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ENGLISH LANGUAGE AND Lencho had requested from God. The postmaster
LITERATURE
then put all the money collected in an
GRADE-10
envelope and addressed it to the poor farmer.
PROSE
The following Sunday, Lencho went to the post
1. A LETTER TO GOD office to check if there was a letter for him. The
postmaster gently handed over the letter to him.
A Letter to God is a story written by G.L. Fuentes
Lencho was not surprised at all to see the letter
which depicts the firm faith of a poor and simple-
with money inside the envelope. He confidently
minded farmer named Lencho in God. Lencho was
opened the envelope to count the money but
a poor yet dedicated farmer. He was hoping for a
became angry when he saw that there were only
decent harvest. To his dismay, a hailstorm suddenly
seventy pesos in it. He was sure that God could
destroyed all his crops and the harvest completely.
have never made such a grave mistake. He
Seeing the damage, the poor farmer was taken
instantly went to the window to ask for paper and
aback and felt sad. However, he had a strong faith
ink and wrote another letter to God, and dropped it
in God. He was a learned man who knew how to
into the letterbox.
read and write. Due to his straightforward nature,
he was certain that God would definitely help him. When Lencho had left the place, the postmaster
Thus, he decided to draft a letter to God while opened and read his letter immediately. In it,
addressing his financial concerns to him. In the Lencho had raised a complaint to God that he had
letter, he requested God to send him one hundred initially requested one hundred pesos, but he was
pesos to sow his fields again and save his family upset to find seventy pesos only. Furthermore, he
from starvation. Soon he wrote a letter and went to criticized the post office employees and felt that
the post office. He placed a stamp on the letter and they must have stolen the remaining thirty pesos
dropped it into the mailbox. from his envelope. He urged God to send him the
rest of the money since he was in urgent need of it.
When the postman took out the letter from the
However, he requested God not to send the money
letterbox, he laughed heartily after reading it. He
through the mail because Lencho thought that the
immediately rushed to the postmaster and showed
post office employees were ‘a bunch of crooks’
him the strange letter. The postmaster read the
who might have stolen the remaining money from
letter but laughed out loud when he noticed that the
the envelope.
letter was addressed to God. However, he was also
moved by the faith of the In the chapter – A Letter to God, we learnt that faith
farmer. He lauded the poor farmer’s in God has the power to move mountains and
unquestionable faith in God and decided to help satisfy our needs. However, it should also be noted
him. Soon, he asked the employees of the post that humanity also prevails in the midst of one’s
office to contribute some money as charity and also faith in the Almighty. This story beautifully
gave a part of his salary so sketches Lencho’s deep faith in God and how the
that Lencho’s faith in God is not shaken. However, post office employees helped him anonymously by
the money collected was a little less than what
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contributing money from their pockets to help the skinned people against the dark-skinned people on
poor man in crisis. their own land gave rise to one of the harshest and
most inhumane societies the world had ever seen
or known. He strongly believed that no person is
2. Nelson Mandela: Long Walk to Freedom born to hate the other person on the basis of skin
colour, background or religion. However, people
Nelson Mandela: Long Walk to Freedom is an
must learn to hate because if they learn to hate, they
extract from the autobiography of Nelson
can be taught to love as well, as love comes more
Rolihlahla Mandela that describes the struggle for
naturally to humans than hate. He also mentioned
freedom of black people in South Africa. On 10th
how a person becomes brave, not because he does
May 1994, Nelson Mandela took the oath as South
not feel afraid, but because he knows how to
Africa’s first Black President after more than three
conquer his fears.
centuries of White rule. His party had won 252 out
of the 400 seats in the first democratic elections in Furthermore, Mandela stated that every man in life
the history of South Africa. has two major obligations. The first one is his
obligation towards his family, which includes his
Many dignitaries and political figures from several
parents, wife and children, and the second is
countries attended the inauguration ceremony that
towards his motherland, countrymen and his
took place in the Union Buildings amphitheatre in
community. Everyone is able to fulfil those
Pretoria. In his speech, Mandela addressed all
obligations according to his own interests and
dignitaries respectfully and assured his fellow
inclinations. However, it was difficult to fulfil both
countrymen that his country would never
these obligations as a black man in a country like
experience similar suppression by one group over
South Africa before the democratic wave took over
another. While taking his vow as the first black
the nation by storm. When Mandela became an
President, he established democracy in the country
adult, he realised that freedom was merely an
and said there would be no discrimination against
illusion and temporary in nature for the black-
people, irrespective of caste, colour, creed or race.
skinned people of his country. He felt that they
He assured that the government would always treat
were treated as slaves of exploitation, and all the
all the people of the country with due respect and
people of his race were treated unfairly by the
equality.
white-skinned people.
The lovely day of inauguration was symbolic for
Mandela as the South African people sang two According to Mandela, freedom was indivisible for
national all. But the people of his colour and race were
anthems – the vision of whites sang ‘Nkosi Sikelel bound in chains of oppression and tyranny. He
–iAfrika’ and the blacks sang ‘Die Stem’, the old knew that the oppressor must be liberated just like
anthem of the Republic. All these events reminded the oppressed because a person who snatches
Mandela of how black-skinned people were another’s freedom is also a prisoner of similar
exploited by white people earlier. He deeply felt oppression. Thus, the oppressor is not free too and
the pain of his race and said that this type of feels shackled in the chains of oppression himself.
suppression and racial domination of the white-
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In the chapter – Nelson Mandela: Long Walk to flight and soared higher and skimmed through the
Freedom, we learnt that brave men are not those waves and dived along with his siblings.
who never feel afraid but the ones who know how
to conquer fear. Mandela strongly felt that every Two Stories about Flying Part 2: Black Aeroplane
individual has certain duties and responsibilities Summary
towards his own country and community.
“Black Aeroplane” is a mysterious story written by
3. Two Stories about Flying Part 1: His First Fredrik Forsyth that revolves around a pilot. The
Flight Summary narrator of the story is a pilot who wants to be with
his family and enjoy a wholesome breakfast with
The story “His First Flight” is written by Liam
them in England. He had to fly from France to
O’Flaherty and is based on a young seagull who
England to spend time with his family. Once he
was afraid to take his first flight because he feared
crossed Paris, he came across storm clouds that
that his wings wouldn’t support him while flying.
looked like black mountains. However, he flew
All his siblings took the plunge to fly fearlessly in
through the clouds and soon realized that
the open air despite having smaller wings than him.
everything around him had turned completely
However, the young bird could not muster up the
black. Nothing was visible to him outside the
courage to take the plunge as he did not trust in his
aeroplane as he lost control of it.
wings. Whenever he tried to come forward towards
the brink of the ledge while attempting to fly, he Suddenly, he noticed that there was another
became afraid and went back. His parents aeroplane with no lights on its wings. The pilot of
constantly upbraided and threatened him that that aeroplane waved his hands and signalled him
unless he flew away, he would have to starve alone to follow. He blindly followed the other pilot since
on the ledge, but all their efforts went in vain. He the radio signals of his plane were not reachable,
would just watch his parents teaching his siblings and even the fuel tank was low. Soon he passed
how to skim the waves and dive for fish. through the dark clouds and landed safely on the
runway with the help of the other pilot. Upon
One fine day, the whole family flew to a big plateau
landing, he inquired at the reception about who was
and taunted the young seagull for his cowardice.
the other pilot who helped him in such a critical
As the sun rays blazed on his ledge, he could feel
situation as he wanted to thank him for saving his
the heat and had been starving since the previous
life. But the woman in the control centre told him
nightfall. The young bird begged his mother to
that there was no other aeroplane in the night sky
bring him some food. He uttered a joyful scream
other than his aeroplane.
when his mother quickly picked a piece of fish and
flew across to him. He leaned out eagerly and In the chapter – Two Stories About Flying, there are
jumped at the fish, exasperated by hunger. two stories that teach us that inner strength and
Suddenly he fell outward in the open space, and a determination are necessary to overcome fear.
monstrous terror seized him as he could feel that Having the courage to face tough situations helps
he was falling downward. The next moment, he felt us to overcome complex situations in our lives.
his wings spread outwards, and he was able to fly
fearlessly. Finally, the young seagull took his first
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4. From the Diary of Anne Frank herself, but she could not do anything about the
trait that she inherited from her mother. When her
From the Diary of Anne Frank is an autobiography teacher read the essay, he found it
of a young Jewish girl who wrote her thoughts in a amusing and assigned her a second essay, ‘An
diary. At first, she felt it was an unusual experience Incorrigible Chatterbox’, for her unreformable
for her to pen down all her thoughts. She believed talkative nature.
that no one in the near future would be interested
to read about a young girl’s past experiences from However, during the third lesson, Mr Keesing had
read enough of her justifications and assigned her
her diary. However, she still decided to write her another
thoughts in her diary and named it “Kitty”. She topic entitled, ‘Quack, Quack, Quack, Said
considered her diary to be her true and loyal friend Mistress Chatterbox’ as a punishment for her
as she was lonely and had no friends to talk to. incorrigible habit. Anne almost ran out of thoughts
Anne felt that her diary had more capacity to after writing essays on similar topics previously.
absorb thoughts than people with low patience This time she took the help of her friend, Sanne,
levels. Further, she mentioned how much she loved who was good at poetry and wrote the essay from
her family, especially her adorable father, who beginning to end in satirical verse. When her
gifted her the diary on her thirteenth birthday. teacher read the essay he took it lightly and
thoroughly enjoyed it. Since then, Anne was
On 20th June 1942, Anne stated how her entire
class was nervous about their exam results. allowed to talk in class and was never assigned any
Although she extra homework by Mr Keesing.
was confident about other subjects, she wasn’t
quite sure about mathematics. She and her friend, In the chapter – From the Diary of Anne Frank, we
G, pleaded with the students to calm down and not learnt that a young student should be allowed to
make noise, but all in vain. She felt that about a interact in class in order to feel joyous and have an
quarter of the class were dummies who should be enjoyable learning experience. We hope this CBSE
kept back in the same class as they did not Class 10 English First Flight Prose Summary of
participate in other activities. From the Diary of Anne Frank must have helped
students to grasp a better understanding of the
Besides, Anne also mentioned how the maths chapter.
teacher, Mr Keesing, was annoyed by her talkative
nature. He would often punish her with extra 5. Glimpses of India
homework whenever she talked more during his
class. In the first
Part 1: A Baker from Goa Summary
punishment, he asked her to write an essay on ‘A
Chatterbox’, which in itself was a weird topic for This story is written by Lucio Rodrigues, who
Anne. She gave good thought to the topic and talked about Goa, which was once ruled by the
decided to present convincing arguments in her Portuguese. Due to this reason, the people of the
essay, justifying her points in support of talking. region are swayed by the Portuguese culture.
She mentioned that she would try to improve Baking was the conventional profession of the

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Goan people, and the bakers were known as Besides, the Coorgi people are very brave. One of
‘paders’ there. This story particularly revolves the most significant regiments in the Indian Army
around the bakers living in a Goan village. The is the Coorg Regiment. Notably, the first Indian
author mentioned how people in old times ate Commander-in-Chief of the Indian Army was
loaves of bread which were baked in large General Cariappa, who hailed from this beautiful
furnaces. The paders would come to sell those place. The hilly regions and forests of Coorg are a
loaves in the street and would make a jingling major source of water for the Cauvery River.
sound with the bamboo whenever they arrived. He Visitors who are interested in high-adventure
further added how the villagers enjoyed eating the sports can have fun and frolic in this place and also
loaves and bread-bangles brought in baskets for explore the different types of animals particularly
children by these bakers during his childhood. found in this region.

