Samacheer Kalvi 10th English Solutions Supplementary Chapter 6 The Little Hero of Holland

February 11, 2022

Tamilnadu Samacheer Kalvi 10th English Solutions Supplementary Chapter 6 The Little Hero of Holland

The Little Hero of Holland Textual Questions

A. Based on the understanding of the story, complete the Graphic Organiser suitably.

B. Based on the understanding of the story answer the following questions in one or two sentences:

Question 1.
What are the little children of Holland, aware of?
Answer:
The little children of Holland are aware the dikes must be watched every moment and that even a small hole can be very dangerous. It would bring the sea into Holland.

Question 2.
What was the work assigned to Peter’s father?
Answer:
The work assigned to Peter’s father was tending the sluice. Opening and closing the gates when ships entered the sea from Holland.

Question 3.
Why did Peter’s mother call him?
Answer:
Peter’s mother called him to go and give cakes to his friend who was blind.

Question 4.
How did Peter spend his time with his blind friend?
Answer:
Peter stayed with the poor blind man a little while to tell him about his walk along the dike and about the sun and the flowers and the ships far out at sea.

Question 5.
Why did the father always say ‘angry waters’?
Answer:
The father always said angry waters because the sea water lashed on the dikes always.

Question 6.
What did Peter see when he stopped near the dikes?
Answer:
When Peter stopped near the dikes he noticed that there was a sound of trickling water and saw a small hole in the dike, through which a tiny stream was flowing.

Question 7.
What were the thoughts of the mother when Peter didn’t return home?
Answer:
Peter’s mother thought that he was spending that night with his friend and that she would scold him next morning for staying away from home without permission.

Question 8.
How did Peter spend his night at the dikes?
Answer:
Holding his finger in the hole on the dike Peter crouched on a stone, bending his head. He closed his eyes but did not sleep. He rubbed his hand and thought he would manage to stay throughout the night, though no one came to his rescue until morning.

Question 9.
Who found Peter in the dikes and what did he do?
Answer:
A man who went for his work heard Peter moaning and found him clinging to the side of the great wall.

Question 10.
How did the villagers mend the hole?
Answer:
The villagers brought shovels and mended the hole after hearing the alarm.

Additional Questions

Question 1.
How did Peter try to get the attention of someone to come to his aid?
Answer:
Peter shouted and screamed for help from someone. He later called for his mother. Peter tried to whistle but his teeth chattered with the cold.

Question 2.
Who were the reasons for him to hold on in spite of his hand grow numb with cold?
Answer:
Peter thought of his mother, father, his brother and sister who would be fast asleep and didn’t want them to be drowned in sleep. They were the reasons for him to hold on.

Question 3.
What did Peter tell the man?
Answer:
Peter told the man that he was keeping the water back and asked him to bring people soon for mending the hole.

Question 4.
What did he do while returning back from meeting his blind friend?
Answer:
While returning back, he admired the pretty field and stopped to pick the pretty blue flowers that grew beside the road. He also stopped and listened to the rabbits’soft tread as they rustled through the grass. Often, he smiled thinking about his chat with his blind friend.

Question 5.
What did Peter do when he saw a hole in the dike?
Answer:
When Peter saw a hole in the dike, he immediately, threw away his flowers and he climbed down the side of the dike and thrust his finger into the tiny hole.

C. Based on your understanding of the story answer the following question in about 100-150 words.

Question 1.
Narrate in your own words the circumstances that led Peter to be a brave little hero.
Answer:
One day Peter’s mother asked him to give cakes to his blind friend. He crossed the dikes that 1 guarded Holland from the great sea. After he spent some time with his friend, he decided to leave early to his house. On his way, he noticed that he heard a noise of a stream through a hole in the dike. He felt the danger behind the hole. He wanted to save Holland. So he used his finger to close the hole and the water stopped leaking.

He stayed outside in the cold night without sleeping. His mother thought he was spending his night with his friend and would scold him, when he returned in the morning. But Peter suffered a lot in the biting cold weather. He shouted for help, no one heard.

