A Gift of Chappals

Very Short Answer Type Questions

Question 1:
Who is Mridu and with whom Mridu went to Rukku Manni’s place?
Solution:
Mridu is a young girl Mridu went to Rukku Manni’s place alongwith her Tapi.
Question 2:
Why was Ravi dragging Mridu towards the backyard?
Solution:
Ravi was dragging Mridu to the backyard to show her the newly found cat.
Question 3:
Why were the red chilli kept in the backyard?
Solution:
Kama from Mahabharata used to give away everything he had which even included
his gold earnings.
Question 4:
The beggar was leaning against what in Ravi’s garden?
Solution:
The beggar was leaning against the trunk of the neem tree in Ravi’s garden.
Question 5:
Mridu had noticed in front of Meena’s house a pair of chappals. Whom did they
belong to?
Solution:
The pair of chappals that Mridu had seen in front of Ravi’s house belonged to the
music teacher.
Question 6:
Who used to give away everything he had, which even included his gold earrings?
Solution:
Red chillies were kept in the backyard for drying.
Question 7:
With whom did the music teacher compared Ravi with?
Solution:
The music teacher compared Ravi with the lord Hanuman and called him a
Hanuman incarnate.
Short Answer Type Questions
Question 1:
What was in the cat’s name that pleased Mridu?
Solution:
Ravi had named the kitten Mahendravarma Pallava Poonai, MP Poonai in short.
They were calling him Mahendran. Mridu liked the name because it sounded real to
her and was different from the usual cute names kept for cats in general.
Question 2:
How did Ravi link his cat with the Pallava kings?
Solution:
Ravi felt that his cat was a descendant of the Rishi Cat of Mahabalipuram. He
claimed that during his class trip to Mahabalipuram, he had seen statue of a cat
there which he believed was an ancestor of this cat. He felt that the lion in the
emblem of the Pallava king was a close relative of his cat.
Question 3:
What made Ravi feel that Lalli will never learn to play the violin?
Solution:
Ravi felt that Lalli will never learn to play violin. The music teacher used to play the
perfect notes, but she kept on going off tracks.
It was like her train getting derailed again and again while the teacher’s was running
smoothly on the track.
Question 4:
Why Rukku Manni asked Ravi to send away the-beggar?
Solution:
Rukku Manni was fed up with the beggar coming to her place daily for over a week
now. She was tired giving him food and other items. She wanted him to find another
house and stop coming to their place. So she asked Ravi to send him away.
Question 5:
What did the beggar feel about the ladies of the household?
Solution:
The beggar felt that the ladies of the household were very kind. They have enabled
him survive for a week by giving him food to eat. He called them generous and found
it hard to believe that they wanted to send him away.
Long Answer Type Questions
Question 1:
Describe Ravi’s character in the story.
Solution:
Ravi was an intelligent child. He had good observation skills and possessed sound
knowledge of history. He was playful, but had a good sense of humour. He managed
to get milk for the kitten in front of Paati’s eyes. He also applied his intelligence and
gave music teacher’s chappals to the beggar. He was kind and generous and
remembered the story of Kama which Rukku Manni had told him.
Question 2:
Compare how the music teacher played the violin with that of Lalli’s.
Solution:
The music teacher played the violin smoothly. His notes seemed to float up and then
settled down perfectly into the invisible tracks of the melody. His hand moved the
violin’s stem effortlessly and produced a melodious music. Lalli on the other hand
seemed to struggle with the violin. The instrument appeared unhappy and helpless in
her hands. She kept on missing the tracks and produced a kind of noise which even
scared Mahendran.
Question 3:
Why was Ravi upset with the elders?
Solution:
Ravi was upset with the elders because he had always been told by them to be kind
towards animals, but whenever he had tried to do so he had received screaming in
return.
He had found the same elders calling these animals’ dirty creatures. Rukku Manni
had told her about Kama who would give away everything he had to help others.
Ravi had tried to help the beggar by giving away the music teacher’s chappals to
him, but still Rukku Manni was angry with him.
Value Based Questions
Question 1:
What is the moral of the story, elaborate it.
Solution:
The moral of this story is to help people in need. The beggar was in need of the
slippers. He had blisters in his feet. They did the right thing Gopu Mama can buy
another pair of slippers but the beggar didn’t have the money to buy them. We
should help people in need. There is no harm in giving away a bit of those things that
are surplus to us. We should give food, dresses and sweaters ‘ to poor. For us that
might not have much value, but it can save someone else’s life.

THE REBEL
Read the extract given below and answer the following questions.

When everybody talks during the lesson,

The rebel doesn’t say a word.
When nobody talks during the lesson,
The rebel creates a disturbance.

Question 1:With reference to the above extract, do you think it is good to be a

rebel?
Solution:No, to go against the flow just to show that you are different or to prove
your superiority is Wrong. Unnecessarily breaking the rule unless there is some
noble cause is not acceptable.

Question 2:Can there be a good reason behind staying silent when everybody is
talking?
Solution:Yes, sometimes people keep on arguing unnecessarily out of their
ignorance of the entire and actual situation. In Such situations, a wise man would
stay silent.
Question 3:Can there be a good reason behind speaking when everybody else is
silent?
Solution:Yes, sometimes people do not dare to raise Voice against the wrong
happening. But a rebel cannot tolerate unfair things and raises voice against it. If
nobody dares to speak, the once who do wrong are encouraged to do so ever again.

