ENGLISH NOTES FOR UNIT TEST 1 (2024-25) GRADE 10

A Letter to God Summary – The story, “A Letter to God” by G.L. Fuentes depicts
the unwavering faith of a farmer in God. It begins with a farmer, named Lencho
expecting for a rain shower to nourish his field of corn. He is confident that his
harvest is going to yield him huge profits just like it does every year. To his utmost
excitement, rainfall did happen but sooner, it turned into a hailstorm destroying his
entire crop field. The damage posed a threat to the family’s survival as their entire
livelihood was dependent on the year’s produce. Although disheartened, the family
had robust belief in the almighty. Lencho, despite having worked day and night at
the field, knew how to write and thus, decided to write a letter to God explaining his
situation and asking for help. He went to town to post his letter addressed “To God”.
The letter on being noticed by the postmaster, at first amused him, but then
motivated him want to do something for the farmer so as to keep his immense belief
intact. He contributes from his salary and collects money from his colleagues and
friends who willingly contributed for an act of charity. To his dismay, he could only
collect 70 pesos which he wrapped in an envelope to make it seem like a reply from
the deity. On having found the letter, the writer (Lencho) is not at all shocked, but
instead, he gets angry on finding that the amount is less than what he had
expected. He again writes a letter to God conveying his disappointment and distrust
in the employees of the post office who he thought had stolen the remaining
amount.
NCERT Solutions for Class 10 English First Flight Chapter 1 A Letter to God
Question 3: How did the rain change? What happened to Lencho’s fields?
Answer:
The rain changed into hailstones as a strong wind began to blow and huge
hailstones began to fall along with the rain. All the crops in Lencho’s field got
destroyed because of the weather conditions.
Question 4: What were Lencho’s feelings when the hail stopped?
Answer:
Lencho was filled with grief after the hail stopped as everything was ruined and
there was nothing that he could feed his family with. He could see a bleak future for
him and his family.
Page 6
Question 5: Who or what did Lencho have faith in? What did he do?
Answer:
Lencho had firm faith in God. He believed ‘ that God sees everything, even what is
deep in one’s conscience and help everyone in one’s problems. He wrote a letter to
God demanding him a hundred pesos to sow his field again.
Question 6: Who read the letter?
Answer:
Postmaster read the letter.
Question 7: What did the postmaster do after reading a letter?
Answer:
The postmaster laughed when he read
Lencho’s letter but soon he became serious and was moved by the writer’s faith in
God. He didn’t want to shake Lencho’s faith. So, he decided to collect ,money and
send it to Lencho on behalf of God.
Page 7
Question 8: Was Lencho surprised to find a letter for him with money in it?
Answer:
Lencho was not surprised to find a letter with money from God as he believed that
God will help him.
Question 9: What made Lencho angry?
Answer:
There were only seventy pesos in the envelope whereas Lencho had demanded a
hundred pesos. The difference in the amount made him angry.

Thinking about the Text (Page 7,8)

Question 1.
Who does Lencho have complete faith in? Which sentences in the story tell you this?
Answer:
Lencho has complete faith in God as he is instructed that God knows everything
and helps us in our problems. There are few sentences which show this

 But in the hearts of all who lived in that solitary house in the middle of the
valley, there was a single hope help from God.
 All through the night, Lencho thought only of his one hope: the help of God,
whose eyes, as he had been instructed, see everything, even what is deep in
one’s conscience.
 “God”, he wrote, “if you don’t help me, my family and I will go hungry this
year”.
 He wrote ‘To God’ on the envelope, put the letter inside and still troubled,
went to town.
 God could not have made a mistake, nor could he have denied Lencho what
he had requested.

Question 2.
Why does the postmaster send money to Lencho? Why does he sign the letter God?
Answer:
The postmaster sends money to Lencho in order to keep
Lencho’s faith in God alive and firm as he was completely moved by it.
When postmaster reads the letter of Lencho to God, he becomes serious and does
not want to shake his faith and decides to answer the letter. He gathers money with
the help of his post office employees and friends on behalf of God and signs the
letter ‘God’ so that Lencho’s faith does not get shaken.