The author also described the special attire of the

Glimpses of India Part 3: Tea from Assam
bakers called Kabai, which was a single-piece
Summary
frock that would reach up to their knees. Besides,
he also mentioned how baking became the most Tea from Assam is a story written by Arup Kumar
profitable profession among people in Goa, and Datta. This is the last story of the prose, Glimpses
many bakers led a prosperous life, and their of India. The story began with two friends, Rajvir
jackfruit-like physical appearance was a valid and Pranjol, who were travelling to Assam. On
testimony of their well-being. their way, they bought fresh tea from a roadside
vendor and discussed the special tea of this region.
Glimpses of India Part 2: Coorg Summary As they sipped the hot steaming tea, Rajvir told
Pranjol that over eighty crore cups of tea are being
Coorg is a story written by Lokesh Abrol. He consumed every day throughout the world. Rajvir
described Coorg as the smallest district of thoroughly enjoyed the scenic beauty of Assam,
Karnataka. The author said Coorg, or Kodagu is a consisting of tea plantations and bushes, while
beautiful place that is located midway between Pranjol was engrossed in a detective book.
Mangalore and Mysore. The heavenly city has
evergreen forests, spices and coffee plantations and Rajvir further explained to Pranjol about Assam as
many tourists throng to this destination from a place that is famous for having the largest tea
September to March every year. The air of this plantations. However, no one knows the origin of
region is filled with coffee scents. The people of tea in the region. According to a Chinese legend, a
this region are very independent and have some few leaves of tea accidentally fell into a pot of
Greek or Arabic connection since the time a part boiling hot water. The Emperor enjoyed the
of Alexander’s army had settled here permanently. delicious flavour of
They settled here and married the local people and the liquid, and that’s how tea came into being.
the tradition continues to exist. The people of Further, Rajvir mentioned how an Indian legend,
Coorg wear Kuppia, which is a long black coat that Bodhidharma, who was a Buddhist monk, cut off
is quite similar to the ones worn by Arabs. his eyelids because he fell asleep during
meditation. In no time, ten tea plants grew out of

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his eyelids and when these leaves were put in hot message from his friend and discovered an otter
water, it helped in banishing sleep. inside it. He christened the otter ‘Mijbil’ and would
often refer to it as Mij.
Soon, both of them arrived at Mariani Junction,
picked up their luggage and made their way It took a little while for the little creature to adapt
towards
to its surroundings. In due course, Maxwell
Dhekiabari Tea Estate. On their way, they saw
observed that Mij enjoyed playing with water and
batches of tea-pluckers who draped plastic aprons
how it learned to open the bathroom faucet on its
with bamboo baskets hung on their backs as they own. The writer was thoroughly amazed at the
plucked the newly sprouted leaves. Pranjol’s father games played by Mij with its own touch of
had come to receive both of them. Pranjol’s father creativity. Soon it was time for Maxwell to return
was amazed at Rajvir’s knowledge about tea to England with his pet otter. However, British
plantations when he heard the young boy mention Airlines had a few restrictions that barred animals
the second flush or sprouting period of tea that from travelling with human beings, so he booked
yields the best tea. Rajvir further said that he was another flight that allowed Mij to travel with him.
keen to learn more about the place from Pranjol’s The new airlines insisted that Mij should be packed
father. in a box so that it didn’t disturb other co-passengers
onboard. Henceforth, Maxwell arranged for a box
In the chapter – Glimpses of India, we learnt about
one hour before the flight, put Mijbil inside and left
the beautiful landscapes and specialities of
to grab a quick meal.
different parts of India. There are a lot of beautiful
places to explore in India itself before we make our When he returned, he found there were holes in the
way to explore box and the edges were stained with blood. He
understood that Mij must have injured himself
6. MIJBIL THE OTTER inside the box. He cleaned the box properly and
reached the airport a few minutes before the flight
The story, Mijbil the Otter, begins with the writer, took off. When he boarded the flight, he explained
Gavin Maxwell, who was travelling to Basra with the entire incident to an air hostess who advised
his friend to the Consulate-General to collect and him to keep his pet on his lap rather than locking
answer their mail from Europe. During their his pet inside the container. Maxwell was filled
journey, Maxwell expressed his desire to keep an with gratitude for her kind words. But the moment
otter as a pet instead of a dog, as he felt very lonely he opened the box, Mij leapt out and vanished in
after losing his pet dog earlier. His friend suggested thin air, which caused a lot of chaos on the flight.
he get an otter from the Tigris marshes in Iraq. Many co-passengers were astonished to see the
When they reached the destination, his friend little creature moving around. But the kind-hearted
received the mail immediately, while Maxwell had air hostess took Mij and handed it to Maxwell in
to wait for a few more days to receive his mail. no time. Soon, they reached London, and Maxwell
Once he received the mail, he took the sack that thanked the crew for their support onboard.
was brought by two Arabs carrying a

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In London, Mij got used to its surroundings Valli planned to travel on the bus during the
gradually. It started playing with marbles and ping- afternoon when her mother would be asleep. She
pong balls. The writer was also amazed by the stood on the roadside waiting for the bus. As the
game that Mij had developed with his broken bus arrived, she told the conductor she wanted to
suitcase. Maxwell often took Mij for a walk, and go to town. The conductor happened to be a jovial
the people of London would make wild guesses person and referred to her as ‘madam’ and told her
about his pet. Some called Mij to be a baby seal, to hop into the bus and take her seat. She got into
beaver, or squirrel, and there were still a few more her bus quickly and noticed that the bus was
who would refer to the otter as a hippo. The most painted in green and white colour stripes and
shocking response that Maxwell received from a looked brand new. The bus seats were luxurious,
labourer who was digging a hole when he asked and the ride was comfortable. During her journey,
him, “Here, Mister — what is that supposed to be?” Valli enjoyed looking at the greenery outside and
the scenic natural beauty of the bus. She was
In the chapter – Mijbil the Otter, the story explains thoroughly enjoying her bus ride and was amused
the beautiful bond of the author with his pet otter, when she saw a young cow that ran wildly in front
Mijbil and the series of incidents that followed of the bus and crossed the road. The driver blew
during their onward journey to London. the shrill horn as the cow crossed the road. This
7. Madam Rides the Bus was a fascinating experience for Valli as she
realised her dream of travelling on a bus had finally
The story, Madam Rides the Bus, illustrates the come true.
sensitive story of a young eight-year-old Tamil girl
As Valli enjoyed watching the beautiful landscape
Valliammai. Valli was always curious to explore
outside, the bus started getting empty as the
the outside world. She had no friends to play games
passengers got down to their respective stops.
with. So, her favourite pastime was to stand in the
Soon, the conductor asked her if she would like to
doorway of her house and watch all that was
roam about the stalls in the town, but she told him
happening on the street outside. She would watch
that she had limited money, which she needed to
people get on and off the bus that travelled between
take the return bus ride. The conductor casually
her village and the nearest town. The bus that was
smiled at her reply. Valli stayed on the bus and took
filled with a new set of passengers filled her with a
a ticket from the conductor to return to her village.
sense of unending joy. She had a strong urge to take
As the bus started again, she noticed a dead cow
a bus ride to explore the adventurous bus journey.
and realised that it was the same cow that had run
Hence, she collected information about the bus
wildly in front of her bus during her onward
timings by listening to the conversations of the
journey to the town. Looking at the sight of the
people taking the bus ride. Soon she learnt that the
bleeding cow made her very sad, and she
bus journey from her village to the nearest town
understood the meaning of life and death from this
was approximately six miles. The bus fare costs
incident. Soon, the bus dropped her at the bus stop
thirty paise for a one-way ride. So, Valli started
near her home, and she returned home just on time.
saving enough money to take a ride on the bus.
Thus, no one in her family knew about her

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adventurous bus trip that she had taken all by one house to another, seeking help and medicine to
herself without their knowledge. bring her son back to life. People thought that she
had lost her mind owing to her grief.
The chapter – Madam Rides the Bus explains the
desire of a young girl to take a bus ride from her One day, she met a man who directed her to
village to the nearest town. However, on her trip, approach Lord Buddha for guidance. He felt that
an unfortunate incident taught her the meaning of Lord Buddha could possibly help her in this crisis.
life and death. The lady approached the monk as directed and
begged him to cure her son. Lord Buddha asked her
to procure mustard seeds from a house where the
family had never lost a family member, relative or
8. The Sermon at Benares
friend. Kisa Gotami was filled with a ray of hope
The Sermon at Benares illustrates the valuable and immediately went in search of it from one
preachings of Lord Buddha. Lord Buddha was house to another, but she could find none. She felt
born as a
disheartened and finally realised how selfish she
prince named Siddhārtha Gautama in North India.
had been in desperately searching for something
When he was twelve years old, he was sent away
that was not possible to achieve. Thus, she
from home to study the sacred Hindu scriptures. He
understood that man is a mortal being; all who
returned four years later and married a beautiful
come to Earth have to leave behind all their
princess. They had a healthy son and led a life of
relations and belongings when they die. This was
royalty for ten years. Being a part of the royal
the lesson that Lord Buddha taught her and wanted
family, he was protected from the sufferings and
her to understand, that life and death are the cycles
unpleasant happenings around the world.
of the universe and no one can escape it.
One fine day while he went out hunting, the Prince
Lord Buddha taught a valuable lesson to all that
met an ailing man, an old man, a funeral procession
feelings of sorrow and grief only escalate man’s
and a monk begging for alms. He was moved by
suffering and pain. It deteriorates one’s health and
the encounters, and soon he left royalty behind to
worsens the current situation. Therefore, a wise
seek enlightenment for all the sorrows that he
person is one who is completely aware of how
witnessed. After seven years, he attained Salvation
Mother Nature functions and must not lose hope or
and sat under a
remain in constant grief for something that is
tree and renamed it the ‘Bodhi Tree’ (Tree of
bound to happen. It is only then one can enjoy life
Wisdom) and began preaching and sharing his new
and stay happy and blessed in life.
understandings. Soon, he came to be known as the
Buddha (the Awakened or the Enlightened). He The chapter – The Sermon at Benares explains one
gave his first sermon in Benares, the holy city on of the holiest preachings of Lord Buddha that
the banks of the river Ganges. In one of his ended the suffering of a grieving mother, Kisa
sermons, he taught about a lady, Kisa Gotami, Gotami, who lost her son. By accepting the truth of
whose only son had died. She was devastated and life, she freed herself from unending pain.
in extreme grief for the sudden loss. She went from

