Grade V I I I - English

Lesson 5. Princess September

Supplementary Reader

Soul of the Chapter

The King had Nine Daughters

T he king o f S iam had nine daugh t e r s, T he Q ueen used t o f ind i t di f f icul t t o r emembe r so

many names, so t he King named his daugh t e rs a f t e r t he name o f t he mon t hs o f t he yea r.

T he r e f or e, t he eldes t was called J anuar y and t he younges t was named S ep t embe r. T he King had

a peculiar habi t o f giving gi f t s t o his daugh t e r s on his bi r t hday. O ne year he gi f t ed a gr een and

yellow par r ot in a golden cage t o each o f his daugh t e r s. T he daugh t e r s loved t heir gi f t s and

we r e pr oud o f t heir par r o t s. T hey t augh t t heir par r o t s t o say ' God save t he King' and 'Pr e t t y

Polly.'

Princess September 's Parrot Dies

one mor ning when Pr incess S ep t embe r went t o say good mor ning t o he r par r o t , she saw

he r par r o t lying dead a t t he bo t t om o f i t s golden cage. T he Pr incess bur s t in t o a f lood o f t ears.

N o t hing t ha t he r Maids o f Honour said com f or t ed he r. T he Q ueen f ound all t his non-sensual and

or de r ed t he Maid o f Honour t o put t he Pr incess in he r bed, wi t hout se r ving he r any dinne r.

The Little Bird

W hile t he Pr incess lay in he r bed, cr ying in gr ie f o f he r dead par r o t , a li t t le bir d came

hopping in t o he r r oom. As t he Pr incess saw him, he began t o sing a beaut i f ul song, abou t t he

lak es, t he t r ees and t he willow and so on . W hen he had f inished singing, t he Pr incess was no t

c r ying anymor e and she had f or go t t en t ha t she was hungr y. T he li t t le bir d ask ed he r t o t ake

him in place o f t he par r o t.

N e x t mor ning wi t h gr ea t deligh t , t he Pr incess showed t he li t t le bir d t o all he r sis t e r s.

For each o f t he sis t e r s, t he bir d sang a new and beau t i f ul song. T hen, t he Pr incess showed he r

new f r iend t o t he King and t he Q ueen. T he King was deligh t t o see t he bi r d, f or t he bir d sang

beau t i f ully and was unlik e t he par r o t s o f t he eigh t sis t e r who j us t knew how t o say, ' God save

t he King' and 'Pr e t t y Polly.'

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The Sisters Grew Jealous of September

S eeing t he King speaking f avour able o f t he li t t le bir d and hear ing him sing beaut i f ully,

t he eigh t sis t e r gr ow j ealous o f S ep t embe r. T he sis t e r decide t o plan a s t r a t egy t o ge t r id o f

t he li t t le bir d. T hey made an o f f e r t o S ep t embe r; t o give t heir pock e t money in helping

S ep t embe r t o buy a new par r ot . W hen S ep t embe r r e f used t hey ques t ioned t he f r eedom o f t he

bi r d by poin t ing ou t t o his absence eve r y now and t hen, making S ep t embe r insecur e. T hey also

advised he r not t o t ak e any r isks and pu t t he bir d in t he cage.

September Begins to Worry

O n r ealising t ha t t he bi r d had been away t oo long, S ep t embe r begins t o wor r y abou t t he

sa f e t y o f he r bir d. She f ear s hawks and snar es migh t have harmed i t. She also begins t o f ancy

ideas lik e t he bir d migh t have f or go t t en he r and become a pe t t o someone else. A ll t hese ideas

gr ea t ly dis t ur b he r.

W hen t he bir d r e t ur ns, on being ask ed b ehind his delay, t he bir d unknowing o f t he

cir cums t ances hones t ly t ells he r t ha t his f a t he r -in-law was giving a par t y and he in t ended no t

t o come back. H ear ing t his, S ep t embe r mak es up he r mind and pu t s t he bir d in t he cage.

I ni t ially t he bir d t hough t t ha t S ep t embe r was pu t t ing him t empor ar ily in t he cage, bu t when he

r ealised he was being caged f or eve r he becomes ve r y unhappy.

The Bird Stops Singing and Later on it was Freed

T he bir d could no t sing any f ur t he r as he was unable t o f eel t he beaut y o f lak es, t r ees,

willows and so on. H e also r e f used t o have f ood. T he ne x t mor ning, he lay li f eless a t t he bo t t om

o f t he cage. S ep t embe r t hinks t ha t t he bi r d had died.

