- Kezia, a little girl, fears her father who seems like a giant to her. Every morning he kisses her goodbye but she feels relief when he leaves, and dreads his return home when she must remove his boots. - During their weekly Sunday meetings, she finds her parents occupied with other activities rather than talking with her as intended, making her feel neglected. - Over time, Kezia comes to understand that her father's actions, though frightening to her as a child, actually stemmed from care and love for her rather than cruelty.

1. Chapter 3
By Katherine Mansfield

2. Previous knowledge testing
• How many members are their in your family?
• Who is your most favourite member?
• Who is the member whom you afraid of and why?

3. • To enable the students to read English properly.
• To enable the students to comprehend the English language properly.
• To enable the students to write and speak English properly.

4. • The special objective for teaching this lesson is to educate the
children some of the integral facts of child psychology. They must be
aware of the universal intentions of their parents. The parents are
their well wishers though they are looking strict.

5. • Kathleen Mansfield Murry was a
prominent modernist writer who was
born and brought up in New Zealand.
She wrote short stories and poetry
under the pen name Katherine
Mansfield.
• Born: 14 October 1888, Wellington,
New Zealand
• Died: 9 January 1923, Fontainebleau,
France
• Short stories: The Garden Party, Miss
Brill, The Doll's House, Bliss, MORE

6. • The title of the story refers to the main character that we will come across-
the little girl named Kezia. The theme of the story is the relationship between
children and their parents and the writer Katherine Mansfield wants to tell us
that children share a very important bond of love with their parents.
Although when children are small, when they are young they do not feel that
their parents love them because their parents are strict and many actions of
the parents seems unjustified. But as children grow up they realise that all
the acts done by their parents were beneficial for them. The parents were
concerned for them and beneath the strictness lies a heart full of love for the
children. And this bond of love between parents and their children has been
highlighted through this story.
• Do you feel you know your parents better now, than when you were much
younger? Perhaps you now understand the reasons for some of their
actions that used to upset you earlier.

7. • When we are small, when we are very small,we do not know why our parents are
being strict with us. But as we grow older we become mature and we realize why
they were being strict with us and when we realized that thing then we also
realize that our parents love us. So even the reader can also relate to this. You all
can also feel that when you were younger, the action you parents did, the
strictness that they had towards you was for your betterment.And as you will
grow older and older you will realize that in the past whatever acts your parents
did were for your betterment and in fact they really love you.
• This story about a little girl whose feelings for her father change from fear to
understanding will probably find an echo in every home.
• Now what do we mean by “will probably find an echo in every home”. This means
that all the children will feel the same way. So, you all can relate to the feeling of
little girl Kezia. Just like Kezia is full of fear towards her father and later on she
understands his behavior and feels that he was concerned, and he loved her. All
the children also have the same feeling towards their parents and you can relate
to Kezia’s story very well.

8. The Little Girl Lesson and Explanation
• To the little girl he was a figure to fear and avoided.
• a figure to be feared: a person to be feared
• And who is the figure to be feared here - Kezia’s father. So he refers to Kezia’s Father
and the little girl is Kezia. So, the opening line of the story is indicating the fear that
Kezia has for her Father. And as she is fearful of her father, she tries to avoid him and
she tries to remain away from him.
• Every morning before going to work he came into her room and gave her a casual
kiss, to which she responded with “Goodbye, Father”.
• So every morning before going to work Kezia’s father would visit her in her room
and give her a casual kiss. And in reply Kezia would say “Goodbye, Father”. So, this
action of Kezia’s father shows his love for Kezia.
• And oh, there was a glad sense of relief when she heard the noise of the carriage
growing fainter and fainter down the long road!

9. • Glad sense of relief: feeling relaxed
• Fainter and fainter: to lessen or reduce
• Carriages like horse carts were means of conveyance used in olden times. So here
we can make out the fear that Kezia has for her father.
• The writer says that when Kezia heard that her father’s carriage was going away
from home and he was leaving home and the sound became fainter and fainter
that means the sound reduced, Kezia would have a sense of relaxation. She
would feel relieved that her father had left. Now why did she feel relieved?
Because she feared her father, she was afraid of him and so she was relieved
when he left home.
• In the evening when he came home she stood near the staircase and heard his
loud voice in the hall.
• In the evenings, when Kezia’s father would return home she would hear his loud
voice. And this loud voice against made her afraid of him.