Question 3.
Did Lencho try to find out who had sent the money to him? Why or why not?
Answer:
Lencho did not try to find out who had sent the money to him because he never
suspected the presence of God and had complete faith in God. He could not believe
that it could be – anybody else other than him who would send him the money.
His faith in God was so strong that he believed that he had sent money to him for
his help in his problem.

Question 4.
Who does Lencho think has taken the rest of the money? What is the irony in the
situation? (Remember that the irony of a situation is an unexpected aspect of it. An
ironic situation is strange or amusing because it is the opposite of what is expected).
Answer:
Lencho thinks that the post office employees have taken the rest of the money as he
had demanded a hundred pesos from God and in the letter there was only seventy
pesos and God cannot make such a mistake. So, he assumes that they have stolen
the money.
The irony in this situation is that Lencho suspects those people who helped him in
his problem and tried to keep his faith alive in God.

Question 5.
Are there people like Lencho in the real world? What kind of a person would you say
he is? You may select appropriate words from the box to answer the question.

 Greedy
 Naive
 Stupid
 Ungrateful
 Selfish
 Comical
 Unquestioning

Answer:
It is almost impossible to find a person like Lencho as he is an unquestioning and
naive kind of person. He is not stupid if he doesn’t know who has sent him money
or a letter will reach God without any address. It is Lencho’s faith in God. In real
world, people are selfish and greedy and Lencho is totally lovable and different.

Question 6.
There are two kinds of conflict in the story between humans and nature and
between humans themselves. How are these conflicts illustrated?
Answer:
Conflict between Humans and Nature: The conflict between humans and nature is
illustrated by the destruction of Lencho’s crop by the hailstorm as Lencho was
expecting a good rain to have good harvest as that was the only hope he had for his
earning. He worked so hard to feed his family, but nature turned violent and
destroyed everything.
Conflict between Humans and Humans: The story also illustrated another conflict,
between humans themselves as the postmaster alongwith his friends and staff sent
Lencho money that Lencho demanded from God although they didn’t know Lencho.
Lencho blamed them for taking away some amount of money. He called them “a
bunch of crook”. This shows that man does not have faith in other man, thereby
giving rise to this conflict.

Dust of Snow Summary

Here is the Summary of the poem Dust of Snow:

The short poem by Robert Frost throws light upon the unimaginable healing
power of nature and tiny things. From a bad mood to ill-health, there is nothing
that can’t be cured by nature. The author was experiencing one such bad day when
a crow’s movement near a hemlock tree dusted snow upon him. The snow instantly
makes him happier. His day gets a lot better. Thus, the supremacy of nature as a
whole made him realise how petty his problem was. The fact that hemlock tree is
poisonous combined with crow being the indicator of doom and fear are used in the
poem as the carriers of happiness in the life of narrator is ironical. The poet,
through these objects has tried to highlight that sometimes creatures linked with
negative aspects of life can be the bringer of change and happiness. Being outdoors
in nature, with all it’s unpredictability can benefit anyone, anywhere at any time.

Thinking about the Poem

(Page 14)

Question 1.
What is a “dust of snow”? What does the poet say has changed his mood? How has
the poet’s mood changed?
Answer:
The ‘dust of snow’ means the fine particles or flakes of snow. The sudden shower in
the form of the dust of snow changed the poet’s mood. The poet’s mood changed
from sad to happy. He felt refreshed and wanted to enjoy the rest of the day.

Question 2.
How does Frost present nature in this poem? The following questions may help you
to think of an answer.

1. What are the birds that are usually named in poems? Do you think crow is
often mentioned in poems? What images come to your mind when you think
of a crow?
2. Again, what is ‘a hemlock tree’? Why doesn’t the poet write about more
‘beautiful’ tree such as a maple, or an oak, or a pine?
3. What do the ‘crow’ and ‘hemlock’ represent-joy or sorrow? What does the dust
of snow that the crow shakes off a hemlock tree stand for?