T he bi r d t ells t he Pr incess t ha t he could no t sing i f he canno t f ly and i f he doesn' t sing

he would die. S ep t embe r f eels ve r y sor r y f or wha t she had done and t he r e f or e f r ees t he bir d.

T he bir d pr omises t ha t he loved he r would keep coming t o mee t t he Pr incess. T he Pr incess,

t hough sad, pu t s t he bir d 's happiness on pr ior i t y and f r ees him f or eve r. S he always k ep t t he

windows o f he r r oom open f or t he bir d t o come wheneve r he pleased t o.

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 NCERT Folder

Comprehension Check - 1

1. How many daughters did the royal couple have?

T he r oyal couple had nine daugh t e r s.

2. Why were they named af ter the months of the year?

T hey we r e named a f t e r t he mon t hs o f t he year because t heir Q ueen Mo t he r f ound i t

di f f icul t t o r emembe r so many names.

3. The King had a peculiar habit . What was it? Why is it called peculiar?

Giving gi f t s on his bi r t hday was a peculiar habi t t ha t t he King had. I t was called peculiar

because usually people r eceived gi f t s on t heir bi r t hdays.

4. (i) What was Princess September 's reactions to the loss of her parrot?

Pr incess S ep t embe r bur s t int o t ear s when she saw he r par r o t lying dead in i t s cage.

(ii) What was her mother 's reaction to it?

H e r mo t he r f ound i t non-sensual t o be c r ying ove r a dead bi r d and har dly paid any heed

t o t he Pr incess's loss.

(iii) What do the reactions indicate about the nature and temperament of each?

T he Pr incess was a t t ached t o he r par r o t and t he r e f or e, ge t s sen t imen t al ove r i t s dea t h.

T he Q ueen, on t he o t he r hand, look ed a t i t in a dis t anced and ma t ur e manne r and doesn' t

t he r e f or e, a t t ach any impor t ance t o t he inciden t o f par r o t 's dea t h.

5. What pulled the Princess out of her gloom?

A li t t le bi r d t ha t came hopping in t o he r r oom pulled t he Pr incess ou t o f gloom. T he bi r d

also sang beau t i f ully.

6. How did the Maids of Honour come to know that the Princess and the bird had become

intimate f riends?

W hen t he Maid o f Honour br ough t t he Pr incess b r eak f as t , t he li t t le bir d was st ill t he r e.

H e a t e r ice f r om t he hands o f t he Pr incess and had ba t h in he r sauce r and t hen sang a beau t i ful

song f or t he Pr incess. T he Maids o f Honour could easily unde r s t and how good f r iends t hey had

become.

7. The new bird was full of new songs, but the old parrots always repeated themselves.

What did they say?

T he old par r ot s only said, ' God save t he King.'

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8. What is the King's opinion about his Councellors? Why did he form that opinion?

T he King f el t t ha t his councellor 's only sang emp t y pr aises o f him. Lik e t he par r o t s, t hey

could say t he same t hing in seven di f f e r ent language, bu t t hey neve r mean t any t hing t ha t t hey

said.

9. (i) The eight Princess made an of fer to Princess September . What was it?

T he o t he r Pr incesses o f f e r t o pu t t oge t he r t heir pock e t money t o buy a gr een

and yellow par r o t f or t heir sis t e r.

(ii) Why, in your view, did they do it?

T hey we r e j ealous o f t he li t t le bir d t ha t t heir sis t e r had, who sang beaut i f ully.

10. What did the sisters advice the Princess to do about her bird?

T he sis t e r s advise t he Pr incess t o pu t he r li t t le bi r d in a cage.

Comprehension Check - 2

1. I n the following sentence elaborate the parts given in bold. Under the circumstances it

was a very unfortunate remark for the bird to make.

W hen t he Pr incess was giving in t o t he advise given t o he r sis t e r s, suspec t ing t ha t t he

bi r d may neve r come back, t he li t t le bir d made un f or t una t e r emar ks such as “ T he f ac t is I ve r y

nea r ly didn’t come back t onigh t a t all. My f a t he r -in-law was giving a par t y….”

2. (i) What did Princess September do to ensure the safety of her pet?

To ensur e t he sa f e t y o f t he li t t le bir d, t he Pr incess pu t t he bir d in t o t he cage.

(ii) How did the bird react to it?

T he bi r d r e f used t o be caged and pu t behind t he bar s. H e gr ew ve r y unhappy and t old

t he Pr incess t ha t eve r y t hing look ed di f f e r en t when viewed f r om behind t he ba r s. H e gr ew ve r y

unhappy and t old t he Pr incess t ha t eve r y t hing look ed di f f e r en t when viewed f r om behind t he

ba r s.

