NCERT Solutions Class 8, English, It So Happened (Supplementary Reader), Chapter- 5, Princess September.
Comprehension Check
1. How many daughters did the royal couple have?
Solution:
The royal couple had nine daughters.
2. Why were they named after the months of the year?
Solution:
They were named after the months of the year because the King and the Queen had many daughters, and it confused the Queen to have to remember so many names.
3. The King had a peculiar habit. What was it? Why is it called peculiar?
Solution:
The King's peculiar habit was that instead of receiving gifts on his birthday, he gave them. It is called peculiar because usually, people receive gifts on their birthdays.
4. (i) What was Princess September’s reaction to the loss of her parrot?
Solution:
Princess September took the loss of her parrot to heart. She wept continuously. She was put to sleep without supper.
(ii) What was her mother’s reaction to it?
Solution:
Her Mother said that Princess September’s weeping was simply nonsense. She asked the maids to put the child to sleep without supper.
(iii) What do the reactions indicate about the nature and temperament of each?
Solution:
The princess was very simple-hearted and sensitive. She was stricken with grief when her parrot died. But the Queen mother was not moved at all. She had nothing to console the child.
5. What pulled the Princess out of her gloom?
Solution:
The coming of a little song bird into her room comforted Princess September. She was so enchanted that she forgot about her loss.
6. How did the Maids of Honour come to know that the Princess and the bird had become intimate friends?
Solution:
The Maids of Honour brought in the princess’s breakfast. The song bird ate rice out of the princess’s hand and then sang sweetly. The Maids were surprised to find September so much happy. They were convinced that the two had become good friends.
7. The new bird was full of new songs but the old parrots always repeated themselves. What did they say?
Solution:
The old parrots only repeated what they had been taught. They could only say ‘God save the King’ and “Pretty Polly’.
8. What is the King’s opinion about his Councillors? Why did he form that opinion?
Solution:
The King had a low opinion about his Councillors because like parrots, they too repeated the same thing differently.
9. (i) The eight Princesses made an offer to Princess September. What was it?
Solution:
The eight princesses offered to buy a lovely green and yellow parrot for Princess September by putting in all their pocket money.
(ii) Why, in your view, did they do it?
Solution:
They did so because they were distressed by the fact that everybody was praising Princess September's bird, which could sing. Their parrots looked sad and repeated the same things. They wanted her to have the same pet as they had.
10. What did the sisters advise the Princess to do about her bird?
Solution:
The sisters advised the Princess to keep her bird in a cage so that she could be sure of where it was.
Comprehension Check
1. In the following sentence elaborate the parts given in bold. Under the circumstances it was a very unfortunate remark for the bird to make.
Solution:
The circumstance was that the bird hadn’t come back because of the party at his father-in-law’s house. The princess was naturally worried. The remark of the sisters added to her worry.
2. (i) What did Princess September do to ensure the safety of her pet?
Solution:
Princess September put the bird into a cage to ensure his safety.
(ii) How did the bird react to it?
Solution:
The bird disliked his imprisonment. He stopped singing.
3. Why did the bird refuse to be taken out in her cage?
Solution:
The bird refused to be taken out in her cage because it was not the same thing as flying. It said that the rice fields, the lake and the willow trees looked quite different when seen through the bars of a cage.
4. (i) What persuaded Princess September to give the bird his freedom again?
Solution:
The Princess found the bird nearly dead in the next morning. He had stopped taking anything. He had stopped singing at all. This persuaded the Princess to give the bird freedom again.
(ii) How did the bird react to it?
Solution:
The bird was filled with happiness. He flew away to the far lands promising that he would come back and sing for her whenever she wanted.
5. Princess September kept her window open day and night.
(i) How did it help the bird?
Solution:
Princess September kept her window open day and night. This helped the bird as it could come into her room and leave whenever it felt like.
(ii) How did it help the Princess herself?
Solution:
Sleeping with the window open proved to be very good for the princess as she grew extremely beautiful because of this reason.
6. The eight sisters kept their windows shut. How did it affect them?
Solution:
The eight sisters grew extremely ugly and disagreeable. This was because they kept their windows shut.
Exercise
Discuss the following questions in small groups. Write their answers later.
1. Are the sisters unkind and cruel? Find evidence in the text to support your idea.
Solution:
Yes, the sisters were unkind and cruel. When they saw that Princess September's bird could sing and their parrots could only repeat two lines, they became distressed. They even offered to buy a green and yellow parrot for her. When she denied their offer, they talked her into putting her bird in the cage. After she had put the bird into the cage, it stopped eating and singing. When she consulted her sisters, they said it would soon get used to the cage. They even said that she should be firm, and if it died, then it would be very ungrateful of it. If it was obstinate and died, then it would serve it right. When she set the bird free, they mocked her and said that the bird would never return. All these instances show that they were very unkind and cruel.
2.Which, to you, is the most important idea in this story, and why?
(i)importance of music
(ii) value of freedom
(iii) beauty of nature
Solution:
The most important idea in the story is the value of freedom. No one should be denied his freedom. Absence of freedom suffocates a person, and prevents him from enjoying the beauty of life in its fullness. The bird in the story was happy flying. It sang beautifully and ate well. However, when it was caged, it became sad, and did not eat or sing. It said that to sing, it required its freedom, and if it could not sing, it would die. This indicates that the beauty of life is in freedom, and not in captivity.