10. • “Bring my tea into the drawing-room... Hasn’t the paper come yet? Mother, go and see
if my paper’s out there — and bring me my slippers.”
• So as Kezia’s father returned home, he would start ordering all different things. He
would order that tea be served to him in the drawing room, he wanted the newspaper,
he would asked his mother to go and see if the newspaper was there outside the house
and he would asked her to get him his slipper also.
• “Kezia,” Mother would call to her, “if you’re a good girl you can come down and take off
father’s boots.”
• Kezia’s mother would call out to her and ask her to remove her father’s boots. In order
to make her obey, she would say that if she was a good girl then surely she would obey
her command.
• Slowly the girl would slip down the stairs, more slowly still across the hall, and push
open the drawing-room door.

11. • slip down: come down quietly and unwillingly
• So again we see Kezia’s fear for her father that is why she would come down the
stairs quietly and unwillingly. Unwillingly because she did not want to face her
father. She feared him.
• By that time he had his spectacles on and looked at her over them in a way that
was terrifying to the little girl.
• Now just imagine - Kezia’s father sitting in the drawing room on a sofa, wearing
his spectacles and he is looking at Kezia over the spectacles. And now the way he
look at her, terrified her. She was horrified because maybe it seemed to her that
he was staring at her.
• “Well, Kezia, hurry up and pull off these boots and take them outside. Have you
been a good girl today?”

12. • Kezia was reluctant in her work. She was slow in her motion. And so, her father would tell
her to hurry up and remove his boots and keep them out of the room. And then he would
asked her if she had been a good girl that day.
• “I d-d-don’t know, Father.”
• And Kezia replied that she did not know. So why was she stammering because she was not
confident. A person is not confident when he has any feeling of fear.
• “You d-d-don’t know? If you stutter like that Mother will have to take you to the doctor.”
• Stutter: to stammer, to speak with pauses
• So here Kezia’s father is copying her. And he also stammers like she did. He says to her that
if she stuttered like that, then her Mother would have to take her to the doctor for a
checkup.
• She never stuttered with other people — had quite given it up — but only with Father,
because then she was trying so hard to say the words properly.

13. • So here the writer tells us that Kezia never stammered while she spoke to other
people. It was only when she talked to her father that she lacked confidence and
that is why she tried very hard to speak properly and she stammered.
• “What’s the matter? What are you looking so wretched about? Mother, I wish
you taught this child not to appear on the brink of suicide...Here, Kezia, carry my
teacup back to the table carefully.”

14. • Now kezia’s father looks at her, he feels that something is wrong with her. And
he asked her why she is so unhappy. And then he tells the mother that she
should teach Kezia to behave in a better way and she should not appear as if she
is so unhappy that she is about to end her life. So, he wants to say that Kezia
seems to be so unhappy with her life that she did not want to live any longer. He
hands her his teacup and asks her to place it back on the table.
• He was so big — his hands and his neck, especially his mouth when he yawned.
Thinking about him alone was like thinking about a giant.
• Here this is the feeling, this is the vision that Kezia has for her father. She feels
that her father was so big, he was just like a giant. And the writer says that Kezia
felt that his hand and his neck and his mouth were all so huge especially when
he yawned. It seemed as if he was a huge monster. And whenever Kezia thought
about her father she felt that she was thinking about a giant.

15. On Sunday afternoons Grandmother sent her down to the drawing-room to have a “nice talk with Father and Mother”.So,
every Sunday, during the afternoon Kezia’s Grandmother sent her downstairs to the drawing room in order to spend time
with her parents. So Kezia was supposed to behave in a nice and decent way in front of her parents and they had a formal get
together.
But the little girl always found Mother reading and Father stretched out on the sofa, his handkerchief on his face, his feet on
one of the best cushions, sleeping soundly and snoring.
Snoring: the sound produced by some people when there are asleep.

