Portia saves Antonio’s
life by her clever arguments in the court, which forms an exciting end.
The trial scene is the longest in the play. The scene presents the Court of
Justice in Venice. The Duke tells Antonio that he has to answer a stony
adversary and an inhuman wretch, meaning Shylock. Antonio thanks The
Duke for the efforts that he has taken to help him out of clutches of shylock.
At same time he agrees that the laws must be allowed to take its course.
The Duke summons Shylock. The Duke asks Shylock to be more lenient to
Antonio. He hopes that in view of Antonio’s recent misfortune, Shylock would
reduce the amount of the principal that he owes him. Jew, Shylock does not
budge. He does not feel sorry. He will have none of it. He calls it his hour to
insist on the amount to be repaid as the terms of the bonds. The Jew also
cannot give any reason for hating Antonio.
There was a wordy fight between Bassanio, who flies into a tower of rage at
the unreasonable attitude of Shylock the Jew. Antonio is keen on the judgment
and the Jew his will. Bassanio offers Shylock six thousand ducats instead of
the original three thousand. But Shylock does not feel sorry.
1. Does Shylock behave leniently towards Antonio? Why?
2. What does Bassanio offer Shylock?
(B) The angry Duke asks how could Shylock expect mercy if he is so
adamant. The Jew retorts that his tribe has not had any mercy from
Christians. It is equal to saying that the Jews who are held as slaves should be
set free. The Duke is silenced by the piercing questions of Shylock. Lorenzo at
this juncture announces that a messenger from the learned doctor of law,
Bellario from Padua is waiting outside with letters from the doctor. Bassanio is
happy to hear this piece of announcement. He tries to cheer Antonio. But the
forlorn Antonio gives up all hope. He compares himself to the ‘weakest fruit’
155
that is on the verge of falling to the ground. Bassanio would live to write the
epitaph.
Nerissa in the dress as a lawyer’s clerk comes to the court with a letter
from Bellario. Bassanio looks sheepishly at Shylock. The hard-hearted Jew is
wetting his knife. Despite Gratiano’s outburst, Shylock remains unmoved.
The Duke who has read the letter of Bellario sent through Nerissa asks the
young doctor to come to the court. The letter points out that Bellario is much
ill and pleads with the Duke to allow the young doctor of law to appear on his
behalf to argue out the case for Antonio.
1. Why is the trial delayed?
2. What does the letter say?
(C) Portia enters the court dressed as a Doctor of laws. She says that
Shylock and Antonio should themselves. While Antonio does, Shylock asks on
what compulsion he should he do it. Portia Is one of the memorable passages
in English literature says that the quality of mercy is not strained. It is double
edged .it blesses him that gives and the person who receives it. Portia tells
Shylock that certainly that justice is on his side. But salvation does not consist
in mere justice. What in needed is mercy. Only merciful deeds can save a
person.
Shylock is not at all moved by this moving appeal of the ‘young doctor of
law’ Portia in the dress of Bellario. He craves for the law. He also craves for the
penalty and the forfeit of the bond. Portia asks Antonio if he has the money to
pay as per the terms of the bond. Bassanio points out that in this case law
could be disregarded. But Portia says that if that is done they would be setting
up a precedent. The example would set in motion many errors.
Shylock is very happy when Portia makes such a remark. He calls Portia a
Daniel, A wise young judge. Portia then sees the bond of Shylock and tells him
that Antonio has to abide by the oath that he has taken at the time executing
the bond.
156
1. Who is disguised the young doctor of law?
2. What does Portia say to Shylock?
(D) Portia says that in that case Shylock is at perfect liberty to claim a
portion of the flesh from Antonio. Shylock then wants the flesh to be cut off
nearest to the heart of Antonio. But she asks Shylock again to be merciful. The
fidgety Antonio asks the court to give the judgment.
Portia asks Antonio to lay bare his chest. Shylock is in ecstasy. But Portia
asks Shylock to have a surgeon by his side to see to it that Antonio does not
bleed to death. Shylock at once argues this particular aspect does not been
given in the bond. So he is not duty bound to summon a surgeon.
Portia asks Antonio to speak his last words. Antonio bids farewell to his
bosom friend Bassanio. He considers it lucky to die then than live and die in
an old age and in dire poverty. Bassanio is in uncontrollable grief. Portia then
says that Shylock is ready to claim his pound of flesh. The anti climax is
reached. Shylock is ready to claim his pound of flesh. Portia said if he shed a
drop of blood his entire property would go to the state. According to her there
is no mention of the blood in the bond. The Shylock perplexed and he said that
he would be satisfied with money. But he could not have his way at this
juncture. The Duke however was magnanimous enough to pardon him. She
said half the property of Shylock would go to his daughter, Jessica and half to
Antonio. However Antonio gifted the property to Jessica and Lorenzo.
1. Why does Shylock refuse to summon a surgeon?
2. How does Portia prevent Shylock from cutting off a pound of Antonio’s flesh?
• Antonio is brought to the court.
• Shylock is stubborn and refuses to show mercy to Antonio.
• Portia in disguise comes as a learned lawyer.
157
• She makes a powerful pea for mercy.
• Shylock insists on his pound of flesh.
• Portia asks Shylock to cut off exactly a pound of Antonio’s flesh, without
shedding a drop of blood.
• The disappointed Shylock asks for money.
• The Duke pardons Shylock.
15.3 Key words:
Qualify – modify
Rigorous – harsh
Obdurate – inflexible
Moiety – portion
Forfeit – penalty
Impugn – resist
Perjury – false swearing
Act – statute
Contrive – plot
(A) 1. No, He is a stony adversary and an inhuman wretch.
2. Bassanio offers Shylock six thousand ducats instead of the original three
thousand. But Shylock refuses.
(B) 1. The trial was delayed because Dr.Bellario did not come to the court of
justice from Padua.
2. The letter points out that Bellario is much ill and pleads with the Duke
to allow the young doctor of law to appear on his behalf to argue out the case
for Antonio.
(C) 1. Portia is disguised as the young doctor of law.
158
2. Portia says to Shylock that he can execute the terms of the bond.
(D) 1. Because it was not mentioned in the terms of bond.
2. She asks Shylock to cut exactly a pound of flesh with shedding a drop of
blood.
Describe the trial scene.
159
160
UNIT - 5
COMMUNICATIVE GRAMMAR
Language is a powerful tool for Communication. Though all animals
communicate, Communicating through a language is the sole privilege of
human beings. Language has a set of rules and it is better to learn the
grammar and its usages to improve our communication skill.
Of course, grammar is only the mechanism of a language and without

