📘 Maharashtra State Board – English

Standard IX

Chapter 4.2 – The Storyteller

(By Saki / H. H. Munro)

✨ Summary of the Lesson

In this story, three children are travelling by train with their aunt. A bachelor is also sitting in the same compartment. The children are restless and keep asking questions. The aunt tries to control them by telling a moral story, but the children find it boring and interrupt her repeatedly.

The bachelor then offers to tell a story. His story is about a girl named Bertha who is “horribly good.” She wins medals for obedience, punctuality and good behaviour. However, because she is proud of her goodness, she is eaten by a wolf. The children enjoy the bachelor’s story very much, but the aunt feels that it is improper. The story shows that children prefer interesting and imaginative storytelling rather than dull moral lectures.

🌟 Warming Up!

1. Short stories are of many types. Match the type of story in column A with its description in column B.

Ans:

Anecdote – c. Short amusing account of an incident
Fable – e. Moral bearing story with animal characters
Parable – g. Having religious base and a message or moral
Myth – j. Originated in ancient times, authorship unknown
Legend – f. Having historical base/characters but may not be true
Fairy Tale – i. Having supernatural characters / a moral for children
Tragic Tale – a. Serious and ends in a tragedy
Fiction – b. Untrue but realistic
Farce – h. Exaggerated comedy
Satire – d. Where vices and folly are ridiculed

2. Complete the following story using the verbs in the brackets in their proper form.

Ans: Footprint

One night a man had a dream. He dreamed that he was walking along the beach with God. Across the sky flashed scenes from his life. For each scene, he noticed two sets of footprints in the sand; one belonging to him and the other, to God.

After the last scene had flashed, he looked back at the footprints in the sand. He observed that many times along the path of his life there was only one set of footprints and that it had happened at the saddest, most troubling times of his life.

He questioned God about it. “God, you said that once I decided to follow you, you would walk with me all the way. So I don’t understand why you left me alone when I needed you the most.”

God replied. “During your times of trials and sufferings, where you saw only one set of footprints, they were mine, for it was then that I carried you in my arms.”

📖 In Between the Lesson

Q1. How many occupants did the compartment have ?

Ans: The compartment had five occupants — the aunt, the three children, and the bachelor.

Q2. Why did the aunt have to use the word ‘Don’t’ so often ?

Ans: The children were bored and restless. They kept misbehaving by smacking the cushions and asking endless questions. Therefore, the aunt had to use the word ‘Don’t’ very often to control them.

Q3. How did the smaller of the two girls irritate the bachelor ?

Ans: The smaller girl kept reciting the first line of the poem “On the Road to Mandalay.” She repeated it again and again in a loud and dreamy voice, which greatly irritated the bachelor.

Q4. To which question from Cyril was aunt unable to give a reasonable answer ?

Ans: The aunt was unable to give a reasonable answer to Cyril’s question, “Why is the grass in the other field?”

Q5. How did the children show their disapproval of their aunt’s story?

Ans: The children kept interrupting the story with loud and impatient questions. After the story ended, the bigger girl said that it was the stupidest story she had ever heard. Cyril agreed with her. The smaller girl had already stopped listening and resumed repeating her favourite line from the poem.

Q6. For which three values did Bertha win medals? What was exceptional about it ?

Ans: Bertha won medals for obedience, punctuality, and good behaviour. It was exceptional because no other child in the town had won as many medals as she had.

Q7. How did the Prince reward Bertha?

Ans: The Prince rewarded Bertha by allowing her to walk in his beautiful park once a week. Since no other children were allowed there, it was a great honour.

Q8. Why did the children approve of the prince’s decision?

Ans: The children approved of the prince’s decision because they liked animals more than flowers. They were happy that there were no flowers in the park that Bertha could show off about.

Q9. Why did Bertha wish she had never come to the park?

Ans: Bertha saw a big wolf approaching her in the park. She was extremely frightened and wished that she had never come there.

Q10. Why was the wolf unable to trace Bertha?

Ans: The strong smell of the myrtle bushes prevented the wolf from smelling her. Moreover, the bushes were thick, so he could not see her.

Q11. What gave Bertha away and how did she meet her end?

Ans: The clinking sound of her medals gave her away. The wolf rushed towards the bush, dragged her out, and devoured her completely.

Q12. What impact did the story have on the children?

Ans: The children enjoyed the bachelor’s story very much. They called it the most beautiful story they had ever heard. It also kept them quiet for the rest of the journey.

Q13. Why was their aunt annoyed at the bachelor?

Ans: The aunt believed in teaching children moral lessons. In the bachelor’s story, the extremely good girl met a terrible end. Therefore, the aunt was annoyed because his story went against her method of teaching.