16. • So here we feel that Kezia felt a bit neglected. Every Sunday afternoon when she went to her
parents to meet them in the drawing room and have a nice talk with them,they were busy
doing their own things. Her mother was busy reading and her father was busy sleeping and
snoring. So Kezia had this image of her parents in her mind. They did not talk with her, they
didn’t spend time with her.On the other hand, they were busy doing their own things.
• She sat on a stool, gravely watched him until he woke and stretched, and asked the time —
then looked at her.
• Gravely: seriously.
• So all the while Kezia’s father was asleep, she would just sit on a stool and watch him carefully
till the time he would wake up and stretch his body and then would ask the time and look at
her.
• “Don’t stare so, Kezia. You look like a little brown owl.”
• Kezia’s father would compare Kezia to a little brown owl. He would say that Kezia was staring at
him just like an owl does.

17. One day, when she was kept indoors with a cold, her grandmother told her that father’s
birthday was next week and suggested she should make him a pin-cushion for a gift out of a
beautiful piece of yellow silk.
Now Kezia was not well, she had a cold, so she was supposed to stay at home. So, her
grandmother suggested that as she was at home and her father’s birthday was approaching,
she could make a birthday gift for him.She asked Keziato make a pin cushion for him and she
also gave her a yellow coloured fabric of silk to make the cushion.
Laboriously, with a double cotton, the little girl stitched three sides.
laboriously: with a lot
of effort or difficulty
Kezia put in lot of effort to make the birthday gift. She used double cotton (refers to a thread) and she stitched
three sides of the cushion.
But what to fill it with? That was the question.
Now Kezia had prepared the bag. The bag shape of the cushion.She had to stitch the fourth side and before that,
she had to fill the cushion with something and she did not know what to fill the cushion with.
The grandmother was out in the garden, and she wandered into Mother’s bedroom to look for scraps.

18. • Wandered into: went into, by chance
• Scraps: small pieces of cloth or paper etc that are not needed.
• So Kezia was confused that what should she use to fill the cushion with.As her
grandmother was out in the garden and she was just looking for something, she
reached her mother’s bedroom. She was looking for bits of paper or cloth to
stuff in to the cushion.
• On the bed-table she discovered a great many sheets of fine paper, gathered
them up, tore them into tiny pieces, and stuffed her case, then sewed up the
fourth side.

19. • Now Kezia is a small little girl, she is very young. Now what she do, on the bed-
table she found a heap of sheet of paper. So, she just gathered all the sheets,
then tore them and stuffed those pieces of paper into the cushion. And then, she
stitched the fourth side of the cushion and she had prepared a birthday gift for
her father. So many of you can relate to Kezia’s act. Many children do such things
unknowingly.They do not intend to create any mischief or harm anyone but they
end up doing it. Now Kezia has torn some important papers.
• That night there was a hue and cry in the house. Father’s great speech for the
Port Authority had been lost.
• Hue and Cry: angry protest.
• Now there was lot of shouting in the house because Kezia’s father had prepared a
speech for the Port Authority (for a particular meeting) and he was unable to find
it. Now we all know where the speech has gone. It has been torn into tiny pieces
and Kezia has stuffed it into the cushion.

20. • Rooms were searched; servants questioned. Finally Mother came into Kezia’s room.
• Now the family searched everywhere. They asked the servants, but no one knew where
the sheets of paper had gone. And finally, the mother reached the Kezia’s room.
• “Kezia, I suppose you didn’t see some papers on a table in our room?”
• So Kezia’s mother asked her that did she see some papers lying on a table in her mother’s
room.
• “Oh yes,” she said, “I tore them up for my surprise.”
• Now here we get to see that Kezia is an innocent girl, she did not intend to harm anyone,
she was just preparing her birthday gift. And so very truly she tells her mother that she
found some pieces of paper and as she needed them to stuff into the cushion, so she torn
them and prepared her surprise gift. That is a birthday gift that she had prepared for her
father. Unknowingly,Kezia had done a great disaster.

21. •“What!” screamed Mother. “Come straight down to the dining-
room this instant.”
•Now Kezia’s mother is so furious when she comes to know that
Kezia has torn the speech that her father is looking for. And so,
she orders Kezia to come down into the dining room at that
very movement.
•And she was dragged down to where Father was pacing to and
fro, hands behind his back.
•Now Kezia’s father is full of tension as his important document
has been lost. Kezia has torn it into pieces. Now Kezia will be
scolded for the mischief that she has done.

