1. Reader 8 Unit 3 – Three Questions
1. What were the three questions the king wanted answers to?
Answer: The three questions that the king wanted answers to were:
What the right time to begin anything was,
who the right people to listen to were, and finally
what the most important thing to do was.
2. Why did he want to know the answers to these questions?
Answer: The king thought that if he knew the answers to these questions, then he would never fail in
anything he set out to do.
3. How did the king decide to find the answers?
Answer: The king decided to give a great reward to anyone who could give him the best answers.
4. What were some of the answers the king received for the first question?
Answer: In answer to the first question, many learned people told the king that to know the right time he
should draw up in advance, a timetable of days, months and years and follow it strictly. Others said that it
was not possible to exactly know what the right time for every action was and so the king must never be idle
and pay attention to everything all the time. Some suggested that the king have a council of wise men who
would help him fix the right time for everything.
5. What were some of the answers the king received for the second question?
Answer: Some people told the king that the people he most needed were his councillors. Some said that
doctors were the most important while others said that priests or warriors were the most necessary.
6. What were some of the answers the king received for the third question?
Answer: While some answered that the most important thing in the world was science, others said it was
skill in warfare. Still others said religious worship was the important thing to do in the world.
7. Was the king happy with any of these answers?
Answer: No, the king was very unhappy with all the answers. None of the responses convinced him to give
anyone a reward.
8. What did the king decide to do finally?
Answer: Finally the king decided to meet a hermit who was known far and wide for his wisdom. The hermit
lived in a small hut in a forest which he never left.
9. Did the king go alone to the hermit?
Answer: The king was accompanied by his bodyguard and his horse till they reached the forest. But as he
walked towards the hermit’s hut, he left his horse and bodyguard behind.

2. 10. What was the hermit doing when the king approached him?
Answer: The hermit was digging the ground in front of his hut. He greeted the king but did not stop digging.
11. Did the hermit answer the king’s questions immediately?
Answer: Even though the king asked the hermit the three questions as politely as he could, the hermit did
not say anything. He did not reveal any answers the king may have wanted to hear.
12. Why did the bearded man ask the king to forgive him?
Answer: The bearded man asked the king to forgive him as the king had saved his life. The bearded man had
planned to attack the king because the king had taken away his property and executed his brother. But the
king’s bodyguard recognised him and wounded him. The bearded man escaped the bodyguard and would
have bled to death if the king had not bandaged his wound and taken care of him.
13. Did the hermit give the answers to the king in the end?
Answer: Yes, when the king asked the hermit one last time for his answers, the hermit said there was only
one important time—now. It is the most important because it is the only time when we have any power. The
most important person is the one with whom we are at the present and the most important thing to do is to
do that person good.

3. Revision/Challenge Question:
14. Do you agree with the hermit’s answers?
Answer: Free response.
Possible Answer: Yes, I agree with the hermit’s answer to the king.
when we have control over what we do.
just as there is no point worrying about what could happen in the future.
people are the people who are there with us at
the most important thing.
Do you agree with the hermit’s answers?
gree with the hermit’s answer to the king. The most important time is the present,
when we have control over what we do. There is no point thinking about the time that has already passed
just as there is no point worrying about what could happen in the future. Similarly, the most important
there with us at the moment and how we interact
The most important time is the present,
point thinking about the time that has already passed
Similarly, the most important
the moment and how we interact with them at that time is