LITERATURE READER

A Textbook for English Course

(Communicative)

Class-IX

CENTRAL BOARD OF SECONDARY EDUCATION

PREET VIHAR, DELHI - 110092

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Revised Edition

May 2005

January 2007
November 2007
May, 2008
November, 2008
December 2009

REVISED EDITION 2009

CBSE, India
Price :

"This book or part thereof may not be reproduced by

any person or agency in any manner."

PUBLISHED BY

: The Secretary, Central Board of Secondary Education, Shiksha

Kendra, 2, Community Centre, Preet Vihar, Delhi - 110092

DESIGN & LAYOUT : Multi Graphics, 5745/81, Reghar Pura, Karol Bagh,
New Delhi - 110092.
PRINTED BY

Foreword - 2009
The English Communicative Curriculum was implemented in Class-IX in the academic
session 1993-94. The books were revised in 1995, 1997 and 2003 as a result of the
feedback received from students, teachers and ELT professionals.
After more than 15 years in use, it was felt that the course needs a revision to make it more
relevant and attuned to the needs of today's students.
The Board received feedback from teachers teaching in various school systems i.e.
independent schools, Kendriya Vidyalaya Sangathan and Navodaya Vidyalaya Sangathan
in large numbers which suggested that a change was already overdue.
This revision, unlike the other revisions, has been more comprehensive and in case of the
three books for students i.e. the Literature Reader, Main Course Book and the Work Book,
many chapters have been changed.
In the Literature Book, the four stories in the Fiction Section have been changed and five
new stories have been added. Two poems have been changed and one play has been
replaced.
The extracts selected have been taken with the purpose of making students think on their
own and inculcating in them the life skills necessary for facing the challenges of the present
as well as the future.
It has been ensured that pieces of literary merit and interest are included in the selection.
The overall approach and design has been retained. However the number of exercises has
been increased. Exercises have been modified to cater to the new revised Continuous and
Comprehensive Evaluation scheme that has been introduced by the CBSE this year.
In the Main Course Book most of the units have been revised. Though the units remain the
same, topics have been changed. Topics with resonance in contemporary society like the
story about the first female pilot, conservation of species in the wild etc have been added in
the Main Course Book.
The Workbook too has been revised comprehensively and now includes more exercises.
Multiple Choice Questions have been added wherever necessary.
The Board would like to acknowledge with thanks the guidance provided by Professor Kapil
Kapoor, Convenor of the English Subject Committee for the revision work. I'd like to thank
the members of the revision team who have consistently helped in revising and producing
the material for this book. I'd also like to express my appreciation for the guidance and
support provided by Dr. Sadhana Parashar, Education Officer and Ms Menaxi Jain,
Assistant Education Officer for coordinating the revision work.
Vineet Joshi (IAS)
Chairman & Secretary
CBSE

Acknowledgements
We express our gratitude to the writers and publishers whose contributions have been
included in this book. Copyright permission for use of this material has been applied for,
however information on copyright permission for some of the material could not be found.
We would be grateful for information for the same.

FICTION
"How I Taught My Grandmother To Read", by Sudha Murty
"A Dog Named Duke", by William D Ellis
"The Man Who Knew Too Much", by Alexander Baron.
"Keeping It From Harold", by P.G. Wodehouse from 'The Funny Bone'
New Humorous Stories compiled by Lady Cynthia Asquith, Jurdus Publishers, London
"Best Seller", by O. Henry

Poetry
"The Brook", by Alfred Lord Tennyson
"The Road Not Taken", by Robert Frost
"The Solitary Reaper", by William Wordsworth.
"Lord Ullin's Daughter", by Thomas Campbell
"Oh, I Wish I'd Looked After Me Teeth", by Pam Ayres from Poetry Magic Book 6,
Edited by Keki N Daruwalla, Ratna Sagar, 2005
"Song of the Rain", by Kahlil Gibran

Drama
"Villa for Sale", by Sacha Guitry from Six One Act Plays, Edited by Maurice
Stanford, Orient Longman, 1997
"The Bishop's Candlesticks", by Norman Mckinnell

Acknowledgements
ADVISORY BODY

EDITORIAL BOARD

Vineet Joshi

Ms. Neelima Sharma

(IAS) Chairman & Secretary, CBSE

Education Officer,
Directorate of Education, Delhi

Prof. Kapil Kapoor

Convenor, Committee of Courses, CBSE

Prof. Usha Dutta

Ms. Neerada Suresh

Principal, K.V. Bhandup, Mumbai

Department of Languages, NCERT

Ms. Renu Anand, ELT Consultant.