even learning the mechanism one can easily learn the skills of a language and
be fluent in communication. But in the competitive world, the expectation of
the job providers is much and the best form of communication alone is always
accepted. As such it becomes necessary to learn the rules of the language to
an extent, to have an edge in competitions.
In this Unit, we will learn simple grammar, which will also explain how
one can make use of the grammatical forms in their communication. That’s
why many sentences are given as examples to know the wrong and right
usages. Hence, students need not have any fear or aversion towards English
Grammar, as they are presented in a simple communicative way.
We will see in this Unit the following Grammar items:
1) Articles
2) Preposition
3) Conjunction
4) Verb
5) Direct and Indirect
6) Tenses
161
162
Lesson – 16
ARTICLES
‘A’, ‘An’ & ‘The’ are called Articles. ‘a’ & ‘an’ are known as Indefinite
Articles, because they are used, when we are not sure of which particular
person or thing we refer to. To explain further, the person or thing remains
indefinite, as it cannot be specifically defined.
(eg):
1) I saw a man. ( The man in the sentence is not defined, because he

is some man)
2) Rani bought an umbrella. (The umbrella in the sentence is not

defined, because it is some umbrella)
‘The’ is known as Definite Article because it refers to a particular person or

thing.
(eg)
1) The man with the red shirt was entering the school.
2) The President of America will be visiting India shortly.
‘A’
a) The indefinite article ‘a’ is used before all nouns beginning with
consonant sounds.
(eg) mother, bread, minister, man, orange, king, sun, moon beggar,
market.
b) The indefinite article ‘a’ is used before all words beginning with letters ‘y’
& ‘h’ because such words have consonantal sounds only.
(eg) : a horse, a human being, a historical novel, a yard, a yellow paper,

a young man, a youth, a year.
c) The indefinite article ‘a’ is used before certain words beginning with
vowel letters, but have consonantal sounds.
163
(eg) : a University, a ewe, a useful thing, a unit, a European, a uniform,
a union, a eulogy
d) The indefinite article ‘a’ is used before the words beginning with the ‘w’
sounds.
(eg) : a one legged man, one man-tribunal, a one rupee coin, such a
one, a one way ticket.
‘AN’
a) ‘An” is used before words beginning with a vowel sound.
(eg) : an American, An Australian, an idiot, an umbrella, an arm-chair,

