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Question
Read the extract given below and answer the questions that follow:
“That only leaves October, November, and December,”’ said the Queen. "And after that, we shall have to begin all over again.”
“No, we shan’t,” said the King, “because I think twelve daughters are enough for any man and after the birth of dear little December I shall be reluctantly compelled to cut off your head.”
He cried bitterly when he said this, for he was extremely fond of the Queen.
(i) Why did the king change the names of his daughters so many times?
(ii) In what way was Princess September different from her sisters? What reason does the author give for this difference in their temperaments?
(iii) Which unusual birthday tradition did the King of Siam observe? Mention some of the gifts that he gave.
(iv) Why did Princess September put the Nightingale in a cage? What reasons did she give to the bird for putting it in a cage and then keeping it there?
(v) How did the bird behave upon being locked in a cage? What is the message of the story?
Solution
(i) The king of Siam is an odd character. He had a peculiar manner of naming his children. When he had two daughters he named them day and night. When he has two more, he changed the names of the first ones and called the four of them after the seasons. When he had three others he called all seven by the days of the week. On more daughters being born he called them by the months of the year.
(ii) The Princess September’s name had never been changed. She had a very sweet and charming nature. She was basically innocent and kind-hearted. On the other hand, her sisters had annoying nature. They were petty-minded and cunning because their names were changed more than once.
(iii) The King of Siam used to give, not receive gifts on his birthdays. One year on his birthday he gifted each of his daughters a green parrot in a golden cage. The other gifts that he gave were his wedding presents and his own crowns which had gone out of fashion.
(iv) Princess September put the bird in a cage because her sisters advised her that the bird could fly away and never come back. Actually they wanted to trouble the bird for they were jealous of it. Princess September truly became worried about the bird.
September said to the bird that it should remain in the cage. The cage was golden and made by the best workman. She feared it would go and never return and also was worried about its safety.
(v) The bird being locked in the cage was feeling troubled and weak. It refused to sing, it stopped eating and then it lay in the cage as if it were dead.
The message is, freedom is cherished by all creatures. Nature has a good effect on one’s physical and mental growth.
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