Class 7 English An Alien Hand Question Answers - Long Question Answer: Chandni

Q1: Why did Abbu Khan buy a new young goat? 
Ans: Abbu Khan had many domestic goats but all of those ran away to the hills one by one. So, firstly, he decided to live alone for the rest of his life but after few days bought a new young goat because of the following reasons —

• Abbu Khan was tired of living alone.
• He felt very lonely in the absence of any pet. 
• He thought that a young goat would stay with him much longer than the old ones. He was confident that it would never leave him and run away to the hills.
• Moreover, he hoped that the new goat would shower its love upon him as well as on the food that he would feed her. 

Thus, he celebrated joyously and purchased a new goat.

Q2: What did the new goat look like? What name does Abbu Khan give her? 
Ans: Abbu Khan bought a new young goat to get rid of his loneliness. The goat’s appearance can be elaborated as follows—

• Pretty would be the perfect word to describe the new goat. 
• She had a white complexion just like snow. 
• The goat had two small horns on its head.
• A pair of shining red eyes perfectly matched her beauty. 

Abbu Khan named the young goat Chandni which meant “moonlight”. Chandni possessed a friendly nature and listened to tales about the other goats narrated by Abbu Khan with full interest and affection.

Q3: Alas! He was mistaken again.” What does this line mean? 
Ans: This line by the narrator is about the mistake that Abbu Khan committed. It can be elaborated in two parts—

• Abbu Khan’s perception:  After all the pet goats fled to the hills, Abbu Khan bought a new young goat and named it Chandni. He thought that Chandni would never leave him and run to the hills as she was there with him for several years and was very affectionate towards him. 
• Reality: One day when Chandni thought about the hilltops she saw from the compound, she wanted to feel the refreshing breeze that blows through the hills and wanted to run through the green fields. She decided to run away but was stopped by the rope tied around her neck. 

Thus, what Abbu Khan perceived about Chandni was wrong and he was mistaken once again as just like the other goats, it also wished to run away from him.

Q4: How did Chandni reach the hills? 
Ans: Abbu Khan’s new goat Chandni wanted freedom from his capture and wished to run away to the hills. His journey to the hills is elaborated in the following points—

• Firstly, one day Chandni decided to talk to Abbu Khan about her freedom thinking that he would understand and set her free.
• But when she exclaimed that the little compound would kill her and she wished to live in the hills, he scolded her by narrating the tragic story of one of his goats named Kalua who ran away and was killed by a wolf in the hills. 
• Hen Chandni was put in a little house away from the compound. 
• However, at night, its window was open. Thus, Chandni leaped out of the window of the little hut where Abbu Khan kept her and started running away to the hills till she finally reached there. 

It was concluded that Abbu Khan forgot to shut the window that became her passage to freedom.

Q5: “I must put up a good fight,” Chandni thought; “success or failure is a matter of luck or chance.” Why does Chandni have these thoughts? 
Ans: After running away from Abbu Khan’s house and reaching the hilltop, late at night when the sun was down and birds stopped chirping, Chandni heard a grunt from the bush. The grunt was made by the old wolf Abbu Khan had warned her about. The determined goat, Chandni, didn’t want to go back to Abbu Khan as she loved freedom more than the tasty meals, and hence she decided to fight the wolf. As she prepared to fight, she thought success or failure is a matter of luck or chance and she should fight the wolf bravely. In simple words, these thoughts crossed her mind in a reflex as she wanted to fight with the wolf to save her life.

Q6: Who was Abbu Khan?
Ans: Abbu Khan was an old man who lived in Almora. He was very fond of goats, so he kept them as his pits. He used to talk to his goats as one talks to their own children. During the day, he takes the goats out for grazing in the field and later at night bring them back to their little hut, and tied a rope round their neck. But he was somehow unlucky because the goats leave him to go to the hills, as they want to get their freedom. Later, he brought a young goat, named her Chandni and thought she would never leave him and would love him till the end. But Abbu Khan was mistaken again. Chandni too left him and went to the hills, beyond and never came back.

Q7: Why did Abbu Khans bought a new goat?
Ans: Abbu Khan was very disappointed after the goats disappeared one by one. Later he decided that he won’t pet any goats. But this made him more upset and lonely. So he decided to buy a young goat. He thought that the young goat will stay with him forever and soon she will begin to love him as well as the grasses and grains he give her. The young goat will never thought of going to the hills. In this way Abbu Khan decided to buy a new young goat.

Q8: Why was Abbu Khan mistaken again?
Ans: Abbu khan loved hi goat, Chandni a lot. He never imagined that Chandni too will leave him behind and wants to go to the hills beyond. Unfortuanatily, he was mistaken because Chandni started to ignore him, She don’t even eat the green grass that Abbu Khan brought for her. He was very confused in Chandni’s behaviours. Later she revealed that she don’t want to live with him anymore and let her go to the hills this mode Abbu Khan very upset.

