Grade 10 English Unit 11 Reading I Wisdom of Little Girls Exercise
Wisdom of
Little Girls
Two little girls from different houses happened to meet in a lane
between two homesteads, where, the dirty water
after running through the farm-yards had formed a large puddle. One girl was
very small, the other a little bigger. Their mothers had dressed them both in
new frocks. The little one wore a blue frock, the other a yellow print, and both
had red kerchiefs on their heads. They had just come from church when they met,
and first they showed each other their finery,
and then they began to play. Soon the fancy took
them to splash about in the water, and the
smaller one was going to step into the puddle,
shoes and all, when the elder checked her:
'Don't t go in so, Malasha,' said she, 'your mother will scold you. I
will take off my shoes and stockings, and take off yours."
They did so; and then, picking up their skirts, began walking to- wards
each other through the puddle. The water came up to Ma- lasha's ankles, and she
said:
'It is deep, Akoulya, I'm afraid!'
'Come on,' replied the other. 'Don't be frightened. It won't get any
deeper.'
When they got near one another, Akoulya said:
'Mind, Malasha, don't splash. Walk carefully!'
She had hardly said this, when Malasha plumped
down her foot so that the water splashed right on to Akoulya's frock. The frock
was splashed, and so were Akoulya's eyes and nose. When she saw the stains on
her frock, she was angry and ran after Malasha to strike her. Malasha was
frightened, and seeing that she had got herself into trouble, she scrambled out of the puddle, and prepared to run home.
Just then Akoulya's mother happened to be passing, and seeing that her
daughter's skirt was splashed, and her sleeves dirty, she said:
'You naughty, dirty girl, what have you been doing?"
'Malasha did it on purpose,' replied the girl.
At this Akoulya's mother seized Malasha, and struck her on the back of
her neck. Malasha began to howl so that she could be heard all down the street.
Her mother came out.
'What are you beating my girl for?' said she; and began scolding her
neighbour. One word led to another and they had an angry quarrel. The men came
out, and a crowd collected in the street, every one shouting and no one
listening. They all went on quarreling, till one gave another a push, and the affair had very nearly come to blows, when Akoulya's old grandmother, stepping in among them,
tried to calm them.
'What are you thinking of, friends? Is it right to behave so? On a day
like this, too! It is a time for rejoicing, and
not for such folly as this.' They would not
listen to the old woman, and nearly knocked her off her feet. And she would not
have been able to quiet the crowd, if it had not been for Akoulya and Malasha
themselves. While the women were abusing each other, Akoulya had wiped the mud
off her frock, and gone back to the puddle. She took a stone and began scraping
away the earth in front of the puddle to make a channel through which the water
could run out into the street. Presently Ma- lasha joined her, and with a chip of wood helped her dig the channel. Just as the
men were beginning to fight, the water from the little girls' channel ran
streaming into the street towards the very place where the old woman was trying
to pacify the men. The girls followed it; one
running each side of the little stream.
'Catch it, Malasha! Catch it!' shouted Akoulya; while Malasha could not
speak for laughing.
Highly delighted, and watching the chip float along on their stream,
the little girls ran straight into the group of men; and the old woman, seeing
them, said to the men:
'Are you not ashamed of yourselves? To go fighting on account of these
lassies, when they themselves have forgotten all about it, and are playing
happily together. Dear little souls! They are wiser than you!"
The men looked at the little girls, and were ashamed, and, laughing at
themselves, went back each to his own home.
'Except you turn, and become as little children, you shall in no wise
enter into the kingdom of heaven.'
-Leo Tolstoy
Glossary:
sledging /ˈslɛdʒɪŋ/ - the activity of
travelling or sliding downhill over snow on a sledge.
homestead /ˈhəʊmstɛd/noun, - a house,
especially a farmhouse, and outbuildings
finery /ˈfʌɪnəri/ noun - expensive
or ostentatious clothes or decoration.
fancy /ˈfansi/ noun - a
superficial or transient feeling of liking or attraction
splash /splaʃ/ verb - cause
(liquid) to strike or fall on something in irregular drops.
puddle/ˈpʌdəl/noun - a small body
of standing water (rainwater) or other liquid
plump /plʌmp/verb - set
(something) down heavily or unceremoniously
scramble /ˈskrambl/verb - to take
off immediately in an emergency or for action
affair/əˈfɛː/noun - an event or
sequence of events of a specified kind or that has previously
been referred to
blow/bləʊ/noun - a strong wind
rejoicing/rɪˈdʒɔɪsɪŋ/noun - great
joy; jubilation
folly/ˈfɒli/noun - lack of good
sense; foolishness
chip/tʃɪp/noun - a small piece
of something removed in the course of chopping, cutting, or breaking a hard
material such as wood or stone
pacify/ˈpasɪfʌɪ/verb - quell the
anger, agitation, or excitement of
lassie/ˈlasi/noun - a girl or
young woman
A. Replace the
words or phrases in red in the sentences below with the correct words from the
box.
abusing finery lassies scrambled
fancy folly rejoicing chip
a.