22. “Well?” he said sharply.
Mother explained.
He stopped and stared at the child.
“Did you do that?”
“N-n-no”, she whispered.
“Mother, go up to her room and fetch down the damned thing — see that
the child’s put to bed this instant.
The damned thing: used to express anger at something.
Now why is Kezia’s father referring to the cushion that she has prepared as a damned thing
because he is angry at the cushion, because Kezia has torn his important document to prepare
it. Now he is very angry with Kezia and he stared at her and asked her if she had torn the
papers. Kezia Was so scared that she was again stammering. And then Kezia’s father ordered
mother to go and bring that cushion downstairs and asked her to put Kezia to bed at that very
movement.

23. • Crying too much to explain, she lay in the shadowed room watching the evening light make
a sad little pattern on the floor.
• shadowed room means that as it was dark, there was a light outside the room which was
making shadows in the room.
• a sad little pattern refers to the sad atmosphere in the room.
• Kezia wanted to justify her action as she was innocent, she did not mean to harm her
father, she was just preparing a surprise birthday gift for him. Kezia was very sad. She had
been happy that she had prepared a surprise for her father and he would like it but on the
other hand she had accidentally committed a disaster.
• Then Father came into the room with a ruler in his hands.
• Now he is about to punish Kezia for the wrong act she has done.
• “I am going to beat you for this,” he said.

24. • “Oh, no, no”, she screamed, hiding under the bedclothes.
• Bedclothes Refers to the sheets, the top sheets that you cover yourself when you are
sleeping.
• Now Kezia’s father told her that he would beat her with the ruler. Kezia was so
scared that she tried to hide under the sheets.
• He pulled them aside.
• “Sit up,” he ordered, “and hold out your hands.
• You must be taught once and for all not to touch what does not belong to you.”
• Now here we come to know that why Kezia’s father was being strict with her. Why
was he punishing her.Because he wanted Kezia to know this thing once for all that
she should not touch that thing that does not belong to her. He wanted to teach her
this thing so that it benefitted in her future life. Right now, she was a small child, she
did not know what was important and what was not important.That is why,
unknowingly she has torn the important document of her father. And so, he was
punishing her. He did not want to harm Kezia, but he wanted that Kezia should know
that in future she should not touch anything that does not belong to her.

25. • “But it was for your b-b-birthday.”
• Kezia tried to explain her position. She said that she had been preparing a
birthday gift for her father and had to stuff it with something.She just tore the
pages to stuff them into the cushion. She was trying to explain to him that she
was just preparing a birthday gift for him. She wanted to give him a surprise. She
did not want to tear his important documents. But Kezia’s father did not listen to
her excuses.
• Down came the ruler on her little, pink palms.
• Kezia’s father hit the palms of her hand with a ruler.
• Hours later, when Grandmother had wrapped her in a shawl and rocked her in
the rocking-chair, the child clung to her soft body.

26. • Clung: to attach yourself to something.
• Now Kezia was so afraid. She had got beating. Her father had hit her small little palms with
the ruler. And many hours later her grandmother wrapped her in a shawl and was trying to
pacify her. She made her sit in her lap on a rocking chair and she was trying to put Kezia to
sleep. And Kezia clung to her grandmother.
• “What did God make fathers for?” she sobbed.
• So Kezia was still not comfortable. She was crying and she said that god should not have
made fathers. She hated her father.She was so innocent. she did not know what wrong she
had done. She was just preparing a gift for him. She was heartbroken as he did not
understand her and said that god should not have made fathers.
• “Here’s a clean hanky, darling. Blow your nose. Go to sleep, pet; you’ll forget all about it in
the morning. I tried to explain to Father but he was too upset to listen tonight.”
• Now Kezia’s Grandmother was trying to pacify her. She gave her a handkerchief, to blow her
nose in it and go to sleep. She added that by morning Kezia would forget the beating. Kezia
tried to justify herself. she

27. • said that she was trying to explain to him the reason for tearing the sheets of
paper but he was not ready to listen to her. So again, we see that the little child
was so innocent, she did not realize that her father hit her to teach her a lesson
so that she did not touch anything that did not belong to her.
• But the child never forgot. Next time she saw him she quickly put both hands
behind her back and a red colour flew into her cheeks.
• Now Kezia’s Grandmother had told her to go to sleep and that by morning she
would forget the beating that her father gave her. But Kezia never forgot the
beating that she had got. Whenever she saw her father approaching, she would
keep her hands behind her back because she felt that maybe he would hit her
again and red colour flew into her cheeks. Whenever she saw her father, she got
scared and her cheeks got full of red colour