Q9: What happened at the end of the story?
Ans: As the darkness fell, the wolf came out from the bushes. He had shining eyes that were like burning coals and started at Chandni greadily. Chandni showed her courage like a brave soldier and stood firm on her feet. Then the fight began and it went through the whole night. However in the next morning, Chandni was lying on the ground dead and was completely soaked in blood. And the wolf ready to eat her up even though the wolf himself was tired and sleepy.

Q10: Why do the elders try to govern the lives of their young one?
Ans: Because they are protective and care for them. They provide security and look after them. They could foresee the danger as they have enough experience. But sometimes, too much of care hampers the freedom and inhibits the individuality of their own people. The knowledge curbs the natural growth of personality. Rather than being dominating they must be understanding giving space for their young one‘to bloom. If Chandni was aflowed to roam around; she would have stayed at Abbu Khan’s house.

Q11: “Death in an open field is better than life in a small hut, “Chandni said to herself’. Was it the right decision? Give reasons for your answer.
Ans: It was the right decision. Freedom involves taking a lot of risks. It requires one to be brave and to be ready to face any difficulty, any circumstances. On detecting the wolf, Chandni could have gone back to Abbu Khan. However, for her freedom was more valuable than life. She decided to fight the wolf to retain her freedom, telling herself that success or failure was a matter of chance, and that one must put up a good fight. She fought with all her strength and even though she did not win the fight, she was the true winner. If she had remained with Abbu Khan she would have always been tied up. There, she might have lived longer, but would have ultimately died in bondage.

Q12: Why Abbu Khan was unlucky in the matter of goats?
Ans: The goats who lived in the hilly areas love to have their freedom. They hate being tied with a rope round their neck to the trees or poles. Similarly, Abbu Khan’s goat to wanted to go to the hills. So, at night when they get chance, they would pull and pull the rope until looses. Then they run away to the hills to enjoy their lives.

Q13: Who was Chandni?
Ans: Chandni was the new and young goat whom Abbu Khan bought after all the goats left him. She was very pretty and white as snow. SHw had two little horns on her head and also a pair of sparking eyes. She was avery friendly nature and listens to Abbu Khan’s stories with a lot of excitement and joy. He also narrated Chandni the sad stories of the other goats who had left him and were dead now. Abbu Khan named her Chandni, because it means ‘moonlight’.

Q14: How did Chandni spend her time in the hills?
Ans: As she reached the hills, she felt like the tall trees were standing there to welcomes her. She ran every where like and independent and saw the flowers blooming to amuse her. At the same day, She played for an hours on the grassy slopes of the hills. Chandni also met some a groupd of wild goats and asked her to join them. But she refused them as she wanted have her own freedom all alone.

Q15: Chandni is epitome of freedom. Discuss whether Chandni was confident or foolish.
Ans: Chandni was a beautiful young goat of Abbu Khan. He brought up her with fatherly care. He told her stories for goats who dared to run away and were killed by the wolf. He brought her food and gave her every comfort. Yet her longing for freedom did not die. Abbu Khan tried to stop her. But she did not give up. Chandni was brave and confident. She enjoyed her freedom and did not join any herd on the way. In the evening she faced death bravely. She could have run away to Abbu Khan’s house but she stay stayed back and gave a tough fight. She tom the spirit of the wolf. To conclude, we can say that her freedom was important to her.

Q16: Why did the wise old bird say, “Chandni is the winner”?
Ans: The wise old bird said that Chandni is the winner because even being weak and small in front of the wolf, she didn’t give up. She gathered all her courage and had a brave fight. She didn’t leave the battlefield like a coward and fought for her freedom. She said to herself that death in an open field is far better than life in a small hut. She stood firm on her legs, head slightly bent and horns jutting out. She was a picture of courage. She looked like a brave soldier ready to fight a treacherous enemy. She died brave in the morning completely soaked in blood.

Q17: Freedom is life. Discuss this with references to ‘Chandni’ and ‘I want something in a Cage’.
Ans: Freedom is life. Living in bondage is as good as being dead. Everyone craves for his/her freedom, humans, birds and animals. The value of freedom is the theme of the stories ‘I want something in a Cage’ and Chandni’. In the former, the man, who had been a prisoner for ten years, freed the doves because he could identify with the birds in the cage and their desire to fly. In the latter, the goats left Abbu Khan one by one because their desire to roam freely in the hills was stronger than their fear of the wolf that lived in those hills.
Chandni’s decision to fight the wolf instead of going back to the safety of Abbu Khan’s compound showed that she considered freedom to be invaluable. For her death in an open field was far better than life in a small hut. This story shows that freedom requires one to be brave, and to be ready to face any difficulty, any circumstance. Even if the free life is short lived, it is better than a long life in capacity.