3. Why did the bird refuse to be taken out in her cage?

T he bi r d r e f used t o be t ak en in t o t he cage because he could no t see t he t r ee, t he lak e

and t he r ice f ields and so on. H e t old t he Pr incess t ha t eve r y t hing look ed di f f e r en t when

viewed f r om behind t he bar s.

4. (i) What persuaded Princess September to give the bird his f reedom again?

T he bi r d had become so unhappy in t he cage t ha t i t almos t look ed li f eless. T he

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Pr incess game him back his f r eedom because she didn’t want him t o die.

(ii) How did the bird react to it?

H e t hank ed t he Pr incess and t old he r he would come back and t hem spr eading his

winds f lew in t o t he open sky.

5. Princess September kept her window open day and night .

(i) How did it help the bird?

Pr incess S ep t embe r k ep t t he window open day and nigh t so t ha t t he bir d could

easily come and go wheneve r i t lik ed.

(ii) How did it help the Princess herself?

T he open br ee z e t ha t came I n f r om t he window helped in making t he Pr incess

e x t r emely beau t i f ul. La t e r , she was mar r ied t o t he King o f Cambodia.

6. The eight sisters kept their windows shut How did it af fect them?

T he eigh t sis t e r s t ha t k ep t t heir windows closed became ugly and disagr eeable. O nly t he

king’s councllor s we r e a f i t t ing choice f or t hem.

Exercise

Discuss the following questions in small groups. W rite their answers later .

1. A r e t he sis t e r s unkind and cr uel? F ind evidence in t he t e x t t o suppor t your idea.

Y es, T he sis t e r s we r e unkind and cr uel t o Pr incess S ep t embe r. T hey we r e j ealous o f he r

li t t le bir d because i t sang swee t songs f or he r. A lso eve r y t ime he was ask ed t o sing, he sang a

new song.

T he par r o t s o f t he sis t e r s only knew how t o say ‘God save t he King’ or Pr e t t y Polly.’

T hey, t he r e f or e, ins t iga t ed t he Pr incess S ep t embe r t o put he r bi r d in t he cage and ar oused

unnecessa r y f ear in he r.

2. Which to you, is the most important idea in this story and why?

(i) I mpor t ance o f music

(ii) Value o f f r eedom

(iii) Beau t y o f na tur e

Ans.

(ii) T he mos t impor t ant idea in t he chap t e r is t he value o f f r eedom. W hen t he li t t le

bi r d’s f r eedom is cur bed i t almos t becomes li f eless. O n being given his f r eedom, he is able to

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live li f e happily, sing beau t i f ul songs and also r emains gr a t e f ul and loyal t o t he Pr incess.

Chapter Practice

Very Short Answer Type Questions

1. A f ter what were the king’s nine daughters named?

T he king’s daugh t e r s we r e named a f t e r t he names o f t he mon t hs in an year , bu t in t he

S iamese language.

2. What were the gif t that the King gave to his daughters on his birthday?

T he King gi f t ed a gr een par r o t in a golden cage t o his daugh t e r s on his bir t hday.

3. Why did the Maids of Honour put the crying Princess in the bed and went away?

T he Maids o f H onour had t o go f or a par t y. T hey, t he r e f or e, quickly put t he Pr incess in

t he bed and wen t away.

4. What was the lit tle bird’s song based upon?

T he li t t le bi r d sang a song abou t t he lak e in t he king’s ga r den. T he willow t r ees t ha t

r e f lec t ed i t s image in t he wa t e r and t he gold f ish t ha t glided in and ou t o f t he b r anches in t ha t

image.

5. What did the bird tell the Princess to convince her to be f riends?

T he li t t le bir d ask ed t he Pr incess t o t ak e him in place o f he r par r o t. H e t old he r t ha t he

was not as beau t i f ul as t he par r o t , bu t had a lovely voice.

6. Whom does the king compare the parrots with?

T he King d r aws a compar ison be tween his councellor s and t he par r o t s. Bot h o f t hem said

t he same t hing, ‘God save t he King’ or ‘Pr e t t y Polly’, wi t hout meaning i t .

7. Why were the other sisters vexed?

T he eigh t sis t e r s we r e ve x ed because Pr incess S ep t embe r’s bi r d sang beaut i f ully

whe r eas t heir par r o t s only knew t o say two ph r ases.