Answer:
Frost presents nature in a very different manner in the poem,
 1. Generally, poets take the birds and trees which are known for their beauty
and good qualities like peacock, parrot, cuckoo, mynah and trees full of
beautiful flowers and fruits, etc. But here Frost has taken a totally different
approach. He chose a crow, which is not often used in poems. Crow is black
in colour with very harsh voice and is believed to be a symbol of bad omen.
Thinking of a crow brings very depressing and sorrowful pictures to our mind.
2. A hemlock tree is poisonous plant with small white flowers. The poet, Robert
Frost, didn’t choose to use an oak, maple or pine tree. Instead, he chose the
hemlock tree and left all the beautiful trees present in the world. Actually he
did so to present his mood and feelings.
3. The crow and hemlock tree represent sorrow and depression felt by the poet in
this materialistic world. The dust of snow is the symbol of natural joy and
energy. The dust of snow that the crow shakes off a hemlock tree means
passing through the sad and depressing moments the poet is entering into the
time full of joy and optimism.

Question 3.
Have there been tilnes when you felt depressed or hopeless? Have you experienced a
similar moment that changed your mood that day?
Answer:
There have been innumerable times when I too have felt depressed and hopeless.
Sometimes, such moments were aroused by other people’s behaviour and attitude
and sometimes due to my own conduct. On one occasion when I was very upset. I
went out for a walk. While walking in the park, I saw a girl playing with a puppy,
embracing and feeding him. This little joy that they shared changed my mood and I
felt very happy for the rest of the day. I also joined the two and played with them.

Fire and Ice Summary

Summary of the Poem Fire and Ice – Robert Frost’s poem “Fire and Ice” is a strong
symbolic poem where the fire is used as the emotion of desire and ice, that of
hatred. He has used the idea of two groups who have their own possible explanation
for the end of the world. One is of the opinion that fire alone can destroy each and
every possibility of life on Earth while the other thinks that if ice as a result of
extremely low temperatures could cover the earth’s surface, it would lead to the end
of the world. Both the components are compared with self-destructing human
emotions: desire and hatred. The poet is original of the opinion that he has been
very closely associated with the “fiery desires” and considers it capable of bringing
human beings on the verge of destruction. Thus, he considers fire as more
competent for destruction. But then he thinks that “icy hatred” is just as capable of
ruining humans, though slowly and steadily. Therefore, if Earth was to end twice,
ice would be just as good as fire. If a fire would lead to rapid destruction, ice would
lead to silent damage. Similarly, if the fire is pure passion, ice is pure reason. Thus,
the poem, very artistically, underpins the philosophy that we let our emotions rule
us and if don’t control them they will surely bring us all on the verge of chaos.

Thinking about the Poem

(Page 15)

Question 1.
There are many ideas about how the world will ‘end’. Do you think the world will
end some day? Have you ever thought what would happen if the Sun gets so hot
that it ‘bursts’ or grows colder and colder?

Answer:

There are definitely many ideas about how the world will ‘end’. I do believe that the
world will end some day as anything that has a beginning will have an end. This
stands true for the world also, if the Sun got so hot that it burst, the whole of the
Earth would perish immediately as no part of the Earth can bear the heat of that
intensity. But if the Sun grew colder and colder, everything will come to an end as
without sunlight, life will end.

Question 2.

For Frost, what do ‘fire’ and ‘ice’ stand for? Here are some ideas

Answer:

‘Fire’ stands for greed, avarice, lust, conflict and fury. ‘Ice’ stands for cruelty,
intolerance, rigidity, insensitivity, coldness, indifference and hatred.

Question 3.

What is the rhyme scheme of the poem? How does it help in bringing out the
contrasting ideas in the poem?

Answer:

The rhyme scheme of the poem is- a b a a b c b c b

This rhyme scheme helps in bringing out the contrasting ideas of ‘fire’ and ‘ice’
presented in the poem. The poet mentions that both fire and ice are probable ends
of this world. He talks about how fire represents desire and can therefore be a cause
of the end of the world. Frost also mentions ice in between to symbolise that the
coldness and indifference towards one another will be enough to end the world. In
the second stanza, he says that he knows of enough hate in the world to be sure
that even destruction through ice . would be sufficient to bring about the end of the
world.