28. • The Macdonalds lived next door. They had five children. Looking through a gap in the
fence the little girl saw them playing ‘tag’ in the evening.The father with the baby, Mao,
on his shoulders, two little girls hanging on to his coat pockets ran round and round the
flower-beds, shaking with laughter. Once she saw the boys turn the hose on him—and
he tried to catch them laughing all the time.
• Here the writer tells us about Kezia’s neighbours. Her neighbours were a family named
Mac donalds. In all, the Mac donald’s had five children. And Kezia would peep at them
through a hole in the fence. She would see that the family had a lot of fun. They played
a game called tag. (Tag is a children’s game of catching one another like we play catch
catch.) So, all the children along with their father would have a lot of fun. Mr.
Macdonald would make his little baby Mao sit on his shoulders And the two little
daughters that he had they would hang on to his coat pockets. So, all the children were
so much attached to their father. They loved him so much that they would stick to him.
And then they would run around the garden, around the flower beds and they would
laugh and laugh and laugh. Kezia also wanted to have such fun with her father and she
missed it. One day she saw that the little sons of Mrs. Macdonald opened the hose on
him. They opened the water pipe and tried to make him wet. But Mr. Macdonald was
not angry with them. He tried to catch them, and he was laughing. This was very
strange for Kezia because her father was just the opposite of Mr. Macdonald.

29. • Then it was she decided there were different sorts of fathers.
• Now when Kezia saw Mr. Macdonald, she realized that he was quiet opposite to her
father. She felt that God had made various kinds of fathers.
• Suddenly, one day, Mother became ill, and she and Grandmother went to hospital.
• One day,Kezia’s mother fell ill so she was taken to the hospital and the Grandmother
also went along with her.
• The little girl was left alone in the house with Alice, the cook. That was all right in the
daytime but while Alice was putting her to bed she grew suddenly afraid.
• Now Kezia was all alone at home with the cook. The name of the cook is Alice. Now
Kezia was fine during the day but at night when the cook put Kezia to bed all alone
Kezia started feeling scared.

30. “What’ll I do if I have a nightmare?”she asked.
Kezia asked Alice that if she had a bad dream, what would she do all alone.
I often have nightmares and then Granny takes me into her bed—I can’t stay
in the dark—it all gets ‘whispery’…”
Kezia explained to Alice that whenever she had nightmares, she would go to
her Grandmother and she would sleep with her. So, she said that she could
not stay all alone in the dark because she would be scared. She could hear
different kinds of whispering sounds which made her feel that there was
someone around her.
“You just go to sleep, child,” said Alice, pulling off her socks, “and don’t you
scream and wake your poor Pa.”
So,Kezia’s father was sleeping in the next room and Alice told Kezia to sleep
quietly.She removed Kezia’s socks and asked her not to scream. She warned
her not to scream and wake her father. But Kezia was helpless.

31. • But the same old nightmare came — the butcher with a knife and a rope, who came
nearer and nearer, smiling that dreadful smile, while she could not move, could only
stand still, crying out, “Grandma! Grandma!” She woke shivering to see Father beside
her bed, a candle in his hand.
• A Butcher is a person who cuts animals, who cuts meat.
• So now this is a nightmare that Kezia had often - she would see a butcher. So this
butcher would hold a big knife - a huge butcher’s knife and a rope and he would
approach Kezia. He had a dreadful smile on his face. And once Kezia would see him, she
would feel that she was unable to move. She was so much scared of him. She was
terrified to see this butcher. And in her sleep,Kezia Cried out for help, she called for her
grandmother. When Kezia woke up she was shivering, she was trembling and she saw
that her father was standing next to her bed and he was holding a candle in his hand. So
Kezia’s father had heard her screams and he had heard that Kezia was calling for her
grandmother and he had come to help her.
• “What’s the matter?” he said.

