NCERT Solutions for Class 9 English Beehive Chapter 5 - The Snake and the Mirror

(i) The doctor’s first smile shows pride in his looks and his status as a doctor.
(ii) When he smiled a little later, he laughed at his destiny. His life was in danger. His thoughts got changed because of the snake. He was quite near to death.

II. This story about a frightening incident is narrated in a humorous way. What makes it humorous? (Think of the contrasts it presents between dreams and reality. Some of them are listed below.
Write short paragraphs on each of these to get your answer.

Q1: (i) The kind of person the doctor is (money, possessions)
Ans: The doctor is a poor person. He has hardly any money. He lives in an unelectrified house. It is a small rented room with plenty of rats living in it. He has just started his medical practice. So he owns very little and has no wealth.
(ii) The kind of person he wants to be (appearance, ambition)
Ans: The doctor dreams of being rich and attractive. He plans to shave daily, grow a thin moustache, and keep an appealing smile to enhance his appearance as a bachelor doctor, contrasting his modest reality.

Q2: (i) The person he wants to marry
Ans: The doctor wants to marry a woman doctor with good medical practice and a lot of money. She would be fat as not to run after him and catch him.
(ii) The person he actually marries
Ans: The doctor marries a thin, fast-running woman, like a sprinter, contrasting his dream of a fat, wealthy doctor wife who wouldn’t be able to chase him if he ran away, adding humour to his unexpected reality.

Q3: (i) His thoughts when he looks into the mirror
Ans: His thoughts are full of joy and satisfaction. He decides to grow a thin moustache and keep smiling always. He finds his smile attractive.
(ii) His thoughts when the snake is coiled around his arm
Ans: He turned to stone. He sat like a stone image in the flesh. However, his mind was very active. He felt the great presence of the creator. He decides to write the words 'O God' outside his little heart.

Thinking about Language

(b) was proud of his appearance
- I looked into the mirror and smiled. It was an attractive smile.
 -I was, after all, a bachelor, and a doctor too, on top of it!

(c) had a sense of humour
-I tried in my imagination to write in bright letters outside my little heart the words, 'O God'.
-The fellow had such a sense of cleanliness...! The rascal could have taken it and used it after washing it with soap and water.
-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.

(d) was no longer afraid of the snake
-I was no mere image cut in granite.
-I was suddenly a man of flesh and blood.
-I didn’t tremble. I didn’t cry out.

II. Expressions used to show fear
Q1: Can you find the expressions in the story that tell you that the author was frightened? Read the story and complete the following sentences.
i. I was turned ___________________________________________________.
Ans: I was turned to stone.
ii. I sat there holding _______________________________________________.
Ans: I sat there holding my breath.
iii. In the light of the lamp I sat there like _______________________________.
Ans: In the light of the lamp, I sat there like a stone image in the flesh.

III. In the sentences given below, some words and expressions are italicised. They are variously mean that one

• is very frightened.
• is too scared to move.
• is frightened by something that happens suddenly.
• makes another feel frightened.

Match the meanings with the words/expressions in italics, and write the appropriate meaning next to the sentence. The first one has been done for you.
Q1. I knew a man was following me, I was scared out of my wits. 
Ans:  I knew a man was following me, I was scared out of my wits. (very frightened)

Q2. I got a fright when I realised how close I was to the cliff edge.
Ans: I got a fright when I realised how close I was to the cliff edge. (frightened by something that happens suddenly)

Q3. He nearly jumped out of his skin when he saw the bull coming towards him.
Ans: He nearly jumped out of his skin when he saw the bull coming towards him. (very frightened)

Q4. You really gave me a fright when you crept up behind me like that.
Ans: You really gave me a fright when you crept up behind me like that. (frightened by something that happens suddenly)

Q5: Wait until I tell his story — it will make your hair stand on end.
Ans: Wait until I tell his story — it will make your hair stand on end. (makes another feel frightened)

Q6. Paralysed with fear, the boy faced his abductors.
Ans: Paralysed with fear, the boy faced his abductors. (too scared to move)

Q7: The boy hid behind the door, not moving a muscle.
Ans: The boy hid behind the door, not moving a muscle. (too scared to move)

IV.  Reported questions
Study these sentences:

• His friend asked, “Did you see the snake the next day, doctor?”
  His friend asked the doctor whether/if he had seen the snake the next day.
• The little girl wondered, “Will I be home before the TV show begins?
  The little girl wondered if/whether she would be home before the TV show began.
• Someone asked, “Why has the thief left the vest behind?”
  Someone asked why the thief had left the vest behind.

The words if/whether are used to report questions which begin with: do, will, can, have, are, etc. These questions can be answered ‘yes’ or ‘no’.
Questions beginning with why/when/where/how/which/what are reported using these same words.
The reporting verbs we use in questions with if/whether/why/when, etc. are: ask, inquire and wonder.
Report these questions using if/whether or why/when/where/how/which/what.
Remember that the italicised verbs change into the past tense.
Q1: Meena asked her friend, “Do you think your teacher will come today?”
Ans: Meena asked her friend if she thought her teacher would come that day.

Q2: David asked his colleague, “Where will you go this summer?”
Ans: David asked his colleague where he would go that summer.

Q3: He asked the little boy, “Why are you studying English?”
Ans: He asked the little boy why he was studying English.

Q4: She asked me, “When are we going to leave?”
Ans: She asked me when we were going to leave.

Q5: Pran asked me, “Have you finished reading the newspaper?”
Ans: Pran asked me if I had finished reading the newspaper.

Q6: Seema asked her, “How long have you lived here?”
Ans: Seema asked her how long she had lived there.

Q7: Sheila asked the children, “Are you ready to do the work?”
Ans: Sheila asked the children if they were ready to do the work.