NELSON MANDELA LONG WALK TO FREEDOM

Summary
This chapter is an extract from the autobiography of Nelson Mandela (born- 18 July,
1918), the first Black President of South Africa. It begins with the description of
their inaugural ceremony which took place on the 10th of May 1994 where the
entire nation along with many international leaders embraced the victory of a newly
and fairly elected government. It involved speeches by the President and the two
Deputy Presidents followed by an impressive air show of fighter jets and helicopters.
Long ago, in the first decade of the twentieth century, white supremacy introduced
the system of apartheid and made life a living hell for the dark-skinned population.
It gave rise to one of the most inhumane societies of the world. Many people have
struggled and sacrificed for basic human rights. The author expressed his desire to
thank all those freedom fighters who couldn’t live to see this autumn day. He
referred to the citizens as the greatest asset of the country. It is these people he
gathered his courage from. Mandela believes that courageous is not the man who is
fearless, but the man who has overcome fear. He also mentioned the two
responsibilities every human has and how in order to fulfil his obligation towards
the society, his obligation towards his family was neglected. He became a man of
people when he realised that the idea of freedom was an illusion for him and people
like him. It was then he joined the African National Congress and fought for his
rights till he became the first black President of the nation. According to him, the
oppressor is as much a prisoner as the oppressed. As soon as the former robs the
oppressed of their freedom he, himself gets robbed of his humanity. Thus, the
oppressor too, is not free.
Oral Comprehension Check
Page 18,19
Question 1.
Where did the ceremonies take place ? Can you name any public buildings in India
that are made of sandstones?
Answer:
The ceremonies took place in the campus of the Union Building of Pretoria, which
were attended by dignitaries and leaders of many nations. In India; Rashtrapati
Bhavan and Red Fort are buildings made of red sandstone.
Question 2.
Can you say how 10th May is an ‘autumn day’ in South Africa?
Answer:
As South Africa is in the Southern Hemisphere, may falls in the autumn season.
Thus 10th May is an ‘autumn day’.
Question 3.
At the beginning of his speech, Mandela mentions “an extraordinary human
disaster”. What does he mean by this? What is the “glorious human achievement”
he speaks of at the end?
Answer:
By ‘an extraordinary human disaster’ Mandela means to state the practice of
apartheid in South Africa. During this there was a racial segregation based on
colour and the blacks suffered a lot. They were not allowed to demand freedom or
any right. Mandela himself did spend many years on infamous ‘Robben Island’ as a
prisoner where he was beaten mercilessly. He considered it as great glorious human
achievement that a black person became the President of a country where the
blacks were not even considered human beings and were treated badly.
Question 4.
What does Mandela thank the international leaders for ?
Answer:
Mandela felt very privileged to welcome the international leaders at the swearing – in
ceremony because not too long ago, the South Africans were considered outlaws. He
thus thanks all of them for having come to witness the historical ceremony. This
was a gesture of international recognition to a newly born free democratic nation
and it could be considered as a common victory for justice, peace and human
dignity.
Question 5.
Which does Mandela think is natural, to love or to hate?
Answer:
For Mandela, love comes more naturally to the human heart than hate.
Page 4
Question 1.
What “twin obligations” does Mandela mention?
Answer:
Mandela mentions that every man has twin obligations. The first is to his family,
parents, wife and children; the second obligation is to his people, his community
and his country.
Question 2.
What did being free mean to Mandela as a boy, and as a student ? How does he
contrast these “transitory freedoms” with “the basic and honourable freedoms”?
Answer:
Like any other kid, for Mandela freedom meant to make merry and enjoy the blissful
life. Once one becomes an adult, antics of childhood looks like transitory because
most of the childish activities are wasteful from an adult’s perspective. Once you are
adult, you have to earn a livelihood to bring the bacon home. Its only then when you
get an honourable existence in the family and in the society.
Question 3.
Does Mandela think the oppressor is free? Why/why not?
Answer:
Mandela does not think that the oppressor is free because according to him an
oppressor is a victim of hatred who is behind the bars of prejudice and narrow-
mindedness. He realises that both the oppressor and the oppressed are robbed of
their humanity and peace.
Thinking about the Text
(Page 24)

Question 1.
Why did such a large number of international leaders attend the inauguration ?
What did it signify the triumph of?
Answer:
To be the part of the inauguration, international leaders showed a gesture of
solidarity from international community to the idea of end of apartheid. It was the
significance of the victory of good over evil and triumph of a tolerant society without
any discrimination.

Question 2.
What does Mandela mean when he says he is “simply the sum of all those African
patriots”, who had gone before him ?
Answer:
By saying that he is simply the sum of all those African patriots, Mandela wants to
pay his tribute to all the people who have sacrificed their lives for the sake of
freedom. He says that he is grateful to those who had gone before him because
those heroes of past had paved the path of co-operation and unity for him.
Therefore, he could try to come to power to bring equality for his people with their
support.

