The Snake and the Mirror Class 9 Worksheet English Chapter 1

Multiple Choice Questions

Q1: While looking at the mirror, the doctor smiled, and he found his smile
(a) Ugly
(b) Wide
(c) Attractive
(d) Unattractive
Ans:(c) 

Q2: The doctor described the snake as the one
(a) That had bitten the thief
(b) Thick and ugly
(c) Taken with its own beauty
(d) Very poisonous
Ans:(c) 

Q3: According to the doctor, the thief had a sense of
(a) Good clothes
(b) Logic
(c) Cleanliness
(d)None of the above
Ans:(c) 

Q4: Why did the doctor have very little things to carry?
(a) Some thief had stolen most of the things
(b) The room was too small to keep a lot of things
(c) He was too poor to have many things
(d) Because the storm destroyed most of the things
Ans: (a) 

Q5: What did the doctor do immediately after reaching his friend’s house?
(a) Narrated the incident of the snake
(b) Took medicines
(c)Drank a glass of water
(d) Smeared oil all over his body and took a bath
Ans: (d) 

Q6: How did the doctor’s wife actually look like?
(a) Thin
(b) Short
(c) Fat
(d) None of the above
Ans:(a) 

Q7: After the snake moved towards the mirror, the doctor was
(a) A paralyzed man
(b) A crying man
(c)A man of flesh and blood
(d) A stone in a flesh
Ans:(c)

Q8: From the doctor’s arm, the snake slithered into his
(a) Back
(b) Head
(c) Lap
(d) Leg
Ans:(c) 

Q9: The snake looked at the mirror. Seeing that, the doctor wondered
(a) If it’s going to smile
(b)If it’s going to make a noise
(c) If it’s going to bite him
(d) If the snake was admiring its own beauty
Ans:(d) 

Q10: While sitting wrapped around by a snake, the doctor felt
(a) The presence of devils
(b)The presence of rats
(c) The presence of the ghost
(d)The presence of God
Ans:(d)

Very Short Answer Questions

Q1: What kind of snake did the doctor say was?
Ans: The doctor said it was a cobra, but he didn’t know whether it was a male or female snake.

Q2: What was the kind of house in which the doctor lived?
Ans:The doctor lived in a rented house. It was not electrified. He had an army of rats who were living with him in the room.

Q3: Where did the snake fall from the gable?
Ans:The snake fell from the gable and landed on the floor with a thud. The doctor was not moved as he was used to such sounds.

Q9: Somebody asked, “Doctor, is your wife very fat?”
Ans:Somebody asked the doctor if/whether his wife was fat.

Q10: “Are there any other funny stories related to cobras?” The young wife enquired.
Ans:The young wife enquired if there were any other funny stories related to cobras.

Short Answer Questions

Q2: Describe the house in which the doctor lived when the snake came?
Ans:The house in which the doctor lived, when the snake came, was a rented house. It was not electrified. It was a small room on the outer side. I opened the two windows in the room. It was an outer room with one wall facing the open yard. It had a tiled roof with long supporting gables that rested on the beam over the wall. There was no ceiling. There was a regular traffic of rats to and from the beam.

Q3: What was the thinking of the doctor about the creator of universe when the snake had coiled around his arm?
Ans:When the snake coiled itself on the doctor’s arm, the doctor remembered the creator of the world and the universe. He thought that he might say something that the God didn’t like, what would happen. He then tried in his imagination to write in bright letters, the words ‘O God’ in front of his little heart. He was thinking, if the snake bit him, he didn’t have even medicine in his house as he was a poor doctor and had just started practice. He smiled feebly. He thought that probably the God appreciated the smile and the snake unwound itself and slithered through his lap to the top of the table in front of the mirror.

Q4: Where was the snake when the doctor ran out of his house?
Ans:The snake was in the room when the doctor ran out of his house. It was sitting in front of the mirror on the table. When the snake had winded itself on doctor’s arm, it saw its reflection in the mirror and seemed that it like its image.

Q5: Why did the doctor have to stay in an unelectrified house?
Ans:The doctor had to stay in an unelectrified house, since he had just started his practice and was poor, he couldn’t afford anything better and his means were meager.