an eye, an army.
b) ‘An’ is used before words beginning with a silent ‘h’.
(eg) : an hour, an honour, an heir, an honest man, an hourable person
‘THE’
The Definite Article ‘the’ is used in the following contexts:
a) When we speak of a unique thing, which is only one of its kind, the article
‘the’ is used before the word.
(eg)
The sun, the moon, the earth, the sky
b) When a particular person or a thing is referred to:
(eg)
The boy who came first in the exams is very poor in sports.
The man, who was waiting outside was a policeman
c) When a person or things is referred already, the Definite article ‘the’ is

used to the later references of that particular person or thing.
(eg)
164
I saw an elephant walking in the street. The elephant was huge and
black in colour. The elephant was eating banana.
I saw a man in the bazaar. The man was wearing a blue shirt. The blue
shirt was having white flowers.
COMMON ERRORS MADE IN SING ARTICLES
Rule No. 1
Before numbers like hundred and thousand the indefinite article ‘a’
must be used always.
(eg)
1. Wrong: Hundred paisa make a rupee
Right : A hundred paisa make a rupee.
2. Wrong: NSS requires thousand volunteers immediately.
Right : NSS requires a thousand volunteers immediately.
Rule No. 2
The definite article ‘the’ is used before the name of a river, an ocean, a
gulf, a plain, a group of islands, an important public building etc.
(eg)
3. Wrong: Taj Mahal is in Agra.
Right : The Taj Mahal is in Agra.
4. Wrong: Many have read Bible
Right : Many have read the Bible.
5. Wrong: Vice Chancellor is delivering the Convocation Address.
Right : The Vice Chancellor is delivering the Convocation Address.
6. Wrong: Ganges is a sacred river
Right : The Ganges is a sacred river.
165
7. Wrong: Andamans are a group of small islands
Right : The Andamans are a group of small islands.
8. Wrong: Many Muslims read Quran everyday
Right : Many Muslims read the Quran everyday.
Rule No. 3
The indefinite article ‘an’ is used before a word beginning with a sound
‘h’ and also a word beginning with a vowel sound.
(eg)
9. Wrong: Brutus is a honourable man.
Right : Brutus is an honourable man.
10.Wrong: Here is one apple for Kamala
Right : Here is an apple for Kamala.
Observe the following:
11.Wrong: Mano made living by singing.
Right : Mano made a living by singing.
12.Wrong: The student tried to make fool of his teacher.
Right : The student tried to make a fool of his teacher.
13.Wrong: Rajangam is a M.Phil degree holder.
Right : Rajangam is an M.Phil degree holder.
14.Wrong: Rose is my favourite flower.
Right : The Rose is my favourite flower.
15.Wrong: The Man is a remarkable creation of God.
Right : Man is a remarkable creation of God.
16.Wrong: Eliot is an European.
Right : Eliot is a European.
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17.Wrong: I saw an one-eyed beggar.
Right : I saw a one-eyed beggar.
18.Wrong: Don’t make noise in the auditorium.
Right : Don’t make a noise in the auditorium.
19.Wrong: Election Commission is of opinion that they conducted a fair

election.
Right : Election Commission is of the opinion that they conducted a fair

election.
20.Wrong: The Librarian gave an useful book to the reader.
Right : The Librarian gave a useful book to the reader.
21.Wrong: It is too difficult book for the boy.
Right : It is too difficult a book for the boy.
167
168
Lesson – 17
PREPOSITIONS
Definition: A Preposition is a word placed before a Noun or Pronoun to show
its relation to some other word in the sentence.
(eg): 1. Ramesh is very angry with Gopal.
2. Ganesh is coming by aeroplane tomorrow.
Prepositions show different kinds of relations. Look at the functions of

the following often used prepositions:
1. to specify Place : across, among, at, behind
(eg): 1. Anju ran across the field easily.
2. The Security stood behind the Minister.
2. to specify Time : at, before, till, for
(eg): 1. Students have to wait till tomorrow for the

results.
2. The President came to the University at 7 o’clock.
3. to specify Method & Manner: by, with
(eg): 1. The appointment order came by speed post.
2. By hard work Kannan came up in life.
4. to specify Reason & Purpose: with, of, for
(eg): 1. Gandhiji fought for freedom.
2. The Indian cricket team jumped with joy.
5. to specify Possession : of, with, by
(eg): 1. The leader is a man of principles.
2. The police spotted the man with a black bag.
6. to specify Direction and Motion: into, towards, up, round
169
(eg): 1. The earth moves round the Sun.
2. Lalitha drove towards the railway station
COMMON ERRORS MADE IN
USING PREPOSITION
Rule No. 1
Some sentences end with a preposition to complete the meaning.
(eg)
1. Wrong: Sada wants a pen to write
Right : Sada wants a pen to write with.
2. Wrong: The fisherman received everything they asked
Right : The fisherman received everything they asked for.
3. Wrong: This is the place, I am planning to construct the house
Right : This is the place, I am planning to construct the house on.
4. Wrong: The customer gets what he pays
Right : The customer gets what he pays for.
Rule No. 2
A preposition is usually used at the end, when its object is in Interrogative

