Question 1:
How many daughters did the royal couple have?
Answer:
The King and the Queen had nine daughters.
Question 2:
Why were they (daughters of the royal couple) named after the months of the year?
Answer:
The King and the Queen had so many daughters that it confused the queen to remember their names. So the King named them after the months of the year.
Question 3:
The King had a peculiar habit. What was it? Why is it called peculiar?
Answer:
The King had a peculiar habit. Instead of receiving presents on his birthday he gave them out. It is called strange because people receive and not give out presents on their birthday.
Question 4:
What was Princess September’s reaction to the loss of her parrot?
Answer:
She cried bitterly and refused to eat. Her maids felt helpless as they couldn't stop her from crying.
Question 5:
What was her mother’s reaction to it?
Answer:
Her mother got irritated. She ordered to put her into bed without her supper.
Question 5:
What do the reactions indicate about the nature and temperament of each?
Answer:
The little Princess was loving and affectionate. She easily got attached to everybody. On the other hand the Queen lost her temper easily and was not that emotional. She wanted to handle her daughter firmly.
Question 6:
What pulled the Princess out of her gloom?
Answer:
The Princess was crying in her bed. A little bird hopped in and sang a beautiful song. It lifted the Princess’s spirits.
Question 7:
How did the Maids of Honour come to know that the Princess and the bird had become intimate friends?
Answer:
The Maids of Honour realised that the Princess and the bird had become very close friends when they heard the little bird singing beautiful songs for the Princess and saw him eating out of her hands They had never heard such melodious songs before and never seen such affection.
Question 7:
The new bird was full of new songs but the old parrots always repeated themselves. What did they say?
Answer:
The parrots repeatedly said “God Save the king.” Some of them said, “Pretty Polly” in seven different languages.
Question 8:
What is the King’s opinion about his councillors? Why did he form that opinion?
Answer:
The king declared that his councillors said the same thing in seven different ways and whatever they said did not mean anything. He formed this opinion probably because they could not take strong decisions.
Question 9:
The eight princesses made an offer to Princess September. What was it?
Answer:
The eight Princesses informed Princess September that they had put their pocket money together. so they could buy a lovely green and yellow parrot for her.
Question 10:
Why, in your view, did they do it?
Answer:
They did so because everybody admired the little bird of September very much. The bird could sing many melodious songs. On the other hand their parrots could say just a few sentences. So they were jealous of Princess September. They thought that this action of theirs would at least rid them of September’s bird.
Question 11:
What did the sisters advise the Princess to do about her bird?
Answer:
The sisters advised the Princess that if the little bird was really her pet bird she should put that bird into the cage. They told her if she let him roam around freely, he might not come back.
Question 11:
In the following sentence elaborate the parts given in bold. Under the circumstances it was a very unfortunate remark for the little bird to make.
Answer:
Princess September was already doubtful about the return of the bird. The bird explained the delay. He told her that his father-in-law was giving a party in the evening. He was very likely to spend the night there. This remark proved fatal for the bird. The Princess made up her mind to put the little bird in the cage.
Question 12:
What did Princess September do to ensure the safety of her pet?
Answer:
The princess put the little bird in a cage to ensure its safety.
Question 13:
How did the bird react to it?
Answer:
The bird did not like it. He cried out loudly for the door to be opened. He refused to eat and sing.
Question 14:
Why did the bird refuse to be taken out in his cage?
Answer:
The bird refused to be taken out in a cage because through the bars of the cage the fields, trees and lake did not appear the same as they did when he flew freely in the sky.
Question 15:
What persuaded Princess September to give the bird his freedom again?
Answer:
Princess September loved her little bird a lot and could not see it dying gradually. She wanted the bird to be happy and sing lovely songs. So she gave the little bird his freedom back.
Question 16:
How did the bird react to it?
Answer:
The bird was happy to get his freedom back. He promised the Princess that he would always come back as he loved her.
Question 17:
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) The bird could come and go whenever he felt like.
(ii) Fresh air made the Princess extremely beautiful.
Question 18:
The eight sisters kept their windows shut. How did it affect them?
Answer:
As they were never in fresh air, the sisters became extremely ugly.
Question 19:
Are the sisters unkind and cruel? Find evidence in the text to support your idea.
Answer:
Yes, the sisters are unkind and cruel. They tricked Princess September into caging the little bird because they wanted it to die. They also planned different ways of getting rid of the little bird as they were extremely jealous.
Question 20:
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:
Value of freedom is the most important idea in this story. The little bird in the story valued freedom above everything else and once he was given that, everything turned right.