Reference to Context

Q1: Read the extracts given below and answer the questions that follow.
I had my meal at the restaurant and returned to my room. I heard a noise from above as I opened the door. The sound was a familiar one.
(a) Who does ‘I’ refer to in this extract?
Ans: In this extract, ‘I’ refers to the homeopathic doctor who narrates his encounter with a snake.

(b) At what time did ‘I’ return to his room? Where did he return from?
Ans: The doctor returned to his room at ten o’clock at night after having a meal at a restaurant.

(c) When did ‘I’ hear a noise?
Ans: The doctor heard a noise when he entered his room.

(d) What type of noise was it?
Ans: It was a familiar noise like that made by the rats that lived in his room as they moved about.

Q2: Read the extracts given below and answer the questions that follow.
The sound was a familiar one. One could say that the rats and I shared the room. I took out my box of matches and lighted the kerosene lamp on the table.
(a) What sound did the narrator hear as he entered the room?
Ans: The narrator heard a sound as if of the scampering of rats as he entered the room.

(b) Why does the narrator say that it was a familiar sound?
Ans: The narrator says that it was a familiar sound because there were many rats in his room and their constant squeaking or scampering about had become familiar.

(c) How many times did he hear it?
Ans: He heard the sound thrice. (He heard it as he opened the door, he heard it again as he sat combing his hair this way and that, and he heard it for the third time when he decided to smile more.)

(d) When and why did the noise stop?
Ans: The sound stopped suddenly as the narrator after pacing about the room, sat down in his chair. Probably, the rats had seen the snake.

Q3: Read the extracts given below and answer the questions that follow.
It had a tiled roof with long supporting gables that rested on the beam over the wall. There was no ceiling. There was a regular traffic of rats to and off.
(a) What did the narrator do after entering the room?
Ans: The narrator lit the kerosene lamp and then made his bed.

(b) Why could the narrator not sleep?
Ans: The narrator could not sleep because there was a regular traffic of rats to and from the beam and the gables. Moreover, it was warm in the room.

(c) Where did he go and why?
Ans: He went out to the veranda for a little air.

(d) Why did he return to his room?
Ans: There was no wind blowing outside too.

Q4: Read the extracts given below and answer the questions that follow.
I went back into the room and sat down on the chair. I opened the box beneath the table and took out a book, the Materia Medica. I opened it at the table on which stood the lamp and a large mirror; a small comb lay beside the mirror.
(a) Where was he before going back into the room? Why had he gone out of the room?
Ans: The narrator had gone out to the veranda before coming back into the room. He had gone out for some fresh air.

(b) Why did he take out a book from the box?
Ans: The narrator could not sleep because it was hot and still, and there was no electricity in his room. So, he took out the book to pass some time reading it.

(c) What objects stood on the table?
Ans: A kerosene lamp and a large mirror stood on the table. A small comb lay beside the mirror.

(d) What did the speaker do after this?
Ans: After this, the speaker looked into the mirror that stood on the table and contemplated his looks.

Q5: Read the extracts given below and answer the questions that follow.
One feels tempted to look into a mirror when it is near one. I took a look. In those days I was a great admirer of beauty and I believed in making myself look handsome. I was unmarried and I was a doctor. I felt I had to make my presence felt. I picked up the comb and ran it through my hair and adjusted the parting so that it looked straight and neat.
(a) Why did the narrator look into the mirror?
Ans: The narrator was tempted to look into the mirror because it was there in front of him.

(b) Why did he want to make himself look handsome?
Ans: The narrator, who admired beauty in everyone, wanted to make himself look handsome.

(c) What did the narrator do to make his presence felt?
Ans: He combed his hair and adjusted the parting.

(d) What two important decisions did the narrator take to improve his appearance?
Ans: The narrator decided to improve his appearance by shaving daily and growing a thin moustache. He also decided to smile his attractive smile more often.

