Question 1.
Listed below are a few character traits of people. Some are positive qualities, while others are not. Tick mark the ones you feel are desirable qualities in a person.
| Characteristic | Tick Mark | Characteristic | Tick Mark | Characteristic | Tick Mark |
| Insensitive | High – headed | Manipulative | |||
| Humorous | Egoistic | Patronizing | |||
| Naive | Humble | Submissive | |||
| Opportunistic | Foolish | Arrogant | |||
| Creative | Original | Conniving | |||
| Disapproving | Helpful | Innocent | |||
| Commanding | Calculative | Condescending | |||
| Benevolent | Crafty | Scheming | |||
| Simple | Wise | Rude | |||
| Overbearing | Generous | Boastful | |||
| Sly | Gentle | Proud | |||
| Territorial | Aggressive | Servile |
Answer:
Humorous, Creative, Benevolent,
Simple, Humble, Original, Helpful, Wise, Generous, Gentle, Innocent (Tick Mark
in table)
Question 2.
Have you come across people
who are not what they seem to be-like someone who is extremely friendly and
helpful yet you are not very comfortable with him/her as you feel it is a
put-on ? Have a class discussion about such people and why you feel as you
do.
Answer:
Student 1: I know many people who are not what they seem. They use you to get
their work done in a very clever way.
Student 2: Yes, I also agree with that. My mother is right in saying that excess
of everything is bad. So, if we come across a person who is being too friendly
with us, we must smell a rat and be careful.
Student 3: One of my friends is very helpful sometimes but I never find him too
comfortable to be with and sooner or later his real motives are revealed when
he asks for a bigger favour in return.
Note: Students may extend the discussion on their own.
Question 3.
Before you read the poem
complete the word-web with the words that we associate with a Frog and a
Nightingale.
Answer:
Question 4.
The following is a summary of
the poem but it is jumbled up. Write out the events in their correct order to
form a continuous paragraph.
(a) As a
result, her voice lost its beauty, and the other creatures stopped coming to
hear her sing.
(b) Soon the nightingale
became famous, and creatures from miles around came to hear her sing.
(c) All the creatures in the bog cheered and clapped at her beautiful
song.
(d) He offered to train the
nightingale, so that she could sing even more beautifully.
(e) So the frog could sing unrivalled in the bog once more.
(f) The next night the frog introduced himself.
(g) The frog charged an admission fee, and earned a lot of money from these
concerts.
(h) A frog croaked all night in
a bog, in an unpleasant voice.
(i) But
the frog made the nightingale rehearse continuously in the rain.
(j) One night a nightingale began to sing in a melodious voice.
(k) Finally, the nightingale burst a vein and died.
Answer:
a — 9 b — 4 c —
3 d — 6 e — 11 g — 7 h — 1 i — 8 j —
2 k — 10
Question 5.
Now that you have read the
poem, add more personality traits to the word- web of the frog and the
nightingale as depicted in the poem. Then complete the table given below.
(Some of the words in the box below may help you. You may also use the words
given in Q.1.)
| Character | Extract | Personality traits |
| Nightingale | Sorry – was that you who spoke? | Polite, Timorous |
| Frog |
Yes,… you see,
I’m the frog who owns this tree In this bog I’ve long been known For my splendid baritone. |
|
| Nightingale | Did you…did you like my song? | |
| Frog | Not too bad – but far too long The technique was fine, of course, But it Icfcked a certain force. | |
| Frog | Without proper training such as 1 And a few others pan supply You’ll remain a mere beginner. But with me you’ll be a winner. | |
| Nightingale | But 1 can’t sing in this weather. | |
| Nightingale | …This is a fairy tale – And you’re Mozart in disguise Come to earth before my eyes. | |
| Frog | Come, my dear – we’ll sing together. | |
| Frog | We must aim for better billing You still owe- me sixty shillings. | |
| Frog |
Brainless bird – you’re on the stage Use your wits and follow fashion.
Puff your lungs out with your passion. |
|
| Frog |
…1 tried to teach her.
