NCERT CLASS 8 SUPPLYMENTRY CH 3

 

                                  THE SELFISH GIANT

Question 1:

Why is the Giant called selfish?

Answer:

The Giant is called selfish because he prohibited the children from playing in his garden. He built a high wall all around it and put up a notice-board in it stating that all trespassers will be prosecuted.

Question 2:

On one occasion the children said: “How happy we are here!”

Later they said: “How happy we were there!”

What are they referring to in both the cases?

Answer:

In the first case, the children expressed their happiness while playing in the Giant’s garden. They would go to play in the garden after returning from school and had a wonderful time playing around the garden.

In the second instance, the children were referring to the Giant’s garden after the Giant stopped them by building a high wall around the garden, and they could no longer enter it. They talked with each other about how they would enjoy playing around the garden where trees bore beautiful flowers and fruits and birds sang sweet songs.

The children referred to the Giant’s beautiful garden in both cases.

Question 3:

(i) When spring came, it was still winter in the garden. What does winter stand for or indicate here?

(ii) Winter has been presented like a story with its own characters and activities. Describe the story in your own words.

Answer:

(i) When Spring came, it was still Winter in the garden. In the story, Winter denotes a desolate and negative atmosphere where the trees and flowers never blossom. Winter is also used to indicate a gloomy and depressing environment that brings sadness and laziness. In such cold weather, there is snow everywhere, and cold winds blow all around where trees tend to droop, and birds do not chirp. As the children were not playing in the Giant’s garden, Spring did not enter it. As a result, even the trees did not blossom, and the birds did not sing sweet songs in the garden.

(ii) When Spring came all over the country, the trees started to blossom, and the birds started to sing except in the Giant’s garden, where winter had still prevailed. The birds did not sing, and the trees forgot to blossom as the children did not come to play in the garden. One day, a beautiful flower blossomed from the grass, but when it saw the notice-board, it felt sorry for the children and slipped back into the ground again. Seeing all this, Winter was pleased as there was Snow and Frost everywhere. Snow covered the entire garden with her huge white cloak and Frost painted all the trees silver. They then invited the North Wind, who was wrapped in furs and blew strongly across the garden. Along with him came Hail who rattled the roof of the castle for three hours every day until most of the slates were broken. He ran all around the garden as fast as he could. He was dressed in grey attire, and his breath also felt like ice.

Question 4:

Was the Giant happy or sad over the state of the garden?

Answer:

The Giant was extremely saddened to see the condition of the garden. Neither Spring nor Summer or Autumn came to visit it. It was miserable as Snow, Frost, North Wind, and Hail did not seem to leave his garden. He often wondered why Spring was so late in arriving at his garden.

Question 5:

What effect did the linnet’s song have over Hail and North Wind?

Answer:

Hearing the linnet sing, Hail stopped dancing over his head, and North Wind stopped roaring. Soon, the Giant could hear a delicious perfume come to him through the open casement and he jumped out of his bed in excitement.

Question 1:

(i) The Giant saw a most wonderful sight. What did he see?

(ii) What did he realise on seeing it?

Answer:

(i) The Giant saw that the children had crept into his garden through a little hole in the wall and sat on the branches of the trees. As the children filled the garden, the trees were delighted to see them, and they blossomed in full swing. The Giant was mesmerized seeing this wonderful sight as he saw the birds were also twittering around in joy, and the flowers bloomed in happiness.

(ii) The Giant realised soon enough that Spring was late in visiting his garden because he did not allow the children to play in it. He realised that he had been very selfish in prohibiting the children from playing in his garden by building a high wall all around it.

Question 2:

Why was it still winter in one corner of the garden?

Answer:

As the children played in the garden, the Giant noticed that in one corner of it, there was a tree that was still covered with Snow and Frost. The North Wind blew strongly and was roaring over it. The Giant came closer and noticed a small boy standing in front of it, who was so tiny that he could not climb the branches of the tree. As the tree remained untouched by the child, Winter still prevailed in that corner of the garden.

Question 3:

Describe the first meeting of the little boy and the Giant.

Answer:

The Giant met the little boy in front of the tree that was covered with Snow and Frost. Winter still prevailed in that corner of the garden. Seeing the little boy’s inability to reach the branches of the tree, the Giant gently took him in his arms and put him up on the tree. Soon the tree blossomed with joy, and the birds came to sing on it. The little boy stretched his tiny arms around the Giant’s neck and kissed him gently to express his gratitude towards him.