Q6: Read the extracts given below and answer the questions that follow.
I was unmarried and I was a doctor. I felt I had to make my presence felt. I picked up the comb and ran it through my hair and adjusted the parting so that it looked straight and neat. .
(a) Explain “I had to make my presence felt.”
Ans: The narrator decided that he had to create an impact on people by improving upon his appearance or personality.

(b) Why did the narrator feel he had to make his presence felt?
Ans: The narrator felt he was a doctor, a profession that is much respected in society, and was a bachelor. Therefore, he had to make an impact on society.

(c) What did the narrator do to make his presence felt?
Ans: In order to make his presence felt, he combed his hair carefully and adjusted the parting.

(d) What do you learn about the narrator from this extract?
Ans: The narrator was arrogant because of his profession and vain about his looks.

Q7: Read the extracts given below and answer the questions that follow.
I made an important decision—I would shave, daily and grow a thin moustache to look more handsome. I was after all a bachelor, and a doctor! I looked into the mirror and smiled. It was an attractive smile. I made another earth- shaking decision.
(a) Where is the narrator? What is he doing?
Ans: The narrator is in his room admiring himself in the mirror.

(b) What discovery did he make about himself?
Ans: The narrator discovered that he was handsome and had an attractive smile.

(c) What two important decisions did he take? Why?
Ans: He decided to shave daily and grow a thin moustache to look more handsome and to smile his attractive smile more often. He took these decisions to improve his presence.

(d) What is the narrator’s tone in these lines?
Ans: The narrator’s tone is vain, but he is also laughing at himself, as he calls the decisions “earth-shaking”.

Q8: Read the extracts given below and answer the questions that follow.
I got up, paced up and down the room. Then another lovely thought struck me. I would marry.
(a) Where did the narrator get up from? Why?
Ans: The narrator, the homeopathic doctor, got up from his chair in his room. He wanted to think about improving his presence in society.

(b) Which lovely thought struck him?
Ans: The lovely thought that struck him was that he should get married.

(c) What sort of lady did he wish to marry?
Ans: He wished to marry a rich, fat lady-doctor.

(d) What prompted him to make this choice?
Ans: He would get married to a woman doctor who had plenty of money and a good medical practice as he did not have much money. She had to be fat so that if he made a silly mistake and needed to run away she should not be able to run after him and catch him.

Q9: Read the extracts given below and answer the questions that follow.
There was no time to do any such thing. The snake slithered along my shoulder and coiled around my left arm above the elbow.
(a) What alerted the narrator to the snake’s presence?
Ans: The narrator was alerted to the snake’s presence by the sudden silence from the rats above. Also he heard a dull thud as if a rubber tube had fallen to the ground.

(b) What does “any such thing” refer to?
Ans: The speaker did not have time to save himself from the snake by jumping away or crying out as it had coiled around his left arm above the elbow.

(c) What did the snake do after crawling over the narrator’s shoulder?
Ans: The snake coiled itself tightly around the narrator’s left arm and spread its hood close to his face.

(d) How did the narrator react to the snake’s presence?
Ans: The narrator sat motionless as if turned to stone. He could not move or cry out when the snake coiled itself around his arm.

Q10: Read the extracts given below and answer the questions that follow.
I didn ’t jump. I didn ‘t tremble. I didn ’t cry out. There was no time to do any such thing. The snake slithered along my shoulder and coiled around my left arm above the elbow. The hood was spread out and its head was hardly three or four inches from my face!
It would not be correct to say merely that I sat there holding my breath I was turned to stone.
(a) Why did the author not jump, tremble and cry?
Ans: The author did not jump, tremble and cry because a snake had fallen on his shoulders. He was both too frightened to move and didn’t want to do anything to provoke the snake.

(b) What did the narrator do as the snake coiled itself round his arm?
Ans: As the narrator coiled itself around his arm, the narrator sat still, turned to stone.

(c) Did the snake bite the speaker? What distracted it?
Ans: No, the snake did not bite the speaker. A sight of its reflection in the mirror distracted the snake.

(d) What were the narrator’s thoughts as he looked at the snake?
Ans: In this moment of fear of death, (he realized the presence of God. God had punished him for being too proud and arrogant.

