Chapter 4: The Storyteller

Short stories are of many types. Match the type of story in column A with its description in column B.

	STORY TYPE		DESCRIPTION
1	Anecdote	a	Serious and ends in a tragedy
2	Fable	b	Untrue but realistic
3	Parable	c	A short amusing account of an incident
4	Myth	d	Where vices and folly are ridiculed
5	Legend	e	Moral bearing story with animal characters
6	Fairy Tale	f	Having historical base/characters but may not be true
7	Tragic Tale	g	Having a religious base and a message or moral
8	Fiction	h	Exaggerated comedy
9	Farce	i	Having supernatural characters/ a moral for children
10	Satire	j	Originated in ancient times, authorship unknown

SOLUTION

	STORY TYPE		DESCRIPTION
1	Anecdote	c	A short amusing account of an incident
2	Fable	e	Moral bearing story with animal characters
3	Parable	g	Having a religious base and a message or moral
4	Myth	j	Originated in ancient times, authorship unknown
5	Legend	f	Having historical base/characters but may not be true
6	Fairy Tale	i	Having supernatural characters/ a moral for children
7	Tragic Tale	a	Serious and ends in a tragedy
8	Fiction	b	Untrue but realistic
9	Farce	h	Exaggerated comedy
10	Satire	d	Where vices and folly are ridiculed

Complete the following story using the verbs in the brackets in their proper form:-

Footprint

One night a man (have) a dream. He (dream) that he was (walk) along the beach with god. Across the sky flashed scenes from his life. For each scene, he noticed two sets of footprints in the sand; one (belong) to him and the other, to God.

After the last scene (flash), he looked back at the footprints in the sand. He (observe) that many times along the path of his life there (be) only one set of footprints and that it (happen) at the saddest, most __ (trouble) times of his life.

He (question) God about it. “God, you (say) that once I (decide) to follow you, you (will) walk with me all the way. So I don’t understand, why you (leave) me alone when I (need) you most.”

God replied, “During your times of trials and sufferings, where you (see) only one set of footprints, they (be) mine for it was then that I __ (carry) you in my arms.”

SOLUTION

Footprint

One night a man had a dream. He dreamt that he was walking along the beach with god. Across the sky flashed scenes from his life. For each scene, he noticed two sets of footprints in the sand; one belonged to him and the other, to God.

After the last scene had flashed, he looked back at the footprints in the sand. He observed that many times along the path of his life there was only one set of footprints and that it happened at the saddest, most troubling times of his life.

He questioned God about it. “God, you said that once I decided to follow you, you would walk with me all the way. So I don’t understand, why you left me alone when I needed you most.”

God replied, “During your times of trials and sufferings, where you saw only one set of footprints, they were mine for it was then that I carried you in my arms.”

From the story (Part I and Part II), find 4 words that begin with the prefix ‘un-’ and write their opposites.

______ × ______
______ × ______.

SOLUTION

Unenterprising x enterprising
unable x able
unhappy x happy
Uninteresting x interesting
unsympathetic x sympathetic
unexpected x expected.

Find one example of the following punctuation mark from the story and copy the sentence in which they are used - colon.

SOLUTION

Colon - "Bertha was terribly frightened, and thought to herself: 'If I had not been so extraordinarily good I should have been safe in the town at this moment.'

Find one example of the following punctuation mark from the story and copy the sentence in which they are used - semi-colon.

SOLUTION

Semi-colon - There was a murmur of approval at the excellence of the Prince's decision; so many people would have decided the other way.

Read the following pieces from the story and suggest a title for each as shown in the 1st one.

	From	Up to	Title
1.	It was a hot afternoon ______	______ said the aunt weakly.	‘Children Pester their Aunt’
2.	The smaller girl created a diversion ______	______ likely to lose his bet.	______
3.	In a low confidential voice ______	______ it was so stupid,” said Cyril.	______
4.	She (Bertha) did all that she was told ______	______ must be an extra good child.	______
5.	The storyteller paused to let ______	______ popular tunes of the day.	______
6.	Bertha was trembling very much ______	______ the three medals for goodness ______	______

SOLUTION

	From	Up to	Title
1.	It was a hot afternoon	said the aunt weakly.	‘Children Pester their Aunt’
2.	The smaller girl created a diversion	likely to lose his bet.	Repeating a song over and over.
3.	In a low confidential voice	it was so stupid,” said Cyril.	Aunt's Attempt at Story-telling.
4.	She (Bertha) did all that she was told	must be an extra good child.	Bertha -The good child
5.	The storyteller paused to let	popular tunes of the day.	Description of the Royal Garden.
6.	Bertha was trembling very much	the three medals for goodness	Goodness always doesn't pay.