📝 ENGLISH WORKSHOP

1. From the story (Part I and Part II), find 4 words that begin with the prefix ‘un-’ and write their opposites.

Ans:

unsympathetic × sympathetic
unable × able
unenterprising × enterprising
uninteresting × interesting
unexpected × expected
unhappy × happy

2. Find one example of the following punctuation marks from the story and copy the sentence in which they are used-

(a) colon
(b) semi-colon

Ans:

(a) Colon – Bertha was terribly frightened and thought to herself:

(b) Semi-colon – The first thing that it saw in the park was Bertha;

3. Read the following pieces from the story and suggest a title for each as shown in the 1st one.

From	Up to	Title
It was a hot afternoon ……	…… said the aunt weakly.	Children Pester their Aunt
The smaller girl created a diversion ……	…… likely to lose his bet.	The Irritating Little Girl
In a low confidential voice ……	…… it was so stupid,” said Cyril.	Aunt Tells a Boring Story
She (Bertha) did all that she was told ……	…… must be an extra good child.	The Horribly Good Bertha
The storyteller paused to let ……	…… popular tunes of the day.	Bertha’s Visit to the Park
Bertha was trembling very much ……	…… the three medals for goodness	The Punishment

4. Write your opinion, in your own words :-

(a) Why do you think the children dislike their aunt’s story?

Ans: The aunt’s story was dull and predictable. It lacked imagination and excitement. She could not answer the children’s questions properly. Therefore, the children disliked her story.

(b) Why did they appreciate and praise the stranger’s story?

Ans: The bachelor’s story was interesting and unexpected. It had suspense and a surprising ending. He narrated it in an engaging way. Hence, the children appreciated and praised his story.

(c) Do you think Bertha should have met such a gory end to her life? Justify your answer.

Ans: No, I do not think Bertha should have met such a tragic end. She was only a child, and although she was proud, she did not deserve to be eaten by a wolf. She could have been taught a lesson in some other way.

(d) What did the aunt fail to realise in Bertha’s story?

Ans: The aunt failed to realise that Bertha’s pride was her weakness. She only saw that a good girl had suffered, but she did not understand that pride led to her downfall.

(e) What is that one vice which nullifies all virtues that a person has?

Ans: Pride is the one vice that can destroy all other virtues. A proud person is not liked even if he or she has many good qualities.

(f) Write down two or three proverbs / axioms that suit the message in Bertha’s story.

Ans:

Pride goes before a fall.
Excess of anything is bad.
Vanity leads to downfall.

5. Write 3 to 5 sentences about each of the following characters.

(a) The Aunt

Ans: The aunt was a kind but ineffective guardian. She did not understand how to manage children properly. Her storytelling was dull and moralistic. She believed strongly in teaching moral lessons. She was upset with the bachelor’s unusual story.

(b) The Bachelor

Ans: The bachelor was intelligent and observant. He understood what kind of story children enjoy. He told an imaginative and engaging story. He managed to keep the children quiet. He also quietly mocked the aunt’s poor storytelling skills.

(c) Cyril

Ans: Cyril was curious and outspoken. He asked many questions and expected proper answers. He openly called the aunt’s story stupid. He greatly admired the bachelor’s story.

(d) Bertha

Ans: Bertha was extremely obedient and well-behaved. She won several medals for her good qualities. However, she was very proud of her goodness. Her pride ultimately led to her tragic end.

6. Say whether you agree or disagree.

(a) The children would have behaved well in the train if their aunt had scolded them harshly.
Ans: Disagree

(b) The youngest child was most irritating.
Ans: Agree

(d) The children showed disinterest even in the bachelor’s story-telling, throughout.
Ans: Disagree

(e) Bertha was very good but very proud too.
Ans: Agree

(f) The prince had rare, uncommon likes and dislikes.
Ans: Disagree

(g) The wolf could not trace Bertha because she was behind a myrtle bush.
Ans: Agree

(h) The bachelor had narrated an improper story to the children.
Ans: Disagree

7. ‘The Storyteller’ has a story within a story. Search from the Internet or your library books for other stories which have another story within. List at least 3 to 5 of them.

Ans:

The Arabian Nights
The Canterbury Tales
The Decameron
The Blind Assassin
The Thirteenth Tale
The Rime of the Ancient Mariner

8. List all the verbs related to the verb ‘say’ or ‘tell’ from the story. Rewrite at least 3 of the speeches using indirect speech.

Ans:

Direct: “Why are those sheep being driven out of that field?” he asked.
Indirect: He asked why those sheep were being driven out of that field.

Direct: “Perhaps the grass in the other field is better,” suggested the aunt.
Indirect: The aunt suggested that perhaps the grass in the other field was better.

Direct: “Was she pretty?” asked the bigger of the small girls.
Indirect: The bigger girl asked whether she had been pretty.

Direct: “It is the only beautiful story I have ever heard,” said Cyril.
Indirect: Cyril said that it was the only beautiful story he had ever heard.