But she was a stupid creature. |
Answer:
| Frog | Dominating, Possessive |
| Nightingale | Meek, Naive |
| Frog | Presumptuous, Conniving |
| Frog | Superior, Sly, Arrogant |
| Nightingale | Timid, Nervous |
| Nightingale | Fawning, Polite, Servile |
| Frog | Crafty, Patronizing |
| Frog | Mercenary, Manipulative |
| Frog | Insensitive, Commanding |
Question 6.
Divide yourselves into groups
of four or five and brainstorm on any one of the given situations in order to
create an imaginary dialogue or a comic strip. Keep in mind the characters and
situations while doing so. Representatives from each group could then present
the dialogues/read them to the class.
Answer:
(a) The frog is croaking loudly
Duck: Oh! what a cacophony! can’t he be quiet?
Loon: (Pleading before frog) for God’s sake, please have mercy on us. Stop
singing. (A teal threw a stone at the frog but it did not affect him)
Heron: (shouting at frog) You loathful fellow! Don’t torture us with your
crass behaviour.
Toad: …………….
(b) The first time that the nightingale sings, the creatures in the bog
listening to her with interest remark:
Nightingale: Oh! what a beautiful evening let me rest here for sometime and sing a
song.
Frog: Eh! who is this singing here in my territory?
Nightingale:
Umph! It’s me, the nightingale.
Duck: lovely song! you are welcome here in the bog.
Heron: Oooh! we’ve never heard such an enthralling voice before,.
loon: (shedding tears of joy) “unbelievable”.
Toads: Hush! sush! let’s listen to her. She sings so sweetly.
Frog: Croak-Croak- Don’t you know that I am the owner of this bog and only I
have the right to sing here, humph!
Nightingale: Oops, I didn’t know that! Did you like my song. (Responses may vary)
(c) Nightingale was ready to sing when she heard a croak.
Nightingale : (timidly) : Is that you who is croaking? Who are you?
Frog:
(vainly) Croak! Croak! Don’t you know, I am the unrivalled king of this
bog?
Nightingale: Oh! It’s my pleasure to meet you. Do you like my song?
Frog: Hmm! It’s O.K. but you lack technique. I am famous for my baritone.
Nightingale: ………………………………………….
(d) One morning it was raining and as usual, frog started training the
nightingale.
Nightingale: Boom! I can’t sing in this chilly weather.
Frog: Be
brave! You silly bird. Just put on your scarf and start singing.
Nightingale: I’ll try-koo-Oh-ah! Ko-ash! Ko-ash!” Oh! I’m feeling totally drained
out.
Frog: ……………….
(e) The strenuous and gruelling schedule of singing had its effect on the
nightingale and her song lost its charm.
Frog: Oh! people are no longer interested in coming to listen to the song.
It’s a great loss to me.
Nightingale: Aha! you selfish frog. Can’t you see my woeful countenance? I can’t
sing any more.
Frog: What! Croak! Croak! How can you say that? Sing with energy and
passion.
Nightingale: ……………………………………
Students are free to complete the conversation on their own by using these hints.
Question 7.
On the basis of your
understanding of the poem, complete the sentences given below by choosing the
appropriate option.
1. The frog’s aim was to
(a) make the
nightingale a sensation
(b) make the
nightingale as good a singer as him
(c)
maintain his supremacy in the bog
(d)
make a lot of money.
Answer:
(c) maintain his supremacy in the bog
2. The animals reacted to the nightingale’s song with
(a) hatred
(b) admiration
(c) indifference
(d) suggestions for
improvement
Answer:
(b) admiration
3. The nightingale accepted the frog’s tutelage as she
(a) was not confident of herself
(b)
wanted to become as good a singer as the frog
(c) wanted to become a professional singer
(d) was not a resident of Bingle Bog
Answer:
(a) was not confident of
herself
Question 8.
Read the stanza given below
and complete the sentences by choosing the appropriate option.
Day by day the nightingale
Grew more
sorrowful and pale
Night on night her
tired song
Zipped and trilled and bounced
along,
Till the birds and beasts grew
tired
At a voice so uninspired
And the ticket office gross
Crashed,
and she grew more morose
For her ears
were now addicted
To applause quite
unrestricted,
And to sing into the
night
All alone gave no delight.
(a) The nightingale was sorrowful and pale because she………………..
