Short Summary: The Book that saved the Earth - English Class 10

SHORT SUMMARY

1. Introduction: The play is set in the twenty-fifth century. But Historian turns on the hysteroscope back. He shows a very important historical event that took place in the twentieth century. So all the actions in the play and the characters are set in the 20th
2. Wintory of Martian Invasion: The play ‘The Book that Saved the Earth’ describes a great historical event of 2040. It was the Martian invasion on the planet Earth. However, that invasion was averted. Surprisingly, an old book of rhymes ‘Mother Goose’ was able to avert that disaster and it saved the world from Martian invasion.
3. Great and Mighty Think—Tank: Great and Mighty Think Tank was the Commander-in-Chief and the ruler of Mars. He behaved like a despot. He relished being praised and flattered by all who were under him. He was called the most powerful and the most intelligent creature in the whole universe. He was feared and obeyed. No one dared to disagree or argue with him. Disobedience of great and Mighty Think Tank was unimaginable.
He ordered apprentice Noodles to make him talk to their manned space probe to the planet Earth. He looked into his magical minor and felt satisfied. He declared that Martians are a handsome race in comparison to the ugly Earthlings.
4. Think Tank makes wild guesses about books: Captain Omega informs that they have arrived on Earth without any trouble. They have taken shelter in a square place. Omega wants to know the exact location. Iota can’t tell it. She holds a book. There are two thousand books stored in a library. Martians have never seen such books in their lives. So they make wild guesses about the books. Great and Mighty Think-Tank makes a ridiculous guess about the books. He identifies books as sandwiches.
5. Books as Sandwiches: Think-Tank identifies that those peculiar items (books) are nothing but sandwiches which are the staple diet of the Earthlings. He identifies the library as a store of hay. To confirm his theory that those items (books) are actually sandwiches, he asks Captain Omega to eat one of them. At last, Oop bites down on a corner of the book. He doesn’t find it delicious. Noodles intervene and save the situation. He tells that he has noticed through films that the Earthlings don’t eat those sandwiches. They are actually communication devices. Think-Tank orders Omega to listen to them. Omega takes a book and brings it close to his ears. But he hears nothing. Noodles again save the situation. He discloses that the Earthlings don’t listen to sandwiches (books) but they open and watch them. Think-Tank gives his judgment. He declares that those sandwiches are not for ear communication. They are for eye communication. He orders Captain Omega to observe a large colorful sandwich (book) and tell what he has observed.
6. Misinterpretation of Rhymes: Oop sees thousands of little lines and dots alongside the pictures on them. Think-Tank feels that the Earthlings are not as primitive as they have thought. He orders to find out the real meaning of the code language. Clever Noodles manages the situation. He suggests that their space people should be given vitamins to increase their intelligence. Vitamins are brought and everyone pops the vitamins into their mouth.
7. Rhymes of ‘Mistress Mary’: Omega reads the rhyme of ‘Mistress Mary’. Think-Tank interprets the rhymes. He declares that the Earthlings have discovered how to combine agriculture with mining. They can actually grow crops of rare metals such as silver. He interprets that ‘cockleshells’ are actually explosives and the Earthlings can also grow high explosives.
8. Rhyme of ‘Hey Diddle Diddle!’: Then Iota reads the “Hey diddle!” Think Tank finds this rhyme more alarming. The Earthlings have reacted to a high level of civilisation. They have taught their domestic animal’s music culture and space techniques. They may be launching an interplanetary attack on million cows soon.
9. Rhyme of ‘Humpty Dumpty’: Opp shows Think-Tank a picture of Humpty Dumpty. He looks like Think Tank. Think-Tank suddenly screams. He declares that the Earthlings have seen him. They are after him. They plan to capture Mars Central Central Control and him. He orders Noodles to prepare a space capsule for him.
10. 0rders for Evacuation of Mars: Think-Tank orders the space people to leave Earth at once. He tells Omega that they will go a hundred million miles away from mars. He even orders the invasion fleet to evacuate the entire planet of Mars.
11. A Book of Nursery Rhymes Save the World: Historian chuckles that how one dusty old book of nursery rhymes ‘Mother Goose’ save the world from a Martian invasion. Historian also informs that the wise and wonderful Noodles replaces great and mighty Think Tank. Friendly relations are resumed between the Earthlings and Martians. The people of Earth teach Martians the differences between sandwiches and books.