Pronoun.
(eg)
1. Wrong: What are you talking?
Right : What are you talking about?
2. Wrong: Whom are you thinking?
Right : Whom are you thinking of?
‘Since’ is used to a ‘point of time’.
‘For’ is used to a ‘period of time’.
170
(eg):
5. Wrong: The minister has not met the PM for long
Right : The minister has not met the PM since long.
6. Wrong: The Doctor has been ill since five days
Right : The Doctor has been ill for five days.
7. Wrong: I have been working in the office from morning
Right : I have been working in the office since morning.
8. Wrong: The dog has been ill from Monday
Right : The dog has been ill since Monday.
Rule No. 3
‘In’ is used when we speak of countries, provinces, large towns and

places.
‘At’ is used with small towns and villages.
(eg)
9. Wrong: Rohini was born at Malaysia
Right : Rohini was born in Malaysia.
10.Wrong: Nivi lives in Marudhamalai.
Right : Nivi lives at Marudhamalai.
11.Wrong: Kalam was born in Rameshwaram at Tamil Nadu.
Right : Kalam was born at Rameshwaram in Tamil Nadu.
Rule No. 5
The word ‘Between’ is used for two persons or things.
The word ‘Among’ is used for more than two persons or things.
(eg):
12.Wrong: The Reliance Company was divided among the two brothers
171
Right : The Reliance Company was divided between the two brothers.
13.Wrong: The Landlord divided his property between his four sons
Right : The Landlord divided his property among his four sons.
Rule No. 6
‘On’ is used to denote things at rest.
‘Upon’ is used to denote things in motion.
(eg)
14.Wrong: The book is upon the table
Right : The book is on the table.
15.Wrong: The cat jumped on the rat
Right : The cat jumped upon the rat.
Observe the following:
16.Wrong: Rathan is aiming towards State rank
Right : Rathan is aiming at State rank
17.Wrong: My wife presented me a beautiful watch
Right : My wife presented me with a beautiful watch
18.Wrong: The Dictionary consists thousand five hundred pages
Right : The Dictionary consists of thousand five hundred pages.
19.Wrong: I shall meet Prof. Krishnaraj at about ten o’ clock
Right : I shall meet Prof. Krishnaraj at ten o’ clock
Right : I shall meet Prof. Krishnaraj about ten o’ clock.
20.Wrong: Please pour the coffee in the cup
Right : Please pour the coffee into the cup.
172
21.Wrong: Keep off of the lawn
Right : Keep off the lawn.
22.Wrong: The Deputy Chief Minister turned the bull dozer on
Right : The Deputy Chief Minister turned up the bull dozer.
23.Wrong: The Education Secretary is in the Committee.
Right : The Education Secretary is on the Committee.
24.Wrong: Fill up the application with ink pen
Right : Fill up the application in ink pen.
25.Wrong: The hungry dog drank up all the milk
Right : The hungry dog drank all the milk.
26.Wrong: The Child was looking out of the window of the train
Right : The Child was looking out the window of the train.
27.Wrong: The Registrar dispensed of the services of Mr. Moorthy
Right : The Registrar dispensed with the services of Mr. Moorthy.
28.Wrong: Stop him to do bad things
Right : Stop him from doing bad things.
29.Wrong: The Writer ordered for two thousand copies of the book
Right : The Writer ordered two thousand copies of the book.
30.Wrong: The Kovai express train is running in time
Right : The Kovai express train is running on time.
31.Wrong: The PG exams will begin from Monday.
Right : The PG exams will begin on Monday.
32.Wrong: The people congratulated the MLA for his success
Right : The people congratulated the MLA on his success.
173
33.Wrong: My brother is very anxious of my health
Right : My brother is very anxious about my health
34.Wrong: The temple elephant died from disease
Right : The temple elephant died of disease.
35.Wrong: Everyday I speak to my son about his classes
Right : Everyday I speak with my son about his classes.
36.Wrong: The dog was hit by a stone
Right : The dog was hit with a stone.
37.Wrong: The lady is blind from one eye.
Right : The lady is blind of one eye.
38.Wrong: Rich men do not want to part from their money
Right : Rich men do not want to part with their money.
174
Lesson – 18
CONJUNCTION
A conjunction is a word which joins together two sentences or two
words.
(eg)
1. The boys and girls are playing in the ground.
2. Durai tried his best but could not win the trials.
3. Serena won the game still she kept quite.
Relative Pronouns and Relative Adverbs can also act as conjunctions.
(eg)
1. This is the car which I bought from ABT.
2. This is the house where Anna Durai lived.
A number of phrases are also used as Conjunctions.
(eg)
1. As soon as - As soon as I finish this book, I shall send it for