32. • Now he asked Kezia what was the matter. Why she was screaming.
• “Oh, a butcher — a knife — I want Grannie.”
• Kezia was still scared of the nightmare. She said that there was a butcher, he was holding a
dreadful knife and she wanted her grandmother.
• He blew out the candle, bent down and caught up the child in his arms, carrying her along
the passage to the big bedroom.
• So here we can see the affection that Kezia’s father has for her. He blew the candle off. He
lifted her and carried her to his bedroom.
• A newspaper was on the bed. He put away the paper, then carefully tucked up the child.
• tucked up: covered up nicely in bed

33. • Kezia’s father lay her in his bed next to him and covered her with the top sheets.
• He lay down beside her. Half asleep still, still with the butcher’s smile all about her it
seemed, she crept close to him, snuggled her head under his arm, held tightly to his shirt.
• Snuggled: moved into a warm, comfortable position, close to another person
• Now Kezia felt her father’s affection and so, she went close to him. She snuggled herself
towards her father and she held his shirt tightly so that she would not feel scared again.
And now Kezia had overcome her fear of her father.
• Then the dark did not matter; she lay still.
• Now once Kezia was with her father, she was no longer afraid.
• “Here, rub your feet against my legs and get them warm,” said Father.
• He asked Kezia to rub her feet against his legs so that they became warm.

34. • Tired out, he slept before the little girl. A funny feeling came over her.
• So as Kezia father was very tired, he slept before she did. A funny feeling came over her.
• Poor Father, not so big, after all — and with no one to look after him. He was harder
than Grandmother, but it was a nice hardness. And every day he had to work and was
too tired to be a Mr Macdonald… She had torn up all his beautiful writing… She stirred
suddenly, and sighed.
• Now here Kezia realizes her mistake and she had affection towards her father. She felt
that her father was a poor man. He worked so hard. He was not so big as she found him
to be earlier. Now she felt that her father was a poor man who worked very hard and
so, he got so tired that he went off to sleep and did not play with her like Mr.
Macdonald did with his children. But Kezia felt that her father’s heart was also full of
love for her. She realizes that she has torn up his important document, the speech that
he has written, and all this realization make sure take a deep breath. She realizes that
she had been wrong and that is why her father had beaten her, he had been so strict

35. • “What’s the matter?” asked her father. “Another dream”?
• Although Kezia’s father was asleep, he heard her sigh. He heard the sound that
Kezia made and he asked her what the matter was. Was she again watching a
bad dream?
• “Oh,” said the little girl, “my head’s on your heart. I can hear it going. What a big
heart you’ve got, Father dear
• Kezia replied to her father that she had placed her head on her father’s heart and
she could hear his heart beat. And she complimented her father that he had a
big heart. So Kezia is showing her love for her father as she had realized that her
father also loved her

36. A
1.fear or terror
2.glad sense of relief
3.a “funny” feeling, perhaps of
understanding
B
1. father comes into her room to give her a goodbye
kiss
2.noise of the carriage grows fainter
3. father comes home
4. speaking to father
5. going to bed when alone at home
6. father comforts her and falls asleep
7. father stretched out on the sofa, snoring
I.Given below are some emotions that Kezia felt. Match the emotions in Column A with the items
in Column B.

37. A B
fear or terror (iii) father comes home
(iv) speaking to father
(v) going to bed when alone at home
(vii) father stretched out on the sofa, snoring
glad sense of relief (i) father comes into her room to give her a goodbye
kiss
(ii) noise of the carriage grows fainter
a “funny” feeling, perhaps of understanding (vi) father comforts her and falls asleep

38. • 1.Why was Kezia afraid of her father?
• Ans. Kezia was afraid of her father because he was strict. He stared at her and
even gave her physical punishment. Instead of the love and affection that Kezia
sought from her father, he gave her scoldings which instilled a fear in her mind.
Her father’s giant structure also terrified little Kezia.
• 2. Who were the people in Kezia’s family?
• Ans. In all there were four members in Kezia’s family – her strict father, her stern
mother, a loving grandmother and Kezia herself.
• 3. What was Kezia’s father’s routine
• (i) before going to his office?
• (ii) after coming back from his office?
• (iii) on Sundays?

39. • Ans.
• i) Before going to office, Kezia’s father would visit Kezia in her room, give her a
kiss and then leave for work in his carriage.
• ii) After coming back from office in the evening, Kezia’s father would order that
tea be brought for him in the drawing room. He would order for his slippers and
the newspapers in a loud voice.
• iii) On Sunday afternoons, he would stretch out on the sofa, his handkerchief on
his face, his feet on one of the best cushions, and would sleep soundly and snore.
• 4.In what ways did Kezia’s grandmother encourage her to get to know her
father better?
• Ans. Kezia’s grandmother wanted Kezia to have a strong bond of love and
affection with her parents. In order to develop that, she encouraged Kezia to go
downstairs every Sunday afternoon to spend time with her parents and to get to
know them better.

