SEBA Class 9 English Lesson - 9: The Snake Trying Question and Answer
The Snake Trying
Thinking about the Poem
I. 1. What is the snake trying to escape from?
Ans: The snake is trying to escape from a stick wielded by humans.
2. Is it a harmful snake ? What is its colour ?
Ans: No, it is not a harmful snake.
It is green in colour.
3. The poet finds the snake beautiful. Find the words he uses to convey its beauty.
Ans: The words used by the poet to convey the snake’s beauty are: Thin long body, beautiful and graceful shapes small and green.
4. What does the poet wish for the snake ?
Ans: The poet wishes for the snake to be left alone. He hopes the pursuer will let it go and allow it to glide over the water and hide into the reeds without getting hurt.
5. Where was the snake before anyone saw it and chased it away ? Where does the snake disappear ?
Ans: The snake was on the sand before anyone saw it and chased it away. The snake disappears into some reeds growing in the nearby water body.
II 1.Find out as much as you can about different kinds of snakes (from book in the library, or from the Internet). Are they all poisonous? Find out the names of some poisonous snakes.
2. Look for information on how to find out whether a snake is harmful.
3. As you know, from the previous lesson you have just read, there are people in our country who have traditional knowledge about snakes, who even catch poisonous snakes with practically bare hands. Can you find out something more about them?
Ans: 1. Find out and read about different kinds of snakes. You will see that they are not all poisonous. Some poisonous snakes are Cobra, Krait, Viper, Adder, Rattlesnake and Mamba.
2. Some features by which we can differentiate venomous and non-venomous snakes are:
| Feature | Venomous | Non-venomous |
|---|---|---|
| Head | Triangle shaped | Rounded |
| Pupil of eye | Elliptical | Round |
| Anal plate (tail) | Single row of | Double row of sub-caudal plates |
| Fangs | sub-caudal plates Present | Absent |
| Bite mark | Fang mark | Row of small teeth |
3. Professional snake catchers belong to the ‘sapera’ community and they also work as snake charmers. They are semi-nomadic and found living outside North Indian towns. They are expert snake catching and are often called to catch snakes or to remove poison from persons bitten by snakes. Many have now taken up permanent settlement. Most of them suffer from poverty.
Most shapers are Hindus and workship Goddess Kali.
However some have converted to Islam. The shapers are divided into two groups, and marriages are allowed only within each group. Each group is divided into clans and only inter clan marriages are allowed.
Shapers are adept at playing the ‘pungi’ or ‘been’ which is their trademark musical instrument.
ADDITIONAL QUESTIONS WITH ANSWERS
Answer the following questions :
1. Is the snake described in the poem venomous ? Pick a line from the poem that supports your answer.
Ans: No, the snake described in the poem is not venomous. The line that supports this fact is “Small and green he is harmless even children.”
2. Why do you think the person with the stick wanted to kill the snake ?
Ans: The person who spied the snake may have wanted to kill the snake because he thought it to be venomous and harmful. Just like most of us, he did not stop to verify whether that was truly the case but decided to take no chances and kill the beautiful, harmless snake.
3. Did the poet want the snake to be harmed ? Pick a line from the poem supporting your answer.
Ans: No, the poet did not want the snake to be harmed. On the contrary, he fervently wished that it would be able to escape its pursuer and his stick.
The line of the poem which shows this is: “O let him go over the water and into the reeds to hide without hurt.”
4. What can you infer from “a green snake” hiding among “the green reeds” ?
Ans: The fact that “a green snake” takes shelter among “green reeds” tells us that the snake was trying to camouflage himself in a background that was of the same colour as his body.
Reference to the context
1. “And now he vanishes in the ripples
Among the green slim reeds.”
(a) Who is the ‘he’ referred to here?
Ans: He’ in the above given sentence refers to a green baby snake.
(b) Why did he vanish among the green reeds ?
Ans: The snake vanished among the green slim reeds in an attempt to evade his pursuer who wanted to harm him with a stick.
(c) Give the antonym of ‘vanish’
Ans: Appear.
(d) The word ‘reed’ means
(i) water plants possessing thick stems.
(ii) a type of flute.
(iii) plant that is growing under water.
(iv) a type of aquatic animal.
Ans: (i) water plants possessing thick stems.
2.”The snake trying to escape the pursuing stick,
With sudden curvings of thin long body.”
(a) what do the words ‘sudden curvings’ mean here ?
(i) pattern of the snake’s skin.
(ii) sudden twisting movements.
(iii) strange shapes of the snake’s body.
(iv) pattern formed by the snake on the sand.
Ans: (ii) sudden twisting movements
(b) Why was the snake trying to escape the stick ?
Ans: The snake was trying to escape the stick because his pursuer meant to kill or harm him with it.