printing.
2. As well as - Sada as well as Jai helped typing this book.
3. As far as - As far as I know, the cyclist hit against the child.
4. As though - It looks as though it is going to rain today.
5. As if - The patient looks as if he is going to fall.
6. Even if - Even if I am given a crore, I will not do it.
7. So that - He wanted to see Kalam so that he can talk to

him.
Some conjunctions are used in pairs, which are known as Correlative

conjunctions.
175
eg:
1. Either …. Or – Either you or I will have to meet Mr. Nelson.
2. Neither…not - He is neither an idiot nor a mad man.
3. Not only.. but also – The Prime Minister visited not only Oxford
but also Cambridge to deliver lectures.
4. Though …yet – Though Sachin is injured yet he wants to play.
5. Whether .. or -- We do not know whether the he would stay or

go back.
6. Both … and -- Both the Chancellor and the President spoke at

the meeting.
7. Such… that -- I have such regard for him that I will be loyal
to him.
COMMON ERRORS MADE IN
USING CONJUNCTION
Rule No. 1
The words ‘though’ and ‘but’ should not be used in the same sentence.
(eg)
1. Wrong: Though he studies well, but he does not score good marks
Right : He studies well, but he does not score good marks.
2. Wrong: Although he fell sick during exams but he came first in the class
Right : Although he fell sick during exams, he came first in the class.
(or)
He fell sick during the exams but he came first in the class.
Rule No. 2
‘As’ and ‘So’ should not be used in the same sentence.
(eg)
176
3. Wrong: As my son is very good so he spends money to poor children
Right : As my son is very good, he spends money to poor children.
4. Wrong: As it was raining yesterday, so we cancelled the tour
Right : As it was raining yesterday, we cancelled the tour.
Rule No. 3
‘Unless’ and ‘if not’ should not be used in the same sentence.
(eg)
5. Wrong: Unless if you don’t study well, you cannot get good marks
Right : Unless you study well, you cannot get good marks.
6. Wrong: If you unless try hard, you won’t succeed in life
Right : If you don’t try hard, you won’t succeed in life.
Rule No. 4
‘Why’ and ‘because’ should not be used in the same sentence.
(eg)
7. Wrong: The reason why the magazine sells so well is because it is with a
lot of gifts
Right : The reason why the magazine sells so well is that it is with a lot
of gifts.
(or)
The reason that the magazine sells so well is because it is with a

lot of gifts.
Rule No. 5
‘Both’ & ‘and’ and ‘as well as’ give the same meaning. As such any one
of the two should alone be used in a sentence.
(eg)
8. Wrong: Both the bride as well as her parents are attending the function
177
Right : Both the bride and her parents are attending the function.
(or)
The bride as well as her parents are attending the function.
9. Wrong: Manmohan Singh is both a PM as well as an Educationist.
Right : Manmohan Singh is both a PM and an Educationist.
(or)
Manmohan Singh is a PM as well as an Educationist.
Rule No. 6
The word ‘lest’ has to be followed by ‘should’
(eg)
10.Wrong: Work hard lest you may not get the desired success
Right : Work hard lest you should get the desired success.
Rule No. 7
‘No sooner’ is always followed by ‘than’.
(eg)
11.Wrong: No sooner the train reached the station, all the passengers got
onto it.
Right : No sooner the train reached the station, than all the passengers
got onto it.
178
Lesson – 19
VERB
Type I :
The Verb in this type is the most important word of a sentence. Such an
important word may tell us the action of a person or a thing.
(eg):
1. Britto kicked the ball
2. The Kite flies so high
3. Gopi climbed the mountain.
Type II :
The verb in this type tells us the state of being or existence.
(eg):
1. Rathan is a smart boy.
2. There are two lakh students studying in this University.
Type III :
The verb in type III tells us the possession of the subject of the sentence.
(eg):
1. Sridhar owns a house in Coimbatore
2. Nivi has a gold chain.
Definition of Verb: A verb may tell us about an action, a state of being or

