Free Bihar Board Class 8 English Reader Chapter 5 Solutions are available here. You will get written answers for all questions asked in chapter 5 – “Princess September”, from the English Reader book – It So Happened.
Princess September gets a real singing bird while her sisters get toy parrots. Her sisters make her worried that the bird will fly away, so she locks it in a cage. The bird becomes sad and stops singing, so the princess lets it go free. The bird comes back happily every day because it knows the princess loves it. This story teaches us that if we truly love someone, we should give them freedom.
Bihar Board Class 8 English Reader Chapter 5 Solutions
Contents
| Chapter | 5. Princess September |
| Subject | English Reader (It So Happened) |
| Class | 8th |
| Board | Bihar Board |
COMPREHENSION CHECK
From Page No 38
1. How many daughters did the royal couple have?
Ans: The royal couple had nine daughters, each named after a month of the year, like January, February, and September.
2. Why were they named after the months of the year?
Ans: The King and Queen had so many daughters that the Queen found it hard to remember all their names. To make it easier, they named each daughter after a month of the year, like September for the youngest.
3. The King had a peculiar habit. What was it? Why is it called peculiar?
Ans: The King’s peculiar habit was giving gifts to others on his birthday instead of receiving them. This is called peculiar because most people expect to get gifts on their birthdays, but the King did the opposite, which was unusual and surprising.
4. (i) What was Princess September’s reaction to the loss of her parrot?
Ans: When Princess September’s parrot died, she was heartbroken. She cried a lot and couldn’t stop her tears because she loved her parrot so much. Nothing seemed to comfort her, and she felt very sad.
(ii) What was her mother’s reaction to it?
Ans: The Queen thought Princess September’s crying was silly and called it nonsense. She told the maids to put the princess to bed without any supper, showing she didn’t think the parrot’s death was a big deal.
(iii) What do the reactions indicate about the nature and temperament of each?
Ans: Princess September’s reaction shows she was a kind and sensitive girl who deeply loved her parrot. Her tears show how much the parrot meant to her, and her sadness reflects her caring nature. The Queen’s reaction shows she was strict and not very understanding. She didn’t care about the princess’s feelings and thought crying over a pet was unimportant, revealing her cold and practical nature.
5. What pulled the Princess out of her gloom?
Ans: Princess September was very sad after her parrot died and kept crying. One day, a little bird flew into her room and sang a beautiful song. The sweet melody cheered her up, made her smile, and wiped away her tears. The bird’s lovely singing lifted her spirits and helped her feel happy again.
6. How did the Maids of Honour come to know that the Princess and the bird had become intimate friends?
Ans: The next morning, when the Maids of Honour brought Princess September’s breakfast, they saw her looking happy. They noticed the little bird eating rice from her hand and bathing in her saucer. This showed them that the princess and the bird had become close friends.
7. The new bird was full of new songs but the old parrots always repeated themselves. What did they say?
Ans: The old parrots only repeated what they were taught, like “God save the King” and “Pretty Polly.” Some could say “Pretty Polly” in seven different languages, but they couldn’t sing anything new. The new bird, however, sang beautiful, original songs from its heart.
8. What is the King’s opinion about his Councillors? Why did he form that opinion?
Ans: The King thought his Councillors were like the old parrots because they kept repeating the same things in different ways, just like the parrots said “Pretty Polly” in seven languages. He felt their words were empty and didn’t have real meaning, as they only said what they were taught without thinking deeply.
9. (i) The eight Princesses made an offer to Princess September. What was it?
Ans: The eight princesses offered to buy a lovely green and yellow parrot for Princess September. They said they would use all their pocket money to get it for her.
(ii) Why, in your view, did they do it?
Ans: The eight princesses were jealous because everyone was praising Princess September’s bird for its beautiful singing. Their own parrots looked dull and could only repeat the same words. They wanted Princess September to have a parrot like theirs so her bird wouldn’t stand out anymore.
10. What did the sisters advise the Princess to do about her bird?
Ans: The jealous sisters told Princess September to put her bird in a cage. They said it would keep the bird safe and make sure it didn’t fly away, but they really wanted to stop it from being special.
COMPREHENSION CHECK
From Page No 43
1. In the following sentence elaborate the parts given in bold. Under the circumstances it was a very unfortunate remark for the bird to make.
