NCERT Solutions for Class 8 English It So Happened Chapter 5 Princess September
NCERT Solutions for Class 8 English It So Happened Chapter 5 Princess September are provided below. These solutions contain answers to all the textbook questions. All the questions are solved by experts with a detailed explanation that help students to complete their assignments and homework. NCERT Solutions for Class 8 English It So Happened Chapter 5 Princess September are prepared as per the latest CBSE syllabus and curriculum. Students of Class 8th can study the answers provided here to score well in their school exams.
Princess September Class 8 NCERT Questions and Answers
Comprehension Check (Page No 38)
Question 1: How many daughters did the royal couple have?
Answer: The Royal couple had nine daughters.
Question 2: Why were they named after the months of the year?
Answer: The princesses were named after the months of the year because the Queen of Siam found it difficult to remember so many names. Hence, the King decided to name the princesses as per the months of a calendar year.
Question 3: The King had a peculiar habit. What was it? Why is it called peculiar?
Answer: 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.
Question 4: (i) What was Princess September’s reaction to the loss of her parrot?
(ii) What was her Mother’s reaction to it?
(iii) What do the reactions indicate about the nature and temperament of each?
Answer: (i) Princess September took the loss of her parrot to heart. She wept continuously. She was put to sleep without supper.
(ii) Her mother declared it as nonsense and said that she should go to bed without any supper.
(iii) 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.
Question 5: What pulled the Princess out of her gloom?
Answer: When the Princess was lying on her bed crying, she saw a little bird hop into her room. She wiped her tears and heard the beautiful song that the bird sang. This brought the Princess out of her gloom.
Question 6: How did the Maids of Honour come to know that the Princess and the bird had become intimate friends?
Answer: 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.
Question 7: The new bird was full of new songs but the old parrots always repeated themselves. What did they say?
Answer: All the old parrots could say ‘God save the king’ and some of them could even say ‘Pretty Polly’ in seven languages.
Question 8: What is the king’s opinion about his Councillors? Why did he form that opinion?
Answer: The king has a low opinion about his councillors. He said that his councillors were like the parrots. They said the same thing differently. But it never meant anything.
Question 9: (i) The eight Princesses made an offer to Princess September. What was it?
(ii) Why, in your view, did they do it?
Answer: (i) The eight princesses offered to buy a lovely green and yellow parrot for Princess September by putting in all their pocket money.
(ii) They did that because they felt jealous of the song bird’s friendship with Princess September.
Question 10: What did the sisters advise the Princess to do about her bird?
Answer: The sisters advised the Princess to keep her bird in a cage so that she could be sure of where it was.
Comprehension Check (Page No 43)
Question 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.
Answer: Under the circumstances – After Princess September’s sisters advised her about the singing bird, she was really worried about him. She feared that the little bird might forget her and start liking someone else and that she might lose her little lovely pet.
A very unfortunate remark – When the little bird returned, he said that he would not have come back that night at all as his father-in-law was giving a party and everyone wanted him to stay. However, the bird returned as he felt that the Princess might be worried if he didn’t return on time.
Question 2: (i) What did Princess September do to ensure the safety of her pet?
(ii) How did the bird react to it?
Answer: (i) Princess September put the bird into a cage to ensure his safety.
(ii) The bird didn’t like being trapped in a cage and felt like he is imprisoned. He felt that he lost his freedom and gradually stopped singing and eating.
Question 3: Why did the bird refuse to be taken out in her cage?
Answer: 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.
Question 4: (i) What persuaded Princess September to give the bird his freedom again?
(ii) How did the bird react to it?
Answer: (i) The Princess freed the bird lest he should die in captivity.
(ii) The Princess kept the window open so that the bird might fly in and out making fresh air charming. Freedom helped the bird to sing and enjoy himself.
Question 5: Princess September kept her window open day and night.
(i) How did it help the bird?
(ii) How did it help the Princess herself?
Answer: (i) Princess September kept her window open day and night. This helped the little bird to come into her room and leave whenever he wanted.
(ii) Sleeping with the window open proved to be very good for the princess as she grew extremely beautiful because of this reason.
Question 6: The eight sisters kept their windows shut. How did it affect them?
Answer: The eight sisters who kept their windows shut grew up to be extremely ugly and disagreeable. They were later married off to the King’s Councillors with a pound of tea and a Siamese cat.
Exercise
Discuss the following questions in small groups. Write their answers later.
Question 1: Are the sisters unkind and cruel? Find evidence in the text to support your idea.
Answer: 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.
Question 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
Answer: (ii) value of freedom – This is the most important idea of the entire story. It is known to all that freedom is the birthright of every living creature and nobody should be denied of it. Likewise, in the story when the little bird was denied of freedom, he began losing his charm and always remained sad in captivity. He stopped eating and singing too. This indicates that the beauty of life lies in being free and not being in captivity. Hence, in a closed environment, any living creature tends to lose its charm and creativity.