Class 9 English Chapter 3 Question Answers - The Little Girl

Q.1. What was unusual about Kezia’ stuttering? 
Ans. Kezia was able to speak without stuttering to everyone in the household but her father. In her father’s formidable presence, she could barely speak and she stuttered as she attempted to speak to him.

Q.2. Why was there hue and cry on the loss of the papers in the house?
Ans. There was so much hue and cry in the house on the loss of the papers because the father’s great speech for the Port Authority was written in them.

Q.3. Why was Kezia afraid of her father?
Ans. Kezia was afraid of her father’s strictness and terrifying, angry look. Instead of tender love and affection, she would get harsh words of scolding and physical punishment from him. Evert's giant-like size would terrify her.

Q.4. Who were the people in Kezia’s family?
Ans. There were four people in Kezia’s family- her father who was very strict, her mother who was stern and aloof; her soft-hearted and loving grandmother; and little Kezia herself.

Q.5. What was Kezia’s father’s routine before going to the office and after coming back in the evening? 
Ans. Before going to the office, Kezia’s father would come to her room, give her a casual kiss, and leave for work. He would return in the evening and demand that tea be brought into the drawing-room, and ask for his papers and slippers in a loud voice.

Q.6. What would Kezia’s mother ask her to do when Father returned from office? 

Ans. When Father returned home from the office, the mother would tell Kezia to come downstairs and take off her father’s shoes. She would also be told to take the shoes outside. Further, she was ordered by Father to put his teacup back on the table.

Q.7. Why did Kezia go slowly towards the drawing room when the mother asked her to come downstairs? 

Ans. Kezia never enjoyed the company of her dominating father. He always scolded her for one thing or the other and never appreciated or loved her. She was so frightened of him that she went very slowly towards the drawing room when she was asked to come downstairs to take off his shoes.

Q.8. Which expressions on Kezia’s face annoyed Father? 

Ans. Besides her stuttering, the expressions of gloom and wretchedness on Kezia’s face annoyed Father. He felt that with such expressions, she seemed as if she were on the verge of suicide.

Q.9. Why did Kezia stutter in the presence of Father?

Ans. Kezia’s father’s domineering personality and frequent scolding shook her self-confidence. She felt under pressure to please him, so she would search hard for appropriate words in her mind while talking to him. This pressure made her stutter in his presence.

Q.10. Why did Kezia feel that her father was like a giant? 

Ans. Kezia felt that her father was like a giant because he had very big hands and neck. His mouth seemed big, especially when he yawned. In addition, his stern and cold behaviour too made the little girl thinks of him as a giant.

Q.11. In what ways did Kezia’s grandmother encourage her to get to know her parents better?
OR
Why did Kezia’s grandmother send her to the drawing-room every Sunday afternoon?

Ans. Kezia’s grandmother wanted the little girl’s bond with her parents should be strong. Therefore, every Sunday afternoon, she would encourage Kezia to go downstairs to the drawing-room, have a nice conversation with them, and get to know them better.

Q.12. What was Kezia’s father’s routine on Sundays?

Ans. On Sundays, Kezia’s father would relax in the afternoon. He would stretch out on the sofa in their drawing-room, put the handkerchief on his face, feet on the best cushion and sleep snoring soundly. All this while, her mother would be absorbed in reading the newspaper.

Q.13. What would Kezia do while her father slept on Sundays? What happened when he woke up? 

Ans. Kezia would sit on a stool and gravely watch her father until he woke up and stretched to ask the time. Then, he would look at her and tell her not to stare at him as it made her look like a brown owl.

Q.14. What did Grandmother ask Kezia to make and why?

Ans. Grandmother asked Kezia to make a pin-cushion out of a beautiful piece of yellow silk as a birthday present for Father. She wanted the little girl to present this pin-cushion as a surprise gift and make her father happy. This could possibly bring them both close to each other.

Q.15. What did Kezia make as a birthday gift for her father? How did she prepare it? 

Ans.

• Kezia made a pin-cushion as a birthday gift for her father. In order to prepare it, she laboriously stitched its three sides with double cotton and stuffed it with papers that she took from the bed table in her mother’s room. 
• Finally, she sewed up the fourth side and the gift was ready.

Q.16. Why was there a hue and cry in Kezia’s house at night before her father’s birthday?

Ans. 

• Nobody knew that Kezia had mistakenly torn the papers that had her father’s great speech for the Port Authority. 
• She had stuffed them in the pin-cushion that was to be a surprise gift for her father on his birthday. The hue and cry at night were for those missing papers.

Q.17. Why was Kezia dragged down to the dining room at night?

Ans.