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9. The Proposal mentioned Natalya about Lomov’s marriage

The chapter, The Proposal, is a comedy-drama that proposal. Hearing this, Natalya immediately
is based on the tendency of two wealthy families regretted insulting Lomov and asked her father to
who seek ties with each other to increase their bring him back.
estates by encouraging marriage that would
improve their wealth. The play began with Ivan Chubukov rushed out of the house immediately to
Lomov, who visited Stephan Chubukov, a wealthy call Lomov. When the young man returned,
neighbour of Lomov. Lomov was a wealthy person Natalya started a conversation about their dogs. In
no time, a second round of debate ensued between
himself who was dressed neatly and had come to
her and
seek Chubukov’s twenty-five-yearold daughter,
Lomov, where she mentioned that her dog
Natalya Stepanovna’s hand in marriage. Initially,
Squeezer was better than Lomov’s Guess. Soon,
Chubukov was curious about Lomov’s sudden visit
Chubukov entered the scene, and the argument
and assumed that the young man had come to ask
worsened. All three people began quarrelling, and
for money which he might not return.
soon Lomov fainted with another attack of
Lomov was a thirty-five-year-old gentleman who palpitation.
suffered from severe heart-throbbing and became
Seeing this, Natalya asked her father to wake up
upset easily. He thought that Natalya was an
Lomov as she expressed her desire that she like
excellent housekeeper, a well-educated and him too.
average-looking woman who would be an ideal Suddenly when Lomov made a movement, they
partner to marry. However, when Chubukov heard offered him some water to drink, and Chubukov
about the proposal, he was glad and embraced put
Lomov. He immediately rushed inside to call his Natalya’s hand over his hand. They agreed to
daughter, Natalya. marry, but the quarrel persisted as Natalya said that
Squeezer was better than Guess. However, Lomov
When Natalya arrived, Lomov began the
was adamant and refused to accept that his dog,
conversation about how both families share a
Guess, was worse than Squeezer, Natalya’s dog.
cordial relationship. As he spoke about his land
The curtain went down as the verbal fight
Oxen Meadows, which was a disputed property,
continued among the characters.
Natalya objected that the land belonged to her
family. Lomov yelled back, stating that the land The chapter – The Proposal displayed the
belonged to him. Both of them had a heated quarrelsome nature of the characters of the play
argument on this topic until Lomov had a sudden and how a wealthy family ruthlessly encouraged
palpitation attack with numbness in his feet. In no marriage with another wealthier family as a means
time, to enhance their economic condition.
Natalya’s father, Chubukov, arrived, and the father-
daughter duo started abusing Lomov. Feeling POEM
insulted, Lomov rushed out of the house. As
Chubukov continued to defame the young man, he
accidentally
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1. DUST OF SNOW pure, white snow, and a person who is depressed,

getting to kill himself and walking under the tree.
It illustrates the extraordinary curative power of The black crow throws the snow on the poet. The
nature and trivial things in life. Nature cures feels of pure cold snow alter his mind about
everything sacrificing his life. On the contrary, he decides to
whether it is awful mood or illness. The author is forget the regrets of his life and sorrow to follow
the path of healing of the inner soul.
experiencing one such bad day when a crow’s
movement near hemlock dusted snow upon him.
This poem conveys the message that nothing in life
The snow instantly makes him happier. His day
is small. Even trivial things can bring positive
gets tons better. The supremacy of nature made him changes in our life. In addition to this, it also shows
realise his problems are petty. The fact that that if we take things positively in life, situations
hemlock is poisonously combined with crow being do change for better. Even the small help or good
gestures we do for others make large differences.
the indicator of doom and fear is utilized in the Just believe those random acts of kindness we do
poem because the carrier of happiness within the and the way they brighten a person’s day, and
lifetime of the narrator is ironical. The poet tries to sometimes change their future. Noticing and
spotlight that sometimes creatures link with appreciating all the tiny things in life will make our
life happier.
negative aspects of life often bring change and
happiness. Being outdoors in nature, with all its
Literary Devices
unpredictability can benefit anyone, anywhere at
1. Alliteration- the occurrence of the same letter or
any time. sound at the beginning of adjacent or closely
connected words.
It is winter season and the poet is in a bad mood
2. And saved some part
sitting quietly under the hemlock tree covered all
2. Assonance – the prominence of a vowel
over the snow. On spur of moment, a crow sitting
sound throughout a line is called assonance. In
on the branch of the tree shakes the tree, and the
stanza 1, line 2 – “Shook down on me” – ‘o’ sound
snow from tree falls on the poet. The snow is cold
is prominent.
and velvety to touch which changes the poet’s
mood from bitter to elate. This fills him with a 3. Enjambment – when the same sentence
refreshing feeling. This moment was very continues to the next line without the use of any
compelling and saves his day from punctuation marks, it is called enjambment. It has
disappointment. The black crow usually been used throughout the poem.
symbolizes bad omen and emblem of death and 4. Inversion – when the structure of a
fear. Since the crow is not related to goodwill, it is sentence is changed by the poet to create rhyme,
ironic that during this poem he did an honest deed this poetic license is called inversion. In stanza 1,
by shaking off the snow. inversion can be seen. 5. Rhyme Scheme – abab
cdcd
The poem teaches us a lesson that every small act
Robert Frost did not prefer to use any other trees in life can illuminate our soul and motivate us to
like oak, maple or pine. He chose the hemlock do better.
which is typically related to poison and toxicity.
Similarly, he uses dust which is useless to anybody
and nobody wants to be liking dust. But the poet 2. FIRE AND ICE
uses it as an impulse that brings positive thoughts
in mind. Anyway, the alluring snow that adorns the Its poet is Robert Frost. He presents two opposite
poisonous hemlock tree’s branches is shaken off by views about the end of humanity and the world. He
a scary crow. We have toxic hemlock covered in discusses these two possibilities which will be the
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reason for the end of the world. One such The poet experiences the romantic desire that he
possibility is the world ending in flames of fire. It has taught the passion for emotions like love and
is so, because when he ponders over the burning lust. These will probably have the power to turn the
flames of desires of people. These will definitely earth into a big fireball. But he has also
hurl the world into another nuclear war, and hence experienced the other extreme side. This is about
it will burn up the entire world in flames. The colder emotions like hate which have great
second possibility for the end of the world is due to destructive power. It is a common fact that love
the ice. gets all the publicity, whereas hate is the silent
killer. It may not have the same effect as the fireball
ending, but it will do the trick.
The poet has a strong feeling that people have so
much hatred in their hearts against each other that
it will be sufficient to freeze the entire planet The poem is revolving around the theme that
towards death. So, the fire due to evil desires and human emotions are destructive, and has two
ice of wicked hatred are the two opposite opinions possible forms.
enough to destroy the world.

Literary devices
The poet is very much sure of the destruction of 1. Alliteration- alliteration is the repetition of a
humanity on someday. He is talking about the two consonant sound at the start of two or more
different beliefs regarding the end of this world. closely placed words.
These are on the basis of the sayings of the people. Example- The sound of “f” in “favour fire”, “w” in
The poet says that he is in favour of those people “world will”
who say this world will end in fire. This is because
2. Anaphora- the repetition of a word or
he has seen the effect and result of uncontrolled
expression at the start of two or more
and unending desires over the life of human beings.
consecutive lines. Example – “Some say” is
He finds that human evil desires are similar to the
repeated at the start of lines 1 and 2.
fire in its nature. So this fire may become a big
reason to destroy humankind and this world too. 3. Assonance- it is repetition of vowel sounds in
same line. The repetition is at different places in
different words.
On the other hand, the second belief in this regard Example- The long sound of “o” in “I hold with
says that ice is also sufficient for destroying this those who favour fire”
world. Here the poet compares the nature of ice 4. Imagery- Imagery is used to make readers
with hatred feelings of humans with the other perceive things involving their five senses.
humans. As ice can make the body numb with its Example- “Some say the world will end in fire”
prolonged contact, similarly hatred can also give
“To say that for destruction ice Is also great”
the numbness to our mind and thoughts. And hence
5. Enjambment- it is defined as the thought or
it can make us insensitive and cruel. Such cruelty
clause that does not come to an end at a line
towards humanity will be more responsible for the
break, rather it moves over to the next line.
destruction of the world compared to the desire.

6. Personification- Personification is to give

The speaker brings us all into the middle of the human qualities to inanimate objects. In this
argument between two different categories of the poem, “fire” and “ice” are capable of
people. One who thinks that the world will come to destruction. Thus, the poet personifies fire and
a fiery end and other people who think the world ice by giving them mind and power to destroy
will freeze resulting to the end. Poet is possibly anything.
talking about the literal end of the world. But he is 7. Rhyming scheme- Abaabcbcb
also talking about the power that human beings
have to destroy each other.
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3. A TIGER IN THE ZOO Poet has deep sympathy due to the unpleasant
situation of the tiger who is imprisoned in a cell
The poet is Leslie Norris. The poem is about a tiger
made of concrete. Tiger is unable to come out due
that is very beautiful and is walking in his little
to the strong bars fixed at the concrete cell. So, the
cage. He is having beautiful stripes on his skin and
tiger’s strength is locked behind the bars. All such
has velvet-like soft paws. But he is not happy and
circumstanced are making tiger having no interest
is quite angry in the cage. The poet says that the
in the visitors. And, he keeps on stalking in the
tiger may try to hide behind the long grass, but here
limited space of the cage.
he is not able to do so. Actually nothing is
happening naturally. He is in a strong cage and so
he is helpless. He cannot show his power to the The poet is trying to make realize the people about
visitors. Poet is describing the tiger as being a tiger who is sitting in the cage and feeling
powerless and agonized. Cage life has totally unpleasant and restless. Tiger is still showing no
changed his personality. interest in the sound created by the patrolling cars
of the zoo authorities. The poet is showing him
Thus the intention of the poet is to say that the staring at the shining stars with his brilliant eyes.
animal, famous for its fearlessness and freedom is The poet is raising a moral issue here and he
confined and sad only due to human beings. intends to present a strong case against the cruelty
of humans for the animals kept in cages.