8. Where had the bird gone when the sisters come to meet Princess September?

T he bi r d had gone t o pay a visi t t o his f a t he r -in-law when t he sis t e r s come t o mee t

Pr incess S ep t embe r.

9. What does the bird do when the Princess puts her into the cage?

T he bi r d didn’t suspec t t he Pr incess t o have t hough t o f pu t t ing him in a cage. H E ge t s

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shock ed and was unable t o say any t hing when t he Pr incess ac t ually does t ha t .

10. What reason does the Princess give the bird for put ting him into the cage?

T he Pr incess t ells t he bir d t ha t he r mo t he r’s ca t s had been pr owling ar ound and t o

ensur e t he bir d’s sa f e t y she was pu t t ing him in t he cage.

Short Answer Type Questions

1. Why does the Princess get worried about her bird?

T he Pr incess ge t s wor r ied because t he bi r d had been away f or a ve r y long t ime, She

f ea r s t ha t t he hawks and t he snar es migh t have harmed t he bir d. She also t hinks t ha t t he bir d

migh t have f or go t t en he r or t ak en f ancy t o someone else.

2. Why does the bird stop singing in the middle of the song?

T he bi r d doesn’t f eel com f or t able behind t he closed bar s o f t he cage. H e f eels uneasy;

t hough he was unable t o compr ehend i t . Suddenly, in t he middle o f t he f ur t he r and st ops

singing.

3. What does the Princess fear the next morning?

W hen t he Pr incess wok e up ne x t mor ning and called ou t t o t he bir d, t h e bi r d gave no

r eply. H e r emianed t o lie a t t he bo t t om o f t he cage wi t h i t s eyes closed. T he Pr incess f ear ed

t ha t t he bir d migh t have died.

4. What according to the author was very dif ficult to do?

A ccor ding t o t he aut hor i t is ve r y di f f icul t to pu t t he happiness o f someone you love

be f or e your own. T he Pr incess, howeve r , f inally places t he happiness o f t he bi r d be f or e he r own

happiness and le t s him go, knowing t ha t wi t hou t him she would become lonely.

5. What did the little bird say when the Princess released him f rom the cage?

T he li t t le bir d pr omised t he Pr incess t ha t he would neve r f or ge t he r and would come

back as he loved t he Pr incess. H e also t old t he Pr incess t ha t no ma t t e r how f ar he went he

would always come back t o mee t and spend t ime wi t h t he Pr incess.

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 Long Answer Type Questions

1. Why do the sisters end up marrying the people they do?

W hen Pr incess S ep t embe r gr ew up, she gr ew e x t r emely beau t i f ul. H e r sensi t ivi t y f or

t he bir d and his f r eedom and t he open br ee z e made he r amicable. She was, t he r e f or e, mar r ied

t o t he King o f Cambodia and was ca r r ied on a whi t e elephant all t he way t o t he ci t y in which t he

King lived. T he o t he r sis t e r s gr ew up t o be ugly and disagr eeable and we r e given away t o t he

King’s Councellor s.

T hey t ell he r t ha t she had given t oo much f r eedom t o he r bir d and t he bir d may neve r

come back. T he sis t e r s advise t he Pr incess t o pu t t he bir d in a cage, as t hey we r e j ealous o f t he

Pr incess’s bi r d.

Value Based Questions

1. Does the story recommend the idea of birds being made pets?

N o, t he idea o f bir ds as pe t s may sound cu t e and loveable but t he bir ds should neve r be

t ur ned in t o pe t s and t he r eby pu t in cages. T he inhe r en t na t ur e o f bir ds is t o f ly. By pu t t ing

t hem behind bar s we cur b wha t t hey ar e meant f or. Unlik e human beings and animals t ha t do no t

have wings, bir ds ar e blessed wi t h wings so t ha t t hey could f ly. By con t r olling t heir f ligh t , we

ar e going against t he laws o f na tur e.

T he bi r d in t he s t or y almos t becomes li f eless when he r ealise t ha t he could be caged

f or eve r. T he par r o t could have also died f or similar r easons.

2. Why did the sisters mock Princess September?

T he eigh t sis t e r s we r e j ealous o f Pr incess S ep t embe r. W hen t hey ge t t o know t ha t

Pr incess S ep t embe r had r eleased he r bir d, t hey mock he r f or he r s t upidi t y.

T hey t ell he r t ha t bir d would neve r come back and t ha t she had made a blunde r. But ,

t he bir d did come back and sang a beau t i f ul song f or t he Pr incess. H e also a t e f r om he r hand

and used t o love t he Pr incess dear ly.

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