Write your opinion, in your own words:-

Why do you think the children dislike their aunt’s story?

SOLUTION

Aunt's story had lacked adventures, no detailing of the characters, and also it was a monotonous tale of goodness that the children had been hearing since infant life. Hence the children disliked their aunt's story.

Why did they appreciate and praise the stranger’s story?

SOLUTION

Unlike their aunt's story, the stranger's story had novelty, detailed descriptions,s and a surprise ending to it which the children found fascinating. Hence they appreciated and praised the stranger's story.

Do you think Bertha should have met such a glory end to her life? Justify your answer.

SOLUTION

No, I don't think Bertha should have met such a gory end to her life because she never harmed anyone and throughout her little life she had been righteous and extremely good to everyone. According to my opinion, she deserved a better ending.

What did the aunt fail to realize in Bertha’s story?

SOLUTION

The aunt fails to realize in Bertha's story that in spite of being an improper story, it managed to keep the children quiet for more than ten minutes, which is the original purpose of any children's stories.

What is that one vice which nullifies all virtues that a person has?

SOLUTION

According to the story, one vice which nullifies all virtues that a person has is overindulgence. If Bertha had not overstayed her welcome to the park, she would not have met such a gory ending.

Write down two or three proverbs/axioms that suit the message in Bertha’s story.

SOLUTION

All good things must come to an end.

It's choice - not chance - that determines your destiny.

All that lives must die, Passing through nature to eternity. Sweet things are bad for the teeth.

Write 3 to 5 sentences about the following character.

The Aunt

SOLUTION

The Aunt - The aunt is a gentlewoman, who seems to care a lot for all the three children. She tries to teach them all good values in life and also tries to suffice their curious mind, but due to her lack of authoritative nature, she seems to be failing miserably. She seems to be bad at answering their questions and in the art of story-telling.

The Bachelor

SOLUTION

The Bachelor - The bachelor, at first seems to dislike the children due to their constant restlessness. When he realizes that their aunt has failed to keep them quiet by telling a story he finally decides to do it himself. He has an excellent skill in story-telling but lacks moral values. In the end, it almost seems that he told an improper story on purpose so that the children would trouble the aunt more.

Cyril

SOLUTION

Cyril - The small boy, Cyril, seems to be very inquisitive. He is very restless and has a very curious mind. He is also not satisfied easily and keeps asking questions till he gets a satisfactory answer. He loved the stranger's story and found it beautiful. He found his aunt's story so stupid that he didn't even listen to it after the starting bit.

Bertha

SOLUTION

Bertha - Bertha was a good little girl. She did all that she was told, she was always truthful, she kept her clothes clean, ate milk puddings as though they were jam tarts, learned her lessons. She had won three medals for her goodness which she wo~e proudly, which unfortunately resulted in her tragic ending.

Say whether you agree or disagree.

The children would have behaved well on the train if their aunt had scolded them harshly.

OPTIONS

Agree
Disagree

The youngest child was most irritating.

OPTIONS

Agree
Disagree

Being a bachelor, the stranger had no patience with children.

OPTIONS

Agree
Disagree

The children showed disinterest even in the bachelor’s story-telling, throughout.

OPTIONS

Agree
Disagree

Bertha was very good but very proud too.

OPTIONS

Agree
Disagree

The prince had rare, uncommon likes and dislikes.

OPTIONS

Agree
Disagree

The wolf could not trace Bertha because she was behind a myrtle bush.

OPTIONS

Agree
Disagree

The bachelor had narrated an improper story to the children.

OPTIONS

Agree
Disagree

‘The Storyteller’ has a story within a story.

Search from the Internet or your library books for other stories that have another story within. Enlist at least 3 to 5 of them.

SOLUTION

The Blind Assassin
The Thirteen tale
Canterbury tales
The Decameron
The Arabian nights
The Rime of the Ancient Mariner.

List all the verbs related to the verb ‘say’ or ‘tell’ from the story. Note where they occur. Rewrite at least 3 of the speeches near which they occur using indirect speech.

SOLUTION

said, exclaimed, persisted, recited, asked, quoted.

Direct:	"Why are those sheep being driven out of that field?" he asked.
Indirect:	He enquired why those sheep were being driven out of that field.
Direct:	"Perhaps the grass in the other field is better," suggested the aunt.
Indirect:	The aunt suggested that perhaps the grass in the other field was better.
Direct:	"Was she pretty?" asked the bigger of the small girls.
Indirect:	The bigger of the small girls asked if she had been pretty.
Direct:	"It is the only beautiful story I have ever heard," said Cyril.
Indirect:	Cyril said that it was the only beautiful story he had ever heard.