2.2 Three Questions
Complete textbook exercise solutions — Maharashtra State Board (Balbharati), Grade 8 English.
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- (a) The people convinced the King to make a proclamation. — False
- (b) The hermit spoke usually to everyone. — False
- (c) The King received all answers from the hermit. — True
- (d) The person the King saved and helped was his enemy. — True
- (e) To do good to people is the purpose of our life. — True
| Paragraph content | Title |
|---|---|
| (1) Once a certain king... important to do. | (g) The King's announcement. |
| (2) Many learned people... time for everything. | (j) King receives various answers. |
| (3) Equally varied... gave the reward to none. | (i) Questions remain unanswered. |
| (4) When the King arrived... my first attention. | (h) The King meets the hermit. |
| (5) The hermit listened... continued to dig. | (c) King helps the hermit. |
| (6) The King turned round... gave it to him. | (b) The wounded stranger. |
| (7) "You do not know... my life." | (f) Stranger's vicious intention. |
| (8) The King was very glad... the day before. | (a) King gains a friend. |
| (9) Meanwhile... said the King. | (d) The stranger begs for pardon. |
| (10) "Do you not see?"... sent into this life!" | (e) The hermit points out answers. |
| KING | HERMIT |
|---|---|
| eager to succeed | feeble |
| impatient | patient |
| helpful | wise |
| enlightened | |
| convincing |
(A) Reward winning questions
- 1. What is the right time to begin everything?
- 2. Who were the most necessary people?
- 3. What was the most important thing to do?
(B) Different responses to first question
- 1. Draw up in advance a table of days, months and years, and live strictly according to it.
- 2. Not letting oneself be absorbed in idle pastimes, always attend to all that is going on, and then do what is most essential.
- 3. Impossible for one man to decide correctly the right time for every action, so have a council of wise people.
(C) Most necessary people needed by the king
- 1. Councillors
- 2. Priests / Doctors
- 3. Warriors
(D) Most important occupations
- 1. Science
- 2. Skill in warfare
- 3. Religious worship
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(a) the learned advisers who came to the court confused the king.
1. They all gave extremely varied and contradictory answers to his questions.
2. The king was convinced by none of their answers and gave the reward to none.
(b) the king was humble.
1. He put on simple clothes and left his bodyguards behind to meet the hermit.
2. He took the heavy spade from the frail hermit and dug the beds himself, and later slept on the floor of the hut.
(c) the king's enemy was repentant.
1. He begged the king for forgiveness with tears and confessed his vicious intention.
2. He offered to serve the king as his most faithful slave for the rest of his life.
(d) the hermit was truly wise.
1. He did not give empty verbal answers; instead, he used a real-life situation to demonstrate the truth practically.
2. He distilled the deepest truth of life into a simple concept: the only time we have power over is the present moment.
- (a) "Varied" means (i) different.
- (b) Many learned people came to the court and gave (iii) different answers.
- (c) The synonym of 'convinced' is (i) persuaded.
- (d) The King wanted to know the (i) right time to begin everything.
- (e) "I pray you to answer my question." Here 'pray' means (ii) request.
- (f) Choose an adverb that collocates with "breathed": (ii) heavily.
(a) The learned people were sometimes divided in their opinions; at other times, none of them gave an answer. They all suggested ways to look for an answer. Point out one example of each.
Divided opinion: Regarding the most important occupation, some said science, others warfare, and others religious worship.
Suggesting ways to look for an answer: To know the right time, some suggested drawing up a table of days and months, while others suggested setting up a council of wise people.
(b) Though the hermit did not say anything to the king for some time, he did not ignore the king or treat him rudely in any way. Do you agree? What evidence of his politeness can you point out? What shows that he listened and responded to the king's words?
Yes, I agree. When the king arrived, the hermit greeted him politely before continuing his work. When the king offered to help dig the beds, the hermit silently and gracefully handed over the spade. Later, he showed care by saying, "Now rest a while and let me work a bit." These actions prove he was paying attention and responding calmly, rather than ignoring the king.
