There was this certain king who believed that he would not fail if he knew what was the right time for every action, who were the right people to be with and what was the most important thing to do.He proclaimed that he would give a great reward to the person who could answer his three questions.
A lot of learned men went for their answers. Unfortunately, their answers did not satisfy the king. So the king decided to consult a wise hermit. He saw the hermit digging the ground and out of compassion, he did it for the hermit. He kept on asking the three questions but the hermit also kept silent. Hours passed and it was already sunset.
The hermit saw a bearded man running and his hands on his stomach. He was wounded and dying; the hermit told the king about it and they helped the bearded man.
The next day, the king woke up and the bearded man saw him and apologized to him. He admitted that he was an enemy of the king. The bearded man said that he heard about the king going to the hermit so he tried to kill him when he was on his way back home but he failed.
The king asked the hermit once again . Then he answered all the questions:
1. Now is the time to do every action because now is the only time that we have power.
2. The right person is who are you with.
3. The most important thing to do is to do good for the person you are with.
Comprehension Check
Question 1:
Why did the king want to know answers to three questions?
Solution:
The king wanted to know answers to his three questions because he wanted to be a successful ruler.
Question 2:
Messengers were sent throughout the kingdom
to fetch wise men.
to find answers to the questions.
to look for the wise hermit.
to announce a reward for those who could answer the questions.
Solution:
2.to find answers to the questions.
Complete the following sentences by adding the appropriate parts of the sentences given in the box.
Many wise men answered the king’s questions ……………….
Someone suggested that there should be a council of wise men ……………….
Someone else suggested that the king should have a timetable ……………….
The king requested the hermit ……………….
The king washed and dressed the beared man’s wound ……………….
Solution:
Many wise men answered the king’s questions, but their answers were so varied that the king was not satisfied.
Someone suggested that there should be a council of wise men to help the king act at the right time.
Someone else suggested that the king should have a timetable and follow it strictly.
The king requested the hermit to answer three questions.
The king washed and dressed the bearded man’s wound but the bleeding would not stop.
Working with the Text
Answer the following questions.
Question 1:
Why was the king advised to go to the magicians?
Solution:
Some of the wise men thought that in order to decide right time for doing something, one must look into the future and only magicians were able to do that. So, they advised the king to go to the magicians.
Question 2:
In answer to the second question, whose advice did the people say would be important to the king?
Solution:
In answer to the second question some people, suggested to seek advice of councillors, the priest or the doctors or the soldiers.
Question 3:
What suggestions were made in answer to the third question?
Solution:
For the third question some people said science was the most important business while there were others who believed it was fighting and then there were those who believed religious worship should take the first place.
Question 4:
Did the wise men win the reward? If not, why not?
Solution:
No, the wise men didn’t win the reward because their answers were so different from each other and the king was not satisfied with their answers.
Question 5:
How did the king and the hermit help the wounded man?
Solution:
The king washed the wound and covered the wound of the man with his handkerchief and kept on dressing it until the bleeding stopped completely.
The king also offered the wounded man water to drink. The hermit helped the king to bring the wounded man inside his hut and allowed the man to spend his night in the hut.
Question 6:
Who was the bearded man?
Why did he ask for the king’s forgiveness?
Solution:
The bearded man was an enemy of the king. He wanted to take revenge of his brother’s death by killing the king and taking away all his property.
The bearded man asked for the king’s forgiveness because he wanted to kill the king but the king has saved his life. He was grateful to the king now.
Question 7:
The king forgave the bearded man. What did he do to show his forgiveness?
Solution:
The king showed his forgiveness by promising the man that he will send his doctor and servants to look after him and also promised to return him all his property.
Question 8:
What were the hermit’s answers to the three questions? Write each answer separately. Which answers do you like the most and why?
Solution:
The most important time, the hermit said, is our present because it is the only moment when we have the power to act. The most important person at a moment is we ourselves because the future is unknown and we don’t know whether we will meet anyone in the future or not.
So, we should listen to ourselves.
The most important business is to be kind and good to others because we have been sent in this world to serve this noble cause.
I liked the third answer the most because helping someone in need is like serving God. It makes us a good person and brings a sense of satisfaction and contentment.
No comments:
Post a Comment