This poem is showing the pitiful condition of the

tiger in the zoo. It shows the poor condition of the In this poem, the poet is conveying an important
tiger in a cage. In a zoo, the tiger walks in the message that wild animals should be in their
limited space provided to it in the cage. He can take natural habitat.
a few steps. There are stripes on his body which are
easily noticeable. His paws are soft like velvet. He
• Literary Devices
does not make any noise while walking on his
‘pads of velvet’. Usually, the tiger is silent but in 1. Alliteration: use of sound ‘b’ at the start
anger.
of two words (behind bars) use of sound
‘h’ in the starting of two words (he hears)
Poet suggests that the cage is not the proper place
for the tiger, as it is not its natural habitat. Thus, the use of sound ‘p’ at the start of two words
tiger in the cage is a victim of human cruelty.
Generally, tigers are found sitting under some (plump pass)
bushes or long grass near some water bodies. So 2. Assonance: use of vowel sound ‘e’ (he,
that the tiger can see its prey like deer coming there
to drink water, and consequently can slide silently locked, concrete, cell) use of vowel
through the grass and kill them. The poet wants to sound ‘o’ and ‘I’ (should, around,
convey to all humankind that the tiger should be
there in the forest and not in a cage. houses), (Baring, his, white, his) use of
‘I’ sound (with, his, brilliant) use of
Further, the poet gave a suggestion that the tiger vowel sound ‘I’ (in his vivid stripes)
should be sitting at the jungle’s edge near the
village. It may terrorize the people passing that 3. Consonance: use of consonant sound ‘s’
way by showing its sharp teeth, baring its claws (his, fangs, his, claws) use of consonant
and producing a roaring sound of anger.
sound ‘s’ (his, strength, bars) use of ‘s’
sound (stalks, his, stripes)
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4. Enjambment: Line three continues to whose hide is covered with spots, jumps at us and
line four without any punctuation mark. starts eating then it is a leopard.

(And stares with his brilliant eyes At the

Also, if we are meeting the animal who hug us
brilliant stars.)
tightly then certainly it is a bear. A beginner can
Sentence is continuing to next line without differentiate between crocodiles and hyena by
any punctuation mark. knowing the facts. Hyena always smiles whereas
Line continues to next line without tears are there in crocodile’s eyes. If there is
punctuation marks. (Sliding nothing on the tree then there is a Chameleon.
through….deer pass)
Line continues to next line without The poet is describing the various wild animals in
a very interesting and mysterious way. These
punctuation marks (He should be snarling animals are very dangerous, but poetess is
around houses At the jungle’s edge,) introducing them one by one in a very funny way.
First of all, she tells us about the Asian lion. She
5. Imagery: poet tries to create an image says that if you are visiting the jungles of the east
about the tiger (He stalks in his vivid and there we see an animal that has tawny skin and
stripes The few steps of his cage) may roar that we may die out of fear. It means we
saw an Asian lion. Next, she explained the Bengal
The poet has tries to create an image of tiger as a royal animal that at once attacks and kills
tiger’s activities (lurking in shadow). a man. She says in a humorous way that if this
6. Metaphor: Tiger’s paws are compared beautiful black striped animal kills us and eats,
with velvet (pads of velvet) then we have surely met a Bengal tiger.

7. Onomatopoeia: using words which

denote sound (snarling) After this, she says that if we met an animal with
black-spotted skin and it at once jumps on him,
8. Oxymoron: use of adjectives opposite in
then it is a leopard. Also, she says that if one will
meaning (quiet rage)
cry out in pain, then it may be of no use as the
9. Personification: The tiger is personified leopard will not stop attacking him. Then she
introduces the bear that she says will hug very
because the poet refers him as ‘he’.
tightly. Because in this way bear may kill a person
10. Rhyme: rhyme scheme is abcb by hugging him very tightly.