(c) The hermit 'spoke only to common people'; so the king 'put on simple clothes'. Do you think the king hoped to be mistaken for a common man, or was he just showing that he was a humble person? What shows that the hermit knew him to be the king?
The king likely hoped to be mistaken for a common man so that the hermit would speak freely with him. However, the hermit addressed the answers directly to the king's specific, royal dilemma (e.g., executing a brother and seizing property). The hermit's profound answers tailored to the king’s situation suggest he knew perfectly well who he was speaking to, despite the simple clothes.
(d) Did the king behave as an ordinary person, rather than as a ruler, at the hermit's hut? What shows it? Did he also act as a good, kind person? When did he do so?
Yes, he behaved completely like an ordinary person. He left his bodyguards behind, took a heavy spade, and did the hard physical labor of digging. He also acted as a deeply kind and good person when he washed and re-bandaged the bloody wound of the stranger multiple times, fetched him water, and carried him inside the hut to sleep.
(e) Do you think the hermit knew, beforehand, not only about the king's arrival but about the ambush by his enemy? Think a little about this and say what you really feel.
Since the hermit was "widely renowned for his wisdom," it is possible he possessed deep intuition or foresight. However, from a practical viewpoint, he might simply have been extremely observant. He focused entirely on the present moment, handling whatever situation unfolded naturally, without needing to know the future magically.
The correct chronological order is:
- 1. (c) The king executed the bearded man's brother.
- 2. (a) The bearded man resolved to kill the king.
- 3. (b) The king went alone to see the hermit.
- 4. (e) The bearded man laid an ambush to kill the king.
- 5. (g) The bearded man came out of the ambush.
- 6. (f) The king's bodyguards recognised and wounded the bearded man.
- 7. (d) The king spent the night at the hermit's hut.
- (a) King's problem: The king deeply desired to know the answers to three questions: the right time to do things, the most important people to listen to, and the most important business to undertake. He believed knowing these would guarantee he never failed.
- (b) Attempts made to find a solution: He announced a great reward throughout his kingdom for anyone who could answer his questions. Many learned men came and gave varied, contradictory answers. Finding none convincing, he disguised himself and visited a wise hermit in the forest.
- (c) Climax: While the king was digging the hermit's garden, a severely wounded bearded man came running and collapsed. The king tirelessly nursed his wounds and saved his life, only to discover the next morning that the man was his sworn enemy who had come to assassinate him.
- (d) Solution: Overwhelmed by the king's compassion, the enemy begged for forgiveness and pledged lifelong servitude. The king forgave him, restored his property, and made peace, successfully turning a bitter foe into a loyal friend.
- (e) Message: The hermit used the events to reveal the answers: The most important time is always the present moment ('now'); the most important person is whoever you are currently with; and the most important business is to do good to that person, as that is life's ultimate purpose.
- (1) areetukd n = undertake
- (2) yonnae = anyone
- (3) stapsime = pastimes
- (4) dubgyroad = bodyguard
- (5) frawera = warfare
- (6) hecdarfonb = beforehand
- (7) heilenwam = meanwhile
- (8) nevhigrety = everything
- (1) most important
- (2) gazing intently
- (3) frail and weak
- (4) widely renowned
- (5) right time
- (6) warm blood
- (7) simple clothes
- (8) eyes closed
- (9) fell asleep
- (10) made peace
In grammar, finite verbs change according to tense, number, and person (e.g., goes, went). Non-finite verbs do not change and are usually infinitives (to go), gerunds (going), or participles.
- (1) He decides [Finite] to go [Non-finite] to a hermit.
- (2) I have come [Finite] to you, wise hermit.
- (3) He gave [Finite] the reward to none.
- (4) The hermit was digging [Finite] the ground.
- (5) I pray [Finite] you to answer [Non-finite] my questions.
- (6) "Forgive [Finite] me."
- (7) The sun began [Finite] to sink [Non-finite].
Questions 12, 13, and 14 involve narrating a personal experience about patience, writing a classroom dialogue, and writing a book review for another story by Leo Tolstoy ("How much land does a man need?"). These are open-ended activities meant to be done in your notebook based on your own ideas and library reading.