Chapter:8 The Lumber Room –Saki (PROSE) Std 7th

I] Meanings :
1. depravity: sinfulness
2. discernment: the ability to tell whether something is good or bad; to see clearly
3. germinated: grown
4. goblin: mischievous ,ugly demons.
5. in a tight corner :in a dangerous position
6. obstinacy: stubbornness
7. overindulged in: enjoyed too much
8. keep to heel: keep under control
9. partaken: eaten
10. punitive :meant to inflict punishment
11. quaint: attractively old fashioned.
12. rigorously debarred :strictly not allowed
13. sauntered: walked in a leisurely way
14. seemingly frivolous: apparently silly
15. tactician :one who uses tactics to great effect
16. yield: give in

II] Answer the following questions:

a) Why did the aunt decide to send the children to Jagborough ? Why was Nicholas
not included in the party?
Ans: The aunt decided to send the other children of the house to the sands of Jagborough
as a special treat, and moreover to punish Nicholas .
The aunt did not include Nicholas in the party as he had put a frog in his breakfast of
bread-and-milk and had refused to eat it. He was in disgrace. So in order to punish him
she did not send him to Jagborough.

b) What was aunt in the habit of doing when anyone of the children fell from grace ?
Ans: Nicholas’s aunt was a disciplinarian and very strict with the children When any one
of the children fell from grace or played a prank, she was in the habit of organizing a
special treat for the other children as a form of punishment to the one who faltered.
b) What did the aunt do when all the children had done something wrong?
Ans: When all the children had sinned collectively, the aunt in order to teach them a
lesson, would purposely make a mention to them of a wonderful circus going on in a
neighbouring town, to which of course she would not take them as they had misbehaved.
d) How did Nicholas get the better of his aunt when the other children set off on the
expedition?
Ans: Nicholas got the better of his aunt when the other children set off on their expedition, by
not
showing any disappointment or sadness . He was cheerful .On the contrary, his girl-cousin
was crying as she fell off against the steps of the carriage and scraped her knee and his
brother Bobby was complaining of his boots being too tight and hurting him. All this made
Nicholas chuckle and he did
not feel left out or unhappy.
e)What did the aunt think to herself when she saw the look of obstinacy on Nicholas’s
face?
Ans: When aunt was setting off on her expedition, she had warned Nicholas not to enter the
gooseberry garden. The aunt thought to herself that since she had told him to not go there, he
was even more determined to enter the place and had expected him to go there in her absence.
f)Why did Nicholas make many trips into the front garden ?Why did the aunt spend so
much time in the garden, although she had other work to do?
Ans: Nicholas made many trips into the front garden to make his aunt believe he wanted to
get into the gooseberry garden.
The aunt spent so much time in the garden because she did not want to give Nicholas a
chance to get past her and sneak out quietly into the gooseberry garden.
g) How did Nicholas spend his time in the Lumber –room?
Ans: Nicholas' visit to the lumber room was quite an expedition in itself.. He was very
curious to explore the secret of the lumber room and things kept in there .He carefully went
on examining all the precious objects and heirlooms that were stored there .He also kept
gazing at the tapestry, looked at it with detail and started weaving stories around it. All this
fascinated him a lot and he was enjoying himself completely.
h) Did Nicholas really think his aunt was the Evil one?
Ans : No. Nicholas knew very well that his aunt was not the evil one. In order to take revenge
of the punishment and his aunt’s mean behaviour towards him, he wanted to get back at her
and used this opportunity well to seek his revenge . He pretended to act that he was being
tempted by the Evil one to enter the garden and want him to be in disgrace,so he ignored
his aunt”s call for help.

III) Answer the following with reference to context:

a) The dramatic part of the incident was that there was a frog in Nicholas’s basin of
bread –and milk.
i) When did the incident take place?
Ans: This incident took place in the morning at the breakfast table.
ii) What were the other parts to the incident?
Ans: Nicholas had refused to eat his bread-and-milk on the seemingly frivolous ground that
there
was a frog in it. His aunt had told him that he was not to talk nonsense; he continued to
describe the colour and markings of the alleged frog.
iii) What was the result of the incident?
Ans: Nicholas’ sin was discussed at great length; then in order to punish him for his
misbehaviour his aunt took his cousin sister and brother as a treat to Jagborough sands and
he was left behind
iv) Did everyone believe that Nicholas was telling the truth?
Ans: No one actually believed that Nicholas was telling the truth as it sounded
absurd and unbelievable to everybody except Nicholas who knew that he himself
had put the frog in the bowl.

b) “He told you twice , but you weren’t listening.”

i) Who is speaking and to whom
Ans: Nicholas is saying these words to his aunt.

ii) What according to the speaker had been told twice?

Ans: According to Nicholas, Aunt had been already informed twice that Bobby's boots
were hurting him as they were too tight but she did not pay attention to it.
iii) What did the listener do immediately after hearing this statement ? Why?
Ans: The aunt immediately changed the subject as she did not want to admit that she had
been wrong in not listening to the children's complaints.

V) Make meaningful sentences of the words given:

1) Expedition
2) Obstinate
3) Disobedient
4) Suspicious
5) Rescued
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