(grass-pass) abcb rhyme scheme is

Further, she asks a question to the readers that do
followed (bars-visitors) abcb rhyme
we know the way of recognizing beasts that hunt
scheme is followed (edge, village) their prey.
Then she explains about hyenas having a smiling
4. How to Tell Wild Animals face always and the crocodiles which have tears in
Its poetess is Carolyn Wells. The poetess described their eyes. It is quite visible when they are killing
the wildlife vividly and in a very lively manner. If their prey. Lastly, in the list of animals, she
anyone gets a chance to go into the forest in Asia introduces the Chameleon. She says that it is a
and if a huge terrible animal comes in front of, then lizard type creature which doesn’t have ears and
we must know about them for their identification. wings just like a lizard. Only this information can
If the wild animal is having black stripes on yellow help us to differentiate between a lizard and
hide then it is Bengal tiger. Hence, if the animal chameleon. She further says that the chameleon
has a quality of changing its colour as per the
colour of its surrounding and surface.
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Therefore, to explain this she says that if we look at 7. Poetic license: A liberty to the poet to change
the tree and if we are seeing the tree only, then the spellings in order to create rhyme or rhythm
certainly it means that there is a chameleon sitting in a poem
on it. And it has already turned its colour to brown (use of lept instead of leapt)
just like the branch of the tree. 8. Repetition: use of ‘lep’ word in the last line.
9. Rhyme: Rhyme scheme ababcc is followed
This poem is beautifully introducing the wild (prey-may, nonplus-thus, smiles-crocodiles)
animals in a different way analogous to the hidden Rhyme scheme ababcc is followed (round-ground,
human beings. you-you learn-discern)
Rhyme scheme ababcc is followed (small-all,
thing-wing, tree-see)
Literary Devices Rhyme scheme ababcc is followed (yard-hard,
1. Alliteration: repetition of consonant sound ‘r’ at there- bear, guess-caress)
start of two or more closely connected words Rhyme scheme ababcc is
(roaming round) use of consonant sound ‘h’ in followed (view- you,
the beginning of two words (he has) peppered- Leopard, pain-
use of ‘w’ sound (when-walking), use of ‘h’ sound again) Rhyme scheme
(who- hugs), use of ‘b’ sound (be-bear) ababcc is followed (chance-
use of consonant advance, east-beast, dyin-
sound ‘n’ (novice- lion)
nonplus), use of
‘th’ sound (the-
thus) use of ‘h’ 5 . The Ball Poem
sound (he hasn’t) Its poet John Berryman is beautifully describing a
2. Allusion: Reference to a famous thing, place, boy who has lost his ball. He gave a lesson that is
species of animal, etc (Bengal Tiger) Reference full of wisdom through the loss of everyone, must
to a famous thing, place, species of animal, etc learn to bear the pain associated with loss. The
(Asian Lion) poet assumes a boy who is playing with a ball.
3. Assonance: use of vowel ‘e’ (meet a creature Once the ball bounces out of his control and
there) use of vowel sound ‘o’ (strolling-forth- consequently falls into the water. The boy became
you, whose-spot, do no good to roar) Use of sad. The poet feels that no other ball will be
vowel sound ’o’ (or if some time when roaming sufficient to lessen his sadness. Here, the lost ball
round) use of vowel sound ’o’ (you should go, stands for the general loss of a human being.
should to you, roars,)
4. Consonance: use of ‘g’ sound (single wing) use
The losses may be the loss of personal possession
of ‘l’ sound (he’ll only lep lep)
or the death of some near and dear one or due to
5. Enjambment: continuation of sentence to the the separation from the beloved one. As long as
next line (though to distinguish….might there is life, everyone has to bear many types of
nonplus, The crocodile…..hyena thus) losses. Therefore we need to learn the way for
Continuation of a sentence to the next line (if you bearing those losses.
were walking….creature there)
Continuation of a sentence to the next line (and if
there…..tawny beast) This poem is about losing something which we
6. Inversion: Change in the format of a sentence love and then learning to grow up. It is about a little
(if there should to you advance) boy, who in his young life, for the first time, is
Change in the format of a sentence (The Bengal learning what it is like to experience grief after the
loss of a much-beloved possession which is here
Tiger to discern)
his ball. Maybe for us, the loss of a ball is of minor
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consequence. Our natural reaction may be that still 2. Anaphora: use of repeated words in two or
there are many more balls. So, need not worry. But more lines (What is the boy… what, what and
to a little boy, this is something different. One can merrily bouncing… merrily over)
get another ball with a very less amount of money. 3. Assonance: repeated use of vowel ‘o’ (boy, now,
But, money is external and immortal here, as it who, lost) use of vowel sound ‘e’ (He is learning,
cannot buy back the love and hence cannot replace well behind his desperate eyes)
the things that we love. 4. Asyndeton: no use of conjunction in a sentence
(A dime, another ball, is worthless)
In this poem, the boy’s ball van is easily 5. Imagery: when poet says merrily bouncing
personifying with his young days and which were down the street 6. Repetition: ‘what’ is repeated
happy and innocent. People may take balls just as use of word ‘ball’ ‘ball’ word is repeated
they will take away our innocence and force us to 7. Rhyme scheme: There is no rhyme scheme
grow up soon. And once we lose our innocence, followed in the poem
then we cannot get it back. But, despite all of these
we have to learn to stand up. Obviously we need to
be strong and get on with our life, irrespective of
the sadness inside. This is the only way we will 6.AMANDA
survive. Therefore, we have to learn to accept and
let go. Its poet is Robin Klein. The poem focuses on the
upbringing of a small child, whose name is
The poet has made the use of the imagery while Amanda. It focuses on the struggles that a child is
telling how the ball personifies the spirit of the facing. Poet Robin Klein makes the important
boy’s childish innocence. We may visualize how point that children should never be deprived of
the spirit of this little boy, like the ball, is sinking their freedom. However, it is the parents who are
into the dark waters of the harbour. And as it drifts responsible for the proper upbringing of their child.
further away, the little boy will learn to grow up, But that should not make the children feel
and that part is linked to that ball grows up as well, imprisoned. Here, Amanda is ready to be
until it is no longer a little boy. acceptable by society, and this training wants her
freedom to be cut short. Her imagination is not
given sufficient space, and therefore it is making
Thus the reader may interpret this poem literally her annoyed. This annoyance is making her desire
and metaphorically both. If literally, then it is a even to be an orphan. This continuous annoyance
soulful picture of little boys growing up and was making her too much moody. Hence, the
learning to deal with the loss of the first in his whole trajectory of this poem is something with
possession. If metaphorically, then it is the story of which we are all very much familiar.
mankind learning to deal with the loss of their
loved things or people.
In the poem – Amanda, the central theme is majorly
focused on Control and Freedom. The figures of
This poem successfully describes how we may feel Amanda, who represents the longing for freedom,
to lose something that we love and grow up and her mother, who represents instructional
eventually without it. control over freedom, highlights the contrasts.
‘Amanda’ is the narrative of a little girl whose
Literary devices parents continually regulate and advise her to do
one thing or the other. Amanda’s freedom is limited
1. Alliteration: use of sound ‘b’ at the start of two
by any type of instruction or intervention. The poet
consecutive words (buys a ball back)
also focuses on elements of raising children and
how parents will go to any length to ensure that
their child is well educated.
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This poem expresses the state of a little girl’s mind escape from the continuous harassment and
who is constantly instructed about do’s and don’ts dominance of her parents.
by her mother. The girl named Amanda and her
mother who is irritating her for her mistakes. Her
mother used to give instructions not to hunch her Amanda’s parents feel that she is not reacting
shoulders and to sit up straight. Her mother reminds because she is annoyed. Her actions have made her
her to finish her homework. The little girl Amanda parents look bad, and they are concerned about
keeps dreaming about freedom of life in the open. their image. They are anxious about how society
would judge them if their youngster is constantly
grumpy.
Her mother also believes that she sits in a sluggish
manner. To this, Amanda uses her imagination to
escape her parents’ day-to-day commands. She This poem conveys the moral that children need to
claims there is a serene, emerald sea with only me be allowed more freedom. It is true that children
as a resident. She finds tranquilly in her own made- need to be taught good manners and etiquette but
up universe, where there are no boundaries. parents must also remember to give their infants
Amanda imagines herself as a freespirited mermaid their personal space, ample time to learn and enjoy
gliding across the green sea’s gentle waves. Amidst their youth life. Excessive nagging may make them
this, Amanda is also dragged out of her dreams by annoyed and disobedient and hence they may
her mother’s question on whether she cleans her develop a type of dislike for real life. It is the moral
room and shoes. responsibility of parents to raise their children in
such a way that they understand their point of view
rather than becoming frustrated.
Amanda has another daydream in which she
imagines herself as an orphan wandering freely,
barefoot in golden silence and uninterrupted Literary devices
freedom. She utters that she would have enjoyed 1. Alliteration: ‘Stop that
her freedom then, by making the patterns of her slouching and sit up straight’ –
bare feet on the sand. She would live a peaceful life. ‘s’ sound is being repeated at
Her mother’s nagging complaints break her the start of closely placed
daydream. The mother forbade Amanda not to eat words.
chocolates because of her acne and pimples. She ‘Stop that sulking’ – ‘s’ sound is repeated at the
also rebukes her for not looking at her while she is start of closely placed words
talking to her. 2. Allusion: ‘mermaid’ is
a well known imaginary
creature use of famous fairy
Amanda is enjoying another dream that now she
tale character Rapunzel
fantasizes herself as Rapunzel, a character from a
fairy tale and wants to live like her in a huge tower 3. Anaphora: Repeated
peacefully. She dreams that she will never let down use of a word at start of two or
her hair from the tower like Rapunzel. In the tower, more lines (don’t bite… don’t
she will live an alone and peaceful life. She will hunch) Repeated use of a word
never allow anyone to come to the tower. Finally, at start of two or more lines
the mother forbids her from being moody. Because (did you finish….did you tidy)
she doesn’t want anyone to make her feel guilty that 4. Assonance: use of
she is harassing her daughter. At this time the poet vowel sound ‘o’ (Thought, told,
has not written any response from Amanda’s side. you, your, shoes) use of vowel
This constant nagging has made her so upset that sound ‘o’ (don’t hunch your
she has even stopped dreaming of herself as shoulders)
someone else. She always tries this only in order to use of vowel sound ‘e’ and ‘o’
(Will you please look at me
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when I’m speaking to you 5. organic to the conventions of a native poem. This
Consonance: use of sound ‘r’ poem is demonstrating the unsuitability of
(I am Rapunzel; I have not a language itself as a greenhouse or container of
care …..Bright hair) nature. She knows that once the trees move to the
forest area, the house will have complete silence.
6. Imagery: drifting blissfully
7. Metaphor: use of word emerald sea for green
colour of sea being similar to the colour of In this poem, “I” is the voice of the speaker of
emrald silence is golden – silence is said to be the poem Adrienne Rich. Poem The Trees is the
glorious like golden colour freedom is sweet – voice with a body engaged in the activities and
freedom is said to be sweet in taste. sensing intrusions that are not organic to the
8. Repetition: use of word ‘Amanda’ conventions of a nature poem. This is actually
9. Rhyme scheme: aaha (Amanda, Amanda, you, an unnatural poem that narrates the struggle of a
Amanda) population of trees to escape the confined
10. Rhyme: aaba ccc (Amanda, Amanda, surrounding of a greenhouse. Through the trees,
straight, Amanda, sea, me, blissfully) rhyme this poem demonstrates the unsuitability of the
scheme aafa ggg (Amanda, Amanda, you, language itself as a greenhouse. The poetess is
Amanda, care, rare, hair) Rhyme scheme is aada the witness for the trees exodus but making
eee (Amanda, Amanda, shoes, Amanda, street, distances herself from participating in the
feet, sweet) making of something out of the spectacle. She
can sit and write too.
1. Anaphora: ‘I’ word used at the start of two
consecutive lines Even though the speaker addresses the audience,
use of repeated words at the beginning of two or her own head is full of whispers and she is an
more consecutive lines (use of “they do not”) audience as well. We, however, the audience to the
2. Assonance: use of vowel sound ‘I’ (I, think, I, poem, are compelled with the command. The
live, with, animals) speaker reaches across the barrier between the
3. Metaphor: sweat and whine refer to the cries poem and the audience. A transaction that occurs
and complaints of human beings The inner on the page, and says for listening.
qualities of humans are referred to as tokens
4. Repetition: use of the word ‘long’
Poetess articulates her consciousness of the many
levels of inner and outer and the blurring of the
7. The Trees
boundaries between them. In the poem, the trees
This poem was written by Adrienne Rich. Adrienne are in the house of the poet. Their roots work all
Rich was born in Baltimore USA. She was a night to disengage themselves from the cracks of
famous poet, essayist, and feminist. She has the floor in the veranda. The leaves are making
written this poem The Trees. This poem presents a efforts to move towards the glass. An open door is
conflict between men and nature. The poetess for the night and the whole moon and the sky is
suggests here that the trees and plants used in the available to the speaker. This tree is at the same
interior decoration in cities are as imprisoned. time, through this door the smell of leaves still
They need freedom. These trees want to move out reaches back in. The speaker’s head is another
to the forest where trees decreasing day by day due interior and implicitly entered by the whispers.
to cutting. The poetess says that everything has a
deep desire for freedom. It is necessary for growth The poetess is especially intrigued by the image of
and wellbeing. We must follow the nature of laws. the trees similar to newly discharged patients. The
poet is making a comparison to the long-cramped
branches which are shuffling under the roof with
This poem is a voice with a body engaged in the the newly discharged patients from the hospital. As
activities and sensing intrusion which are not they are moving towards the hospital doors after
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their long illnesses. The branches have cramped The poet is saying about the fog which is generally
under the gaps with the roof. Therefore they want seen during the winter season and it is coming
to get out into the open to spread themselves in the towards the city and the harbour just like a cat. The
fresh air. next poet says that the fog has covered the city and
harbour completely and it appears as a cat is sitting
by folding its legs and looking around. Poet also
The Tree is a short symbolic poem and it focuses
described the silent and unpredictable departure of
on the movement of trees that are initially indoors
the fog.
but seeking to escape to freedom in the forest. The
trees represent the nature and womanhood in
particular. Carl Sandburg was a well-known American editor
and poet. He has won three Pulitzer Prizes. Most of
his poems were about the Chicago city where he
Literary Devices
lived. Among his many collections of the poem, the
1. Alliteration: ‘long letters’ forest from’ ‘sky still’ “Fog” is the shortest poem. But still, this poem has
‘leaves and lichen’ strong reflections about nature. This poem does
2. Anaphora: 2 lines begin with ‘no’ have a deeper and strong meaning. The first two
3. Enjambment: Continuation of a sentence to the lines of the poem are simply describing how fog
next line (the forest that was…… trees by comes in.
morning). continuation of sentence to the next
line (the leaves strain……. Half dazed)
continuation of sentence to the next line (doors Fogs are visible in cold areas or in mountains or
open….the house) forests. But in this poem, the poet describes fog
4. Imagery: “The trees inside are moving out into which is happening in the cities and harbour. He
the forest” – shows kinestatic imagery gave a wonderful comparison between the fog and
the poet has tried to create a scene in which she is a cat. When a cat comes around us, mostly it is
observing all the things happening (the night is coming so slowly that hardly anyone is getting
fresh…… in the rooms) notice. The same is the case with the fog and its
arrival. It just comes in and engulfs the entire place.
5. Personification: Sun bury it’s feet. Sun has been
It stays on for some time, creating trouble for
personified.
anyone in between it, but still stays as though it is
twigs and boughs have been personified.
not aware of the happenings around it.
6. Simile: The moon is compared to a mirror
(Moon is broken like a mirror) trees compared to Then the poet says that it just comes, sits at the
patients (like newly discharged patients) harbour and looks at the city. It is at the silent
haunches and then finally moves on. Here the poet
8. Fog described the happening, once the fog has arrived.
Fogs as such do not cause any harm, because it is
very silent and the onset it is slow too. But when
A poem that reflects Carl Sandburg’s interest in the fog is around, especially in the city, many
nature. It beautifully captures the moment when accidents may occur due to low visibility. Thus due
the fog comes and moves. He presents a powerful to fog people cannot see properly anything
image of life through a metaphorical cat. Its inbetween them while driving on the road. Hence
meaning is centred on the fog in the Chicago city. sometimes fog may be very harmful to human life
The poet compares the fog with the cat because the too.
cat also comes with soft paws and without giving
any sign of its arrival. The same is the case with
fog, as it approaches exactly in a similar way. Therefore, a fog comes in similar to a small and
silent kitten, and it sits and watches the beauty,
while it covers the whole city.