40. • III. Discuss these questions in class with your teacher and then write down your
answers in two or three paragraphs each.
• 1.Kezia’s efforts to please her father resulted in displeasing him very much.How
did this happen?
Ans. Kezia was at home as she was down with fever. Her grandmother suggested
that she make a surprise gift for her father as his birthday was approaching. Kezia
and her grandmother planned that Kezia would make a pin cushion for him and her
grandmother gave her a piece of yellow – coloured silk fabric for it. Kezia stitched
the cushion from three sides and was looking for pieces of torn cloth or paper to
stuff into the cushion.
As her grandmother was out in the garden, the innocent child reached her parents’
room. She found a heap of paper lying on the bed table, tore the sheets of paper
into tiny bits and stuffed it into the cushion. Kezia was glad that finally, the surprise
gift was ready but, in fact she had committed a serious mistake of destroying her
father’s speech that he had prepared for the Port Authority.
Kezia’s father was angry with her and wanted to teach her an important lesson, not
to touch anything that did not belong to her. So, he hit Kezia’s palms with a ruler to
teach her a lesson.

41. • 2. Kezia decides that there are “different kinds of fathers”. What kind of father
was Mr Macdonald, and how was he different from Kezia’s father?
• Ans. Mr Macdonald, Kezia’s next door neighbour had five children. Kezia often
saw them playing in the garden.
• One day, she peeped through a gap in the fence and saw them having fun. Baby
Mao was sitting on Mr Macdonald’s shoulders, his two daughter stuck to his
coat’s pockets and they ran all around the flower beds, laughing and having fun.
His sons opened the hose on him and he tried to catch them.
• This fun scene made her conclude that there were different kinds of fathers. Mr
Macdonald was different from her father. He was not strict, played with his
children and they laughed all the while.
• On the other hand, Kezia’s father was always angry at her. He remained busy with
work and later, was too tired that he slept most of the time. He stared at her,
scolded her for stammering and being silly.
• His strict nature made Kezia wonder that what for had God made fathers.

42. • 3.How does Kezia begin to see her father as a human being who needs her sympathy?
Ans. One day, Kezia’s mother was taken ill and went to the hospital. Grandmother too
accompanied her. Kezia was left alone with the cook, Alice to look after her. At night,
Alice put Kezia to bed but Kezia was reluctant to sleep without her grandmother as she
would go to her in case she got scared by a nightmare. Alice put Kezia to sleep all alone
and ordered her not to scream and disturb her father who was asleep in the next room.
But she was again bother by the nightmare of a butcher with a knife, a rope and a
dreadful smile. Kezia screamed and called her grandmother. Upon hearing her screams,
her father woke up. He was holding a candle and lifted Kezia in his arms. He took her to
his room and comforted her. He lay Kezia in his bed and told her to rub her feet against
his legs to make them warm. Kezia felt his affection and snuggled towards him. At that
moment, Kezia realized that her father worked really hard was a tired poor man who
needed sympathy and concern. There was no one to look after him. Although he was big
and not as soft as grandmother, Kezia realized that he loved her, and she had affection for
him.

43. Grammar Exercises
• I. Look at the following sentence.
• There was a glad sense of relief when she heard the noise of the carriage growing fainter...
• Here, glad means happy about something.
• Glad, happy, pleased, delighted, thrilled and overjoyed are synonyms (words or expressions
that have the same or nearly the same meaning.) However, they express happiness in
certain ways.
• Read the sentences below.
• • She was glad when the meeting was over.
• • The chief guest was pleased to announce the name of the winner.
• 1. Use an appropriate word from the synonyms given above in the following sentences.
Clues are given in brackets.
• (i) She was ________ by the news of her brother’s wedding. (very pleased)
• (ii) I was _______ to be invited to the party. (extremely pleased and excited about)
• (iii) She was ___________ at the birth of her granddaughter. (extremely happy)
• (iv) The coach was _________ with his performance. (satisfied about)