Ms. C. Gurumurthy

Ms. Gayatri Khanna, ELT Consultant.

Director, Academics, CBSE

Ms. Menaxi Jain

Dr. Sadhana Parashar

Asst. Education Officer, CBSE

Education Officer, CBSE

Material Production Group-2009

Ms. Alka Rai

Ms. Neeru Bali,

ELT Consultant.

Delhi Public School, Vasundhara, Ghaziabad

Ms. Anudita Bhatia

Ms. P. Rajeshwary

Sardar Patel Vidyalaya, New Delhi.

Mr. Arvind Vikram

New State Academy, New Delhi

Mr. D.N. Tiwari

MES Sr. School, Doha, Qatar

Mr. Richard Court

Kasiga School, Dehradun.

Ms. Sarita Manuja

Laxman Public School, New Delhi.

Director & Principal, Ryat Bahara

Group of Schools, Chandigarh.

Ms. Manvinder Kaur

Ms. Seema Sharma

Delhi Public School, Ghaziabad.

DAV, Gurgaon.

Ms. S.Mary

Ms. S.Sukumar

KV CRPF Avadi.

KV No.2, Roorkee.

Ms. Mohini Kapoor

Ms. Swati Das

Delhi Public School, Ghaziabad.

Ms. Mridula Aggarwal

Springdales Public School,
Pusa Road, New Delhi.

Ms. Neena Kaul

St. Mary's School, New Delhi.

DPS Maruti Kunj, New Delhi.

Ms. Vandana Mishra

KV No.3, Colaba, Mumbai.

Ms. R. Venkateshwari
Air Force Golden Jubilee Institute,
Subroto Park, New Delhi

Ms. Vijay Lakshmi Raman

Padma Seshadri Bala Bhawan, Chennai.

First Edition - 1994

ADVISORY BODY

CONSULTANT

1.

Prof. B.P. Khandelwal, Chairman

2.

Mr. H.R. Sharma, Director (Acad.)

The college of St. Mark and St. John Foundation,

Derriford Road, Plymouth. U.K.

3.

Dr. R.K. Agnihotri, Convenor

Rod Bolitho, Dy. Director

4.

Prof. R. Dixit, NCERT

Ray Williams, Coordinator

5.

Dr. G.R. Kanwal

Sarah North

6.

Mrs. Neelima Sharma

(Late) Stuart Mathews

7.

Mrs. Neelam N. Katara

Richard Walker
Sandy Urquhart
Kalty Smith
Mike Scholey

MONITORING COMMITTEE

CONSULTANT

1.

Mr. S.K. Gangal, Education Officer, CBSE

Prof. B.P. Khandelwal, Chairman

2.

Mr. H.R. Sharma, Director (Acad.)

Dr. Rajni Badlani, E.S.O., BCD

3.

Dr. R.K. Agnihotri, Delhi Univ.

4.

Prof. R. Dixit, NCERT

Ms. Sadhana Parashar,

Assistant Education Officer, CBSE

5.

Dr. Rajni Badlani, English Studies Offerer, BCD

CONTRIBUTORS
Material Production Group
Amber Banerjee, Anuradha Kalia, Beena Gokhale, James A. Bright, Kiran Bhatt, Lalitha C., Laxmi Srinivasan,
Louisa Devadas, M. Vasudev, Neelam Nalini Kataria, P. Mani, Preet Kanwal, Ponmudi V., P. Rajeshwari, Shashi
Kochar, Veena Bhasin, Vijaya Lakshimi Raman.
Testing and Evaluation Group
Annie Koshi, Anuradha Kalia, Emu Foning, Indu Chopra, Kiran Kahsyap, Kusum Sharma, Manobi Bose Tagore,
Nalini Ravindran, Patricia N. Franklin, P. Mani, Pushpa Chawla, Reinu Nagarkar, S.K. Gangal, Urmila Guliani
Inservice Teacher Training Group
Amber Banerjee, Anjali Dere, B.S.Dashora, Chetna Bhatt, D.Silva Jennifer, Emu Foning, G.Madhav Rao, Indira
Srinivasan , Indramohini, Kangmani Jayraj, Meenu Bajaj, Meera Balachandran, M.Kantha, Nalini K., Neelima
Sharma, Nirmala Jairaj, Nomita Wilson, Parvathi Krishnan, P. Seshubabu, P.U. Chackkapan, Sarita Manuja,
Sheila Subramanian, Susmita Pani, T.R. Doholiya, Vijaya Subramanian
Revision Team
Ms. Neelima Sharma, Ms. Urmila Guliani, Ms. Neelam N. Katara, Ms. Veena Bhasin, Ms. Neena Kaul, Ms.
Renu Anand.
Ms. Vimmy Singh, Ms. Wilma B. Kumar, Ms. Mridula Manchanda, Ms. Annie Koshi,
Under the guidance of Prof. Kapil Kapoor, JNU, New Delhi
CBSE Advisors :
Mr. G. Balasubramanian, Director (Academic), Mr. P. Mani, Education Officer (Humanities & Languages)