existence, or possession.
179
COMMON ERRORS MADE WHILE
USING VERBS
Rule No. 1
A verb should agree with its subject in number and person.
(eg):
1. Wrong: Bread and butter are good for breakfast
Right : Bread and butter is good for breakfast
2. Wrong: Sasi is one of the best students who have got a job
Right : Sasi is one of the best students who has got a job
3. Wrong: The Vice Chancellor with his members of faculty are attending
the meeting.
Right : The Vice Chancellor with his members of faculty is attending the
meeting.
Rule No. 2
The use of double Future Tense may be avoided in a sentence.
(eg):
4. Wrong: I will get you the book, when you will come to my office
Right : I will get you the book, when you come to my office.
5. Wrong: Suresh will meet me, when I will go to Chennai
Right : Suresh will meet me, when I go to Chennai.
Rule No. 3
If an action was completed long back, we have to use ‘Past Tense’. But
if the action is completed just now ‘Present Perfect Tense’ is to be used.
(eg):
6. Wrong: The train came just now
180
Right : The train has come just now.
7. Wrong: I have written the exam last year
Right : I wrote the exam last year.
Rule No. 4
The verb of a sentence should agree with its subject in number and
person.
(eg):
8. Wrong: A.P.J. Abdul Kalam is one of the best Scientists who have
contributed much to India.
Right : A.P.J. Abdul Kalam is one of the best Scientists who has
contributed much to India.
9. Wrong: Being a very hot summer, we didn’t go to the exhibition.
Right : Summer being very hot, we didn’t go to the exhibition.
10.Wrong: Anil Kumble with the members of his family, are at the ground.
Right : Anil Kumble with the members of his family, is at the ground.
11.Wrong: Bread and butter are a wholesome food
Right : Bread and butter is a wholesome food.
The following examples have varied items:
(eg):
12.Wrong: Ten Kilometers are a long distance
Right : Ten Kilometers is a long distance.
13.Wrong: I, who am his uncle, shall meet him tomorrow.
Right : I, who is his uncle, shall meet him tomorrow.
14.Wrong: Seldom we go to the theatre.
Right : Seldom do we go to the theatre.
181
15.Wrong: Did you finish the painting yet?
Right : Have you finished the painting yet?
16.Wrong: Sachin is one the best cricket players that have ever played for
his country.
Right : Sachin is one of the best cricket players that has ever played for
his country.
17.Wrong: The Nilagiri express left the station, even before we arrived
Right : The Nilagiri express had left the station, even before we arrived.
18.Wrong: Entering the hotel reception, she fell down.
Right : While she was entering the hotel reception, she fell down.
19.Wrong: Teachers know to deal with students.
Right : Teachers know how to deal with students.
20.Wrong: The policeman said to the thief to surrender.
Right : The policeman told to the thief to surrender.
21.Wrong: Being summer vacation, the staff went on a picnic.
Right : It, being summer vacation, the staff went on a picnic.
22.Wrong: The murderer was hung to death.
Right : The murderer was hanged to death.
23.Wrong: The girl hanged the school bag to the peg.
Right : The girl hung the school bag to the peg.
24.Wrong: I shall become a cine star, if my father will permit me.
Right : I shall become a cine star, if my father permits me.
25.Wrong: Either Mukesh or Anil are at fault.
Right : Either Mukesh or Anil is at fault.
182
Lesson – 20
DIRECT AND INDIRECT SPEECH

We can report the speech of a person in two ways. The first ways to quote the
actual words uttered by the speaker and the second way is to report what the
speaker has said without repeating the exact words but conveying the matter
completely.
Look at the following sentences:
Babu said, “ I am going to Chennai tomorrow”. (Direct Speech)
1. Babu said that he was going to Chennai the next day. (Indirect
Speech)
The first sentence is in the direct speech, as it quotes the exact words of the
speech of Babu. But in the second sentence, the speech of Babu has been
given indirect form, i.e. in the reported form.
DECLARATIVE SENTENCES
# The following changes are made while transforming sentences in