Question 3.
Would you agree that the “depths of oppression” create “heights of character”? How
does Mandela illustrate this? Can you add your own examples to this argument ?
Answer:
I agree with the statement that depths of oppression create heights of character.
Nelson Mandela illustrates this by giving examples of great heroes of South Africa
like Oliver Tambo, Walter Sisulu and others who were inspired to sacrifice their lives
in the long freedom struggle.
India is full of such examples, during our freedom struggle there was a galaxy of
leaders of great characters and the oppression of British rule created and
encouraged people of noble characters like Mahatma Gandhi, Lala Lajpat Rai, JL
Nehru, Chandra Shekhar Ajad, Sardar Bhagat Singh and many more. If we compare
them with the quality of political leaders India is having today, then Nelson Mandela
seems to be absolutely right;

Question 4.
How did Mandela’s understanding of freedom change with age and experience?
Answer:
With age and experience, Mandela understood the real meaning of freedom. As a
young boy, he thought that he was born free and believed that as long as he obeyed
his father and abided by the customs of his tribe, he was free in every possible
manner. As he grew older, freedom to raise a family and freedom to earn livelihood
started dominating his thoughts. Gradually he realised that he was selfish during
his boyhood. He slowly understood that it was not just his freedom that was being
curtailed, but the freedom of all blacks. It was the freedom from fear and prejudice.
Age and experience widened his perspective of freedom.
Question 5.
How did Mandela’s ‘hunger for freedom’ change his life?
Answer:
Mandela realised in his youth that it was not just his freedom that was being
curtailed, but the freedom of all blacks. This changed the fearfulman to a fearless
rebel.
He sacrificed the comforts of a settled family life to fight for a greater cause. He
joined the African National Congress and this changed him from a frightened young
man into a bold one who fought against racial prejudice.

A Tiger in the Zoo Summary

The poem written by Leslie Norris explains the agony and helplessness of a caged
tiger that lives in a zoo. The poet explains what his life could be if he had been a free
animal. The poet has tried to explain about the condition of animals that are caged
by human beings for their own fun.
The poem begins with a description of a tiger that is very beautiful and is walking in
his little cage. He has beautiful stripes on his skin and has velvet like soft paws. But
the tiger is not happy and is quite angry about being confined in the cage. The poet
says that if the tiger was not confined to the zoo cage, he would have been hiding
himself behind the long grass near some water body, in order to catch its prey that
is the deer. Also, he would have terrorised the residents of the villages around the
forest area. But the reality is totally opposite to this. He was confined in a cage
which was made up of strong building material and he was helpless there. He could
not show his power to the visitors, therefore, never tried to terrorize them. The tiger
is described as being powerless and agonized by the poet. He says that during night
also he is alone, hearing the voice of the patrolling vehicles of police and looking at
the stars. The cage life has totally changed the tiger’s personality. The poet is trying
to say that the animal which is famous for its fearlessness and freedom is confined
and sad due to the human beings who want to derive pleasure by looking at him in
the zoo cage.

Thinking About the Poem

(Page 30)

Question 1.
Read the poem again and work in pairs or groups to do the following tasks.
1. Find the words that describe the movements and actions of the tiger in the cage
and in the wild. Arrange them in two columns.
2. Find the words that describe the two places and arrange them in two columns.
Now try to share ideas about how the poet uses words and images to contrast the
two situations.
Answer1:

In the Cage In the Wild

Stalks, Few steps Lurking in

of his cage, Quiet shadow, Sliding
rage Locked in through long
concrete cell, grass, Snarling
Stalking-the
around houses,
length of his cage
Baring his white
Ignoring visitors.
fangs, his claws,
He hears the last
Terrorising the
voice Stares at the
village.
brilliant stars.