DETAILED SUMMARY (2)

This is a science fantasy. This imaginary story is set in the twenty-fifth century. The place is the Museum of Ancient History. Department of the Twentieth Century. There is a Historian sitting at a table. There is a movie projector on the table. She is giving a talk to the audience about the twentieth century. She tells the audience that the twentieth century was often called the Era of the Book. In those days, there were books about everything. They taught the people everything. But the strangest thing was that a book saved the Earth. She narrates a real story from the twenty-first century. She tells how the Martians (people from the planet Mars) invaded the earth and a book of nursery rhymes saved us from their attack.
The incident relates to the Martian invasion of 2040. In fact, the invasion never took place. A single book stopped it. It was not a noble encyclopedia or a book about rockets and missiles. It was a book of nursery rhymes. Then the Historian shows the audience the happenings that actually took place. These have been recorded in a film. She turns on the projector. It shows the Mars Space Control room. We see Think-Tank who is the commander-in-chief. He has a huge, egg-shaped head. He wears a long robe decorated with stars and circles. His deputy, Noodles stands beside him at a switchboard.
Think-Tank has already sent a manned spacecraft to the Earth. Their purpose is to collect information about the earth’s defense system and send it back to the other spacecraft from Mars who are ready to attack the earth before lunch.
Think-Tank asks Noodles to place him in communication with their manned space probe to the Planet Earth. Think-Tank says they are soon going to take it over. Noodles establish his contact with the Mars Space Control. Captain Omega and his deputies are in a library. They came on the earth in order to gather secrets of the earth defiance. They have landed in a library. They have seen the books and the library for the first time. Think-Tank talks to Captain Omega who tells him that they have arrived on Earth without incident.
As they have never seen a library before, they are not sure where they are. However, Lt. Iota tells Think-Tank that there are about two thousand peculiar items (books). She thinks that the place must be some storage barn. Sergeant Oop also says that he has never before seen anything like those things. He calls them ‘hats’. Omega asks for Think-Tank’s advice. Through his remote camera, Think-Tank looks at the ‘books’. He calls them ‘eatables’ and they are in a refreshment stand. He says that what they have in their hands are ‘sandwiches’. They are the main food of Earth diet. Think-Tank orders Omega to cat it (book) to confirm. Omega asks Lt. Iota to eat it. Iota orders Sergeant Oop to eat it. Oop bites a corner of the book. He pretends to chew and swallow and tells Think-Tank that it is delicious.
After sometime Noodles informs Think-Tank that a bit of data floated into his mind. Now he has found that the people of the earth do not eat them. But they use them as communication devices. Think-Tank also believes what he tells him. He orders Omega to listen to them (books). He puts a book to his ears and tries hard to listen. Think-Tank asks Omega if he can listen to something from them. Omega replies that they may not be on the correct frequency. Think-Tank says that the Earthlings have sharper ears. Noodles say that he has a piece of information in his mind. The people of the Earth opened them and watched them. Now Think-Tank says that those ‘sandwiches’ are for eye communication. He asks Captain Omega to take three ‘sandwiches’ and tell him what he sees in them.
Omega looks at the books and tells Think-Tank that they have pictures of Earthlings. They have some sort of code, lines and dots with pictures. He asks him to study the pictures and decipher the code in them. The book that Omega is looking at is a nursery rhyme book. He reads the nursery rhyme ‘Mistress Mary …’ Think-Tank wonders how the Earthlings have combined agriculture and mining. They also grow explosives. He feels that the people of the earth are very intelligent and brave. Noodles says that the invasion spacecraft are ready to attack the earth. But Think-Tank asks Noodles to tell the invasion fleet to hold. New information has come to him. Think-Tank asks Iota to transcribe the information. She reads the nursery rhyme ‘Hey diddle …. spoon’. Think-Tank feels alarmed. He thinks that the Earthlings have reached a higher level of civilisation. They have taught their domesticated animal’s music and space techniqUes. They may be launching an interplanetary attack of millions of cows. He asks him to notify the invasion fleet that there will be no invasion that day.
Then Oop reads the nursery rhyme ‘Humpty Dumpty … again’. He shows the picture of Humpty Dumpty also. The picture resembles Think-Tank. He is scared. He says that the Earthlings have seen him. They are planning to capture Mars Central Control and him. He decides to run away from Mars. He orders Noodles to prepare a space capsule for him. He must escape without delay. The Earthlings are coming to capture Mars. Noodles ask Think-Tank where they shall go. Think-Tank replies they will go to the planet Alpha-Centauri. a hundred million miles away.
After showing this film, the Historian says that one old book of nursery rhymes saved the world from a Martian invasion. Then in the twenty-fifth century, they resumed contact with Mars. They became friends. Think-Tank was replaced by Noodles. They taught the Martians the difference between books and sandwiches. They established a model library on Mars. But they can never read one book. It is Mother Goose.