THE CONSTITUTION OF INDIA

PREAMBLE
WE, THE PEOPLE OF INDIA, having solemnly resolved to constitute India into a
SOVEREIGN SOCIALIST SECULAR DEMOCRATIC REPUBLIC and to secure to all its citizens :

JUSTICE, social, economic and political;

LIBERTY of thought, expression, belief, faith and worship;
EQUALITY of status and of opportunity; and to promote among them all
FRATERNITY assuring the dignity of the individual and the [unity and integrity of the Nation];
2

IN OUR CONSTITUENT ASSEMBLY this twenty-sixth day of November, 1949, do HEREBY

ADOPT, ENACT AND GIVE TO OURSELVES THIS CONSTITUTION.
1.
2.

Subs, by the Constitution (Forty-Second Amendment) Act. 1976, sec. 2, for "Sovereign Democratic Republic
(w.e.f. 3.1.1977)
Subs, by the Constitution (Forty-Second Amendment) Act. 1976, sec. 2, for "unity of the Nation (w.e.f. 3.1.1977)

THE CONSTITUTION OF INDIA

Chapter IV A
Fundamental Duties
ARTICLE 51A
Fundamental Duties - It shall be the duty of every citizen of India(a) to abide by the Constitution and respect its ideals and institutions, the National Flag and the
National Anthem;
(b) to cherish and follow the noble ideals which inspired our national struggle for freedom;
(c)

to uphold and protect the sovereignty, unity and integrity of India;

(d) to defend the country and render national service when called upon to do so;
(e) To promote harmony and the spirit of common brotherhood amongst all the people of India
transcending religious, linguistic and regional or sectional diversities; to renounce practices
derogatory to the dignity of women;
(f)

to value and preserve the rich heritage of our composite culture;

(g) to protect and improve the natural environment including forests, lakes, rivers, wild life and to
have compassion for living creatures;
(h) to develop the scientific temper, humanism and the spirit of inquiry and reform;
(i)

to safeguard public property and to abjure violence;

(j)

to strive towards excellence in all spheres of individual and collective activity so that the nation
constantly rises to higher levels of endeavour and achievement.