Answer 2:

Cage Wild

Few steps of his Shadow, Long

cage, grass, Water

Locked, Concrete
hole, Plump deer,
cell,

Behind bars, Houses at

Visitors, jungle’s edge,

Patrolling cars Village

Question 2.
Notice the use of a word repeated in lines such as these
1. On pads of velvet quiet, In his quiet rage.
2. And stares with his brilliant eyes At the brilliant stars.
What do you think is the effect of this repetition?
Answer:
This repetition is a poetic device used by the poet in order to increase the intensity
of the tiger’s rage and his helpless silence. ‘Velvet quiet’ refers to the quiet velvet
pads of the tiger, which cannot run or leap. They can only walk around the limited
space in the cage. The use of ‘quiet rage’ symbolises the anger and ferocity that is
building up inside the tiger as it wants to run out into the forest and attack a deer,
but the rage is quiet because he is locked in the cage and is helpless. The repetition
of ‘quiet’ has, thus, brought immense beauty to the poem. Similarly, the use of
‘brilliant’ for the tiger’s eyes as well as the stars also brings out the magnificence of
these lines. The tiger stares at the brilliant stars with his brilliant eyes dreaming
about how beautiful his life could be in the forest. The repetition thus, gives a
wonderful effect to the poem.

A Triumph of Surgery Summary

The story starts when Mrs. Pumphrey, a rich lady takes her dog out for a walk. A
nearby veterinary doctor who knows the lady sees the dog and is shocked as he sees
that the dog looks like a bloated sausage with a leg at each end. He advises her to
stop giving him unhealthy things to eat but Mrs. Pumphrey is not able to refuse
him. Soon he falls sick and the doctor is called. The narrator, Mr. Herriot then
somehow takes Tricki, the dog to the hospital even though he knows that Mrs.
Pumphrey is not ready to leave her dog and nearly fainted just by hearing these
words. Then he takes the dog along and puts a bed for him in his surgery. The dog
doesn’t move much nor eats anything for the first two days. On the second day, he
looks around and whimpers a bit. He wanted to go out on the third day and started
playing with the bigger dogs when he was taken out. He also licked the bowls of
other dogs clean on the third day.
Then his condition started improving very fast. He started fighting for his meals with
other dogs. Then when this news reached Mrs. Pumphrey, she started sending him
eggs as she thought that Tricki was recovering from an illness and needed energy
foods. Mr. Herriot and his partners started eating those eggs for morning breakfast.
Then for improving Tricki’s blood, Mrs. Pumphrey started sending in bottles of wine
which was again consumed by Mr. Herriot. He used to take two glasses before lunch
and some more glasses while having his lunch. Then when she started sending in
bottles of brandy for Tricki that was the time when Mr. Herriot thought that he
would really like to keep Tricki as a permanent guest in the surgery. Mr. Herriot
used to be really happy someday by having two extra eggs every morning. Then
having few glasses of wine in the afternoon and close the day by having brandy at
night. But then he took a wise decision and called up Mrs. Pumphrey as she was
really worried and on this side Tricki was ready to be taken back home. Tricki was
really happy to see his mistress and jumped into the car. Mrs. Pumphrey said that
she won’t be able to ever thank him for what he had done and also, that his surgery
had been successful as Tricki was now cured.

Read and Find Out

(Page 1)
Question 1.
Why is Mrs Pumphrey worried about Tricki?
Answer:
Mrs Pumphrey is worried about Tricki because he is unwell. He has refused to eat
food and had bouts of vomiting. She feels that he is suffering from a serious health
issue such as malnutrition.

Question 2.
What does she do to help him? Is she wise in this?
Answer:
Mrs Pumphrey starts giving him extra snacks like malt, cod-liver oil and Horlicks,
apart from his main meals, to improve his condition. She also continues to satisfy
his sweet tooth with cream cakes and chocolates. She does not give him any
exercise, considering his listlessness as well. She is not wise in doing so because
overfeeding Tricki is worsening his conditions instead of improving it. It has made
him very fat and lazy.

Question 3.
Who does ‘I’ refer to in this story?
Answer:
‘I’ refers to the narrator, Mr James Herriot, a veterinary doctor.

Page 3

Question 4.
Is the narrator as rich as Tricki’s mistress?
Answer:
No, the narrator is not as rich as Tricki’s mistress, Mrs Pumphery. We can say so
because the narrator seems fascinated by how lavishly Mrs Pumphrey spends on
the well-being and maintenance of her pet. He is unusually surprised by the
enriching items she sends for Tricki, as he cannot afford them for himself.