The women were dressed in their best clothes to go to the party. - Finery
b.
Do you sometimes imagine of living in a luxurious house?- Fancy
c.
When Shila was chased by a dog she managed to climb quickly climb
onto the wall. - Scrambled
d.
The young girls impressed
everyone with their performance. - Lassies
e.
It was his stupidity
to leave the bike unlocked in the street. - Folly
f.
Each one blamed the other of cheating.
Soon, they started mistreating each other. - Abusing
g.
Could you please give me a piece of paper? I can't find the duster. - Chip
h.
The farmers danced in happiness when it rained after a long drought. - Rejoicing
B. Choose the
correct alternative to complete the sentences.
a.
The two little girls were dressed in new frocks probably because…………………
i. they were twins.
ii. they had to go to church.
iii. they went to the same school.
b.
When Malasha was going to splash into
the puddle, ……………….
i. Akoulya asked Malasha not to go into
the puddle.
ii. Akoulya asked her Malasha to take off her shoes and stockings
before going.
iii. Akoulya asked Malasha to go into the
puddle alone.
c.
While running home, the girls were
caught by............
i. Akoulya's mother
ii. Malasha's mother
iii. Akoulya's grandmother
d.
Akoulya's grandmother.........
i. was able to calm down the crowd
ii. could not calm down the crowd
iii. chased away the crowd with stones
e.
While the men were busy fighting, the
two girls.....
i. joined the fight of the men
ii. played a game together
iii. started to fight with each other
f.
At the end, the men ………….
i. were guilty of their deed
ii. were pleased with their deed
iii. were proud of their deed
C. Answer these questions.
a. How were the girls dressed?
Ans:- The girls were dressed in
new frocks: one wore a blue frock
and the other a yellow print. Both had red kerchiefs
on their heads.
b. Where did the girls begin to play?
Ans:- The girls began to play in a large puddle formed by dirty water running through the
farm-yards in a lane between two
homesteads.
c. Why did Akoulya get angry with Malasha?
Ans:- Akoulya got angry with Malasha because Malasha splashed water onto Akoulya's frock,
getting it dirty, as well as
splashing her eyes and nose.
d. Why did the crowd gather in the street?
Ans:- The crowd gathered in the
street because Akoulya's mother struck
Malasha, causing a commotion. This led
to an argument between the mothers, which escalated
and drew the attention of other villagers, leading
to a large, noisy quarrel.
e. How did Akoulya's grandmother try to calm down the crowd?
Ans:- Akoulya's grandmother tried to calm down the crowd by stepping in among them and
reminding them that it was a time
for rejoicing and not for such foolish behavior.
However, they did not listen to her.
f. Why are the girls called wiser than men?
Ans:- The girls are called wiser than men because, while the adults were quarreling and about to fight,
the girls had already forgotten their
disagreement and were happily playing
together, showing that they moved on quickly
and peacefully.
g. What lesson do you learn from the story?
Ans:- The lesson from the story is that holding onto anger and getting involved in conflicts can
lead to unnecessary strife, while
children’s ability to forgive and move
on can serve as a model for adults. It also teaches the value of simplicity
and innocence in resolving conflicts
and maintaining harmony.
D. Remember a similar incident that happened
during your childhood and share it
in the class.
Ans:-
When I was seven, a similar incident
happened that I still remember. My friends and I had just come from a family
gathering and were wearing our best clothes. We found a large puddle in the
park and decided to jump over it. My friend Mia made it across perfectly, but
when I jumped, I slipped and landed in the middle, splashing mud all over my
new white sneakers.
I started crying, worried about my mom's
reaction. Mia tried to comfort me by showing her own dirty shoes and saying,
"It's just mud, it will wash off!" This helped a little, but then
some other kids gathered and started teasing me, which led to a small argument.
Seeing this, Mia started splashing in the
puddle and laughing, inviting everyone to join her. Her laughter was
infectious, and soon, everyone, including the kids who had teased me, was
splashing around and having fun.
When I got home, my mom was initially
upset about the dirty sneakers, but after hearing the story, she smiled and
helped me clean up. This incident taught me how a little kindness and laughter
can turn around a bad situation and bring people together.
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