03. The Little Girl

 SUMMARY

This story is about a little girl named Kezia whose feeling for her father change from fear to understanding. Kezia lived with her mother, father and her grandmother. She was afraid of her father and avoided meeting him. Every morning before going to office Kezia's father came into her room and gave her a casual kiss. Kezia felt a glad sense of relief when her father went out to work. Kezia was so afraid of her father that she stuttered in front of him. Kezia's grandmother encouraged Kezia to get to know her parents by sending her on every Sunday down to the drawing room to have a talk with her mother and father.

One day Kezia had a cold and due to it she didn't go outside. Her grandmother suggested her to make a pin-cushion of yellow silk as a gift for her father's upcoming birthday. Kezia stitched the three sides of the pin-cushion casting. Now she wanted to stuff it with something. By mistake Kezia had used the papers of her father's very important speech for the port authority. Her father was very angry on her and punished her by hitting her palms with a ruler.

One evening Kezia saw her neighbour Mr. Macdonald was playing, laughing and enjoying with his five children. Seeing this Kezia realised that there were different kinds of father in the world. One day Kezia's mother was ill and taken to the hospital by her grandmother. Kezia was left alone in the house with the cook Alice. The day was fine. But the night was a different issue. She woke up in the middle of the night and started screaming as she saw a horrible nightmare. She was unable to move and she was calling her grannie. But when she opened her eyes, she saw her father beside her. Kezia's father took her to his bedroom. He told her to rub her feet with his legs and set them warm. After sometime Kezia's father was slept. Then Kezia realised that her father had to work hard all the day and would get too tired to play with her like her neighbour Mr. Macdonald. 

Thinking About The Text

I. Given below are some emotions that Kezia felt. Match the emotions in Column A with the items in Column B.

             A                                                                 B

1. fear or terror                            (i) father comes into

                                                              her room to give
                                                              her a goodbye kiss

2. glad sense of relief                 (ii) noise of the carriage
                                                             grows fainter

3. a “funny” feeling, perhaps   (iii) father comes home of
                                                               understanding

                                                        (iv) speaking to father

                                                        (v) going to bed when
                                                              alone at home

                                                        (vi) father comforts her and
                                                               falls asleep

                                                        (vii) father stretched out
                                                              on the sofa, snoring

Ans –

A                            B

1. –               ( i ), ( iii ), ( iv )

2. –              ( ii ), ( vi )

3. –              ( v ), ( vii )

II. Answer the following questions in one or two sentences.

Q1. Why was Kezia afraid of her father?

Ans – Kezia was a little girl. She was afraid of her father because her father was very strict.

Q2. Who were the people in Kezia’s family?

Ans – The people in Kezia's family were her father, her mother, her grandmother, Kezia herself and a cook Alice.

Q3. What was Kezia’s father’s routine
(i) before going to his office?
(ii) after coming back from his office?
(iii) on Sundays?

Ans –

(i) – Before going to office Kezia's father went to Kezia's room to give her a casual kiss.

(ii) – After coming back from office Kezia's father ordered for a cup of tea, news paper and slippers.

(iii) – On Sunday Kezia's father stretched out on the sofa, his handkerchief on his face, his feet on one of the best cushions and he slept soundly and snoring.

Q4. In what ways did Kezia’s grandmother encourage her to get to know her father better?

Ans – Kezia's grandmother encouraged Kezia to get to know her father by sending her down to the drawing room to have a talk with her mother and father.

III. Discuss these questions in class with your teacher and then write down your answers in two or three paragraphs each.

Q1. Kezia’s efforts to please her father resulted in displeasing him very much. How did this happen?

Ans – Kezia' efforts to please her father always resulted in displeasing him very much.

The first effort Kezia made to please her father was on Sunday when her grandmother send her to the drawing room to have a talk with her parents. But presence irritated her father because he found Kezia staring at him when he woke up.

The next effort that Kezia made to please her father was when her grandmother suggested her to make a pin cushion for her father's birthday. Kezia made the pin cushion by using her father's important speech paper. She didn't know that those papers had her father's speech that was to be delivered for the port authority. Her father was very angry on her this act and when he came to know that Kezia had torn up his speech he published Kezia by hitting her palms with a ruler.

Q2. Kezia decides that there are “different kinds of fathers”. What kind of father was Mr. Macdonald, and how was he different from Kezia’s father?