Question 5.
How does he treat the dog?
Answer:
James Herriot treats Tricki just like he would treat an overweight and lazy dog,
which Tricki is. He cuts down his food intake and keeps him under strict
observation for the initial days at hospital. He gradually increases Tricki’s food and
sets him free for physical activities to improve his health.

Question 6.
Why is he tempted to keep Tricki on as a permanent guest?
Answer:
Mr Herriot is tempted to keep Tricki on as a permanent guest because of the good
food and wine he is enjoying in Tricki’s name. He does not want to lose the
luxurious inflow of fresh eggs, wine and brandy.

Question 7.
Why does Mrs Pumphrey think the dog’s recovery is ‘a triumph of surgery’?
Answer:
Mrs Pumphrey thinks that Tricki’s recovery is a triumph of surgery because his
illness was very serious. She was of the opinion that there were very few chances of
Tricki to improve and he needed immediate medical attention. Thus, his revival
without any medicinal treatment was a great achievement, according to her.

Think About It
(Page 6)

Question 1.
What kind of a person do you think the narrator, a veterinary surgeon, is? Would
you say he is tactful as well as full of common sense?
Answer:
The narrator, a veterinary surgeon, is a capable and wise doctor. He handles Tricki
properly which shows that he is sincere about his profession.
He does not operate upon the dog unnecessarily and cures him by altering his diet
and activities.
He is a tactful person as he knew exactly how to convince Mrs Pumphrey to
hospitalise Tricki for a surgery. His decision to inform Mrs Pumphrey to collect
Tricki supports his sensibilities even though he was tempted to keep Tricki as a
permanent guest.

Question 2.
Do you think Tricki was happy to go home? What do you think will happen now?
Answer:
Tricki was happy to go back home as he really loved his mistress and the comfort of
his lavish life. He didn’t have any friends at home like in the hospital, but he seemed
equally excited at the sight of Mrs Pumphrey. I think that Mrs Pumphrey will now be
careful about Tricki’s diet and health. She may also give him exercise daily as
prescribed by the vet earlier.
Question 3.
Do you think it is a real-life episode or mere fiction? Or is it a mixture of both?
Answer:
The story seems to be a mixture of both. It may be possible for rich persons to
overfeed their pets due to love. It is not unusual for them to maintain a vast
wardrobe for them either. But it is unlikely for a veterinary doctor to go out of the
way and lie in order to save an animal. It is also unusual for anyone to consume
food which is given in the name of a pet’s health.

The Thief’s Story Summary

The story is about two different people. One is a thief of 15 years of age and the
other is a man of approximately 25 years, watching a wrestling match somewhere.
The name of the person watching the match is Anil. The thief approaches Anil and
starts talking to him because he feels that he had not robbed anyone in the past few
days and thought that it would be easy to rob a simple person like Anil. They both
start talking and Anil asks the thief his name. The thief introduces himself as Hari
Singh. This is not his real name as he changes his name every month to escape his
ex employers or police. Then they started talking about the wrestlers and Anil was
leaving when Hari called him again and asked him if he could work for Anil. Anil
said that he won’t be able to pay him but could feed him if he knew how to cook.
Hari lied that he knew how to cook. Anil took Hari to his room which was above a
sweet shop. Hari cooked a meal which was really bad because Anil did not eat it.
Anil asked Hari to leave but he tried to please Anil. Hari smiled in his most
attractive way and Anil could not stop laughing looking at him. Anil agreed to teach
Hari how to cook, write full sentences and add numbers. Hari was grateful as he
knew that there would be no limit to robbing people once he learnt how to read and
write.
The narrator used to like working for Anil as he used to make him tea in the
morning and then go out to buy the groceries for the day. He also used to steal 1
rupee from the money that was given to him to buy the groceries every day. Anil
knew that he used to steal but did not mind.
Anil used to make money by irregular works. Sometimes he used to borrow money
and the other day, when he had money, he would be lending it to other people.
Whenever he used to get money, he would go out with his friends to celebrate.
One day, Anil came in with a bundle of notes and told Hari that he had sold a book
to a publisher. At night he kept the money safely under the mattress of his bed. Hari
realized that he had been working for Anil for more than a month and had not
stolen anything apart from the 1 rupee that he kept every day from the grocery
money. Hari had many chances to steal as he had the key to the room as well. But
he was surprised with the amount of trust Anil had on him as he had never seen
such a trusting person in his life. This trust thing was preventing him from robbing
Anil as Hari thought that robbing a careless person like Anil didn’t make much
difference because he might not even notice that he had been robbed and that took
out all the fun from the work. Then he thought of stealing Anil’s money and justified
himself that if he didn’t steal money from Anil then also he would waste it on his
friends and also, Anil didn’t pay him for the work that he did. Hari then woke up at
night and quietly crawled to Anil’s bed. He steals the money and decides to leave the
city by Lucknow Express that departed at 10:30. When he reached the station, the
train had slowly started moving from the platform. He could have easily caught the
train, but he hesitated and he himself did not know the reason for it. Before he had
reached the station he counted the money and it was 600 rupees in 50 rupee notes.
He could live a lavish life for 2 – 3 weeks with so much money. After the train had
left, Hari was all alone at the train station. He was left with no place to sleep at
night. The only person he knew was Anil and he had looted him as well. He sat on a
bench in a park and as it started to rain, he sat down under the clock tower. Then
he realized that the notes had got wet. He realized that learning how to read and
write would help him to get a much more respectable and honest job which would
pay him much more than these few hundred rupees. Then he decided to go back to
Anil’s house. He reached the room and placed the money back. Next morning, he
woke up a bit late and Anil had already made his tea. Aniul gave a 50 rupee note to
Hari as he had got paid for some work and he would be paid regularly. Hari took the
note in his hand and realized that the note was still wet from the rain last night.
Hari realized that Anil had come to know about his misdeed but there was no
sadness, anger or guilt in his mind. The narrator smiled in a beautiful way and it
was genuine happiness as he knew that he had saved himself from the wrong road.