Q11: Read the extracts given below and answer the questions that follow.
At my slightest movement the snake would strike me! Death lurked four inches away. Suppose it struck, what was the medicine I had to take? There were no medicines in the room. I was but a poor, foolish and stupid doctor. I forgot my danger and smiled feebly at myself
(a) What does Death lurked four inches away imply?
Ans: The snake was three or four inches away from the writer’s head with its hood spread out. Since it was a – cobra, its bite would be fatal.

(b) Why did the doctor call himself a poor and stupid doctor?
Ans: The doctor felt poor because he was facing death and stupid because he realised that though he was a doctor, still he did not have medicines for an emergency like this.

(c) What danger does he refer to?
Ans: The doctor refers to the danger posed by a deadly snake that had wrapped itself on his arm and was slowly crushing it with force.

(d) Why did he smile feebly at himself?
Ans: The doctor smiled feebly at himself because smiles at his foolishness and helplessness because just a short while ago he had been arrogantly boasting of being a doctor and a bachelor, but now he was helplessly staring at death.

Q12: Read the extracts given below and answer the questions that follow.
The snake unwound itself from my arm and slowly slithered into my lap. From there it crept onto the table and moved towards the mirror. Perhaps it wanted to enjoy its reflection at closer quarters.
(a) Where was the narrator at the time?
Ans: The narrator was sitting in his room, admiring his looks and thinking of ways of improving his looks.

(b) What did the snake do as it landed on the narrator’s chair?
Ans: It slithered down his shoulder, coiled itself around his arm and spread its hood few inches from his face.

(c) Where did the snake do after uncoiling from the writer’s arm?
Ans: The snake slid across the narrator’s lap on to the table.

(d) Why did the snake move towards the mirror?
Ans: The snake moved towards the mirror to have a closer look at itself.

Q13: Read the extracts given below and answer the questions that follow.
I felt then the great presence of the creator of this world and this universe. God was there. Suppose I said something and he did not like it.
(a) When did the narrator feel the presence of the creator?
Ans: The narrator felt the presence of the creator when he was faced with death in the form of the snake.

(b) Why does the narrator feel he may have displeased God?
Ans: He felt God may have punished him for being too proud and arrogant. He realized that he was but a mere human, a poor man, nothing to boast about.

(c) What did the narrator do then?
Ans: He prayed to God – in his imagination he tried to write words, ‘O God’ in bright letters outside his heart.

(d) What was the result of his realisation?
Ans: The moment he accepted his true worth God appeared pleased and the snake of its own free will left him and sat on the table in front of the mirror.

Q14: There was some pain in my left arm. It was as if a thick leaden rod—no, a rod made of molten fire—was slowly but powerfully crushing my arm. The arm was beginning to be drained of all strength. What could Ido?
(a) Why did the narrator feel a pain in his arm?
Ans: The snake was coiled around his arm and was crushing his arm.

(b) Where had the snake come from?
Ans: The snake had fallen from the ceiling of the house.

(c) What had alerted the narrator to the snake’s presence at first? What had been his first reaction?
Ans: The narrator was first alerted to the snake’s presence by a dull thud. He had disregarded it at first as it being nothing to worry about.

(d) Why did the narrator sit still on the chair?
Ans: The narrator sat still on the chair because at his slightest movement the snake would have struck him.

Q15: Read the extracts given below and answer the questions that follow.
It seemed as if God appreciated that. The snake turned its head. It looked into the mirror and saw its reflection. I do not claim that it was the first snake that had ever looked into a mirror. But it was certain that the snake was looking into the mirror. Was it admiring its own beauty? Was it trying to make an important decision about growing a moustache or using eye shadow and mascara or wearing a vermilion spot on its forehead?
(a) What was it that God appreciated?
Ans: God appreciated the narrator getting the realisation that he had been arrogant and vain and his sincere remembering of God.

(b) What did the snake do as it landed on the narrator’s chair?
Ans: The snake wriggled over the back of the chair and landed on his shoulders. It coiled round his left arm above the elbow and spread out its hood, hardly three inches from his face.

(c) Where did the snake move its head?
Ans: The snake moved its head towards the mirror.