Main Points of the Story

1. The story is set in the twentieth century, five centuries ago.
2. Historiscope takes us back to 2040.
3. Great Mighty Think-Tank is the Commander-in-Chief and the ruler of Mars.
4. Apprentice Noodles, Captain Omega, Lieutenant Iota and Sergeant Oop are with him in Mars Central Control.
5. Think-Tank calls Martians a handsome race and they are more attractive than the ugly Earthlings.
6. Think-Tank wants to invade that ‘primitive ball of mud’ known as Earth before lunch.
7. All are examining books but can’t identify them. Oop makes a guess that those things (books) are hats.
8. Think-Tank closely examines those books. He holds one of them in his hand.
9. Think-Tank calls it (a book) a sandwich. Sandwiches are the main staple diet of the Earthlings.
10. To confirm his opinion, Think-Tank orders Captain Omega to eat an item (a book), a sandwich.
11. At last, Oop tastes it and finds it not delicious.
12. Noodles suggest that he has seen surveyor films of those sandwiches (books). The Earthlings don’t eat them but use them as a communication device.
13. Think-Tank agrees and orders Omega to listen to them.
14. When Captain Omega fails to hear anything, Noodles makes another suggestion.
15. He discloses that the Earthlings don’t listen to the sandwiches (books) but open and watch them.
16. Then, Think-Tank declares that those sandwiches are not for ear communication. They are for eye-communication.
17. Omega picks a large volume ‘Mother Goose’ which contains pictures of Earthlings.
18. When no one is able to know the meanings of the lines, dots and pictures, Doodle suggests that space people should be given vitamins to improve their intelligence.
19. All of them swallow vitamins down their mouth.
20. Omega reads the rhyme of ‘Mistress Mary’ and Think-Tank interprets it in his own way.
21. Think-Tank declares that the ‘Mistress Mary’ rhyme tells that Earthlings have discovered how to combine agriculture and mining. They can grow crops of rare metals. They can grow high explosives too.
22. Then Iota reads out the rhyme of ‘Hey diddle!”
23. Think-Tank interprets the rhyme saying that the Earthlings have reached a high level of civilisation. Even dogs have a sense of humor. They may be launching an interplanetary invasion.
24. Think-Tank orders to notify the invasion fleet that there will be no invasion today.
25. Then the rhyme of ‘Humpty Dumpty had a great fall’ is read.
26. Think-Tank declares after looking at the pictures of Humpty-Dumpty that the Earthlings have seen him. The words ‘Had a great fall’ mean that they plan to capture Mars Central Control and him.
27. He asks Noodles to prepare a space capsule for him to escape.
28. He orders that Mars must be evacuated immediately. They will go to a new place a hundred million miles away from Mars-Alpha Centauri.
29. Historian tells how one dusty old book of nursery rhymes ‘Mother Goose’, saved the world from a Martians invasion.
30. Great and Mighty Think-Tank was replaced by the wise and wonderful man, Noodles.
31. The Earthlings taught the Martians the difference between sandwiches and books.