Read and Find Out

Page 8
Question 1.
Who does ‘I’ refer to in this story?
Answer:
I refers to Hari Singh, the narrator of the story who is a 15 year old experienced
thief.
Question 2.
What is he “a fairly successful hand” at?
Answer:
He is a fairly successful hand at stealing. He is an experienced thief. He is so clean
and swift in his work that he robs people without being caught.
Question 3.
What does he get from Anil in return for his work?
Answer:
In return of Hari Singh’s work, Anil gives him food and a place to live in.
Page 10
Question 4.
How does the thief think Anil will react to the theft?
Answer:
According to Hari, Anil would be sad not because of the loss of money but because
of the loss of trust he had in Hari.
Question 5.
What does he say about the different reactions of people when they are robbed?
Answer:
Hari’s experience at theft had made him aware of differences in reactions of peofJle
when they’re robbed. According to him, a greedy man shows fear; the rich, anger
and a poor man, acceptance.
Question 6.
Does Anil realise that he has been robbed?
Answer:
Yes, Anil realised that he had been robbed, as he gave a fifty rupee note to Hari
which was still damp due to the night’s rain.
Think About It
(Page 13)
Question 1.
What are Hari Singh’s reactions at the prospect of receiving an education? Do they
change overtime? {Hint: compare, for example, the thought: ‘I knew that once I could
write like an educated man there would be no limit to what I could achieve’ with
these later thoughts:
‘Whole sentences, I knew, could one day bring me more than a few hundred rupees.
It was a simple matter to steal and sometimes just as simple to be caught. But to be
a really big man, a clever and respected man, was something else.’) What makes him
return to Anil?
Answer:
Hari was very happy and grateful when he learned to write his name. He was very
excited when Anil promised to teach him to write whole sentences as well. He knew
that being an educated man will add to his abilities and he could achieve anything.
But when he left Anil’s house, he realised that stealing was simply a crime to
indulge himself but being educated was an entirely different thing. He knew the
respect, reputation and possibilities that would come to him once he was educated.
And so his urge to receive education compelled him to return to Anil.
Question 2.
Why does Anil not hand the thief over to the police? Do you think most people would
have done so? In what ways is Anil different from such employers?
Answer:
Unlike others, Anil does not handover Hari to the police on theft charges. He knew
about the theft but he did not thrash him nor even mentioned it in front of Hari. He
was glad that Hari had realised his mistake and the importance of education in life.
Anil wanted Hari to become a literate man and lead a respectful life.
He is different from other such employers because he is very understanding. Hari’s
return gave him the hope of a change in him.