Ans – In the neighborhood of Kezia, there lived Mr. Macdonald. They were the next door neighbour. Kezia compared her father with Mr. Macdonald. Mr. Macdonald treated his children in a friendly manner. Looking through a gap in the fence the little girl saw them playing ‘tag’ in the evening.
On the other hand Kezia felt that her father never played with her and was very harsh. He was busy in his work and never had time for Kezia. He also punished Kezia.

By comparing her father with Mr. Macdonald she realised that there were "different kind of fathers".

Q3. How does Kezia begin to see her father as a human being who needs her sympathy?

Ans – When Kezia's mother fell ill. And she was admitted to a hospital by her grand mother. Kezia was left alone with cook Alice. At night she had a nightmare. Due to that nightmare Kezia started screaming. Her father took her into his bedroom and lay beside her to give her comfort.
In this way Kezia began to see her father as a human being who needs her sympathy.

Thinking About Language

I. Look at the following sentence.

There was a glad sense of relief when she heard the noise of the carriage growing fainter...

Here, glad means happy about something.
Glad, happy, pleased, delighted, thrilled and overjoyed are synonyms (words or expressions that have the same or nearly the same meaning.) However, they express happiness in certain ways.

Read the sentences below.

• She was glad when the meeting was over.

• The chief guest was pleased to announce the name of the winner.

1. Use an appropriate word from the synonyms given above in the following sentences. Clues are given in brackets.

(i) She was _____________ by the news of her brother’s wedding. (very pleased)
(ii) I was _____________ to be invited to the party. (extremely pleased and excited about)
(iii) She was _____________ at the birth of her granddaughter. (extremely happy)
(iv) The coach was _____________ with his performance. (satisfied about)
(v) She was very _____________ with her results. (happy about something that has happened)

Ans –

 (i) – overjoyed

(ii) – delighted

(iii) – glad

(iv) – pleased

(v) – happy

2. Study the use of the word big in the following sentence.

He was so big — his hands and his neck, especially his mouth…
Here, big means large in size.
Now, consult a dictionary and find out the meaning of big in the following sentences. The first one has been done for you.

(i) You are a big girl now. __older___
(ii) Today you are going to take the biggest decision of your career._____________
(iii) Their project is full of big ideas._____________
(iv) Cricket is a big game in our country._____________
(v) I am a big fan of Lata Mangeskar._____________
(vi) You have to cook a bit more as my friend is a big eater._____________
(vii) What a big heart you’ve got, Father dear. _____________

Ans –

(i) – Older

(ii) – Most Important 

(iii) – Idealistic

(iv) – Popular 

(v) – Great

(vi) – Glutton

(vii) – Generous 

II. Verbs of Reporting

Study the following sentences.

• “What!” screamed Mother.
• “N-n-no”, she whispered.
• “Sit up,” he ordered.

The italicised words are verbs of reporting. We quote or report what someone has said or thought by using a reporting verb. Every reporting clause contains a reporting verb. For example:
• He promised to help in my project.
• “How are you doing?” Seema asked.

We use verbs of reporting to advise, order, report statements, thoughts, intentions, questions, requests, apologies, manner of speaking and so on.

1. Underline the verbs of reporting in the following sentences.

(i) He says he will enjoy the ride.

(ii) Father mentioned that he was going on a holiday.

(iii) No one told us that the shop was closed.

(iv) He answered that the price would go up.

(v) I wondered why he was screaming.

(vi) Ben told her to wake him up.

(vii) Ratan apologised for coming late to the party.

Ans –

(i) – says

(ii) – mentioned 

(iii) – told

(iv) – answered

(v) – wondered

(vi) – told

(vii) – apologised

2. Some verbs of reporting are given in the box. Choose the appropriate verbs and fill in the blanks in the following sentences.

were complaining           shouted                replied

remarked                         ordered                  suggested

(i) “I am not afraid,” _____________ the woman.

(ii) “Leave me alone,” my mother _____________.

(iii) The children _____________ that the roads were crowded and noisy.

(iv) “Perhaps he isn’t a bad sort of a chap after all,” _____________ the master.

(v) “Let’s go and look at the school ground,” _____________ the sports teacher.

(vi) The traffic police  _____________ all the passers-by to keep off the road.

Ans –

 (i) – replied

(ii) – shouted

(iii) – were complaining 

(iv) – remarked

(v) – suggested 

(vi) – ordered

Writing

Has your life been different from or similar to that of Kezia when you were a child? Has your perception about your parents changed now? Do you find any change in your parents’ behaviour vis-à-vis yours? Who has become more understanding? What steps would you like to take to build a relationship based on understanding? Write three or four paragraphs (150–200 words) discussing these issues from your own experience.

Ans –