Class 9 Moments Supplementary Reader Chapter 4 Question Answers - In the Kingdom of Fools

Q1. On what condition did the guru and his disciple agree to rule the kingdom?
The guru and his disciple agreed to rule the kingdom on the condition that they could change all the existing laws. They restored normalcy by reversing the order of night and day and adjusting the prices of goods.

Q2. Why did the guru want to leave the kingdom quickly? Why did the disciple stay on?
The guru, being wise, sensed danger in staying in the kingdom of fools and wanted to leave quickly. However, the disciple stayed because everything was incredibly cheap, and all he cared about was getting good food at low prices.

Q3. What was foolish about the king’s trial of the merchant?
The king’s decision to execute the merchant for the accidental death of a thief was foolish. The thief died when a wall collapsed on him, yet the king held the merchant responsible, showing his lack of reason.

Q4. Who was finally blamed for the crime and why?
The rich merchant was ultimately blamed because his deceased father had ordered the faulty jewelry. Since his father was no longer alive, the merchant was held accountable in his place.

Q5. Now justice had come full circle, thought the king. What argument did the merchant come up with? What counter-argument did the king give?
The merchant argued that he should not be punished as it was his father who had ordered the jewelry, not him. The king countered by stating that the merchant had inherited both his father’s wealth and his sins, making him equally responsible.

Q6. Why was it decided to execute the disciple?
The rich merchant was too thin to be executed on the stake properly, so the king ordered a fat man to be found. The disciple, having grown fat from feasting, was selected for execution instead.

Q7. How did the kingdom become normal again?
The people requested the guru and his disciple to take over as king and minister. They agreed on the condition that they could change the laws, which they did, restoring normalcy to the kingdom.

Q8. How did the guru get rid of the foolish king?
The guru tricked the foolish king by convincing him that whoever died first on the stake would be reborn as the king. The gullible king believed this and had himself executed, thinking it would ensure his return as ruler.

Q9. What did the dancing girl say in her defense?
The dancing girl defended herself by saying she had given gold to the goldsmith to make jewelry. The goldsmith delayed the work, forcing her to walk back and forth in front of his house multiple times.

Q10. How did the guru come to know that his disciple was in trouble?
The guru, possessing magical powers, had a vision that revealed his disciple was in danger.

Q11. What did the king and his minister do at night?
At night, the king and his minister secretly freed the guru and the disciple from prison. They then disguised themselves as the guru and the disciple and were executed in their place.

Q12. Who were the people questioned during the course of the trial, and what was each person’s defense?
The house owner was questioned first, but he blamed the bricklayer for building a faulty wall. The bricklayer blamed the dancing girl for distracting him. The dancing girl, in turn, blamed the goldsmith for delaying her order. The goldsmith explained that he was pressured to finish jewelry for a rich man’s wedding, and this rich man was the original house owner.

Q13. Why did the guru want him and his disciple to die first?
The guru claimed that whoever died first on the stake would be reborn as the king and minister. He pretended to be tired of his ascetic life and desired to die first to enjoy being a ruler in his next life.

Q14. Who became the king and the minister of the kingdom in the end? Why?
The guru and his disciple became the king and minister, respectively. After the foolish king and his minister died, the people, fearing instability, persuaded them to take on the roles.

Q15. How did the king and his minister die in place of the guru and his disciple?
The king ordered the executioners to kill the first two men sent to them the next morning. That night, the king and his minister freed the guru and disciple and disguised themselves as them. The next morning, the king and minister were executed in their place.

Q16. How was the Kingdom of Fools different from any other place?
The Kingdom of Fools was unusual because it was ruled by a foolish king and minister. People worked at night and slept during the day, and all goods, regardless of their value, cost the same – one duddu.

Q17. What are the two strange things the guru and his disciple found in the Kingdom of Fools?
The two strange things were that people and cattle worked at night and slept during the day, and everything, no matter its actual worth, was sold for one duddu.

Q18. Why didn’t the people go against the order of the king and minister?
The people feared disobeying the king and minister because they were warned that anyone who did would face the death penalty.

Q19. Why did the guru not want to stay in the Kingdom of Fools?
The guru, being wise, understood that living among fools was dangerous because they were unpredictable. He knew their foolish system of governance wouldn’t last long.

Q20. Why did the disciple not want to leave the Kingdom of Fools?
The disciple enjoyed the Kingdom of Fools because he could get good food cheaply. For instance, a measure of rice and a bunch of bananas both cost just one duddu.

Q21. Why did the thief’s brother accuse the rich merchant?
The thief’s brother blamed the rich merchant because the thief had been killed by the collapse of a wall in the merchant’s old house, which the brother believed was due to poor construction.

Q22. Who was blamed by the merchant for the death of the thief?
The merchant blamed the bricklayer, who had built the wall during the time of the merchant’s father, for constructing a faulty wall that caused the thief’s death.

Q23. Why was the bricklayer found not guilty?
The bricklayer was found not guilty because he claimed he was distracted by the dancing girl, who kept walking up and down the street jingling her anklets while he was working.

Q24. What was ironic about the king’s judgment holding the dancing girl as the culprit?
The irony lay in the king referring to the thief as "innocent" and sympathizing with him while blaming the dancing girl for the death of a lawbreaker, showing a complete lack of reason in his judgment.

Q25. How did the goldsmith escape punishment?
The goldsmith avoided punishment by explaining that he had delayed the dancing girl’s jewelry because he had to complete an urgent order for a rich merchant’s wedding.

Q26. Why were the people of the kingdom confused when they saw the dead bodies of the king and his minister?
The people were confused because they had no knowledge of the secret plan the king and his minister had devised. They were left without a ruler and didn’t know how to proceed.

Q27. Who was the real culprit according to the king? Why did he escape punishment?
The king determined that the real culprit was the rich merchant’s father, who had built the house. However, the father had already died, so the punishment was passed on to his son.

Q28. What problem arose before the final execution of the criminal?
Before the merchant’s execution, it was discovered that he was too thin to fit on the stake, which posed a problem because the execution orders couldn’t be carried out.

Q29. Why did the king’s servants catch the disciple?
The king’s servants captured the disciple because they needed a fat man for the execution, and the disciple had grown fat from feasting on cheap food for months.

Q30. When did the disciple remember the words of his guru?
The disciple recalled his guru’s warning about the dangers of foolish people when the king’s servants took him for execution. He regretted not leaving the kingdom earlier.

Q31. What was the fight between the guru and his disciple about? Why?
The guru and his disciple fought over who should be the first to die at the stake. This was part of a plan to trick the king into thinking that dying first would make one the next ruler.

Q32. Why did the king decide to postpone the execution of the guru and his disciple?
The king postponed the execution to secretly consult with his minister about how to prevent others from taking over the kingdom in the next life.

Q33. What did the king and his minister decide in secret? Why?
The king and his minister decided to go to the stake themselves so that they could be reborn as king and minister again. They believed the guru’s claim that the first to die would inherit their positions in the next life.

Q34. What was the final order of the king to the executioners?
The king’s final order was to execute the first two men sent to them the next morning without fail. He instructed them to ensure no mistakes were made in carrying out the order.