Chandni - Solutions
CBSE Class–7 English
NCERT solution
An Alien Chapter - 7
Chandni
Page No: 45
Comprehension Check
1. Why did Abbu Khan’s goats want to run away? What happened to them in the hills?
Ans: Abbu Khan’s goats wanted to run away because goats in hilly regions hate being tied to trees or poles. They loved their freedom and his goats were of the best hill breed. They got killed by an old wolf who lived in the hills.
2. Abbu Khan said, “No more goats in my house ever again.” Then he changed his mind. Why?
Ans: Abbu Khan changed his mind because he was terribly lonely and simply couldn’t live without his pets. He needed company.
3. Why did he buy a young goat?
Ans: He thought that a young goat would stay with him much longer. She would soon begin to love him as well as the food served by him and would never want to go to the hills.
Page No: 49
Comprehension Check
1. Why did Chandni hate the rope round her neck?
Ans: Chandni hated the rope round her neck because whenever she ran towards the hills, the rope round her neck wouldn’t let her go any further and stopped her with a jerk. She wanted to run across the green fields and the hills and enjoy her freedom.
2. “Now Abbu Khan understood Chandni’s problem...” What was Chandni’s problem?
Ans: Chandni’s problem was that she was a mountain goat and loved her freedom. She wanted to go to the hills and hated to live with the rope around her neck.
3. Abbu Khan pushed Chandni into a small hut. This shows that he
(i) was cruel.
(ii) loved her and wanted to save her life.
(iii) was selfish.
Ans: This shows that he (ii) loved her and wanted to save her life.
Page No: 51
Comprehension Check
1. Why did Chandni refuse to join the group of wild goats?
Ans: Chandni refused to join the group of wild goats because she wanted to enjoy her new freedom all by herself.
2. Chandni fought the wolf because she
(i) was stronger than the wolf.
(ii) hated the wolf.
(iii) had to retain her freedom at all costs.
Ans: Chandni fought the wolf because she (iii) had to retain her freedom at all costs.
Exercises
Discuss the following topics in groups.
1. Why did the wise old bird say, “Chandni is the winner”?
Ans: The wise old bird said that Chandni was the winner because even though she was weak and small in front of the wolf, she did not give up. She gathered all her courage and put up a brave fight. She did not leave the battlefield like a coward and fought for her freedom. She said to herself that - 'death in an open field is was far better than life in a small hut.' She stood firm on her legs, head slightly bent and horns jutting out. She was a picture of courage. She looked like a brave soldier ready to fight a treacherous enemy. She died fighting her life bravely in the morning she was found dead completely soaked in blood.
2. “Death in an open field is better than life in a small hut,” Chandni said to herself. Was it the right decision? Give reasons for your answer.
Ans: I think it was the right decision because no one can imagine life in someone's captivity. Freedom is more valuable thing than life. Chandni could have gone back to her small hut of Abbu and saved her life but she chose to fight with the wolf instead, to attain her freedom. She did not die like a coward. She fought with courage and bravery to get what she wanted in her life. She might have lived longer in the captivity but she died everyday and hated imprisonment. She fought with the wolf and told herself that "success or failure is a matter of luck or chance." So, she took the right decision afterall.
3. Freedom is life. Discuss this with reference to ‘Chandni’ and ‘I Want Something in a Cage’.
Ans: In both cases Freedom is the right to decide one`s routine or course of life. The lesson "Chandni"educates us to live a life of non- conformity and exalt ourselves from a state of bonded - ness.
Similarly, the lesson "I want something in a cage" , also send us a message that true life can be discovered only in freedom ,even if it entails struggle, trials and even death.