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Introduction
Fiction

Contents

Contents

1-51

F.1

How I Taught My Grandmother to Read, by Sudha Murty

F.2

A Dog Named Duke, by William D. Ellis

F.3

The Man Who Knew Too Much, by Alexander Baron

22

F.4

Keeping It from Harold, by P.G. Wodehouse

28

F.5

Best Seller, by O.Henry

Poetry

3
13

43

54-92

P. 1

The Brook, by Alfred Lord Tennyson

P. 2

The Road Not Taken, by Robert Frost

P. 3

The Solitary Reaper, by William Wordsworth

P. 4

Lord Ullin's Daughter, by Thomas Campbell

P. 5

The Seven Ages, by William Shakespeare

P. 6

Oh, I Wish I'd Looked After Me Teeth, by Pam Ayres

84

P. 7

Song of The Rain, by Kahlil Gibran

88

Drama
D. 1

Villa for Sale, by Sacha Guitry

D. 2

The Bishop's Candlesticks, by Norman Mckinnell

ANNEXURE
Text for Listening Tasks

57
64
69
74
80

93-134
95
112

135-146
137

Dear Students
Why do you think we read Literature?
Have you ever wondered why we read Literature? We do so in order to understand,
appreciate and enjoy what immensely talented men and women over the centuries have
put in writing for our benefit - emotions, moving experiences, suspense, creative use of
language, great issues etc. As we read, we make a personal response to the piece of
Literature concerned - relating its substance to our own personal experience, or to laugh, to
cry, or simply to enjoy. With this in mind, the selections of poetry, fiction and drama in this
Literature Reader by a variety of authors writing in English, are on a variety of themes and in
a variety of literary styles. Through this Reader, we hope that you will develop your interest
in such pieces, and will develop your skills in reading and appreciating poetry, fiction and
drama. In particular, you will learn the essential features of these different types of
Literature - for example, you will learn to study character, how a plot develops, and "what
makes poetry poetry".
Like the Main Coursebook, this Literature Reader also carries pieces which have been
identified and selected with a bearing on social issues and universal values. In other words,
the literary pieces remind us all of the importance of values such as telling the truth, good
health, respect for older people, and the role of law and order.
It is our hope that your reading of Literature will not be restricted to the Literature Reader
alone, but that you will be stimulated to read poetry, fiction and drama outside the
classroom, and also later in adult life.
What does this Literature Reader contain?
*

poetry - seven poems

fiction - five short stories

drama - two plays

These are merely a sample, the basic purpose of the Reader is to facilitate young readers to
develop a love for reading and literature which is sustained for life long learning.
How much time should be spent on this Literature Reader?
Since Literature forms 25% of the Class IX assessment, it will take about 25% of your
English classes and related homework. In particular, at times your teacher may ask you to
read some of the longer pieces for home work, a day or so before they are introduced in
class.
What types of questions and activities are there in the Literature Reader and in the
examination?
The question-types and activities for each piece in the Literature Reader are largely

1.

fairly simple comprehension questions and other activities, to activate and develop
your understanding.

2.

activities that lead you to infer, analyse and evaluate what you are reading.

3.

activities that ask you to make a personal and/or a creative response to what you have
just been reading.

In fact, these are the types of questions and activities you will meet in the examination. The
Literature Reader thus helps to develop your enjoyment and appreciation of Literature in
English.
What is the teacher's role?
We have said earlier that this Reader is to help you "to understand, appreciate and enjoy"
Literature. But your teacher alone cannot make you understand, appreciate and enjoy: you
have to develop these skills yourself, by the way you approach the pieces selected. Your
teacher will certainly encourage, stimulate and support you, and will manage class
activities to assist in every way possible. But your understanding, appreciation and
enjoyment will not grow if your teacher simply explains to you everything about the literary
piece concerned. You must personally explore and interpret the piece, express a point of
view, and justify it. Your teacher will frequently set up activities, monitor them and hold a
class review. This does not mean that he or she will never give explanations: they will be
given whenever there is a need to do so.
But you should be prepared to take as much personal responsibility as you can for your own
learning.
This will be more effective and more enjoyable for you!
What do we mean by "personal response"?
Personal response means how we, as individuals, interpret and react to something in a
piece of Literature. This is particularly true of poetry, where the poet's choice of language
and treatment of theme can give rise to a variety of shades of interpretation -depending on
who we are, our previous experiences, what we feel about the subject-matter etc. With this
in mind, do not look for a fixed "right or wrong" response to certain questions and activities.
Remember that it is your personal response to the poem, short story or play that makes
reading Literature so enjoyable.
If you turn to your workbook, and look at Question 16 in the Literature Section of the two
sample papers, you will understand more clearly what is meant by "personal response".
The CD
All the poems have been recorded. As you listen you will gain a greater understanding and
appreciation of a poem - particularly features such as rhythm, rhyme and mood. It is
therefore hoped that the effect will be more striking and longer-lasting.

The Fiction Pieces

The five short stories are by Indian and non-Indian writers and have been chosen for their
interest-level and for the values and social issues that they portray.
The Importance of Dramatising the Plays
Plays, of course, are intended to be dramatised, not simply read. Therefore, the final
activity for each is a dramatisation. If you can memorise your lines, so much the better; if
not, then a dramatised reading will do. Often the audience will be the rest of the class. There
are three principal features in drama
* How you speak your part
In drama, voice is very important. For example, emotions are expressed by raising or
lowering the voice, by speaking with more force or less force, by varying the pace at which
you speak. To use your voice appropriately, you will need to "know" your character
thoroughly, through careful study of the character's line and study of stage directions.
* How you move
Drama is mobile - involving physical movement, gestures, facial expressions, etc. All these
should be done in as natural a manner as possible. Stage directions will give you
appropriate advice.
* Costumes, Props, Lights and Music
These are also important features of a dramatisation. Even simple clothes and props can
make a significant contribution in making the play come alive" for the audience.
We very much hope that you enjoy this Literature Reader.

Editors