NCERT Solutions: Gopal & the Hilsa Fish

Q1: Why did the king want no more talk about the hilsa-fish?

Ans: The king grew annoyed because everyone in the kingdom kept talking only about the hilsa; he did not want to hear any more discussion on that subject. 

Q2: What did the king ask Gopal to do to prove that he was clever?

Ans: The king asked Gopal to buy a large hilsa and bring it to the palace without anyone asking him about the fish, as a test of his cleverness. 

Q3: What three things did Gopal do before he went to buy his hilsa-fish?

Ans: Before buying the hilsa, Gopal half-shaved his face, smeared ash over his body and dressed in ragged, dishevelled clothes. 

Q4: How did Gopal get inside the palace to see the king after he had bought the fish?

Ans: After buying the fish, Gopal went to the palace and asked the guards to let him see the king. When they refused, he began to sing and dance loudly. The commotion and the crowd that gathered reached the king, who then ordered that the man be brought before him.

Ans: No one talked about the hilsa Gopal was carrying because his deliberately ridiculous appearance - half-shaven face, ash on his body and torn clothes - caught everyone's attention. People discussed and wondered about his strange look, calling him comical, mad or a mystic, so the fish went unnoticed.

Q6: Write 'True' or 'False' against each of the following sentences.
 (i) The king lost his temper easily.___________
 (ii) Gopal was a madman. ____________
 (iii) Gopal was a clever man. _____________
 (iv) Gopal was too poor to afford decent clothes. ____________
 (v) The king got angry when he was shown to be wrong. _______________

Ans :
(i) True.
Explanation: The king became annoyed and lost his temper when the kingdom could not stop talking about the hilsa.
(ii) False.
Explanation: Gopal only pretended to be a madman by changing his appearance so that people would pay attention to him and not to the fish.
(iii) True.
Explanation: Gopal was clever; he planned and acted knowingly to achieve the king's challenge.
(iv) False.
Explanation: Gopal was not necessarily poor; he wore rags deliberately to draw attention away from the fish he carried.
(v) False.
Explanation: When proven wrong, the king laughed and congratulated Gopal for accomplishing the task he had set.

Working with Language

Q1: Change the following sentences in the story to reported speech. The first one has been done for you.
(i) How much did you pay for that hilsa?
The woman asked the man how much he had paid for that hilsa.
(ii) Why is your face half-shaven?
Gopal's wife asked him _____
(iii) I accept the challenge, Your Majesty.
Gopal told the king___________ __
(iv) I want to see the king.
Gopal told the guards_____ 
(v) Bring the man to me at once.
The king ordered the guard________

Ans:
(ii) Gopal's wife asked him why his face was half-shaven.
(iii)Gopal told the king that he accepted the challenge.
(iv)Gopal told the guards that he wanted to see the king.
(v) The king ordered the guard to bring the man to him at once.

Q2: Find out the meaning of the following words by looking them up in the dictionary. Then, use them in sentences of your own. 
[ challenge, mystic, comical, courtier, smearing ]

Ans:
(i) Challenge - Every difficult situation should be seen as a challenge to be faced rather than avoided.
(ii) Mystic - The mystic from the hills offered wise counsel to the villagers.
(iii) Comical - The child's comical imitation of the teacher made everyone laugh.
(iv) Courtier - Birbal was Akbar's trusted courtier who often gave him clever advice.
(v) Smearing - Smearing a tilak on the forehead is a common ritual in many Indian ceremonies.

Q3: Complete the following word ladder with the help of the clues given below.

Ans :