Topic: The Rumphius Story

(Suggested Answers)
Date:
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Making Connections: (Page 16)
L.O. To infer and write appropriate responses:

Reference to Context:

Q2. ‘You will always remain my friends too,’ said Miss Rumphius.

a. Who did Miss Rumphius say this to?

Ans: Miss Rumphius said this to Bapa Raja and his wife.

b. Why did she say this?

Ans: She said this because they gave her a beautiful mother-of-pearl
shell on which was painted a bird of paradise and the words, ‘You will
always remain my friend.’

c. Where did she meet these friends?

Ans: She met these friends while she was walking along the beaches of
the tropical island when she wandered into a fishing village.

3. ‘What a foolish thing to do,’ said Miss Rumphius.

a. What was the foolish thing that Miss Rumphius did?

Ans: Miss Rumphius climbed snowy mountains, passed through jungles

and across deserts, visited the land of the lotus-eater and there while
getting off a camel she did the foolish thing of hurting her back. She
realised she needed to find a place to settle by the sea.
English - Literature
 Topic: The Rumphius Story

b. Why did she call it foolish?

Ans: She called it foolish as she should have settled down near the sea
before traveling to faraway places. There are no amenities near the sea.

c. What did she decide to do next?

Ans: Miss Rumphius decided to find a place by the sea and settled down.

Q4. Miss Rumphius was almost perfectly happy. ‘But there is still one more
thing I must do,’ she said.

a. What made Miss Rumphius happy?

Ans: Miss Rumphius was happy as she accomplished two promises she
made to her grandfather.

b. Why was she almost perfectly happy?

Ans: She was almost perfectly happy because from the porch of her new
house she watched the sun come up, watched it cross the heavens and
sparkle on the waters and saw it set in glory in the evening. She also
started a little garden among the rocks in which she planted a few
flowers.

c. What one more thing did she have to do?

Ans: The one more thing she had to do was to make the world more
beautiful which was the last promise she made to her grandfather.

English - Literature
 Topic: The Rumphius Story

Date:

L.O. To read, reflect and respond (The 3R Model)

Q5. Which faraway places did Miss Rumphius go to? What were her
experiences there?

Ans: Miss Rumphius went to a real tropical island, where people kept
cockatoos and monkeys as pets. She walked on long beaches,
picking up beautiful shells. She met Bapa Raja - the king of a
fishing village, while she was walking on one of these beaches. She
climbed tall mountains covered in snow, crossed jungles and
deserts, saw lions playing and kangaroos jumping. She finally
reached the land of the lotus-eaters where she hurt her back while
getting off a camel.

Q6. How did Miss Rumphius hit upon the idea of making the world beautiful?
Why did she decide to make the world beautiful in the first place?

Ans: Having seen the beauty of the flowers while she walked over the
hill, she was inspired and hit upon ideas for making the world more
beautiful. She decided this based on her promise to her grandfather
in the first place.

Q7. Why did people call Miss Rumphius ‘That Crazy Old Lady’? Do you think
they were right in calling her that? What did they finally know her for?

Ans: The people called Miss Rumphius ‘That Crazy Old Lady’ because
she always had her pockets full of lupine seeds and scattered it
everywhere she went. They were not right in calling her that as they
finally knew her for making the world beautiful by growing lupines.

Q8. What did the narrator’s little friends stand outside Miss Rumphius’ gate
for?
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 Topic: The Rumphius Story

Ans: The narrator’s little friends stood outside Miss Rumphius’ gate as
they were curious to see the old lady who planted the fields of
lupines.

Independent Writing Tasks

Q9. If you had to give another title to the story, what would it be? Why?

Ans:

Q10. Do you think each of us should try to make the world beautiful? If you
were to make the world more beautiful, what would you do?

Ans:

Extended Writing:

Q11. What were the three things Miss Rumphius set out to do? How was she
able to do all three?

English - Literature