Kezia was dragged down to the dining room at night to be brought in front of her father who was extremely angry as she had in the papers that had his great speech for the Port Authority.

Q.18. Why did Father come to Kezia’s room with a ruler? 

Ans.

• Father was a strict disciplinarian who believed in the use of physical punishment to correct children. 
• He came to Kezia’s room with a ruler because he wanted to punish her and teach her not to touch what did not belong to her.

Q.19. Kezia’s efforts to please her father resulted in displeasing him very much. How did this happen? 

Ans.

• On grandmother’s suggestion, Kezia decided to make a pin-cushion as a birthday gift for her father, hoping that it would please her. 
• But instead, he was furious because she had inadvertently torn the papers of his Port Authority speech and used them as a stuffing in the pin-cushion.

Q.20. Do you think Kezia was wrong in tearing the papers of her father? What does it show about her character?

Ans.

• Kezia was certainly wrong in tearing the papers of her father because they formed his important speech for the Port Authority. 
• She should not have used any of his things without his permission. The incident only shows that she was too innocent and immature to know the wrong she was doing. 
• All she wanted was to please her father with a birthday gift.

Q.21. How and why did Grandmother comfort Kezia after her father hit her with a ruler?

Ans. 

• Hours after Kezia’s father hit her with a ruler, her grandmother wrapped the little girl in a shawl and rocked her in the rocking chair, with the child clinging to her soft body. 
• She gave her a clean hanky to blow her nose and tried to put her to sleep, comforting her with affectionate words.

Q.22. Why did Kezia ask, “What did God make fathers for?”

Ans. 

• Kezia questioned why God made fathers because she was very upset with her father’s strict behaviour. 
• She felt that he was too harsh and unforgiving. He did not give her even one chance to explain herself.

Q.23. Why did Grandmother tell Kezia that her father was too Upset that night to listen to her?

Ans. 

• Grandmother always tried to bridge the gap between Kezia and her parents, especially her father. 
• She told Kezia that her father was too upset that night to listen to her because she did not want the little girl to nurture any grudge against her father.

Q.24. How did Father punish Kezia? What was the impact of this punishment?

Ans. 

• Father punished Kezia by hitting hard on her little, pink palms with a ruler. The impact of this punishment was so strong that Kezia could never forget it. 
• Next time when she saw him, she at once hid her hands behind her back and her cheeks flushed with fear.

Q.25. Who were Kezia’s neighbours? What did she observe about them?

Ans.

• The Macdonalds were Kezia’s neighbours. She observed that Mr. Macdonald played cheerfully with his children. 
• He laughed when they turned the hose on him and ran about flowerbeds with his young son, Mao, on his shoulders and his two little daughters hanging on to his coat pockets.

Q.26. Kezia felt that Mr. Macdonald was a better father as compared to her own father. Why?Ans.

• Kezia observed that Mr Macdonald was a jolly fellow who played and enjoyed in the company of his children. 
• Contrary to this, her own father was domineering and suppressive and (ha not express any affection or showed any leniency for Kezia.

Q.27. Why was Kezia left alone in the house with the cook Alice?

Ans. 

• One day Kezia’s mother had suddenly taken ill and had to be hospitalized. Grannie too went along to look after her in the hospital. 
• Kezia was thus left at home and Alice, their cook was deputed to take care of the little girl in the absence of elders.

Q.28. Why did Kezia suddenly grow afraid when Alice put her to bed?
OR
What did Kezia tell Alice, the cook, about her fear?

Ans. 

• When Alice put Kezia to bed at night, the little girl suddenly became afraid as she had to sleep alone. 
• She told Alice that she was scared of darkness and often had nightmares at night. Earlier Grannie would take her into her bed, but today she was alone.

Q.29. What kind of dreams did Kezia usually have? 

Ans.

• Usually, Kezia had horrible, frightening dreams. In her nightmares, she saw a butcher with a knife and a rope. 
• The butcher came closer and closer to her with a dreadful smile while she stood still overpowered by fear.

Q.30. How did Father comfort the little girl, Kezia, when she got scared in her sleep?

Ans. 

• When Kezia got scared in her sleep, her father came to her room, lifted her in his arms, took her to his bed and made her sleep close to him. 
• He allowed her to warm her feet against his legs. She felt secure and protected as she snuggled up to him.

Q.31. When and how does Kezia’s view of her father undergo a change?

Ans. 

• Kezia’s view of her father underwent a change for the better when her father came to her rescue when she had a nightmare. 
• He carried her to his room, carefully tucked her up and slept beside her. Kezia felt reassured and safe and snuggled up to him. 
• That is when she realised that her father was not a cruel giant but a large-hearted, hard-working man who got extremely tired by the end of the day.

