NCERT Solutions for Class 8 English It So Happened Chapter 5 Princess September
NCERT Solutions for Class 8 English It So Happened Chapter 5 Princess September
Princess September NCERT Solutions for Class 8 English It So Happened Chapter 5
Princess September NCERT Text Book Questions and Answers
Princess September Comprehension check
Question 1.
How many daughters did the royal couple have?
Answer:
The royal couple had nine daughters.
Question 2.
Why were they named after the months of the year?
Answer:
They were named after the months of the year because the Queen found it confusing to remember so many names.
Question 3.
The King had a peculiar habit. What was it? Why is it called peculiar?
Answer:
The King used to give presents on his birthday, instead of receiving them. It is called peculiar because traditionally, people receive presents on their birthday.
Question 4.
i. What was Princess September’s reaction to the loss of her parrot?
Answer:
On coming to know that her parrot had died, Princess September burst into a flood of tears and was inconsolable. She would not stop crying, no matter what the Maids of Honour told her.
ii. What was her mother’s reaction to it?
Answer:
Her mother thought that it was all nonsense and told the Maids of Honour to let the Princess go to bed without supper.
iii. What do the reactions indicate about the nature and temperament of each?
Answer:
Their reactions indicate that the Princess did not take well to tragedy and grief. She was kind and sympathetic. She loved her parrot. On the other hand, the Queen comes across as cold and reckless. She does not seem to care much about her children.
Question 5.
What pulled the Princess out of her gloom?
Answer:
A little bird came out of nowhere and hopped into the Princess’ room. Then he began to sing a beautiful song all about the lake in the King’s garden and the willow trees that looked at themselves in the still water and the goldfish that glided in and out of the branches that were reflected in it.
Question 6.
How did the Maids of Honour come to know that the Princess and the bird had become intimate friends?
Answer:
The Maids of Honour came to know that the Princess and the bird had become intimate friends because the bird ate rice out of the Princess’ hand and he had his bath in her saucer.
Question 7.
The new bird was full of new songs but the old parrots always repeated themselves. What did they say?
Answer:
The old parrots could say ‘God save the king’ and some of them could say ‘Pretty Polly’ in at least seven Oriental languages.
Question 8.
What is the King’s opinion about his Councillors? Why did he form that opinion?
Answer:
The King thought that his Councillors say the same thing in seven different ways and it never means anything in any way they say it. He probably formed that opinion because he was not happy with their advice on different matters pertaining to the kingdom.
Question 9.
i. The eight Princesses made an offer to Princess September. What was it?
Answer:
The eight Princesses wanted to put their pocket-money together to buy Princess September a lovely green and yellow parrot.
ii. Why, in your view, did they do it?
Answer:
They did this out of jealousy. They did not want Princess September to have a bird that sag so beautifully, and who was better than their parrots.
Question 10.
What did the sisters advise the Princess to do about her bird?
Answer:
The sisters advised the Princess to buy a cage for her bird and lock him inside it.
Princess September Comprehension check
Question 1.
In the following sentence elaborate the parts given in bold. Under the circumstances it was a very unfortunate remark for the bird to make.
Answer:
The circumstances being referred to here is the absence of the bird. He explains it to the Princess by saying that his father-in-law insisted that he stay, and he almost did not come back. He returned only because he knew that the Princess would be anxious. The truth was that the Princess was quite worried about the little bird and was thinking of putting him in a cage for his safety.
Question 2.
i. What did Princess September do to ensure the safety of her pet?
Answer:
Princess September put the little bird in a cage to ensure his safety.
ii. How did the bird react to it?
Answer:
At first the bird thought that it was a joke. But when the Princess told him that it was just for one night, he agreed. The next morning, he called her at the top of his’voice to be let out. When Princess September explained her actual intention to him, he tried to slip through the bars and beat against the door of the cage. Later, the bird did not eat or sing as a form of protest and kept asking the Princess to let him out.
Question 3.
Why did the bird refuse to be taken out in her cage?
Answer:
The bird refused to be taken out in her cage because he did not want to see the world through the bars of a cage.
Question 4.
i. What persuaded Princess September to give the bird his freedom again?
Answer:
When Princess September saw that the bird refused to eat, or sing, she grew anxious. She greeted him in the morning in a cheerful voice, but got no answer. She looked at the cage and found that the bird lay at the bottom, on his side, with his eyes closed, and he looked as if he were dead. This terrified her and she decided to give the bird his freedom again.
ii. How did the bird react to it?
Answer:
The bird told the Princess that he loved him dearly, and that he would come to meet her. He said that he would never forget her, and would always return to her. Then he opened his wings and flew away to enjoy the bounties of Nature.
Question 5.
Princess September kept her window open day and night.
i. How did it help the bird?
It helped the bird in visiting Princess September whenever he felt inclined to do so.
ii. How did it help the Princess herself?
Answer:
It helped the Princess grow extremely beautiful because of the fresh air that came through the window. And when she was old enough, she married the King of Cambodia and was carried on a white elephant all the way to the city in which the King lived.
Question 6.
The eight sisters kept their windows shut. How did it affect them?
Answer:
The eight sisters became ugly and disagreeable as they kept their windows shut. As a result, their hands in marriage were given away to the King’s Councillors with a pound of tea and a Siamese cat.
Princess September Exercise Question and Answer
Discuss the following questions in small groups. Write their answers later.
Encourage the students to discuss the given questions in groups.
Question 1.
Are the sisters unkind and cruel? Find evidence in the text to support your idea.
Answer:
Yes, the sisters were unkind and cruel. They kept their own parrots in cages, and advised Princess September to lock her little bird in a cage as well. They put feelings of mistrust in the Princess’ heart. They told her to “pop” the bird in the cage when he came back to her. They tried their best to destroy the friendship between the bird and Princess. They planned a strategy to do this, and were initially successful.
When she did as they had asked her to, they told her that the bird would get used to the cage in a while and would forget that he was ever free. Also, when she went to them for advice on how to make the bird eat, they called him “ungrateful” for refusing to eat, and also said that it would serve him right if he died.
Question 2.
Which, to you, is the most important idea in this story, and why?
i. importance of music
ii. value of freedom
iii. beauty of nature
Answer:
The main theme of the story is the value of freedom. It illustrates that even love takes a second place to freedom. The bird can only sing when it is free. It is the only thing that makes him happy. He has a desire to see the blue sky, water, green grass and trees. The freedom to do so is dearer to him than everything else in the world. He almost dies with the lack of freedom. Similarly, all living beings are given their free will by the Maker. It is wrong to take that away from them. We must uphold the values of freedom and liberty. Without them, life would never have the same meaning as with them.
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