Ans: Under the circumstances means the situation Princess September was in. Her sisters had made her worry that her bird might fly away, forget her, or start liking someone else. She was already scared of losing her beloved bird.
When the bird came back, it said it almost stayed away because its father-in-law had thrown a party and wanted it to stay. It was a very unfortunate remark because this comment made Princess September’s fears feel real. She thought the bird might actually leave her for good, which upset her even more and led her to cage the bird.
2. (i) What did Princess September do to ensure the safety of her pet?
Ans: To keep her bird safe, Princess September put it in a golden cage. She thought this would stop it from flying away and getting lost.
(ii) How did the bird react to it?
Ans: The bird was unhappy and upset about being put in the cage. It didn’t like losing its freedom and protested by refusing to sing or eat. It wanted to fly freely instead of being locked up.
3. Why did the bird refuse to be taken out in her cage?
Ans: The bird refused to be taken out in the cage because it loved its freedom. It didn’t want to see the world while trapped in a cage. The bird wanted to fly freely in the sky, sing its songs, and enjoy life without being confined.
4. (i) What persuaded Princess September to give the bird his freedom again?
Ans: The next morning, Princess September saw her bird looking very weak and almost lifeless in the cage. It had stopped eating, singing, and even moving much. This made her realize the bird was suffering and needed its freedom to be happy and healthy. Her love for the bird convinced her to let it go.
(ii) How did the bird react to it?
Ans: The bird was overjoyed when Princess September set it free. It flew out happily, promising to come back and sing for her whenever she wanted. The bird was grateful for its freedom and showed its happiness by flying off to explore the world.
5. Princess September kept her window open day and night.
(i) How did it help the bird?
Ans: By keeping her window open day and night, Princess September allowed the bird to come and go as it pleased. It could visit her to sing and then fly away freely, which kept the bird happy and healthy.
(ii) How did it help the Princess herself?
Ans: Keeping the window open helped Princess September grow more beautiful and healthy. The fresh air and connection to nature made her feel free and happy, just like the bird. It helped her blossom into a lovely young girl.
6. The eight sisters kept their windows shut. How did it affect them?
Ans: The eight sisters always kept their windows closed, which made them grumpy and unpleasant. Living in stuffy rooms without fresh air or connection to nature made them look and act mean, unlike Princess September, who became more beautiful and kind.
EXERCISE
Discuss the following questions in small groups. Write their answers later.
1. Are the sisters unkind and cruel? Find evidence in the text to support your idea.
Ans: Yes, the eight sisters were unkind and cruel to Princess September. Here’s the evidence:
- They were jealous of Princess September’s bird because it could sing beautiful songs, while their parrots could only repeat “God save the King” or “Pretty Polly.” Their jealousy showed their selfish nature.
- They offered to buy her a new parrot, not to make her happy, but to replace her special bird with one like theirs, hoping to make her bird less unique.
- They advised her to cage the bird, knowing it would make the bird unhappy, just to stop it from being special. When the bird stopped eating and singing in the cage, they told her to be firm and said if it died, it would be the bird’s fault for being ungrateful. This was heartless and showed they didn’t care about the bird’s suffering.
- When Princess September freed the bird, the sisters mocked her, saying it would never return. Their cruel words were meant to hurt her feelings.
All these actions show the sisters were unkind, jealous, and didn’t care about Princess September’s happiness or the bird’s well-being.
2. Which, to you, is the most important idea in this story, and why?
(i) Importance of music.
(ii) Value of freedom.
(iii) Beauty of nature.
Ans: The most important idea in the story is the value of freedom. Freedom is essential for living a happy and fulfilling life. In the story, the bird was joyful when it was free, singing beautiful songs and eating well. But when Princess September put it in a cage, it became sad, stopped singing, and nearly died. This shows that without freedom, even a lively creature like the bird cannot thrive.
Freedom also helped Princess September. When she kept her window open and let the bird come and go, she grew more beautiful and happy. In contrast, her sisters, who kept their windows shut, became mean and unpleasant. This shows that freedom brings out the best in everyone, while being trapped harms both the body and spirit. The story teaches us that true happiness comes from being free to be yourself, making freedom the most important idea.
