STD.

VII ENGLISH

ELR. LESSON : 2
Birdie, will you pet ?
By
William Allingham
 .

William Allingham (19 March1824 -18 Nov.1889)

was an Irish poet, diarist, scholar and editor. He
produced excellent lyrical and descriptive poetry
and the best of his pieces are thoroughly nation-
al in spirit.He wrote a large no. of poems and his
most famous work is , The Faeries .
Summary of ‘Birdie Will You Pet’
The girl wants to make the bird her pet and hence gives
her a number of tempting offerings. The child offers the
bird a velvet bed with satin pillows and silken quilts for a
quite sleep in the winter time as summer is still far away.
The bird refuses this temptation of sleeping in a
comfortable bed and says that she is more comfortable
ivy wall where she can hear the sound of rain and where
the sunlight warms her on a cold day. Thus she prefers
living in a natural surrounding instead of falling for the
offering of a velvet bed, silken quilt and satin pillow.
On seeing that the bird did not fall for the first temptation the girl
Then tries to lure her by saying that she will give the bird diamond
stones , amber and jet and will make a beautiful necklace for the
bird with it. The bird thanks the girl for such precious offeringss
but refuses all of them saying that the sweetest necklace for her is
the beautiful round feather one given to her naturally by God.
Thus the bird once again chooses freedom over a life of luxury in
a cage.
The girl once more makes an attempt to make the bird as a pet by
telling her that she would buy utensils of silver for feeding the
bird and a golden cup for drinking anything. She also says that the
bird will be given an ivory seat for sitting and a soft carpet for a
smooth walk. The bird declines the offer again by saying that the
golden cups can never match and hold the running water that she
drinks from streams . The silver dishes can never offer her what
the forests give to her for eating. Lastly she says that the twig
that swings on the branch of a tree is her favourite seat. She
also tells that girl that the smoothest path is the one offered to
her in the sky. She once again turns down all the offers and
bids goodbye to the girl and flies away.
 EXTRACT
1. I’d rather sleep in the ivy wall ;
No rain comes through, tho’ I hear it fall.
The sun peeps gay at dawn of day’
And I sing, and wing away, away!
(i) Who is ‘I’ in the above lines ?
A. ‘I’ in the above lines refers to ‘Birdie’ the bird.
(ii) Ivy is a plant. What does the bird want to convey by describing it as
a wall?
A. The bird built its nest with twigs and leaves of the ivy plant. This
provides her more comfort than the walls of
the house.
(iii) What does the speaker prefer ivy wall to?
A. The speaker prefers ivy wall to rest and relax and enjoy its freedom.
2. A feather necklace round and round,
That I wouldn’t sell for a thousand pound.
(i) What is the necklace offered by the child made of? s
A. The necklace offered by the child is made of diamond
stones, amber and jet.
(ii) What is the necklace that the bird has made of?
A. The necklace is made up of feathers.
(iii) Which necklace does the bird prefer? Why?
A. The bird prefers to the feather necklace because it ensures
its closeness to nature. Also precious stones have no value
of a bird.
 QUESTION AND ANSWER
HOTS
Why does the bird refuse to accept the various comforts offered
by the child? Discuss.
Ans. The bird refuses to accept the various comforts by the child
because she doesn’t want to lose her freedom.
LIFE SKILLS
Is freedom just the right to live as we wish?
Ans. Freedom is not just exactly the right to live as we wish. The
word freedom implies liberty. The great politician Rousseau
had said,” Man is free but in chains”. People have been
given the freedom by their respective constitution but if they use
this freedom unwisely, they encroach into the boundary of
others freedom. So, to say anybody or everybody is not able to
use full freedom compared to other living beings. Man is not
that free. He has to follow social norms. So, he cannot wish to
live as he wants freedom is not his right.
VALUES
Why does the child call the bird ‘birdie’? Why does the child use
the word ‘birdie’ twice?
Ans. The child call the bird ‘birdie’ because birdie is the pet
name/love name given to the poetry bird. The child uses
the word ‘birdie’ twice to express her tender and delicate
love and affection to the bird.
WRITING SKILL
The child in the poem realises that the bird cannot be lured. She
has her own priorities in life. Freedom is equally important to her.
The child decides to share the conversation between her and the
bird with her friend through a letter. Write the letter in not more
than 120 words.
Berhampur
4 April 2020

Dear -------------
I am fine here and hope the same with you there. Hope you feel the
World as sweet as I do! Freedom is our birth right given to us by the
constitution. We claim this right in all aspects. But we do think
about the same with the animals.
I saw a bird in my window and requested it to be my petbut it refused.
I offered many things but it didn’t get tempted. Moreover, it said
that it is not bothered by material comforts, rather its freedom is
more important.
I also realise the same and so let the bird free. You also should
remember that freedom is more important than money. Convey
my regards to uncle and aunty and love to chotu.
Yours friendly
---------------------
 EXTRA QUESTION AND ANSWER
1. What are the different offerings made by the child to the bird?
Ans. The different offerings made by the child to the bird were
velvet bed with satin pillows and silken quilts, diamond
stones, amber and jet, buy utensils of silver and a golden
cup , an ivory seat and a soft carpet.
2. Where does the bird love to sleep and why?
Ans. The bird loves to sleep on the ivy wall because she is more
comfortable there and can hear the sound of rain and where the
sunlight warms her on a cold day.
3. What according to the bird is more soft than the carpet?
Ans. According to the bird the twig that swings on the branch of a tree
is more softer than the carpet.