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At last, the poet is saying that as a small child gets Literary Devices
bored playing the same game, and hence moves on 1. Alliteration: “coward, and she called him
to the next. Similarly, the fog does not stay in one Custard” – “c” sound Belinda was as brave as a
place for a long time. Therefore, after some time barrel full of bears “b” sound is repeated beard
the fog also moves on. Fog does not stay longer at was black “b”, he held his “h”
any one place.
2. Allusion: reference to any person or place
This very small poem is describing nature’s act in (Percival)
a beautiful manner. 3. Anaphora: repeated use of word at the start of
two consecutive lines. (And a little ….And a
realio) repeated use of word at the start of two
consecutive lines (And the little grey…And the
little yellow)
Literary devices
1. Enjambment: When a sentence continues to 4. Assonance: use of vowel sound ‘o’ (no one
next line (It sits looking….. then moves on) mourned for), use of vowel sound ‘I’ (ink and
2. Metaphor: Fog is compared to cat (On little cat blink in glee did), use of vowel sound ‘a’ (that
feet) ate the pirate)
3. Personification: fog has been personified – Fog use of vowel sound ‘a’ (Belinda was as brave as a
comes, it sits barrel full of bears)
4. Rhyme scheme: There is no rhyme scheme 5. Consonance: use of consonant sound ‘s’
followed. Poem is in free verse (Suddenly, suddenly they heard a nasty sound)
6. Imagery: An image is created about the
appearance of the pirate.
9. The Tale of Custard the Dragon They have shown the reaction and actions made by
the pirate on seeing the dragon.
The attack by the dragon is expressed in a way to
make an image in our minds.
Frederic Ogden Nash is the poet. This poem is a 7. Onomatopoeia: usage of sound words to create
fantasy in verse about Belinda, who lives alone in a dramatic effect (giggled, weeck) usage of
her house with her four pets. These are a little kitten sound words to create a dramatic effect (Mustard
Ink, a grey coloured mouse Blink, a little yellow- growled, Meowch, cried ink) usage of sound
coloured dog Mustard and a dragon Custard. All the words to create a dramatic effect (clatter, clank,
people of the house pride themselves on their jangling)
fearlessness and bravery. They believe the games, 8. Oxymoron: use of two words with opposite
and they look down upon poor Custard for his meanings ‘ “pet dragon” 9. Personification:
timidity. Ink, Blink and Mustard, they rudely called him
Percival
One day when a pirate arrives, only Custard is 10. Poeti
ready with a ferocious response at that moment. He c license:
gobbles the pirate up and shows his friends about window is
bravery. After the danger is past, all again begins to written as
boast about their courage. Custard agreed that ‘winda’ to
everyone is brave more than him. But now create rhyme.
everyone is knowing the fact as to who is brave and use of the
who is a coward. word
mousehold to
rhyme with
household
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realio, trulio for real, true. The spellings have been explains to her that according to some religious
changed to create a musical effect man, only God loves us for what we are.
11. Refra
William Butler Yeats wrote many love poems. For
in: Repetition
Anne Gregory’ is one of the best and beautiful
of a sentence
poems by him. This poem is in the form of a
again and
conversation between a speaker, who may be the
again (And a
poet himself, or Anne’s lover or friend and maybe
realio, trulio)
Anne Gregory herself. The other speakers may be
12.
in the belief that the young man loves Anne for her
Repetition:
external beauty. But here the speaker (maybe Anne
stanza has
Gregory) says that external beauty is not the real,
been repeated
and therefore young man should love her for
help help
herself only.
13. Rhyme scheme: aabb (house-mouse, wagon-
dragon) In this poem, the poet is presenting the description
aabb (mustard-flustered, blink-ink, agree-me) of a lover’s love for a woman. The lover may like
14. Simile: dog compared to mustard “And the the yellow colour of the woman’s hair. But he does
little yellow dog was sharp as Mustard” not like her ramparts, means here the hair around
Belinda’s bravery is compared to that of a barrel the ear. So, the lady does not approve of his love.
full of bears (as a barrel full of bears), Mustard’s She wishes such a lover who loves her based on her
bravery is compared to that of an angry tiger internal qualities and not by the external and
(Mustard was as brave as a tiger in a rage) physical look. She says that her yellow hair is a
sound of dragon is compared with sound of engine temporary entity. Therefore, she may dye them into
(snorting like an engine), Clashed his tail like irons another colour like brown or black or carrot soon.
in a dungeon, dragon’s attack on pirate is compared And hence in this way, she may get her true love
to robin bird (like a robin at a worm) due to her internal beauty.
15. Transferred epithet: terrified yelp
Then the poet says that only God loves we all
10. FOR ANNE GREGORY humans on the bases of our soul and internal
The poem is in the form of a conversation between qualities and but our body and physical features.
the poet William Butler Yeats and a young girl Undoubtedly, only selfless love is true, and God
Anne Gregory. Here we present For Anne Gregory only gives true love.
Summary. The poet tells that if she finds a young
boy who may be sad because of her rejection. Then Poet is of the view that most people love others
it will not represent that he was a true lover. He only because they attract them by physical
might be in love due to her beautiful yellow hair. qualities. Thus, the complexion of the skin and the
Therefore, the boy might be in love because of her colour of the hair may be more important for us
attractive looks. than the ‘real’ worth of the person. It means we
rarely love people ‘for themselves alone’.
According to poet true lover will be the one who
will love for the inner qualities and not for looks. Even the beautiful Anne Gregory does not want to
Anne says that she will change her looks with hair be liked or loved for her external beauty or her rare
colour into some other colour and hence she will qualities of her beautiful yellow hair. Shallow
try to become less attractive. This is because she minded people only adore physical beauty. But
might get true love for herself. At last, the poet rather we should look for spiritual beauty before
falling in love with a lady. Physical beauty is just
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an illusion and momentary. Unfortunately, most of him on a hospital bed. The dog didn’t move for the
the people are merely attracted by the colour of the first two days and didn’t eat any food either. On the
skin and hair.
third day, Tricki went outside and played with other
bigger dogs in the hospital. He ate the food that was
God never loves us for our looks and external
given to him and also licked the bowls of other
beauty, but only for our inner beauty.
dogs for the leftover food.

Literary Devices: Mr Herriot gave a balanced diet to Tricki along

1. Alliteration: repetition of consonant ‘s’ sound at
with plenty of physical exercises. Gradually,
the start of two consecutive words. (Set Such) he
had, your yellow Tricki’s condition started improving, and he started
2. Anaphora: Repeated use of a word at the fighting with other dogs for meals. His mistress,
beginning of two lines (That he….That only Mrs Pumphrey, would send eggs so that her pet
god)
didn’t starve and get enough energy to recover
3. Metaphor: honey-coloured Ramparts at your
ear (Anne’s hair is compared to the ramparts of from the treatment. However, James Herriot and
a fort) his partners would eat eggs daily for breakfast.
4. Rhyme Scheme: abcbdb Further, Mrs Pumphrey also sent bottles of wine to
enrich Tricki’s blood. But those again were
consumed by Mr Herriot and his partners. He felt
SUPPLEMENTARY sorry for eating the food that was sent by Mrs
Pumphrey for Tricki. Soon, as the little dog started
1. A Triumph of Surgery showing

The chapter, A Triumph of Surgery, is about a small signs of improvement, the vet decided to call the
wealthy lady as she was very worried about her
dog, Tricki, who was always indulged by his rich
mistress, Mrs Pumphrey, with tasty and unhealthy pet’s condition. When she arrived in the hospital to
treats several times a day. Out of love, she would fetch her pet, Tricki was very happy and jumped on
overfeed her pet. Gradually, Tricki gained oodles her. Mrs
of weight and became lazy. He hardly exercised or Pumphrey was filled with gratitude towards Mr
went out for a walk due to his bloated structure. In Herriot for curing her dog and felt she couldn’t
due course of time, he became bulky, and his lack thank him enough for the wonder he had done to
of movement worried Mrs Pumphrey. Soon, she her pet. She felt this was indeed a triumph of
consulted Mr James Herriot, a veterinary surgeon, surgery.
for treatment of her lethargic dog.
The chapter A Triumph of Surgery signifies how
Mr Herriot was shocked to see Tricki’s condition rich parents indulge their children with expensive
and took him to the hospital. He knew Mrs items, which prove harmful to their kids’ health in
Pumphrey’s overindulgence would never let her the long run.
pet dog lead a healthy lifestyle. He took the dog
along with him and put

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2. The Thief’s Story rightfully earned it. Anil further said that he would
pay Hari regularly. However, when Hari touched
The Thief’s Story is written by Ruskin Bond. The the money, he realised that the money was still
story is about a young fifteen-year-old boy, Hari damp. Hari understood that Anil was aware of his
Singh, who befriended people in order to rob them. misdeed the previous night, but the young man still
One day, he met Anil during a wrestling match. didn’t treat him with disgust or hand him over to
Anil was a twenty-five-year-old man who was the police. On the contrary, Anil promised to teach
leading his life casually. He was a struggling writer Hari how to write full sentences. After this
who would make small money with his writing incident, Hari Singh was filled with gratitude and
prowess. Hari flattered Anil by trying to befriend respect for Anil, and he decided to mend his ways
him and asked him for some work. and become a noble human being like Anil.