reported Speech of the declarative sentences.
# The inverted commas are removed.
# Relative pronoun ‘that’ is inserted after the verb ‘said’.
# ‘Will’ is changed to ‘would’
# ‘Now’ is changed to then.
• The Verb ‘am going’ is changed into ‘was going’
• The pronoun ‘I’ is changed into ‘he’
There are some rules for changing direct speech.
Look at the table below for changes in verbs from direct speech.
183
Direct speech Reported speech
I he/she
You him/her
now then
here there
ago before
today that day
tomorrow the next day
last night the night before
yesterday the day before
Interrogative sentences:
When a question has to be reported in the Indirect form, the introductory very
has be changed into asked, inquired, demanded, etc.
(eg)
I Type
Direct : The Policeman said, “Where are you from?”
Indirect : The Policeman asked where I was from.
II Type
Direct : The Teacher said, “Will you bring the exam fees tomorrow?”
Indirect : The Teacher asked me whether I would bring the exam fees the
next Day.
In the Indirect form the question mark is dropped and the order of the last two
words is inverted in the form of subject and verb. In the I type the questions
being with why, where, what, who, which, when, etc
184
In the II type the questions being with have, has, will, may, do, did, is, are,
etc. While reporting such questions, the reporting verb has to be followed by
whether or if
Imperative Sentences:
Sentences with an order, request, warning, advice, et., are in the Imperative
form. While converting this type of sentence from the direct speech to Indirect
speech, the verb ‘said’ has to be changed into ‘asked, ordered, commanded,
requested, advised, warned, etc’.
(eg)
Direct: The Teacher said, “Please get me some water”.
Indirect: The Teacher requested me to get some water.
Direct: Mother said, “Don’t sleep late and miss the class”.
Indirect: Mother advised not to sleep late and miss the class.
Direct: The Inspector said, “ bring the thief into the jail ”.
Indirect: The Inspector ordered them to bring the thief into the jail.
The Verb in the Direct Speech of Imperative speech has to be changed into the
Infinitive i.e. ‘to’ in the Indirect speech.
Exclamatory Sentences:
Exclamatory remarks, otherwise known as Interjections in the Direct form like

‘oh, alas, bravo, hurrah, etc. are omitted in the indirect form and in the
reporting verb said is changed into exclaimed, declared, cried out, wished, etc.,
in the indirect form.
(eg)
Direct: The Tourist said, ‘Oh! What a beautiful picture is this!”.
Indirect: The Tourist exclaimed that that is a beautiful picture.
Direct: The audience said, “ Hurrah! We have overtaken them”.
Indirect: The audience shouted that they had overtaken them.
185
Direct: The Priest said, “ God save the King”.
Indirect: The Priest prayed that God might save the king.
186
Lesson – 21
TENSES
The time in which the action has taken place is known as Tense. The verb of a
sentence communicates the action of the past, present and future.
(eg)
Ramesh gave me a present - Past Tense
The teacher gives the prize to the students. - Present Tense
John will give an attractive gift to the school - Future Tense
Present Tense has four forms and Past Tense also has four forms. They are:
Present Tense Past Tense

Present continuous Past continuous
continuous
Present Perfect Past Perfect
Present Perfect Past Perfect
continuous continuous
The uses of Tenses:
1. Present Tense may tell us what actually happened at the time of speaking
or express a habitual action or express some general or a universal truth.
(eg)
1. Malar Comes to the school.
2. Dinesh plays drums nicely.
3. The bird flies so high.
4. Err is human
2. Present continuous Tense may tell us an action that is going on or

indicate a future action.
(eg) 1. The singer is singing.
2. I am going to Chennai next week.
187
3. Present Perfect Tense expresses an action just completed and also refer to
an action happened in the past in a general way.
(eg) 1. Gregory has finished his home work.

2. We lived in Chennai for twenty years.
4. Past Tense is used express a habitual action in the past.
(eg) 1. Sheila went to the market yesterday.
2. Mr. Obama spoke excellently after his victory.
5. Past continuous Tense is used to express an action as going on at some
time in the past.
(eg) 1. The girls were dancing in the auditorium.
2. It was raining yesterday, when the meeting was on.
6. Past Perfect Tense conveys an action completed at some point in the past
before some other past action commenced.
(eg) 1. The Teacher has met the Principal, before he left for Chennai
2. Malar had reached her home, when the relatives came.
7. Future Tense conveys an action which is still to take place.
(eg) 1. I shall meet him tomorrow in the evening.
2. Naren will surely get first rank in the exams.
8. Future continuous Tense represents an action as going on at some time in

the future.
(eg) 1. Ramu will be having a cup of coffee in the evening
2. The President will be visiting the University next month.
9. Future Perfect Tense denotes an action that will be completed before a

certain point of time in the future.
(eg) 1. We shall have taken the exam by New year.
2. The Minister will have gone to New Delhi, before the Prime Minister
arrives.
@@@@@@
188
Lesson – 22
Active and Passive Voices

Active Voice and Passive voice are sentences with the same meaning.
But in an Active Voice sentence, the subject of the sentence will be active. But
in the Passive sentence, the Subject of the sentence will be passively allow
something to happened to him and does nothing .
(eg) Active : Babu drives the car.