Question 4:What do you think, the rebel doesn’t like?

(a) Opposing the authority.
(b) Going with the flow.
(c) Taking lessons in a classroom.
(d) Taking advice of an illiterate person.
Solution:(b) Going with the flow.

Question 5:What must be the main motto of a rebel, in your opinion?

(a) Teaching the Society to be dutiful.
(b) Obeying the rules.
(c) Bringing disharmony.
(d) Bringing about the change.
Solution:(d) Bringing about the change.

Question 6:What does a rebel do when nobody talks during the class?
(a) Creates a disturbance.
(b) Spoils the atmosphere.
(c) Teaches the teacher.
(d) Runs away.
Solution:(a) Creates a disturbance.

Extract 2

Directions (Q. Nos. 1-6) Read the extract given below and answer the following
questions.

“When everybody says, Yes please,

The rebel says, No thank you.
When everybody says, No thank you,
The rebel says, Yes please.
It is very good that we have rebels.
You may not find it very good to be one.
Question 1:What decides the choices made by the rebel?
Solution:The society’s opinion can never be a rebel’s Choice. The rebel’s choices
are based on what the Society would not accept or agree to.

Question 2:Why does the poet say it is not good to be a rebel oneself?
Solution:The poet says that it is not good to be a rebel oneself because one would
not be accepted by the society.

Question 3:Use the word “rebel” in a sentence of your own.

Solution:Jimmy always disagrees to what others say. He is a rebel.

Question 4:Who do you think is the character of rebel based on?

(a) A political activist
(b) The poet
(c) The school teacher
(d) A young child
Solution:(d) A young child

Question 5:What does the rebel do?

(a) Defy others
(b) Disobey others
(c) Trust, others
(d) Love others
Solution:(a) Defy others

Question 6:Who does not like the rebels?

(a) The poet
(b) The political activists
(c) The Society
(d) The rebels
Solution:(c) The Society

Question 4:Why does the rebel demand for the rain when everybody is praising the
sun?
(a) He is craving for rain.
(b) He hates the Sun.
(c) He is not happy with what everybody likes.
(d) None of the above
Solution:(c) He is not happy with what everybody likes.

Bringing Up Kari
I. SHORT ANSWER TYPE QUESTIONS
Question 1:
How old were Kari (the elephant) and the narrator?
Answer:
Kari, the elephant, was five months old when he was given to the narrator. The
narrator was nine years old then.
Question 2:
What did Kari eat and how much?
Answer:
Kari ate twigs. He did not eat much. Still he needed forty pounds of it daily. He
chewed the twigs and played with them.
Question 3:
What did the narrator do with the hatchet?
Answer:
The narrator had to bring some luscious twigs for Kari’s dinner. He used to cut down
the twigs with a very sharp hatchet.
Question 4:
Why did the narrator climb the trees?
Answer:
The narrator had to get twigs for Kari. The most tender and delicate twigs were found
on the trees. So he used to climb the trees.
Question 5:
Why was it necessary to train kari to he good?
Answer:
Kari was like a naughty boy. He took pleasure in making mischief. Therefore, he had
to be trained to be good.
Question 6:
Who were wrongly blamed for the theft of the bananas?
Answer:
The bananas were stolen again and again. First of all, the narrator’s family blamed
the servants for eating all the fruit. The next time, the narrator himself was blamed
for the theft. Both the narrator and the servants were wrongly blamed. Kari used to
steal the bananas every time.
Question 7:
What did the narrator do when he found Kari stealing the bananas?
Answer:
The narrator found Kari stealing the bananas. He pulled out Kari from the pavilion by
the ear. He showed Kari to his parents. He also scloded the elephant.
II. LONG ANSWER TYPE QUESTIONS
Question 1:
Give a character sketch of Kari.
Answer:
Kari, the elephant lived in a pavilion under a thatched roof. Once he saved the life of
a drowning boy with the narrator’s help. He was fond of eating luscious twigs. He
enjoyed rolling in sand and bathing in the river. He was a sensible elephant. He
made a call to the narrator when he saw a boy drowning in the river. He helped the
narrator fully in bringing out the drowning child. He was a naughty elephant. He took
pleasure in making mischief. He had to be a great love for ripe bananas. He used to
steal the bananas. Soon he was found out stealing the bananas. When the narrator
scolded him his ego was hurt. He never stole anything in future. He was willing to be
punished for his wrong. He was a slow but good learner like a child.
Question 2:
Give the character sketch of the narrator.
Answer:
The narrator was a boy of nine years when the five months old Kari was given to
him. They grew together. He was not a good swimmer. However, he saved the life of
a drowning boy with the help of the elephant. He grew friendly with the elephant. He
climbed up the trees to get luscious twigs for Kari. He took Kari to the river and
rubbed him with clean sand. He cut the twigs with a sharp hatchet. He always
heeded to the elephant’s call. He was a boy of ego. He got angry with his parents
when they blamed him for the theft of the bananas. He was a good observer. Soon
he discovered that Kari was the thief. He pulled Kari by the ear and scolded him in
harsh language. He learnt how to make the elephant sit down, walk, go fast or go
fast or go slow by saying ‘D hat’and ‘Mali’.