Comprehension Check -1

1.) How many daughters did the royal couple have?

Answer: The royal couple had nine daughters.

2.) Why were they named after the months of the year?

Answer: The royal couple had nine daughters. The queen of Siam had difficulty
remembering the daughters’ names so the king decided to call each of them with the
months’ name.

3.) The King had a peculiar habit. What was it? Why is it called peculiar?

Answer: The king had a peculiar habit of giving gifts on his birthday.Generally, on
birthdays we receive gifts but the king would give gifts so it's called a peculiar
habit.

4.) (i) What was Princess September’s reaction to the loss of her parrot?

Answer: Princes September was in deep grief when she found the parrot died at the
bottom of its golden cage. She was saddened t its lost.

(ii) What was her mother’s reaction to it?

Answer: When the maids of honor told about the sad plight of the princess, her
mother didn’t take it seriously, felt that the princess’ weeping is nonsense and
asked the maids of honor not to give her supper.

(iii) What do the reactions indicate about the nature and temperament of each?

Answer: We get to know from the reactions that the princess was an emotional and
sensitive girl. She cared for the parrot and was shocked at the lost of it. On the
other hand, her mother upon knowing her situation didn’t feel anything at all. She
felt that her crying made no sense. This shows how cold fish she was.
5.) What pulled the Princess out of her gloom?

Answer: When the princess was still in deep grief, a little bird hopped in her room
and sang a beautiful song. The princess liked its song and this made her stop
crying.

6.) How did the Maids of Honour come to know that the Princess and the bird had
become intimate friends?

Answer: Next morning the maids of honour brought breakfast for her and the little
bird ate rice out of her and even had bath in her saucer. And after this the bird
started to sing once again its beautiful voice, all these was new to the maids of
honour and made them realize that the princess and the bird had become intimate
friends.

7.) The new bird was full of new songs but the old parrots always repeated
themselves. What did they say?
Answer: The old parrots were taught to talk only two phrases in seven oriental
languages, ‘God save the king’ and‘pretty polly’.

8.) What is the King’s opinion about his Councillors? Why did he form that opinion?

Answer: The parrots and the king’s councilors kept saying the same things i.e,’ God
save the king’ and ‘Pretty polly’. This made the king irritated . The king didn’t
consider the councilors good enough.

9.) (i) The eight Princesses made an offer to Princess September. What was it?

Answer: The eight princesses made an offer to princess to buy her a new parrot by
giving their pocket-money.

(ii) Why, in your view, did they do it?

Answer: The arrival of the little bird not only made the princess happy but even
the king praised his songs. The bird and the princess became close friends in no
time. This made her sisters jealous and to make sure the little bird goes out they
offered the princess of buying new parrot of her.

10.) What did the sisters advise the Princess to do about her bird?

Answer: The eight sisters were jealous of the princess and her little bird’s
friendship. As they could not stand it, they advised her to keep the bird in the
cage so that it would not fly away.