(Babu the subject is active in driving the car)
Passive: The car is driven by Babu.
(The car, which is the subject is passive)
How to convert the Active sentence into passive Sentence?
While changing a sentence from Active to passive, we have to change its

form only, without altering the sense. Also the object of the Verb in the Active
Voice, becomes the Subject of the Verb in the Passive Voice. The Passive verb
is followed by the preposition by. Similarly, the Active verb is changed into
passive verb.
(eg ) Active: Ramesh killed a snake

(Subject) (Active verb) (Object)
Passive: A snake was killed by Ramesh
(Subject) (passive verb) (preposition) (Object)
Other examples:
Active : The Teacher gives Suresh a prize
Passive: A prize is given to suresh by the Teacher
Active : The servant brought me a cup of coffee.
Passive: A cup of coffee was brought to me by the servant
Active : Rakesh drove the car.
Passive: The car was driven by Rakesh.
189
Active : Mahesh is eating a manago.
Passive: A mango is being eaten by Mahesh
Active : I will catch the fish.
Passive: The fish will be caught by me.
Active : Latha has sung the song.
Passive: The song has been sung by Latha.
Active : Williams had brought two dogs.
Passive: Two dogs had been brought by Williams.
Look at the following table for easy conversion of Active verb into Passive verb
Tense Active Verb Passive Verb

Present drive is driven
Past drove was driven
Future will drive will be driven
Present continuous is driving is being driven

Past continuous was driving was being driven
Future continuous will be driving will be being driven
Present Perfect have driven has been driven
Past Perfect had driven had been driven
Future Perfect will have driven will have been driven
Present Perfect have been driving No passive form
continuous
Past Perfect continuous had been driving No passive form
Future Perfect will have been driving No passive form
continuous
@@@@@
190

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Unit I

After going through this Unit you will be able to:

I. Recognize the significance of the themes insisted by the writers

INTRODUCTION TO PROSE LESSONS:

Human beings are a bundle of emotions. The emotional bondage with

The passionate story ‘Lalajee’ by Jim Corbett is a portrayal of a man

The Story ‘Face of Judas Iscariot’ by Bonnie Chamberlain brings out

General scheme of presentation for Every Lesson

1.2 Key points to be remembered

1.4 Answers to check your progress

1.5 Explain with reference to context

1.6 Model questions (400 words)

THE GOLDEN TOUCH (Midas Touch)

Now in those days a great many wonderful things used to happen

The light of the sunbeam brightened so vividly that Midas closed

Next morning, Kind Midas awoke before the dawn. He looked

King Midas got out of bed in excitement. He touched one of the

`Never mind’, he thought to himself. `The Golden Touch is worth

When he went in to breakfast that morning he felt more

He poured himself a cup of coffee as he spoke. The coffee pot was a

`Well’ he exclaimed. He was thirsty.

`What is the matter, father?’ asked Marygold.

`Nothing, child. Drink your milk,’ Midas said.

`How am I to have any breakfast?’ he thought. `Such costly food is

He looked across the table at Marygold. She was eating happily,

Midas bent down and kissed his little daughter.

Then - what a terrible change came over Marygold! Her sweet

In despair, Midas looked about him. Suddenly he saw the

`I have lost everything I really loved’, said King Midas. I am full of

`So you have learnt something since yesterday?” asked the

`Oh, blessed water!’ exclaimed Midas, `Will I ever taste it again’.

The Golden Touch - or a piece of bread?’ the stranger said.

`Gold-or your own little daughter?’ asked the stranger.

`Oh-my child, my child!’ cried poor Midas.

The stranger looked seriously at King Midas.

`No, it is hateful to me now’, said Midas, passionately.

`Then go down to the end of your garden’, said the stranger, ‘

King Midas bowed his head. When he looked up again, the

I expect the servants thought it very strange to see their royal

The king went straight to the golden figure of little Marygold. As he

Check your progress - 1

2. Who was Mary Gold?

4. What music did he love more?

5. Where did he keep his store of wealth?

Check your progress -2

1. What was the boon given by the stranger?

2. What was the first thing that turn into gold?

Check your progress - 3

1. List out the things that turn into gold.

2. What was the reaction of Mary Gold?

3. Was he happy about the things that turn into gold?

Check your progress - 4

1. Why did Midas want to be the poorest man?

2. Which are more valuable than riches in life?

4. What is the moral of the lesson?

1.2 Key points to be remembered:

1. King Midas is a rich man, having excessive desire for gold.

2. He wants to possess more gold.

3. He gets a boon of Golden touch from a Stranger.

4. Midas changes everything into gold by his golden touch.