Anil asked Hari if he could cook, to which the The Thief’s Story focuses on human values and
young boy replied affirmatively. Hearing this, Anil relationships which are significant in our lives and
took him to his room and promised to teach Hari how those values have the power to change an
how to read, write, add numbers and cook delicious individual.
meals.
Sometimes, Anil would give a rupee to Hari as a tip 3. The Midnight Visitor
for his efforts. One fine day, Anil received a bundle The Midnight Visitor is a detective story written by
of notes for his published articles. He kept the Robert Arthur. The story is about a quick-witted
money under his mattress, and Hari happened to secret agent Ausable. One day, he and his writer
notice this. At midnight, when Anil was fast asleep, friend Fowler had gone out to spend an evening
Hari stealthily slipped his hand and stole the together. As the two men talked, Ausable told him
money kept under the mattress. He immediately that Fowler must have imagined him to be a secret
left for the railway station to board a train to agent who dealt with espionage and danger and
Lucknow. Unfortunately, he missed the train and envisioned mysterious figures in the night, the
wandered across the streets. As it was pouring crack of pistols and drugs in the wine. On the
heavily, he got drenched completely. contrary, when Fowler met Ausable, he found the
latter to be a chubby-looking spy who spoke
Soon, Hari began to feel agitated and was regretful
French and German moderately with an American
for stealing money from an honest man like Anil,
accent ever since he moved from Paris to Boston
who treated him so well. He felt guilty for cheating
twenty years ago.
Anil, who taught him how to read and write his
name and add numbers. Suddenly, Hari Singh had Soon, both of them headed towards Ausable’s
a change of heart, and he decided to return to Anil. room; he unlocked the door and switched on the
Although the notes had become soggy due to rain, light. When they entered the room, Fowler was
he kept the money in the same spot from where he startled to see a man holding a small automatic
retrieved it. The following day, when he woke up, pistol halfway across the room. Ausable
he found Anil was normal as usual. The young man immediately recognised the other man to be Max,
offered Hari fifty rupees and said that he had a secret agent. Max had come to demand the report
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related to missiles that Ausable was expecting. secret agent. He outwitted Max and successfully
Meanwhile, Fowler was in a state of shock, and this saved himself and his friend, Fowler, from a life-
was by far the most audacious experience for him threatening situation.
to meet a secret agent in such a manner.
The Midnight Visitor illustrates the fact that one
In the meantime, Ausable began his hypothetical should not panic in a critical situation but rather
story of the balcony beneath the window of the stay focused to take a wise step in averting the
room to
problems with a good presence of mind.
divert Max’s attention. Just then, somebody
knocked at the door, and it continued until the 4. A Question of Trust
thumping became louder and more frequent.
Ausable said that the police might have come to A Question of Trust is written by Victor Canning.
visit him as they did on a regular basis. Hearing This story is about a thief, Horace Danby, who was
this, Max was confused, and while he pointed his a good citizen. He was an unmarried fifty-year-old
gun towards the other two men in the room, he said man who used to work as a locksmith. He was a
he would wait on the balcony until the police left. successful businessman too, and had two helpers to
assist him. Although he was a respectable man, he
Max warned that he would shoot them if they was not completely honest. He had a liking for rare
didn’t listen to him. Saying so, he jumped out of and fancy books and would purchase them by any
the window, and suddenly there was a loud scream. means. To pursue his expensive hobby, he would
Meanwhile, Ausable opened the door, and the rob a safe once every year and purchase the
waiter brought some wine that he had ordered. The expensive books covertly through an agent. He
waiter kept the wine bottle, glasses and tray on the would chalk out a well-devised plan before making
top of the table and left. Fowler was surprised to any burglary attempt. This time he had his eyes on
see all this and asked him about the police. To this, a house at Shotover Grange, and he carefully
Ausable lied about the police as he was trying to studied its rooms, electric wiring, its paths and
intimidate Max. Fowler again asked that Max must garden for two weeks.
be waiting on the balcony, to which Ausable said
there was no balcony attached to his window. He The family in that house was in London. One fine
cooked up the entire story about the balcony in afternoon, the two caretakers of the house had gone
order to convince Max to believe him, which he to watch a movie. Horace realised this was the best
blindly did. time to execute his act. He came out from behind a
wall of the garden and entered the house with all
This story exhibits how quick-witted Ausable took his tools packed in his bag. He had picked a key
advantage of the dangerous situation and was from the hook on the kitchen door. He quickly
successful in making Max nervous. Distraught, wore his gloves to avoid leaving fingerprints
Max jumped out of the window and fell to his death behind. He took the key from the hook and opened
unknowingly. the door. He saw the dog, Sherry, that wagged its
Although Ausable didn’t look like a well-groomed tail when it saw Horace.
spy like we see in movies, he was an ingenious

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Danby knew the safe was hidden behind a poor owner’s wife was a sixty-year-old woman, not the
painting in the drawing room. There was a one Danby mentioned in his statement. In no time,
beautiful vase full of flowers kept on the table. He the police arrested him, and he was put behind bars
was allergic to the fragrance of flowers. He tickled for the robbery case. He became the assistant
his nose and kept sneezing repeatedly. He took out librarian in the prison. He often thought of the
his tools and cut the burglar alarm. As he sneezed charming, cunning young lady who was also a thief
again loudly due to the fragrance of the flowers, he like him and tricked him into believing her.
heard the voice of a young lady standing in the Henceforth, whenever anyone mentioned ‘honour
doorway behind him. The lady was dressed in red among thieves’, he would get very angry and upset.
and pretended to be the house owner’s wife, and
A Question of Trust focuses on the message for
she managed to convince Horace to believe her.
students that we should not trust anyone blindly
She said that she had come there without notice to
without finding out the truth about that person
collect her jewels as she wanted to wear those at a
party that night. 5. Footprints without feet

Danby was frightened that the lady might hand him

over to the police, so he requested her to let him Footprints without Feet is an interesting story
go. She told him that she would allow him to leave written by Herbert George Wells. This story is
only if he opened the safe for her as she left all the about a brilliant scientist named Griffin who had
jewels in it. developed a drug that could make a man invisible.
She mentioned that she had forgotten the safe’s He was successful in his experiment and developed
number combination and didn’t know how to a formula that had the power of invisibility. By
unlock it. Danby offered to help her and opened the consuming the drug, a man could become
safe without his gloves on. The young lady transparent that could not be seen with the naked
immediately took out all the jewels. Horace Danby eye.
left the house and went home happily, assuming
that he had escaped imprisonment. For the first two Griffin carried out the experiment on himself, so he
days, he kept his promise to the young lady. gulped the drug, and his body became transparent
However, a policeman arrested him on the third like a sheet of glass. Inadvertently, he stepped in
day for the burglary of jewels at Shotover Grange. mud, and the fresh muddy imprints of his feet were
all over the place. It was first seen by two young
Horace Danby’s fingerprints were found all over boys who followed his footprints until they became
the robbed place. Later, he confessed to fainter and disappeared altogether. Although
committing the crime and that he had opened the Griffin was an outstanding scientist, he was a
safe for the young lady in the house but didn’t steal lawless man. His landlord disliked him and asked
the jewels inside. In reality, it so happened that the him to eject the house. In vengeance, Griffin set the
lady was also a thief, and she convinced Horace to house on fire and soon wandered around the streets
break open the safe for her. When he told this story without food, money and clothes.
to the police, no one believed him since the

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Owing to his invisibility, no one could see him, and were spirits around and their unusual guest was
as he was walking down the streets, he started responsible for all the chaos. Meanwhile, Mrs Hall
feeling cold and entered a big London shopping requested the town constable, Mr Jaffers, to inquire
centre to warm himself. After the stores were shut about the identity of this particular individual and
down, he picked up some comfortable clothes to arrest him for damaging her furnishings. This
warm himself and fed himself with cold meat and annoyed Griffin further, and he decided to reveal
some espresso from a nearby restaurant. Later he his identity as he started unwrapping his bandages,
slept on a pile of quilts in the store. The following whiskers, spectacles and nose. Everyone was
morning some associates started approaching him, shocked to see this, as there was no normal human
and he removed all his clothes immediately and being hidden behind the bandages. The constable
became invisible again. could not catch hold of Griffin as he took off all his
garments, became invisible and disappeared in thin
As Griffin wandered without clothes in the chilly air.
weather, he could feel the biting cold and decided
to take some clothes from a theatre company. Soon, Footprints without Feet describes the tendency of
he found an appropriate shop and wore bandages human beings to misuse creative discoveries meant
around his forehead, a false nose, dark glasses, big for the common good but end up creating a menace
bushy side-whiskers and a huge hat. Then, he went by misappropriating them.
to a
shopkeeper’s store and stole all his money. He 6. The Making of a scientist
realised that staying in a crowded city like London
could be difficult for him, so he thought of moving The Making of a Scientist was written by Robert W.
to the Iping village. Peterson. This prose is about a renowned scientist,

He had booked two rooms at the local inn in the Richard Ebright, who was a bright yet curious child
village and reached there by boarding a train from from the early years of his life. He was very fond
London. It was quite an unusual experience for the of collecting butterflies, and when he was in the
villagers to expect an outsider with a strange second grade, he had already collected 25 species
appearance who had come to stay at the hotel of butterflies in his home town. His mother always
during winter. Mrs Hall, the wife of the landlord of encouraged him in his efforts and gifted him a book
the inn, tried to be friendly with him, but Griffin named ‘The Travels of Monarch X’.
did not want to talk to her. Soon enough, his money
The book was a turning point in his life as it opened
was exhausted, and he started stealing to sustain
the world of science to him. It explained how
himself. Due to his suspicious appearance, the inn
monarch butterflies would migrate to Central
owner and his wife attempted to check his room
America and made him more eager to explore the
while he was away.
species. Soon, he participated in the county science
Out of anger, Griffin damaged the furniture of the fair and understood that he needed to do something
inn and threw it across the room towards them. The exceptional. He continued with his efforts until he
owner and his wife got scared, thinking that there