Next morning a passer-by, who was going to work, heard his groan and found Peter clinging to the side of the dike. He immediately tried to save him and spread the alarm in the village about the hole in the dike. The villagers came running with shovels and mended the dike. Thus Peter became a great hero who saved Holland from the great sea.

D. Identify the character / Speaker:

1. “I want you to go across the dike and take these cakes to your friend,the blind man.”
Answer:
Peter’s mother

2. “I am glad there are so strong.”
Answer:
Peter

3. “Holland shall not be drowned while I am here.”
Answer:
Peter

4. “What’s the matter?” he called. “Are you hurt?”
Answer:
A man going to work /The passer by

5. “Tell them to come quickly.”
Answer:
Peter

Additional:

Question 1.
He tended the gates in the dikes, called sluices.
Answer:
Peter’s father

Question 2.
Come, Peter,I want you to go across the dike.
Answer:
Peter’s mom

Question 3.
He thought of his father’s gates.
Answer:
Peter

Question 4.
He opened and closed the sluices.
Answer:
Peter’s father

Question 5.
Take these cakes to your friend, the blind man.
Answer:
Peter’s mom

Question 6.
The little boy was glad to go on such an errand.
Answer:
Peter

Question 7.
Peter told him about his walk.
Answer:
The blind friend

Question 8.
If you go quickly, you will be home again before dark.
Answer:
Peter’s mom

Question 9.
He noticed how the rains had swollen the waters.
Answer:
Peter

Question 10.
These pretty fields would be covered with water.
Answer:
Peter

Question 11.
He always calls them the ‘angry waters.
Answer:
Peter’s father

Question 12.
Mother will be watching for me.
Answer:
Peter

Question 13.
They were frightened at the thought of a leak in the dike.
Answer:
Any child in Holland

Question 14.
He understood the danger at once.
Answer:
Peter

Question 15.
The angry waters must stay back now.
Answer:
Peter

Question 16.
I can keep them back with my finger.
Answer:
Peter

Question 17.
Come here; come here!’
Answer:
Peter

Question 18.
Will no one come? Mother! Mother!
Answer:
Peter

Question 19.
I must not let them be drowned.
Answer:
Peter

Question 20.
I’ll stand it somehow, he thought.
Answer:
Peter

Question 21.
So he stayed there all night keeping the sea out.
Answer:
Peter

Question 22.
If they gave way what would become of us?
Answer:
Peter

Question 23.
What’s the matter?
Answer:
The man going to work

Question 24.
I’m keeping the water back!
Answer:
Peter

Question 25.
They came running with shovels.
Answer:
The people of Holland

A. Rearrange the following sentences in coherent order.

1. a. Peter’s father was one of the men who tended the gates in the dikes.
b. Many years ago there lived in Holland a boy named Peter.
c. In Holland, dikes keep the North Sea from rushing in and flooding the land.
d. He opened and closed the sluices for ships to pass out of Holland’s canals into the great sea.
e. Even the little children know the dikes must be watched every moment.
Answers:
c, e, b, a ,d
c. In Holland, dikes keep the North Sea from rushing in and flooding the land, e. Even the little children know the dikes must be watched every moment.
b. Many years ago there lived in Holland a boy named Peter.
a. Peter’s father was one of the men who tended the gates in the dikes.
d. He opened and closed the sluices for ships to pass out of Holland’s canals into the great sea.

2. a. The little boy was glad and started off with a light heart.
b. She wanted him to go across the dike and take cakes to his blind friend.
c. One afternoon, when Peter was eight years old, his mother called him from his play.
d. His mother wanted him to return before dark and hence bid his friend goodbye.
e. After sometime, when he was speaking with his friend, he remembered his mother’s wish.
Answers:
c, b, a, e ,d
c. One afternoon, when Peter was eight years old, his mother called him from his play, b. She wanted him to go across the dike and take cakes to his blind friend.
a. The little boy was glad and started off with a light heart.
e. After sometime, when he was speaking with his friend, he remembered his mother’s wish.
d. His mother wanted him to return before dark and hence bid his friend goodbye.