(i) had been practising in the rain
(ii) had been performing all night
(iii) was losing confidence in herself
(iv) was falling ill
Answer:
(ii) had been performing all night
(b) The audience was tired of her song because…………………
(i) they had heard it many times
(ii)
it had become rr\echanical
(iii) she
looked tired
(iv) she had added trill to
her song
Answer:
(ii) it had become mechanical
(c) She no longer enjoyed singing alone as…………………..
(i) she wanted to sing only for titled crowd
(ii) she was now used to the appreciation she got
(iii) the frog was no longer with her
(iv) she had become proud of herself
Answer:
(ii) she was now used to the
appreciation she got .
Question 9.
Answer the following
questions briefly.
(a) How did the
creatures of Single bog react to the nightingale’s singing?
Answer:
The creatures of Bingle Bog
appreciated the sweet voice of the nightingale. Every one clapped for her
generously. All the animals gathered around the sumac tree. Ducks and herons
waded through water and reached where nightingale was singing.
(b) Which are the different ways in which the frog asserts his importance?
Answer:
The frog does not appreciate
nightingale’s song when all the creatures of the bog like her voice.
- He introduces himself to the nightingale as the owner of the tree, the writer and critic, and the best singer.
- He also offers himself to train the nightingale in singing and charges a high tuition fee. He makes her to give musical concerts and charges entry fee.
- He compells her to give performances and take music lessons from him.
- He reprimands her for not singing sweetly when the business crashes
(c) Why is the frog’s joy both sweet and bitter?
Answer:
- The frog’s joy is sweet because he was making a lot of money on the talent of the nightingale and earning a good business.
- But his joy turns bitter because he became jealous of the nightingale’s popularity.
(d) Why was the frog angry?
Answer:
- The frog was angry because he lost his business and money.
- He blamed nightingale for this loss.
(e) How did the frog become the unrivalled king of the bog again?
Answer:
The frog snubbed nightingale
for not performing well.
- The frog asked her to puff her lungs up
- She did what the frog asked her to do.
- .She overstrained herself, a vein burst, she died.
- The frog became unrivalled king.
Question 10.
Discuss the following
questions and write the answers in your note-books.
(a) Bring out the irony in the frog’s statement—‘Your song must be your
own’.
Answer:
- When the nightingale said that her song was her own, the frog remarked that she should , not boast about that and gave lessons to improve her.
- Later when she died, frog hypocritically stole her statement and told the audience that he taught her to be original in her song.
(b) Do you think the end is justified?
Answer:
No, the end is not justified because the revenge of the nightingale’s
ruthless killing could not be taken as nobody could know frog’s
reality.
(c) Do you think the nightingale is ‘brainless’ ? Give reasons for your
answer.
Answer:
Yes, the nightingale is truly brainless because she could not understand the
crafty scheme of the frog.
- let herself be dominated by the frog, trusted him blindly.
- was not confident about her talent, relied on frog.
- was easily influenced by him and died of her own foolishness.
(d) In spite of having a melodious voice and being a crowd puller, the
nightingale turns out to be a loser and dies. How far is she responsible for
her own downfall?
Answer:
Nightingale despite being a crowd-puller and extremely talented singer fails
utterly in surviving in the world of frivolities and value-sans society. She
should have practical wisdom and should
have been aware of the behaviour of the frog towards her. Had she been confident about her talent and worth and not have followed the frog blindly, she could have saved herself and emerged as a successful singer. She is largely responsible for her own downfall and tragic death.
(e) Do you agree with the Frog’s inference of the Nightingale’s character ?
Give reasons for your answer.
Answer:
No, I am not completely convinced by the inference that the frog has about
the nightingales character. The nightingale is, in reality, a gullible bird
but the frog portrayed her as a greedy and untalented bird. She won over the
heart of her audience time and again with her original lyrics and compositions
whereby the frog charged her with being stale. She was much better a singer
than the frog but he made her take lessons from him. The frog presented the
nightingale exactly the opposite to what she really was.
Question 11.
The Frog and the
nightingale’ is a spoof on the present society. Study the Mind Map given
below. Divide yourselves into groups, select a box and discuss the statement
given. Then present your views to the class