Q.32. How did Kezia feel when her father beat her?

Ans. 

• Kezia needed some papers to stuff her pin-cushion. She tore her father’s important speech for the Past Authority. 
• When she admitted her act, her father beat her. Undoubtedly she was annoyed with her father. But her grandma consoled her.

Q.33. Why was Kezia afraid of her father?

Ans. 

• She was afraid of her father because of his rude and harsh behaviour. He never interacted with her politely and humbly. 
• He always kept ordering her to do one thing or the other. He even beat her.

Q.34. How did Kezia’s birthday present for her father proves to be a disaster for her?

Ans. 

• Her grandmother asked her to prepare a pin-cushion as a birthday gift to her father. She couldn’t find anything suitable which she could use to stuff her pin-cushion. 
• So, she used her father’s papers for this purpose. She tore them into pieces and stuffed the cushion with them. 
• When her father came to know about it, he was very much annoyed and beat her with a ruler. Thus, Kezia’s birthday present proved to be a disaster.

Q.35. What was the morning routine of Kezia and her father?

Ans. 

• Before going to his office, Kezia’s father used to visit her room. He would give her a casual kiss. 
• She responded with “Goodbye, father.” Since she was afraid of him, she always felt relieved after his departure.

Q.36. Why was Kezia punished by her father?

Ans. 

• Kezia wanted to present a pin-cushion to her father on his birthday. She filled it with some papers. 
• These papers contained an important speech for the Port Authority. When her father came to know about it, he punished Kezia.

Q.37. Kezia’s efforts to please her father resulted in displeasing him very much. How did this happen?

Ans. 

• She stitched cotton cloth three sides and looked for the things that could be stuffed into the stitched cloth. Soon she found out many sheets of paper.
• Actually, they contained her father’s speech for the Port Authority. She tore them into pieces and stuffed her case. 
• Next day when her father looked for the papers, he did not find them. After some time, he came to know that Kezia had torn them into pieces to make a pin-cushion. 
• He got infuriated and beat her with a ruler.

Q.38. What kind of father was Mr. Macdonald, and how was he different from Kezia’s father?

Ans. 

• Her father was always busy with his official work. He had no time to talk to her. For Kezia, her father was a figure to be feared and avoided. 
• On the other hand, Mr. Macdonald, the neighbour, always play with his children. He had time to spare with his children.

Q.39. Give in brief the message of the story ‘The Little Girl’.

Ans. 

• Appearances can be deceptive. Kezia’s father looked like a cruel giant to her. She trembled and stuttered in his presence. 
• His harsh words made her curse her fate. However, she, later on, found that her father was not devoid of tender human feelings. 
• Beneath his rough exterior was hidden his deep love and affection for his daughter.

Q.40. Why was a hue and cry in the house? Why did her father punish Kezia?

Ans.

• There were a hue and cry in the house. Kezia had stuffed her father’s important papers into the pin-cushion. 
• It was a birthday present she wanted to gift to her father. His father became furious after knowing this. 
• He beat her with a ruler for tearing his important papers into pieces.

Q.41. Why did Kezia always stutter while talking to her father?

Ans. 

• Kezia was a normal girl, but whenever she was in front of her father, she felt nervous. 
• She would try hard to speak words but would end up in stuttering. She was too afraid of her father.

Q.42. How did Kezia make a pin-cushion for her father?

Ans. 

• Kezia’s grandmother advised her to make a pin-cushion for her father on his birthday. She made it out of a beautiful piece of yellow silk. 
• She wanted something to fill it with. She found some sheets of paper lying on the bed table. She tore them up and filled in the pincushion.

Q.43. In what ways did Kezia’s grandmother encourage her to get to know her father better?

Ans.

On Sunday afternoons, Kezia’s grandmother sent her to her father’s room to have a nice talk with him. Besides, she asked her to make a gift of a pin-cushion on her father’s birthday.

Q.44. Why was Kezia’s father to be feared and avoided? What did she think of him?

Ans. 

• For Kezia, her father was a figure to be feared and avoided. No doubt, Kezia responded his casual kiss with ‘Goodbye Father’. 
• However, she felt relieved when her father disappeared along the road. In the evening, he would ask in his loud voice to bring his tea and paper into the drawing-room. 
• She felt very uncomfortable in his presence.

Q.45. How did Kezia feel when her father left for office and why?

Ans.

• Kezia was a little girl. Her parents were working. She had formal relations with her parents. 
• She often felt a sense of relief when her father left for office. Actually, she was afraid of her father.