B. Fill in the blanks with the appropriate phrases given below to form a complete meaningful paragraph.

1. (who had so few pleasures / As he walked along / of trickling water / Suddenly/ a noise)

(i) ………………. he sometimes stopped to pick the pretty blue flowers that grew beside the road. But often, he smiled as he thought of his visit to the poor blind man (ii) ……………………… and was always so glad to see him. (iii) ……………….. he noticed that the sun was setting, and that it was growing dark. Just then he heard (iv) …………………. It was the sound (v) ………………………….. ! He stopped and looked down.
Answers:
(i) As he walked along
(ii) who had so few pleasures
(iii) Suddenly
(iv) a noise
(v) of trickling water

2. (In a moment / at once / in the dike / make a larger one / at the thought of a leak)

There was a small hole (i) ……………………, through which a tiny stream was flowing. Any child in Holland is frightened (ii) ………………………… in the dike. Peter understood the danger (iii) ………………… If the water ran through a little hole it would soon (iv) ………………………, and the whole country would be flooded, (v) ……………………… he saw what he must do.
Answers:
(i) in the dike
(ii) at the thought of a leak
(iii) at once
(iv) make a larger one
(v) In a moment

C. Choose the Correct answer.

1. Holland is a country where much of the land lies ……………. sea level.
(a) above
(b) below
(c) near
(d) under
Answer:
(b) below

2. The dikes kept the ………………. from rushing in and flooding the land.
(a) South Sea
(b) East Sea
(c) West Sea
(d) North Sea
Answer:
(d) North Sea

3. Peter’s ……………….. tended the gates in the dikes, called sluices.
(a) friend
(b) brother
(c) father
(d) uncle
Answer:
(c) father

4. One afternoon in the early ……………………, Peter’s mother called him from his play.
(a) summer
(b) autumn
(c) winter
(d) spring
Answer:
(b) autumn

5. Peter told the blind friend about the ………………….. far out at sea.
(a) sun, flowers and the ships
(b) sun and the ships
(c) flowers and the ships
(d) pretty blue flowers and the ships
Answer:
(a) sun, flowers and the ships

6. Father always calls them the …………………. .
(a) angry waters
(b) back waters
(c) swollen waters
(d) saving waters
Answer:
(a) angry waters

7. He listened to the rabbits’soft tread as they ………………. through the grass.
(a) walked
(b) braved
(c) contoured
(d) rustled
Answer:
(d) rustled

8. He heard the sound of ………………… water!
(a) tingling
(b) tickling
(c) trickling
(d) gushing
Answer:
(c) trickling

9. …………………. shall not be drowned while I am here.
(a) My parents
(b) Holland
(c) My siblings
(d) Harvard
Answer:
(b) Holland

10. The ……………….. looked down on the child crouching on a stone.
(a) dikes
(b) angry waters
(c) passer-by
(d) moon and stars
Answer:
(d) moon and stars

D. Match the following appropriately:

1.
Answer:
(i)(d), (ii)(e), (iii)(b), (iv)(c), (v)(a).

2.
Answer:
(i)(e), (ii)(c), (iii)(d), (iv)(a), (v)(b).

E. Read the passage given below and answer the questions that follow:

1. Holland is a country where much of the land lies below sea level. Only great walls called dikes keep the North Sea from rushing in and flooding the land. For centuries the people of Holland have worked to keep the walls strong so that their country will be safe and dry. Even the little children know the dikes must be watched every moment, and that a hole no longer than your finger can be a very dangerous thing. Many years ago there lived in Holland a boy named Peter. Peter’s father was one of the men who tended the gates in the dikes, called sluices. He opened and closed the sluices so that ships could pass out of Holland’s canals into the great sea.

(a) What keeps the North Sea from flooding Holland?
Answer:
The great walls called dikes keep the North Sea from flooding Holland.

(b) Why is there more chances for Holland to be flooded?
Answer:
There are more chances for Holland to be flooded since much of the land lies below sea level.

(c) What is the precaution taken by the people of Holland to save the country?
Answer:
The people of Holland continuously work to keep the walls strong so that Holland will be safe and dry.

(d) What is the knowledge that the children of Holland have?
Answer:
The children of Holland know that the dikes must be watched every moment and that a hole no longer than a finger can be very dangerous.