44. • Ans.
• (i) She was thrilled by the news of her brother’s wedding. (very pleased)
• (ii) I was delighted to be invited to the party. (extremely pleased and excited
about)
• (iii) She was overjoyed at the birth of her granddaughter. (extremely happy)
• (iv) The coach was pleased with his performance. (satisfied about)
• (v) She was very happy with her results. (happy about something that has
happened)

45. • 2. Now, consult a dictionary and find out the meaning of big in the following
sentences. The first one has been done for you.
• (i) You are a big girl now. older
• (ii) Today you are going to take the biggest decision of your career.
• (iii) Their project is full of big ideas.
• (iv) Cricket is a big game in our country.
• (v) I am a big fan of Lata Mangeshkar.
• (vi) You have to cook a bit more as my friend is a big eater.
• (vii) What a big heart you’ve got, Father dear.

46. • Ans.
• (i) You are a big girl now. older
• (ii) Today you are going to take the biggest decision of your career.Most
important
• (iii) Their project is full of big ideas. ambitious
• (iv) Cricket is a big game in our country.popular
• (v) I am a big fan of Lata Mangeshkar.ardent
• (vi) You have to cook a bit more as my friend is a big eater.gourmand
• (vii) What a big heart you’ve got, Father dear.generous

47. • II. Verbs of Reporting
• 1. Underline the verbs of reporting in the following sentences.
• (i) He says he will enjoy the ride.
• (ii) Father mentioned that he was going on a holiday.
• (iii) No one told us that the shop was closed.
• (iv) He answered that the price would go up.
• (v) I wondered why he was screaming.
• (vi) Ben told her to wake him up.
• (vii) Ratan apologised for coming late to the party.

48. • Ans.
• (i) He says he will enjoy the ride.
• (ii) Father mentioned that he was going on a holiday.
• (iii) No one told us that the shop was closed.
• (iv) He answered that the price would go up.
• (v) I wondered why he was screaming.
• (vi) Ben told her to wake him up.
• (vii) Ratan apologised for coming late to the party.

49. • 2. Some verbs of reporting are given in the box. Choose the appropriate verbs
and fill in the blanks in the following sentences.
• (i) “I am not afraid,” ________ the woman.
• (ii) “Leave me alone,” my mother ___________.
• (iii) The children ________ that the roads were crowded and noisy.
• (iv) “Perhaps he isn’t a bad sort of a chap after all,” ________ the master.
• (v) “Let’s go and look at the school ground,” _________the sports teacher.
• (vi) The traffic police ________ all the passers-by to keep off the road.
Were complaining shouted replied
remarked ordered suggested

50. • Ans.
• (i) “I am not afraid,”replied the woman.
• (ii) “Leave me alone,” my mother shouted.
• (iii) The children were complaining that the roads were crowded and noisy.
• (iv) “Perhaps he isn’t a bad sort of a chap after all,” remarked the master.
• (v) “Let’s go and look at the school ground,” suggested the sports teacher.
• (vi) The traffic police ordered all the passers-by to keep off the road.

51. • a figure to be feared: a person to be feared
• Glad sense of relief: feeling relaxed
• Fainter and fainter: to lessen or reduce
• slip down: come down quietly and unwillingly
• Stutter: to stammer, to speak with pauses
• given it up: stopped doing it
• Trying so hard: making a lot of efforts
• Wretched: unhappy, sad
on the brink of suicide: about to
commit suicide
suicide: kill oneself
Snoring: the sound produced by some
people when there are asleep.
Gravely: seriously.
Laboriously: with lot of effort or
difficulty.
Wandered into: went into, by chance
Scraps: small pieces of cloth or paper
etc that are not needed.
Hue and Cry: angry protest.

52. • The damned thing: used to express anger at something.
• shadowed room means that as it was dark, there was a light outside the room
which was making shadows in the room.
• a sad little pattern refers to the sad atmosphere in the room.
• Bedclothes Refers to the sheets, the top sheets that you cover yourself when
you are sleeping.
• Clung: to attach yourself to something.
• Nightmare: a bad dream.
• A Butcher is a person who cuts animals, who cuts meat.
• tucked up: covered up nicely in bed
• Snuggled: moved into a warm, comfortable position, close to another person

53. Message ❤
• The moral of the short story 'The Little Girl' by Katherine Mansfield is
that parents should not be indifferent to their children. They should
show their love towards their children even when too tired from work
and do not have time for them.

54. Thank you✨