(d) Why did the narrator call it the “first snake”?
Ans: The narrator calls it the “first snake” because this was the first snake he had seen which enjoyed looking into the mirror.

Q16: Read the extracts given below and answer the questions that follow.
I was no mere image cut in granite. I was suddenly a man of flesh and blood. Still holding my breath I got up from the chair. I quietly went through the veranda. From there 1 leapt into the yard and ran for all I was worth.

(a) What does the narrator mean when he says “I was no mere image cut in granite”?
Ans: The narrator no longer sat completely still, unable to move as if he were an image that had been carved in stone.

(b) Why had he been sitting turned to stone?
Ans: A snake had coiled itself around his arm and had spread its hood near his face.

(c) Where had the snake gone?
Ans: The snake had slithered over to sit in front of the mirror.

(d) What did the narrator do?
Ans: He left his room and ran off as fast as could.

Q17: Read the extracts given below and answer the questions that follow.
I was no mere image cut in granite. I was suddenly a man of flesh and blood. Still holding my breath I got up from the chair. I quietly went through the veranda. From there 1 leapt into the yard and ran for all I was worth.
(a) When had the narrator felt like an “image cut in granite”?
Ans: He felt that he was an ‘image cut in granite’ when he found the snake coiled strongly round his forearm with its hood spread out barely three or four inches away from his face. He was gripped in fear and he could neither move nor breathe properly.

(b) What is the meaning of ‘a man of flesh and blood’?
Ans: ‘A man of flesh and blood’ means a living person with human feelings, and with the strength to move.

(c) What made the narrator suddenly turn into ‘a man of flesh and blood’?
Ans: When the snake let go its hold on his arm, the doctor came out of the state of shock which had made him numb like a stone. He regained his senses and faculties.

(d) What did the narrator do as soon as he turned into ‘a man of flesh and blood’?
Ans: When the doctor got over his numbing shock, he got up from his chair, quietly went through the veranda, leapt into the yard and ran as fast as he could.

Q18: Read the extracts given below and answer the questions that follow.
The doctor replied, “I ran and ran till I reached a friend’s house. Immediately I smeared oil all over myself and took a bath. I changed into fresh clothes.
(a) Why did the doctor run?
Ans: The doctor ran because the snake that landed on his shoulder had slithered off and he wanted to escape the snake.

(b) Where did the narrator spend the night?
Ans: The narrator spent the night with his friend at his house.

(c) Why did the doctor smear oil all over his body?
Ans: The doctor smeared oil all over his body because wanted to erase the venom of the Snake that had landed on his shoulder.

(d) What did he do the next morning?
Ans: The next morning he took his friends and went back to his room to check whether the snake was still there.

Q19: The next morning at about eight-thirty I took my friend and one or two others to my room to move my things from there. But we found we had little to carry.
(a) What does the narrator mean by the phrase “the next morning”?
Ans: The narrator is referring to the morning after the evening when he had the frightening experience with the snake that coiled itself around his arm.

(b) Which friend is being referred to?
Ans: The friend with whom the narrator had spent the night after escaping his house and the snake there.

(c) Why did narrator want to remove his things?
Ans: The narrator wanted to remove his things as he wanted to leave his house because of the fear of the snake.

(d) Why was there little to carry?
Ans: There was little to carry because thieves had stolen most of his things in the night.

Q20: Read the extracts given below and answer the questions that follow.
“No, ” the doctor said. “God willed otherwise. My life companion is a thin reedy person with the gift of a sprinter. ”
(a) Explain “God willed it otherwise”.
Ans: It was God’s will that the narrator’s wishes would not be fulfilled.

(b) What qualities had the narrator wanted in his wife?
Ans: The narrator wanted to get married to a woman doctor who was rich and fat.

(c) Why had he wanted those qualities?
Ans: The narrator had a meagre practice so he wanted a rich wife with a good practice. He wanted a fat wife as he felt that if he made a silly mistake and needed to run away she should not be able to run after him and catch him..

(d) What kind of a person did he marry?
Ans: The woman he married was a thin and slender person who could run like a sprinter.