question_answer

Answer any four of the following questions:

(i) Did Sir John buy Chrismas presents on December 15? How did Dutta Da get to know about it?

(ii) Why had Velu run away from home?

(iii) What did oldest coin tell him?

(iv) What had happened in the Sappleton family as narrated by the niece?

(v) What did sisters advise the Princess to do about her bird?

 

Answer:

(i) Yes, Sir John bought Christmas presents on December 15. Duttada got to know about it because on November 18, a special messenger on a scooter from the British Council brought in an urgent telex message for him which read that Sir John would buy Christmas presents on December 15.

(ii) Velu had run away from home as he could not stand his father beating him for one more day. His father spent all the money which Velu and his sisters earned on his drink.

(iii) The oldest coin told the writer that all coins were trying to tell him for his own good and the writer was trying to strangle them instead. It tempted him to eat hot jalebis. What if the writer spends coins in eating jalebis, wouldn't he get the scholarship next day? Sweet could be bought with for money and for money with scholarship money. So he should spend them and eat jalebis.

(iv) The narration by the girl (niece) about the Sappleton family was connected to the tragedy which happened just three years ago. The niece described how through the window, three years ago, Mrs. Sappleton's husband and her two younger brothers went off for their day's hunt and never returned.

(v) The eight sisters of Princess September pretended to be very kind and helpful. First, they advised her to have a pet bird similar to theirs. They also said they had pooled their pocket money to buy her a lovely parrot. But September refused the offer. Then they advised her to take no chances and put her new bird into the cage. That was according to them, the only way to be sure of his stay with her.