(e) Who tended the gates in the dikes? What are they called?
Answer:
The gates of the dikes called Sluices were tended by Peter’s father.

2. Many years ago there lived in Holland a boy named Peter. Peter’s father was one of the men who tended the gates in the dikes, called sluices. He opened and closed the sluices so that ships could pass out of Holland’s canals into the great sea. One afternoon in the early fall, when Peter was eight years old, his mother called him from his play. “Come, Peter,” she said. “I want you to go across the dike and take these cakes to your friend, the blind man.

If you go quickly, and do not stop to play, you will be home again before dark.” The little boy was glad to go on such an errand, and started off with a light heart. He stayed with the poor blind man a little while to tell him about his walk along the dike and about the sun and the flowers and the ships far out at sea. Then he remembered his mother’s wish that he should return before dark and, bidding his friend goodbye, he set out for home.

(a) What was the work done by Peter’s father?
Answer:
Peter’s father tended the gates in the dikes, called sluices. He opened and closed the sluices so that ships could pass out of Holland’s canals into the great sea.

(b) How old is Peter and who is his friend?
Answer:
Peter is eight years old and his friend is a visually challenged person.

(c) What was the job given to Peter by his mother?
Answer:
Peter’s mother wanted him to take cakes across the dikes to his blind friend that she had made.

(d) How did Peter spend his time with his blind friend?
Answer:
Peter stayed with his blind friend and told him about his walk across the dikes. He described to his blind friend about the sun, the flowers and
the ships which were far out in the sea.

(e) What did Peter remember while talking with his friend?
Answer:
While talking with his friend, Peter remembered his mother’s wish that he should return home before dark.

The Little Hero of Holland by Mary Elizabeth Mapes About the Author:

Mary Elizabeth Mapes was born in 1831 to Prof. James Jay Mapes and Sophia Furman in New York City. She acquired a good education under private tutors. In 1851 she married the lawyer William Dodge. Within the next four years she gave birth to two1 sons, James and Harrington. In 1859 Mary Mapes, a widow then, began writing and editing, working with her father to publish two magazines, the Working Farmer and the United States Journal. Within a few years she had great success with a collection of short stories, The Irvington Stories (1864), and a novel was solicited. Dodge then wrote & Hans Brinker, or the Silver Skates, which became an instant bestseller. Dodge died at her summer cottage in Tannersville, New York, in 1905 and is buried in the Evergreen Cemetery.

The Little Hero of Holland Summary:

Introduction:
The author narrates a true story of a young boy who with a passionate love for his village saved it. This made him famous and he is remembered to this day in Holland.

Peter’s friend
Peter is a little boy who lived in Holland. His father took care of the dikes called sluices so that ships could pass out of Holland’s canals into the sea. On a beautiful day in Autumn this boy, Peter who was eight years old, was asked to go and give cakes to his blind friend who lived on the other side of the dike by his mother. After about an hour when he was returning home, the climate had changed; it was raining and the water in the channel was rising.

Peter’s courage
All of a sudden he heard the sound of dribbling water and he wondered from where the sound came. Then he saw a very small hole in the dike! Now every child in Holland knew what that meant! Due to the pressure of the water the hole would not stay the same for long and that meant flood! He knew what to do. He c1imbed onto the dike and put his finger in the hole. Now he hoped for someone to come to his help and cried out aloud. His mother mistook him to have stayed back with his blind friend and retired to bed. The boy was sure that he had to stay awake the entire night and keep his finger in the hole to arrest the water from flooding Holland. The water in the canal was rising and if he would remove his finger from the hole in the sluice, the water would gush through and make the hole bigger and bigger. The town would obviously flood.

People praise Peter for his bravery
When dawn broke, a man going to work heard the sound of Peter groaning. He wondered what the little boy was up to and was shocked at his reply. He understood the danger and called for help. People came in with shovel and mended the hole. Peter was carried home and they all hailed him as the brave boy who saved Holland from drowning.

Conclusion:
So we understand that no one should forsake the duty towards their nation when one comes to know that it is in danger. One must not hesitate to take a bold decision to save one’s country.