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made a place for himself in the fair with valid became a graduate student researcher at Harvard
experiments. Medical School and started working on other
experiments.
Later, in his eighth-grade project, he tried to
discover the disease caused by a virus that nearly Richard Ebright was a straight-A student in high
killed most of the monarch caterpillars every year. school. Besides, he took an interest in debate,
Ebright assumed that a beetle might be the carrier public speaking and was also a good canoeist and
of the disease, so he started breeding caterpillars an all-rounder outdoor person. He always had a
along with beetles. However, he didn’t get any competitive nature and zeal to give his best in
results from this experiment. Nevertheless, he everything that he put his hands into. Out and out,
exhibited this experiment at the county science fair he had all the key ingredients of a brilliant scientist,
and won the competition that year. starting with a first-rate mind blended with
curiosity and a mix of willpower to win for the
During his second year of high school, Ebright right reasons.
started his scientific research about the discovery
of a mysterious insect hormone, which led to his
7. The Necklace
brand-new theory on the life of cells. His
experiment was to find the main purpose of the
twelve tiny golden spots on a monarch pupa. His The Necklace was written by Guy de Maupassant.
project won first prize in a county science fair, and He was a famous 19th-century author popularly
he got an opportunity to work at the entomology remembered for his short stories based on real-life
lab at Walter Reed Army Institute of Research. situations. This fictional short story is about a
pretty lady, Matilda Loisel, who lives in a small yet
As a junior in high school, he went on with his
cosy flat with her husband. He worked as a clerk in
upgraded experiments on the monarch pupa and the office of the
finally was successful in identifying the chemical Board of Education and loved his wife very much.
structure of hormones. One fine day, while he was They were not so well-off to be able to have a
checking the X-ray photos of the chemical luxurious lifestyle. They led a simple life. Matilda
structure of a hormone, he understood how the cell was unhappy about her condition and always
could ‘read’ the blueprint of its desired to be rich. She often felt disappointed and
DNA. brooded about her financial condition for not
having a huge mansion to live in and riches to
Ebright and his roommate in college, James R.
splurge on. She always desired to wear beautiful
Wong, worked day and night and drew pictures and
dresses with matching jewellery, but she had none
constructed plastic models of molecules to
of it.
illustrate how DNA works. This was a major leap
in Ebright’s career as he secured a graduation One fine day, Mme Loisel’s husband brought her
degree from Harvard with the highest honours and an invitation to a grand ball party at the Minister’s
stood second in a class of 1,510 students. His work residence. He expected his wife to be excited upon
was also published in a science magazine. Soon, he seeing the invitation letter. On the contrary, when
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 REVISION NOTES

his wife saw the invite, she expressed her all went in vain. With no option left, Matilda’s
resentment over it and threw the letter aside and husband asked her to write a letter to Mme
started sobbing over her condition. When asked, Forestier and mention that the clasp had broken
she complained about not having a pretty dress to and she would return it once repaired. In the
wear on such a grand occasion. She wanted to look meantime, they had successfully found a replica of
beautiful and well-groomed at the party such that the necklace and decided to replace it with the old
everyone should admire her. Feeling pity for one. However, the new necklace was very
Matilda, her loving husband gave her all his expensive and cost thirty-six thousand francs.
savings of four hundred francs to buy a beautiful Matilda’s father-in-law had left eighteen thousand
dress. He had saved that amount to buy a rifle for francs for his son. They decided to borrow the rest
himself but gave the money to his wife to buy her of the money to buy the expensive necklace. They
dress. bought the necklace with all the money they had
and borrowed funds.
Soon, the week of the grand party approached.
Matilda seemed to be anxious again. This time she In the next few years, their condition worsened as
felt that she didn’t have any matching jewellery to their lives took a drastic turn due to the huge loan.
pair with her lovely dress. To this, her husband They moved to a smaller place to live in, and
suggested she request her friend, Mme Jeanne Matilda did all the household chores by herself.
Forestier, for a neckpiece. Matilda went to Jeanne’s Her husband worked odd hours in multiple jobs to
house immediately and borrowed a sparkling repay the loan. Ten years passed, and with that,
diamond necklace. their appearances also
changed due to the extreme workload. One day,
Mme Loisel went to the ball party with her husband Matilda met Mme Jeanne Forestier, who couldn’t
and was happy about her appearance. She was identify her as she looked weary and aged. Mme
elated that she was successful in garnering the Loisel revealed the truth to her friend about how
attention of the attendees at the reception. They she and her husband were left in ruins to repay the
enjoyed a gala time at the party. Soon, they were loan of the expensive necklace. Hearing this, Mme
ready to head back home in the wee hours of the Forestier was stunned and told her that the
morning. When they reached home, Matilda necklace that she gave her for the ball party was a
realised that the necklace was missing around her fake necklace that was worth not more than five
neck. She and her husband were panicstricken that hundred francs.
it might have fallen in the cab which they had
boarded while returning from the party. Her The Necklace focuses that one should be content
husband immediately went to search the streets just and satisfied with their belongings and not crave
in case it might have fallen there but to no avail. expensive items that are not within their economic
capabilities. Extreme desire for lavish items leads
Soon after, he approached the police and put up an to unhappiness and loss of peace of mind.
advertisement in the newspapers offering a reward,
but
8. Bholi

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 REVISION NOTES

Bholi was written by Khwaja Ahmad Abbas (K.A. around. She wanted to make friends but dared not
Abbas), who was a popular Indian film director, to open her mouth due to stammering. However,
journalist and novelist known for his works in when the class teacher smilingly asked her name,
Hindi, Urdu and other languages. This story is she stammered in front of the entire class, and all
about a young the girls started laughing at her. This discouraged
girl named Sulekha, who was popularly referred to her completely. She started weeping and
as ‘Bholi’ for her simple nature. At ten months, she understood that nobody would like to be friends
fell from her cot, which caused some severe with her. Soon her teacher, a kind-hearted lady,
damage to her brain, and she used to stammer when encouraged her to tell her name again. She
she learnt to talk. Bholi was born a pretty child, but stammered yet again but was finally able to tell her
she suffered from smallpox that left dark pock- full name. Her teacher gave her a few good books
marks on her face permanently. The ugly marks with pictures and asked her to read those as it
spoiled her appearance, and people would often would help her to overcome her stammering habit.
make fun of her due to her dullness. They would She also told Bholi to come to school regularly.
also consider her to be retarded as she stammered This gave the young girl a new ray of hope and
while speaking. assurance of a new life.

Bholi’s father, Ramlal had around seven children, Many years passed, and the village soon became a
out of which three were sons, and four were small town and saw many improvements around it.
daughters. Among all daughters, Bholi was the
Soon, there was a marriage proposal for Bholi. The
youngest. All her siblings were hale and hearty
prospective bridegroom, Bishamber Nath, was a
except young Bholi. Her parents were worried
limping old man with grown-up children. He was
about her and how to get her married when she
almost Bholi’s father’s age. However, Ramlal’s
grew older. One fine day, Tehsildar Sahib had come
family agreed to the alliance as they felt he was a
to perform an inaugural ceremony at a primary
well-settled fellow. Bholi’s elder sisters were,
school for girls in the village. He told Ramlal to
send all his daughters to school. When Ramlal however, envious of the great pomp and show at
discussed this with his wife, she objected and their younger sister’s wedding. However, when the
stated that nobody would marry their daughters if groom, Bishamber, was about to put the garland
they were sent to school. Yet, she agreed to send around the bride’s neck, a woman slowly slipped
Bholi to school as they were not sure if she would the veil from Bholi’s face. The groom was
ever get married for her appearance or feeble- surprised to see the pockmarks on her face and
mindedness. refused to marry her without a dowry of five
thousand rupees. Bholi’s father, Ramlal, somehow
Initially, Bholi was sceptical about going to school
arranged the amount and gave it to Bishamber
as she had never heard about it. However, on the
Nath.
first day of school, she was groomed properly and
sent to school; she assumed that it was a better However, as the groom tried to garland the bride,
place than her own home. When she reached Bholi held his hand and refused to marry such a
school, she was elated to see girls of her age voracious person. All the people present in the
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 REVISION NOTES

wedding were stunned to see how confidently she (people living on Earth) live and how the Martians
spoke without stuttering. The groom felt insulted can put that planet under the generous Martian
rulership.
and returned to his village. Later, Bholi assured her
father that she would take care of him and her Soon, they arrived at the Centerville Public Library
mother in their old age and would become a teacher on Earth, which was full of books. However, they
in the same school where she learnt so many new are unable to understand the purpose of those
and good things. Looking at this, Bholi’s teacher, objects kept on the shelves.
who was watching from a distance, felt a deep
To exhibit his acumen, the mighty Think-Tank tells
sense of relief and satisfaction at Bholi’s courage his crew that Earthlings are fond of eating, so
and confidence that she exhibited in front of so probably those things arranged on shelves are
many people. sandwiches. Soon after, he orders Captain Omega,
Lieutenant Iota and Sergeant Oop to eat the book.
Bholi illustrates that proper moral and emotional
Captain Omega and Lieutenant Iota cleverly
protection should be given to children during the
transfer this responsibility of
formative years of childhood to help them grow up
eating the book on Sergeant Oop’s shoulders.
into responsible citizens.
Having no choice, Sergeant Oop eats a corner of
the book, but he does not like the taste. He
confirms to the mighty Think-Tank that it is not
9. The book that saved the earth delicious at all. From this, the crew realises that the
book is not meant for eating.
The Book That Saved the Earth is a play written by
After some time, Apprentice Noodle suggests to
Claire Bioko. In the twenty-fifth century, while
the mighty Think-Tank that probably the book is
sitting in The Museum of Ancient History, the
being used for communication with ears. They all
Historian depicts the story of the Martians who
tried to hear the book by holding it close to their
visited Earth in the twentieth century to invade the
ears, yet there was no sound coming from it. Later,
planet. The play is set in the twentieth century,
Noodle suggests Think-Tank that the book may be
which was often called the Era of the Book. The
used for communication with eyes. The mighty
play consists of imaginary characters having
Think-Tank agrees and orders the entire crew
strange names, such as Mighty Chief Think-Tank,
members to open and
Apprentice Noodle, Captain Omega, Lieutenant
read the book. The name of the book is Mother
Iota and Sergeant Oop.
Goose, which is a children’s rhyme book.
Think-Tank considers himself the most powerful However, they are unable to understand how to
and intelligent fellow among all the Martians and read it.
decides to visit Earth with his team. He always
In no time, Apprentice Noodle reminds Think-
thinks that since he has a big balloon head, he is the
Tank that the Mars chemical department has given
most intelligent of all and constantly wants to be
some vitamin pills to boost the intelligence of the
praised for it. He and his team are eager to know
crew. Think-Tank immediately orders his crew to
how the Earthlings
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 REVISION NOTES

have those pills. The crew pop in the capsules

before reading the book. Soon, Sergeant Oop starts
reading the nursery rhyme book, and they start
taking the literal meaning of lines in the rhymes.
He reads the rhyme, Humpty Dumpty, and all of
them see the picture of Humpty that resembles
Think-Tank.

Seeing this, Think-Tank is horrified to know that

Earthlings have identified him already and want to
kill him. From all the information gathered about
Earthlings, the mighty Think-Tank calls his
Martian crew and says they should postpone the
idea of invading Earth for the time being. So, he
asks his crew to run away from that place
immediately without leaving a trace and evacuate
the entire planet of Mars. He orders his team to
head towards Alpha Centauri, a hundred million
miles away. Thus, an old book of rhymes, Mother
Goose, saved Earth from the Martian invasion.

The Book That Saved the Earth states how Mother

Goose, which is a well-known English nursery
rhyme book, saves Planet Earth from a Martian
invasion. It teaches students that a person who
thinks greatly of himself but has little knowledge
can be dangerous.

…….

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Praisely Ruban S TGT-English