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The Tale of Custard the Dragon

Summary The tale of custard the dragon is a ballad. It is a humorous poem about a cowardly dragon named custard. Custard is a pet of Belinda, a little girl who lives in a little white house with her pets. She had a black kitten named ink, a grey mouse named blink, a yellow dog mustard and a cowardly dragon custard. The poet says that all of them are very brave except the dragon. Others were described as brave and are compared with animals like bear, tiger or lion but the dragon is very timid. He always demands a safe place for himself. All the other characters make fun of him. But one night they are surprised by the entry of a pirate in the house. All of them get frightened and start hiding here and there. But to everyone’s surprise, the dragon not only tackles him but also eats him up. As all of them are saved by custard, they thank him. But at the end, they realize that they used to make fun of the dragon because of his being timid. So, all of them suddenly start saying that they
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The Book That Saved the Earth

Summary This is a science fantasy. This imaginary story is set in the twenty-fifth century. A historian is giving a talk to the audience about the twentieth century and telling the audience that the twentieth century was often called the Era of the Book. Then she talks of the Martian invasion of the earth that took place in the year 2040, but, in fact, the invasion never took place. She says that one old book of nursery rhymes saved the world from a Martian invasion. Then in the twenty-fifth century, they resumed contact with Mars and they became friends. Comprehension Questions Answer the following questions in 30-40 words:  1. Who tried to invade the earth in the twenty-first century?  The Martians tried to invade the earth in the twenty-first century in 2040. Their supreme commander was Think-Tank. He was the most intelligent creature in the whole universe. Other crew members were also with him in the Mars Space Control. Everything was being watched in a magical mirror b
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For Anne Gregory

Summary In this poem, the poet addresses young Gregory and tells her that her hair is of the same colour as honey and when it falls, the poet begins to think her beauty spell bound. Her hair is so beautiful that every man falls in love with her. At this Gregory gives response to the poet that men love her only for her outward beauty while this outward appearance may change any time. At this, the poet concludes that only God loves human beings looking at their soul but not the body. Only selfless love is true. Comprehension Questions Answer the following questions in 30-40 words:  1. What does the woman say she can do to make herself more desirable to young men? What does this show?  The woman says that she would dye her hair brown, black or in carrot colour to make herself more desirable to young men. This shows that young men give more importance to physical appearance than inner beauty.  2. What are those ‘great honey-coloured ramparts’ at the ears of that young lady?
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The Proposal

Summary `The Proposal’ is a one-act play. Actually, it is a farce written by Anton Chekhov in 1888-89. The play is about the tendency of wealthy families to seek matrimonial ties. The real purpose is to increase their estates and landed properties. Ivan Lomov was a wealthy neighbour of another wealthy farmer Stepan Chubukov. Lomov comes to seek the hand of Chubukov’s twenty-five-year-old daughter, Natalya. Tomov, Chubukov and Natalya-all three are quarrelsome people. They quarrel over petty or small issues. Each one of them has a claim over a particular piece of land. They also quarrel over their dogs. Amidst this quarrelling, they completely forget the real issue — the marriage proposal. But good sense prevails in the end. Economic good sense ensures that the proposal is made. Chubukov doesn’t want to miss the opportunity. He puts his daughter’s hand into Lomov’s hands. He doesn’t waste any time and blesses them. However, old habits die hard. The newly married couple starts their
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Bholi

Summary Bholi is the story of a village girl who was discriminated as she had pock-marks on her face, stammered and was considered to be a simpleton. Bholi suffered an attack of smallpox when she was just two years old. She damaged a part of her brain when she fell off from the cot. Education transformed ‘a dumb cow’ into a fearless and courageous girl. First, she agreed to marry an unequal match, Bishamber, just to maintain the honour of the family. Her father, Ramlal, even put his turban at the feet of the greedy bridegroom. He accepted to marry a girl with pock-marks on the condition that he would get 5000 rupees as dowry. Bholi showed the courage of throwing away the ceremonial garland into the fire. She refused to have a mean, greedy and contemptible coward like Bishamber Nath as her husband. Comprehension Questions. Answer the following questions in 30-40 words:  1. What happened to Bholi when she was two years old?  When Bholi was two, she had an attack of smallpox.
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The Sermon at Benares

Summary 1. Buddha’s Early Life:  Gautama Buddha (563 B.C. — 483 B.C.) was born as a prince. He was named Siddhartha Gautama. At the age of ten, he was sent away for schooling. He studied Hindu sacred scriptures. He was married to a princess at the age of sixteen. He had a son. Ten years of his married life were spent in royal luxuries. At the age of 25, he chanced upon a sick man, then an aged man, and then a funeral procession. Finally, he saw a monk begging for alms. These sights moved him. He gave up the luxuries of royal life. He set out in search of enlightenment. After wandering for seven years, finally, he meditated under a fig tree. Enlightened after seven days, he renamed the tree as the Bodhi Tree. It was the Tree of Wisdom. He became known as the Buddha — the Awakened or the Enlightened one. The Buddha preached his first sermon at Benares, the holy city on the Ganges. 2. Kisa Gotami’s Only Son Died:  Kisa Gotami’s only son had died. She was deeply grieved. She car
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The Hack Driver

Summary This story is about a young lawyer who is too innocent. He goes to a village to serve summon to a person called Lutkins. At the railway station, he meets a person who identifies himself as Bill. Bill appears to know everyone in the village and promises to search Lutkins for the lawyer. He takes the lawyer for a ride and dupes him off lots of money. But after a six hour-long search, they do not find Lutkins. Next day, when the lawyer goes to the village with one of his colleagues, he discovers that it was Lutkins who posed as Bill on the previous day. Everyone, except the lawyer, have a hearty laugh at the predicament of the lawyer. Comprehension Questions. Answer the following questions in 30-40 words: 1. Why do you think Bill offered to help the narrator find Lukens?  Bill himself was Lukens. He knew that the lawyer is searching for him. He wanted to play a prank on him and offered to help him find Lukens. Even he made some money in this process and made him wand
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