08: The Blue Bead By Norah Burke : Icse-x-english

with Solutions - page 3

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Qstn #5
Why did Sibia come alone when there were other women too in the group?
Ans : It was evening and the time to return back to see the grazing animals and evening meal. The loaded women set out to cross the river again. But Sibia remained there only. She walked slowly a bit and ran to see if the little clay cups were still there in the cave, waiting to be painted and used. When all the women left for their homes, she ran behind to see her cups and had to come down alone to the stepping stones.

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Section : VI
Bang!—bang!—to and fro in great smacking flails as he tried to drag her free and carry her off down into the deeps of the pool. Blood spread everywhere. Sibia sprang. From boulder to boulder she came leaping like a rock goat. Sometimes it had seemed difficult to cross these stones, especially the big gap in the middle where the river coursed through like a bulge of glass. But now she came on wings, choosing her footing in midair without even thinking about it, and in one moment she was beside the shrieking woman.

Qstn #1
Why did Sibia put her load down when she was halfway over?
-OR
When did Sibia stop and why?
Ans : The light of the evening was striking up the gorge, pink into the ultraviolet shadows. The sun was off; the water poured was totally invisible with no reflection to show where it began. Sibia stepped onto the first stone. She was heavily weighted, her muscles stretched and aching. The hayfork squeaked in the packed dry grass and dug into her collarbone so close under the skin, in spite of the sari bunched up to make a pad. Out of tiredness, she put her load down on a big boulder to rest when she was halfway over.

Qstn #2
Why did the Gujar woman walk onto the stepping stone?
Ans : Sibia was halfway over on her way back to hut; she put her load down on a big boulder to rest. At the same moment, a Gujar woman came down with two hurrahs to the water on the other side. She walked onto the stepping stone to get the good clear water which would quickly fill both gurrahs up to the brim without sand.

Qstn #3
What happened to her?
Ans : When the woman went to the other side to fill her hurrahs with clear water, she reached within a yard of the crocodile unknowingly. The great reptile heaved up out of the darkling water with its livid jaws yawning and all its teeth fleshing as it slashed at her leg. Crocodile pulled her leg, threshing its mighty tail to and fro in great movements and dragged her down into the deeps of the pool. Blood spread everywhere.

Qstn #4
How did Sibia react later on seeing this? OR
What did Sibia do when she saw the Gujar woman attacked by the crocodile?
Ans : Sibia was watching everything. She came into action leaping like a rock goat and jumped from boulder to boulder. She reached beside the shrieking woman and drove the hayfork at the reptile's eyes. The beast crashed back, exploded the water and disappeared in the bloody-foam water. She then pulled the wounded woman out from the water and thus, saved her life.

Qstn #5
If Sibia hadn't taken action on time, do you think that woman would be dead?
Ans : Yes, the woman would be dead if Sibia hadn't taken action on time. She did the daring thing which sometimes adults are unable to do. Besides taking action it was her mental status too that supported her in taking the right decision at the right time. She was a small girl of twelve years whose age allowed her to play childlike games but she showed courage and got success in saving a woman's life.

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Section : VII
The fork was lying in the river, not carried away, luckily, and as she bent to pick it up out of the water, she saw the blue bead. Not blue now, with the sun nearly gone, but a no colour white-blue, and its shape wobbling in the movement of the stream. She reached her arm down into a yard of the cold silk water to get it. Missing it first of all, because of refraction. Then there it lay in her wet palm, perfect, even pierced ready for use, with the sunset shuffled about inside it like gold-dust. All her heart went up in flames of joy.

Qstn #1
Which body part of the crocodile was aimed at by Sibia and how?
Ans : The face of the crocodile was fastened round the Gujar woman's leg in the boiling bloody water. He was tugging to and fro. His eyes rolled on to Sibia. One slap of its tail could kill her. But Sibia did not either hesitate or got frightened. She gathered her courage and with all the force of her little body, she drove the hayfork at crocodile's eyes. One prong of it went in while the other scratched past on the horny cheek.

Qstn #2
How did crocodile react on being attacked by Sibia?
Ans : The crocodile reared up in convulsion, till half his lizard body was out of the river, the tail and nose nearly met over his stony back. Then he crashed back, exploding the water and in an uproar of bloody foam, he disappeared.

Qstn #3
Did the crocodile die immediately? If not then when and how would one come to know about it?
Ans : The crocodile did not die immediately after being attacked. And it's not sure when would it die as his death would not be known for days. It would be found upside down among the logs at the timber boom with pus in his eyes only when his stomach blown with gas would float him.

Qstn #4
How did Sibia manage to get the Gujar woman out of water? What did she do with her wound?
Ans : Sibia got her arms round the fainting woman and somehow dragged her out of the water. She stopped her wounds with sand and bound them with rags and helped her home to the Gujar encampment where the men made a litter to carry her to someone for treatment.

Qstn #5
What did Sibia find in the river? Why her heart was going up in flames of joy?
Ans : Sibia took the wounded Gujar woman to her encampment and then went back to the river for her grass, sickle and fork. The fork was lying in the river and as she bent to pick it up, she saw the blue bead. At that time it was not appearing blue because the sun had already set but its shape was wobbling in the stream. She reached her arm down into the cold silky water and took it out. It was already pierced and ready for use. Finding it, her heart went up in flames of joy as since long she wanted a bead to make her necklace.