Question and Answers of the 3rd Lesson “The Little Girl” from CBSE Class 9 NCERT English Reader “Beehive”. All the answers are as per the CBSE standards for full scoring. Click here for more study material.
NCERT Solutions -The Little Girl
Page No: 38
Thinking about the Text
I. Given below are some emotions that Kezia felt. Match the emotions in Column A with the items in Column B.
Answers
| A | B |
| 1. Fear of terror | (iii) father comes home (iv) speaking to father (v) going to bed when alone at home (vii) father stretched out on sofa snoring |
| 2. Glad sense of relief | (i) Father comes into her room to give her a goodbye kiss (ii) noise of the carriage grows fainter |
| 3. A “funny” feeling, perhaps of understanding | (vi) father comforts her and falls asleep |
II. Answer the following questions in one or two sentences.
1. Why was Kezia afraid of her father?
2. Who were the people in Kezia’s family?
3. What was Kezia’s father’s routine
(i) before going to his office?
(ii) after coming back from his office?
(iii) on Sundays?
4. In what ways did Kezia’s grandmother encourage her to get to know her father better?
Answers:
1. Kezia was afraid of her father because he was a figure to be feared and avoided. His loud voice, stern demeanour, and his habit of scolding her for her stuttering made her scared of him.
2. The people in Kezia’s family were her father, mother, grandmother, and herself (Kezia).
3. (i) Before going to his office, Kezia’s father would come into her room every morning to give her a casual kiss before leaving for work.
(ii) After coming back from his office, Kezia’s father would ask for his tea to be brought to the drawing-room and inquire about the newspaper. He would also request his slippers and expect his boots to be taken off by Kezia if she had been a good girl.
(iii) On Sundays, Grandmother sent Kezia to the drawing-room to have a talk with her father and mother. However, Kezia often found her mother reading and her father sleeping on the sofa, snoring.
4. Kezia’s grandmother encouraged her to get to know her father better by sending her to talk with him on Sunday afternoons and suggesting she make him a pin-cushion as a gift for his birthday.
III. Discuss these questions in class with your teacher and then write down your answers in two or three paragraphs each.
1. Kezia’s efforts to please her father resulted in displeasing him very much. How did this happen?
Answer: Kezia’s efforts to please her father resulted in displeasing him very much because of an unfortunate misunderstanding. Kezia wanted to surprise her father with a pin-cushion made out of a beautiful piece of yellow silk for his birthday. However, she unknowingly used important papers from her mother’s bedroom to stuff the pin-cushion.
When her father discovered the papers missing and questioned Kezia about it, she innocently admitted tearing them up for her surprise. This made her father furious, thinking she had intentionally destroyed important documents. He scolded and punished her, even though she meant no harm. This incident created a sense of fear and reluctance in Kezia towards her father, as he did not understand her innocent intentions and punished her harshly.
2. Kezia decides that there are “different kinds of fathers”. What kind of father was Mr Macdonald, and how was he different from Kezia’s father?
Answer: Mr. Macdonald, the father of the neighbouring family kids, represented a different kind of father compared to Kezia’s father. He was depicted as a more affectionate and playful father. Kezia observed Mr. Macdonald playing with his children, engaging in games like “tag” with them, and being the source of laughter and joy. He appeared to be approachable and warm, in contrast to Kezia’s father, who was stern and distant.
This made Kezia realize that fathers could be different in their behaviour and that there were varying approaches to parenting. Mr. Macdonald’s loving and playful nature stood in contrast to Kezia’s father’s authoritative and strict demeanour.
3. How does Kezia begin to see her father as a human being who needs her sympathy?
Answer: With her mother and grandmother at the hospital, Kezia is left at home in the care of Alice, the cook. At night, after she is put to bed by the cook, she has a nightmare. She calls for her grandmother but, to her surprise, she finds her father standing near her bed. He takes her in his arms and makes her sleep next to him. Half asleep, she creeps close to him, snuggles her head under his arm, and holds tightly to his shirt. Her father asks her to rub her feet against his legs for warmth.
Her father goes off to sleep before her. This makes her understand that he has to work hard every day and this leaves him too tired to be like Mr Macdonald. She expresses her altered feelings for her father by telling him that he has a ‘big heart’. Kezia began to see her father as a human being who needed her sympathy and understanding when she experienced a nightmare one night. While alone in the house and terrified by the nightmare, Kezia sought comfort from her grandmother. However, her father came to her rescue instead. He blew out the candle, took her to his bedroom, and tucked her in. Despite her initial fear, Kezia felt a sense of comfort and safety with her father beside her.
This experience made her realize that her father, like anyone else, had vulnerabilities and needs. The tenderness and care he showed during her fearful moment allowed Kezia to empathize with him. She recognized that her father, though strict and demanding, also needed love and support, and she began to see him as a human being with emotions rather than just a figure to be feared.
Page No: 39
Thinking about Language
I. Look at the following sentence.
1. Use an appropriate word from the synonyms given above in the following sentences. Clues are given in brackets.
(i) She was __________ by the news of her brother’s wedding. (Very pleased)
(ii) I was __________to be invited to the party. (Extremely pleased and excited about)
(iii) She was __________ at the birth of her granddaughter. (Extremely happy)
(iv) The coach was __________ with his performance. (Satisfied about)
(v) She was very __________ with her results. (Happy about something that has happened).
Answer
(i) She was thrilled by the news of her brother’s wedding.
(ii) I was delighted to be invited to the party.
(iii) She was overjoyed at the birth of her granddaughter.
(iv) The coach was pleased with his performance.
(v) She was very happy with her results.
2. Study the use of the word big in the following sentence.
He was so big − his hands and his neck, especially his mouth…
Here, big means large in size.
Now, consult a dictionary and find out the meaning of big in the following sentences. The first one has been done for you.
(i) You are a big girl now. older
(ii) Today you are going to take the biggest decision of your career. _________
(iii) Their project is full of big ideas. _________
(iv) Cricket is a big game in our country. _________
(v) I am a big fan of Lata Mangeskar. _________
(vi) You have to cook a bit more as my friend is a big eater. _________
(vii) What a big heart you’ve got, Father dear. _________
Answer
(ii) most important
(iii) innovation
(iv) popular
(v) great
(vi) gourmand
(vii) generous
Page No: 40
II. Verbs of Reporting
1. Underline the verbs of reporting in the following sentences.
(i) He says he will enjoy the ride.
(ii) Father mentioned that he was going on a holiday.
(iii) No one told us that the shop was closed.
(iv) He answered that the price would go up.
(v) I wondered why he was screaming.
(vi) Ben told her to wake him up.
(vii) Ratan apologised for coming late to the party.
Answer
(i) He says he will enjoy the ride.
(ii) Father mentioned that he was going on a holiday.
(iii) No one told us that the shop was closed.
(iv) He answered that the price would go up.
(v) I wondered why he was screaming.
(vi) Ben told her to wake him up.
(vii) Ratan apologized for coming late to the party.
2. Some verbs of reporting are given in the box. Choose the appropriate verbs and fill in the blanks in the following sentences.
| were complaining | shouted | replied |
| remarked | ordered | suggested |
(i) “I am not afraid,” replied the woman.
(ii) “Leave me alone,” my mother shouted.
(iii) The children were complaining that the roads were crowded and noisy.
(iv) “Perhaps he isn’t a bad sort of a chap after all,” remarked the master.
(v) “Let’s go and look at the school ground,” suggested the sports teacher.
(vi) The traffic police ordered all the passers-by to keep off the road.
